Piala Ketua Pembangkang

                      My father used to give lectures at local mosques , before he passed away. There were about a dozen different places that he went in rotation every month. His students were mostly retired old men; pensioners, and they called him a  "guru taalim". Some of his students were his own teacher from his school days. Most of them were twenty years older than him.  My father was not a preacher; he was a high school maths teacher; and I do not understand how, or why,  but people asked him to talk about hadith every other night. My father himself told them that he was not a preacher; he's a maths teacher, but people does not seem to mind that at all.

          His younger brother also gives lectures at local mosques. To my eyes, my father and his brother were essentially the same. They have  two sets of cars of the same model , a house with a similar plan and an eerily similar location  . They have the same number of eight children, and  got married at about the same age . They both have the same hobby, and both of them are teachers during the day. Even their acts and quirks are strangely similar-but there was one thing that made them complete opposites. Their way of giving those night lectures were so different, it's like comparing karipap with lasagna.

                      My father would calmly read hadiths and their translations from his books, then he would take off his glasses and face his audience.  He gave his students  brief comments from the writers' point of view, then he would explain it from his own opinion, in a perfectly professional and academic way-and as a child I found that so boring. He kept his voice down in front of his senior students; all of whom listened to him tentatively. He looked like a real professor in a lecture hall, where students who were forced to attend-like I was with him- would fall asleep minutes after the lecture starts.

                    His brother in the other hand is a very provocative speaker. His voice is very loud and clear. If you happen to pass by a mosque in Muar, and you can hear the lecturer's voice three blocks away, that's   probably him. My uncle's way of speech is able to make his audience cry their hearts out, and his students are old men and women with grandkids. He is able to exert pressure upon steel hearts and break them to pieces. The only similarity between their lectures is that they would try to relate their contents with worldly affairs; BN's corruptions, the government's aversion to religion , and voters' responsibility in the Hereafter-my father explains, while his brother provokes, and as a result , my uncle got banned from several mosques which have hardcore macais, among them was the royal Masjid Sultan Ibrahim.

                  I joined high school debates to show my father that his way of giving lectures was boring, and that I was a better speaker than he ever was. I preferred my uncle's brave and provocative way of speech; loud and unforgiving.  I spoke from the depths of my heart , and preferred personal attacks as my favourite weapon. The thunderous claps and laughter from the audience  every time I speak made me assume that such provocations were the essence of debates. I once called  a female debater an "elephant with big ears, but apparently deaf". It felt kinda cool back then-sorry , my bad. The ratio of my personal attacks to the facts that I presented was about 6:3. I gained support from the audience, but to my surprise, my team lost every competition we went in, even though we were spontaneous speakers, and our counterparts refer to written texts word by word.

                I learned that my provocations reduced our points, and the lack of contextual evidence to support our premises, added with my sharp  personal attacks led to our downfall. Well, calling a girl an elephant isn't exactly something tolerable.

               I was not able to proove anything to my father , as he passed away before I could win anything. He cheated in our competition by dying first.

          Later on, I went to my uncle's lectures to study his skills again; as I believed that his way of speech was still the better  option. But then, I was honestly surprised; I found that his lectures weren't provocative at all; I as a child had misunderstood him. I was wrong.  His way of explaining things was actually similar to my father-too similar in fact, it was just that his voice was way louder! Should he reduce the loudness of his voice, then they would be perfectly alike. Words cannot explain how taken aback I was. I watched recordings of our previous debates, and only God knows how ashamed I was to hear how stupid I sound in those videos.

                The essence of a debate is to present an idea to the audience, not to make them laugh. I was a joker back then, not a debater. The facts presented must correlate with the main idea, and in order to do so, I had to be able to make the audience confident with the words that I say. I need to make the audience understand my premise , more than to make them agree with my words. The point of a debate was not to determine the winner,   but to find out whose logic is better. After all, even though I gained the most support from the audience, the judges cannot accept my logical fallacies. It is a battle of ideas, not plain provocations and crude words.

