My Ramadan Prayer for Malay Salvation - Get Rid of JAKIM and JAWI
by Dr M. Bakri Musa, Morgan-Hill, California
Ramadan brings exuberant displays of piety among Malays, consumed as we are with personal salvation. There is however, little reflection on our salvation as a society.
Hellfire or the ultimate punishment for us as a society would be to be dumped into the rubbish bin of mankind, dependent on the charity of others while living in a land so blessed by Almighty. The irony, as well as the fact that others thrive in Tanah Melayu, would make the punishment that much more unbearable.
We have ruled this country for over half a century; all instruments of government are in our hands, sultans as well as prime ministers are all Malays, and the constitution is generous to us. Yet we remain in a sorry state, reduced to lamenting our fate and blaming the pendatangs.
This lamentation is heard with nauseating frequency, coming from sultans and prime ministers to pundits and kedai kopi commentators. Seizing on that, some (and not just non-Malays) gleefully trumpet their own sense of superiority or denigrate the Malay culture and character.
A former Chief Minister of Terengganu (now Deputy Minister of Education), a predominantly-Malay and oil-rich state, asked how could we who have lived here for centuries, control the government, and are in the majority feel threatened by the immigrants. The fact that he posed the question reveals how clueless he was in addressing it. Alas his is the caliber of leadership we have been cursed with.
The issue is not who is in charge rather what those charged with leading us are doing. The Pakistanis and Zimbabweans are in charge 100 percent and have no immigrants to contend with, yet their people suffer.The Chinese in Hong Kong thrived under British rule while their brethren on the mainland starved and perished under Mao’s Cultural Revolution and other “Great Leap Forward” follies. Being led by your own kind is not always a blessing.
As for immigrants, the French, Germans and Americans are much richer and in full control of their nations yet they feel imperiled by poor and unarmed Africans, Turks and Mexicans respectively.
Leaders betraying their followers’ trust or natives feeling threatened by immigrants are not unique to Malays.
In an earlier book, Malaysia in the Era of Globalization, I likened the dilemma we face today to that of the Irish of yore. The Irish then felt overwhelmed by the minority English who dominated just about every aspect of life in Ireland except of course the Catholic Church. The Church meanwhile held a tight grip on the Irish, dictating everything from what they could do in their bedrooms to the schools their children should attend.
As the church banned contraception, they had huge unruly broods, with the fathers busy rebelling or drinking. If there were ambitious Irish parents who dared send their children to the much superior English schools instead of the lousy church-run ones, they risked being excommunicated. More Irish left Ireland than stayed.
Substitute Islam for Catholicism and non-Malays for the English, and we have our current mess, except that we are not emigrating en mass. As for the Irish blight of alcohol and fecundity, we have drugs and HIV infections.
Ireland today is very different nation. The Irish are no longer emigrating and the country hosts many IT giants. Ryanair, the Dublin-based discount airline, once attempted a takeover of venerable British Airways.
We can learn much from the Irish, their recent economic setbacks notwithstanding. We can begin by choosing enlightened leaders, meaning, those who can crystallize the problems and then craft sensible solutions instead of endlessly extolling the mythical values of Ketuanan Melayu or mindlessly quoting the Holy Book.
Ireland’s transformational leader Sean Lemass began by clipping the powers of the Church. He removed schools from its control and allowed contraceptives. He lifted censorship so the Irish could read dissenting opinions and view on their television sets the world beyond their government’s propaganda.
Irish kids studied science and mathematics instead of reciting catechism. With family planning the unruly messy Irish brood was replaced by a more wholesome and manageable one.
We have our share of potential Lemasses but we do not nurture or elect them. Our leaders instead are consumed in a destructive and dysfunctional dynamics of triangulation, with one element attempting alliance with the second to neutralize the third. Earlier, Mahathir co-opted the religious to take on the third – the sultans. Today’s weakened political leadership emboldens the sultans to re-exert themselves by aligning with the ulamas. Seemingly progressive Perak’s Sultan gives free rein to his Taliban-like mufti (Harussani) while Kelantan’s is more imam than Sultan, enrapturing Malay hearts. Elsewhere Sultans could not find enough ulamas to heap royal honors.
These sultans and politicians have yet to learn a crucial lesson. The Islamic tiger, once ridden, is impossible to dismount. You would be lucky if it would not take you back to its den. Meanwhile you have to endure where it wants to go, and right now it is headed for ISIS.
Only the emergence of other pillars of leadership could break this dysfunctional triangulation. A potential source would be NGOs; BERSIH’s considerable impact attests to this. Another would be for “towering” Malays to be assertive, especially those not tainted by politics, religion, or royalty. Consider that cartoonist Zunar and Poet Laureate Samad Said have more impact than the much-touted Group of 25 “eminent” Malays comprising retired senior civil servants. For a Malay to reach the top in the civil service is no achievement; it would be for a non-Malay. Thus those 25 “eminent” Malays, despite or perhaps because of their fancy royal titles, are not effective role models or catalysts for change.
