im glad i was there, at mjd sultan today.
[oh, before i go further, i just wanna request something: please dont go and cut-n-paste this post or send the link to your friends/organisation(s) with that note - heyy, we got good feedback from a volunteer! *insertsmileyface*. this is for your own read~]
most of the time i just manned the booth. to kill time, i tried to continue reading a book about the life of a neurosurgeon [informative, insightful, and kelakar gak! hee]. or, i would listen to the brothers' chatters. best jugak dgr diorang berbual nih. tanye diorang ttg course yang diorang ambil. tanye pasal army. bla bla bla.. well, kite ni suker tanye. dapat gak ilmu sikit2, info2 baru dari diorang.
dapat berkenalan dgn 2 particular sisters.. kak ida and one more.. uh-oh.. i dont know her name.. from NUS.
bila tgh jaga booth tu, byk kali gak someone just came and inserted $$ into the donation tins. pakcik, makcik, kakak, abang.. foreigners.. non-muslims. masyaAllah.. masyaAllah.. terharu! kita ade letak signage kat 2 of the front gates. they must've seen. yes, cukup gembira bila lihat tangan2 yang menghulur.
before zohor gitu, the crowd outside masjid got bigger. coz there was a function kat audi, so mereka ni nak pulang ah. ape lagi, me and another bro angkut the collection tins and approach them. tahmid.. tahmid.. my spirits lifted. i went around the masjid. eager to approach anyone in my way. just do it!
then, i kinda felt im not doing what im supposed to do. why on earth am i sitting in this chair? i was getting too comfortable and lazy ah.. hmm.. so,
after asar, 5.15pm; ohh.. 45 more minutes to 6pm. supposedly end at 6pm. so me ajak the sisters, "jom! lagi 45 minit je. let's do what we can!"... so me and the NUS kakak walked along sungei road *first time whoaaooo* turn to ophir road, then to bugis village. wah, kat sini baru kite nampak: people's behaviour and their response towards those who are collecting donations. their indifference. wooww [saying this slowly].. and myself, how i had this 'reluctance' to approach people.. kira pilih bulu ah.. you should just go, liyana! go! just do it!
we left bugis village and walked outside BHG, crossed the small field to raffles hospital and made our way back to mjd sultan. along the way, yeah, we held out the donation tins. i realise i like to smile. i mean, i feel happy.. no wait, it's more like, i feel good greeting people with a smile.. even though they may respond by looking away.. looking straight ahead.. yada yada. ntah lah eh.. i say to myself, go liyana.. just go.. show your enthusiasm. your spirits. treat people with courtesy. "thank you very much!" smile "thank you..!" heh, ade some moments gak nak cakap jazaakallahu khair out loud. managed to suppress it though. klw tak, mesti orang tgk kite lain macam.
haha.. i kinda braced myself when approaching a group of mat saleh teenagers.. my gut said they wouldnt donate. but what the heck? just go ah. yeah, and so, they didnt donate. it's okay. at least, i overcame the apprehension feeling, or whatever you call it lah.
i think, basically, what i got from here is.. to just forget about being shy. just do your thing, ya know? smile and ask politely. forget about being hesitant. yeah, i was trying to shed that.
but at the same time, perceptions were forming in my mind.. e.g. who are the ones who show most indifference and/or ignorance.
and it's touching to see people putting $$, especially notes.. some big notes too, into the donation tin.. especially, non-muslims.. Ya Allah, mudahkanlah urusan mereka.. Ya Allah, kurniakanlah HidayahMu pada mereka..
felt the warmth of joy when listening to sisters sharing their stories, some are cute, some are funny, some are 'grrrrr', some are 'awwwww'.. all in all, i enjoyed myself. since most of the time, i was glued to the booth.
it's humbling. knowing that He puts me in this, to learn, to experience. tahmid.. tahmid..
adding to that, i became more informed about 2 particular initiatives by our muslim youths: IM4U and MGN. im thankful for the conversations i had with bro ashraf and kak nadiah. it's humbling. knowing that there are fellow malay muslim youths, students, whom despite their school workload, have this passion. to islah. to improve. to change. now that, is inspiring!
[start lament]
hmmm... should've done more. should've taken one tin and gone all the way to cityhall or esplanade. raffles would be nice too. i admit, i sat more than i walked. guilty. somehow, i didnt go all out like i thought i would.
[/end lament]
btw kan, klw kita tgk, aktiviti ni macam biasa je. tak gah pon mcm RR. tapi, pengajarannya.. hmmm.. packaged in subtle ways. *breaksintoasmile*
alhamdulillah.. alhamdulillah..
when you read this post again, remember that you were thankful for today, liyana..
and then, i thought to myself.. about where i wanna go after this. should i stay, and contribute through these initatives and/or organisations.. or should i venture out, taking what i've learnt and sharing 'em with those out there.. and get a better worldview. coz i know i will learn something from new people, new places, new situations.
go out, and be the strength that people need.
be the strength.
be. the strength.
-inhale deeply and let go-
should i really go out?
there are already many people working towards the betterment of the community here. im glad for that. a lot of initiatives, movements, groups, programmes..
but what about outside singapore? do they have as much effort done there as here? how are the muslim youths there creating change to their muslim communities? how? who? how much? can i play a part too?
i gain strength from the wonderful people, brothers and sisters, i've crossed paths with, and from the experiences that Allah has allowed me to keep, remember, reflect upon and share. i know very well that it's not enough. maybe not yet enough for me to step foot on a new, foreign ground and start giving.
but the people here need your strength too. need not go far. look around and you'll see there's a lot of work to be done.
Ya Allah... help me..
[about 2 more weeks til NUS/NTU admission exercises end]
i shall end this post with a sort of conclusion, or rather motivational reminder, that could sum up today's lesson:
Give all that you've got.
But if you can't -
More importantly,
Never stop giving.. never.
*head bows down*
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