ENDING 2011

Alhamdulilah, (All praises be to Allah alone). I am grateful to Allah Almighty  that  only with his Grace and Mercy I could understand what wisdom is and that passion and compassion in one's heart can make  all the difference in contributing love and care to another person's life. The joy of giving is what I value most in life and became even  more meaningful throughout 2011 and hopefully in years to come, insyaAllah.

Positively thinking, every day is a new day, no matter what year we are in.. By the Grace of God Allah, life goes on.We are now at the end of 2011. And here I am only taking a brief and easy  flashback into 2011 in a perspective I usually missed out.

Most of us have some kind a road map to chart our lives, yearly and throughout.  We may  have different ideas about this road map, but whatever it is, this road map we design for our lives must serve only one purpose. That is, to follow the right path to the final destination, to meet with God Allah our Creator and Sustainer. In our daily solat (prayer) we supplicate and request humbly for a blissful life as prescribed in the al Quran, Chapter 1, Verse 5-7.

" Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. Guide us to the straight path - the way of those upon whom Thou has bestowed Thy blessings, not of those who have been condemned (by Thee), nor of those who go astray".

Life is a journey. And as the year ends  I flipped and looked through my memory file. This picture of my husband strike me most. And I  imagine this boardwalk (as in the picture) as part of "our road map of that journey". And if indeed our road map has  a distinctive "boardwalk" like this to follow, then life can be plain sailing....my wishful thinking.

When taking this shot of my husband in Melbourne recently, many things came streaming into my mind. This is a boardwalk  by the sea. The weather was beautiful and seagulls were flying over in harmony with the rest of nature. The serenity mesmerized my whole feeling and it made me feel that life is beautiful if only we know how to look at it.

 

Two Loving Seagulls...?

I began to enjoy watching the seagulls, emptying my mind of prejudices in my life and just see how God Allah  has endowed upon us the intelligence to understand and appreciate  his other  creations vis-a-vis our own existence. 

Seagulls are  fascinating birds found in the coastal areas of the Atlantic and areas of similar weather conditions. During the Tour we were informed briefly that most gulls species are migratory with birds moving to warmer habitats during the winter. There is considerable variety of seagulls and may breed and feed marine and freshwater habitats. They feed on them dead or alive. They also feed on earth worms, rodents, plant items, seeds and fruits.

Seagulls are versatile birds and they obtain their prey in the air, on water and on land. They live in a colony and breed once a year. The male does most of the feeding during the early rearing period. The female does the guarding and protecting.

Survival in Togetherness. This is their strong trait. And  Islam has taught us how we could harness strength through the "juma'ah" as exemplified  in the mandatory Friday prayers for men.

Born Free, As Free As they glide through the winds.

We can be just as free within the bounds of conviction and Faith.

 

That was a brief lesson learned through the seagulls. But the wisdom goes a long way. I wish I could weal my way out of the multiple problems in life. But I now realize going through the problems is also "a joy" in life because we feel the closeness of the "presence" of our Creator,  moat loving most merciful. I stood at the boardwalk breezing my face against the wind and ponder at the blessing Allah has endowed upon us every minute of every day.  But of course, Life is not a bed of Roses. So says a wise person. I would say this : neither it is  a beautiful boardwalk like the picture above, on a spring weather by the sea side. I captured  this beautiful moments to always remind my husband and I that life  can be easy if we think as one. We hold strength in togetherness. We may have differences, but let those differences be at the periphery. So here we are...both at our Golden Era, hoping to enjoy many more happy and blissful moments together, helping ourselves and helping others.

May Allah most gracious most merciful guide us along ......

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