pit stop

Some people, like me, wonder what's going on in their life, when some things that they've learned or do before could only affect or work in their lives temporarily. Maybe my words are kind of jumbled but I hope it is understood here that what I am actually feeling now is that I have been through a lot of ' touch and go' along the way. I have a wide range of interest, but more of an observer or spectator rather than the practical doer. Some things that I have actually tried, even though I really like it, I haven't been doing it consistently. Or, I haven't been able to do it.

Lately, there has been something lurking from within the depths of my soul. Something that tells me that I haven't been doing anything 'real'. I feel like I am more like a 'use when needed' tool rather than a constantly working machine. Well, not that I would like to be a machine, but someone with a real use, and someone who's using her real ability to support and enjoy her life. Not someone who is just filling up an empty position.

With those two paragraphs above, I'm just trying to form the mixed thoughts inside into something comprehensive and to tell myself that I want something that I can 'touch and stay'. Being in focus is one of the problems that I need to work out. The means for life sustenance, freedom of debts ... those are also the things to be secured when trying to change a life.

What has already happened can't be changed. There's always a reason for those things to happen, and there's always something to learn. I'm trying to be happy with all of this. And while enduring this, I wish for the strength to always working my way to a more fulfilling life.

can you handle the Aleph?

Title : Aleph (English translated version from the original Portuguese)

Author : Paulo Coelho

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2011

Pages : 300 pages

googled image

 

How did I start to read Aleph? First, I wanted to try to read a different type of material than the ones I usually read. Then, I asked a friend, what kind of book does he read, and he is not actually a voracious reader, but he said he had read some Paulo Coelho's book and liked it. I haven't heard of Mr. Coelho's name before, and I've never read his books so far, so why not give it a try?

 

I picked up this title because it is about a person's journey of self-discovery and I always like to read about this kind of things, always intrigued about one's personal journey. This novel is an autobiographical of the author's journey to 'find back his kingdom'. For that reason he travelled all the way starting from Africa, and through Europe and Asia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Just before he started his journey, he met a Turkish young woman named Hilal, a violin prodigy with a troubled past, who seems to be in a journey to find herself back again too, and in order to do that, she must follow the author. Together they travel, with the whole entourage, and during the long ride and the many stops, the author, Hilal and Yao, the author's interpreter with his own story, experienced many encounters that I can't find any simple word to summarize it here. But the main subject of their exploration is the Aleph. What is the Aleph? I don't have any idea what is the Aleph that the author is writing about (but of course he explains it in the novel, and from that explanation, the Aleph is somewhat related to a place where a person can go back to the past and see his past life). In this novel, the author relates how he and Hilal, during the journey, 'find' their past and seek to revitalise their present lives through each other.  

 

Honestly, I am not sure how to review this book, since it is autobiographical, but the concept of the main subject i.e. the Aleph (or the incarnation) is somewhat diverged from my belief and faith. I am not a learned scholar in this matter, suffice to say that I have read some Quran verses regarding it. And so I just leave it to the author and the readers who believe it. However, the things that I enjoy and able to take out from this novel are some of the wise and beautiful words of thoughts that are inspiring, for example, some of my favourites as follows;

 

"Don't be intimidated by other people's opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do."

"A life without a cause is a life without effect."

"If you want to see a rainbow, you have to learn to see the rain."

 ...and some others. Regardless of the difficulty of the topic, when reading with an open mind while keeping my faith intact, I always like the idea of making a journey for life's lessons. Go to new places, refresh our mind and see things in different perspectives. Life is a series of many journeys.

Merdeka 2012 Album 3

Album 1 | Album 2

The End



Merdeka 2012 Album 2

No words...just photos

Album 1 | Album 3

Merdeka 2012 Album 1

31st August 2012, Malaysia's 55th Independence Day was celebrated. This album contains my snapshots from the parade at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, some with a little bit of editing.

