Softly, Tenderly

I came up with an idea after a dinner. I will give you a series of pictures with a bit of description and my interpretation under each one of them. But my dinner had nothing to do with it.
 1)

The parasailer is looking forward to his moment to rise above with the wind, with not a slightest idea that a potential man-eater can bump his boat and gulp him in one sweep.

You may or may not know what is coming and whose territory you are passing through. While you are at it, you can awe at the wonders that the scenery offers you. But when the time comes, you can not escape from the confrontation that life has been keeping from you.

2) 

The keeper holds a cake of fish for the birthday walrus!

This needs no say. Just smile at this picture.

3) 

REQUIESCAT

by: Oscar Wilde
       

 Tread lightly, she is near
          Under the snow,
          Speak gently, she can hear
          The daisies grow.

This is the first stanza of the poem. 

Requeiscat is Latin from requeiscat en pace that means rest in peace.

Oscar Wilde preached a pay of respect for the dead. Even to the dead, we are supposed to not cause pertuberation. Speak only wellwishes. Think beautythoughts. Say hello to newbloomers. Bid goodbye when you have to.

4)

Chipmunk! This is a snow squirrel.

Those big eyes hold beauty, of beautiful vision. The curvy smile looks very happy. The fluffy fur is warm and comfortable. The tiny fingers are dependable to bring food home. A lion-adorer (in this case, the author) too can appreciate this cute creature. As an extra note, with an appropriate magnification, one single grain of sand looks magnificent. Ultra magnifique!

5) 

A heap of everybody’s favorite, KitKat in a bowl.

This picture is raw. Unfiltered but clean. Depicts a man’s (may be a girl’s) hunger. You can never have enough of what you like. Plus, what has been made easy for you to enjoy. I have seen a picture of 60 large orders of fries bunched together by a group of high-schoolers. But those kids got kicked out of the premise. Thus I’m not sharing the picture here because it has a sad ending.

I do not write an article with an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Because we just like to 

  

Fathin Nuraqilah Azman

How long till goodbye?

In light of recent event, whole nation are in the state of shock for what happened to the Flight MH370. The plane, carrying 239 passengers disappeared into thin air at 1.30 a.m. about 120 nautical miles east of Kota Bharu. Search and rescue mission are immediately launched and families and friends keep praying and hoping for the best.

To date, there is still no breakthrough to the whereabouts of the plane. Nobody can even say what really happened to the plane and the fate of all the passengers aboard.  Everybody is still clinging to the hope, however little there is, that the plane will one day come back in good condition, with all passengers safe and sound inside.

It is easy for sympathizers, who have no relations with any passengers aboard, to hope for the best. Furthermore, that is the best we can do as sympathizers. But how about the families and close friends to the passengers on board? Is it easy to hope, or just to accept the loss?

For sympathizers, all of the passengers are just another foreigners, unknown and insignificant in our life. But to the families and friends, the passengers could be somebody significant, someone they love, someone they cling to and someone whom their life revolve around. How could they react to the news of the loss of their beloved?

In psychology, we are taught about the famous Kubler-Ross Model or also known as the five stages of grief. Everybody is familiar with the concept of denial, anger, bargain, depression and acceptance (DABDA). It is stated that human copes with tragedy through these stages, not necessarily passing through all stages or in sequential order, but they will experience at least one of them.

Perhaps, the hardest of all stages is the stage of acceptance. Almost everyone can deal with tragedy by anger, denial, bargaining or being depressed. But to accept the fate, to realise that you have to move on, to acknowledge that somebody significant in your life is no longer around, is kind of hard. To accept means to change our way of life and accustom to the new one. To accept doesn’t necessarily means to forget, but to let go.

Or maybe, acceptance is the easiest way in coping with something. By accepting, it allows us to move on, to not be hold back by something. And what could be much worse than what you are already going through, so why not we just hop on to acceptance? Right?

In the film Castaway, Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks) was stranded on an island for four years after a cargo plane he was boarding crashed. When he was finally found and return to his city, people had long held a funeral for him, and even his wife had been marrying somebody else. His wife had accepted his death and moved on, but later found out that he was still alive. Conflict much? (Don’t worry, in Castaway, the wife decided to move on and stay with her current family, and Tom Hanks went separate way)

To accept the sure thing, is one thing, and to accept the unsure, is another thing. But sooner or later, everybody have to move on, and the easier way to do so is to accept. We are not talking about search and rescue mission that can be halted at any moment when it drains a lot of resources without giving any results. We are talking about humans, who have no power to do anything except to cope with his emotion.

So, how long should you wait to accept your fate? Can you move on without accepting the unsure? Should you wait for the unsure to become sure, or will you become more accepting as the time pass? When and how will you say the last goodbye to your beloved one?

Pray for MH370.

By;
Ahmad Shahi bin Mohd Nazri

Cherish Them.

Salam, Peace be upon you, and good morning to my fellow medsmate and readers.

What a lovely morning we're having,

morning, here in Kuala-Lumpur.

The sound of birds chirping,
That bright blue sky,
The little dews on the leaves,
Plus that moist environment you're having early this morning.
Ahhh this surely feels like home.

It's almost been 2 months now we're here in Malaysia.
And I know that for the last 2 months,
It's been filled with lots of joy, laughter, a piece of unforgettable memories and maybe (I wish not) bad ones.

Well, at least we came back to see our beloved parents,
Our support pillar, to this horror journey as a medical students.
What I wanted to say is,
It doesn't matter if you go around hang-out with your friends,
Coming home late in the night to see your friends,
Or went out in the middle of the night to mamak's to watch football.

But you must always, always give 100% attention to your parents.
Especially your mother.

