Assalaamu'alaikum wbt. How are you today? Right now I'm in the bus en route to Temburong for a work trip. You were still fast asleep this morning when I depart from the house. Oh and today you have Raya Celebration at daycare too :)
A few days ago, while I was driving alone, don't know why but suddenly I felt like turning off the radio and air conditioner and open the windows. Hearing the sound of the wind was refreshing. Suddenly the memory of having a long drive like that on my first car (whose air conditioner doesn't worked well) struck me, thus reminding me how much I've been wanting to write about a certain topic here.
Memory. I'm sure by now you have quite a lot of them too, good and bad. These memories that we have actually can be triggered by some cues ; be it a certain sound or lack thereof, a particular scent, a certain place, a specific action or its absence, or anything that flashes you back into your past. Different people will have different triggers that works well on them but bear in mind of this: people will forget the things you do, and people will forget the things you say. People, too, seldom remember exactly what you wrote, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Yep, everyone will remember things better when their hearts are involved.
In 2009, one of the most severe flood that I've ever seen befell our beloved country. I was one of the volunteers in distributing food rations to the affected people and houses. Riding a military truck, we can see how hopeless those houses were, most of them half-filled with water and some cars were already submerged. Most of the people were standing outside of their houses at the roadside where the water almost reached their knees, some were elders, some carrying babies and some children playing with the water. We can see many people transiting other military trucks in order to reach other places and seeing all that, I was already broken. But what I'll never forget is the expression of the people as we stopped at every corner and junctions bringing down the food supplies, these troubles souls then would smile at us and speak of their gratefulness. This memory would keep on reappearing vividly every time I drove past those then-flooded places.
The same will happen with other things too no matter what you do, be it the as the giver or as the recipient, be it as the one who comforts or as the consoled, but as I keep on telling you, Khaulah, if you want to be remembered then be remembered as the kindest in giving or in showing appreciation and gratefulness. And of course, being remembered by Allah and mentioned by Him on His assembly should be out top target that we should strive together.
Memories can't always be good. We will somehow make mistakes here and there, and like me, you will also have some pasts that you're not proud of. So if by now you have something that brings you down, remember that you're not supposed to wait forever on your road of broken dreams, embrace the teachings of Islam and it will become a wing that will never breaks. And remember that by making us go through our past either triumph or failure and mistakes, Allah brought us where we are now.
A few days ago, while I was driving alone, don't know why but suddenly I felt like turning off the radio and air conditioner and open the windows. Hearing the sound of the wind was refreshing. Suddenly the memory of having a long drive like that on my first car (whose air conditioner doesn't worked well) struck me, thus reminding me how much I've been wanting to write about a certain topic here.
Memory. I'm sure by now you have quite a lot of them too, good and bad. These memories that we have actually can be triggered by some cues ; be it a certain sound or lack thereof, a particular scent, a certain place, a specific action or its absence, or anything that flashes you back into your past. Different people will have different triggers that works well on them but bear in mind of this: people will forget the things you do, and people will forget the things you say. People, too, seldom remember exactly what you wrote, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Yep, everyone will remember things better when their hearts are involved.
In 2009, one of the most severe flood that I've ever seen befell our beloved country. I was one of the volunteers in distributing food rations to the affected people and houses. Riding a military truck, we can see how hopeless those houses were, most of them half-filled with water and some cars were already submerged. Most of the people were standing outside of their houses at the roadside where the water almost reached their knees, some were elders, some carrying babies and some children playing with the water. We can see many people transiting other military trucks in order to reach other places and seeing all that, I was already broken. But what I'll never forget is the expression of the people as we stopped at every corner and junctions bringing down the food supplies, these troubles souls then would smile at us and speak of their gratefulness. This memory would keep on reappearing vividly every time I drove past those then-flooded places.
The same will happen with other things too no matter what you do, be it the as the giver or as the recipient, be it as the one who comforts or as the consoled, but as I keep on telling you, Khaulah, if you want to be remembered then be remembered as the kindest in giving or in showing appreciation and gratefulness. And of course, being remembered by Allah and mentioned by Him on His assembly should be out top target that we should strive together.
Memories can't always be good. We will somehow make mistakes here and there, and like me, you will also have some pasts that you're not proud of. So if by now you have something that brings you down, remember that you're not supposed to wait forever on your road of broken dreams, embrace the teachings of Islam and it will become a wing that will never breaks. And remember that by making us go through our past either triumph or failure and mistakes, Allah brought us where we are now.
Yours Lovingly,
Dad
22 July 2017
