The Gentle Ripples of Yes

The butterfly effect means small actions can lead to big changes. Like a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a distant storm, one quiet choice can shape our future. It shows how everything is connected, even simple moments can lead to powerful transformations over time …

Over the past year, I’ve seen this truth unfold in my own life. A single decision, to take a walk, go on a journey, or say yes to a trip, or to start painting, led to deeper healing and new strength …

There was the trip to the Maldives, a place that was never on my list. I hadn’t planned it, yet it turned out to be a gentle gift. I didn’t know I would need that much in my core, and I would love so much of the stillness of the sea, the crystal-clear color of the water, the softness of the days, it all felt like life was giving me something I didn’t know I needed …

Now, as I reflect, I see that letting myself explore the unknown began with small, quiet steps. Like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, those moments created ripples I’m still feeling today …

#roksanatales

April, 2025, Maldives

And see, I’m learning to trust the small steps because they just might lead me somewhere beautiful …

Butterfly effect is real, I believe, and you?
I♥️

If You Ever Miss Me

Don’t miss me
But if you ever miss me
Miss me without any reason
Like the wind that comes and goes …

Miss me like reaching for your mug
And finding it warm
Not because it’s full
But because you once held it …

Miss me like the shoes by the door
Not loud, not calling, but there,
Familiar and still …

Like how sunlight lands
On the same chair each morning
Even when no one sits there, miss me like that

No need for words or stories
No searching for meaning
If you miss me, let it be quiet, like breath …

Don’t miss me
But if you ever miss me
Miss me the way silence holds a room after a song has ended
Not needing more
But remembering everything …

#roksanatales

I♥️

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So many tragedies happen in the world every day. Today, June 12th, a plane crash in Ahmedabad reminds us how unpredictable life is. If you miss someone, tell them now. Let them know they matter. What are you waiting for?

Still

Ask me how
How I keep walking through the days
With silence curled inside my chest …

Like a candle flickering in wind
Still burning in shadows
Still standing in the cold …

Like a boat on stormy water
Still floating with holes
Still rowing toward the dark …

Like a tree in winter’s grip
Still rooted in frost
Still waiting for bloom …

Like a cracked cup on a shelf
Still holding warm tea
Still passed from hand to hand …

Like a bird with torn wings
Still singing at dawn
Still watching the sky …

Ask me how
How I keep walking through the days
With silence curled inside my chest
Isn’t that what surviving means?

#roksanatales

The Blur Behind My Eyes

They don’t see the blur behind my eyes
The way light splinters into noise
How silence becomes a shield I must hold …

They don’t see the blur behind my eyes
The page swimming with shifting letters
Each sentence a mountain I climb in stillness ..

They don’t see the blur behind my eyes
Only the smile I’ve rehearsed to keep
The practiced nod that hides the storm inside ..

They don’t see the blur behind my eyes
Or the small victories I win in secret
When no one is watching, but I go on …

They don’t see the blur behind my eyes
And so I ask for grace, not answers
Compassion, not conclusions drawn too fast …

#roksanatales

Self-portrait, June, 2025

I♥️

Presence

But listen
You are allowed to take up space
To speak and not explain
To choose and not apologise
To rest without guilt

The world does not collapse when you say no
You are not unkind for drawing a line
You are not selfish for wanting more

There is power in your presence
Even when it is firm
Even when it is loud
Even when it is yours

#roksanatales

May, 2025, Oxford Circus, London

What part of you have you been quieting, and is it time to let it speak?

I♥️

Hiraeth

You live in the hush between footsteps
Where city streets hold the calm of your stride
And your coffee becomes a quiet ritual
No rush
Just the rhythm of your own becoming …

The world moves, but you are not chasing it
Shopfronts blur behind you like pages already read
Your strength wraps around your soul
Here, and now, in the heart of the everyday life …

#roksanatales

Anchoring everything without demand, May, 2025, Oxford Circus, London

Hiraeth/ Welsh
(/ˈhɪər.aɪθ/ or /ˈhɪər.æθ/)
A homesickness for a place you can’t return to, or that never was. It’s a deep longing, part memory, part desire, for something lost, or something just out of reach.