"Keredaan Allah kepada seseorang bergantung kepada keredaan ibu bapanya. Dan kemurkaan Allah adalah bergantung kepada kemurkaan ibu bapanya."(Hadis al-Tirmizi).

"Ibu mana yang tak sayangkan anak"-said one of our friend's mother before going out from his house during my journey to Malaysian's East Coast (Terengganu+Kelantan).

I don't even know where this post will go.
Didn't plan to make this kind of post.

Anyhow, Love your Parents. Not to say to them only. 

But give all you can for them.

You know they've given all they can for you.

For you to be like you are now.

We all know by now, many of you starting to feel bored sitting at home watching television.(hmm not me)

Eat-watch tv-eat-sleep-eat-watch tv-sleep-eat-eat-sleep.

And some of us has starting to pack up their stuff to go back to Egypt.

Twitter update like "Egypt is calling",and "sudah2 lah tu bercuti mari pulang" are common on my TL at this time.

So now we have quite a few moments here in Malaysia,

Why not use them for families, for our parents.

Cherish them.

Family comes first.

Selamat pulang ke Mesir!

p/s- sebenarnya nak buat post pasal benda lain tapi jadi benda lain. o.O

BEGINS WITH QUESTIONS???

Begins with a question.

A question.What do you like the most?Expected answers.Reading. Cheesecakes.Pearls.Stars.Whatever. Well, I have a better answer. What I like most is this one saying from Dr Phil. “Say what you think. Do what you want.”And most importantly, I will never cease to love following it and spreading it.

            I will tackle the second half of the saying first.By which, the first half will be done touch-and-go. Sure thing you can do whatever the hives you want. Not doing anything, in one sense, is doing not-doing thing. Can you understand this? Not doing is covertly a verb. Not talking is a description of shutting your mouth. Not eating is to starve. Not going anywhere is you staying at your original position. Not studying is…”She’s absurd. Who doesn’t study?”

A piece of my mind, which I’m more than pleased to share, the not-doing-things require a serious weight of bravery (courage would sound better, though awkward), seriously.The after-effects, the neglects, the regrets, are at your own risks. Given we are talking about studies. Indeed, our heedfulness is not at an all-time high. Honestly, who can study in this hot season?Today I don’t feel like doing anything (???) With tunes and tones, we get The Lazy Song! But, remember this.O, dear, down-lows and high-tides are natures. We are,living with, together with, nature, experiencing the breeze, waves and thunder! (metaphors)Remember this too. After rain, there is rainbow. After storm, there is calm.After exam, there is holiday!

For friends, whose drive or launch, and not to mention, chills, come a little later, together we INSPIRE. INtelligent.SPIritually-sound.REcharged.(Thanks to this task, it brings me back to the outstanding motivator cum guru, DMFK)For your information, this post serves as a wake-up call for me, you, and us. However, I suppose, we have already had enough. If, unfortunately, by any chance, we haven’t, I would suggest ‘consulting’ our guru-since-birth more often.

To the first half of the wisdom, which is, say what you think. Certainly! We do democracy, no tyranny. Who detains you, with all people, in a singular cell of view? We do freedom of speech. Who stops you? However, with all due respect, we also abide by restrictions, limitations and gaps. Those of which, offer some degree of protection to a group of people, and respect to another. Introversion and extroversion, to an extreme, bring adversary. Hence, things are at best in moderation.

The alphabets, colours, questions and answers, fonts and italics, are writer’s creativity. You have my deepest, truest apology for any cane-whips blown or punches landed.And my cheeriest of best wishes to you.For our success.

Fathin A.

Snakes, Worms, and Medicine.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamualaikum and a very good evening to all,

Hey, it's me again, xD

When were the last time I wrote a post here?

even I don't remember.

Still, I manage to steal some time to write about an issue.

Ok let's get on to the topic here shall we?

A bolt of curiosity struck me as the first time I saw the-so-called-and-said-to-be the representative of medical symbol.

Ever saw one?

The one with two snake and a winged-stick.

I believe everyone have seen it.

Well,

The first thing that came to my mind was

"why snake?"

maybe it's because people in the older days always gets bitten by snakes and their own venom was used to treat the poison?

Then someone angrily told me.

"It's not a snake you idiot, it's a worm"

"A what? thats doesn't make any s.....ahhh I see, I remember something called Druncunculus Medinensis."

But still,

The answer won't satisfy me.

Based on a couple of research,

I've found that,

That symbol, with two snakes and a winged-stick is actually NOT the symbol of medicine.

I repeat, not.

It was mistakenly addressed as the symbol, don't know how, don't care why, but it was not the symbol of medicine.

Funny though,

to see the symbol-which they call Caduceus-which was mistakenly taken as the medical symbol- used world-widely as the medical symbol in much organization concerning healthcare.

If we trace the root of The Caduceus(which is form of a winged stick with two snake in copula, xD) came from the Greek's mythology.(it's a myths?)

And I won't talk about it.

Search about it,

and you will find the answer.

Okay,

So that's the false one,

the mistaken one.

the fake.

or any other synonyms.

Now let us see the WHO logo.

Oh wow.

why there's only one snake you ask?

Because the double-snaked-winged-stick wasn't the exact symbol of medicine.

This symbol consist of a stick with a snake (or is it a worm?)

Nevertheless,

it is the medical symbol that should be used worldwide.

But again, funny tho to see Caduceus takes the upperhand.

Rite,

about the later symbol,

it is called Rod of Asclepius.(again search it)

It's consist of a stick with a worm actually, (yay for someone who scold me saying it was Druncunculus Medinensis because you're right! but the symbol you referring to wasn't right!)

