Live Fast, Die Pretty

If Not You, Then Who…?

fariddarif — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:18:36 +0000

Hello there. If you’ve been putting off your dreams because you feel that you don’t have enough money to get started or don’t have the necessary education or qualifications, I’ve got news – you may never have what you need to feel ready. This illustrates another important point – that everyone needs a wingman sometimes. We’re not always strong enough to do it alone. Sometimes we need a friend, an ally, a supportive spouse, just one person who believes in our mission and is willing to help or just put an arm around our shoulders and say, “I believe in you.” If you have someone like that, he or she is a treasure and a secret weapon. When it comes to the most important things in life, no one is ever ready. All you can do is stand tall, build a bonfire of resolve in your heart and move. The time to do what you dream is now. If you find yourself disturbed by events around you – whether internationally, in your community or within your family and thinking, “Someone should do something,” well, you are the someone. You see the need, you have the capabilities that Allah gave you as His representative on earth, you have the same brain, heart and opposable thumbs as anyone else. You’re it, bro. It’s you, sister. This is the moment while you have your youth, health, wealth, time and life itself. None of us is assured another sunrise or another evening on this earth. Death waits for no man or woman but comes upon us on the wing, like a raven in the night. The time is now. The place is here. The person is you. Thank you…

p/s:- If not you, then who…?

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Salam Aidilfitri & Salam Kemerdekaan…

fariddarif — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:08:25 +0000

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera. Sudah hampir sebulan kita semua berpuasa dan kini tiba masanya untuk kita semua bakal bergembira di Aidilfitri yang bahagia. Sekarang ini, ada yang tengah mengemas barang hendak balik kampung, servis kereta, membeli-belah baju raya dan kalau kanak-kanak, mesti tengah buat kira-kira hendak membeli mercun. Ada juga yang sedang sibuk mengecat rumah dan menghias dengan lampu kelip-kelip bagai. Sungguh seronok hendak menyambut kedatangan Aidilfitri. Rasanya, tahun ini pertama kali kita di Malaysia menyambut Aidilfitri serentak dengan Hari Kemerdekaan tapi mungkin bertahun-tahun dulu ada pernah juga. Perasaan untuk menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan sudah ditenggelamkan oleh perasaan untuk menyambut Aidilfitri tapi masih ada lagi anak Malaysia yang patriotik memasang bendera di kereta ataupun di rumah. Sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, semakin kurang rakyat Malaysia yang mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang untuk menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan negara. Entah mengapa, mungkin ramai yang lalai dan alpa kerana sudah agak lama kita merdeka. Kita semua hanyut dengan nikmat kemodenan, kemajuan dan keamanan negara. Di sini saya ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk mengucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Hari Kemerdekaan negara kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang sedang membaca di sini. Maaf zahir dan batin. Semoga anda semua selamat pulang dan kembali, berhati-hati di jalan raya dan ingatlah orang yang tersayang. Sekian, terima kasih…

p.s:- Ok, I’m going to make this real easy. Just a simple shoutout. Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir & batin. Selain itu, selamat menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan juga. Enjoy your holiday…!!!

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How Should We End Our Ramadhan…?

fariddarif — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:47:54 +0000

Salam. Many of us have started preparing for Aidilfitri, maybe we should also make sure that we end this blessed holy month in a great way.

1. Repentance (Taubat)

We end this month by returning to Allah in a state of humility and repentance. We seek forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him because we acknowledge that our deeds are deficient and we acknowledge that we have wronged ourselves and others.

2. Gratitude (Syukur)

We must thank Allah for all that He has given us during this month. He blessed us to be among those who worshiped Him and He gave us the health and ability to fast, to pray and to increase in our good deeds. Being grateful to Allah and thanking Him reminds us to be humble because we would not have received anything good or have had the opportunity to do any good without the help of Allah.

3. Proclaiming the Greatness of Allah (Takbir)

Takbir is to declare the greatness of Allah, to exalt Him and magnify Him. Saying “Allahuakbar” is the highest and best way to exalt Allah. We repeat this throughout the night and day, reminding ourselves that Allah is greater than everything else and we declare His praise for having guided us to finish Ramadhan.

