Tuesday, August 26, 2008
i've been a potato couch. haha. somehow, i just wanna slack at home, watching tv, eating, reading and surfing the net. really. i can be a very lazy pig. anyway, i read this article from my paper, written by geoff tan. actually, this article was published on the 14th of august. i'm keeping the article cause i found it rather inspiring. its topic was on staying positive. geoff talked about his friend, alfred, who is constantly grateful for the blessings God has given him in spite of the problems he faces. what the author(and me as well) learnt from his friend is instead of just harping on and pining over the uncertainties of life, what is more important is the attitude we adopt when difficult situations arise. hmm, true. another part of the article was on a story. perhaps, most have heard this story regarding a donkey which fell into the wall. i've not heard it for a long time so i decided to post it down:)
a farmer's donkey fell into a well. the animal cried while the farmer tried to figure out what to do. finally, he decided that the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. hence, he asked his neighbours to help him shovel dirt into the well. upon realising what was happening, the donkey wailed horribly. then, to everyone's surprise, it quitened down. a few shovel loads later, the farmer looked into the well and was astonished at what he saw. with every shovel of dirt that hit its back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. this continued as more and more dirt was shovelled into the well. finally, to everyone's amazement, the donkey stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off happily.
and i simply love what geoff summed up his article.
life is going to shovel all kinds of dirt on you and me. each of our troubles represents a stepping stone. the trick to getting out of a deep hole is to look at the positive side of the things; never give up, shake off the dirt and take a step up.
if only i can do that...
anyway, somehow, i don't really like majlis tahlil. don't get me wrong. it's not that i dislike when relatives gather together and pray to the loved ones who are gone. in fact, i like that part. but i don't find it appropriate what happens after the praying. the feast time. delicious malay traditional food is often served. and people will soon forget what the majlis is for. as they're enjoying the food, they chit-chat and laugh as if it's just another gathering. and sometimes, when they are reading surah yasin, i find as if the men are competing who reads the best, the fastest and the loudest. as if there is no sincerity reading the holy verses. i don't know. i feel kinda guilty when i think of my comments. but these are just my opinions. people won't take it seriously, anyway.
