Secret Fourteen

This post wasn't my own writing, I just pick an interesting chapter from a book, "Life is an open secret" by Zabrina A. Bakar.
Credit to kakak for this gift, love it so much! (in commemoration of my SPM's result)

Half Full or Half Empty

The Story of Fred and Mabel

I was doing my usual reading from the internet when I came across this funny joke among my e-mails. It was a very good one, which I feel I need to share with you...

Fred and Mable were both patients in a mental hospital. One day as they both walked beside the swimming pool, Mabel jumped into the deep end and sank to the bottom. Without a thought for his own safety, Fred jumped in after her, brought her to the surface, hauled her out, and saved her.

The next day happened to be Fred's annual review. He was brought before the hospital board, where the director told him, "Fred, I have some good news and some bad news: the good news is that, in light of your heroic act yesterday, we consider you sane, and you can be released from this home back into society. The bad news is, I'm afraid, that Mabel, the patient you saved, shortly afterwards hung herself in the bathroom with the belt from her bathrobe. I'm sorry, but she's dead."


"She didn't hung herself," Fred replied, "I put her there to dry."


Like it? It's a great joke, isn't it? It tickled my funny bone like nobody's business when I first read it. I was thoroughly amused by it. The joke here is very clear, but, as I giggled longer, I found myself thinking of poor Mabel-and then my second thought came - the profound message underlying this joke..


What did this funny story tell me? I found a few things about life here,but, for now, I will focus on just one point that is critical for me to look at in my own life. And that point would be perspectives.


Yes, life is always about perspectives. In the joke, Fred think that he is really doing Mabel a favor. In his own weird world, Mabel is seen as a person who is soaking wet, much like a towel, thus prompting him to "dry" her off. After all, she was wet! So, yes, he means well. We see this as extremely un accaptable, but not Fred.

How did Fred see this world? How did he interpret Mabel's situation? His brain had somehow connected all wet things to two things - towel and drier. And, so, he acted . Of course, Fred's example here is one extreme case, but let's face it. Differences in perspective happens to us almost every day.

If I say that the rain is troublesome, another person will say that rain invites serenity. If I disagree with violence, someone outh there will have a very good reason for why violence is justified. Ice cream is fattening? Nope, it gives instant energy. Chemotherapy is bad? Well, it gives cancer patients a chance in life. Football is a silly game with twenty-two men chasing a ball? No, it provides millions of jobs to people worldwide. See? it is all about perspectives. You know, wther the glass is half full or half empty kind of thing. Or, in other words, there are always two sides to a coin.

One of my professors taught me a very good lesson in class one day. She said that. whenever asked a question, an educated person would always answer, "It all depends." After that, she said that we should argue our way out or, better still, try to understand both perspectives and have a good en dto the discussion before coming to a conclusion. More often than not,we would, by the end of the discussion, appreciate why the other party had taken a certain position. She blew my mind that day!

I often asked myself whether having differences in opinion is a bad thing. Well, if we look at the instability in this world, we can always conclude that,yes,having differences in opinion is a bed thing. Just look around us. From the highest level between government, to societies, and even within our small family units,war,disagreement, confrontation, and hostility are everywhere.

If that is so, then are we all supposed to have the same thoughts, views and outlook on life? What are the benefits of having differences in viewpoint,anyway, if the only thing we get is negativity, and more negativity? Wouldn't this world be a better place to live in if all of us were the same -  having the same thoughts, the same ideas, and the same opinions?

The answer to my question was settled in this verse, where Allah says what can be translated as:

O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware. (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

Astaghfirullah. I got it. This verse says it all. We ARE supposed to be different. We are made that way so that we can always learnabout one another. This is so true,right? Imagine..if everyone in this world loved reading science fiction, then no one would be reading this book of mine. Or, if everyone loved the color pink, the whole world would look like Barbie-land. Imagine the headache cause by all different shades of pink!

And guess the title of the movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith! Yeah, you got it, right? Men in Pink!

Ok, jokes aside, what is happening to us now? Why aren't we learning from one another? Why are we there fights all over the world?

This is because we fail to take heed of His reminder:

O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end.(An-Nisaa' 4:59)

Also, Allah says if we do not know, ask..

so ask the followers of the Reminder if you do not know (An-Nahl 16:43)

Yes,first Allah has asked us to refer back to His Book and His Messenger if and when we differ. And,second, He asked us to ask if we do not know,right?

