FIRST YOU FALL...THEN YOU FLY...

I am a firm believer of positive mindset. I believe we have to let go the memory of yesterday to live a peaceful today in order to have a happy tomorrow. I tell myself everyday how lucky I am to be alive and see all the beautiful things life has to offer. And I am so eager to unlock the mystery of what tomorrow holds for me.

Every now and then in life, we encounter obstacles. Some makes us tremble while some gives us strength and makes us a better person. But to live our life knowing that a happy tomorrow might never arrive is really a challenge.

Positive thinking is indeed something easy to preach. Every self-help book in the bookstore talks about the miracle of healing yourself. But these words of advice are coming from those people who have something to hold on to and to look forward upon. 

What happens if you don’t have a better tomorrow to look forward to? What if you know for certain, this life has nothing better to offer and you are to be in the exact spot as you are now for the rest of your life? How would you ever live your life knowing your future will be as cold as ice? Could anyone ever survive a live full of emotional misery?

Yes they can. I know a person who goes through this ordeal in a daily basis. She often unveils her scarred chest and shows me her broken heart. She speaks of her yesteryears where there were episodes of happiness, success, dream and hope. Then as she wakes up to her current state, tears rolls down her cheek and almost instantly I could feel her pain. But what hurts her the most is knowing there is a dead end in front of her. She is stuck. There is nothing she can do to change her life.

She is not a person who demands much. She is a simple woman who appreciates simple joy in life. But this simple woman has been denied happiness. She lives every moment of life as it comes. “I follow the flow,” that’s what she said with a smile.

As I sip my coffee, I could taste the bitterness in her smile. Having gone through something similar in life, I felt sad for her. No, not sad because she was miserable. I was sad because I realise the woman sitting in front of me is an amazing woman. She is full of warmth. She is kind and gentle to every single soul. She is a dedicated mother and a loving wife. I don’t understand why God is testing someone as beautiful as she?

As my mind was busy finding an answer, a song popped into my head:

“When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.”

And just like that, I found my answer. You see, sometimes in life, we run so fast that we don’t notice anyone running with us until we fall. Lying on the ground we feel we have no strength to get back up. So we force ourselves to keep crawling hoping to reach our destination. We could be far from being close to the finish line. And some of the hardest obstacles in life are still to come, but we can never give up. 

Throughout the rollercoaster of emotions we face in life, we might lose our self identity. We might no longer be the same person we were 10 or 20 years ago. But we are who we are. Remember, we need not be the person we once were – we can be the person we want to be. Yes, the past helps us become who we are today, but it also has no control over how the future unfolds unless you let it.

Too many of us live behind walls of our own design. We hide our pain to rule our lives. And it’s a shame. It’s a waste. And it leads to an unfulfilling, unmeaningful, hollow existence.  I think we can all choose whether or not we allow those walls to stay up, or if we want to break them down and put ourselves out there. You have the choice as to how to take it. Is it going to dictate the way you live your life, or are you going to take control of your own?

 

To my dear friend:
Life is what we make of it. If you have a hole in your heart, don’t let it bleed. Fill it up with the love you have for your own self. To love yourself means to accept yourself as you are and to come to terms with those aspects of yourself that you cannot change. It means to have self-respect and unconditional self-acceptance. We spend so much time waiting to be loved, hoping love will find us, searching, yearning for that special love. Feeling empty and lost without it, wanting someone to give us love and fill us up. Unfortunately, that’s not usually how life works. When you expect love from an external source, and someone or something does not fulfil your needs, all you get is a heartache. Loving yourself is the only dependable way to create love in your own life.

Remember my dear:

“...first, you jump off the cliff, and you build wings on the way down.”

CRAPPY FATWAS MAKE CRAPPY MUSLIMS

‘Some of them even twist their tongues to stimulate the scripture, to make you think that it is from the scripture when it is not from the scripture, and claim that it is from God, when it is not from God. They invite lies and attribute them to God, knowingly’~Al Imraan 3:78

Malaysia is a country with more than 60% of the population being Muslims. Without the majority of the Muslims realising it, like other Islamic countries, Malaysian democracy and freedom is being threatened by a creeping irrationalism disguised under the name of religion.