             Then, in what way are debates unacceptable to the macai community? I believe that the reason that our beloved Prime Minister rejects every debate is that they have exactly no evidence to support their arguments. Pakatan brought forth their manifesto, facts of BN's corruptions, new ideas for a better living; everything that shows their readiness to govern. Macais on the other hand had nothing but sex tapes and plain provocations. They created baseless assumptions using politics of fear; PR's victory means a collapsed nation, LGBT, civil war ...the list goes on.

             There is no way that BN's representatives can win debates with assumptions and sex tapes. That's what they meant when they stated that debates aren't part of our culture,  I suppose. Plain word wars and crude provocations are a better option, I guess.

               In order to create a better future for the nation, our leaders should indulge in debates, in order to present better ideas to the people, rather than slanders and lies. Debates often results in the creation of new ideas; it is after all just a more intense form of a discussion.

         Should our PM choose to further refuse to join debates, Piala Perdana Menteri  should be changed to Piala Ketua Pembangkang. That way, the dignity of the glamorous competition can be restored.  Nobody puts the title of a cowardly speaker for a debate competition .

                 Back to my story , my fellow debaters and I changed our way of speech drastically , and we managed to win some of the competitions. Alhamdulillah, for a happy ending.

               

    But then, even after all those victories, I still lost to my father, because I only copied what he did, and created nothing new out of it. I lost to a dead man.

            And our PM can't even join a debate.

          Peace.

                

Compromise~~

                  The victors of war can decide upon the definition of justice. They have the authority to rephrase the essence of justice , making it so that it bends towards their ideals and their way of life. Just so you know, Batman  is my cousin, and so we share our knowledge of justice. No, this is not just a blunder to release excess exam stress, but a summary of thoughts produced after inquiring a number of fictional characters of their world views.

                  I was engaged in a debate about Islamic laws. No, I wasn't involved, I was just an ignored bystander, as I was unable to match their ability to produce quick responses and sharp retorts.  Don't blame my inability, blame the education. My friends somehow reached an unofficial consensus that they wish to able to be freed of the shackles of Islamic laws; meaning that they can voice out whatever opinion they have, Muslims can convert to other religions at whim, and although said indirectly, they suggested that Islamic laws are somewhat barbaric and out of place; inhumane and impractical. Sorry if my summary is incorrect, but after a number of similar arguments we had, these are the impressions you created upon this fickle mind of mine.

            As for the reason to why they want to be freed of the shackles of Islamic laws , I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps that one of their siblings had their hands cut off, or their grandparent's head were severed, but I doubt that ever happened. It could be that when they tried  to express their world views, they were attacked with a flurry of death threats and anthrax in envelopes, but they are still alive and kicking to this day. We were different from every aspect of living, that every time we converse, I am unable to say a word. I really feel that I am a failure as a person.

                 They brought up a case where a Maldivian girl was sentenced to a hundred strokes for adultery, and claimed that it was based upon a false judgement. Amnesty International condemned the case and called upon human rights activists to protest against this , but then again, that is the fault of the false judgement, not hudud itself , is it?

               It is the same when a man is falsely sentenced to death- that is the fault of prosecutors ,not the law itself, is it? If it becomes the fault of the law, then we have to amend the law every time there is a false judgement. I suppose that that is irrelevant.

                 Hudud laws serve as a punishment and a deterrent. Punishment for the crimes that were done, and deterrent for the community as a whole.  Prevention is better than cure?

                  Adulterers are caned 100 times in front of the public. The argument here is that it is too degrading for a human being, cruel and inhumane. Well then, if such a punishment is displayed to the people, would there be any person who would ever commit adultery? There will be,  but it would be at a number 99 percent smaller than the advocates of free sex nowadays. We should take into consideration the negative effects that occur when the law of God is not being followed. There are hundreds of thousands children who are born without fathers. Teens as young as 11 being pregnant is no more a rarity. Divorce is much more frequent than marriage. The so-called family institution collapsed  years ago when people decided that sex is plainly for fun. Cheating spouses had become so common that people talk of it as normal as if Arsenal had lost another game. Women are treated as sexual objects, and the amount of hentai on the net is too damn high. This list is endless, my friend.