Now if we trace the source, it's also came from the Greek mythology.

It was said that the sign was originated from a disease called Druncunculiasis.

And yes the symbol comes from the ancient technique as we all know on the treatment of the disease,

The technique of pulling the worm out of the skin by rolling the end of the worm on a stick and gradually pulling ( as we all know).

And I won't tell much about the story about Zeus, Apollo...bla bla.

search it yourself.

it's funny though to read about the Greek's myth.lol.

In a nutshell,

The correct symbol is the Rod of Asclepius but, the Caduceus is used more in the healthcare service.

Just so you know that.

Again, I don't even bother about this symbol even if the symbol was Enterobius Vermicularis or a "winged-shield with letters and words" whatsoever.

Couldn't care less.

But, try to know the truth.

our world is full of lies.

Don't let a certain somethings keeps you in the dark.

Yes, ignorant is a bliss, but to what extent?

(ok dah mula merepek, ignore that last paragraph)

This post is just about sharing some knowledge.

And to kill some of my and your time.

TY.

Now, excuse me for using this photo as an example.xD

As stated, I couldn't care less about symbols though.

WE ARE NOT A WEAK GENERATION

Rule #1: change

No one can go back and change a bad beginning, but anyone can start now and create a successful ending. Even if the guilt from the past still haunts, you have to move on. Life goes on and on and it waits for no one. Allah, grants us the serenity to accept things that we cannot change; courage to change the things that we can – within our hands and wisdom to know the difference.

13:11 [thinking that] he has hosts of helpers-both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him ^[24] -that could preserve him from whatever God may have willed. ^[25] Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves; ^[26]and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.

Hey, you have the power to change! There is nothing impossible for a willing heart. People begin to question themselves; why are there lots and lots odds things in their life? They did not realize that problems are created by God to make them stronger. Well, of course people sometimes will have hard times in their life. No pain, no gain. Hence, we should do anything, by any means to overcome those problems. Do your best in anything and leave the rest to Allah.

Rule #2: ability

We have the ability to think, create and be whatever we choose to be, we have the power but time and time again we choose not to. Come on, why do we have to take the chance when the chance passes by and why when we have been given the chance we take things for granted?

Wake up people. This is not going to go away until we do something about it. Why are we even here on earth? Is it just for entertainment? Is there something more to it? Have you ever stopped to even think about it? What do you want to take out of this world?

Let me create an entertainment analogy since it is easier. Which football team wins the championship? Is it the team that works the least hard? Is it the team with the worst players? Is it the team that takes the month off? Man, we are so smart with entertainment but so stubborn with life. It's almost as if it's been planned that way.

It's just crazy. You tell people things time and time again and nobody gets it. Alas, that’s human being a.k.a homo sapiens sp.; they need to be reminded again and again. Always ask yourself to be better each day. Be grateful, act like one.

For many will look with their eyes but not see, and will listen with their ears but not hear, and with the heart not get the sense of it.

Rule #3: winner

Everybody is a winner; since our early existence from the fertilization of sperm and ovum. From millions of sperm, only one is capable of fertilizing the ovum. So, if you’re not a winner back then, you won’t be here now – common sense! Therefore, you should not feel as if you’re a loser most of the time, being left behind in studies or anything that keep you feel down. Move on, learn from the past. Just bear in mind that you’re a winner, stay positive and be optimistic about life. People get what they deserved and what they need.

Take a break, look a round your room. Let us imagine - Roof said: aim high. Fan said: be cool. Clock said: Every minute is precious. Mirror said: reflect before you act. Window said: see the world. Calendar said: be up to date. Door said: Push hard to achieve your goal. It’s a long way to go, Dr.!

Success is never ending, because it is a process. It is a process discovering and developing your potential as well as seeing the new opportunities born all around you everyday. Whatever you do today, do it better tomorrow. Tough time never last but tough people do. Choose it! Seek it! For success is finding a need and filling it! Finding a hurt and healing it! Finding a problem and solving it!

Rule #4: together

“United we stand, divided we fall”. We compliment each other. Stop labeling others and don’t look down on others, for he or she might know things that you don’t. If he or she is being left behind, don’t leave them be. For the sake of brotherhood let’s help each other in every aspect of life. You are not perfect but it’s the people around you that make you perfect. Everybody lacks here and there, but when we are united – we compliments each other. Being away from family, friends are your family.

Rule #5: courage

Nobody ever loses courage. Courage is something you never lose, because courage is something you will always choose. The truth is that courage isn’t a gift. Courage is a decision. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the presence of calling – a dream that pull you beyond yourself. Hence, it is something you can never lose. It is something that you can always choose. So, choose it today!

We have power to change. We have the ability. We are the winner. We are together, have each other, right? Let us choose courage! Therefore, say it out loud: We’re not weak!

From:

Atiqah Tahir

Mr.Knowledge,Mr.Attitude , Mr.Skill and the saviour Mastura.

One day, Mr. Knowledge went to the balcony after having his breakfast and gaze to see the clear blue sky above. “The clouds are still there”, he thought to himself. But maybe this is not the peak of the summer yet. The road was noisy with cars honking everywhere and they were like having a musical competition among them.

“Hey Mr. Knowledge, are you daydreaming early in the morning? “, Mr. Attitude asked and laughed loudly.

“No, I’m just taking some fresh air outside here. By the way, on my previous vacation to Egypt, I went to a seminar that emphasizes the importance of knowledge to human. Now I realised that without me, they cannot have a good life and live happily”.

“You can see how much I am important to them more than you do. I have some proves and I can show you if you don’t believe me” , Mr. Knowledge said it proudly.

