Love is abundant, faith is intact'

Aamina Sheikh, the ever-graceful powerhouse of Pakistani cinema, turned a year older and wiser this Thursday, but it wasn't just cake and candles on her mind. In a moving Instagram post, the actor shared a heartfelt reflection on her life's journey, expressing profound gratitude for both the highs and the lows. Decked out in a chic outfit and posing joyfully with balloons, Sheikh's birthday photos radiated warmth, but it was her caption that truly captured the essence of a woman embracing every twist and turn of her path.

"Entering this year with a hop and a skip," she began, adding a playful touch with a trio of cartwheeling emojis. Yet, it was her words that followed which really hit home, resonating with many who have faced their own storms.

"Alhamdulillah for everything that life brought my way. It gives me goosebumps and makes me teary when I look back and see how undoubtedly a source greater than me kept my head above the water in my darkest times," Sheikh wrote. The actor acknowledged the divine interventions that have guided her, crediting a higher power for providing clarity during the foggiest of times.

Sheikh's post continued to delve into her profound belief in divine plans, a reminder that even when life feels like it's crumbling, it's all part of a grand design. "When we think our world is shattering, indeed the divine force is doing it for us, as much as it would seem otherwise, to bring us to a far better place unimagined," she reflected. Sheikh even included a Quranic verse emphasising her belief that God is, indeed, the best of planners.

With a tone that balanced introspection and optimism, the Jackson Heights actor looked to the future with a clear sense of purpose. "Life is simple, love is abundant, faith is intact, will is stronger, purpose is clear," she observed, grounding her gratitude in the simplicity of everyday blessings. She echoed the sentiment of finding miracles in the mundane, especially in a world often fraught with chaos.

In a poignant conclusion, Sheikh drew inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr, writing, "Use me God. Show me further, how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself."

The Cake actor has been making new fans lately for her feel-good takes on life's various adversities. For Sheikh, such optimism was not always easy to find. In an earlier appearance on a Momkast podcast, she shared, "For a while, I had to choose between my child and my passion."

The initially career-oriented Sheikh originally nursed a burning passion for unusual roles. She will be known to fans, for example, for her portrayal of athlete Naseem Hamid in Bhaag Amina Bhaag, which was particularly close to Sheikh's heart, despite loving all the plays she has worked on.

"Any project that required me to learn something new - that is what is close to my heart. Bhaag Aamina Bhaag challenged me so much physically, because in order to be able to run - even though it was managed on film - I had to be able to train for it."

Eventually, Sheikh realised that this non-stop routine was not a sustainable lifestyle. "For a while I had to choose, what takes priority here?" she recalled. "My child or my passion? I had to reestablish my family, my ground. I put work on the backburner - and Alhamdulillah I could, monetarily speaking."