Barring disruption of this destructive triangulation or the emergence of a local Lemass, there is not much hope except to pray. However, as per the oft-quoted Koranic verse, Allah will not change the condition of a people unless they themselves do it (approximate translation). Our Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w.,(pbuh) advised us that we must first tie our camel securely and only then pray it does not escape.
Pray we must, but first we have to get rid of JAWI, JAKIM and hordes of similar and very expensive agencies. I could tolerate them as public works programs for otherwise unemployable Malays, but those authoritarian and far-from-authoritative government-issued ulamas are intent on controlling our lives a la Irish priests of yore.
I would then divert those funds, as well as the billions in zakat so generously donated by our people, to improve our schools and universities. Make our religious schools and colleges more like those in America. Catholic schools there like California’s Bellarmine and universities like Indiana’s Notre Dame produce their share of America’ scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. They also attract outstanding students and faculty from other faiths.
Had that former chief minister dispensed with his Monsoon Cup and ostentatious crystal mosque and instead used the funds to improve his schools, he would have found the answer to his question.
Monday, 29 June 2015
Thursday, 18 June 2015
Mum in Memorium
Tomorrow will be the first day of fasting for Muslims in Malaysia for the Islamic calendar 1436. This is the tenth year that you left us, mum. I miss you terribly, especially so every Ramadhan.
You have been through a lot in your life, mum. You were married when you were sixteen and you had me, you second child, when you were nineteen. In my opinion, the greatest challenge you had to endure was losing me when I was eight-months old. Your sister-in-law, my adopted mother, took me away from you. Had it happened today, it would have been a big police case. Of course, back then you were just a naive young house wife and mother, powerless against the fierce and brazen sister-in-law. Even dad was scared of his elder sister and did not dare to challenge her. To this day, it is beyond my comprehension, how dad let his sister bullied him.
You have been through a lot in your life, mum. You were married when you were sixteen and you had me, you second child, when you were nineteen. In my opinion, the greatest challenge you had to endure was losing me when I was eight-months old. Your sister-in-law, my adopted mother, took me away from you. Had it happened today, it would have been a big police case. Of course, back then you were just a naive young house wife and mother, powerless against the fierce and brazen sister-in-law. Even dad was scared of his elder sister and did not dare to challenge her. To this day, it is beyond my comprehension, how dad let his sister bullied him.
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| My late mum. According to dad this picture was taken a few months after they were married. |
I grew up not having much opportunity to get close to you, dad and my five brothers. Adopted mum was very insecure and was always jealous and suspicious that I might run back to you all, even though I had no such intention. I know there must have been times I have hurt your feelings because of I often appeared distant and unreachable to you and dad. There were times I felt like you both had forgotten about me and you went on to have other children, and I was left to grow up with the jealous, insecure witch. Forgive me mum, for all these misunderstandings. Most of the time, we were both clueless as how to get close to one another. We are both introverts. However, I was glad that towards the end of your life life our relationship was much better.
I am retired, mum, and still living in Port Klang. Dad asked me to go back and stay in KK. Not for the time being. May be later on, I do feel like living near my siblings and my nephews and nieces. I think it makes you very happy to know that I am bonding well with some of my nephews and nieces. I am in a much better frame of mind nowadays and I take better care of myself. I am much more peaceful and to the best that I can, I live life one day at a time.
Rest in peace always, mum, I love you. May your soul always be blessed and be placed in the best place in the akhirat.
Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Food for Thought 2
This is taken from:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/06/14/jakims-struggle-all-about-money-says-prof-shad/
Jakim’s struggle all about money,
KUALA LUMPUR: Hundreds of millions in taxpayers’ money are the reason that Malaysia’s Islamic authorities are resistant to reform, according to retired law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi.
Speaking at a forum on Islam and human rights today, he said the institutionalisation of Islam was not simply a religious issue. “There are economic implications. These people will never give up power because of the tremendous economic benefit that they receive,” he said, according to Malay Mail Online.
Prof Shad, emeritus professor of law at Universiti Teknologi Mara, said: “Don’t expect them to give that up. What was regarded as a religious struggle is basically actually an economic struggle.”
He said Jakim, the federal Islamic development department, receives hundreds of millions in federal funds every year. Budget figures show that the department was allocated RM783mil this year under the Prime Minister’s Department, and RM806 million last year.
Another speaker, James Piscatori of Durham University in Britain, pinpointed Islamic bureaucrats as the biggest enemy of modern Islam. “Bureaucratism, it’s the presumption that you should speak on behalf of my god” was a bigger threat to reform than fundamentalism, he said.
