Story #2: TripKITA

Alhamdulillah. Syukur sangat ke hadrat Allah yang memudahkan perjalanan kami dari Brisbane ke Byron Bay dengan berhenti di beberapa tempat. Dengan kos yang sedaya upaya direndahkan, sungguh berbaloi dengan pengalaman yang tak mampu dibeli dengan wang.

Saya tak mahu bercerita tentang tempat yang dilawati kerana bukan semua orang berpeluang ke tempat-tempat yang Allah izinkan untuk saya pergi. Jadi, saya lebih suka bercerita tentang pengajaran sepanjang perjalanan (sebelum, semasa dan selepas)

Sebelum kami pergi ke tempat yang ingin dilawati, pastinya perlu ada perancangan yang rapi. Setelah berbincang dan dipersetujui, saya menjadi AJK logistik dan peralatan. Sungguh, saya sangat cuak bila dipilih menjadi AJK logistik kerana sejujurnya sikap yang tidak teratur dan mudah panik masih ada dalam diri saya. Tapi, Syifa' kata, "bila lagi awak nak belajar?" Memandangkan masing-masing pun sudah ada tugasan malah ada yang diberi tanggungjawab lebih berat, jadi apalah kiranya saya menjadi AJK logistik. Insha Allah, #bendabolehsettle #bendabolehbelajar

Jadi, saya belajar untuk bertenang dan senaraikan barang-barang yang diperlukan. Syukur yang tak terkira kerana sahabat-sahabat pun saling membantu. Ok, sis terharu T_T

Banyaklah benda yang Allah mudahkan. Syukur sangat.

Sebelum tiba di tempat kem, kami melawat hutan dan berjalan di "walking track" sampai ke air terjun di bawah. Sangat mendamaikan jiwa :)
Adik-adik yang omeyyy. eheh.

Tiba di tempat kem, banyaklah benda jadi, kos yang dipersetujui tiba-tiba naik mendadak sebab orang yang menguruskan berbeza dengan orang yang AJK tempat deal di telefon. Naik mendadak tu daripada $450 kepada $900++ dekat $1000. Maka, kami cuak. Alhamdulillah, Mr David, orang yang memberi diskaun untuk tempat tiba dan menghapuskan kekeliruan, malah kami dapat diskaun lagi. Alhamdulillah :)

Di kem tersebut, kami pasang khemah, masak, bual-bual dan bonding antara satu sama lain. Malam itu, kami buat campfire disertai tazkirah oleh gadis lesung pipit. Cerita sikit pasal tazkirah. Malam tersebut tazkirahnya tentang alam yang mentaati perintah Allah. Api yang tunduk taat pada Allah untuk menghangatkan badan kami yang kesejukan sambil makan marshmellow lembut. Bintang-bintang yang bertaburan di angkasa memberi satu pandangan yang cukup indah. Angin yang lembut meniup tubuh kami. Rumput-rumput yang sudi menampung kami untuk duduk. Semuanya tunduk patuh kepada Allah untuk memberi manfaat kepada kita semua. Lalu, bagaimana pula kita tunduk patuh kepada Allah?

"Hanya kepada ALLAH lah sujud (patuh) segala apa yang di langit dan di bumi, baik dengan kemauan sendiri ataupun terpaksa (dan sujud pula) bayang-bayangnya di waktu pagi dan petang hari." 
(Ar-Ra'du: 15)


