9 Keys To Happiness

The title is so tak bley bla, motivation book much. But since I had fall in some deep thinking lately (deep la sangat), I sort of came out with these very 9 aspects of life that can be paid extra attention to, to be happy. There are so much more things that we can do actually. But based on my own evaluation and experience, here are some key points to happiness in this world (and hereafter insyaAllah):

1) Saving

Menabung amalan mulia. Gunakan tabung babi yang comel =D

Yes as boring as it sounds, we have to save. Save money, bit by bit. How would we find happiness by saving our money - let it freeze alone in our account? Well,

a) Travel: Travel will surely bring happiness, my friend. What is bad about seeing new place, meeting new people? So save up; and when it's abundant enough, go to Venezuela. Europe. Egypt. Whatever.

b)  Emergency: We will never know when we will need it the most.

c) Treat: Save enough to buy things that you always wanted: DSLR, Samsung Galaxy S, Miu Miu top. There's nothing wrong with pampering yourself once in a while. But make sure you will make full use of it; don't splurge on something that will be used for only few weeks and then being kept in the box pretty much for the rest of its life.

d) Love: Treat your loved ones with something special: Holiday package, LCD TV, movie tickets. And especially when they are in emergency and in need of cash, this is the time to give your support to your loved ones.

2) Books

We are busy, we work everyday. We don't have time for a decent 2 inch book. But invest your cash on some really good books, that worth your time of reading. Allocate some times to read them, and learn from them. There will always be some new information that you can make use of, and some new knowledge that could help us to improve ourselves.

If you're low on cash, explore the Net. Simple. Seek the knowledge from YouTube, Google, blogs, whatever. Those are sea of wisdom. Don't believe me? Try searching for 'Hamza Andreas Tzortzis', 'Hamza Yusuf, 'Dr. MAZA', or even 'creation of God', anything. Instead of monitoring the Facebook 24 hours like some unpaid pak guard or watching latest Taylor Swift MV on YouTube, why don't we spend ourtime looking for something beneficial that can be used to justify ourselves in the Day of Judgement? At least we can answer something like, "God, I don't waste my time just like that. Well, I went into YouTube, but I was watching a documentary of the journey of our prophets..so I guess I'm on the right track, yeah?"

The writer's current reads:
1. Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions and Facts by Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainal Abidin
2. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma
3. The History of The Quranic Text from Revelation to Compilation by Muhammad Mustafa Al-Azami

Wishlist: 
1. Kimono Ungu Bersulam Bunga by Rebecca Ilham
2. Penulis yang Disayangi Tuhan by Bahruddin Bekri
3. CERK4S by Sindiket Sol-jah

3) Food

Indulge yourself in the luxurious whipped cream on sponge layered black forest cake with blueberry and chocolate, feel the warmth and delicacies of grilled chicken with mushroom sauce gravy and  black pepper, and cendol brown sugar with nuts and coconut jelly. To live is to eat good food. Treating yourself with good (and healthy!) food once in a while is what I defined as the 'simple pleasure in life'. There's nothing wrong with spending your cash on food - don't feel guilty. Heck, why restrain yourself on something good when you don't even know whether you will still be alive tomorrow? Better off just enjoy everything while you still can. Live life without regrets =P But don't forget to check on your cash first! Eat like a king EVERY single day is a NO NO too! Why? Refer to point no. 1. Hehe =P

Nando's Classic Meal Mild Quarter Chicken Nyum Nyum

4)  Explore!

Get up, get that lazy-ass out of your comfortable zone, and explore the world! There are so much things around you that you don't even know of, that's waiting to be explored. So many things happening in this world; search for events that interest you and be part of it. Explore some unknown places - those restaurant you've never been to, those food you never try, those people you never get to know before. Awe yourself with your findings of new places - meet new people, gather your courage to approach them. Don't be afraid of their response - try first. You might be surprised with the results - it might be more pleasant than what you expect. Just explore things around you and reach out!

Do you ever realized that there is such an awesome performing arts studio in the middle of hectic KL with the dreamy light balls and the romantic view of Menara Kuala Lumpur from there? Well, I do, because I JUST DO IT!

The Actor's Studio, Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur.

