Poem: Reorientation of the Self
The self,
Often over burdened,
With ever present rumblings of modernity,
Full of information but so little hope,
Full of tools for ease of living but nothing for happiness,
Full of knowledge with little wisdom,
Full of activity ever so far from peace,
If one could only start over,
Like formatting one’s own hard-drive,
So as to replace the old with the new,
New thoughts and new dreams,
New ambitions and new life,
Direction which are laid before unambiguous,
On the Paths well tread,
To be content with just silence,
Simple things that comes from sacrifice and restrain,
No love without sacrifice,
No friendship without love,
No mercy without friendship,
No peace without mercy,
No forgiveness without peace,
No return without forgiveness,
This be the true essence from the nectar of our being,
The cauldron from which we were made,
The ingredients that make up the broth of our presences,
The proper portions that make up the sweetness of our character,
The rations that makes up our contribution to the universe,
Let us then regain the true meaning of Ramadhan,
To wrest it from the profane back to that which was once sacred,
To return balance to creation,
Placing things where they belong,
Doing all things is proper proportions,
Not to hold on to that which cannot be held,
To truly let go and be free,
Lest we should be like the bee lost in the desert,
No nectar to heal its thirst,
No flowers to repel its hunger
No hive to call home,
No brethren to protect and be protected,
No objective nor purpose,
For our body has a home where it finds rest,
Our mind has a home in which it finds peace,
Our spirit has a home it uses to finds meaning,
For the only objective of existence,
Is to find a way home,
So our acts are not acts of mere rituals,
But of a continuous journey,
A journey not easy for many,
A journey of existence in its entirety,
A journey home,
Not lost like the bee,
A predicament we wish not upon anyone,
We hope not in this coming hot month of Ramadhan,
A journey to be unlost,
To discard the old for the new,
To return home safe from all.
Dr Yunus Yasin
A Cambridge-educated engineer based in Kuala Lumpur