Piscatori, a professor of international relations, was among several speakers who took religious authorities for exceeding their bounds.
Jakim’s struggle all about money,
says Prof Shad
KUALA LUMPUR: Hundreds of millions in taxpayers’ money are the reason that Malaysia’s Islamic authorities are resistant to reform, according to retired law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi.
Speaking at a forum on Islam and human rights today, he said the institutionalisation of Islam was not simply a religious issue. “There are economic implications. These people will never give up power because of the tremendous economic benefit that they receive,” he said, according to Malay Mail Online.
Prof Shad, emeritus professor of law at Universiti Teknologi Mara, said: “Don’t expect them to give that up. What was regarded as a religious struggle is basically actually an economic struggle.”
He said Jakim, the federal Islamic development department, receives hundreds of millions in federal funds every year. Budget figures show that the department was allocated RM783mil this year under the Prime Minister’s Department, and RM806 million last year.
Another speaker, James Piscatori of Durham University in Britain, pinpointed Islamic bureaucrats as the biggest enemy of modern Islam. “Bureaucratism, it’s the presumption that you should speak on behalf of my god” was a bigger threat to reform than fundamentalism, he said.
Piscatori, a professor of international relations, was among several speakers who took religious authorities for exceeding their bounds.
Noor Farida Ariffin, a former sessions judge, said Islamic teachings had been interpreted to make Islam seem to be a religion that was “coercive, unkind, and emphasises more on punishment instead on kindness and justice”.
“Here in Malaysia, they have even added things which are not even in the traditional interpretation of Shariah, especially when it comes to moral policing, intrusion of private space of Muslims,” said Noor Farida, according to Malay Mail Online.
She said most of the syariah laws violated human rights, and were in violation of fundamental liberties protected in the Malaysia’s constitution.
The speakers also criticised the closing of minds in Islamic societies, and the failure to appreciate the use of reason and rational thinking.
Prof Shad said: “In Islamic societies, compared to other societies, the variety and diversity of views is absolutely suppressed. So there’s only one view of Islam, the predominant view that comes out not only in foreign media but our own media. And I think that’s the big difference between Islam and other religions.”
Noor Farida said the decline in intellectualism among local ulama arose from their inferior level of education to qualify as an ulama. “I’d say they have a very shallow understanding … they’re totally intolerant of dissenting views,” she said, calling upon society to challenge the scholars.
“Here in Malaysia, they have even added things which are not even in the traditional interpretation of Shariah, especially when it comes to moral policing, intrusion of private space of Muslims,” said Noor Farida, according to Malay Mail Online.
She said most of the syariah laws violated human rights, and were in violation of fundamental liberties protected in the Malaysia’s constitution.
The speakers also criticised the closing of minds in Islamic societies, and the failure to appreciate the use of reason and rational thinking.
Prof Shad said: “In Islamic societies, compared to other societies, the variety and diversity of views is absolutely suppressed. So there’s only one view of Islam, the predominant view that comes out not only in foreign media but our own media. And I think that’s the big difference between Islam and other religions.”
Noor Farida said the decline in intellectualism among local ulama arose from their inferior level of education to qualify as an ulama. “I’d say they have a very shallow understanding … they’re totally intolerant of dissenting views,” she said, calling upon society to challenge the scholars.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Food For Thought
Is it Wrong to ask Questions? In Malaysia, YES
by Zurairi AR
http://www.themalaymailonline.com
Meet Wan Sulaiman Wan Ismail. The soft-spoken 54-year-old is a father of four from Ipoh, Perak who is rarely seen without a skullcap on his head. However, he has been hounded by Perak’s religious authorities for more than a year now.
Things came to a head in January this year when his house was raided by the Islamic enforcers, where they confiscated his personal handwritten notes and went through his mobile phone and personal computer. On the same day, he was charged in the Ipoh Shariah High Court.
Since then, things have gone downhill for him. He has been ostracised by the same family who has never before this wished him ill. Even his wife has left him. His small business selling briyani was boycotted by the locals as they learned of the allegations. No longer able to sustain the losses, he shut it down. In the end, he even had to sell off his only home.
What did Wan Sulaiman do to deserve this? On his charge sheet, Wan Sulaiman allegedly derided and mocked the hadith — the collected sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad. In his personal notes. That was stored in a room in his house and hung on its walls.
He was also accused of disputing authentic hadith and rejecting the shahadah, the Islamic declaration of faith. Another of his alleged offence was translating two terms — “fajar prayers” and “wusto prayers” by “using his own intellect without referring to the hadith.”
The reality was much different. The main issue here seems to be Wan Sulaiman’s fondness of asking questions, especially about Islam, the very religion that he practises. He has spent years questioning why the religious practices that seem routine to Muslims is dissimilar with what is mentioned in the holy scriptures, especially the Quran.