Knowledge makes human capable for making excellent work. When they have knowledge, everything will run smoothly. At the same time, their esteem will get better, hence making their life easier. Then, knowledge is important in education. Can someone just enter the examination hall without knowledge? How much that you got in examination reflects how much the knowledge that you have in your minds and this will lead you to the bright success in the future.

Moreover , Our beloved prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim…” (Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 218)

“If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham (money), leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.” (Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3634).

Both hadith highlights the importance of knowledge. Having a good knowledge will show us the right path in our lives. So, there is no doubt that knowledge is the more important to human than others.

“Lalalala...don’t brag yourself too much, Mr .Knowledge, people adore me very much more than you. I can swear that they cannot live without me”, Mr. Attitude sang boastfully.

Firstly, attitudes drive behaviour. Your body language is a result of your mental attitude. By choosing your attitude you get in that particular mood and send out a message that everyone understands, consciously or unconsciously.

"Almost always, you have a choice as to what attitude to adopt. There is nothing in any normal work situation that dictates you to act one way or another. If you feel angry about something happens, for instance, that's how you choose to feel. Nothing in the event itself makes it absolutely necessary for you to feel that way. It is your choice. And since you do have a choice, most of the time you'll be better off if you choose to react in a positive rather than a negative way."

Secondly, positive attitude will significantly less showing the aging. You will feel younger and stronger when you make positive attitude as your partner in life. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on beauty products, you can always look good and young simply by just being positive. Besides, your attitude will affect people surrounding you. We can see there are so many crimes that occur nowadays no matter in or outside the country. There are young mother throwing their babies into the dustbin without having a little sympathy. The son killed his father cruelly and cut him into pieces. A husband could even kill his wife while she was preparing the dishes for her lovely husband. Why all this occur? The answer is simply because those people do not have good attitude and lack of the manner.

Suddenly Mr.Skill came approaching both Mr.Knowledge and Mr.Attitude. “Both of you are wrong.I’m the one who deserves all the praises”. Without skill, how a surgeon could perform a surgery? Then, how can people write good essays without writing skills? How those architects capable to build those sky scrapers?

Skills are also required for art of self defence like Taekwando. In Egypt, women are advised to scream if they are in danger. Even for the screaming, one should have the skill to scream and raise their voice.

‘

Having a skill can boost your confidence, self-esteem, social life, and conversational skills. These are universally attractive qualities that will make you well valued and more appreciated. Moreover having good skills will make
you greater in the eyes of your employers’.

Mr. Knowledge could not stand his anger anymore. He quickly reached the knife nearby and rushed to Mr. Skill prepared to stab him at anytime.

“ Argh, I’ll stab your left side vertically from the heart till the spleen, then you’ll get haemorrhage that will make your venous return, cardiac output and arterial blood pressure abruptly decrease. Hence, you will die in a split of a second. Hahahahaha”, Mr. Knowledge laughed wickedly.

Abruptly, Mr. Skill trembled like a leaf. His foot cannot move at all. He could feel the sweat rolling all over his body. Mr. Knowledge stepped forward and moved the knife upward.

“Stop, all of you stop right now !”, Mastura approached them to calm the situation.

“Knowledge without attitude is a waste. Everyone can have the knowledge but not every knowledgeable person have a good attitude. This what will happened when the knowledge is practising without the attitude.

Power of attitude and belief to shape your destiny . You’ll learn how your success initially depends on the way that you think and also your knowledge. Even if you think positively and have the knowledge, you won’t achieve your dreams until you act and use your skill properly. When you have the knowledge, have a good attitude and hold on the tough skill will turn your dreams into a reality. All these thing will support you’re firing on all cylinders .You are about to embark on a journey that will bring you success and happiness beyond your dreams. So let us all be nice and unite together so that our dreams will become a reality. Can we?”

The air was silence. Everyone was astonished with the facts that were told by Mastura . Tears were started to roll on their cheeks.

“I should not be acting like this. I’m becoming so selfish because of the knowledge i have” , Mr. Knowledge regret with what has happended.

Everyone had their heads down and regret with what had happened just now. They realised that they are very important and complimentary to each other. If one is missing, the other cannot do their roles very well. So, friends let’s all make a move and stay focus on our tracks holding on to the great knowledge especially in medicine, having a good attitude and create a skill that can boost our confidence and self esteem in becoming successful and good-hearted Muslim doctors in the future.

From:

Wahdati

LIFE IS A MYSTERY AND CHALLENGES

Assalamuaalikum

First of all, have you been wondering whether life could be more suitable to be described as a mystery? Or perhaps challenge comes first before mystery. Nahhh..That’s not important right? Because to me, life is definitely going to stay as a mysterious journey, and along the journey, we could never escape from the challenges ahead.

Before we’re going further, let defined what ‘mystery’ is. According to the dictionary, mystery means: one that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma. well, that’s too technical. In this writing, I would say that life is a total mystery because we never know what’s going to happen to us the next day or even the next hour. Simple right? Next, what challenge means? Personally I think challenge means the circumstances that we have to face each day. Every single day. Generally speaking, we face challenge as a traveller in a foreign land, a medical students, a teenager and the most important, the caliph of Allah.