Album 2 | Album 3

...I love parades and marching bands...

rindu

ada ketikanya, hati ini meniti batas-batas rindu
rindu yang subur, mekar dan mewangi
rindu yang dibaluti sayu
sayu akan kejauhan
kejauhan
jauh

dan setiap kali, rindu itu menjadi keazaman
keazaman dibaluti harapan
harapan bersulam usaha
dan doa
redha

hati ini cuba mempelajari, cuba menerima
cuba mencari kekuatan
pergilah ke mana-mana sekalipun
hati ini kembali menyerah
padaMu

hati ini perlu dipujuk
tolong...malam ini
jangan sayu
jangan...
pilu


The dreamer©2012

buat saja...

solat

kecil-kecil diajar bersolat. mula-mula ikut-ikut dulu. mini kopiah, mini jubah, mini telekung...kiut sangat. ikutlah ikut, walau sujud seperti superman tengah terbang di atas sejadah. bila dah besar sikit, belajar pula wudhu' dan bacaan-bacaan dalam solat. ayah dan ibu sentiasa ajak anak-anak solat berjemaah. terutama si ayah... kalau ayah bukan pemimpin keluarga yang baik, payah. kecil-kecil tak biasa berjemaah, tak biasa diajak ke masjid, bila besar bagaimana nak merasakan roh ummah? ayah dan ibu tegur anak pasal solat. ayah dan ibu sendiri mesti buat. bagi contoh kat anak-anak, baru anak pandang hebat.

bila besar lagi, dah pandai solat, tapi belajar solat tak pernah habis sampai ke hujung hayat. asas teknikal dah pandai, penjiwaan pula diberi tumpuan. fahami maksud, hafalkan surah-surah mudah, bacakan di dalam solat. sebelum itu...wudhu'. tak sempurna wudhu' tak sempurnalah solat. kemudian pergerakan. buat sesempurna mungkin, selagi sihat tubuh badan. lepas solat tambahkan zikir, hebatkan doa. rendahkan diri, tumpahkan air mata, pun tak apa.

ingat diingatkan, biar solat terasa berisi, semakin tua semakin tunduk, bukan tunduk melayan kantuk. tapi tunduk kepada yang disembah, agar sentiasa diberi petunjuk. Tuhan telah menjanjikan, solat itu pencegah kemungkaran. tetapi solat yang bagaimana. bukan yang macam burung belatuk. solat yang sempurna haruslah sentiasa diusahakan.

al-quran

kecil-kecil diajar alif ba ta. kenal huruf kenal sebutan. mula-mula baca muqaddam. kemudian 'upgrade' quran besar. kadang-kadang lagi besar dari tuan punya badan. belajarlah dengan guru mengaji, tidakpun dengan ayah dan ibu jika mereka mampu. belajar tajwid, belajar lagu. tak berlagu pun tak apa asalkan tajwid terpelihara. lain sebut lain maknanya. bukan semua orang pandai bahasa arab. bacalah juga walau tak faham. bila khatam, ramai buat majlis, pulut kuning bagai. bukan wajib tapi galakan. 'motivate' anak cepat khatam quran. tapi lepas khatam jangan terbiar pula, quran berhabuk di dalam gobok. bacalah baca, baca selalu, biar belum faham tapi kumpullah pahala. semakin besar semakin tahu. quran dibaca bukan saja-saja lagi. apa lagi bertadabburlah. jika dulu target nak habis satu juzuk satu hari, kini biarlah faham makna ayat walau satu ayat sehari. baca tafsir pun boleh, belajar dengan ustaz zahazan dalam majalah 'Solusi' atau IKIM FM pun boleh, belajar dengan imam suhaib webb dalam rancangan 'Reflections' pun boleh, tapi lebih baik belajar dengan guru 'eye to eye'. sebenarnya bila dibiasa-biasakan...akan terkesan juga di dalam hati, akan terasa juga keindahan kalimah Allah, walaupun pada permulaan mungkin rasa biasa-biasa. teruslah istiqamah, agar lafaz kepercayaan dan keimanan kita bukan hanya sekadar di mulut, bukan sekadar taqlid, tetapi turut terasa di hati dan di dalam jiwa.

insyaAllah, bila amalan meresap di dalam jiwa, dunia terasa lebih bahagia...

Nota: kata-kata di atas bukanlah satu leteran atau ceramah tetapi hanyalah kata-kata peribadi merangkumi harapan dan impian penulis untuk dirinya dan anak-anak buah serta 'bakal' anak-anaknya.