Hekayat Banat : 10 Personal Growth Lessons You Need to Live By
As another Egyptian Drama comes to the rescue to get me out of my confusion about life, I binge watch Hekayat Banat season3 in a week’s time, while skipping some lengthy conversations towards the end I havetoadmit I was relating to most of what Ahlam concludes and comments on as a lifelong lesson, one I needed to hear.
Having some conflicted opinions about some controversial instances in the show, my focus was, the lessons the show brought to my attention, which I related with and felt that they where indeed worthy to me. About friendships, relationsships with people llike neighbours, relatives and lovers. Moreover, adding t the lightness of the show was the scenario and slang, feminine at times, and expressive in tones and expressions, the performmance of Ahlam, the Jordanian Palestinian Actress in Egyption dialict was for me allthemore enticing, it reminded me of how much I love to converse with my friends in different Arabic dialicts, and it reminded me that I too can enjoy the lightness and musicality of Egyptian dialict with more freedom, it creates super fun dynamic conversations.
Close friendships that are buillt on honesty are major stepping stone for building healthy relationships with everyone else in your life, if you can express your inner world to your close friends in a meaningful, light way that builds more on to your connction, you can easily master the art of building relationships with other people, whether its your neighbour, your gym coach or martial arts sensi, and anyone you meet on the daily life, work, etc.
Having close friends, healthy trusting and honest friendships, , they are the people who you know for sure they are there for you whatever happens, makes your life much easier and more beautiful.
Watch Hekayat Banat Season 3 for free on Youtube
1/ When you are sad, don’t be sad alone
This, and I immeidately tried it, not only did it bring me closer to my best friend, we shared intimate moments, but also, it created a long term effect, the next day was full of love and joyful times. Feeling like youcan talk about your problems freely to you friend is truly reliefing in times of hardship. Ahlam in the show mentioned this in one of the episodes, and after I tried it, I tasted the magic of it. It helped me get out of my mind and not be scared to share more with people I trust. It definitely transformed me and my relatitonships after I used to close up and ovethink about my worries in life on my own.
Listen to Hekayat Banat soundtrack 1 – by composer Mohammed Medhat
2/ Pain is here to teach us something, to trasform us.
The stronger the pain,the bigger the transformation to our better selves will be. Althoug I didn’t like what Hadi di to Ahlam in the show, but their relationship and conversations were so intersting for me. He once told Ahlam how he sees pain as a holy thing, that without it we will not be who we are, how we should respect it and value it, because after going through it (which is inevitable) and after the darkest of painful hours we spend in this life, it ges us to a whole new level. Pain is the sacrifice we make in this life so we can get the sweetness of it, we need pain to grow and to elevate our experiences. What’s important is to undertand that pain will always exist, and we as human are susceptible for it. We have no choice but to go throught it fully, while promising ourselves that this pain will one day feel more distant and bearble, things in our days that this pain will be there but it will not have power over us.
Listen to Hekayat Banat soundtrack 2– By composer Mohammed Medhat
3/ Regret
People often say that they regret nothing, nothing they do, say or go through in life. and to be honest, I always thought about this idea, it got to my head, but never to my heart.Watching Hekayat Banat, especially Episode 16, it made me realise that it is okay to live with regret, and actually accept regret as a natual consequence of our wrongs. It’s okay to regret letting some people in, after they hurt you, to regret saying things to the people you love and treating them out of fear and hurt them, because you are still learning to love yourself.
Sometimes we do or say things, we think its out of love, but in reality, we have yet to love deeper, ourselves first, so only then we are stronger and kinder to those around us, incabable of hurting others,. But no one is perfect, and everyone is going through this life for the first time (shock), learning to love themselves everyday, our parents, our collegues, our freinds, and our exes!.
Once you get on the journey to love and accept yourself, by time you will start to see the past differently, you might regret not saying no to some people, and the way you let yourself get hurt so badly. Regret is about realising there is a price for doing ‘wrong’, either to yourself or others, and love will make you accept the price you have to pay with a big heart, because its your mistakes, its what makes you, you <3
4/ Losing someone is the most paiful feeling in life
Whether its a family member, a friend or a lover, losing someone will leave a mark in your heart, so always be careful who you let close to your heart, reflect often on the relationships with those around you, and ask yourself from time to time, what if I lose this person? its never easy, and if it happens, look for answers within you, what is this loss teaching me about myself and my role in this life?
Its hard to accept the death of someone we love, sometimes it feels impossible to forget or move on.. Life does move on, it has to, wheather we accept it or not. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live on with the memory of those whom we loved, those who left us and are not coming back.
Its not death itself that hurts us, its the pain of losing someone. Learn to accept the fact that you are hurt and that no one else, even the closest to you, can share this loss with you, even if they understand you. Loss is so personal and lonely, the hurt is so personal, acknowledge it, talk to it, and talk to God about it, He is the only one that can keep you sane.
Moments with people who understand your loss are priceless, cherish them. In the midst of the storm that breaks us, other things come to cheer us up and give us hope in tomorrow, what’s really important in life is to keep what you already have
5/ Achiving your dreams is the most joyous feeling in life
‘A dream is a wish your heat makes’ 🎶 its the light in tomorrow, its the reason why we wake up everyday and decide to make a cup of coffee, and go on with this life. Sometimes life shows us the bad and ugly before the good, keeping a positve attitude through the darkness is what the journey is really about.
Stay honest with yourself, always keep on learning about yourself, your soul, and all its details. That will help you know your dreams, and light up your days. The journey will not be easy all the time, but try to keep postive and do what you got to do.
There will be voices inside you that are scared of failure, don’t listen to them. Try to keep positive as much as you can. Staying postive can almost feel impossible at times, but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying to stay postive.
6/ Forgive, before you let go
Do it for yourself, and for those whom you love. Its a gift to your future self, it requires you to process internally a lot, question and rethink everything, but remember just because someone did you wrong doesn’t mean that you should get in the shoes of the prosecuter, leave that to God, and remember that the stronger one is the one who can forgive.
7/ When in doubt, focus on your growth
Joy is the luxary in life, especially for those who are living horrible inhumane wars, as a result of the mass indignity, and for those of us who have a scar in their hearts caused by severe loss. For me, joy describes what I feel when I take a moment to realise the power and beauty of being alive, like I am lucky for merely having a chance at this life. But when this feeling is rare, or hard to cultivate, I turn to my growth. Growth can look like many things, from succeeding at enjoying a song when I have a bad day, to dedicating my time and eneregy for helping a family member in anything they need. Focus on growth and enjoy the journey.
In the end, Hekayat Banat Season 3 wasn’t just a drama I binged for fun—it was a journey that made me pause and reflect on so many parts of my life. The lessons it carried about friendships, love, pain, regret, and growth were not just scenes on a screen; they were reminders of things I needed to hear. It brought me closer to myself and to the people around me. It made me laugh, cry, and think deeply about the beauty and messiness of life. Isn’t that what good storytelling is all about?
