THERE ARE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH OLD SPIRITS AND OLD PEOPLE WITH YOUNG SPIRITS. YOUTH IS ENTHUSIASM, POSITIVITY, CURIOSITY, AND EXPLORATION Madame Sana, 72, married at 18 and had two girls by 22. She didn’t go to university but she refused to live without purpose. In wartime, she studied painting, sculpture and poetry in Paris and eventually returned to Lebanon where she, and fellow artists, resisted the war through their work. For a decade, she ran summer camps that introduced children to museums and theatre and art. When her own children were grown, she began organizing adventures abroad with trips to India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Yemen, Uzbekistan and Burma. On eternal youth Some people have it, others don’t. There are young people with old spirits and old people with young spirits. Youth is enthusiasm, positivity, curiosity, and exploration.
On happiness Happiness is gratefulness and being thankful and having faith. I get my happiness through my kids and grandkids as well. When they are happy, I am happy. On gaining wisdom You realize how privileged you are and you want to give back, so you start helping others.
On breaking rules I used to skip school and go to the beach. I wasn’t allowed to wear bathing suits but I would hide one in my bag and wear it when I got to the beach.
On nostalgia I miss my mother and how Beirut used to be. But I am very much in the present. I don’t want to live in the past. I am always thinking about tomorrow, ready to turn the next page. I have a thousand things still to do. I take care of my garden in Batroun, I take care of widows at an NGO, I go to exhibitions. On living the dream I used to joke with my husband, saying, “I want a house with a mulberry tree, a fig tree and a pool” … and now I have a house with a mulberry tree, a fig tree and a pool.
On technology I wasn’t interested in it until recently. On one trip to India, we were celebrating a fiftieth wedding
anniversary and I was speaking to the extremely successful 80-year-old patriarch. I asked him the secret to success. He said, “Throw that book away. The secret to success is staying up to date. Start using a computer!” I came back to Beirut, bought a laptop, found myself a teacher and some training and I learned how to used it. On living successfully It is to be fulfilled and to have inner stability. You start gathering this from when you’re a child. If you are comfortable with yourself, the people who love you are also comfortable with you. Success is also about being innovative, doing things no one has ever done before – like my summer camps and trips to India. Remember to say yes to everything. One day a friend who really enjoys collecting antiques suggested we travel and bring back a container of goods to Lebanon. I said yes!. When we returned we found an outdoor space and started the first flea market, Souk el Barghout, in Beirut. On equality Things are not always fair. For example, with inheritance, a woman doesn’t get what the man gets, and I found that really unjust.
On motherhood I encourage every girl to experience motherhood. It’s beautiful. There are many different stages in the life of a girl and one of them is motherhood. One of my daughters hasn’t married but I always encourage her to find a way to get pregnant. The happiest days of my life are when each of my kids came.
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