Among others, those two prayer times: fajar and wusto, which were two of the only three daily prayer times named in the Quran, whereas Muslims practise daily prayers five times a day.
Similarly, Wan Sulaiman wanted to know the origin of the shahadah, which comes in two parts: to declare a Muslim’s belief in the oneness of Allah, and the acceptance of Muhammad as Allah’s Prophet.
Indeed, a semblance of the first part was mentioned in the Quran, specifically verse 3:18. But one might ask: where did the second part come from?
After all, shahadah is such an integral part of a Muslim’s life. Not only is it considered one of the five pillars of Islam besides prayers, fasting, tithing and performing the Hajj. But it can also be found adorning Islamic flags from Saudi Arabia, to Hamas, to al-Qaeda.
To a thinking Muslim, it would only be natural to get curious about these questions. After all, what is the point of blindly practising a ritual without knowing its significance? So, Wan Sulaiman did what he thought a teacher would appreciate.
Like a pro-active student, he did his own homework: he researched and studied on his own, so he would be ready to discuss this conundrum when he finally got to discuss this issue with somebody more learned.
In 2013, he started his quest. And he followed the most appropriate channel known to him. He sought audiences with state-sanctioned religious teachers and scholars from the office of the Perak mufti, the state’s religious department, and state mosque imams — many whom he had seen for the past 15 years.
Wan Sulaiman never got his answers. Instead, some of those he called “teachers” were irked by his inquisitive nature, and he was asked to abandon his questions and several Quranic practices he has since adopted. It was then that Wan Sulaiman stopped asking.
The Perak Islamic Affairs Department (JAIP) made a mistake when it thought that charging Wan Sulaiman would deter others from asking the same questions. Once a question has been asked, the only way it can be stopped is by giving a satisfactory answer.
This is part of the reason why I disagreed with British author Mehdi Hasan when he wrote earlier this month that Islam does not need a reformation, unlike what its critics have urged for.
Hasan warned against wishing for a Martin Luther-like figure in the faith, pointing out that the divisively puritan Ibn Abdul Wahhab of the Salafi movement is one such figure.
Although he back-pedalled later and said that the Muslim-majority world does need a reform, Hasan’s remark only perpetuates the lack of self-awareness that an overhaul is needed in the way some Muslims approach their faith and practise it.
And this is one such example. If the Muslim world flourished with thinkers who had spent their lifetimes shaping and fine-tuning the legacy of Muhammad years after he died, surely the Muslim world would benefit from such thinkers again?
Alas, many Muslims seem content to live with the interpretation of Islam made hundreds of years ago constrained to the Arab and Middle East region, way back when the world was much smaller and our knowledge of how the world works is not as rich as it is right now.
And when a Muslim is gifted with that spark of thought, like Wan Sulaiman, religious authorities see it not as an impetus to an intellectual and academic discussion to enrich the faith, but as a threat to a well-worn belief that they think belongs only to them.
If Islam calls itself a blessing for mankind, then surely it can answer the wants and the needs of every man, not just those living in the land where it originated. Surely its teachings can adapt to the modern world while retaining its core principles and values. Because otherwise, Islam is indeed too small.
But can it? Can it not? When asking questions is made dangerous, then one can scarcely find the answers.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com
by Zurairi AR
http://www.themalaymailonline.com
Meet Wan Sulaiman Wan Ismail. The soft-spoken 54-year-old is a father of four from Ipoh, Perak who is rarely seen without a skullcap on his head. However, he has been hounded by Perak’s religious authorities for more than a year now.
Things came to a head in January this year when his house was raided by the Islamic enforcers, where they confiscated his personal handwritten notes and went through his mobile phone and personal computer. On the same day, he was charged in the Ipoh Shariah High Court.
Since then, things have gone downhill for him. He has been ostracised by the same family who has never before this wished him ill. Even his wife has left him. His small business selling briyani was boycotted by the locals as they learned of the allegations. No longer able to sustain the losses, he shut it down. In the end, he even had to sell off his only home.
What did Wan Sulaiman do to deserve this? On his charge sheet, Wan Sulaiman allegedly derided and mocked the hadith — the collected sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad. In his personal notes. That was stored in a room in his house and hung on its walls.
He was also accused of disputing authentic hadith and rejecting the shahadah, the Islamic declaration of faith. Another of his alleged offence was translating two terms — “fajar prayers” and “wusto prayers” by “using his own intellect without referring to the hadith.”
The reality was much different. The main issue here seems to be Wan Sulaiman’s fondness of asking questions, especially about Islam, the very religion that he practises. He has spent years questioning why the religious practices that seem routine to Muslims is dissimilar with what is mentioned in the holy scriptures, especially the Quran.