                What is better , a collapsed family constitution, or only 4 or 5 people sentenced to caning each year and solves all the problems above?

           

                      I was raised to believe in Islamic laws blindly, as I was unable to understand the reasons behind it. But as I grew up, I am able to recognize the perfection of the laws that Allah dictated for us human beings. Suppose that a man has his hands cut off due to thievery, will the people ever resort to stealing ever again? What is better, having hundreds of robbery cases daily, with convicts and ex-prisoners stealing repetitively, or  a perfect act of prevention?

             I said earlier that the victors of war can rephrase the definition of justice. Should the Caliphate won the first world war and enacted Islamic laws, will this argument even exist? We had been taught by the victors of war of human rights and their freedom, and so we tend to feel that their law is better and much more compatible. Amnesty's definition of justice is nothing more than a set of words taught by the imperialists to suit their necessities.

           Perhaps the fact that we haven't seen the effects that Islamic laws can bring causes us to doubt it all over again, and perhaps we have the impression that the current social condition has no cure. But my friend, we surely can't forget that those people who defined justice have only won the war less than a hundred years ago, and before that period, the caliphate had created an era which women are being respected, family institution became the pillar of nations, and crime levels were brought down so low.

        Then we pondered upon the view that there is no absolute truth. You suggested that in an interfaith debate, none of the religions can claim to be the one and true religion, and only then we can sit together and debate; because if one staunchly believe in his faith without any chance of compromise, there is no use to argue. It becomes pointless. You seek for compromise between religions. This is my answer; I can bring forth every form of proof and evidence that my religion is true, and my religion is the absolute truth. That is the essence of a debate; the one with the best evidence and proof is the better argument of the two sides. I wish to question then; what is your reason not to believe?

              What is the reason that my friends despise this religion so much that they wish to escape from its guidelines? Why is that when they speak of people who staunchly exercised Islamic laws, they speak of it with disgust and disbelief ? You can't speak of these laws as if they are ancient tribal laws, when the Prophet who brought it forth was the one who was able to civilize Badouins. The Arabs killed and robbed and disregard laws. They have no respect for women, and they are the ones who bury newborn girls out of shame. How come the laws that turned them into civilized men be regarded as 'tribal' or 'inhumane'?

              What is the reason then? Is it because old people who wear turbans and keep long beards look old-fashioned and silly? Or perhaps it is because the ones who advocated Islamic laws did not graduate from Oxford? It can be because with these laws, there will be no freedom with liquor, no more free sex and no more porn on the net, but my friends are good people with healthy minds, not to mention them being 

excellent scholars.

I don't know. I have no idea.

Racist Bubbles~

                 I have no intention of making a certain organization as the point of condemnation and clever insults, and if one take into account the current atmosphere, this issue is so boring that I feel that writing about it is totally pointless.  At the moment everybody is focused towards our warriors in Sabah, those currently standing at the frontlines to defend this country. We are in the midst of confusion; about the real intention of the Tausugs and the condition of our army. To add to this befuddlement, some political opportunists tried to name opposition leaders as the cause behind this uprising,  which then only backfired to them.

      

   

      When we are facing an imminent war, the voices of a certain covertly racist people which seeks to further divide the community is totally irrelevant, don't you think? During war times, every citizen should unite, no matter what race they are, whatever religion and their skin colour. We should stand together and fight , because we are  citizens of this beloved country. You are not going to call that pluralism, are you? Sick people.

                    That said , even if there is no war, what the fish is wrong with unity? I think that it is time to realize that this world is never reserved to us Muslims alone. Never was. This place is for human beings to strive together , just like we people should. The main notion of Islam is rahmatan lil alamin, not rahmatan lil muslimin faqat. Then , if you are able to recognize that other people from other races are humans too, what is wrong with sharing the leadership with them, to share the burden of being representatives to the people? I have always failed to understand the reason that some people managed to classify people different from us to the likes of cows and goats, inhuman beings that are evil with intentions of converting muslims, sabotaging the entire ummah, or perhaps the personification of devils themselves . Where does this paranoia comes from?

