Gentle reminder to those who forget

A reminder for self:

~ Gratitude comes hand in hand with patience. One cannot do without the other. As you are grateful for what you have, you also have to be patient for what you don't have.

~ Memories won't make themselves. You have to make it a point to create them day by day.

~ Over-analysis would lead you to the wrong conclusions. Voice out and resolve whatever is burning in your heart.

~ Love responsibly and be brave. Weakness will make you lose it.

~ Let go of the little things. Move on.

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I hope to remember these most of the time, although I know it's beyond me to remember it all of the time...

Love responsibly

There are different wells within your heart.

Some fill with each good rain,

Others are far too deep for that.

In one well

You have just a few precious cups of water,

That “love” is literally something of yourself,

It can grow as slow as a diamond

If it is lost.

Your love

Should never be offered to the mouth of a stranger,

Only to someone

Who has the valor and daring

To cut pieces of their soul off with a knife

Then weave them into a blanket to protect you.

~Hafez, a persian poet

I stumbled on this at Paulo Coelho's blog.

It's an old poem I guess, from a poet long gone.

Funny how the questions of the heart never gets answered even after human's centuries of searching. This is why the poem still resonates with me now. The core problems of the world like love, greed, fairness: has never been resolved.

But let's leave that at that.

About the poem, it's certainly a good and sound advice for those on the trying journey in search of meaning and love. Love should be a responsible thing I think.

We should consider those whom we give our hearts, never give it out recklessly. You'll regret it if you don't treat your heart responsibly, because you'll never get that piece back. What's already been given cannot be taken back, it could only be replaced with another piece. Like a memory, it is fixed and not interchangeable with circumstances.

What is, is.

The situation is not unlike the honeybee: it dies after it stings, did you know that? So that honeybee should seriously consider what it chooses to sting, or it's death would be for nothing. That is sad, because the sacrifice is too great to be spent on mediocre things.

So what I am trying to say to you and remind myself is: consider carefully those whom you open and give your heart. Take responsibility for your own heart and embrace the consequences.

Lemonade life

He had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once ~Neil Gaiman

Since I've made my two resolutions for my birthday (1. to be more grateful and patient 2. to be more open hearted), it seems like the whole world has ganged up on me to solely make me fail.

So many things, until the insignificance of me, how helpless I am in the chain of events that unfold become so clear to me. Feeling small in a big bad world.

But it doesn't matter. I tell myself that each and every time a thought or event that threaten the heart comes. Love, Life, Career..everything. But at least the future holds promise, of what I don't know. I just have this unending hope that it will all be better. It is just something we all have to wade through, right? The tribulations of life is what you signed up for when you agreed to this existence. You are your choices, you are your dreams: all these motto sometimes don't make sense and sometimes they make perfect sense. A paradox of sorts.

But you can't say you haven't been warned:

Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? they encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of Allah." Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near

Adakah patut kamu menyangka bahawa kamu akan masuk syurga, padahal belum sampai kepada kamu (ujian dan cubaan) seperti yang telah berlaku kepada orang-orang yang terdahulu daripada kamu? Mereka telah ditimpa kepapaan (kemusnahan harta benda) dan serangan penyakit, serta digoncangkan (oleh ancaman bahaya musuh), sehingga berkatalah Rasul dan orang-orang yang beriman yang ada besertanya: "Bilakah (datangnya) pertolongan Allah?" Ketahuilah, sesungguhnya pertolongan Allah itu dekat (asalkan kamu bersabar dan berpegang teguh kepada agama Allah)

~al-Baqarah, 214

And another thing to slowly bring us to acceptance and the desire to face everything head on:

Ya Allah,

saya mengadukan kepada-Mu lemahnya kekuatan diriku,

sangat terbatasnya kecerdasanku dan kehinaan diriku atas manusia,

dengan rahmat Engkau, Ya Allah,

Tuhan pemelihara sekalian alam.

Engkaulah pemelihara sekalian orang-orang dhaif,

Engkaulah Tuhanku.

Kepada siapakah Engkau menyerahkan aku?

Kepada orang asing yang mengusir aku,

Atau kepada musuh yang menguasai urusanku?

Tetapi meskipun demikian saya redha,

Asal saja Engkau tidak memurkai aku.

Kemaafan-Mu lebih besar dari dosaku,

Saya meminta dengan Nur Zat-Mu yang menerangi semua kegelapan,

Dan dengan-Nya menjadi baik segala urusan dunia dan akhirat,

Semoga aku tidak tertimpa kemurkaan-Mu dan azab-Mu.

Bagimu sumber keredhaan,

Sehingga Engkau meredhai aku.

Tidak ada daya dan kekuatan hanya dengan Engkau

Someone once said that if life give you lemons, make lemonade. We just have to make the best with the bare minimum that we have I guess.

As always, la haula wala quwwata illa billahil 'aliyyil adzim