its all the matter of the heart

its been a real while since my last post, but I'll try and make myself think and write a lot more. probably in this case, think and type more.

well, no need saying but we're halfway through the holy month right now and in line with that, vicmuslim took the chance to hold an iftar in-conjunction with their agm. what i blog about may not make the least sense, but maybe its just something to ponder upon.

the numbers that came that night was slightly above average but lacked the attendance of the blokes. when time came for fast to break, dates were passes from one to another. it was then that i realised a caucasian guy amongst our presence. not that i have anything agaisnt white people, the only thought that occurred to me was that he was a mualaf or a new convert to Islam. maybe i shouldn't question faiths but knowing of a new arrival is something that we should really be proud of. a new brother amongst us. we're growing after all. spotted was also vuwsa's international officer.

the event preceeded well throughout the evening. the only matter that started to make me think was during the terawih solat. it was the caucasian guy. while others were in the midst of solat, he sat behind us, just watching. so, okay, he wasn't a mualaf then, but he might be there to cover this activity. probably for vuwsa purposes.

what had me really thinking is that, while some of us escape or choose not to do even the simplest solat terawih, Allah blessed him with the patience to wait and watch us. i don't know how other people would react, but he could have simply done something else in the mean time. he could've ran off, talked to someone or even read the all-over-the-place salient if he wanted to. BUT he chose to have his eyes on the solat. what if he had a small glint in his heart to embrace Islam? i think his action, even though he wasn't muslim shows that at times even non-Muslims portray a better character that how we are.

ps: towards the end of the agm, the caucasian guy actually won the final prize of the night's lucky draw much to the envy of the other attendees. but again he warmed our hearts, knowing what it was (a rice cooker), he quickly passed the still wrapped box back to the former president as a contribution to the club's mussola.
i guess we are given signs from day to day to learn from. i guess this is just one of them
thank you mr. caucasian guy.

much ado over what to do?

as harsh as it sounds i actually accused a person of being artificial the other day. the allegation came upon hearing of an existence of a 2nd life. then did it only strike me. was i close to reality myself?

it might be strange, but the fact that we've had soap operas and teen flicks before reality tv shows deepens the question more. the representation of lives of others through enactments wonders me- which end are these on? does it act to show reality or are they just plain creations made for entertainment? the fact that the matter in contention is nothing new is quite surprising. for long enough, we've had fictional books, out of the world movies and comedy programs thats strangely always funny. one might say its reality as for the most of us, the content is still to the extent of being believable. despite such thoughts, how likely are they anyway? another worrying end-product also comes to mind, has these man-made-far-from-reality creations altered our lives?

the pictures portrayed- emotions of love, death defying scenes- i might claim, are all far from reality. however crazy these seem to be, we always choose to believe in them and how one would dream to have a similar fate is always fascinating. children aren't sparred from such a disease. cartoon programs, superheros and cases of kids admitting that they're a type of pokemon is nothing new. we are swayed after all.

well, do excuse me for my long introduction. worried over such realism that i posses, comes another problem many of those in my age range is concerned of. already in university but yet to see a clear path in life. its not anyone's responsibility for such an occurrence nor is it the fault of the person in contention. i'm not trying to start the blame game here but maybe, yes maybe such portrayal of lives through the mediums beforehand mentioned has in some way changed the course of our lives.

the thought of achieving that perfect life portrayed would always be on the minds of us sane beings. dreams of falling in love, of having that perfect life with the perfect house and the repeated phrase of 'happily ever after' is nothing new. its sweet. those thoughts.

i know this post is long, take a break and do enjoy this. i'm particularly interested at its creativity, here's to a good life :)

confused as you may call me. i do admit into accepting that myself. just like a few others. donald trump might help in making me more confused. the apprentice as many may have seen, is just a brief encounter of the small world. yet the opportunities that is provided is totally absurd. you may call it a reality program but how really close to reality is it despite the very classification it claims to be.

well, maybe i'm just concerned over the transitional period. after being a life long learner, its just too sudden to see that profession come to an end. work suddenly comes into the frame. it wouldn't be laughable when one thinks of whether the chosen path is right for them let alone whether they would able to adapt to it even if they do love the job. uncertain as it may seem, one would bound to go through such a stage in life (unless they're born super-duper rich). just like how a child has to anxiously go through the first day in school and how the once proud high school senior finds a shocking step into unversity, its all about that big metamorphosis, one cannot escape from facing. anxious, yes, but i did actually take a career test earlier on in life (i had to scavenge through to find the results). i'll share the results.

you like the interest type 3- finance and economics
you seem to be interested in organising and managing the economic, accounting and financial areas of business. giving advice about stocks and shares, finance and investment may appeal to you. you could consider working involving the applications of maths and statistics to economic problems, analysing economic and business trends and making forecast about these. you could also enjoy the areas of law, taxation and insurance and their effects on business and employment.