                   There are numerous races in this world   , with the number of languages more than 8000. To be able   to shrink our focus to this one race which haven't done anything significant for the   past hundred thousand years  is honestly pathetic , and totally  beyond comprehension.  I wonder if actually we were the ones who reached the moon first, or perhaps we were the ones who managed to map the whole world and founded Suvarnabhumi, the land of gold. Where does this pride comes from? Hang Tuah?

uncensored

                            They tried to justify that we should focus upon the development of young muslim minds, 

our personality and characters. Well, go on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is a noble task  that not many are able to hold, as it is tedious and tiring. The efforts to bring people back to tarbiyah is one our main focuses, and those who are leading the way should be hailed with respect. I honestly celebrate this movement , because we long for guidance and advice from the wise and thoughtful.

                My friend, if that is the case , why should we stop extending our hands towards others? Can't we be friends? Could it  be that the supporters of this certain organization are born to be socially awkward towards other races? Extremely racist introverts, perhaps?

              Justice and truth are universal values, my friend. Ah, I feel like I'm Batman now.  These values are part of human nature, and it was never constricted to any certain religion. Sorry for these extremely clichéd phrases, they helped me feel better  about myself.  A muslim can love cats and help poor people, and a non-muslim can also love cats and help poor people.  A muslim can manage a company and bring about good enterprising, and so does a non-muslim. So, if a muslim can be a representative to the people, why can't a non-muslim be one? " Calon Muslim berwibawa", is it? Why can't we add a " non-muslim berwibawa"  next to it?

                The phrase " to use race as the platform to raise Islam" is wrong. It should be " to use Islam as the platform to support the race". A platform is a base. It is bigger and wider than the thing that is being supported. "Race" is just a genetic variation that results in the difference in looks and skin colour. Diseases, stupidity and social awkwardness are also born of genetic variance.  We cannot choose the race we are born in. We can choose to be a Muslim.                   

                It is true that while we are many, we are like bubbles in the sea, but that doesn't mean that we should seclude ourselves to our own world views and neanderthal opinions. Bubbles in the sea, when they ascend to the surface, they become bigger, and when they reach the surface, the bubbles pop and become one with the air. I can break bubbles, but I can't break the wind, can I?

          I agree that the we Muslim youths are plagued with hedonism and all sorts of problems, but seriously, tell me, how does distancing ourselves from non-muslims solve this particular problem? Is there any logic in that?

a logical fallacy

            They said that they aim to fulfill the gaps which the current opposition failed to grasp, but honestly, from the depth of my heart, they have been nothing but an obstacle, a big thorn in the road.

             

Bubbles, bubbles in the sea~~~~

Hate at first sight~

                To know is to love. Or so said a friend of mine who is allergic to people. To love is to accept and understand each other in health , sickness, mental breakdown and every form of psychotic retardation. My friend, with such power of love , we can go through every nook and cranny of this world together, overpowering every obstacle and tribulations. But before we can reach that we need to know each other  , every detail of our acts and choices; for example; there might be a reason that a punk decides to skip exams like he's the school's principal-yes, in order to love , we need to understand each other, embrace each other's weaknesses and weirdness. Ah, this is ridiculous, yet true. Love at first sight is a heinous crime and cannot be acceptable as love, but pure lust.

          No, I'm not writing about love. Screw that Shakespeare thingy and go real, my friend. I suppose that , if to know is to love, then to know is also to hate. In other words, we need to understand someone before we decide to hate them.  Some would say that it is wrong to hate, but man, this is part of human nature. Try to put that aside. The topic tonight that I wish to explicate is in regard of hate at the first sight.

        Hate at the first sight is an inexplicable phenomenon, yet it  happens almost too commonly. Some people does not have any particular reason  to hate, but they just happen to bear such ill-feeling, either through unconscious informal teaching or indirect internal transgression. Yeah.  Allow me to explain. Unconscious informal teaching means that the hate towards others is unconsciously taught , usually by a parent to his/her children, teacher-student or from the elders to youngsters.