By asking we are doing ourselves a favor. We are getting clarification on something that we don't understand. More often than not, we misinterpret things about other people. Things people say to us. Things they write to us. Their body language may be misinterpreted. And their troublesome facial expressions? We think they are meant fo us.

It has happened to me several times,actually. I misunderstood some words my friend told me via online messenger and was hurt by them. Alhamdulillah, luckily just minute later, we clarified the matter, because I asked for clarification. And, actually the message was not meant to be read the way I had punctuated it. In fact, it meant just opposite. How wrong was I that day!

Let me leave you with a story of how perspectives can ruin our lives if we let them.

An English professor wrote the words:

"Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed the student tu punctuated it very correctly.

The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."

The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."

With that, I rest my cace..

p/s: Mabruk kepada shbt2 uia, kita dah mendapat natijah sem 1. Usaha yang terbaik untuk sem 2! Kembali ke gagang~

Berjasa, tapi tak ke mana~

Ini bukan kisah tentang manusia, hanya sebuah van..
Yang datang pada tahun 2000 dan pergi setelah 10 tahun berkhidmat.
Macam sedih,je kan? Hee..bila terpaksa bertukar, kami adik-beradik terasa kehilangan (macam ape je)
Lagi-lagi bila nak balik kampung hari tu. Sampai kak lang dengan kakak kena naik kereta kak long, balik dari kampung ke JB pulak naik kereta kak ngah. Heh, lawak je..
Van yang ada sekarang tak dapat nak tampung kapasiti kami. Yang dah kahwin pulak dua orang je. Ada 7 lagi dalam tanggungan, kalau sumbat jugak memang mampat. :)
Kaki pulak panjang-panjang.. Kalau lama-lama lenguh dibuatnya. Tapi van lama tak.. (mengeluh lagi? haish..)

Kenapa cerita ni? Sebab saya rasa manusia memang begini, bila kehilangan baru tahu hargai~
Jasa dia memang banyak..
Umi Abah ulang-alik ambil kami di sekolah,
Umi Abah bawak pergi usrah,
bagi pinjam untuk tujuan dakwah,
bawak pergi mukhayam,
bawak pergi daurah,
bawak kami jalan-jalan (eratkan hubungan.yeay!)
baaaanyak lagi..

Kami mengenal kehidupan, kami mengenal alam sekeliling..
Kami kenal tarbiyah dan kami kenal dakwah..
Kami belajar untuk hidup susah dan kami berpada jika senang..

Tapi dia hanya sebuah van, yang berjasa tapi tak ke mana..
Namun dia boleh menjadi saksi di akhirat..
Kerana dia juga sebahagian makhluk Allah.
Berasal dari bahan mentah yang diproses dan bertukar bentuk
getah>tayar, besi>badan, pasir>cermin etc..

Kadang-kadang kita lupa, segala benda di sekeliling kita
 biarpun tak bernyawa adalah makhluk Allah juga
mereka juga ada ruh, mereka juga ada perasaan..
Yang penting, mereka turut menjadi saksi di muka pengadilan

p/s: umi kata kalau van tu boleh cakap mesti dia sedih sebab duduk dengan orang cina sekarang.
hee.. Dia pasti rindu untuk terus berjasa~ :) takpe,van..jumpa lagi ye

..kerana Islam begitu..

Bismillah

Ingatkan kalau cuti, bolehla update banyak sikit. Rupanya tanggungjawab lain ada yang lebih penting..

Cuti ni saya ambil kesempatan untuk ambil lesen. It still not too late right?
Memandangkan manfaatnya sangat besar untuk keluarga,dakwah dan kehidupan maka saya ambil juga walaupun tak sempat habis. Ingatkan cik fana nak join terus, asyik cakap takut je. haiyoo.. Takpe ye,fana. bulan 2 kan nti ambil. :)

KPP mula hari ahad, umi yang hantar ke Bunga Raya.
Pagi-pagi lagi umi pesan, "bawak bekal tau, senang nanti"
Apa yang ada dekat dapur saya bawa je. Bukan tak biasa makan tak ikut jadual.
Bila dah dekat nak sampai, umi cakap

 "Kak cik ni, umi risaula. Dekat sana nanti baca-baca sikit. (ayat kursi,etc)
Kalau kakak dulu umi tak sangat. Muka dia kan kalau biasa-biasa nampak garang. Orang pun tak berani kacau."
"Erk..la, anak umi dah besar. Insya Allah takde pape"
Turun kereta, saya salam dan terus ke tempat kursus.

