The Little Candle

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green.

She had no idea why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and insignificant.When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a large man walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the man was going to set her on fire. "No, no!!" she cried, "Aaaaagghhh! Don't burn me, please!" But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow.

To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the man had extinguished his fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light came from herself. Then the man struck another fire stick and, one by one, lit the other candles in the room

Each one gave out the same light that she did. During the next few hours, she noticed that, slowly, her wax began to flow. She became aware that she would soon die.

With this realization came a sense of why she had been created. "Perhaps my purpose on earth is to give out light until I die," she mused. And that's exactly what she did.

God created you and I to produce light in a dark world. Like that little candle, we all can produce the same amount of light, no matter how small we are or what color we might be. But we can't produce light until we receive it from an outside source. That source is God, the light of the world.

Rakyat Malaysia

Kepada semua Rakyat Malaysia, moga kita tetap bersatu walau apa juga yang berlaku. Kita tidak punya negara lain. Ini satu-satu negara di dunia ini yang berhak kita panggil negara kita. Jika apa yang terjadi terhadap negara ini, kitalah yang bertanggungjawab. Mana mungkin kita boleh menunding jari kepada orang lain. 

Apa yang kita perolehi hingga kini berkat usaha dan doa ibu bapa dan datuk nenek kita. Mari kita teruskan usaha dan doa mereka ini agar negara yang kita cintai ini wujud aman sentosa hingga akhir zaman. Hanya Allah sahaja yang mengetahui ...

The Train

A group of children are playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child is playing on the disused track, the rest on the optional one.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing at the disused one would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Lets pause to think what decision we would eventually make...

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one lone child. You may think the same way, I guess. But did you think that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the used track was sidelined. And in the case where he was sacrificed, none shed a tear for him.

The scenario teaches us another lesson that while we are taking right decisions in our life, its our moral responsibility to teach others about the dangers of choosing the wrong options. If we do not do this we might have to suffer, like the boy in this scenario. If the kid opted to teach his fellow friends about the in-service track, all of them would be safe and sound.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right ones.

"Remember that what's right isn't always popular, and what's popular isn't always right."

Everybody makes mistakes, that's why they put erasers on pencils.

A Life Worth Saving

This is a short but powerful story about living each day to the fullest. Hope you enjoy this inspirational story and find words of wisdom in it. Be sure to live each day and count your blessings for each day!

A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous riptide to save a youngster being swept out to sea.

After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to the man,"Thank you for saving my life."

The man looked into the little boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving."

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. - Kahlil Gibran

Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think. - Horace

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Winston Churchill

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. - Angela Monet

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein.

"Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions"

ISS

Semalam, tamat program ‘Vibrant Workforce, Productivity Revolution’ (VWPR) untuk sekumpulan anggota kerja dari Jabatan Kejuruteraan, Bahagian Penghantaran, Tenaga Nasional Berhad. Memang berbaloi aku memfasilitator program kali ini kerana aku mulai jelas mengenai konsep ‘Ikhlas, Sabar, Syukur’ (ISS) yang dikongsi oleh Ustaz Hairudin beberapa waktu yang lalu.

Kalau dulu bila aku kongsikan idea ISS dengan participants, aku lihat mereka mengganggap itu hanya salah satu slogan sahaja tanpa benar-benar memahami signifikan ISS ini. Memang sudah ketentuan Tuhan, akhirnya aku ketemukan satu pendekatan bagaimana harus kita melihat ISS ini. Ceritanya begini …

Jika kita lihat hidup ini, ramai yang mengatakan hidup ini tidak adil. Kenapa tidak adil? Ialah, perhatikanlah hidup ini. Ada manusia itu yang niatnya suci ingin membantu dan sudahnya beliau pula yang dipandang bersalah. Ada manusia itu yang melakukan kesalahan sudahnya beliau terlepas dari pengadilan. Jadi dimanakah keadilannya? Walhal, kita sedia maklum, Tuhan itu Maha Adil.

Pertama, tanda Tuhan itu Maha Adil ialah dengan Tuhan menwujudkan hari akhirat bagi Beliau mengadili segala ketidakadilan yang berlaku di atas mukabumi ini. Tiada sebarang ketidakadilan akan terlepas di hari akhirat nanti! Fikirkan …

Kedua, kita perlu sedar bahawa segala apa yang ada pada kita sekarang adalah milik Tuhan termasuklah diri kita sendiri ini. Itu sebab ada hari akhirat, bagi Tuhan soal kita samada kita benar-benar telah bertanggungjawab atas apa yang telah dipinjamkan itu. Jika apa yang ada pada diri kita ini milik kita, buat apa Tuhan perlu mempersoal kita? Maka Maha Adillah Tuhan mempersoal kita kerana segala adalah milikNya. Fikirkan …