Esoknya, kami bergerak seawal pukul 8 pagi dan bergerak ke Lighthouse. Kemudian, kami ke pantai dan bermain satu permainan bertajuk "Angin Bertiup". Permainan ini bertujuan untuk mencari persamaan antara kita dengan orang lain. Terima kasih Raihan untuk game yang menarik ini. Pengajarannya cukup menyentuh bilamana Raihan menyatakan bahawa dalam permainan ini kita berusaha sungguh-sungguh untuk mencari persamaan dengan orang lain supaya dapat keluar daripada  berdiri terasing di tengah bulatan. Bila difikirkan, dalam kehidupan, untuk kita masuk bersama orang lain, kita perlu mencari common ground. Teringat Dr Maszlee Malik dan Dr Hafidzi Mohd Nor dalam konvensyen #negarawan tahun lepas mengatakan, kalau persamaan itu hanya 1% sekalipun, gunakan ia untuk kita mampu bersama-sama bergerak. Masha Allah. Benar sungguh kata-kata Dr. Bayangkan, betapa banyak hati-hati yang mampu kita sentuh bila kita mampu mencari common ground berbanding perbezaan. Dengan common ground yang disepakati, maka perbezaan yang lain tidak memecahkan bahkan menjadi satu perkara yang diraikan selagi tak bertentang dengan syarak. Malah, perbezaan yang bertentang dengan syarak pula mampu untuk kita tepis dengan menegaskan prinsip Islam tanpa menyakiti kerana sudah ada common ground yang kukuh. Suka game ini! :)

housemates dan seorang kakak penyibuk. (kakak nampak macam adik :P)

bergambar di pantai. #tripKITA

Kemudian, sementara menunggu pemandu-pemandu yang cekap, kami duduk-duduk di bangku. Tiba-tiba datang pasangan suami isteri berbangsa India yang merupakan orang Malaysia. Mereka menegur kami dan mengatakan "Everywhere we go, we are proud to say that we are Malaysian. Mana-mana pergi, kita cakap kita orang Malaysia." Baik dan comel je pakcik makcik ini. Mereka datang ke sini untuk melawat anak-anak mereka selama 2 minggu. Bila berbual, baru dapat tahu, pakcik tersebut merupakan salah satu pakar psikiatri di sebuah hospital di Melaka. Nice kan? Apa lagi, bila ada common ground  (walaupun psikologi dan psikiatri ada beza tapi ada juga banyak yang sama), saya pun teruja. Banyak juga pertanyaan yang diajukan. Antara yang pakcik cerita ialah bagaimana orang kata dia crazy bila ambil keputusan untuk buat jurusan psikiatri sedangkan pada waktu tersebut tak diperlukan sangat dan belum terkenal pun jurusan tersebut (Saya pun sebenarnya nak ambil psikiatri tapi terhalang sebab orang takut saya jadi gila -___-). Bayangkan, pakcik tersebut dah 75 tahun, jadi keputusan yang dia ambil sewaktu muda itu ternyata sangat optimistik dan futuristik. Pakcik tersebut cakap, dalam negara yang sedang membangun seperti di Malaysia, kadar stress meningkat saban hari. Setiap hari, ada sahaja yang berjumpa pakar psikiatri (walaupun mungkin kesedaran itu belum meluas). Kemudian, makcik yang baik dan santun pun memberi kami nombor telefon bimbitnya dan mengajak kami datang ke rumah bila tiba di Malaysia. Mudah-mudahan dapat singgah rumah pakcik makcik yang nampak sangat muda dan sihat walaupun sudah berusia 75 tahun. Mungkin kerana emosi yang sentiasa mampu terkawal dengan baik dan sikap yang suka senyum juga santun menjadikan tubuh mereka kelihatan muda. Subhanallah. Jom senyum selalu :)

bergambar dengan pakcik makcik yang ramah lagi mesra lagi baik dan santun

Selepas itu, kami bergerak ke air terjun. Alhamdulillah, syukur ke hadrat Allah yang merezekikan kami untuk mandi di air terjun. Lama sangat dah tak pergi air terjun. Tapi, di sini saya cuak sikitlah sebab batu-batunya tajam. Adik-adik pula yang kena jaga kakak. Haha. Terima kasih Farina, Wanie, Syidah, Ika dan Farah :) Tapi Alhamdulillah, we made it to the waterfall! Seronok sangat masha Allah. Air terjun tu sejuk dan menenangkan. Cuma sakit sikitlah badan sebab rasa keras juga kena. Di air terjun ini, saya teringat satu ayat:

Kemudian setelah itu hatimu menjadi keras seperti batu, bahkan lebih keras lagi. Padahal di antara batu-batu itu sungguh ada yang mengalir sungai-sungai daripadanya dan di antaranya sungguh ada yang terbelah lalu keluarlah mata air daripadanya dan di antaranya sungguh ada yang meluncur jatuh, karena takut kepada Allah. Dan Allah sekali-kali tidak lengah dari apa yang kamu kerjakan.
(Al-Baqarah: 74)

Benar kan, di celahan batu itu, ada air yang mengalir dan air yang meluncur jatuh kerana takut akan Allah. Refleksi semula pada diri, sejauhmana kita tuduk dan taat kepada Allah. Mari mencontohi air :)

air terjun :)

Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah. A day spent well with these beautiful hearts
Jazakunallahu khayr kepada Syaz Jalil selaku ketua trip dan AJK-AJK yang terlibat (Syifa' Zameran, Nurain Yusri, Nur Afini Dini Senan, Khadijah Zakaria, Nur Raihan Maarof, Norsyairah Ashamuddin, Nurul Nazihah Nasir), tak lupa juga pemandu-pemandu yang terlibat (Nuurol Syakirah Mohd Zaki, Syahira, Wahida Amran) juga kepada adik-adik yang memberi kepercayaan kepada kami untuk trip kali ini. Terima kasih semua. 

Last word, in this warringa, we spent time together. Kuralboo my heart, you all are my koombooyana! (In this cool places, we spent time together. Deep down my heart, you all are my sweetheart!)

Moga Allah tautkan hati-hati kita semua!

Reflection #5: Moms and Babies

Assalamualaikum,

credit to: top10listland


Today I learned about Prenatal Development for PSYC2030 (Developmental Psychology) subject. The lecture was so amazing and I really loved it because there are many things I learned.

Prenatal Development is the process in which a baby develops from a single cell after conception into an embryo and later a fetus.  The lecturer started the lecture by showing us a video on how the baby is developed inside the womb. Then, she asked us, what do we notice?
So, I raised my hand and said, "we all started from almost nothing". One classmate said, "there are different things happen at different times of conception to birth". The lecturer said, "Good. Yes, we all started from almost nothing and it developed until we become who we are today. It's amazing right?" (Definitely, IT IS AMAZING) Then she added, "one more thing if you notice, the development happens so rapidly" (Oh yes. I never thought about this. But, if you think about it, it's definitely amazing because in 9 months, the organs and systems in our body developed well. It is so mind-blowing because if we were asked to create a thing that can function as a human, I think it would take like forever because we can never do that. It was just too amazing. Subhanallah, Maha Suci Tuhan yang Maha Menciptakan. *rasa nak nangis*)

Okay, by the way, why should we care about prenatal development? Of course, we should!
Read carefully okay especially those who has married and those who are not-yet-married can also take note. Hopefully, this is beneficial.

It is suggested that what happen in later life affected by what happened in early life. So, the developmental of a human started from early conception. Mom's nutrition and feelings are important in the baby's development.
So mommies out there and mommy-to-be, note that we need to eat healthy food okay. It's important for babies and of course, good for ourselves too right? Husbands also need to take note. Give your wife healthy food, okay?
Next, ensure that we have taken vaccines against germs such as Rubella and others that may affect the babies . It is advisable for women to take vaccine against the viruses before pregnant because once a woman is pregnant, doctors won't give vaccine until she delivers. Note that Rubella virus is  harmful that can lead to permanent disability (congenital rubella syndrome). So, better take steps of prevention from any unwanted consequences. Since moms always not aware of the presence of new member in their womb at the early stage, I would suggest that all married women start to eat healthy food and take prevention steps. I guess for those who have not married, we can start eating healthy food from now.
Ok, so, what happens when moms have no control over what they eat? This is so sad. It happens especially during wars or time of starvation :(
Dutch Hunger Studies revealed that malnutrition (lack of nutrition) leads to lower birth weight, more obesity, and schizophrenia. (You can google Dutch Hunger Studies if you want to know more)
I imagined how struggle the Palestinian moms to take care of the baby during the war. May Allah gives them strength. Amiin.