Let’s go deeper and more focused in our perspective as a medical student in this land. Let’s dive into reality. Now, we’re in the year of 2010, and we’re going to finish our first year medical studies this July, insyaallah. Counting years, with god’s will, we’re going to get our scroll in the year of 2016. That will be 6 years in the future. Then, maybe some of us will pursue our studies to become specialist. That’s the bigger picture. We never know what’s going to happen. At least that’s what we EXPECTED to happen. So, the question is, should we rely only on what we expect to happen? Definitely not! We are the author of our own stories! Yes,I agree that Allah had planned everything. I agreed that he’s the best planner, Allah the Almighty. But Allah also said that he’s not going to change the condition of the folk until they change that which is in their hearts [13:11]

What is my goal by saying this? Enough said, I want everyone of us to plan our life. Make goal, be ambitious, have some dream and plan how to make all those reality. Hence I‘m going to provide you some tips on how to plan your life. This is what I get by surfing through the net (http://www.theallineed.com/selfhelp/05052802.htm). There are so many techniques that you can use for planning your ideal life, but the one that works the best is when you really and truly know inside and out what you want, how it would look and what it would feel like to be there. You can start by imagining what you want to be doing on a specific day in the future. That’s what we’ve done earlier. But now, let’s picture it in more details. Flesh out the daily tasks-in our contexts, which hospital we’re working at, what kind of doctor are we, how do we behave with others and how busy is our day? All the details of our life should be included within our plan. Once you know what you want, it is essential that you break each goal down into smaller ones that you can work towards on a daily basis. For example, if you wish to be a good doctor, you can start by being a good medical student first. A good medical student should not only excellent in the theoretical part of medicine but also the practical part of it. You can start by not to miss any lectures and practical classes and also doing attachments during summer break in hospital in Malaysia. Of course, just doing the basic stuff is not the only thing you can do to make this dream come true-for goal of being a good doctor, you must also have good attitude, able to handle hectic schedule, be able to manage stress, among many other things. Now, do you get it? It seems simple but you have to have the gut to make your life plan a reality.

But, what happens when you get sucked into the day-to-day drag of life and end up realising that a year has gone by and you haven’t done anything towards your goals and you can barely remember what they were in the first place?

So what CAN you do with your plan when life gets in the way? That’s when the challenges come.

#Be realistic

One way that life can get in the way is through sheer overwhelm: you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of each category when you do break each goal from your life plan down into smaller ones. It is really important that you keep motivated and don’t ask too much of yourself. If you are asking yourself to do 4 hours worth of work when you only have 30 minutes a day, don’t be disheartened, be realistic. You may find that if you set yourself one thing to do, and get that done faster than you think, then you can get another one done and get ahead of the plan.

#Be Flexible

Another way that life can be annoying? Is through unexpected twist: this is where keeping your plan flexible comes into play. Depending on what life has thrown at you, there are different ways of doing this. Firstly, you need to keep in control of your plan rather than letting it control you. Monthly, Quarterly and Annual Reviews are very useful ways of making sure your plan fits in with what really happening in your life and this kind of prevention system can help you anticipate and handle unexpected situations in the best way for you.

#Be Honest with Yourself

It is important that whatever your plan is, it must be right for you-if your goal involves actions that you are either not capable of or actions you are not willing to so, you must review what you want and be honest about the likelihood of you actually completing the actions you set yourself.

My last words are; Life is all about change. How you adapt to that change and how proactive you are in chasing your idea are what really makes the difference in having a fulfilled life. Having a plan can help you being prepared for whatever life decides to throw at you while keeping you on track to achieve your dreams.

From:

Najah

YOUR INTELLIGENCE – IQ,EQ AND SQ?

Nowadays, some schools, and other learning institutes all over the world would most likely give much importance to IQ rather than EQ and SQ and many teachers and parents have already thought the importance of IQ as being the determining factor of educational outcomes. Up to now, the world focuses more on IQ. It is a mind-set situation since early 20^th century, when physiologists create tests that can measure intelligence. As most belief, the higher the figure, the more intelligence ones is.

Someone is said to be intelligent if he or she is capable of solving complicated problems and remember facts and figures without difficulty. This type of intelligent is referred to as IQ or ‘Intelligence Quotient’, a phrase coined by an American psychologist known as Lewis Terman.

IQ is the ability of someone to reason, plan, solve problems and think theoretically and mentally good at doing certain works. Intelligence also involves thought and this explains how some can gives out good ideas in a matter of a short time. In addition, IQ is also refers to being rational, reasonable and goal-oriented thinking. It is a fact that all of us use some IQ or else we wouldn’t be functional.

As mentioned before, human beings can measure their IQ and those with high IQ would find the academics type of learning and curriculum activities in school as well as in universities somewhat easy. However, not all people can cope it well and find it simple. Nonetheless, these people should never lose hope for the fact that IQ is not the only determinants that lead to success. For instance, most people with relatively high IQ do not go to be as successful as their IQ score may lead us to believe.

Other type of intelligence that may be a factor to success in life is EQ, ‘Emotional Intelligence Quotient’. EQ is related to recognizing, understanding and choosing how we think, feel and react or respond to events and conditions in our lives. This type of intelligence involves our interactions with others and understanding of our own selves. EQ also provides inspiration, consideration and an ability to act in response to delight and pain. These learnable skills not only create positive effects in our relationships with others and ourselves but also create joy, love and success of different kind of things. EQ plays an important role as the best predictor of who can achieve success in whichever part of life.

From what we can see, having a high IQ does not guarantee you to lead a successful life as EQ plays a more significant role to succeed as compared to IQ. We should be glad that we all have EQ and that it can be improved for better used. EQ may help us in dealing with our emotions and emotions of others properly; interact with others well and to focus in increasing our efforts for a better life.

This leaves us with SQ. What is SQ? And how does it related to us? SQ, spiritual intelligence quotient is in relation to the growth of human being. It is concerning moving on in life despite of all the resentment they carry. SQ describes the ability of one to see purposes, values and meanings in his or her surroundings for a better and effective life. Moreover, SQ includes the skill to think out of the box and it is a type of intelligence required for a want to be leader. It was the intelligence that guides most of the successful men and women as leaders. Accordingly, spiritually intelligent assists in leadership.