Among others, those two prayer times: fajar and wusto, which were two of the only three daily prayer times named in the Quran, whereas Muslims practise daily prayers five times a day.
Similarly, Wan Sulaiman wanted to know the origin of the shahadah, which comes in two parts: to declare a Muslim’s belief in the oneness of Allah, and the acceptance of Muhammad as Allah’s Prophet.
Indeed, a semblance of the first part was mentioned in the Quran, specifically verse 3:18. But one might ask: where did the second part come from?
After all, shahadah is such an integral part of a Muslim’s life. Not only is it considered one of the five pillars of Islam besides prayers, fasting, tithing and performing the Hajj. But it can also be found adorning Islamic flags from Saudi Arabia, to Hamas, to al-Qaeda.
To a thinking Muslim, it would only be natural to get curious about these questions. After all, what is the point of blindly practising a ritual without knowing its significance? So, Wan Sulaiman did what he thought a teacher would appreciate.
Like a pro-active student, he did his own homework: he researched and studied on his own, so he would be ready to discuss this conundrum when he finally got to discuss this issue with somebody more learned.
In 2013, he started his quest. And he followed the most appropriate channel known to him. He sought audiences with state-sanctioned religious teachers and scholars from the office of the Perak mufti, the state’s religious department, and state mosque imams — many whom he had seen for the past 15 years.
Wan Sulaiman never got his answers. Instead, some of those he called “teachers” were irked by his inquisitive nature, and he was asked to abandon his questions and several Quranic practices he has since adopted. It was then that Wan Sulaiman stopped asking.
The Perak Islamic Affairs Department (JAIP) made a mistake when it thought that charging Wan Sulaiman would deter others from asking the same questions. Once a question has been asked, the only way it can be stopped is by giving a satisfactory answer.
This is part of the reason why I disagreed with British author Mehdi Hasan when he wrote earlier this month that Islam does not need a reformation, unlike what its critics have urged for.
Hasan warned against wishing for a Martin Luther-like figure in the faith, pointing out that the divisively puritan Ibn Abdul Wahhab of the Salafi movement is one such figure.
Although he back-pedalled later and said that the Muslim-majority world does need a reform, Hasan’s remark only perpetuates the lack of self-awareness that an overhaul is needed in the way some Muslims approach their faith and practise it.
And this is one such example. If the Muslim world flourished with thinkers who had spent their lifetimes shaping and fine-tuning the legacy of Muhammad years after he died, surely the Muslim world would benefit from such thinkers again?
Alas, many Muslims seem content to live with the interpretation of Islam made hundreds of years ago constrained to the Arab and Middle East region, way back when the world was much smaller and our knowledge of how the world works is not as rich as it is right now.
And when a Muslim is gifted with that spark of thought, like Wan Sulaiman, religious authorities see it not as an impetus to an intellectual and academic discussion to enrich the faith, but as a threat to a well-worn belief that they think belongs only to them.
If Islam calls itself a blessing for mankind, then surely it can answer the wants and the needs of every man, not just those living in the land where it originated. Surely its teachings can adapt to the modern world while retaining its core principles and values. Because otherwise, Islam is indeed too small.
But can it? Can it not? When asking questions is made dangerous, then one can scarcely find the answers.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com
I Am The Messenger
This is the second book by Markus Zusak which I have read. The first is the famous, movie tie-in and very compelling read The Book Thief.
Plot Summary
"I am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak tells the story of a 19-year old cab driver challenged by an unknown benefactor to become a better person by helping those around him. Through a series of assignments given to him on the aces from a deck of playing cards, Ed Kennedy learns to face his fears. He is able to rise above his feelings of incompetence as he helps others in areas where they need the help the most. Some of the messages that Ed receives are as simple as buying an ice cream cone for a struggling single mother while others put Ed in positions of real danger. At the conclusion of the novel, Ed learns that he is not only the messenger, but also the message as the man who sent Ed on his journey of self-improvement tells Ed he has learned that even an ordinary man can live beyond normal expectations.
Ed's journey begins when he becomes involved in a bungled bank robbery and helps police capture the robber by grabbing the robber's dropped gun and shooting at him. When Ed testifies at the trial for the bank robber, the robber threatens Ed, telling him that he is a dead man. A short time prior to this, Ed had received in the mail an Ace of Diamonds with three addresses and times listed on it. Ed becomes aware that he is supposed to help the people who are listed on these addresses. Through the course of the story, Ed works his way through all of the aces as well as the joker card. Those he helps include an elderly lady needing reassurance that she treated her husband right and a family who needs a new string of Christmas light to make their holiday bright. Ed is even called to give messages to his closest friends and family members.
