Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

Salam.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha...1410..almost end of another Hijrah year..Sacrifice..that's the theme of the Raya. So, what have I done that could be condone as my sacrifice this year? Hmm..let me see. My dad, my mom, Aleesya, my friends...even if I could quantify everything I have sacrificed for them, I could not ignore that they have done exactly the same thing for me. I could not discount the blessings which Allah has given me throughout this year. I could not forget the misdeeds I did the whole year, which I think deduce the amount of good I did..hmm..it's not easy right? It is never easy to understandy the purity of sacrifice as taught to us in Islam. Even if we slaughter tens and hundreds of cows or goats, would that be enough? Would that show our sincerity to Allah for all He has done for us? Subhanallah, in my 36 years of life I think I only sacrifice not even 1/100th of my life for You. I've done more sins then I could ever imagine. But I also try my best to do good in this world and I hope Allah will accept that...eventually..I know I have long way to go. I'll continue to pray that I will have the strength to be even a better person..insyaAllah...

Inner compass...

Salam,

The first time I heard this word- 'Inner Compass' was in my ethics class. Dr Posiah, our Ethics lecturer was trying to explain how a person could choose between two almost similar choices. Like if you know something about your best friend's partner and you have this dilemma either to spare him/her the pain or being the good friend and tell the truth, the inner compass would be the best tool. It sort of gives you the direction that you need and almost often the compass is influenced by the way you were brought up. I heard this word again today when I was watching 'Leverage' . It was supposed to be the season finale where Nate, the main character had a major decision to make. So he called Sophie and asked her to come back, not because to help him thru another problem but just to be there, to be his 'inner compass' (figures..men..why do they always had to be in trouble first before they actually admit that they need you there? ishh...)..Anyway, I come to realise we are not only required to have an inner compass but sometimes we will become one to a person who means so much to us. It's like one compass is not enough. Probably what attracts a man to a woman is because his compass is pointing south and hers is pointing north. Now, that is what is popularly known as 'opposite attracts'..

My 2 cents..again

The meaning of life...

Salam,

My second time writing this in the same day. A record!! Anyway, could not help writing again. Just finish watching an inspiring movie-"Mrs. Alice Washington goes to Smith". From the title, I expected another goofy movie about an old lady doing goofy stuffs (something like 'Rombongan Cik Kiah'). From the info, the movie was about a woman named Alice Washington who was cheated by her husband and decided to further her studies, getting the degree that she was supposed to get 30 years ago when she decide to marry her husband instead. The whole movie was about her adventures. Again, in my mind, I thought "OMG, another feel good movie about some lady changing her luck". I was not wrong about the storyline but totally wrong about the impact. Watching it for the next 2 hours, I could not help smiling and laughing at the irony of the movie. And at the end of it, I did (and I'm not ashamed to admit) I cried. The thing is even if this movie is as cliche as the title suggested but it was well played by the characters. Alice was a typical woman who thought she had everything she ever wanted and life got cruel when her husband dumped her for a younger woman. Typical right? She decided to pursue her degree instead of wallowing about it. Again, typical right? What is not typical were the things she did when she was pursuing it. She agreed (with slight resistance at first) to share her room with a 20 year old prodigee who turned to be her BFF throughout her studies there, and also the one who taught her few things about modern day dating. She joined the basketball team and allowed herself to be trained by another 20 year old who seemed to believe that she was talented. She danced with the girls in her dorm when stress crept in as they were in their final exam weeks. She let the girls taught her about the do's and don't of the fashion world and they loved her for it. And to think at that time she was 47 years old with a 25 year old lawyer daugther and 19 years old genius son! As I watched she grew in the movie, I realised that this movie is about someone taking the risks to relive her life in the midst of all her problems. Of course, as any feel-good movie, it was a happy ending but how it ends made a whole lot different compare to other feel-good movies. It ends with her holding her head up and getting that dignitiy she lost the day her husband left her. That is the meaning of life. Yes, it's true that life is temporary but Allah did not create all this for us to wallow into self-pity. ALLAH wants us to live our life to the fullest, spread our wings and find that meaning. ALLAH wants us to look in ourselves and see that HE has created the best in us. That is why HE never set any age-limit in finding knowledge. Even our beloved Prophet (p.b.u.h) continued seeking for it up to his last day..and each knowledge we find, we become wiser and each time we grow wiser, we are one step to reach the meaning of life..and this is the principle that I will try to hold for the rest of my life. Age should not hinder me in anyway....InsyaAllah...

