How often do we find ourself alone in the house or elsewhere, moping around with nothing to do? This makes some people feel very lonely. especially if age has caught up on you and all the kids have left the coop to set up their own homes. Even the young people are not entirely free from such bouts of loneliness and boredom. The TV or radio is perhaps the best company to reduce the loneliness or, for the younger generation, the handphone and the computer ( with the internet, fb, videogames etc.) would become the best of friends.
For the elderly even the TV, radio and Internet or FB might not help. Songs, dances and "the soap" ( TV dramas) might not be of interest anymore while you need many friends to make FB and the chat-boxes interesting. As one young and charming executivesaid about a fellow worker, while other members of a working lab took a rest to contact friends on FB, an elder member was preparing an organization chart. No FB friends to banter around with.What a pity.
But do we know that some people just like to be alone? As one author said, "I'm never less alone than when I'm alone." Probably, writers are the people who love to be alone with their imagination, dreaming up characters and plots for their novel or plays, or doing research for their non-fiction or academic work. Even if they love company ( the more so with sweet, young and vibrant characters to breathe life into their stories), their work must be done alone, often punching the keyboard late into the ghostly hours of the night. Hey, young bloggers and aspiring writers must have experienced that already. Deep thoughts don't come in a rowdy ( or even randy) discussion. Only witty, humorous or some crazy lines may crop up. Deep thinking is a lonesome job.
It is indeed when you're alone doing some deep thinking or admiring the wondrous beauty of nature or the enigmatic product of human ingenuity, that you feel the world belongs to you. It's all yours to admire and absorb, from earth to sky from the visible to the unseen. You may call for, conjure up and conjecture on anything and everything you want. Yes. But many people call that dreaming, daydreaming, musing away or just 'sit and stare'. What we seldom realize is that it is in those moments that we discover more about ourselves. what we are and what we are not. Sometimes we feel sad, sometimes we smile. But don't smile too long or somebody passing by who sees you will think that you're heading for the psycho-ward.
Of course you can't sit and mope around alone in the house all day. After a good breakfast a walk around in the vicinity of the residential area where you live, is good for health. Noting some of the early morning activities that housewives and the maids do is good for the soul. A good rest after that with the newspapers or magazines is a good post-career indulgence, with the radio dishing some soft and sweet music. If you fall asleep, well.. you might really be losing out on the clarion call of life. Otherwise, after the rest you're ready for work and fun on the computer. If you're a non-retiring businessmen (or women), there will of course be plenty to do, whether necessary or not. The least you can do is bother a lot of people, hehehe. If you're into blogging, facebooking, or video-gaming, there's no telling when you'll stop. You might even appear late for lunch.
Afternoon siesta? No, that's not good. It's time to do the little housework that you didn't execute in the morning. There's plenty to do around the house really that we never get to know when we are or were working eight-five. Tending to the garden (better in the morning and don't water the plants in the heat of noon or you'll kill them), feeding the fish or cleaning up the tank or pond, giving the car(s) a little wash for exercise's sake or just to deny the professional car-washers some of their income, and for the serious lovers of the green earth, gardening, is most appropriate. Hey, it's a good and refreshing work, as good as a workout in the gym. For the ladies, of course you've more than enough chores in the house itself.
Well, if you begin the day with those little tips for whatever they are worth, no days will be dull or boring. Each day is a gift of God to savour and enjoy. The only thing is we have different ways of enjoying ourselves and different things that we enjoy. But those who love reading and writing will never find enough time to satisfy their desire to seek and share their thoughts and feelings with the world....
12 comments:
Sdr Norzah,
Your concluding statement is the key to appreciate life. When I wake up each morning I thank ALLAH S.W.T.for the opportunity to continue another day and I consider it as a bonus, because one's existence is not without a purpose. One can never be lonely because solace is within you and whatever you do is being watched by your angelic scribes. There can never be enough time to do the needful if you know the purpose of your existence, and life is not complete until you have done your duty as a human being and shall be called to account for it when you are resurrected on Judgement Day.
