Tentative flight to Brunei if all goes well, Insha Allah.

Something strange - for the past 2 years or so, I've been spending my birthdays overseas (not quite out of plan), but as a matter of coincidence (last year in Nepal, and this year in Bali). If all goes well, this may be the case next year too - in Brunei, Insha Allah (as requested by my mother). :)

My Open Prayer

My Open Prayer


Dear Allah,

I find that my life is reaching a point where I am very thankful for everything You have blessed me with. It;s a point where I've come to realize that everything I have ever been granted - comes with mercy and endless compassion from You, even when I may not (up till that point) be deserving of Your mercy. Thank you my Lord.

Recently, after I returned to Singapore after working in Japan for 3 months (from Sept - Dec 8th 2012), I've been 'pressured' by my mum, grandmother and grandauntie to get to know a couple of bachelors. They have the best of intentions for me, of course. Who would want their beloved daughter, granddaughter or grandniece to be single all her life? Over the past months or even over the past year, as I have come to learn more about Islam, to read the views of many leading and influential writers on Islam - one of my favourites is Yasmin Mogahed. I have learnt especially through her - in her exact words - that everything in this Life albeit temporary is, a means to achieve what is sustainable, and to fulfil the true purpose of our lives. To me - as is probably true for most of us -  the question of what I would like to achieve with my life, what its purpose is, has always plagued me, like a haunting shadow that keeps egging me to find out, never resting. There was this endless need to search deeper. I believe I now have the answer, Thanks to You my Lord for guiding me to all these amazing reads, for moving my heart to sign up for the Fardhu Ain' class under Ustaz Zhulkiflee in Kembangan, for motivating and planting a desire in me to keep reading more about Islam, as written by these amazing inspirational writers (like Yasmin Mogahed). This has given me that answer - that my life is for You. To realize that Your true love is eternal, and that everything else is but a means to reach You, our Creator, for You know best my Lord.

Just like how every living thing (plant, animal or micro-organism) has its purpose or function, likewise, ours is to Serve You. To remember and find our ways back to you, in remembrance, in worship is to find peace. Thank You Allah. Please keep guiding me. My journey in remembrance and faith has only just started, so much more to be done - to better myself as a Muslim, and I have many dreams in this regard, those only You know of, and those only You're aware of whether I'm well suited to take up, in achieving. I just pray that I will be given the wisdom and strength to add value to those around me, for the right intentions, to inspire others to find the right path too. Only You can guide me and keep me on the right path in a way that is best suited to my abilities and worth - so please allow me to achieve that, Amin.

Even weddings and marriages are determined by You. So if it is within my destiny as deemed best by You - that I should be married, I pray that you will guide me to someone who shares the same faith, who can love me for You, and vice versa, and with whom we can continue touching more lives, for Your sake, Amin. Let my wishes come true, please. Free my heart from ill-intentions, cowardice, or egoism. Guide me with Your wisdom, love, patience and compassion - to be a good daughter, a committed and disciplined Muslim and a passionate motivator - Amin.

Your ever indebted and grateful Muslimin,
Khairah

Dear Allah,
Sometimes it hurts, to think about what has passed. SOmetimes I feel weak, when I realize how imprefect I am. When I lose motivation and for a moment, the will to go on. But I do have You, and Your Great Presence. Forgive me Lord, for I am nothing without You. Be with me Lord, for I need Your Mercy and Guidance. Inshaallah.
Grant me the will and patience and love to progress and go through life, Inshaallah. Amin Ya Rabbaalaamiin.

TWO WOLVES

One evening an old Cherokee (a Native American) told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

“The other is Good – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”

Source: http://blog.campaignasia.com/mike-fromowitz/can-marketers-do-well-by-doing-good/

Hi there!

It's been awhile!

Today, I was on MC as my heart was palpitating very strongly and I felt quite weak and lethargic. Felt really strange and discomforting to miss a day at work though and I guess that's how it is like in Singapore (and maybe any other busy workaholic city you have today). That guilt when one misses a day at work. Thoughts about what else you must rush the next day just to make up for the loss of time today will flood your mind and rob you of that much needed peace of mind to recuperate. (Unless of course you make a conscious choice to not let such thoughts steal that away from you and just REST. I tried my best to do that for how else would I be productive? haha. I sound like a workaholic, don't I?