A peaceful presence touched by unspoken depth

Like Poetry in Passing

Every day, I travel a familiar path through this part of East London, from Snaresbrook’s Hermon Hill Road toward Goodmayes, often by bus. Before the journey begins, I wait quietly near the Wanstead station, where the city unfolds like the first lines of a beloved poem. I watch people drift in and out of the morning, some rushing, others strolling, each absorbed in their own little universe. The rhythm of their movements, the fragments of conversation, the laughter, even the silence, they all stir something in me.

I take pictures as a ghost photographer, quietly capturing moments that might otherwise vanish. There’s a delicate poetry in the shifting light and long shadows, in the reflections on bus windows, in the way sunlight falls across the pavement or lingers on a shop sign. Sometimes, a smell from a bakery or coffee shop floats in the air and feels like comfort. The shops along the Wanstead path are as alive as the people, restaurants bustling with breakfast prep, a florist arranging colors into bouquets, a gallery with its newest display catching the eye of a passing child. Everything is vivid, but not loud.

And yet, amid all the brightness, I sometimes notice someone who seems distant, or heavy with thought. There’s a pause in my chest when I see them. Loneliness wears many faces, and it appears even here, in this lively, fragrant, light-drenched place. I wish, in those moments, that no one ever had to feel alone. But I understand that they do. We all do. Everyone needs someone, at every stage of life.

This stretch between Snaresbrook and Goodmayes, through Wanstead, past the little park on one side and the tapestry of shops on the other has become more than a route. It’s a quiet collection of fleeting stories, of the poetry that lives in passing moments

I am simply here, watching, witnessing, and sometimes framing the world with a silent lens, hoping to hold onto the feeling that makes someone want to read a line twice ….

#roksanatales

London, May, 2025

Tell me about how much you like street photography?

Empathy

In the most vulnerable moment
As I painted these magnolias
I felt the quiet plea for understanding ….

Breathing peace, calm and mindfulness
Into each gentle stroke, I imagined a mind in turmoil
Needing patience more than correction …

That’s a healing feeling
To meet another’s struggle with still hands and an open heart
As if cradling a flower that blooms differently, but no less beautifully …

🌺

#roksanatales

As I painted the magnolia in watercolor in midst of the most vulnerable part of my life, I felt it to my core and each petal reminded me of how delicate and unique every person is, specially those living with mental challenges.

This artwork and poem are a reminder to approach others with patience, gentleness, and empathy, just as we would care for a blooming flower

Can we learn to hold each other with that same tenderness?

Also, what is the true meaning for empathy to you? What actions can we take for being a true empathetic human being?

14th May, 2025
Goodmayes, London

Sabr

If healing means honoring each small win with love, then yes, I’m all in.

Life lately has felt like a handful of mismatched puzzle pieces, confusion, mistakes, fatigue, sudden changes, and that quiet weight of uncertainty. The Edinburgh trip, though planned in a hurry, reminded me that not all plans bring peace. Sometimes, even with good intentions, things get messy, emotionally, physically, logistically. It was far from perfect. And yet we pulled it off. Safely. Together.

Somewhere on the train ride back to London, while everything inside me felt scrambled, I painted tulips. Just small strokes. Just a quiet orchestra of colour, blooming gently across paper. This little painting feels like a symbol now, not of the trip itself, but of surviving the chaos around it. Of still choosing to make something tender while in motion.

Healing, I’m learning, isn’t about always getting it right. It’s about showing up for myself anyway, in illness, in confusion, in exhaustion. It’s about pausing to notice the small things: a safe return, a single flower, a quiet breath. That’s where the love lives. In small, steady steps forward

And today, that’s enough

I♥️

#roksanatales

4th May, 2025
Edinburgh to London

Little tulips in a beautiful way
On a train journey from Edinburgh to London

Be spirited, hopeful and optimistic, no matter what!

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Sabr (صبر) (Arabic) – Patience and quiet endurance through hardship; steadfastness in the face of trials

Ubuntu

There’s No Such Thing as Normal

What is ‘NORMAL,’ really? The idea often feels like a moving target, shaped by culture, context, and conformity. When we pause to question it, we see that ‘normal’ doesn’t truly exist as a fixed standard. Instead, it’s a narrow box that fails to hold the complexity of human experience.