Check out these facts taken from http://www.jang.com.pk/
~combined annual GDP of 57 Muslim countries are under $2trillion. Annual GDP of USA alone is more than $10trillion.
~Oil rich Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar collectively produces goods and services worth $430billion. Netherlands and Thailand individually has more than that.
~planet’s poorest countries are Islamic countries.
~57 Muslim majority countries have 600 universities for 1.4 billion people. India alone has 8407 universities, USA has 5758.
~Muslims constitute 22% of world population with 1% share of Nobel Prize winners, Jews constitute 0.23% of world population with 22% of Nobel Prize.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?
In my opinion, it is because we (Muslims) have refused to change with time. This is the problem in Malaysia as well. Being an Islamic country, the Malaysian government believes that religions are written in stone. That is why you can see the religious scholars coming up with strange ideas year after year. Among the fatwas from these ‘genius’ lots are the prohibition of smoking, surrogacy, yoga and the latest being the ‘poco-poco’ dance.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F3%2F31%2Fnation%2F20110331174201&sec=nation

The reason they endorse these fatwas are mind blowing. Poco-poco dance was said to have elements of Christian rituals. I have taken part in this dance before and I can tell you that it doesn’t differ much than line dance. I have no clue what-so-ever how poco-poco seemed like a cult. And the prohibition of yoga is very much like ‘Chipsmore’ to me (kejap ada kejap tak ada). At first, yoga was haram. Then Pak Lah said ‘Tak haram’, and jiffy! Yoga was permissible as long as there’s no mantra involved (guess Jeanne must have been practicing yoga at that time. How I wish Rosmah is kaki poco-poco..hmm but looking at her, I doubt so..LOL)

Smoking was declared as haram because it is dangerous to one’s health. Helloooo... so is McD and KFC! Surrogacy is haram because the child is classified as illegitimate as is not from the wife’s womb. I have to quote my China-mali friend here “Haiyya...die-lah like this!”. Perhaps we should find a time machine and send these bozos back to their years so they can ride on camels and stop making our lives miserable!
Like Malaysia, over the years, there are many absurd fatwas from other Islamic countries as well. A few worth to mention here would be the prohibition of vaccines (yes, vaccines!), football (bodoh kan?), emoticons (kononnya emo=devils!), Mickey Mouse (oh dear!) and Facebook (yes, FB was declared haram in Indon). http://listverse.com/2010/02/25/top-10-bizarre-or-ridiculous-fatwas/

I believe God gave us mind to think. Our ability to think is what differentiates us from other living species. Sadly, we prefer to accept whatever that is spoon fed to us without even challenging our mind to think and rationalize the fatwas. I have witnessed many Muslims who accepts whatever told by these religious scholars or ustazs and ustazahs. Then why do we have the Holy Koran?

Take a look at a few examples of misconceptions among Muslims. Though these are NOT YET fatwas, but they are common beliefs among Muslims, thanks to our ‘pakar agama’:
~Alcohol is haram because it makes you lose your ability to think and make wise judgement. But why is perfume categorised haram as well? You are not going to drink it! (ISLAM ENCOURAGES US TO BE PRESENTABLE, CLEAN AND SMELL GOOD)
~Consuming food while standing is haram. That’s why you can see bunch of people squatting down on a dirty sidewalk to consume food n water. (ISLAM STRESSES ON GOOD HYGIENE PRACTICES)
~You MUST read your prayers before entering toilet and when you leave the toilet. Yet, many forget to wash their hands cleanly after finishing their business (ISLAM EMPHASISES ON CLEANLINESS)
~You mustn’t eat with chopsticks because God gave us hand. Hellooo...can you have your porridge or soup with your hands meh? (ISLAM ENCOURAGES US TO LEARN AND ACQUIRE NEW KNOWLEDGE, TO INVENT THINGS TO MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER)
Sometimes the stupidity in the fatwas are very evident. For example, it is stated clearly in the Koran that ‘riba’ (interest) is haram. But investments in Malaysian banks or KLSE haven’t been declared haram. ‘Gharar’ (uncertainty) is haram but we invest in bank without knowing what our money is going to be used for. That is haram. Few years ago, investments in ASB and ASN was declared not haram. WTH?
Funny thing is, a Muslim working in a bar or pub is declared haram although he doesn’t consume alcohol. Get ready for this- wearing a t-shirt with the word Carlsberg printed on it pun a total no-no. What a joke!!!
So you see, it all boils down to our mentality. If you are so bodoh, you will be in the YES SIR category. But for a true Muslim, you will follow the true path of Islam as stated in the Holy Quran instead of nodding your head to every dumb rulings by those who claim to be the experts.
Remember, a developed nation and a developed society are the one that adapts quickly to the changing environment to continuously make life easier for its people. We don’t have to ride on camels or horses, live in the desert and cover ourselves with a cloak to be true Muslims. God’s religion is very simple, it is us who complicates it.
I had my say. Now I am going to dance poco-poco.....