Berdasarkan kepada dua sebab di atas, sudah semestinya kita perlu buat yang terbaik apa sahaja aktiviti kita di atas dunia ini. Dan kita lakukan dengan terbaik untuk Tuhan dengan harapan agar Tuhan akan ‘bless’ kita. Bila Tuhan ‘Bless’ kita, hidup kita sudah pasti ‘Sejahtera Bahagia Kaya’ disini dan dunia sebelah sana. Inilah yang dinamakan IKHLAS. Fikirkan …

Bila kita bertemu kesusahan dalam sebarang aktiviti itu, kita perlu SABAR. Ramai yang mengetahui hal ini. Namun ramai yang berpandangan SABAR itu semacam satu tanda yang melambangkan bahawa kita lemah. Benarkah? Sebenarnya, SABAR dalam kata erti sebenarnya adalah merupakan satu penyerahan diri secara total kepada Tuhan. Maksudnya, kita memahami bahawa sebarang kesusahan yang dihadapi itu merupakan milik Tuhan juga. Sudah pasti penyelesaiannya ada pada Tuhan juga.

Atas dasar bahawa kita mahu buat yang terbaik untuk Tuhan (IKHLAS), kita akan memohon agar Tuhan tunjukkan jalan penyelesaian yang terbaik untuk kita. Sudahnya kita tidak akan berasa tertekan yang amat sangat. Berbeza jika kita memandang sesuatu kesusahan itu sebagai tanggunggan atau milik kita semata-mata, sudah pasti kita akan stress. Inilah yang dinamakan SABAR. Fikirkan …  

Ramai orang bila bertemu dengan kesenangan dan puji-pujian akan lupa diri. Mengapa? Kerana mereka berprasangka bahawa segala kesenangan dan puji-pujian itu sebagai milik mereka. Sebaliknya jika kita sedar bahawa segala kesenangan dan puji-pujian itu juga merupakan milik Tuhan, sudah pasti kita akan bersyukur dan mengucapkan Segala Puji Bagi Tuhan (Alhamdullilah). Dalam kata lain kita pulangkan segala kesenangan dan pujian itu kepada Tuhan. Hasilnya kita tidak akan lupa diri. Itulah yang dinamakan SYUKUR. Fikirkan …

Bila kita memahami konsep ISS sebegini, maka dengan izin Tuhan, kita akan berjalan atas mukabumi ini dengan penuh ketenangan dan  jauh dari lupa diri yang menjahanamkan. Sudahnya, adakah kita nampak peluang untuk amal ISS ini dalam segenap kehidupan kita? Sebagai contoh, bila kita bekerja, adakah kita mampu buat yang terbaik dan serahkan kepada Tuhan? (IKHLAS). Bila bertemu kesusahan dalam kerja, adakah kita mampu memohon Tuhan membimbing kita? (SABAR). Bila kita menerima kesenangan atau pujian orang, adakah kita mampu mengucapkan segala puji bagi Tuhan? (SYUKUR).

Itulah satu perkara utama yang aku pelajari dalam VWPR kali ini. Moga Tuhan rahmati kita semua.

8.49 malam, 10hb April 2013 – Bilik 1523, Hotel New York, Johor Bahru.

Baru petang tadi, tamat program Pembangunan Karekter untuk sekumpulan anggota kerja Pembahagian, Tenaga Nasional Berhad dengan sempurnanya. Selama 3 hari 2 malam, aku bersama mereka berkongsi idea-idea Stick Person, SWOT dan Business Model Canvas. Memang selama 3 hari 2 malam itu aku tidak nampak dunia lain, aku tumpukan diri hanya untuk laksana program ini. Rasa berdengung kepala aku bila dah tamat. Tired usah nak cakap.

Aku sengaja ambil keputusan untuk pulang esok hari sahaja kerana aku nak ambil masa untuk rehat. Nak take it easy. Kalau ikut demand kerja, memang aku harus pulang cepat ke KL. Tapi kali ini, tidak seperti waktu lain, aku rasa aku mesti take a break. I dunno why, aku dapat rasakan drive aku untuk buat talk ini semacam berkurangan. Wonder apa puncanya?

Maybe aku tired sangat. Banyak sangat perkara yang harus aku tangani. I don’t think I can berterusan begini. Perlu take things one at a time. Mungkinkah ini tanda aku stress? Maybe … Aku perlu rejuvenate diri ini. I need to keluar sebentar dari environment aku ini. Lihat semula apa yang harus aku lakukan. Maybe from a fresh perspective.

Adakah apa yang aku buat ini mengharap balasan dari orang sekeliling aku? Kemungkinan itu mungkin ada kerana kalau aku tidak mengharap dari mereka, mana mungkin semangat aku berkurangan?  Aku tidak suka kepada fikir-fikir ini. Buat aku jadi marah dengan diri sendiri.