Each of us carries a different rhythm, a unique way of seeing, feeling, and interacting with the world. This diversity is not an exception to normalcy, it is normal. Whether our minds move fast or slow, whether we speak loudly or quietly, whether we process emotions deeply or more logically,
WE ARE ALL DIFFERENTLY NORMAL

Conditions like autism, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, and many others are often framed as ‘disorders,’ yet they are also variations of the human brain, different operating systems, not faulty ones

These ways of BEING deserve understanding, not stigma. They bring creativity, insight, resilience, and new ways of thinking into a world that needs all kinds of minds.

When we judge people based on whether they fit into a narrow mold, we all lose something. We overlook talents, silence voices, and create shame where there could be celebration

It’s time to broaden our idea of what it means to be human, and honour every variation within that spectrum.

So, let us remember: there’s no single blueprint for being OKAY, for being WHOLE, or for being RIGHT.

There is no such thing as ‘normal’ that fits us all, but there is a powerful, inclusive normalcy in our differences. And that’s something worth embracing

What would change if we stopped asking, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ and started asking, ‘What’s your way of being in the world?’

Reflect and Act

#roksanatales

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This reflection is shared in honour of Mental Health Awareness Month (May), a time to challenge stigma, open up honest conversations, and recognize that mental health is health. Celebrating the beautifully varied ways we all experience the world reminds us that difference is not disorder, and understanding is the first step to acceptance.

Let’s make space for every mind, every story, every voice

Edinburgh, Scotland (2nd of May, 2025)

Ubuntu- a Nguni Bantu term from Southern Africa meaning ‘I am because we are.’

It reflects interconnectedness, shared humanity, and the idea that everyone’s way of being contributes to the whole

Weather Within

It’s special to be special
The stars whispered your name before you were born …

You walk like thunder under a sky unsure of rain
Your eyes flicker, sunlight through fast-moving clouds

The world watches
They name your storms, chart your brightness
Forget the stillness in your quiet seas

Your laughter bursts like spring rivers
Then vanishes into frozen fields

You are not broken
You are a rare sky with weather only some learn to love …

#roksanatales

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Have you ever spent time with someone who has bipolar disorder? What was it like to be around them during their depressive episodes or manic phases? Did you notice anything in particular about how they acted or how it made you feel?

Take care
I♥️

Smile, My Friend

No Matter What, Smile

You might say it’s easy for me to say this
But let me put on your shoes and step into
your struggles
your pain
your heartaches
your betrayals
your despair
and your losses

Even then,
with all of it held in my heart,
I’ll still say this:

Smile, my friend. No matter what

#roksanatales

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What if this one small smile is the first light breaking through? You never know. So Smile always, my dear! No matter what!

Meraki

Allow yourself to be as messy as you need.
It doesn’t matter as much as you think, it doesn’t define you. What others or even you see as chaos doesn’t take away from your worth or who you truly are

And in this moment, an idea arrives gently, like a tide: Jian Bird Creates’s next Mindful Drawing Moments will be inspired by the Greek word Meraki, a beautiful reminder to create with soul, with love, and with heart, even when it’s messy

Unlearn the need to be perfect
Learn to embrace imperfection

#roksanatales

Little Mermaid in Maldives, 17 April, 2025

I’m in the Maldives right now, and I never imagined I could fall so deeply in love with the blue, aquamarine shades of the ocean

This corner of the Indian Ocean is casting a strange kind of magic within me, washing away the noise, softening my thoughts, and filling me with a calm I didn’t know I needed

Sometimes, all it takes is water, sky, and silence to remember who we are beneath it

If you love the ocean, don’t miss the Maldives, its turquoise beauty will stay in your heart forever …

Why Is Love So Sweet?