Anyway, during that short period of resting, I managed to read a bit of Akio Morita (one of the Founders of Sony Corp)'s book 'Made in Japan' and one interesting excerpt got me thinking. His philosophy of what keeps workers happy at work. He argues that it isn't and can never be just pay and he is therefore (understandably) against the practice of paying big bucks to attract and retain talents (I think this mindset is adopted by most Japanese companies actually, based on what I hear about their remuneration schemes). So Morita-san argues that what's more (and arguably, most) important is that employees feel like they are doing something important in the company and are contributing to a greater purpose in the organization which will attract and retain them. It relates well to what drove him and Ibuka-san to start the company and to sustain the motivation despite all odds, I guess. How they constantly seized the opportunity to want to build that innovation that was totally unique and never heard before. The need to do things differently (that till today is something we wish to retain and cultivate further in our organization.)

My thoughts? I agree. But there's always that tipping point which becomes obscure. That the pay difference cannot exceed that tipping point for then these talents may be easily poached to other competitors. And also of course, the ongoing challenge of how to ensure that the challenge is something that can be sustained on a daily basis whilst creating an environment that is conducive to proactive responses and which supports efforts that seek to tackle these challenges and seize opportunities.

Anyway. now on a more self-reflective note..

I just realized that over the past year or 2 that I have not been doing anything actively on a social/ community-front that would make myself proud. (ie. like be a director of a community project or leading in some cause, etc. and this lack of contribution on that front has made me a tad restless and unhappy and I don't like that feeling..

I used to have that personal self-evaluation chart of mine which I use to keep track of my performance and development across various important aspects: physical, spiritual, educational and career (now to replace academic performance previously which was applicable while I was still in Uni).

Well, some efforts have been made thus far that I'm happy about that but the community involvement aspect is something that I definitely need to work more on:

1) Physical: I just bought a Deals.com.sg coupon for discounted swimming lessons. Bought for myself and Pish. It's $42 for 4 lessons (usual price: $60/ 4 lessons).

They have swimming classes for groups of ladies every Monday evening at Bedok swimming complex. So yeay, lookign forward to that. Swimming lessons has been something that I have aspired to learn since last year! And despite emailing several swimming trainers and companies, I received no response! Hmm.. hopefully I do make genuine progress on this front now given that I have already paid for it.

2) Spiritual enrichment:

This is something I must say that I am very proud and happy about. I have signed up for Fardhu AIm (Beginners' Class) every Friday evening for about 12 lessons I believe with Uztaz Zhulkiflee. He is a knowledgeable man, Mashaallah. (Nadz was the one who recommended this course to Mairah and me. And thankfully (after publicizing this course on my facebook profile, even Irdhawati and Adibah have signed up too.) I do genuinely look forward to his classes.

May Allah AWT guide us all in our pursuit of knowledge and may we be better Muslims with greater Taqwa (Amin who can then make use of this knowledge to lean improved lives with higher quality ibadat and spread thhis knowledge with others.

3) Educational:

Hmm, I will be attending Japanese classes every Sunday afternoon (for about 10 lessons first). This is to prepare us (the Fresh mInds) for our 3 months attachment in Japan come Sept-Dec 2012. Hmm, to be completely honest, I have mixed feelings about this, but as Uztaz Zhulkiflee mentioned, go and learn with an open heart and a humble attitude. Knowledge is an obligation of every Muslim and I should put in as much effort as I can to show my appreciation (to my company which is paying for this) and to do my best for it.

Other than that, I do wish to recap past knowledge or to somehow pass forward the much knowledge that I have gained from the talks I have attended or the courses I have been to. (like EQ management, progressive leadership (how to coach), women empowerment talks about how to be better women leaders without the need to compromise on our feminine traits, consulting tips: how to categorize and structure out thought patterns). But how? Facebook? Blog? Maybe blog will do the trick.

But hmm, come to think of it. (back to he topic of my lack of comunity involvement and contribution lately). Perhaps I have chosen to make a trade-off currently. To reduce the time I spend on community engagement and involvement by spending more time with my family instead. Hopefully Alllah SWT guides me in my pursuit of becoming a better Muslimin who is more responsible, disciplined and who fully utilizes my time on earth to add value and touch the lives around me (with His guidance), Inshaallah, Amin.