Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Coffee in Cups

Dear Diary,

A group of friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups…..And then began envying each other’s cups."

Now consider this: “Life is the COFFEE; the jobs, money and position in the society are the CUPS. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us”. God brews the coffee, not the cups.

NOTE: The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

It's Your Choice

Dear Diary,

EVERYTHING is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing.

You get to choose.

~ Wayne Dyer ~

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

25 Things I've Learned in 25 Years by Bijal Patel

Dear Diary,

Came across this in Facebook, thought of sharing it here even though I'm not at 25 years of age

1. Do not try to change someone. Date someone for who they are. Either like their qualities, or find someone whose qualities you do like as-is.

2. Learn to love yourself before getting into a relationship. Don't be in a relationship for reassurance of how pretty you are. You'll never believe it.

3. If you love someone, tell them, whether it's your significant other, family members, or friends.

4. Spend more time with your parents. As we get older, so do they.

5. It is okay if you are not in a relationship, even if everyone else around you is getting engaged and married. Do not settle just because you think you should.

6. Do not wait for retirement to travel the world. Do it while you are young and mobile. Who knows if you will be alive for retirement?

7. Bad days do not last forever, neither do good days. Learn to handle the situation during the bad times and cherish all the good times.

8. Do not plan your life out according to a time table. You never know when life will throw a curve ball at you.

9. Each person that you've encountered with in your life has played some type of role which you have grown as a person. Do not forget them.

10. Do not stress over situations in your life that cannot be controlled. It's easier said than done, but it's something to learn to handle as young adults. Life is never going to get any easier.

11. Do not compare your life to the lives of others. You will never be happy.

12. Make a conscious effort to be less materialistic.

13. Learn to be at peace with your natural beauty rather than caking yourself with makeup. It's okay if you have a pimple on your cheek, no one is perfect.

14. If you have a job that pays enough for you to pay your bills, be grateful for that job.

15. If you're making more than an average person, help those that are less fortunate than you are.

16. Social media is great, but don't invest so much of your time on it.

17. It's nice to actually call or send a birthday card to your loved ones rather than a text message or Facebook post.

18. Take care of your body. Sign up for a marathon, or run for a cause that will help those in need. People always complain that races are expensive, but if you can spend that much at a bar, why not contribute to a good cause?

19. Talk to random people in social settings. This will make you a more well-rounded person, and chances are good you'll make a new friend, too.

20. Failure just makes you stronger. You'll be able to say you've experienced rough times that made you into who you are today.

21. Learn to make your own decisions. It's good to ask for advice from your peers, but at the end of the day, learn to take the risk on your own terms.

22. Try different foods from different cultures. Respect the fact if someone is a vegan, vegetarian, or meat eater.

23. Who you were at 20 doesn't define who you are at 25. Your mentality changes as you explore more of life.

24. There's a time and place to be drunk. Learn from those embarrassing nights. Professional settings may not always be an appropriate place to imbibe.

25. Love what you do for a living. Not everyone loves their job, but this is the time to figure out what you are passionate about. Take the risk to try something new.

~ taken from Thought Catalog


Sunday, December 15, 2013

Istighfar

Dear Diary,

Jom amalkan....

"Barangsiapa memperbanyakkan istighfar, nescaya ALLAH memberinya jalan keluar dari setiap kesulitan dan memberi rezeki dari segala arah..." [HR Ibnu Majah]

Friday, December 13, 2013

Tomorrow

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

So, dance until your feet ache,
laugh until your side hurts,
say I love you to those you love.
For tomorrow may never come.

* Quoted from Precious Family Forever

Friday, November 29, 2013

Live Life and Let Loose

Dear Diary,

Received this email some time back, thought of sharing it here...

LIVE LIFE & LET LOOSE

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package. "This" he said, "isn't any ordinary package."

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. "She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put in on, was saving it for a special occasion."

"Well, I guess this is it."

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said, "Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion."

I still think those words changed my life.

Now, I read more and clean less. I sit on the settee without worrying about anything and just relax. I spend more time with family and friends and less at work.

Money is to be spent not saved. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses everyday. I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it. I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.

I go out with my friends whenever I want to rather than thinking I don't have the spare money or time. The words 'Someday...' and 'One day...' are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.

I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.

I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. She might have told everyone how much she loved them. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.

It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come...

EACH DAY, EACH HOUR, EACH MINUTE, IS SPECIAL. LIVE FOR TODAY, FOR TOMORROW IS PROMISED TO NO-ONE.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Dialect 3

Dear Diary,

As I'm now in my home town, I thought why not write another post on Kedah dialect. Let's learn new words...

LA - now (sekarang)
AWAT - why (kenapa, pasal apa)
DAN - in the nick of time (sempat)
AYAQ - water (air)
HABAQ - tell, inform (khabar, beritahu)
LALU - have appetite to eat (selera untuk makan)
CELUIH - fit nicely (muat)
LOKOIH - thoroughly wet (basah lencun)
KETEGAQ - stubborn (degil)
LIGAN - chase, run after (kejar)