Monday, September 14, 2009

A Season for Forgiveness.

Taken from Google.com

This month of Ramadhan is the most memorable and meaningful to me so far. Alhamdulillah. Time had flies so fast and we're already in the 3rd phase of Ramadhan. We'll be celebrating Aidilfitri in less than a week. All in all, I've learnt a lot and looking forward for more in the future. Especially in the event of seeking forgiveness to the AlMighty and creatures of the world.

The holy month of Ramadhan presents us all with timely reminders on the act of forgiving. When we bring ourselves to forgive, both the forgiver and the forgiven are blessed. One learns to let go and move on, the other experiences the grace of being forgiven and learns mercy. InsyaALLAH.

Our emotion play a vital role in our lives. Whether it is excitement, joy, gratitude, love, anger, resentment, melancholy, guilt - all our emotions help us understand who we are. They are indicators of what's going on inside us. They help us celebrate the wonders of this life and warn us of the dangers we are in. But once too often, we forget that the range of our emotions is meant to complement our life, not determine it.

There are usually two things which get me all knotted up inside. The first is when others have done something unkind to me and the second is when I have been unkind to myself and others. These are the times when I had to struggle with the emotions of anger, guilt and self-condemnation. It was impossible at times to find a refuge from these strong, and ultimately destructive emotions. So, it became easy then to shift the focus of blame for the pain I was suffering. But when I did that, I also felt my energy, creativity and capabilities being sapped from my mind and body.

I believe that to forgive and forget can be the highest form of human evolution. In forgiving we allow another person to be human with all their faults and mistakes. In forgetting we leave these faults behind, no longer letting them be a barrier in our relationships.

But some question continue to plague me.

"But how can I forget? Shouldn't I recognize the ills of the world and its potential for unkindness? Don't I need to protect myself against more hurt and build up some defences?"


My questions were answered when I finally understood the true meaning of forgetting. I realized that by 'forgetting' I did not mean 'not to remember' but to be able to acknowledge something without being emotionally disturbed by it. To forget means to view the incident as something that occurred in the past, and event that we have learnt from and have grown as a result.

It is time now to place the responsibility on ourselves and free ourselves by simply forgiving and forgetting. Let us declare to ourselves that we are independent of the need for others to validify us and make us feel good. Let us release our fears and those irrational beliefs. Let's manage our emotion and not allow them to manage us.

Ramadhan is the blessed season to forgive and forget, to love and live. Cherish it while it last. I know we still can seek for forgiveness anytime. But believe me, it will be more meaningful when we do it during this holy month. After all, Ramadhan is also known as 'bulan Keampunan'.

"To err is human, to forgive, divine." - Alexander Pope

I'll be away starting tomorrow until 25th Sept 2009. And I'm not sure I can get hold of the Internet in between. So, I'm here wishing you Salam Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin. Have a great, meaningful one. Drive carefully to all drivers. Ingatlah orang yang tersayang. ;)

26 comments:

DrSam said...

Let bygones be bygones.

Salam hari lebaran CAHAYA. Maaf dipinta terkasar kata, terpesong bicara. Raya (minggu ke-2) kalau free jemput keteratak kita ye.

Faisal Admar said...

cahaya, ramadhan means saving and raya means spending... haha so of course i love ramahdan more than raya! :D

billa naha said...

I'll remember to forget as I try to forgive. It's for the sake of Ramadhan too, right.

Anonymous said...

Selamat Hari Raya cahaya..ampun and maaf dipinta if i have any wrong doings or hurt ur feelings unintentionally..

Safe drive babe!!..come back in one piece :)

-inah adelaide-

zara said...

Salam Aidilfitri, Kin. Forgive me for any wrongdoings yea. Do take care, have a safe journey to wherever you are heading to, and eat well. May this Ramadhan + Aidilfitri will be a lot more meaningful for you.

HEMY said...

selamat hari raya..minta maaf if spnjg i kumen kat entri2 u..ada rasa yg tak selesa or sakit hati yee...