          An example for this kind of hate at the first sight is senior folks who experienced the May 13 tragedy, which results in an unrequited hate in their minds towards other races. Stories that they convey to the younger generation bring them to hate -which explains the term 'hate is taught' . These kind of people exist in abundance-such as the infamous Ibrahim Ali.  The level of interaction between races are kept at minimum, separated by geography and occupational differences, and thus this young generation knew naught  of each other. They studied at separate vernacular schools, live in different atmospheres, and are  practically separated through the ever-existing divide and rule effect. They know not of each other, yet they hate each other unconditionally.   This is the glorious hate at the first sight. As for the hate bearers such as the PERKASA, it is not weird that such group can exist, but the fact that there are people who listen to their blunders is plainly unacceptable.

                Indirect internal transgression-sorry for the fancy name- happens  due to rampant labeling and the act of blaming others.  When an Indonesian maid performed acrobatic acts with a 4 month old baby , the society reacts by cursing Indonesians. Perhaps cursing the maid herself is acceptable-I know it's not- but what do Indonesians have to do with her crime? From the few Indonesians I have met in my life, I learnt that they are among the most productive and hardworking people, at least ten times more than I am. They had contributed to this country more than I did in all these years. So why do we hate?  The mainstream media has a habit of labeling people- which I don't know whether it's intentional or not. Suppose that there was a robbery in my village, and the police caught the villains. Shouldn't it be enough for the media to report that " Three robbers caught red handed" instead of " Three Indians detained for robbery" ? What is the logic behind putting the label of race behind their names? The society ended hating not only the robbers , but also their family, their children and the innocent majority.

               This form of logically flawed hate at first sight caused numerous wars hundreds of years ago, and a supposedly civilized generation should be able to dismiss this irrational way of thinking. Altercation between only two men could result in a war between tribes, when things could have been settled fair and square. I suppose that the reason behind this hate at the first sight is that  human instinct actually yearns for war and conflict, and some people have a longing to put bullets in some people's head, but they are born in a wrong generation and a wrong time.

             And the same goes  to some Jews in Palestine, the fact that the Zionists invaded Palestine does not mean that all of them condone such violent and inhumane acts upon the civilians. They themselves never asked to be born  Jews, did they?

            For my fellow ISMA brothers,   just because we are born as Malays and Muslims, that does not permit the act of hating others. The act of prioritizing Malays just because they are Muslims means that we are arrogant with the nikmat of Iman and Islam, and to refuse and reject the reconciliation between muslims and non-muslims  means that we declare that Islam is exclusively ours. What if Allah decided that the Chinese people are the ones to be blessed with Islam, and we remained under the shadows of Hinduism, all those hundreds of years ago? What then? Do we have the right to brag again?  Just because the idea of liberalism comes from the West, that does not mean that fellow liberal muslims condone homosexuality and hedonism. The fact that we are different does not mean that you can hate.

"They regard as favour upon you (O Muhammad ) that they have embraced Islam. Say: "Count not your Islam as a favour upon me. Nay, but Allah has conferred a favour upon you, that He has guided you to the Faith, if you indeed are true."
(AL-Hujurat; 17)

Don't hate me, my friend. Let us love. 

The United Association of Robbers

        I have grown so disgusted with my previous posts and writings that I stopped writing altogether. It doesn't take long for one to realize how ridiculous is their past works . However, after realizing my ineptitude in normal speech, I decided to write again, thanks to you for being able to withstand my words of utter nonsense.

          I have been assaulted with the idea of national unity recently. Which I disagreed, of course. There's this one group which proposed the unity of all muslims in this country as the ultimate solution to various interpersonal and intrapersonal problems. Somehow, with this unity, the country will grow strong and peaceful.

Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly.

           There is a story about an old man and his three quarrelsome sons. The sons were so spiteful towards each other; they kept fighting over the most trivial things that their grandmother died of a sudden heart attack, and  their  mother became deaf out of constant yelling and screams.

