The Pursuit of Perfection

For a young man, with a whole life still in front of him money should be an issue. After all, nothing is free. There are no free meals out there. No one will slow down and lend you his/her hand. A guy needs to slave to get things done. But must it be like that? Certainly not.

At my new workplace, it seems that I have a lot to learn. Ironically the things that I loathed at college, and hence avoid learning it are the very things that I must do. Apart from that I am learning to cope with the compartmental environment where everyone is busy in front of his/her computers.

To think just weeks ago I was part of the academic community and now I am in the workforce. But I am not planning to let this new environment devour me. That is why I decided even from the start, that work will remain behind the bars of my workplace. My evenings will be occupied by the activities I love the most with the friends that I care the most (if they are available).

A reading from The Stone gods

“What it means to be human is to bring up your children in safety, educate them, keep them healthy, teach them how to care for themselves and others, allow them to develop in their own way among adults who are sane and responsible, who know the value of the world and not its economic potential. It means art, it means time, it means all the invisibles never counted by the GDP and the census figures. It means knowing that life has an inside as well as an outside.” ― Jeanette Winterson, The Stone Gods

The other day a Malaysian friend of mine described how it is funny when English words are translated to Malay. A computer “Mouse” is a “Tetikus”, a mobile phone is a “telefon bimbit” and so on. I actually feel the same about B. Indonesia (which is actually a variation of Malay) and Arabic. In the pursuit of what they call reviving Arabic as a world language, they attempt to name items invented and known to the west by literal translations of those items. A telephone is a “Hatif” (هاتف), a computer mouse is a “fa’arah” (فأرة) and the list goes on.

Some of these names are quite smart but many are just plain stupid and at times extremely funny. Heck, even after their attempt of promoting the use of these words instead their original foreign names (by “them” I mean the language authorities. But who are they?), the general public (even the learned ones) still call these items by their original “Foreign names”. Though I understand the urge to localize foreign items, I do not understand why it must be translated literally (or in some cases why should it be translated at all). I think if it is not possible to translate items professionally, then I guess it is just better to leave it as is. Imagine how funny it is if the English would call a “rambutan” as the “hairy thing” or the “hairy fruit” or if they call an “Orangutan” a “jungle man”??

Over the past month of so, I have posted these tips for successful mountain climbing. I end it today with this last tip. but before that, I’d like to say: May your mountain climbing be a successful sub-journey of the overall journey of life. Amien

“ L] Tell your story: yes, tell your story! Give your example. Tell everyone that it’s possible, and other people will then have the courage to face their own mountains.” - Paulo Coelho

“ J] Make a promise: now that you have discovered a force that you were not even aware of, tell yourself that from now on you will use this force for the rest of your days. Preferably, also promise to discover another mountain, and set off on another adventure.” - Paulo Coelho

“I] Be happy when you reach the top: cry, clap your hands, shout to the four winds that you did it, let the wind – the wind is always blowing up there – purify your mind, refresh your tired and sweaty feet, open your eyes, clean the dust from your heart. It feels so good, what was just a dream before, a distant vision, is now part of your life, you did it!” - Paulo Coelho

“Duri” in Malay/Indonesian means thorn which is exactly how durinas are. It is extreamly thorny and if you are not careful it might just hurt you. Despite that, it remains a favorite fruit of millions. But I am not here to describe durian, but rather I want to describe something I call the durian effect.

I do not claim that durians are for everyone. Some people really cannot stand neither the taste nor the smell. But the problem does not lie in those people. It lies in others who do not try the fruit because of the pre-conception. They are told that it stink, the taste is horrible etc..

I, myself, do not think it is the matter of race that makes it unattractive to non-Malays. In fact, two of my friends, one from Turkey and the other from Albania, are now simply “in love” with the fruit. They did admit that they were reluctant to try the fruit at first but they were surprised to find it so delicious. Now even the smell became acceptable. If there is any gathering where durian is the feast, then for sure I would find them to be the first in the queue. What have made them change their mind? It is none other than being open minded and was open to trying this “horrid” fruit.

My point here is that we shouldn’t try to block ourselves from trying new things just because we are told so. I believe that so long that the thing in question is in line with our moral and religious beliefs, then there is no reason to actually let other people define what I should like or dislike. Sometimes we can’t judge based on what other people say. We just have to go and try it by ourselves.