A wander through Arab Street and designing a life…

On an evening stroll through Arab St, I’d been enchanted by the colourful shop fronts and heady smells emanating from the many spice shops and Malay and Turkish restaurants.

Businesses in this quarter range from the more traditional import/export businesses, selling carpets and textiles, jewellery and basket ware, to quirky boutiques selling clothes, design wares and all manner of objets – even French hairdressers and a cat petting café…

All are housed in ‘first generation’ colourful shop houses in the area designated to house the Arab Kantong, or Muslim Quarter, back in 1822 when Sir Stamford Raffles drew up the town plan for Singapore.

One particularly intriguing boutique, Lifestyle by Design, offering the usual essential oils and occult paraphernalia, had a sign outside offering tarot readings and life counselling. What not to like…

Naturally we headed back on Saturday for a consultation and, unable to get bookings until the next day, we spent the rest of the day dipping in and out of the various shops,  eventually dropping into The Singapura Club for a delicious, if somewhat erratically served lunch accompanied by ice cold beer, which because of the pure heat, I enjoy in Asia if nowhere else!

Visible from everywhere in the area is the Sultan Mosque, or Masjid Sultan, with it’s Gold dome catching the eye from around every bend.

The current mosque was built in the early 1900’s and is considered one of the most important Mosques in Singapore. During Ramadan there’s a special food market operating on weekends surrounding the mosque and it’s intriguing to see so much activity around food during the day when not even a drop of water can be taken between sun up and sun down. Perhaps one grows accustomed after so many years but it must nevertheless be a form of torture handling food during this very holy month.

So, back to designing a life and the visit to Brian, the life counsellor which took place the next day. I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes right now, but whether it’s sheer perception or spiritual insight, sometimes they just get it right.

When I’d made the booking, Brian had explained that I needed to come back with specific questions that I wanted answered and this would guide the type of session and whether indeed the cards were even consulted. I didn’t go in wanting to find out about my love life , or whether I’d ever be rich but chose to explore my life ‘purpose’ – what I should be doing in order to feel fulfilled and lead a happy life. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the details but I’m happy to share that between Brian and the cards the consensus is that, for the time being at least, I’m on the right path 🙂

Sharing our feedback afterwards at lunch my friend and I both agreed that Brian was on the money – sometimes it’s simply confirming what you already know and making you more aware of your strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes there’s something more if you choose to listen and maybe to believe.