ACCEPT IT - GUYS ARE DUMB.

For years, scientists have researched the basic differences between human males and human females. While it has been previously declared that what determines gender are the "X" and "Y" chromosomes found in male sperm, this is only partially true. As it turns out, the "Y" chromosome is, in fact, a defective "X" chromosome with one of the legs missing. At first this discovery baffled scientists, but further research has determined that this mysterious missing leg physically manifests itself on the outer body of a male, resulting in what is commonly known as a penis. It has also been determined that human intellect is stored in this part of the chromosome. Once the genetic defect was discovered, scientists were determined to find out what other effects it may have on its victims. Unfortunately, since the penis, although technically part of the male DNA, is on the outside of the body, it deteriorates at the same rate and sometimes faster than the body of the male. This discovery led to scientists quickly finding a way to keep the penis (and thus, the male brain). What is amazing about all this is not the discovery that being male is merely a genetic defect (let's face it, ladies, this comes as no surprise to us), but the massive attempt to cover up the discovery and keep the truth from the general public. I think we have a right to know that the male of the species, is, in fact, genetically inferior to the female of the species. However, I would not be surprised if all traces of this discovery are erased once the scientific community discovers their findings have finally been made public.

 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/254228/the_y_chromosome_theory_why_women_are_pg2.html?cat=7

LAUGH OUT LOUD: POLITICIANS ARE IDIOTS!

A farmer named Lakbir Singh was overseeing his herd in a remote pasture in Bolehland when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young Malay man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the farmer, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Lakbir looks at the man, obviously a politician, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The politician parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg,Germany. Within mere seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data is stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-colour, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the farmer and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Lakbir.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then Lakbir says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a graduate from Oxford and work as a politician," says Lakbir.

"Wow! That's correct," "But how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required," answered Lakbir. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, and to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter you are, and you don't know a thing about cows. This is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog."

LAUGH OUT LOUD: ALL POLITICIAN GO TO HELL!

While walking down the street one day a Malaysian Boleh Minister is tragically hit by a Proton Saga and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by an angel at the entrance.

“Welcome to heaven,” says the angel. “Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We have never had a high official from Malaysia, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.”

“No problem, just let me in,” says the man.

“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one day in heaven. After that you can choose where to spend eternity.”

“Really, I have made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,” says the Yang Berhormat.

“I’m sorry, but we have our rules,” says the angel.

And with that, the angel escorts him to the elevator, and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and dressed in the finest batik there is, eating satay kajang and drinking teh tarik. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then indulge themselves in nasi lemak rendang ayam, roti canai and all sorts of Malaysian flavours there is.

Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell, and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the doors re-open on heaven, where the angel is waiting for him.

“Now it’ s time to visit heaven.”

So, another 24 hours pass, with the Yang Berhormat joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp, and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the day is gone, and the angel returns.

“Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.”

The Yang Berhormat reflects for a minute, then he answers: “Well, I would never have said this before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think Ai yam better off in hell.”

So the angel escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open, and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The Devil comes over to him, and puts his arm around his shoulder.

“I don’t understand,” stammers the Yang Berhormat, “Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate nasi lemak and roti canai , drank teh tarik, danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage, and my friends look miserable. What happened?”

The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, “Yesterday we were campaigning, just like you did during a Malaysian election…… Today you have voted.”

What a kind and generous government we have!