4. Intention to Change

We end this month with the intention to continue fasting, praying and doing good. Ramadhan is a month of change that is meant to give us a spiritual cleansing that will last us the whole year. The virtues of fasting and praying do not end after we celebrate Aidilfitri; rather, Aidilfitri should be the beginning of a new chapter for us to continue doing the habits we started in Ramadhan. Do not be a typical “Ramadhan Muslim” by intending to return to your old habits after the Aidilfitri prayer. Ask Allah, the one who guided you to worship Him in Ramadhan, to help you continue in your worship and good deeds. Remember that Ramadhan has left us but the one who created this month will never leave; for He is living and His reward is everlasting. That’s all for now, thank you…

p/s:- Let’s hope all of us will be around for the next Ramadhan. Aminn…!!!

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Is Social Media Creating The Laziest Generation…?

fariddarif — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:09:21 +0000

Hello there, how’s everything? Observing events and then commenting about them on social media has become our national religion. We anxiously wait for the next celebrity to screw up, another politician to be caught in a sex scandal, the verdict in an even higher profile murder trial or simply a friend to do something stupid so that we can quickly begin worshipping at the altar of the social media platform of our choice to offer our (or read others’) opinions, jokes, jibes and the occasional insightful thought. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and a host of other social media platforms, all the world’s now truly a stage and we are all players in the reality show of life, either as the stars or as the self-appointed pundits. In the past, people would recount where they were when an historic event occurred. In the future, we will instead recall what we tweeted, posted or read on social media platforms about such events. Yes, it’s fun and I’m guilty of doing the same thing but here is my growing concern:- Are we becoming the laziest generation? I know that in today’s increasingly complex and challenging world, it seems that one individual can’t have an impact on the issues facing our country or our planet but you can, and if you choose to, you will. That’s all for now, thanks for reading my crappy opinion…

p/s:- I’m not in any way advocating that we should stopping using social media. In fact, please follow me on Twitter or add me on Facebook and Google+ but if there is an issue you really want to make a difference on, it will take more than a tweet of 140 characters or updating your Facebook status to do it…

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Why You Should Take The High Road When Others Aren’t…

fariddarif — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 09:18:31 +0000

Dealing with people who don’t share the same opinions as you, who know how to get you angry and sometimes just like to see you pissed off gets real annoying. I guess a popular phrase would be “they know how to push your buttons”. Obviously a person who has self control, both mentally and emotionally is able to keep him or herself more cool rather than loosing it like the incredible hulk. One of the things that a Muslim is suppose to do is think about the long term always. Consciously asking oneself “if I react in such a manner rather than another, why will be the repercussions?”. To draw a popular analogy, it’s like a Pepsi bottle that’s shaken constantly and the pressure builds up to such a point that the slightest opening of the cap can cause it to explode right in your face. This is how some situations can make individuals become. The goal for all of us should be to take the high road. By this I mean, being the better person in the heated moment and not fueling the fire. It’s moments like this, that give us an opportunity to become extraordinary and set an example rather than being pathetic and degrading ourselves.

Why Bother Taking the High Road?

1) Protecting Relationships:

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “It is not lawful for a Muslim to desert (stop talking to) his brother beyond three nights, the one turning one way and the other turning to the other way when they meet, the better of the two is one who is the first to greet the other.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

2) Controlling Emotions:

Anger feeds anger. I can’t find the hadith at the moment but essentially anger comes from syaitan and syaitan comes from fire. So, how do you cool off fire? Go figure, with water of course! Go do your wuduk and cool yourself off. When you take the high road, your going away from the fire. Think of it like that.

3) Saving Yourself From Sin:

The heated moments can sometimes get us to do something even more stupid. Next thing you know you are cursing or you say something that you will regret later on. It’s intelligent not to set yourself up for this trap. Before it escalates, you better leave! A pattern often leads to one of these moments, you need to carefully identify what’s causing this and take preventive measures. This would require you to do some contemplation or self reflection when you got some personal time. Perhaps, tahajjud time when the rest of the house is sleeping.

4) Waste Of Energy:

Why not direct your energy in other ways? When you take the high road, your saving yourself from wasting energy, giving yourself high blood pressure and obviously stress. Who needs high blood pressure? We already eat enough halal fried chicken, chill and calm down.