Why is love so sweet?
Maybe love is sweet because it doesn’t ask to be explained
It shows up in the smallest gestures
A glance held a little longer
A smile that stays even after you’ve looked away …

When I write ‘I♥️’
I’m not writing a word
I’m pointing toward you …
Toward the way your presence softens the edges of my day …
Toward the way love makes ordinary moments glow …
You are what I mean
Without needing to say anything more …

#roksanatales

After quite a while, I’ve written something that resembles a love poem, if it can be called that

The words came to me unexpectedly. I suddenly thought, ‘Why is love so sweet?’ And just like that, the rest flowed through me as if it had been waiting all along

On a different note, I’ve recently been watching the Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines’ and maybe, in its quiet moments and tender storytelling, it’s been softening something in me, opening a space where words like these could return

Funny question! Have you seen this Netflix series, ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines?’

I♥️

Rahmah

‘যার যার গল্প, তার তার কাছে তীব্র সত্য!’
‘Each person’s story is an intense truth to them.’

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how often we compare struggles and pain, as if one person’s suffering is somehow more valid than another’s. But the more I look around, the more I realize: every soul carries something heavy

What breaks one heart might barely shake another, not because one person is weaker, but because we all come from different stories. Different pasts. Different support systems. And that’s why empathy matters so deeply

Society often teaches us to appear strong, to move on quickly, to say things like, ‘At least it’s not worse,’ or ‘Others have it harder.’ But those words, even when meant kindly, can shut someone down. They create distance, when what we really need is connection

Empathy isn’t about fixing. It’s about feeling with. It’s about sitting beside someone and saying, ‘I may not fully understand, but I’m here with you.’

Empathy is not just emotional intelligence; it’s a spiritual practice, a way of mirroring Divine compassion in a world that often rushes past quiet suffering

In my faith, His mercy, ‘Rahmah’ is infinite. He sees every hidden struggle, every silent tear. Only God truly knows the weight of our burdens. Only He sees the full picture of our hearts. And He calls on us to reflect that mercy in how we treat one another

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said,
‘None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.’

So maybe today, let’s stop comparing struggles and pain. Let’s choose softness, gentleness, and grace. Let’s lean in. Let’s pray for one another. And above all, let’s be kind. Let’s remember, we are never truly alone. Our Lord is always with us.

LA HAWLA WA LA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAH
There is no strength and no power except through God

#roksanatales

Rahmah/ arabic/
Mercy – reflects Divine compassion and the spiritual core of your reflection

Étranger

Sometimes, I find myself simply observing those who seem ‘normal’, the way they speak, the words they choose to describe their experiences, how they react, or how they present their abilities with such careful confidence. Their ease in communication fascinates me, as if they instinctively know how to navigate social expectations.

At times, being among them makes me feel out of place, as if I exist on a different wavelength. Yet, I take myself lightly, even when they joke at my expense. I do not mind, because their amusement does not define me. In fact, I feel a strange sense of joy when they fail to understand me, because, deep down, that’s exactly what I prefer.

Those of us who are born different, who experience the world through a mind that society struggles to categorize, are often labeled with terms and diagnoses. But these labels do not define us. We are nature’s unique creation, wired to perceive life in ways they cannot grasp. And perhaps, they do not need to understand us.

Only a few people ever truly see us for who we are, and that is the rarest gift. The most powerful truth is that we are the ones who teach them how to understand us. It is not luck that allows them to connect with us, it is our choice to let them in. And for that, they are truly fortunate …

A tale from a psychologically challenged soul

#roksanatales

Cherry blossoms in Ravenscourt Park, London

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Étranger/ french
Meaning is ‘Stranger’. It reflects the sense of being apart from the norm, of existing on a different wavelength, and not being fully understood by society

Satori

If everyone approaches their work with grace and sees their path as a masterpiece in progress, each action becomes meaningful, turning life into a beautiful creation

Be a mindful rebel, challenge the ordinary with awareness, embrace creativity with intention, and walk your path with purpose

Be in the journey, for the destination is not the priority. Every step, every moment, and every experience shape the masterpiece of your life

So there is no sorrow if you travel alone, your journey is yours to embrace. Walk with courage, let solitude be your strength, and trust that every path you take is leading you exactly where you need to be

#roksanatales

Satori/ (悟り)
a Japanese word meaning ‘awakening’ or ‘enlightenment,’ capturing the essence of mindful rebellion, purposeful journeying, and embracing one’s unique path with grace.