5) Relax

Sometimes, to enjoy life is just to be at home. Curl-up in lazy sofa, good books, a cup of coffee, in front of green lawn with water sprinklers, that's all we need. To enjoy life doesn't mean you have to go out every single weekend. Going out to shopping malls, dining out with friends at hip restaurant does not equal to happiness. Just do something that makes you feel comfortable and relax, that's enough already. All those "Eh ko tak keluar mana pun weekend ni? Boring gile!", "Ko takde kawan nak hang out ke? Kesian..." "Duduk rumah je? Chill out sket la bro!" - to hell with those.Enough said.

Yup, that's all we need baby. That's all.

6) Travel

Travel baby. This is the time to use your saving in point 1. The good thing about traveling is, we will come to realize how small we are comparing to the vast of the world, to the vast of God's benevolence and mercy. Learn about the cultures around the world, find kindness and warmth from unknown strangers, and smile knowing that there's still hope in this world.

Do you realize there is such a heavenly place exists on earth?

 7)  Contribute

What's the point of living in this world if what we're doing is all about 'me, me and me'? Quoting Ustaz Hasrizal from Saifulislam.com, 'Hidup untuk Memberi.' We live to give. Give a helping hand to the needy. Just how many unfortunates in this world suffering from hunger, disease, ignorance from society. Give them some hopes - teach the youngster the meaning of life, provide protection and love to the seniors, make them feel worthy to live. As much as we hate to be left alone, don't left the unfortunates behind.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1378237514624&comments

8) Share

If you have something good to say, share them with the world. Blog, Twitter, Tumblr - make the most of current technology. You might think it is insignificant; nobody will read it, yadayadayada. But who knows, maybe there'll be this one person who will benefit from it, and that is GOOD enough. If writing is not your strength, then share your feelings and thoughts through photography, poetry, painting, videoblog (nowadays known as VBlog), whatever. Whatever it is, JUST DO IT. Put aside your worry of audience's feedback, your 'ala malu la...' coz if you still have this mindset holding you back, you will go nowhere. So start sharing, who knows your thought might change the world. Allah said in the Quran, "For an atom of good deed, you will get your reward and for an atom of evil deed, you will get your reward." So do something, no matter how small or big it is.

9) Seek God

Nothing is difficult if you seek it through your Lord,  nothing is easy if you seek it through yourself. Hence, seek God in life. Find God and when you found Him, hold on to Him. Tightly. We always said that love is like playing kite; sometimes you have to pull it towards you and sometimes you have to let it loose. Well, it doesn't apply to relationship with God. With God, you have to hold on Him tightly for all times and don't ever get loose from Him. Because once God is with you, you will have the world; but once God left you, that's the end of your world. So find peacefulness, tranquility and the meaning of life in God. You will find it. That's for sure. Because once we set our deed for the sake of God, everything will have a meaning. And that's what keep us worthy.

So here are my Top 9 Keys Towards Happiness. Others might their own unique set of keys towards happiness. Whatever they are, just do anything that will make you happy as long as it is within our morality as a human, our responsibility as part of society, and our oath as a servant of God.

Peace be upon you.

Read more ►

Chasing Life

During dinner last night with a friend, we talked about things. About life. About how things are going on in life.

I realized that lately, I've always being grumpy, complained a lot and always dissatisfied about everything. And I get frustrated at myself, too, for looking at things in a negative way too often. It is tiring, really, to worry about things that are not even happening yet. But as a normal homo sapient, fearing the future is something inevitable, yet we have to face it someday.

We used to be a teenager, free spirited and energetic. We do what we like, we rebel, and we think it's cool that way. I used to be that kind of teenager too, and I think I still haven't really get over that golden period, where everything is just spontaneous and exciting. As a result, my thinking and mindset is still that very 'teenager' mindset, and it started to clash with the reality of today.

For me, "Do things that you love, Love things that you do" is very important in life. What I've always have in mind is, "Life is too short to be wasted." I was impressed with my own parents, and other adults too, who have the drive and willingness to wake up every morning, get up, go to work and repeat the same thing everyday over and over again for 20 years. At the same time, what's going on in my mind is, "Why should I?"

I do not wish to spend precious half of my lifespan doing repetitive things. Of course, my job now doesn't show that it's going to be that repetitive; there will be lots of challenge here and there, or maybe too often of a challenge and tense moment. Quoting my SM, "I've been with this company for too long already, 20 years. I found that challenges are what make me want to stay in it for such a long time; I like the challenge of my work, as I think I can move forward and feel the adrenaline rush from it."