                The old man grew sick after years of civil war.  On his death bed, he called upon his three sons and asked each of them to bring him three sticks. He asked them to break the sticks, and walla! , so they did with ease . The old man asked them to bring him a bunch of sticks, and when they did, he told them to bundle those sticks together, and asked them to try and break the bundled sticks . Each of them tried with their utmost strength, but  they failed to break the so-called united sticks. The old man died then, after succeeding to tell his quarrelsome sons, that unity is strength. Well, that is the kindergarten basis of understanding that unity is indeed a sign of strength.

                  The world would be so much better if everyone agrees upon one thing.

                I refuse to agree. I have seen outside the kindergarten world long enough to understand that things are not that simple.

            Suppose that there are two group of muslims, one is a squabbling band of pirates, and the other one is a justice wielding government. There are muslim pirates ,for goodness sake, robbers and serial killers, but let's take this as a mere example.  Don't be too harsh on yourself mate. The pirates take pride in their own jolly roger, their lawlessness and freedom. They ransack islands and rob trading ships ,kill others for fun, and put little value upon human lives.

            The muslim government would always try to capture these lawless pirates and aims to restore peace on the planet. Upholding true justice, the government is true to their intentions and did their best to serve the people. The government values life, and thus they are the exact opposite of the squabbling band of pirates. On top of that, the government is fully free of corruption and misuse of power, saint-like, pure-white, sinless and  clean.

               These two groups are muslims, aren't they? Now, how would unity benefit any of them? Why would the pirates share a flag with the government?

            There would only be unity if the government agrees upon those dirty jobs done by the pirates. A unity would only happen if the government condones their free killing spree, and grant the pirates freedom to destroy islands and rob ships.

               This is among the most simplest explanation I can use to explain the current situation. The government is stuck with their  idiosyncratic principles and seek to protect their hegemony. The pirates seek freedom in doing sins and corrupt inhumane acts. It should be understood that such unity is after all an alliance in corruption.

          There can only be unity if the pirates agree to stop their act of piracy, and become good muslims. But as far as we can see, none of that is going to happen. The real government in this analogy appears to enjoy robbing every penny from the people, and they have not shown any signs of stopping. And for academics' sake, our country is among the worst in corruption, the least press freedom, and we only lose to China in the amount of illegal money outflow. 

Such is the explanation from this kindergarten world.

       

Peace.

Different~

                Do you know how is it like to be different? It's when everybody goes out to the field in a football frenzy, and you are slumped under your warm blanket, sleeping your hearts out. When people rejoice over free  good food and the overflowing juices, you choose to starve  yourself and spend on something else. That's not so different, sorry. That's just extreme laziness.  Being different is by going against the mainstream. To do things others refrained from even thinking of .

               To fail a test when most others get perfect scores does not qualify as 'different'. That's just plain stupid. How do I say this? You have to be different if you want to know how it's like. Men who skipped work and slept during classes had certainly felt how being difference is like. And so are petty rule breakers and bad people. There is a certain ecstasy , an adrenaline rush, in doing taboos, acts that people regard as wrong. This is how being different is like, but this is the wrong ' difference'.

`

                 I am sorry if I had created a negative perception about being different. Screw you  and your perspectives.

           There is an easy and practical way to be different, my friend.  Go to the  Himpunan Rakyat rally in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday, and I promise that you will never be the same person again. Be different , forever. I am going , insyaallah, but I am not  different from others. I am just confused -and sad- that nobody wants  to go with me. My companions, nakama in cold and hard times had faltered and refused from joining such rallies due to the fact that scholars can't be involved with lowly scums that will conquer the stadium this Saturday. Chanting ridiculous stuff in the orange heat of the afternoon is an act of barbarians, and does not seem   fit with the holy nature of national scholars. Sorry guys. Hahahaha.

          I acknowledge the fact that we have exams in hand, but if we don't rise to the call and march with the people this Saturday, who's gonna save the nation?  The planet needs us young superheroes, to fight for liberty and freedom!  Sort of.

