The Quiver & the Arrow (The Ramadhan Verses #3)
My thoughts make no sense,
My words all meaningless,
My future is locked
In the past tense.
It is the hardest thing ever,
To change,
How you hold the bow,
How you hold the quiver,
And how you let go
The arrow.
The Prophet once said, or so I am informed, “If I am told that someone has changed his habits, and I am also told that a mountain has moved from its spot to another. I will believe the second to be far more likely.”
Change is a miracle. You can strive towards it and work hard for change. But when it comes it is like a divine intervention. It’s as if God presses the button hidden somewhere in the well of your soul and presto(!) - Your days and nights of effort has suddenly paid off! Good for you, sunshine!
I am not big for change. But the world turns regardless and time passes and they are not waiting for me to change. If you have any thing that you must do, some long ago dream you have yet to fulfill, some bad habits you long desired to drop, some path to travel, a mountain to climb, a book to finish, a journey to begin, a promise to keep… well, do it.
We all carry the past in us, often wearily reliving our past mistakes. At the same time we are struggling to cope with the expectations of the future. And while we are being burdened between the past that we cannot change and a future that we are nervous about, the present comes and goes unattended.
On this eve of Ramadhan, it is simply a timely reminder for me. That this is the 41st Ramadhan in my life but there are so much that I can still do to be better. And I hope to make full use of this month that way. And it begins with this moment, this present which I am hoping to share with you, an old prose called The Wasteland…
101. The Wasteland
In the wasteland of thy material afflictions
In thy overflowing cup of blame and sorrow
In thy rapture of all things hollow
Know this if you must know one thing
That it is never too late
To turn love from hate
To save joy from misery
To pry thyself free
Of false gods and false liberties.
And that,
As a man
Or as a woman
His Beautiful Face
His Merciful Gaze
His Enduring Embrace
Awaits thee,
Wherever thy gaze may turn.
God bless you, my friends. May you progress from goodness to goodness and leave behind the vanity of the yesteryears, especially when there is today, this fine beautiful Sunday for you to live to its fullest.
Pax Taufiqa.
Footnote - A few good men and women have established traditional archery (and horseback archery) in Malaysia. They say that they want to churn out good archers. But the secret is that they simply want to churn out good people. My admiration for them knows no bounds. You can google them up if you are interested, although one of the more famous is called the Leap Programme. You can learn more about them at their pemanah website. CLICK HERE.
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