At the same time, it also doesn't mean that everybody should be like him. If you don't enjoy challenge, if you don't like to be challenged, there's nothing wrong with that. Not everybody is born with that kind of eagerness; some people just like to have a quiet, modest comfortable life. If that's enough for them, that's fine too. "Everybody is not the same; you don't have to envy other people, because you have something they don't, and not everybody can do the same thing. Be happy with what you have, treat it as a gift from God," said my SM.

As an idealistic person, I've always want a simple yet interesting life. I want to travel around the world; India, Barcelona, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turki. I want to see people; I want to see their culture, I want to see the world - I want to see life. This is my definition of life. To learn as much as you can; of reality of the world -  of it's pain, sorrow & hope. To see the cruelty, poverty, warmness and kindness of people. To open my eyes of how big the world is, how much bigger is the Power and Benevolence of Almighty God. To make me repent, and be thankful for all the bliss in life. To interact directly with people, children, educate them, help them and myself to be a better person, for a brighter future. To open our mind, to purify our soul and set us free from dunya and grab the akhirah.

I'm used already of receiving negative feedback on my idea of 'ideal life'. Snorts, skeptical and cynical; I heard that hundreds of time already. "So what, you want to do charity works for the rest of your life?" "It sounds like typical Malay woman to me; easy life, no hard work", "You want to travel around the world, but if you don't have the money, how can you travel?" "You're not ambitious at all!"

Childish as I am, one night I realized that for all this while, I think I've been looking at the big picture already, while actually, it is still just a tiny bit of it, really. I was having a dinner with a couple of friends, and one of them said something like, "We are now working on the new potential oil reservoir along Peninsular coast. If we succeed in this, if we found it and make millions worth of profit from it, I know that that day I can sit back and smile, as I had contributed so much for Malaysia." And I was dumbstruck by that. While the other said, "Our work is important. What we do everyday is important. No matter how small is our job, we are part of it, and this is what made up a company. Know that what we do is important, for the sake of our country. Because without this company, who else will feed Malaysia? Who else will take care the welfare of our country?"

I already know this; I understand it perfectly. But hearing them say it right in front of my face, straight to my ears, it struck me hard. I realized, then, that for all this while, I've been knowing this fact but never really apply it in my life. This thought is not part of my veins; it is there in my brain but never reflect in my daily life. I realized then, how immature am I, how unfair am I in treating my own carrier. I used to think that my life would be wasted by forcing myself to do the same routine everyday. But they made me realized that it is not wasted. It is not wasted after all, really.

I am not stubborn as trying to defend myself. In fact, I don't have anything to defend of, really.  I acknowledged their virtue; in fact, I totally admired that and they absolutely earn my respect. However from my point of view, I see 'contribution' in a more 'direct' way. For example, a teacher to a student. A mother to her child. A motivator to his audience. An ulama' to the ummah. I favor education and educating as the way of contributing. I strongly believe that to shape the mindset, to encourage curiosity, culture of learning - are what the most important now. I understand that working in such 'pillar' company also means encouraging education, as our profit is the source of better facilities, better manpower (maybe), and leads to better system (hopefully) in overall. But I wish to involve in direct contribution rather than indirect; I want to be part of education itself rather than to finance the education system.

Hence, striving to do what we want to do, what we like to do, is not entirely selfish. To say that I am selfish, for not seeing things in broader view, to think only about my own enjoyment in life, is unfair. Put aside any patriotic insight, everybody is selfish anyway. "No matter what you do, think about yourself first, then everybody else," said my SM. "Don't try to please others; the most important thing is, you do what you want to do; this is your life after all."

It is unfair to say one is selfish if what one is thinking is one's own happiness. "I don't care about carrier, status; I just want to be happy," quoting a friend of mine. Is that selfish? It is our own right to determine what is best for us, hence to say one's decision as selfish, is selfish. We have our own right to do what we want to do, how to live our life. In fact, to just be happy, is not too bad too. When we are happy, we are spreading positive vibes to our surrounding, creating healthy atmosphere.

"It's not that we don't want to do it, we are just not fully understand it, or not ready yet to accept the reality," said my dinner-mate, "because if we really understand the concept of 'sacrificing for our country', we will not complain in the first place."

I agree on that too. Not being able to contribute in a way that I favor, does not give me the right to make excuses and complain about this and that. To contribute is to contribute; if you truly love your country, your people, no matter what you do, in what way you're contributing, you'll do it with all your heart.

