Isteri Solehah dan Pintu Syurga

Menurut hadith Nabi s.a.w., jika seorang isteri mendirikan solat, menunaikan puasa dan mentaati suami, dia akan dibenarkan masuk syurga dari mana2 pintu yg dia suka. Wallahualam.
Ko ingat senang nak pilih mana2 pintu? Masa ni aku terbayang pintu di masjidil haram dan masjid nabawi, banyaknya pintu. Kita kena ingat pintu tu supaya senang bila nak keluar nanti. Tapi pintu syurga hanya satu arah. Sebab itu dia istimewa.
Antara kelebihan seorang isteri ialah tempatnya di sisi suami, supaya mereka berdua merasa cenderung dan tenteram apabila bersama. Itulah hikmah yang paling besar dalam satu perkahwinan.
Apabila berkahwin anak adam, maka sempurnalah sebahagian dari agamanya, dan hendaklah ia bertakwa kepada Allah untuk sebahagian yg lain. Maka lengkaplah pakej seorang muslim.
Cenderung dan tenteram. Dari sini lahirlah doa supaya keluarga kita menjadi keluarga yg penuh dgn rahmah, sakinah dan mawaddah.
Allah memberi ganjaran yg tinggi kepada mereka yg bersabar dan mereka itulah yg Allah beri kemenangan.
Apakah kamu dibenarkan berkata "Sesungguhnya aku telah beriman", sedangkan engkau belum diuji? Ketahuilah Allah akan beri ujian setakat mana yg hambaNya mampu menanggung. Maka beruntunglah mereka yg bersabar dan sentiasa bertakwa.
Syurga itu mahal harganya.

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Aduh Romantisnya

Tiada siapa sangka
Apa sebenarnya sifat romantis antara suami isteri
Memberi bunga perkara biasa
Mengucap sayang juga biasa
Romantis itu banyak maknanya pada setiap pasangan
Saat paling romantis hanya antara pasangan yang tahu

Alamak bestnya
Tiada siapa sangka
Sungguh luar biasa
Suami membacakan surah Yassin pada isteri yg sihat
Kenapa? Sebab isteri tidak suci
Kenapa? Untuk mententeramkan jiwanya
Tapi kenapa? Kerana mengharapkan redha Allah....
Aduh saat paling romantislah!
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Of Challenges and Consequences

As we grow older, we are very much expected to be much wiser. To gain wisdom, we have to take challenges, so that only we can know how far we can reach.

 

Last week in the offsite training session, the remarkable journey undergone by a group of people really tickled my mind. The group of people who had done the work in 355 days can now deliver in mere 59 days. They proved it. They became benchmark all around the world. Amazing. The same group of people. No one got retrenched. The conclusion was - it is not the people we have do not have the competency or capability, it is just that people don't realize they have such capability and potential. They don't know they have the potential, or simply their potential has not been unlocked. The job of a leader is to unlock the potential in their followers.

 

Leaders must first walk the talk, to do that, you must first demonstrate the way. A movie starring Al Pacino "Inch-by-Inch" showcases that we must know where is that inch. We can either be 1 inch slower or 1 inch faster. But unless we try, we will never know where our inch is.

 

I was told that this is a dramatic move for a career. Well, unless I try, I will not know where my inch is. Successful people are people who have failed and rise up from their failure, not from people who have never tried and hence, never failed. We'll see how it goes.

 

I have also received a book written by Jim Collins on How Organizations Fail, which is the same author that wrote "From Good to Great" and "Built to Last". It is amazing to note that companies that have been successful eventually fail when they did not work harder or agile enough to move with the change in environment. The book just illustrates at organization level. The same concept actually applies to individuals. We have to continue learning new things and stay alert, stay relevant. Just like Steve Job's remarks in Stanford's Commencement Day - Stay Foolish.

 

You know that thing called "Facebook", such an amazing creation. Down memory lane, I browsed through chats with my friend Arwah Rosmiza. What she had gone through and how I would imagine if she is alive today. If only she knew her days were numbered, she would have done so much more. Gone to many more places, seen more people, done so much of voluntary works, good deeds to family members and friends, if only she knew. That's 1 point that I learn.

 

Take the risk, try it. Stretch it. Learn from failure. Keep the limit high. Go for it. What's the worst that can happen?

 

What a Year - 2012

2012 marks 2 major winnings for me:

 

1.  Berjaya melangsaikan hutang JPA - wooohooooooo.

This is quite an achievement. To be a much better citizen of Malaysia, I sacrifice current desire for many other things and opt to settle my study loan. Even though I had written an appeal to JPA to convert my loan into scholarship the moment I finished my study, and JPA had diplomatically declined, and I felt a little disappointed, it's finally over baby! You know as what I had shared before, every month JPA would send a love letter to me, sharing verses from Quran and hadith Nabi on the consequent of delinquent in paying back the loan. Also, in worldly manner, it was stated that they would go after my guarantor and so on. It's finally over baby!!!! Thank you to government of Malaysia who had paid for my study loan and allowed me to pay back only 25% out of the hundred thousands worth of the loan. For that I am truly thankful for.

 

2. Berjaya membawa anak2 mengembara ke negara luar - yeeehaaaa.

For the 1st time, we had managed to bring over the whole family to a country which the kids aptly refer to as "negara sejuk". They had always wondered how the life in "negara sejuk" would be like and they finally had a chance to experience it. Mr. X and I also for the 1st time had tried the frenzy booking for Airasia ticket the moment the ad was out to get the best deal. Not bad for staying up till 3 am to get the ticket. We first logged on at 12am and after a few rounds of being directed to the "waiting room" and watching the circle went round and round and round, and after a few "connection lost" thanks to mediocrity of online wire by Celcom, we eventually did it. The overall flight ticket was around RM3k for the whole family, whereas at normal rate, it would reach RM10k. Rezeki, alhamdullillah. 2nd rezeki was getting to stay at a dear friend's house and having the meals cooked for us! How lucky that was! Dah ler rumah free, dapat makan free lagi....syukur sangat....thank you very much to hosts whose names I dare not mention, nanti korang carik dia pulak....well, you can know if you are my friend in my Facebook.

