On rhythm

"I've noticed that most pilgrims, whether on the Road to Santiago or on any of life's paths, always try to follow the rhythm set by others. At the start of my pilgrimage, I tried to keep up with my group, but I got tired. I was demanding too much of my body. I was tense all the time and ended up straining the tendons in my left foot. I couldnt walk for two days after that, and I realized that I would only reach Santiago if I obeyed my own rhythm. I took longer than the others to get there, and for long stretches I often had to walk alone; but it was only by respecting my own rhythm that I managed to complete the journey. Ever since then, I have applied this to everything I do in life: I follow my own rhythm."

.....By Paulo Coelho

Only the second day of school and one can already feel the different rhythms. While some are midway through their tutorial, others are just beginning to wait in line to print their tutorials. There are those who had bought their textbooks, those looking around for textbooks and those who are unsure if they really need a textbook in the first place!

With so many different rhythms playing simultaneously, I'm definitely feeling the need to keep up - or risk lagging behind. And when that feeling begins to creep in, I guess I need to remember that I can always determine my own nice rhythm and be on my way.

Rhythm - I'm still determining one that I can call my own. 

I can't get in

Near Olite, in Spain, there is a ruined castle. I decide to visit the place and as I am standing there before it, a man at the door says:

‘You can’t come in.’

My intuition tells me that he is saying this for the pure pleasure of saying ‘No’. I explain that I’ve come a long way, I try offering him a tip, I try being nice, I point out that this is, after all, a ruined castle…suddenly, going into that castle has become very important to me.

‘You can’t come in,’ the man says again.

There is only one alternative: to carry on and see if he will physically prevent me from going in. I walk towards the door. He looks at me, but does nothing.

As I am leaving, two other tourists arrive and they too walk in. The old man does not try to stop them. I feel as if, thanks to my resistance, the old man has decided to stop inventing ridiculous rules. Sometimes the world asks us to fight for things we do not understand and whose significance we will never discover.

By Paulo Coelho

"Sometimes the world asks us to fight for things we do not understand, and whose significance we will never discover."

Putting things into personal contact, I feel like a seven year old dreading his first day of school - this despite going thru 15 first day of school. Each time a new school year begins, all i see is 13 weeks of school followed by the first exams. A month's break is then followed by another 13 weeks of school and thereafter, a three months break. And following that, the next new academic year begins.

Is this the part where perseverance and determination comes in? The part of the marathon where the legs begin to retire and a strong mind steps in and tells you to soldier on? It definitely seems like it.

A quick update on Facebook attracted a "Let's do this together." While it's somewhere in me to see the significance of education, and despite the fact that i acknowledge I'm 3 years away from graduation, insyaallah, a simple "Let's do this together" was a gentle reminder that I'm not alone.

In other words, one should fight till the very end and do his or her best to secure good grades in school even though its true significance is still somewhere in the distant horizon. Hope i'll keep this in mind whenever i lose sight of my objective.

May the coming academic year be filled with pleasant memories, wonderful experiences, a little bit of everything challenging and perhaps a brush with the present sweet impression, if not, the next.

A mother's love

 

Almost the entire of today was spent at the park by the sea with friends - picnic, frisbee, and lotsa photo taking.

However, I came back only to realise that mother's been spending the entire day alone - sis out working and the brothers doing their school work with friends. And upon my sister's realization that i only reached home moments before her and my brothers just moment after her, she told our mother how we're slowly starting to grow up.

She replied, "The four of you are still babies in my eyes."

May we never forget the undying love of our mothers. Ever. Insyaallah.

Keep fit

A couple of days ago, I received a health advice from the unlikeliest of sources - dear Grandma.

Grandma's been bedridden for some years now due to stroke. And whenever i drop by for a visit, she tells me how sad she is to not be able to walk or do things like everyone else. She tells me how she hates having to just sit around on the bed and eat and sleep or being pushed on the wheel chair. She tells me how thin she is and i told her that's just because she refuses to eat anything but rice and veges and cereals and biscuits.

So i asked her why not eat meat and gain weight? Perhaps some delicious sambal chicken or mum's tantalizing beef rendang.

She told me this: If I were heavier, I would be a greater burden then I'm already am.

She told me that it would be more tiring to carry her from her bed to the wheelchair and from the wheelchair into the car, if they're bringing her anywhere.

At that very moment, it strucked me. While i was putting myself in her shoes thinking of all the wonderful food i'd like to enjoy given my condition and age, there she was thinking of the trouble she would cause if she was any heavier.

Perspectives change as we age. It's little things like the one above that makes us grow as a person. For me, I'll try to be a little less self-centered and a little more considerate......

..... and keep fit.