Intergrity of food..sellers..

Salam,
Today I went to TESCO Shah Alam to buy some groceries (as usual). After an hour of grocery shopping, I decided to but some kaya balls. Haven't had them for a long time and they seemed to smell so good as the aroma travels around, suggesting a great, pure taste of round, fluffy pancake-liked dough with kaya inside. Well, Rm2.50 per 10 pieces of pure...crap!!! was what I got. Half of the balls were burnt and the kaya tasted like it was made like a year ago! (almost near its deadline, I supposed)..I was disappointed. But what intrigued me to write in this blog is not the kaya balls. It's the fact that the kaya-balls sellers got away with this and still sold enough to make a profit for them to continue the business. And the even pathetic part of all this is that she (I presumed the owner is a she) is not alone. Over the years, I've encountered many similar incidents. Food sellers without integrity. The funny thing is they started really good. The food tasted like heaven and they were, at that point of time, promising. Unfortunately, some of them decided that it is not profitable to maintain the quality of the food. They started to cut the ingredients here and there and used lower quality brands. The taste of the food become even blander and customers started to complain. But do they care? Of course not! They turn to other customers..the first timers who they still can con to buy their food. No moral conscious whatsoever. This situation is even apparent during the Ramadhan fest, the infamous 'Bazar Ramadhan'. Supposedly, this particular month is the time we can see variety of food around Malaysia and is when our taste buds figuratively will beg us for mercy, but what do we get? We end up getting only a spoonful of really good food. The rest are merely ingredients mixed together without any taste or passion about it. Someone I know said that if we want good food, we must be prepared to pay for it as quality ingredients are expensive. My question is why should we? To begin with, the cheaper ingredients are already of good quality. We get some of the best local producers of great ingredients with cheaper price. Quality of the ingredients should not be blame. To me, it is about the mixing process..a.k.a the chefs! Some of the sellers thought that they could cheat on the ingredients to save cost. What they did was cheating on their own skills (if they even have any in the first place)..So, if we are to get good food in the future, I guess the best way is..we learn to cook it on our own..Hello AFC...

My 2 cents..

Perception vs Assumption

Salam,

These two words are used almost interchangeably. Another word often associated to these words is 'fitnah'. Well, the latter is the worst of all. It brings out the worst side of a person because it is based on fictions and the consequences often are detrimental. Perception, on the other hand, is based on experiences. He or she (trying not ot be gender bias here) will sort of 'calculate' the consequences based on past events. It's like predicting a trend, really. Assumption is in between. It is fictionous but yet based on some (probably to some extend, unrelated) facts. Of course, this is not the real definition. It is, presumably, my PERCEPTION of the meaning of these words. What intrigued me to write about this is the truth that comes with these words. I was once asked to eloborate further on these words. As I explained, I realised that all these words are related at some point. We begin with assumptions, which in turn, become perception as we relate to our past and experiences. Eventually, as we become a little bit excited about the prospect of truth in our perceptions, we step into the world of 'fitnah'. We begin to colour the truth with fictions. It is inevitable. So, my friend asked me if we should refrain ourselves from making any perception nor assumption. My anwer is NO. After all, life is not about certainty. Many parts of our life begin with making assumptions. I guess we could not avoid this. The only thing we can do is to make sure that we exit from the realm of perception and assumption as it near the 'fitnah' stage. As a child, we were always told that we must be aware of our surroundings as that could guide us to the truth. As a child, we were told to follow out heart as our heart holds the truth. Thus, any assumptions or perceptions which we are going to make in our life will be guided by the truth if we follow exactly these advices. Unfortunately, those who give the advices are also making perceptions on their own, thinking that such guidance could help these children as it helped them. Thus, what can we do? I don't have the answer, really. But I could share my experience. Which is exactly what I am doing right now.

Just my 2 cents...

First thought...

Salam,

This is my nth attempt to write in a blog. Tons of ideas but somehow having difficulty to put it in words. But, insyaAllah, hopefully this time around it would stay...