Jadi apa yang mest aku pegang? Mmmm … semestinya aku mesti katakan bahawa aku lakukan ini untuk Tuhan ku. Ini putus aku secara sedar (conscious choice). Bukan di paksa.  Aku mesti bulldoze bersama pegangan ini. Apa pun hidup di atas muka bumi ini bukannya lama pun. Semestinya aku tarik diri aku agar bangun dan terus bangun!

I must be honest with myself. Aku lakukan semua talk ini kerana aku excited to share these ideas with others. Itu drive nombor satu aku. Inilah yang selalu buat aku jadi segar.  

Aku mesti susun semula strategi aku. Aku need to prioritize segala aktiviti aku. Kalau dibiar kan dengan arus hidup, memang senang aku hanyut. Memang ini tak boleh dibiarkan. I must act! Now! Macam kata lagu berikut …

Lepas dengar lagu ini, aku rasa lega. No point aku toleh belakang lagi. I’m on the right track! Moga Allah peliharai aku, bimbingi aku dan ajari aku. Ameen.

A State of Mind - A Poem

I have come a long way
to a distant place far far away
from where I used to live
and from what I used to do

Life is a rosy dream,
happiness and joy aplenty,
everything that I wanted and
everything is as I had hoped for;

Everything is as I had hoped for,
everything is as I had longed for,
everything is except for the turmoil
that plagues me inside every day;

I sleep, I smile, I laugh, I play, I eat and I live
in a constant state of fear,
a fear that I did not ask for,
and one that I did not longed for;

Killing me from inside,
silently screaming for it to stop,
I am devoured by my own inner self,
day in and day out;

Haunting and taunting me,
time and time again,
they run helter and skelter
in the deep recess of my mind;

It’s just a state of mind,
I tell myself
hoping to erase these thoughts
of fear that hinges on the edge of my happiness;

Trapped inside my own mind,
eclipsed by my fear,
tears weep without a choice
hoping to vanquish this struggle within.

Top 10 Habits that can Damage Your Brain!

According to World Health Organization, we have such a lot of mannerisms and habits. we often think that doing them makes us feel relaxed. However, what we have a tendency to don’t recognize is that these habits may cause internal destruction like brain damage.

1.Skipping Breakfast or No Breakfast at all.

People who don't take breakfast usually got a lower blood sugar level. That’s bad. It ends up in an insufficient of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2.Over eating.

Over eating causes the hardening of the brain arteries that results in a decrease in mental power. That’s why you might notice that you simply can’t concentrate well on a puzzle if you have eaten over limit.

3.Smoking

It does not only harm the lungs however also the brain. The nicotine in cigarettes also contain some substances that causes multiple brain shrinkage. If this may continue, you might even get an Alzheimer’s disease.

4.High sugar consumption

Too much of everything is unhealthy. Having a high sugar count interrupts the absorption of proteins and nutrients inflicting malnutrition. this could also interfere in the brain development. Thus, it's not advisable, particularly for children to indulge in sweets.

5. Exposure in air pollution

This is not actually a habit since we tend to are invariably exposed to pollution. Yet, it is listed here because it is one the most causes of brain damage. it is a incontrovertible fact that the brain is one of the main oxygen consumers in the body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the provision of oxygen, bringing about a decrease in brain potency.

6. Lack of sleep or Sleep deprivation

Sleep is extremely essential. it allows our brain to rest from all the hard work done in all day. long term deprivation from sleep accelerates the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping

Sleeping with Head Covered is not good! This is often unhealthy too. Sleeping together with your head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decreases the concentration of oxygen which ends up in brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness

This is quite common to students and professionals alike. progressing to college or workplace while sick and doing voluminous brain work.do you know that working hard or studying  while sick ends up in a decrease of brain effectiveness and conjointly brings brain damage?

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts

Thinking is that the best way to train our brain. having sensible conversations or writing some essays is extremely healthy. Talking non-sense things is certainly not.it is best to invariably have brain stimulating thoughts to avoid brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely

There’s nothing unhealthy in being talkative,it is actually healthy.Intellectual conversations promote the potency of the brain.

Paraprosdokians

Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and frequently humorous.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit... Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, Notify:' I put 'DOCTOR'.

11. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

12. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

13. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

14. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Peace of Mind

Once a wise prince walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and the wise prince told one of his followers, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake."

The follower walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The follower thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my prince to drink!” So he came back and told the wise prince, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”

After about half an hour, again the wise prince asked the same follower to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The follower obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the wise prince.

The wise prince looked at the water, and then he looked up at the follower and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did the wise prince emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having 'peace of mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.