 

There are just so many joyous moments in 2012, and of course, there are also bad moments. Let's just mention the good ones, so that insya Allah, the upcoming years will be much better ones.

 

Oh tahun ni saya tiada bibik. Setelah saya hantar pulang yang terakhir pada Januari lepas, saya cuba hidup tanpa bibik. Penat wooo...saya cuba untuk berfikiran positif setiap kali saya rasa penat. Terutama ketika gosok baju, bila kaki dah lenguh, saya mesti pujuk hati dan kederat saya supaya bertambah kuat. Ketika masak, bahang memasak insya Allah akan memisahkan seorang isteri dari api neraka. Sebab itu ada org kata, kalau makan kat rumah isteri masak, lauk telur goreng pon sedap. Oh kalau itu saya jawab, sebab isteri itu memasak dgn ikhlas, dan sambil masak dia berdoa supaya masakannya dapat mengenyangkan setiap ahli rumah. Dia akan masak dgn penuh kasih sayang. Tiada nilai komersil, hanya nilai kasih sayang. Yang ini kat kedai takde jual. Walau sibuk macam manapon, cubalah memasak di hujung minggu sekurang-kurangnya. Makcik jual sayur dan ikan kat Taman U tu pernah pesan kat saya, katanya apsal ko beli barang sikit sangat? Saya kata sebab saya amat jarang memasak, saya selalu balik malam. Saya hanya boleh masak waktu weekend. Dia kata takpelah dek. Yang penting ko kena masak juga. Jgn sampai tak masak langsung. Oh, betapa pentingnya satu aktiviti seorang isteri yang satu ini.

 

Tahun ini kedua-dua emak dan ayah saya telah menjalani operations yg major juga. Emak dah pon berumur 1940 lahir, so 72 tahun. Abah lahir tahun 1926, so umur dia dah 86 tahun. Sama dgn Dr.M abah saya tu. Doktor kata abah saya dah tak boleh drive, tapi dia nak drive juga. Mana tahan duduk rumah saja. Emak pulak doktor kata dah tak boleh buat kerja berat. Jadi mcm nampak gaya saya kena ambil bibik untuk tolong mereka, tapi emak saya tidak suka. Dia kata dia rimas. Kita tunggu dan lihat mcm mana keadaan tahun 2013 iye.

 

Kerjaya nampaknya semakinlah mencabar. Saya kena selalu update my knowledge, and selalu nak kena bagi motivasi kepada rakan2 dan anak buah. Tahun depan saya rasa lagi mencabar. Tapi saya kena cuba buat dulu, baru saya tahu kemampuan diri kita yg sebenar. Saya rasa saya sudah capai satu tahap di mana, saya mesti cuba. I have got to try and do it. I have to expand my boundary and reach those which I thought was unreachables.

Persepsi manusia berbeza-beza dan kita tidak boleh puaskan hati semua orang. Yang penting, kita usaha dgn ikhlas, bekerja sebagai satu wadah ibadah dan niatkan semuanya kerana Allah. Insya Allah usaha kita akan dipermudahkan oleh-Nya.

A Day in Caversham, WA

A day to remember for caressing wild kangaroos and much awake koalas in Western Australia. Not to forget the wombat, llama and donkeys and kookaboora.
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A Decade

The first decade

The real self emerged

The unknown realm finally explored

The unexplored boundary crossed

The remotely thinkable possibility tried, triumphed?

 

Triumph brings with it many definitions

Losing it, winning it, short term, long term?
Survival, growing, avoiding from plateuing, improving?

Understanding - seek to understand first in order to be understood

 

It takes two to tango

It takes two to define the yin and yang

Complementing is a much better word than antagonizing

 

Sakinah, mawaddah dan harmoni

It takes hard work

It demands patience

It calls for perseverance

What's the end in mind is what matters the most

 

Look into their eyes

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Seek to make others happy, so you will be happy in return

It may not be for now, it can be for hereafter

 

Till death do us part

For richer and for poorer

Only exist in legends?

Happily ever after is a legend

Legend brings many lessons

 

Reflection of first decade

Will there be another decade?

Hard work, patience, perseverance

Tolerance - the simplest yet most painful to do

 

Syukur alhamdulillah

What is bestowed is what is the best

Be the best, hope for the best, pray for the best

For all you know, now is the best.

Learn from Your Mistakes Too

It has been a really really long time. So many happenings. Ups and downs. Twists and turns. Rights and wrongs.

Have you heard of this saying:

"Common people learn from their own mistakes. Smart people learn from the mistakes of others."

I disagree to this saying. Whoever that says this apparently has not lived long enough. Or maybe has not learned much from his/her journey in life. To me, we have to learn along our life, through our own journey of experience as well as other people's journey. You will learn so much more from your own mistakes. Because the mistake will leave you with scars so deep that they will be embedded in your mind and eventually, build your character. Hence my friends, try new things, make mistakes and learn from them.

It is better to die trying new things and get noticed or remembered for your good deeds, rather than play it safe all the time, never get noticed and die in silence.

This is some of the insights I gain from reading this book - 81 Challenges Smart Managers Face by Tim Connor. Such a brilliant read.

 

"The biggest human mistake is to settle for too little in life".