Someone tends to become very miserable and disappointed with life if spirituality is not present. Hence, you can say that happiness can be a key to success in life. Human beings are born with the ability to use these three types intelligence for the reason that each of the intelligence required for survival.

IQ helps in solving logical problems, EQ allows us to judge the current situation and react to it as it should be, whereas SQ lets us think whether it is suitable for us to join in certain situation at first or not and the consequences we will face if we join.

No doubt that each and every one of us want to succeed in life, However to do so, we should not only rely on our IQ but also to focus on our EQ and SQ and a balance between these three types of intelligence may guide us to a happy, satisfaction and successful life- Intelligence of the mind, the heart and the spirit.

From: Amanina

MUSLIMS NOWADAYS

Assalamualaikum w. b. t.

Pertama sekali saya ingin memohon maaf sekiranya terdapat kekurangan pada pengisian ini. Hasil perbincangan dengan sahabat-sahabat, saya akan cuba untuk sampaikan perbincangan ini dengan penuh hemah dan semoga sahabat sekalian dapat mengambil sedikit sebanyak untuk dipraktikkan dalam kehidupan. Saya ingin menyatakan bahawa tajuk yang dikemukakan adalah terlalu luas dan tidak tercapai oleh pemikiran saya yang hanyalah insan kerdil yang sangat cetek ilmunya. Oleh yang demikian, saya telah mengecilkan skop perbincangan ini kepada situasi remaja Islam khasnya di Malaysia memandangkan belia merupakan tonggak utama perjuangan Islam. Merenung kembali peranan belia pada zaman Rasulullah, golongan muda seperti Saidina Ali Karamallah Wajhah, Saidina Osman Ibni Affan, Abdul Rahman bin Auf, Ibni Zubair, Ibni Abbas dan ramai lagi telah menjadi pelopor kepada kebangkitan dan penggerak kepada arus perdana perubahan masyarakat Islam.

Seperti yang kita maklum, agama Islam di Malaysia dari hari ke sehari semakin berkembang bukan sahaja pada jumlah penganutannya, malahan dari perspektif pengamalan ajaran Islam itu sendiri. Semakin ramai umat Islam yang mementingkan tuntutan syariat Islam dalam kehidupan seharian. Bagi yang benar-benar mengamalkan Islam, mereka sentiasa berlumba-lumba untuk menerapkan nilai Islam dengan sebaik mungkin. Antara aspek yang semakin ditekankan oleh masyarakat pada hari ini adalah penguasaan ilmu, dakwah islamiah dan usaha menyatupadukan umat Islam.

Remaja Islam kini menyedari bahawa, sebagai khalifah Allah dimuka bumi ini, manusia telah dipertanggungjawabkan untuk memakmurkan bumi berpandukan segala hukum dan syariat Allah dalam segenap aspek kehidupan. Oleh hal yang demikian, mereka bertindak untuk mempelajari pelbagai bidang ilmu yamg dianjurkan oleh Islam seperti ilmu Tauhid, Feqah, Tasawwuf dan lain-lain. Selain itu, semakin ramai yang berusaha untuk menguasai bidang ekonomi, perubatan, pertanian, sains, teknologi, pendidikan dan sebagainya. Justeru kesedaran terhadap tanggungjawab ini bakal membawa perubahan kepada ummah dan mengembalikan kegemilangan Islam kepada negara. Belia Islam itu sendiri memahami akan tanggungjawab dan fungsi mereka terhadap pembangunan dan penggerak kemajuan negara. Mereka berusaha menggunakan zaman muda remaja untuk menimba ilmu sebanyak mungkin dan mengamalkan Islam dalam kehidupan seharian sebagai persediaan menjadi pewaris kepimpinan dan kesinambungan umat masa hadapan.

Selain itu, semakin banyak persatuan islamiah yang dibentuk untuk menjalankan fungsi dakwah. Tunjang utama bagi pertubuhan-pertubuhan ini adalah para belia yang telah diasuh untuk menjalankan tanggungjawab individu muslim. Melalui pertubuhan seperti ini, remaja dididik dengan adab bersosial dan mengeratkan institusi umat islam tanpa mengira pangkat dan peringkat ilmu. Tambahan pula, terdapat golongan professional yang turut menyumbangkan pengisian dakwah melalui bidang masing-masing. Melalui pendekatan dakwah ini, masyarakat diajak dan diasuh untuk memahami agama Islam yang sebenar-benarnya. Tidak kurang juga ada individu-individu yang sedaya upaya mengelakkan fitnah kepada agama dengan mengamalkan ajaran dan sunnah Rasulullah iaitu dengan menjaga adab dan mengekalkan akhlak mulia dalam kehidupan.

Remaja Islam hari ini, telah menjadikan isu penyatuan umat Islam sebagai satu isu perdana yang sangat dititikberatkan. Bukan sahaja mensasarkan penyatuan dalam kalangan umat Islam di Malaysia malah, mereka berhasrat dan sedang giat berusaha untuk menyatupadukan umat Islam di seluruh dunia. Antara langkah terawal bagi merealisasikan hasrat murni ini, para remaja telah melibatkan diri dalam aktiviti membantu umat Islam di negara-negara yang ditindas. Sebagai contoh, menyokong seruan pemboikotan ekonomi ke atas barangan zionis dan pengikut mereka. Kemudian membantu mengumpulkan derma dalam apa jua bentuk untuk umat Islam Palestin melalui saluran rasmi ataupun badan-badan NGO. Mereka juga aktif mengadakan pameran-pameran mengenai Palestin di masjid-masjid, universiti, sekolah dan sebagainya. Hal ini jelas menunjukkan remaja kini mengambil berat isu umat Islam sedunia dan berusaha membantu semampu yang mungkin.