Some key things I would like to point:

1) Do what you want to do while contributing to the the world. No matter how small it is, you're part of it. If you can't channel you contribution in the way that you like it to be, don't stop. Do what you can within your power, as your situation permits it and make the most of it. By God will, who knows in the end you will get what you want in life.

2) Live your life as what you want it to be. If situation is not on your side, make some effort, make yourself heard, and work for it. But at the same time, do not ignore you current responsibilities, be it personal or professional.

3) People are different. Be grateful of what we have, don't try to be others but improve ourselves. Bring the best out of ourselves and optimize it. Do not judge people, as we are walking our own journey; we have no idea what others journey is like. Appreciate people, as everyone is special.

4) It is important to be contented in life. Don't take life for granted. We never know whether we'll wake up tomorrow. In conclusion, I want to earn money while doing works that I like while contributing to the people at the same time. Fair enough? =P

Peace y'all.

Notes:
1. I'm thanking God for all things in life; good or bad, as all of them are the best for all of us.
2. I'm thanking my SM for his words of wisdom. Thank you sir.
3. I'm thanking my friends for their insight. God bless.

Read more ►

So Yeah.

It seems like when you work with Petronas, people don't see you as a person anymore but an ATM machine.

And it fucking pissing me off.

Read more ►

Mencari

Sejak beberapa bulan yang lepas, aku bertungkus-lumus mencari wang. Berusaha dengan cara itu, cara ini, jalan itu, jalan ini. Dari itu aku sedar betapa duit itu tidak jatuh dari langit. Dengan itu aku rasakan sendiri betapa susahnya mencari duit. Betapa susahnya menghadapi makhluk bernama manusia dan satu sen itu perlu dikira.

Nabi kata, punca rezeki yang paling luas ialah berniaga. Aku yakin itu memang betul. Tapi dalam masa yang sama, ada tak sesiapa pernah katakan punca kelalaian yang paling nombor 1 juga adalah berniaga? Gila duit, gila harta. Obsesi memikirkan duit masuk, macam mana nak cari duit, macam mana nak kembangkan perniagaan, hatta dalam sembahyang. Betapa pencarian duit begitu menghanyutkan hingga membawa hati jauh dari Tuhan, jauh dari Quran, jauh dari langit.

Dan akhirnya setelah penat mencari dan mencari, akhirnya kau rasa lelah dan bila kau toleh ke belakang, kau akan sedar, it means nothing.

Nothing.

Jadi kepada manusia-manusia yang sibuk bercakap tentang wang, tentang duit, tentang idea bisnes kau yang bernas, tentang saham, untung rugi, satu saja yang boleh aku katakan.

Aku kesian sama kau.

Chow.

Read more ►

Coming Back To You

Soothing breeze gently caressed my face through the window, while the sun rays penetrated onto my reddish skin. Haha intro macam haprak. I am sitting in my unofficial room - a room where I always sleep when I stayed at my sis's house. It feels a bit cold but I like it very much.

It is always like this; once I wrote an entry, I will continue writing another entry in a short interval, and once I don't feel like writing, I will abandon my blog for a looong time. Not just leaving it silence without words; I don't even view it or check to see if there's any comment or whatnot. In fact, I don't really care if this blog got any reader; as I always believe that a blog is a medium to express my thought, not to flaunt myself to the world. That alone explains why I never really promote my blog, or give it a frequent admin touch-ups. Sorry, blog. I know you know me well.

I'm going back to Perlis to pack up my stuff. My home. My home is in Perlis. But since I got the job in KLCC, alhamdulillah, I have to move out. And so I have to pack all my belongings and move to, perhaps, Ampang, or if it doesn't work, Putrajaya.

I've always love Perlis. I mean, yeah, it is the smallest state in the country. Some of my friends even haven't set their foot in Perlis yet. Yes it doesn't have Midvel, 1Utama, Pavillion. Yes it doesn't have any cinema. But still, Perlis is my home. And no other place feels like it.

Perlis is my home.

Not Ampang. Not Putrajaya.

And now that I kinda have to move out, like, permanently, it strikes me that I might not be coming back to Perlis again, after this.

There's a silence in my heart.

And now I feel like sitting in a coffee shop, rain drops wetting the sidewalk, and me starring out of the window, purposeless.

God, please let things run smoothly. I don't want to worry about something in the future, as it might not happen the way I think it will be. It might be not too bad. Maybe I think too much. Maybe it will be completely different. Who knows what will happened?

God knows.

God only gives the best to His servant.

I trust You.

Read more ►