Happiness

You can buy delicious food,
but you can't buy a good appetite.

You can have many friends on Facebook,

but you can't buy true friendship.

You can buy a good mattress,

but you can't buy a good night's sleep.

You can buy a house,

but you can't buy a home.

You can have all the money in the world, 

but you can never buy true happiness.

Memorable nasheed songs

It has been too long since I heard a good song, what more a good nasheed song (or if you like, daawah pop). I really miss the days when the Malaysian music scene was dominated by many nasheed songs, with Raihan being at the forefront at that time. Then came a number of popular groups such as Rabbani, Hijjaz, Saujana, Nowseeheart and Brothers. Some of these groups are defunct, some are still active with new members, others would occasionally pop up from time to time. So popular was nasheed that even non-nasheed singers would join in the fray to sing nasheed songs.

I wish the momentum of nasheed songs could be restrengthened. Raihan used to be immensely popular, not just in Malaysia but also overseas. The legacy of Rabbani can still be felt until today even after the death of the group's lead singer, Ustaz Asri Ibrahim, two years ago.

These days though, there are not that many new nasheed songs. Even if there are new ones, they are not memorable, say like Raihan's "Bismillah" or Rabbani's "Intifada". These days I notice some of the nasheed groups are busy with product endorsement rather than coming out with new memorable nasheed songs.

Perhaps we need a new push to revitalise nasheed songs in Malaysia. Until then, I am happy listening to nasheed (or daawah pop) songs from overseas, such as this one: Irfan Makki (featuring Maher Zain) entitled "I Believe".

Contradiction - some examples

To further highlight my previous posting, here are some examples of self-contradictions:

1. We can never know anything.
2. I have learned that we cannot generalise.
3. I am proud that I am modest.
4. Everything that is written is untrue.
5. Make no mistake: all people are fallible.

My favourite self-contradiction of the day:

Halal beer.

Contradiction

Aristotle formulated a rule of thought known today as the "law of non-contradiction". This law is considered to be the fundamental principle of reasoning. It essentially states that a proposition cannot be both affirmed and denied simultaneously. This would render the argument invalid. In other words, it would make nonsense of the whole process of rational thinking.

I notice that there are too many glaring examples of contradiction in our society today. Just take a look at the news in any newspaper - mainstream or otherwise - and try to spot these contradictions. All these self-contradiction made by various quarters made me come to one conclusion.

We do not seem to have the ability to think rationally, what more act rationally. Looking at this from another angle, it simply means we are a nonsensical lot.

Project management case study of sorts

Imagine this scenario.

You are asked to do a favour. You are to carry out a certain task which needs to be done in a short space of time. You are very busy with a lot of other commitments, yet you oblige to help out. You get the task done, even though you are not thoroughly happy with it because of the time constraint. Then a few weeks later, you are called up on the pretext of a discussion. No agenda for discussion was given. Neither was any other information on the said discussion. It turns out the discussion was a meeting to assess the task that you did. The task was given to a so-called external expert to evaluate and comment. The expert presented his assessment. You are told that what you did was not good enough. The meeting was then concluded without you having any say or comment.

How would you feel?

Ego

Ego.

This is a word often used by many of us as an excuse to be big-headed. This is, in psychological terms, one of Sigmund Freud's three constructs of the psyche model. This is also a word that is used to describe one's self-concept. In simple terms, ego means I. In fact, that is what it means if one were to translate the word from Latin to English.

Usually, people use the word "ego" in negative terms. I am sure many of us are familiar with stories of how a person can change when he/she gets promoted to a higher position. From a humble and well-liked person, he/she becomes a despised boss. When the perception of people around him/her changes, then everything that he/she does is seen in a bad light.

No one can deny that everyone has an ego. It is, in some ways, a motivating factor for us to get certain things done. I am the first to admit that I undertook my doctorate studies because of my ego. I want to prove to myself that I can do it without any financial assistance. There is no benefits from me to gain from doing the PhD in terms of my career as I will not get promoted or get a raise. I just do it to please myself, nothing more and nothing less.

I guess ego can be positive in the sense that it can give you a driving force. But a big ego can also be detrimental. So, the best way as always is to be moderate. Don't let your ego be too small until you find yourself feeling inferior to others, and of equal importance, control your ego so that it doesn't make you big-headed.

Don't overfeed the ego.

Going through

My PhD supervisor reminded me a couple of weeks ago of something that I believe most of us tend to forget. She said that to get what we want, we have to get it through the Almighty. In other words, even when we find it difficult to achieve something, even when things seem hopeless, always remember that we can always pray to Him asking for His Mercy.

Even when we face difficult people, always remember Allah so that we will be given the strength, courage and ability to handle these people. As my supervisor put it so aptly, "To go through people, go through Him first."

Worth remembering.

Finding the time for someone important

I remember many years ago, a close friend asked me where I found the time for the things that I did. My impromptu response was, if you consider the things that you do as important, you would find the time for them.

A few days ago, another friend was telling me how he felt hurt when his wife told him, "I love you, but I don't have the time for you". It is no secret that I am no counsellor. All that I could do was to offer a sympathetic ear to listen to his story. At least, my friend was able to pour his heart out as he found it difficult to get going with such a burden on his shoulders. I will not go into the details of his story, but the point I want to make here is, if one wants to get married, then one has to find the time for his/her spouse.

This school holidays, as with all extended holidays, are filled with countless weddings all over the country. As a reminder to all, newlyweds or otherwise, marriage is not just for a day or a year. It is, ideally speaking, for a lifetime. It is because you consider your spouse important that you are willing to spend your life with him/her. When you consider your spouse important, then make the time for him/her. There is no such thing as not finding the time for your loved one.

Just my two cents worth.