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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mothers are just WOW - Following mine around Jerusalem

INTREPID MOTHER. Sometime in mid 1990s, I was vaguely aware that my mother went to Jerusalem. The fact that Malaysia and Israel has diplomatic relations, the fact that in our Passport, it specifically states that Israel (and North Korea back then) was one of only two countries in the world where we are not suppose to visit, did not stop her. Nor did I find it surprising that she would find her way to Jerusalem. I knew she was keen to visit the Holy City, so one way or the other, I expected my intrepid mother to figure her way to the Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City.

THE WAILING WALL. And she even ended up where I didn't, which was the Wailing Wall. If you recall in my posting on my trip to Jerusalem (I met a man in Jerusalem - Umrah Pilgrimage Part 13, CLICK HERE), I kinda ditch the group to walk around myself. They all managed to visit the Wailing Wall, sadly I didn't manage that. (You visited Jerusalem and didn't visit the Wailing Wall? You idiot!)

MOMS ARE WOW. My dear chocolate sunshine. Our mothers are our trailblazer. Indeed it is nigh impossible for us to even be around without the active participation of our mumsies for 9 months - bearing a load of love. This year I finally found myself retracing the steps of my mother in the Land of the Prophets. On a little pilgrimage, not to Medina and Mecca, but to find the little bit in me that is my Mother, the good part, the beautiful part. This was a journey planned long before - 41 years ago when my mother cradled me in her arms, and for the first time ever I looked into her eyes, thinking "Wow".

17. Haj II
O’ pilgrim,
Be aware of each heart beat.

Because your pilgrimage
To the Hidden Kaaba
Begun from the first moment
You were conceived in your mother’s womb.

Each fleeting moment of your days
Is a step in your pilgrimage,
That either brings you closer to
The Holy Precinct
Or draws you further away.


Happy pre-Mother's Day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

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