5) Spread Love, Not Hate:

Don’t let negativity spread, it starts to effect the mood and state of mind of those around you. The environment needs to foster positivity and optimism, so just chill. It’s more important that if you are the source of influence in the group, household, organization and by that I mean what you do can easily rub off on others then you need to get it right. Sometimes, people say stuff to discourage you from doing right and good. Syaitan starts talking to them, they’ll say things like “you don’t really want to help, your just putting on a front” and blah blah blah. The bottom line is if your sincere about the future and are conscious of taking a higher road for a greater purpose and for the reasons I mentioned above then stay focused on it. Try not be swayed easily.

p/s:- Alright, until next time my friends. Insya-Allah, I’ll write again soon. May Allah s.w.t give us the ability to take the high road. Aminn…!!!

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Ramadhan Al-Mubarak…

fariddarif — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:01:09 +0000

Jika tiba bulan Ramadhan, maka dibuka pintu-pintu syurga dan ditutup pintu-pintu neraka dan dibelenggu semua syaitan (HR. Bukhari & Muslim). Ya Allah, bukakan pintu syurga bagiku dan bukakan pintu syurga bagi saudaraku yang sudi memaafkan aku. Mohon maaf zahir dan batin, selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa. Semoga di bulan Ramadhan ini, kita dapat melaksanakan kewajipan kita sebagai muslimin dan muslimat dengan tenang, khusyuk & tawaduk. Salam…

p/s:- Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa & terawih di bulan Ramadhan. Kurangkan dosa dan tingkatkan pahala. Semoga semua amalan kita diterima oleh Allah s.w.t. Aminn…!!!

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Get Up And Move On…

fariddarif — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:16:34 +0000

Hello there. There are few things as worthless as a stagnant life especially when you refuse to move on. Although life can be cruel, it is important that you do not get fixated about a problem. Failure is the stepping stone to success. That is only the first step. When you start to abandoning your old beliefs or values, you may be stuck at the threshold for two or three years. Before moving on, you have to clear away your cherished beliefs. You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on. By forgiving and choosing to move on, one takes the power back to morph it into positive energy. We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us. You can’t keep blaming yourself. Just blame yourself once and move on. The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are but in what direction we are moving. Courage is not the absence of fear but simply moving on with dignity despite that fear. That’s all for now. Cheers…

p/s:- Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard. We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey…

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Just Think About It…

fariddarif — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:23:32 +0000

Hi there. Nothing happens unless you dream of it first. Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born. Goals in writting are dreams with deadlines. Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today. Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity. That’s all for now, thank you…

p/s:- Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars…

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Be A Man, Do The Right Thing…

fariddarif — Tue, 10 May 2011 08:04:10 +0000

The title of this post is appropriately titled from a line from one of my favorite comedians, Russell Peters. He parodies every single type of Asian person you could think of, leaving no one feeling left out. Being an Asian person myself, I can appreciate it for what it is but I’m writing to expand one line of his routine. Responsibility is lacking in today’s society. Make a mistake, rub it out, press delete, backspace, abort. The list goes on. In today’s society I hear of fewer and fewer people who roll with the punches and take what is given to them and fight back. Discipline is lacking. Self-control is a direct fruit of discipline and both are in serious lack. When will maturity be the desire of our hearts? When will we turn from our childish and selfish ways? Life is too short to have a foul mouth. Make a record of the things that you say right after a conversation. How much of it brought or tore down another individual or group? How much of it are things you’d never dare say in the presence of parents, pastors, significant others’ parents? How much or how little of your conversations edify, encourage, or build up others? That’s all for today. Thank you…

p/s:- Be a man, do the right thing…

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Regret…?

fariddarif — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:39:16 +0000

Hi there. How are you doing? It has been a long time since I last wrote my blogpost here. Today, I would like to write and share my opinion about regret. Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time, it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future. Regret is an odd emotion because it comes only upon reflection. Regret lacks immediacy and so its power seldom influences events when it could do some good. Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. Forget regret or life is yours to miss. Sometimes the littlest thing in life changes something forever and there will be times when you wish you can go back to how things used to be but you just can’t because things have changed so much. Have you ever feel this way? I know I do but life moves on. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about taking chances and how it’s really just about overcoming my fears because the truth is, everytime I take a big risk in my life, no matter how it ends up, I am always glad I took it. Things don’t happen for no reason, they happen to teach you something. I think that’s all for now. Thank you so much…

p/s:- For me, I would rather do something and find out that it was the wrong thing than never know if it was the right thing. No regret…!!!

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