Ed's last message, delivered on the joker card, is for Ed himself. During the delivery of this message, Ed learns that he is not only the messenger, but also the message as he shows the man who put Ed's entire journey into motion that people, even ordinary ones, can rise about their perceived abilities to make a difference in the world. Through his journey, Ed becomes more confident in his abilities and improves as a human being. Even Audrey, who is the love of Ed's life but has never allowed herself to love Ed, recognises Ed's goodness as she finally gives in to his love. There is also a twist at the conclusion of the novel as Ed learns the identity of the man who has sent him all of the messages.
Plot Summary
"I am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak tells the story of a 19-year old cab driver challenged by an unknown benefactor to become a better person by helping those around him. Through a series of assignments given to him on the aces from a deck of playing cards, Ed Kennedy learns to face his fears. He is able to rise above his feelings of incompetence as he helps others in areas where they need the help the most. Some of the messages that Ed receives are as simple as buying an ice cream cone for a struggling single mother while others put Ed in positions of real danger. At the conclusion of the novel, Ed learns that he is not only the messenger, but also the message as the man who sent Ed on his journey of self-improvement tells Ed he has learned that even an ordinary man can live beyond normal expectations.
Ed's journey begins when he becomes involved in a bungled bank robbery and helps police capture the robber by grabbing the robber's dropped gun and shooting at him. When Ed testifies at the trial for the bank robber, the robber threatens Ed, telling him that he is a dead man. A short time prior to this, Ed had received in the mail an Ace of Diamonds with three addresses and times listed on it. Ed becomes aware that he is supposed to help the people who are listed on these addresses. Through the course of the story, Ed works his way through all of the aces as well as the joker card. Those he helps include an elderly lady needing reassurance that she treated her husband right and a family who needs a new string of Christmas light to make their holiday bright. Ed is even called to give messages to his closest friends and family members.
Ed's last message, delivered on the joker card, is for Ed himself. During the delivery of this message, Ed learns that he is not only the messenger, but also the message as he shows the man who put Ed's entire journey into motion that people, even ordinary ones, can rise about their perceived abilities to make a difference in the world. Through his journey, Ed becomes more confident in his abilities and improves as a human being. Even Audrey, who is the love of Ed's life but has never allowed herself to love Ed, recognises Ed's goodness as she finally gives in to his love. There is also a twist at the conclusion of the novel as Ed learns the identity of the man who has sent him all of the messages.
My Take On This Book
This book is geared for young adults. The narrator and protagonist Ed Kennedy is described in this book as the epitome of ordinariness. He is the least successful of all his siblings and becomes the brunt of his mother's verbal abuse because he is the one still living in the same town as she is.
There are in fact many of us who feel that we live a very mediocre existence. Even those of us way beyond the young adult stage in life. A lot of the time we ask ourselves what is it that we had done that we can be proud of ourselves.
Ed Kennedy is a sensitive and caring young man despite his ordinariness. Some other young person might just tosses away the card without giving it a second thought. Ed takes the trouble to visit the addresses written on the first card, just commencing his adventures into doing something good, big or small, for others. To me, the gist of this book is making effort at helping others. It does you good to help others. It makes you feel better about yourself, improves your relationships with families and friends and you will be surprised at what you can learn from the experiences.
I love the Ed Kennedy character because he is a reader and he loves his dog, the Doorman, very much.
Ed Kennedy is a sensitive and caring young man despite his ordinariness. Some other young person might just tosses away the card without giving it a second thought. Ed takes the trouble to visit the addresses written on the first card, just commencing his adventures into doing something good, big or small, for others. To me, the gist of this book is making effort at helping others. It does you good to help others. It makes you feel better about yourself, improves your relationships with families and friends and you will be surprised at what you can learn from the experiences.
I love the Ed Kennedy character because he is a reader and he loves his dog, the Doorman, very much.
Solo Travelling
The following article is incorporated from various sites on the web. As time goes by, this idea of solo travelling becomes more and more appealing to me. Of course I adore travelling with my friends as well as my nephews and nieces. However, I feel that, at least once a year, I should do it on my own, find myself along the way and savour every bit of the experience.
We are all surrounded by people most of the time. We work with them, we socialise with them daily. We also need a break from them and travelling solo seems to be a perfect way to know yourself better, leave your comfort zone and go into the wild, get to know other people, hike, dance, learn to cook, smile, talk to strangers, eat new food and see the sunrise on the beach.
Purposeful solitude can be one of the best ways to cultivate mindfulness, the targeted awareness of the present moment (and a scientifically-proven antidote to stress). Travelling alone is the perfect time to be mindful. Free from the distractions of daily life, you can focus your full attention on absorbing the present moment with all your senses. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Even if you're not actively meditating, you can still practise mindfulness in your travels just by taking care to be present and notice new things.
