The Reader

Taking a rest..

After we are tired of doing something,all of us need a rest.The photo on the right was snapped at a shopping complex as I went down the escalator.I saw four persons taking a rest on the chairs provided.One is listening to the music via his iPod,next one is reading a book and the other is reading a newspaper.The lady in pink has just sat down and making herself comfortable.

As I grow older(today I am 58 years old),I need more frequent rest and it takes longer time to recover after a hard day's work.I have to learn to live with that and embrace it.The most important thing is we accept who and what we are and make the best of it.In my case,I am blessed with good health -can walk 10km and cycle 20km  with no heart and leg problems.Thank you my Lord for your blessings.

A few younger men I met have real stress problems and one of them(age 30+) has collapsed a few days ago when his blood pressure jumped to more than 200!Please take care and take a rest when your body has spoken.

Late last year,I wrote about a balanced life-tawazun.

Stuck in traffic jam @Sg Merab

Impatiently arrogant!

During the Olympic Day Run last Sunday in KL,we passed through Bukit Tunku area.While I was walking with a few hundred others,I heard a continuous honking sound from behind us.The road is narrow and we almost took 80% of the road width.There was a big expensive SUV car wanted to overtake us and the driver can't wait for the crowd to give away.The way she honked us off her so called right of way was so irritating -it was just like saying to us to get lost!

As the car overtook me,I saw an angry face of the driver and I just smiled and continued with my walk.With so many traffic jams in KL,the driver may soon get a heart attack.I wish she could be more patient and considerate like a few other cars who stopped by road side and let us go first.

Art of reading..

These days,we have so many  things exposed or imposed on us to read.Many a time ,we just browse through the text seeking to find information.In our haste,we never have enough time to think over on what we just read.We read and move on...just like when we saw an advertisement on the billboard along the highway....

Mr James Campbell has written a very good and thought provoking article on this subject.Kindly read it here.

As muslims,we are being reminded many times in the Holy Quran to think and reflect on the 'ayat' from Allah via His creations.If we don't have time to 'read' ,we may gain nothing from reading the 'ayats'.

To benefit from reading, we must know what is involved in the act of reading!

About five years ago,I wrote about reading a book in a response to a call to read.Here is the link.

Note on the photo: I took this shot of Wan Hulaimi@Awang Goneng reading a few paragraphs of his book GUIT.

 

The run has just begun

Palmx family team

Book: Born To Run

At my age,my doctors and friends told me not to run.And I agree with them-my joints are getting older by each day and the 'lubrication' is getting 'thinner'.This is confirmed from my on personal experience when I tried to do a short run a few times during my walk.So,the best alternative for me is to do brisk walk.

To motivate me walking,I bought a pair of Nike+shoes with wristband sensors to measure my distance.Since 15th March,2010 I have walked almost 450km todate.Today is a special day for me because I plan to take part in Olympic Day Run of 7km.I plan to walk fast to complete the route in the stipulated time of 90minutes for senior veteran category.

A week ago,I went to Kinokuniya Bookshop looking for the book as mentioned above after reading some good reviews online.It is on their list but it was out of stock.So I ordered one and yesterday I got a call-the book has arrived.I am NOT born to run or to ride or to cycle,but in whatever I enjoy doing,I prefer to learn more about the subject matter so that I could benefit more from what I am doing.Here,my message is :Beramal dengan ilmu.

Today is my first time taking part in a public run event at Dataran Merdeka,insyaAllah.You can read more at my Facebook or blog.Have a good Sunday:-)

 

New arrivals

Yesterday,I took my sons to Nike+ shop to show them some cool products from the company.I explained to them the company business model and innovative marketing and sale strategy which my sons can learn in building up their business and career.

This one pair costs RM599!

Deviation from the True Path

As muslims we at least recite 17 times surah Al-Fatihah in our daily solat and asking Allah for us to remain on the true path.Just give a thought why some of us muslims/muslimahs and have gone astray from the True Path? Most likely we don't even know what is the True Path to live our lives and and we just only recite-a few if not many, don't even know what are saying in our solat!

Lately,our newspapers and TVs were reporting almost daily the work and consequences of our human evil doings.There is a lot more not reported and please ask ourselves why is this thing happening now?Below is my posting written 7 years ago..

Friday, September 26, 2003

The muslim polishes his soul through worship

The muslim is obliged to take care of his soul,so he starts to polish it and refine it through constant worship and awareness of Allah swt, night and day.He is alert to devious tricks and deceptive whispers of the Shaytan and if,in one moment of human weakness,evil thoughts come to him from that source,he remembers Allah swt and finds his way back to the Straight Path.

{{ Those who fear Allah,when a thought of evil from Satan assaults them,bring Allah to remembrance,when lo! They see aright}}( Qur'an 7:201)
Therefore ,the Prophet s.a.w used to tell his Companions:"Renew your faith." He was asked," O Messenger of Allah,how do we renew our faith?" He said,"By frequently repeating lailaha illa-Allah."

The muslim seeks to strenghten his soul through various kinds of worship which he performs out of obedience to and fear of Allah swt,such as reading Qur'an carefully and with understanding,and remembering Allah swt with humility,and praying correctly and with presence of mind,and other kinds of worship and spiritual exercises,training himself to adhere to different acts of worship until they become second nature and he cannot do without them.Thus he develops and enhances his feelings until,in most cases,he becomes alert and aware,conscious that Allah swt is watching him in public and in private,so that he never mistreats the people he deals with and he never deviates from the True Path.

Note:
The above text is taken from page 45 of the book entitled The Ideal Muslim written by Dr Muhammad Ali Al Hashimi.(ISBN:9960-672-05-0)I recommed you to buy this good book published by International Islamic Publishing House.Website: http://www.iiph.com.sa . I bought this book in Makkah for SR 35.

 

Book Crossing Corner

I joined the Bookcrossing.com way back in August,2001 under a nickname Berisman.Later,I sometimes join the get together of  my fellow Malaysian members who meet every month to exchange books and give away books to others at shopping complexes.Thanks to Emily and others for organising such events.

Today,I was reminded of my fellow bookcrossing  friends when I saw this banner at One Utama,next to escalator on the ground floor at the new wing.My congratulations to you gals/guys for getting this done here.Hopefully,KLCC is the next destination!