Walau bagaimanapun, bagai duri dalam daging, perkara yang sangat berpotensi untuk menjatuhkan kegemilangan Islam pada hari ini turut seiring terjadi. Ketika sesetengah golongan berkobar-kobar untuk mengagungkan Islam, pada masa yang sama, golongan yang lain masih leka dan tiada kesedaran akan tanggungjawab dalam melaksanakan Islam. Malah lebih teruk lagi, apabila wujudnya dalam kalangan remaja Islam sendiri yang bertindak menjatuhkan Islam. Bagai sudah terang lagi bersuluh apabila dewasa ini kita disogokkan dengan pelbagai masalah yang melanda remaja Islam. Daripada sekecil-kecil masalah, kepada sebesar-besar perkara yang telah dilakukan oleh ramaja hari ini. Isu dadah, rompak, rogol dan zina bukan lagi sesuatu yang besar untuk diperkatakan. Sebaliknya, remaja sekarang semakin berani memainkan agama dan tidak kurang juga isu murtad yang kian menjadi barah. Remaja yang telah terpedaya dengan fikiran atheist bukan sahaja tidak percaya kepada kewujudan Allah bahkan menghina agama Islam dan Al-Quran. Hal ini bukan sahaja merosakkan imej Islam malah, ia menjadi batu penghalang kepada usaha mengembalikan kegemilangan Islam hari ini.

Dalam pada itu, terdapat juga golongan pertengahan yang langsung tidak mengendahkan isu agama. Mereka hanya mementingkan keselesaan masing-masing dan tunduk kepada kebodohan diri sendiri. Mereka merelakan diri untuk mengikut telunjuk budaya barat seperti lembu dicucuk hidung. Kelompok seperti ini hanyalah meletakkan Islam hanya pada nama. Langsung tiada ciri-ciri Islam dalam diri, tidak mengamalkan adab mulia dan jauh sekali untuk menjadikan Al-Quran dan sunnah sebagai panduan hidup. Kita dapat lihat dengan jelas bagaimana golongan seperti ini terutamanya remaja, terlalu kecil pemikiran mereka. Amat menyedihkan apabila perkara remeh yang langsung tiada nilai dalam Islam seperti hiburan telah diletakkan sebagai perkara paling utama dalam hidup. Terlalu mengagungkan dunia fantasi seperti dunia lakonan, nyanyian, penulisan, anime dan sebagainya. Sekadar melepaskan batuk di tangga dan berbekalkan iman yang senipis kulit bawang, mereka hanya mengambil Islam dalam sesetengah aspek, tetapi jauh sekali untuk memikirkan tanggungjawab masing-masing dalam menegakkan agama. Hal ini jelas berlaku disebabkan kurangnya penghayatan tentang ajaran Islam yang sebenar. Tambahan pula dengan kurangnya pihak yang tampil untuk membenteras gejala hiburan yang melampau ini.

Kesimpulannya, umat Islam hari ini tidak boleh dinilaikan dari satu sudut sahaja. Pelbagai faktor boleh menyumbang kepada kegemilangan dan kejatuhan umat Islam kini. Oleh yang demikian, kita sebagai salah seorang belia Islam perlulah meletakkan diri kita sebagai pencetus, penggerak dan pembina tamadun Islam yang unggul dan dihormati oleh masyarakat dunia. Hal ini kerana remaja merupakan aset yang amat berharga serta merupakan tonggak dan kekuatan masa depan umat Islam. Tidak berguna jika kita mempunyai ilmu yang tinggi tetapi gagal memanfaatkannya ke arah kebaikan. Sebaliknya, jika kita mengambil inisiatif untuk melakukan perubahan ke arah kebaikan maka akan lahirlah generasi cemerlang dan negara yang terbilang yang akan menaikkan martabat agama dan kedaulatan negara di tahap yang tertinggi.

Wallahu’alam.

From:

Nurhawa Ilyani

THE ROAD LESS TAKEN: the experience with the Arabs

By: Mohamed Afiq Hidayat

It was about half of a decade ago, when I was craving my target on a piece of paper. They were 5 of them, the five golden aims that started my whole journey until I’ve been able to step my foot in Egypt. 3 aims accomplished, 1 failed and another one,stay steadfast in praying.