Not so long ago, the solo woman traveller was an oddity, sometimes encountering incomprehension, cultural prohibitions and inconvenience. While these challenges still exist in some places, the world is more open than ever to women travelling solo. There are even advantages to travelling as a single female.
Are you a solo traveller? Travelling alone can be scary, rewarding and fun in equal measures, and it can help you to grow as a person. Here are some of the advantages:
1. You Will Never Come Back The Same Person
Travelling the world alone normally means you will arrive home a better person; it will renew your spirit and make you feel energised. You become more self-aware and open with every trip, and you will have more confidence within yourself.
You are on your own. You start listening to your heart and you are finally able to achieve some level of internal equilibrium and focus of mind. You start to discover yourself once again – things you are capable of, things you are afraid or scared of. You face your fears and you defeat them.
2. You Are In Control Of Your Emotions
Solo travellers experience various levels of stress on a regular basis, from timing flight connections to misplaced hotel rooms. You quickly teach yourself not to get upset or angry easily, and you know how to remain calm even when you are feeling worried.
3. You Are A Great Negotiator
Any solo travel understands the importance of negotiation, as it is often necessary to negotiate when you need something or you are being taken advantage of.
Solo travellers can’t rely on their friends to back them up, so instead they teach themselves to become master negotiators – handy!
4. You Can Live In The Moment
Solo travellers know how to live in the moment – you are only in a set place for a limited amount of time, so you know how to seize the day. It doesn’t matter that there is a thunderstorm happening outside, you will make it to that outdoor wine festival!
5. You Will Learn Something From Every Place You Visit
Every location and culture is different to the next, and there is so much to see and learn. When you travel alone you get the chance to truly connect with your location, and you always end up learning something new about the world whenever you go.
6. You Understand The Importance Of Leaving Your Comfort Zone
If you can travel to an unknown country alone, you are probably pretty good at leaving your comfort zone. You are very happy to push yourself, because know the best experiences happen outside of your comfort zone.
The more you challenge yourself; the more you stretch yourself, the bigger your world becomes. You can learn how to navigate in a strange city, build a campfire, learn a language. Overcome one obstacle, and you meet the next more confidently. Now, when seeds of self-doubt spring up, remind yourself, Well, you’ve come this far, what’s the big deal?
7. You Don’t Have To Commit
One of the best parts of being a solo traveller is not having to commit; you can cancel and change plans without annoying anybody, you can change your destination on the spur of the moment, and if you love a place, you can stay as long as you’d like!
8. Your Perspective Is Always Changing
Being a solo traveller means you really get the chance to speak to strangers and connect with them. Every time you speak to others abroad you see the world through their eyes, and your perspective changes slightly, and can make you more open-minded.
9. You Know How To Ignore Fear
You have dealt with fear before; what if travelling alone is scary? What if I lose my passport while I am away? Despite these worries, you ignored the fear so you could experience travelling alone. Now you can often ignore the fear, because you know you are capable of dealing with anything.
10. You Are Aware Of Your Strength
You have travelled hundreds of miles alone, paid for out of your own bank account, following a plan that you made yourself. You have learned how to roll with the punches, and you are aware of your how strong and capable you can be.
Time for reflection and self-knowledge. The beauty of solo travel is time. Time to be alone; time to reflect; time to test yourself. Granted, sometimes that’s uncomfortable. Sometimes, you simply feel lonely and awkward, but recognising those feelings and learning to overcome them is all part of the process. You get to know yourself in a new way, test yourself in new situations. After weeks of camping in remote places, I felt steeped in peaceful silence. I felt refreshed. How often do we allow ourselves to really be alone?
11. You Trust Yourself
You have to trust yourself if you are planning on travelling solo; no-one else will book your flights and arrange hostels. You know you won’t let yourself down, and if anything bad happens you trust yourself to fix it.
12. You Know How Important Other People Are
As well as trusting yourself, you value others highly. Travelling alone means you have to rely on strangers all the time, from cab drivers to the customer service desk in the airport. You accept that you are not always in control, and you can rely on others to help and assist you.
13. You Know Yourself Well
Spending time alone is the perfect way to really get to know yourself. You love the people in your life, but you also love how travelling solo gives you the opportunity to spend some quality time with yourself.
14. You Can Fake Confidence
Often there are a few semi-disasters per trip, from losing your room key to getting lost on the way back to the hostel. Solo travellers have to fake confidence regularly to help solve problems, which often helps them to become genuinely confident people later in life.
15. You Want To Travel Solo Again
You’re happy to travel with friends or your partner, but you know at some point you will travel alone again. You get to truly connect with the country you’re visiting, you can do whatever you want and you get to spend some quality time with yourself – perfection.To sum up, we should not be scared to set off for a solo journey! For some people it might be a tough decision and a weird feeling for the first days of solo expedition, but at the end of the day you will not regret it as it’s much more adventurous and challenging, it shapes your personality and gives you enormous possibilities to test yourself.