Wahidah said...

salam aidilfitri cahaya..
maaf zahir batin

sepul said...

hye cahaya. selamat bermaaf-maafan. lupakan yang keruh-keruh walaupun ia benda yang paling sukar untuk kita lakukan. at least we've done our part. salam lebaran...

DrSam said...

CAHAYA....do peek into my blog before this Raya for humanitarian cause please. TQVM

CAHAYA said...

DrSam,

Hopefully. Let bygones be bygones.

InsyaALLAH. Wah, puasa belum habis dah ada jemputan raya. ;) Maaf salah silap yer DrSam. Halalkan makan minum Cahaya. Salam Aidilfitri buat DrSam, Kak Zayda n family.

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Faisal Admar,

I love both. I don't spend much on both this year. Moderation as it is.

Salam Aidilfitri to Admar's family. Maaf salah silap yer. ;)

CAHAYA said...

nabilla naha,

As I said earlier, to forget doesn't mean 'not to remember', but at least don't let your emotion affect by it. ;)

Have fun Raya dear.

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Inah,

Salam Aidilfitri to you too, Inah. Forgive me for any wrongdoings. Have fun Raya there. Tak balik eh?

Sure will try to keep my body parts attach to one another when I get back. ;)

CAHAYA said...

Zara, Hemy, Wahidah,

Salam Aidilfitri. Maaf salah silap. ;) Have safe journey back to hometown or anywhere.

--------------------------------------------------

sepul,

Is it enough? To do only our part? Tak puas hati la. Kalau boleh nak mohon maaf betul2. Manalah tahu, kot2 ini raya terakhir. ;)

Salam Lebaran. Take Care. Maaf Zahir Batin.

CAHAYA said...

DrSam,

InsyaALLAH. Have a blessed Raya. ;)

CATZ said...

salam cahaya,

selamat menyambut aidilfitri,
maaf zahir dan batin.
take care ya.

:)

catz

Cikgu Ije said...

:)

selamat hari raya.. xbest nya wish kat tenet. kalo ada kad raya abang posmen tu lagi feeling. ehe

hilman.fikry said...

jemputan beriadah di tulisan gua. =D

dukunlintahplk said...

slmt hari raya cahaya..
maaf zahir batin :)

As said...

selamat meneruskan baki baki ramadhan :)

Teja Suraya said...

salam sis..sedar xsedar, da beberapa bulan kita kenal each other..zahir je..batin blom lagi..haha..

oleh kerana itu, beta ingin menyusun jari, memohon seribu kemaafan anda pernah tersalah kata, terkasar bahasa yang mengguris hari..

0-0 eh...

ps; nk duit raya..leh??hahah...

Fly said...

salam..selamat hari raya maaf zahir batin buat kamu sekeluarga..

CAHAYA said...

catz,

salam aidilfitri dan maaf salah silap Cahaya selama ini. hati2 drive pulang ke kampung yer. ;)

take care. salam.

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ije,

itulah. dah lama dah tak dpt kad hari raya. leh gak gantung2. hehe.

salam lebaran. ;)

CAHAYA said...

hilman.teddy,

insyaALLAH. salam aidilfitri. ;)

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dukunlintah plk,

salam lebaran pak dukun. maaf salah silap. ;)

CAHAYA said...

as,

selamat buat kamu juga. ;)

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teja,

yep. baru beberapa bulan. ;) dan harapnya berpanjangan. maaf kalau ada salah silap juga teja.

beta ker? kamera beta boleh? eh, nanti Cahaya call teja, ada nak bincang business sket.

CAHAYA said...

fly,

salam lebaran buat kamu sekeluarga. hati2 pulang beraya di kampung. ;)

haidan said...

samat ari raye kak cahaya!!
bile nak jumpe lagi nie???

CAHAYA said...

Nad,

Selamat Hari Raya. ;) Bila2 pun boleh jumpa. Calling2 lah yer.