Malaysian government is indeed kind and generous. When summoned drivers end up not paying their tickets, Malaysian government would come up with discounts to encourage payments. When Immigration officers who were caught with serious charges of human trafficking say they feel sorry for their action, Malaysian government decides to free them and give them a second chance. When 2 Malaysians died while being interrogated by MACC, Malaysian government decided to provide MACC with a budget to enable them reconstruct their interrogation process and system. There are so many similar cases that I can quote here to show you what a wonderful government we have, but I guess you get my point. And now, our good hearted government has done it again - legalizing illegal workers.

What is the point of having a legal system when illegal activities are legalized? How will people respect and look up to law if every wrong-doing is dealt with someway or another instead of punishing the wrong-doers? Law should be enforced, not made flexible as and when our government feels like it.

We have immigration system. There are ways for foreign workers to enter our country legally. We should not change our law just because there are people breaking it. Legalizing the current illegal immigrants will not solve anything as it will just encourage more illigal immigration.

So this year we legalize illegal workers. Do you think that will stop others from entering our country illegally? Then what? Shall we organize an Annual Celebration of Legalizing Illegal Workers at Dataran Merdeka? Perhaps we can have a fun fair too and dont forget to invite the clowns and the kompang boys!

And maybe we could have our senior cabinet ministers join the celebration as well. I am sure they wouldnt want to miss the fun as the biometric system contract worth RM1Billion has been granted to the company belonging to the close relatives of one of them.

With all this taking place, of course-lah the Indons are laughing at us! But do you know what cracks them up when they talk about us? Well, what amuses the Indons the most is the fact that Malaysians are fighting among Malaysians trying to prove who is more Malaysian than the other, while Indonesians are legalized, given job opportunities, freedom to stay/move and best of all presented with MyKad which equalizes their standards with the rest of Malaysians.

But its too late to talk about this as Indons n Banglas n Myanmars are already living among us, having freedom just like us. Perhaps the only thing our government can do is not to legalize anymore illegal workers. And if any foreign workers are caught taking part in any crime or illegal activity, they MUST be deported! I guess it aint easy for our government to even consider this option, not when those proposed to be deported hold a MyKad!

And so....we are doomed!

THE NEW MEANING OF THE WORD 'F.U.C.K'

Perhaps one of the most interesting and colorful words in the English
language today is the word "fuck". It is the one magical word which,
just by its sound, can describe pain, pleasure, love, and hate.

In language, "fuck" falls into many grammatical categories. It can be
used as a verb, both transitive (John fucked Mary) and intransitive
(Mary was fucked by John). It can be an action verb (John really
gives a fuck), a passive verb (Mary really doesn't give a fuck), an
adverb (Mary is fucking interested in John), or as a noun (Mary is a
terrific fuck).

It can also be used as an adjective (Mary is fucking beautiful) or
an interjection (Fuck! I'm late for my date with Mary). It can even be
used as a conjunction (Mary is easy, fuck she's also stupid). As you
can see, there are very few words with the overall versatility of the
word "fuck"..

Aside from its sexual connotations, this incredible word can be used
to describe many situations:

1. Greetings "How the fuck are ya?"
2. Fraud "I got fucked by the car dealer."
3. Resignation "Oh, fuck it!"
4. Trouble "I guess I'm fucked now."
5. Aggression "FUCK YOU!"
6. Disgust "Fuck me."
7. Confusion "What the fuck.......?"
8. Difficulty "I don't understand this fucking business!"
9. Despair "Fucked again..."
10. Pleasure "I fucking couldn't be happier."
11. Displeasure "What the fuck is going on here?"
12. Lost "Where the fuck are we."
13. Disbelief "UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!"
14. Retaliation "Up your fucking ass!"
15. Denial "I didn't fucking do it."
16. Perplexity "I know fuck all about it."
17. Apathy "Who really gives a fuck, anyhow?"
18. Greetings "How the fuck are ya?"
19. Suspicion "Who the fuck are you?"
20. Panic "Let's get the fuck out of here."
21. Directions "Fuck off."
22. Disbelief "How the fuck did you do that?"

It can be used in an anatomical description- "He's a fucking asshole."
It can be used to tell time- "It's five fucking thirty."
It can be used in business- "How did I wind up with this fucking job?"
It can be maternal- "Motherfucker."
It can be political- "Fuck Ibrahim Ali!"