Being a medical student is an absolute aim for myself. However, being in Egypt is not the exact aim that I’d pointed out 5 years ago. Being among the Arabs, are far more impossible for me to point it out.
But now, why I am in Egypt as a medical student?
A GOOD QUESTION, A GREAT MOTIVATION
Throughout my days in Egypt for the last 7 months, I’ve been asking myself the same question each day. By attending medical lectures in fully-spoken local Arabic language, helped me a lot in gaining sympathetic stimulation that rapidly spread all over my body. Stumble, sadness, loneliness, anger, confuse, low self-esteem,and demotivated are words that are able to describe me for the last 7 suffering months. It is more than a lingualistic problem when you failed to really understand the local Arabic accent. You should be stumble,when you fail to understand the first lecture of the day,which in my case, being infected to the second lecture. Then,with the first and second lectures that just thrown me into thousand of confusions in my head, I was as cutting myself into pieces when entering the third lecture(not binary fission). Burst into madness!
There were jokes during those lectures,and none of them you were being able to understand. Your Arabic friends,being sitted beside you,they are from Egypt,Jordan,Yemen,Somalia,Palestin,etc –all are laughing like mad while you are alone, lost in nowhere, suffocating for attention of what the jokes actually were.
What was I supposed to feel if every single day of my class for the last 7 months were as much as the same situation? What should I do to look a little bit smarter than yesterday jokes? Again,why I am in Egypt? Question remains unanswered,yet for a few months only.
SEEKING THE ANWER
I have a sister. A beautiful sister. She was a final year medical student of Ein-Syam University, nearby my university. Sometimes,I phoned her whenever I feel depressed. She was just like me,the same situation,the same experience,but only time was different. She kept motivate me with her stories of hardness,that end up teaching her something in her life. Experience is the best teacher. Honestly speaking, my condition is more or less the same like hers . We are both freshly flew from Malaysia to Egypt, without any preparation programme,thus having zero knowledge of the Egyption Arabic language.
However,one months ago,she was certified as a graduate of Ein-Syam University. She is now a doctor. A good role model- the nearest one for me.
“If you feel like giving up,it is not your fault to have such feeling. But do remember,the longer it be, the more wasted time you’re actually spending. Get up,and work hard,” she adviced me repeatedly.
As she have had her own story that ended up with success, I keep telling myself of why I want to feel despair, if it is already proven that being a medical student in Arabic class is not an obstacle. It need patience,passion,hard toils and dedications.
However,my days are alternated with joys and tears. Deep down to the bottom of my heart,I felt really lonely. Thinking of just putting myself into the Malaysian class and just follow the crowds.
****
There was one day that I suddenly felt the same feeling. Ahmed Shuaibi,my friend from Yemen insist to know the reason of why I looked a bit gloomy that day. He said he is my friend, and I am his friend. And to a certain extend, we are brothers because we are Muslims. He said that there is no difference whether you are not an Arab or so, but it is a certain that we are all Muslim.
“Just look around you,my friend.. Everyone love you. You have Subhan from Afghanistan, you have Hashed,Sameer,Ahmed,Arafat,Rafaet,Akram,Ridhwan and Faeez. All of them are your friends from Yemen. You also have the Somalian friends, Abdel Rahman, Abdel Malik, and not to forget the nice Egyption, Ali,Yehia,Hisham,Walid,and Mohamed. And our beloved Palestinian friends,Yusuf,Anas, and Saaji. Aren’t they meaning something to you? Am I someone in your heart??”
Before he was able to finish his last sentence, I already burst into tears. How ungrateful I am to Allah the Almighty. He showered me with his bless by giving me sincere and helpful friends. As I remembered, it is a must for them to ask me the same question before we went back home after class.
“Do you need any help?”
“Anything can I do for you?”
“Do you have anything to ask?”
I have great friends, but I was so blind to realize it before. Allah,please forgive me.
****
It is now already to the end of my first year as medical student. The beginning was the most torturing phase, but the experience was superb. For the past 7 months, I’ve been able to develop my Arabic very well gradually. My friends are the most helpful Arabic language teachers for me. The Yemeni thought me the Yemeni Arabic accent,the Palestinians also did theirs. As a result,more or less I already got the blend of Arabic culture inside myself. “Learning one’s language meaning you are learning their culture,”my teacher always said.
To give ‘Salam’ among each other upon meeting, to ask about his/her health,to offer any help before going home, and to gratitude and thanking Allah for every good news are some of the good culture.(Of course there are bad Arabic habits, but sooner or later you will be able to develop your own patience and avoiding yourself from imitating the bad ones.
THE ROAD LESS TAKEN
There was one day where I sat in an Islamic class (or better called ‘ceramah’), where the ustaz in the first place had already answered my question in the beginning of his speech.
“My dear brothers in Islam,let us think for a while. For a couple of minutes,have you ever think of why we are sitting here together tonight? And why don’t just we do our own works now? And why we are in Egypt now separating ourselves from our beloved parents? And why don’t we rather choose European countries to further our studies?
My dear brothers, sometimes it is better for us to stop asking Allah for the answers of all the questions. It is far more a necessity for us to look back throughout our life. How much have we said ‘thank you Allah’ for giving us the spaces and the chances everyday with soul to live. How much have we done ibadah for Allah as you feel that you still don’t have enough easiness in facing life??
My dear brothers in Islam, maybe it is now the right time for us to stop hating being in difficulties,with most of the time keep complaining and murmuring about how hard the life is. And maybe to stop hating being in Egypt for no reasons. Just open up our minds and see with our heart. There are a lot of syeikh around the place where you live now,and how much have you make benefit of that golden chances meeting them? There are a lot of oppurtinities for you to prepare yourself in becoming real Muslim doctor, but how much have we prepare ourselves right now?”
It would cost hard toils in becoming a great person. Prophet Muhammad,Imam Ghazali,Salehuddin Al-Ayubi –name any great person,and you will find the hardness that they faced throughout their life in their histories. Their time was even harder. You are in Egypt because you want to be somebody. You want to be a great person in life. You are separating from your family just like Salehuddin Al-Ayubi,being separated by his father to further his studies in Damascus. You are what the great person have done before.”
****
Reflecting ustaz’s words really make me realized the answer. I may be the most stupid person in class now because I failed to totally understand the Arabic lectures, and I maybe sometimes feel lonely because there is no Malaysian friend in my class. However, the harder I work,the sweeter my success would be. For the next 6 years of medical school with Arabic lecture, I may be very fluent in Egyption Arabic. And for the years to come,I must be missing my friends very much because they are living around the whole world,working as doctors in our own countries, the Yemenis,the Palestinians,the Egyptions,the Somalies, the Jordanians,the Afghans, the Mauritinions,etc.
For my friends,I love all of you in Allah.
Last but not least, as my bestfriend said and I quote,
”Have faith in Allah, and in whatever you are doing. Work hard, and stay steadfast”