you like the interest type 6- language and literature
perhaps you are attracted to this type of work which involves a high level of skill in verbal or written communication. you may enjoy writing books or articles, reviewing and criticising or cataloging documents. giving talks and lectures may appeal to you, as may interpreting , translating and using foreign languages. you might like work which requires an interest in literature, language, drama or history as well.

you like the interest type 4- art and design
work involving fine art, the history of art, architecture or sculpture seems to appeal to you. this type of work could involve a high level of artistic taste of knowledge of design principles and techniques. it could also require artistic ability where you would need to able to produce creative and original work. the administration, management or organisation of art galleries, museums may be of interest to you.

the three mentioned fields are on the same level of interest. according to the report, all three are equally on 'like' terms, the highest in the hierarchy being 'strong like'. there are another three fields which i did not mention of but for the time being, i'll just make it known that there aren't of my interest. from the report, they've also listed out recommendations for a career. the top 10 are as follows in chronological order,

arts administrator
architect
interior designer
museum curator
art gallery director/manager
publisher/editor
retail buyer
technical illustrator
advertising account executive
copywriter

shockingly, the closest suggested career that suits my current status in uni comes at number 9. if thats anything to worry about, most would worry over the transitional period that comes post-uni. the uncertainty and the unknown reality makes it all too complex.




ps: kids, i don't have anything against pokemon :P

dear buffalo, your sacrifice has teached me a lot

Lets imagine a world without search engines. No Google, no yahoo and no msn whatsoever. Okay, i wont be that harsh. I'm sure one would look at me as if i'm suggesting that there shouldn't be any holidays by saying that.

Talking about holidays, this particular post is actually long overdue. I'll try and mix up a few topics because I know my mind is always in a mish-mash. Eid al-adha. I confess, my family doesn't actually live up to the event as much as eid al-fitr, but still a celebration is still a celebration. But the particular question now is, what happens when the event gets marred by other factors? I do reckon that being brought up in such a faith, the ibadah korban is of particular significance. It acts as a remembrance to how Prophet Ibrahim was willing to adhere to Allah's commands- in sacrificing his beloved son, Prophet Ismail. On that particular lesson in history, Allah sparred Prophet Ismail's life by replacing him with a lamb instead.

In commemorating what had happened, able Muslims would in turn sacrifice certain animals. Now here comes the problem. According to Quran, most of the meat that come from the sacrificed animal is to be given to the poor, which acts as another significance of the day- to include the needy in the celebration. But what I saw this year was exactly shocking. My family had a portion in the sacrificed buffalo, which i reckon was mostly shared with my aunts and uncles. Instead of expecting the meat pile to rise up, the exact opposite happened. It was slowly gone- not that it was given away or anything it was stolen! Surprisingly it also happened to my dad's family and what happened there was far worse. It is common for the sacrifice animal to be handled by friends and known relatives but what happens when some unknown stranger comes by, takes out a container, takes the meat and just drives off? If you were to think that the person is needy, you don't really expect him to be impolite, let alone own and drive a car. Yes, the meat is to be shared, but it doesn't necessarily mean that one can simply proclaim its theirs and just run off with it.

Now, you might seem to think that I'm some crazy guy that can only think of eating fresh meat (well thats if you do think what my intentions in writing is all about, if its not im sorry! :P). Well the main question now is of mentality. What actually causes people to act in such way? I don't reckon that these individuals are suffering from any sort of mental illnesses- they can drive and they do know that meat in consumable. Were they really in need? Are they far worse off than those that beg along roads? Well, they might be. But assuming how well they executed their meat-stealing-feat, one would surely have doubts.

I've been reading a book which talks about the subconscious mind lately. It suggests how one's dreams can be achieved by imagining and believing. Personally, I do find such steps encouraging, they act as a moral booster, a prayer and a drive. However, I guess not everyone would be gifted with such a talent to dream big and further believe in them. Life teaches lessons step by step.

No everyone may not agree on me with this, but I have a feeling that the family an individual is brought up in always shapes their personality. How they think of their views and their goals. It wouldn't be hard for a son of a successful businessman to absorb his father's feelings and emotions and learn skills and pick up passion from them. The spirit that the dad brings would be instilled in the child over time and that brings character to the child. Shared and nurtured- it starts off from childhood. To those who have seen The Aviator, a scene portrays a young Howard Hughes, telling his mum that he'd want to "build the world's best planes and direct great movies". The belief started at a young age and as he progressed through his life, it worked out for him- the dreams and what he wanted came true. He had imagined it and boy did he succeed in reaching them! I don't deny the fact that there are other factors that bring about change to a person's behavior, but it does seem undeniable of how the family plays a big role. I know of people who with interesting family backgrounds which have led them to what they are now. It acts as a trickling effect. What the parent has is passed on to the child.

Maybe in a way, thats why at times I view education as important. It molds people into becoming better individuals. Education doesn't necessarily mean learning science, geography and history. It helps but in my view, nothing more does better than through a bit of mentality alteration and the realignment of thoughts. With such a metamorphosis- we'd have a better eid al-adha and a better world :)





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