Don't fall in love with the road

Religion is meant to be a way to bring us closer to our God.
The purpose is to help us to love our God.
This is an enjoyable journey.

Somehow, many people get a bit confused
and instead of using the road (our religion)
to get to love and get closer to our God
they fall in love with the road.


We are supposed to ride the highway to our destination
Not to fall in love with the highway and stop and get stuck to admire it
or even to go back and enjoy the sights gone by

We are supposed to use the highway
If we fall in love with it, we may detest people using other roads
Any form of hatred will slow us down tremendously.

The roads are here for us, not we are here for the road
We may be here for our God, but not for the road.


Some religious leaders and teachers want just to be seen,
position themselves in the middle of the road
and cause jams with their messages of fear and hatred.

Other religious teachers are at the side of the road,
providing us with fuel and helping us to upgrade our cars,
they spread the messages of love and kindness and help 
us to move a bit faster to our lovely destination. 


The way is here for us to use, to get a bit closer to our God
Let us not get stuck along the way, falling in love with the road.

The soul of the sea

This morning I stopped by at the beach.
I stopped only for a very few minutes,
but long enough to draw a few very deep breaths.

Inhaling all the beauty of the morning sun,
the morning sun reflecting in the wavy sea
I inhaled the iodium, the oxygen.

But more important still,
I inhaled the energy, the power, the soul.
The soul of the sea was in my lungs

It diffused into my being
it stayed there and gave me courage
I enjoyed its energy as it brightened my day.

Calling

Today is a working day in Kelantan, the place where I work.
Yes, Sundays are working days here every week.
Our weekends are Friday and Saturday.

When I was just now reflecting on my day,
I became very grateful for my my work.
I love the work I do.
I think my work is my calling

When I was 5 years old, I wanted to be a doctor already
When I was 12 years old I wanted to do exactly what I do today

It has taken a lot of sacrifice to get here but it has been worth it, I think
Quite some time ago I wrote the following small poem on "calling"


Calling 

A calling can be so strong
It makes us move away
A calling can be so strong

We move away for long
From our loved ones
We move away for long

We miss our loved ones
But our calling is so strong
We miss our loved ones

Our calling can be strong
Following our calling can hurt
But it can be oh so strong.

Following our calling can hurt
But isn't it our soul's desire?
It may be worth the hurt

Aufie Zophy

Imagine

Imagine

Imagine you were rich
Traveling in first class
setting up a fund in your name
more money you amass
rising extremely fast to fame


Hold the image, hold on to it
enjoy the feeling of being rich
Abundance all around
keep feeling deeply rich

Rich in money, rich in thoughts
a wealth of character, a wealth of friends
Hold on to the image and feel it
-----------
Imagination does not cost money
Imagination is not tiring
It just can bring on a good feeling

Actually the world is abundant
We can live our imagination
Dare to dream and keep the dream alive
Dare to have ideals and keep them alive

The way up

So many times in our lives we have choices to make.
Follow the herd or take a different stance
Follow the easiest path or choose the more challenging one
Give in to desire or resist giving in now
A small lie or the truth

Actually quite some time ago I wrote a small poem on this.
It is titled our choice:

Walking on a hot and scorching day

We meet a splitting of the way

A way downwards looking shady, some trees are there

A way upwards, sandy without trees, just looking bare

Somewhere deep inside we know
The downwards shady path goes low
And down that place, there is no tree
Just heat and sweat and more ennui

Somewhere deep inside we are aware
That the way up, though initially a little bare
Will bring us to a place with lots of shade and big relief
It is God’s way, so I believe

Shall we choose the way below with instant pleasure?
Leading down to a place of heat, we cannot measure
Or shall we make little effort on the upper way?
And enjoy shade and breeze day by day 

Aufie Zophy (the author name I use)

Support

Today I was speaking with parents of a preterm baby.
They were very young parents.

I was going on about the need for expressed breast milk,
the risk of infection and suddenly realized that the messages did not sink in.

What they needed was support.
Perhaps they did not get the support from home.
Perhaps they did not get support from friends.
But that was what they needed.
They needed support more than information.

So I tried to change my tone; my intention changed.
It changed from empathetic informing to compassionate support.

The situation became almost instantly less tense.
I think that we parted as friends.
I don't think my information was conveyed successfully,
but I think we had meant something for each other
and isn't that what really counts?

The silent river

The silent river
feeds water in abundance
to the restless sea
(Aufie Zophy)

I love the above Haiku.

looks like giving brings peace
receiving leaves one thirsty for ever more...