Finish about nutrition. Now, let's talk about stress. Do you know that mom's feelings during pregnancy do affect the baby's development? It is. So, always remember to keep calm and happy. Husbands also play an important role in giving supports to the wife. During pregnancy, the hormones fluctuate inside the women's body that creates a hormonal imbalance. It is because the body is adapting to a new situation (new person inside the womb). So, it is normal if sometimes women get more emotional and get more angry when they are pregnant. This is when husbands need to play their role. Well, just show them your love and support. They really need it. Remember, your wife carries your baby. Showing love and support can create the bond between you, your wife and the baby.
The lecturer said that moderate stressor is just right for the mom and baby because having no stress leads you to do nothing while too much stress can drive you crazy. But, we need to know how to define moderate stressors and deal with it well. We need some stress in life but make sure that it is under control. 

Ok done.
Now, what should we do if we deal with moms who show some behaviors such as smoking that obviously harmful to the fetus inside the womb?
The lecturer said, even though we know that smoking is obviously harmful to the baby, we also need to bear in mind that the woman is pregnant. So, AVOID CRITICISM. It could cause more harm because our criticism might cause more stress to the mom. Listen and respond to the mom without judging. Yes, it is quite challenging for us not to judge when we know things are obviously wrong but, for me, the fact that the mom feels guilty and want to get some advice from us show that there is goodness in her. So, provide support and understanding. Show our love and compassion. Help people to be better. It is always better to prevent than to cure. But, when things had happened, we need to find other alternatives that can help to reduce the unwanted consequences.

After all, we all want our next generation to be better and make this world a better place. Let's take care of our women and future babies :)
My final word is, I remember Sheikh Abdul Wahhab said, "Mother is the school of herself and her children. When you educate women, you educate the society."

Reflection #4 : Improve Ourselves

Assalamualaikum,

The students of PSYC2050 (Learning and Cognition) were given an assignment on self-monitoring behavior. Basically, the assignment is about analyzing our own excessive behavior (choose one behavior that we want to reduce). For instance, smoking, swearing and etc. Then, we need to define our behavior specifically. For example, for every cigarette I smoke within 2 hours after eating will be recorded as one instance of smoking. Next, we need to monitor our behavior to gather information on how to manage or treat behavior.

I think this assignment is interesting because it helps us in knowing ourselves better and try to find ways to improve. I believe that everyone has something that they really struggle to fight. Some people might be addicted to smoking, some people might find it hard to stop swearing, and etc.
I believe that some behaviors should not be started at first because once it started, it would be challenging to stop. A simple example is smoking. Smoking is an addiction. But, the thing is, some people has been smoking for 10 years, how can we simply said, "Just stop"? It would be too hard for them. So, I guess, one of the alternatives is monitoring the behavior. We should acknowledge our own self and our own capability. Start step by step.
For example, if you define your excessive smoking as smoking 2 cigarettes after eating, try to reduce it to one cigarette after eating. Record your behavior for 30-40 days and see if there any improvement. Slowly but surely, insha Allah.

However, if you find your behavior is really hard to control, consider seeking a treatment. Some addictions are too severe such as alcohol addiction, pornography addiction, drugs addiction and others. So, please consider meeting professionals.

Let us be humble to acknowledge that we are not perfect but determined enough to perfect ourselves :)

Last but not least, Allah counts our effort not accomplishment. So, don't feel bad if we are not as fast as others in improving ourselves. Try not to compare ourselves with others because we all have different struggles. Let's improve ourselves and help others :)

credit to: FB Allison Fallon