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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Preachers and the Test of Patience (It is so freakin' hard! But in a Good Way)


Lighthouse
Preachers!
The silent compelling sermon of patience
Is the towering lighthouse of Truth,
Mightier than all the devices of preachers
Who lay siege upon the deaf.
For in truth, they are deaf not to Truth.
They are simply deaf to you.

Illahi Anta maqsudi wa ridaKa matlubi.

Adults often ask ourselves, “Why don’t the kids listen to us?” Preachers wonder why anybody can reject their guide to the divine. Don’t people want to be happy? Don’t people want to know the truth?

Really, people do want to be happy. But if you allow your irritation to tarnish the Message that you say you wish to share… well its tough. If your face turns sour, if your words become bitter, you are not sharing candy anymore. You are only sharing your annoyance. It is simply no excuse that you THINK your righteous fury originates from the Truth. No, sweetie. Not so simple…

Anger and Truths
However right you
Feel you are, sayang,
Have care that
Anger does
Not precede
The truth.

No one will drink
From a filthy glass
Though it is filled
With the finest
Of wines.
…………………..
(“sayang” means ‘love’ or ‘my love’ in my Malay language)

It is not easy. I am impatient and have anger- management issues myself. I used to bitch why God/Fate/Karma makes it so damn hard for me to be patient. Why it appears so easy for other people. Then one day, a friend pulled me aside and said “Taufiq, you old goat! It is not easy for them too. If it was easy, then it isn’t patience!”.

So I am still trying to be patient. I am not aiming high, you know. Patient like a normal decent person is fine. I am not asking God to send a tsunami wave to test my patience. Not finding a decent parking space is the sort of daily tests I would be happy to confront. What can I say? I am sub-mediocre.

But for those who make it appear so freakin’ easy to be patient – well, please accept my thank you for being beautiful in the cosmic-level. You are freakin' wonderful. You know who you are.

Have a great day, sunshine.


Pax Taufiqa

“Lighthouse” is from the chapter entitled ‘Maqsud & Matlamat’’, circa early 2006
“Anger and Truths” is from the chapter entitled “The Bride’s Dress”, circa January 2010.

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