Zikr

The hands that give will one day be empty
The voice that speaks will soon fade into silence

What remains when time takes it all away?

#roksanatales

London Central Mosque, Friday, 21 March, 2025

“Zikr” (ذکر)/ arabic word
meaning remembrance, often used in a spiritual context to signify remembering what truly matters

I♥️

Grateful

Be grateful every day, every moment!

Gratitude has the power to transform everything, even in challenges, setbacks, and uncertainty, there is always something to appreciate. When you shift your focus to what you do have, you open the door to more abundance, joy, and inner peace.

As Melody Beattie said, ‘Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.’

#roksanatales

March, 2025, London

What’s something you’re grateful for today?

Purpose

As long as God allows you to wake up each day, it means He has a purpose for you. Your life is not without meaning, even if you face struggles or feel lost. Every new day is an opportunity to grow, seek His mercy, and fulfill the purpose He has set for you.

God’s plan is greater than what we can see or understand. He tests us, but He also provides guidance and strength. When you feel overwhelmed, remember that He is always near. His mercy is vast, and His doors are always open to those who turn to Him.

Never lose hope, no matter how difficult life becomes

God’s wisdom is beyond our understanding, and every hardship carries a lesson or a hidden blessing

Keep trusting Him, keep praying, and keep moving forward. Your journey is not over, He still has beautiful things planned for you

#roksanatales

Serenity

“We work hard to ease our worries about life, by earning money, building a family, and looking after our health. Yet, we still don’t feel at peace.

At some point, we start to wonder, ‘What is life really about?’ and begin focusing on its true nature. ‘What do I need to obtain in order to live a life filled with peace of mind.’ “ – Budhdha Theory of Happiness

Peace of mind does not come from self-love alone. While self-love is important, true peace comes from a balance of many things

Gratitude, forgiveness, understanding, letting go of negativity, and accepting life as it is all help. Mindfulness, prayer, or meditation can also bring calm. Kindness to others and meaningful connections add to inner peace

The best way to gain peace of mind is to live with gratitude, patience, and trust in the journey of life.

I♥️

The Subtle Shades of Grey

Those who perceive life in rigid extremes of black and white fail to recognize the subtle shades of grey that lie in between, the complexities, nuances, and depth that shape reality. And yet, they claim to be lovers of nature, forgetting that nature itself thrives in gradients, transitions, and balance

True wisdom lies in embracing the in-between, the moments of uncertainty, the contradictions, and the unexplored perspectives

Just as the sky does not shift abruptly from day to night but fades gently through twilight, life, too, is a spectrum of experiences

To truly appreciate nature is to understand that beauty exists not just in clarity, but also in the soft, uncertain edges of change

#roksanatales

Don’t you think so too?

Susurro

A soft heart carries its pain in silence, absorbing the weight of unspoken emotions. It feels deeply, loves unconditionally, and endures quietly, often without anyone noticing. But even the gentlest heart deserves kindness, from others and from itself.

Strength lies not in hiding pain, but in allowing oneself to heal

#roksanatales

Susurro/ spanish
Whisper,’ symbolizing silent suffering and unspoken emotions

A Love Story

A love story happening everyday, here
Now and forever …

They stood by the river
Hands barely touching
The city humming around them
Unaware of the quiet storm within …

Big Ben watched in silence
Counting the seconds between heartbeats
While the London Eye turned slowly
Seeing love form and dissolve in its arc …

The water carried their voices away
Soft confessions lost in the tide
Until only the wind remembered
What they could not say …

A love story happening everyday, here
Now and forever …

#roksanatales

London, UK

I♥️

Be Gentle with Me, My Love

Be gentle with me, my love
Like the dawn touching the sea
Soft, steady, never rushing forward

Be gentle with me, my love
Like roots holding the ancient tree
Firm, patient, never demanding more

Be gentle with me, my love
Like mist wrapping the quiet hills
Light, lingering, never pressing too close

Be gentle with me, my love
Like a river shaping the stone
Persistent, tender, never breaking apart

Be gentle with me, my love
Like the moon pulling the tides
Distant, devoted, never letting go

Be gentle with me, my love

#roksanatales

I♥️