Sometimes, ya Akhi, it's the search for THE PURPOSE and THE MEANING of life which keeps us very busy.
We keep uncovering Allah's secret from the al-Quranal Kareem and as-Sama'i wal-Ardh and yet very little is known. Only during a deep reflection do we sometimes see flashes of meaning which are to profound to talk about. We pray that on Judment day we'll get the kitab Alliyiin and not the kitab Sijjiiin ( Check Surah Al-Mufataffifiin). Salam.
Ya akhi Norzah, my profound gratitude for the enlightenment on Surah Muthaffifin, especially verse 7 and verse 18-22 on kitab " Sijjin" and " 'Illiyin ".
I salute you on the breadth of knowledge of the world and the Qura'anul-Kareem is indeed remarkable. Salam.
Ya Akhi. Disamping usaha membaca ana juga ikuti ceramah dan kuliah disurau dan masjid, Alhamdulillah itulah yang dapat mengisi kekosongan didada. Herannya semakin belajar semakin banyak yang tak tahu. Kerana itulah Allah berkata manusia mengetahui sedikit sekali. Ana akur dan redha.
Sdr Norzah,
Giving time to oneself nourishes the mind. Just gazing at the Kaabah sans tawaf is adequately rewarding - it is fulfilment in fact.
It is brought to a higher level, when one is in meditation Maharishi Yogi style. It is peace and harmony in equilibrium.
Yes, and it is as yet to be discovered in its true form, by everyone but everyone needs it!
You've brought in another approach to self-discovery. sdr Kk, ie through meditation. I didn't mention that as a way of heightening our self-awareness, nor did I include prayers, to avoid sounding too religous. I certainly agree with you that meditation in its many forms and styles can refine and invigorate the soul.
Islam offers many forms of meditation too, from the simple tafakur to munajat. If you're into Maharishi Yogi beware of the syirik elements involved. As a way of exercising the mind, all forms of meditation seem ok.
Sdr Norzah,
Meditation Maharishi Yogi inspired, was the vogue when the Beatles were ensnared. Never knew how it really was. Never tried. Thanks for the reminder just the same.
Sdr Norzah,
We were moulded in the system of education where the spiritual and the worldly matters are separated, but somehow not for the schools which were run by missionaries in those days.
As such we are careful not appear religious whenever we make reference to our spiritual obligations. But in our daily supplication we say that "our prayer, our actions, our life is all for the sake of the Rabb of the Universe." The utterance of our supplication must be accompanied by our actions, only then our faith is synchronised. I noticed that those who embrace Islam practice the faith more diligently than those who are born into the world as Muslim. I am not insinuating but just as an observation.
I agree with your observation, Bro, that the new brothers in Islam are often more pious than those born into the religion. But I hesitate to pass any judgement because religiousity cannot be judged by outward behavior. The man who doesn't wear a cap could be held in higher esteem by Allah than the man wearing a jubah all the time.
Here you are the three of you again discussing intimately, and I feel lik being a interloper. But a man older than all of you, I wish to say how true your view is on the subject of being alone and the way you describe the day's activities. I do not go for a morning constituitional. Instead I face my pupils for a couple of hours and I repeat that in the afternoon from another couple of hours. Indeed we are alone just the two of us in a house
overlooking the beach, all by ourselves,without immediate neighbours, only to be disturbed when children and the rest of the clan come visiting from KL. It is joy. It is fulfilling. I agree with you whole-heartedly.
I apologise for not saying - Ya ikhwani. Rahimakumullah wabarik a'malukum kulluh.
You're no interloper, Pakcik, but a most welcome member of the group.A house by the seaside with no immediate neighbours seems to me an ideal spot for uslah,even zuhud, if you're into sufism. Itulah yang mungkin telah memberi Pakcik ilham untuk menubuhkan al-Manar dgn wahyu Allah bagi mengerjakan amal soleh dan nahi munkar. Subnallah, barakallahu laka wausratuka.
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