A short note on....farewell!

When a group of friends got together for two hours daily for the last five days to practice a farewell song they have created for me - how can that not be the most special farewell I have ever experienced.
Tonight at my final farewell dinner, I was touched beyond the melody of the song or the poetry of the lyrics - but I was touched the most by the look in their eyes as they sang in harmony.....dedicating the song to me.

A note on ...future!

What ever will be...

“Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.” Ursula K. Le Guin
I like that quotation. Sometimes, I don’t feel like waking up…my limbs aching and my spirit low. With eyes closed, I switched off the alarm.This morning felt like that.But morning came anyway! With that another part of my future becomes the present and soon will be my past.

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future”. I captured this phrase from a movie “The good woman” I once watch in-flight.I noted it down because I found relief in it. I can so much relate to it and it some how gives me some hope that I the sinner, indeed has a future. It also puts hope that even a sinner can be a better person.I also read it to mean that a future is not entirely influenced by what has happened in the past.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose” Lyndon B. Johnson
In moments of vulnerability, when I regretted a certain part of my past, I find the quote from legendary Mr. Johnson inspiring. I have to let go of yesterday, and having one bad yesterday does not mean I will continue to have bad tomorrow. The future is for me to see and to make it be… Without expectations, there's no future, only an endless present. It is a pity if that endless present in anyone’s life happens to be one filled only with negative thoughts.My own aspirations for a future are when I come to a period of time in which my life prospers, my friends are true, and my happiness is alive every moments.

A presenter at a conference I attended once quoted "I have seen the future, and it is still in the future" That may sound trivial and saying the obvious. But the truth is even that is not so obvious to many people. Most are stuck in the past.In reality there is only the present, because the past no longer exists and the future does not exist yet. Of the past and the future only the images exist, and these only in our minds. Therefore no matter what was our past experienced we can turn them into honey or poison by controlling our mind. And all of us, by the same logic can have a ‘happy’ future. What ever ‘happiness’ means to each of us. Perhaps the lyrics in Que sera Sera as memorably sang by Doris Day need to be changed from "Whatever will be will be. The future's not ours to see" to “Whatever will be is up to me. The future is for me to make it be”.

In closing, I was reminded of the day I was sitting in my 15th floor hotel room in a metropolitan city looking out into the chaotic disorderly pedestrian walking on the busy streets below and a thought came to mind "No matter where we are, and which directions we take and who our companions are....we are all heading to the same place ...a destination called the future".

May you find peace in your future!

My note on...a new friend!

She is a doting mom to two, and a loving wife to a wonderful husband whom she loves dearly. She is a good Muslim who continues to become an even better one. There are many more things about her which I am yet to discover.......After all, she is new to my world. And she is a friend - one who has urged me to continue writing and share some of my experiences. She chose the name Syarek for the blog url. She will co-own and co-author this blog. She is a friend I am comfortable in sharing. She gives willingly - be it her congenial smile, or her generous support, and definitely her friendship. I call her - Puan Leyna.

Puan Leyna lives in a certain part of Malaysia not yet visited my many of us, and she is hoping to move to a foreign land where many of us would dream of going for a visit - at least once in our life time.

She is a stay at home graduate, a brain refusing to be in an idle state and a desire to achieve and accomplish. Much of that desire for achieving is through an undivided support for her husband - her hero to achieve their shared dreams!

Puan Leyna encourages me to share my experiences and life stories for whatever they are worth. While there are numerous from the past, I will focus on present experiences as they unfold.

A friend and her desire to find excitement in sharing and learning has made this beginning possible. And the first few steps of friendship has begun. I have learnt her routines and she does mine. These knowledge is intriguing and fascinating, and made possible because we have trusted enough to share - Syarek! For instance, the next time she goes idle on her yahoo messenger, I will know exactly what she is up to. More likely than not, she has either gone to 'jemur kain' or 'angkat kain' .
*grinning here at her response*

A note about a name....

http://syarek.blogspot.com/
the url name is an arabic word شارك, chosen by a friend and carry a special meaning.

Syarik (Syarek) means kongsi in malay, or sharing.

The blog is all about that. About sharing of my own notes.....for me and for those who find them interesting to read, useful to ponder and provocative enough to stimulate further discussion.

I am happy to share....

And I am willing to learn.....

Thank you.

A note about Hijrah....

Hijrah aku bermula dengan Bismillah.....
Berlaku, berliku, beribu-ribu batu - dengan nama Allah~!