           We are not young forever. While our fats still reside in the skin, let's join the movement of the people of the 'different' kind, and do not let the nerd in us force us to do more exercise papers on that particular evening.

             I studied every day, and this Saturday is just one day. See by your own eyes, how we transcend the boundaries of skin colours and language , and march together like a big family. It has been programmed in our brains, by constant utusanilization, that such gatherings are prelude to violence and chaos, but I choose to disagree. If it is that hard to comprehend, then imagine you and me walking by the streets of Kuala Lumpur , one fine afternoon, in yellow and red shirts. Just walking, and nothing else. There's not much violence in that, is there?  Why would there be in the first place?

         Well, add a hundred thousand others, who smile at policemen and sing songs like kindergarteners . Since when was it wrong for a normal citizen to walk on the roads of his nation?

           People will gather this weekend with various groups and their own just causes. We   have had enough with corruption and misconduct of power . We can no more say "it's okay lah" and turn a blind eye anymore. We have had enough with fat cows , sunken submarines, and oversized diamonds bought with childhood savings. The Felda men are tired of being tricked with empty promises. People of the Eastern Coast have decided that their oil is indeed theirs, and some honest men just want a clean and fair election. Students have risen to the occasion and demanded for a representative power for the young  people in the political scene. I have chosen to be different, and I have chosen to support their causes.

                Tell me my friend, how is any of their causes wrong? How is that possible?

           Be free of the apologetic nature of various groups with uncertain and misleading  motives, and think by yourselves . Be brave , my friend. Come with me. Be different.

Getsuga~~

                  I have no way to describe how beautiful is a morning. The dark skies punctured by flickers of sunrise, in the wee hours of the morning , my friend, is a beauty beyond comparison. I don't know how you see it, but as a colour-blinded guy, I  always see the morning sky with a purplish hue and little smudges of white. This is not the 10 am type of morning my friend, this is the breaking dawn. Not that weird ,awful movie, this is the real thing.

              I haven't seen it for a while, and I wonder how it looks now .  In this hot tropical country, this hour is the coldest of all. The leaves and the shy morning flowers are all covered with dew. The land is soft with moisture, and it gives a spongy feeling when you step on them, like a red carpet celebrating your arrival. It made you feel like a king, because you are all alone there, while others are sound asleep. You have the power to wake up, my friend, while others are slumped under their blankets.

        It is cold , but there is no need to get in sweaters, as it will really be warm soon.  As you tread upon the wet grass you can hear the birds singing; they celebrate the beginning of a new day. The crickets make their final songs heard before the night show ends, and the animals of the day would take their places.  

             The moon in the morning is nothing like the one in the night. They called it ' getsuga' in Japan. I really like that word.  The night is over, yet why is the moon still there? It kept me company in the dawn, until the sun rises, and it faded from sight. It has been a long time since we saw a getsuga, my friend, and I have started to forget how does it looks like.

*nothing to do with the post

         I can't deny the fact that even though the morning is such a beauty, it is also the most tempting time to sleep. The comfort it gives when you snuggle under your thick layer of blanket, damn, I feel sleepy. It feels like someone you love so much gives you the warmest hug ever. You don't want to let the blanket go. The pillow is your best companion. Nothing can separate us  now, not even yells from an angry mom, or a splash of water on your face by a bored dad. If your young sister dare to just tickle your foot to wake you up, there is always the falcon kick , usable for in-sleep defense. Poor child.

            But you haven't seen the morning skies, have you? How do you know that such a short slumber is better than this precious beauty my friend?

            I love stating the obvious, you see, as the obvious things are the ones we almost always forget.

           Have you forgotten how beautiful it is when the clouds part to give way to the rays of light? Man, this is painful to write. The morning signifies a new hope and a new beginning, and how do you hope to change if you don't even begin? Our prophet promised us blessings for those early risers, to the ones who appreciate the beauty of a morning. Our time as youth is the best time to savour the brilliance of the morning, before we 

become adults who view mornings as hasty breakfasts , traffic jams and exhaust smoke.

                I want to change, my friend. I missed the beauty of the morning. Wake up. Let us pray.