Saya nak pilih tempat duduk, tiba-tiba akak tu cakap "Dik,duduk ikut giliran ye"
Alamak,tersepit antara dua lelaki sebab saya dapat no2. Kerusi pulak 'jauh'. Duduk dengan tenang dan berharap tiada apa-apa.

Waktu rehat antara jam 1.00-2.00 ptg. Saya terus ke tandas untuk berwudhu' dan duduk sahaja di surau. Tak ada tempat nak duduk-duduk kalau bukan dekat surau. Saya hanya berseorangan,makan pun dalam suarau. Suatu fenomena yang saya rasa biasa bagi mereka, sangat sedikit yang bersolat. Kalau perempuan saya anggap mereka tengah cuti. Kalau lelaki...

Sampaila waktu balik tiba, saya bersyukur jadi orang yang awal. Dapat keluar awal! Masuk je kereta saya cakap dengan umi "Umi, tak ada apa-apa pun" Saya berpandangan mereka menghormati saya lalu mereka tidak menegur atau berbual seperti dengan perempuan lain. Bukan kerana saya, tapi kerana Islam yang saya bawa. Hanya saya bertudung tiga segi dan bert-shirt labuh ketika itu (mesej saya:menutup aurat). Ini menyebabkan saya teringat kata-kata Umar "Kita dimuliakan kerana Islam"
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Pintu dibuka dan sata terus bertanya di kaunter "Kak, nak ujian komputer daftar sini ke? "
"Ujian dekat atas, sekarang belum buka,tengah rehat. Adik duduk dulu ye."
Saya tersenyum dan duduk di sebelah seorang aunty india.
Kami berbual sekadar berbasa-basi sementara menunggu pintu dibuka.
Hinggalah sampai pada pertanyaan.

 "Adik,ini kali keberapa you datang? "
"Baru pertama kali,saya baru je mula. Aunty berapa?" (Ketika itu saya rasa ini soalan normal)
"Ini kali ketiga aunty datang la adik. Aunty belajar sampai darjah enam sahaja. Banyak susah mahu lulus. Itu zaman, saya kena cari duit. Kalau tidak tak boleh makan.Tolong aunty ye dik."
Matanya bergenang dan saya terdiam. Saya mengucapkan insya Allah namun tidak begitu jelas untuk didengari oleh aunty tersebut. Pastinya sukar untuk seseorang yang sudah lama meninggalkan suasana belajar untuk belajar kembali. Allah,terima kasih atas nikmatMu padaku..

Pintu dibuka dan kami beriringan ke tingkat atas. Sekali lagi aunty tu cakap pada saya
 "Adik, nanti tolong bukakan komputer ya. Aunty tak pandai nak buka". Saya menangguk tanda setuju dan aunty tersebut menyambung "You banyak bagusla adik". Saya tersenyum dan terdetik dalam hati
"Bukan kerana saya, tetapi kerana Islam yang mengajar saya."
Saya mendoakan moga aunty tersebut mendapat hidayah. Kalau saya menjadi asbabnya, pasti saya terlebih-lebih lagi gembira. Nama aunty tersebut dipanggil untuk mendaftar. Sebentar lagi pastinya saya.

"Adik,thumbprint tak dapat baca. Cuba jari lain."
Alamak, macam mana ni. Habis semua jari saya letak. Macam-macam posisi saya cuba.
Pak cik tu pun bagi kata putus "Adik kena pergi Bunga Raya, thumbprint  lagi sekali"
Saya hubungi umi dan terus ke sana. Kesian,umi. Terpaksa ulang-alik sebab saya. Umi, minta maaf ye. Sikit lagi nanti saya yang akan ulang-alik jadi pilot. :)
Saya tak sempat bagitau aunty  tersebut. Bila urusan selesai, terus berkejar kembali ke taman U, tempat ujian komputer. Saya dapati aunty tersebut sudah pulang. Barangkali sudah lulus.. Semoga benar.

p/s: kalau dengan kakak2, setiap kali dihantar ke ktm atau lrt mesti diorg pesan "Kak cik, buat muka garang. Jangan senyum2" Adeh..saya ni jadi macam budak kecik pulak. Padahal dah 19. Mereka masih anggap saya adalh adik kecil mereka~