Disadvantages of Solo Travelling
We are all surrounded by people most of the time. We work with them, we socialise with them daily. We also need a break from them and travelling solo seems to be a perfect way to know yourself better, leave your comfort zone and go into the wild, get to know other people, hike, dance, learn to cook, smile, talk to strangers, eat new food and see the sunrise on the beach.
Purposeful solitude can be one of the best ways to cultivate mindfulness, the targeted awareness of the present moment (and a scientifically-proven antidote to stress). Travelling alone is the perfect time to be mindful. Free from the distractions of daily life, you can focus your full attention on absorbing the present moment with all your senses. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Even if you're not actively meditating, you can still practise mindfulness in your travels just by taking care to be present and notice new things.
Not so long ago, the solo woman traveller was an oddity, sometimes encountering incomprehension, cultural prohibitions and inconvenience. While these challenges still exist in some places, the world is more open than ever to women travelling solo. There are even advantages to travelling as a single female.
Are you a solo traveller? Travelling alone can be scary, rewarding and fun in equal measures, and it can help you to grow as a person. Here are some of the advantages:
1. You Will Never Come Back The Same Person
Travelling the world alone normally means you will arrive home a better person; it will renew your spirit and make you feel energised. You become more self-aware and open with every trip, and you will have more confidence within yourself.
You are on your own. You start listening to your heart and you are finally able to achieve some level of internal equilibrium and focus of mind. You start to discover yourself once again – things you are capable of, things you are afraid or scared of. You face your fears and you defeat them.
2. You Are In Control Of Your Emotions
Solo travellers experience various levels of stress on a regular basis, from timing flight connections to misplaced hotel rooms. You quickly teach yourself not to get upset or angry easily, and you know how to remain calm even when you are feeling worried.
3. You Are A Great Negotiator
Any solo travel understands the importance of negotiation, as it is often necessary to negotiate when you need something or you are being taken advantage of.
Solo travellers can’t rely on their friends to back them up, so instead they teach themselves to become master negotiators – handy!
4. You Can Live In The Moment
Solo travellers know how to live in the moment – you are only in a set place for a limited amount of time, so you know how to seize the day. It doesn’t matter that there is a thunderstorm happening outside, you will make it to that outdoor wine festival!
5. You Will Learn Something From Every Place You Visit
Every location and culture is different to the next, and there is so much to see and learn. When you travel alone you get the chance to truly connect with your location, and you always end up learning something new about the world whenever you go.
6. You Understand The Importance Of Leaving Your Comfort Zone
If you can travel to an unknown country alone, you are probably pretty good at leaving your comfort zone. You are very happy to push yourself, because know the best experiences happen outside of your comfort zone.
The more you challenge yourself; the more you stretch yourself, the bigger your world becomes. You can learn how to navigate in a strange city, build a campfire, learn a language. Overcome one obstacle, and you meet the next more confidently. Now, when seeds of self-doubt spring up, remind yourself, Well, you’ve come this far, what’s the big deal?
7. You Don’t Have To Commit
One of the best parts of being a solo traveller is not having to commit; you can cancel and change plans without annoying anybody, you can change your destination on the spur of the moment, and if you love a place, you can stay as long as you’d like!
8. Your Perspective Is Always Changing
Being a solo traveller means you really get the chance to speak to strangers and connect with them. Every time you speak to others abroad you see the world through their eyes, and your perspective changes slightly, and can make you more open-minded.
9. You Know How To Ignore Fear
You have dealt with fear before; what if travelling alone is scary? What if I lose my passport while I am away? Despite these worries, you ignored the fear so you could experience travelling alone. Now you can often ignore the fear, because you know you are capable of dealing with anything.
10. You Are Aware Of Your Strength
You have travelled hundreds of miles alone, paid for out of your own bank account, following a plan that you made yourself. You have learned how to roll with the punches, and you are aware of your how strong and capable you can be.
Time for reflection and self-knowledge. The beauty of solo travel is time. Time to be alone; time to reflect; time to test yourself. Granted, sometimes that’s uncomfortable. Sometimes, you simply feel lonely and awkward, but recognising those feelings and learning to overcome them is all part of the process. You get to know yourself in a new way, test yourself in new situations. After weeks of camping in remote places, I felt steeped in peaceful silence. I felt refreshed. How often do we allow ourselves to really be alone?
11. You Trust Yourself
You have to trust yourself if you are planning on travelling solo; no-one else will book your flights and arrange hostels. You know you won’t let yourself down, and if anything bad happens you trust yourself to fix it.
12. You Know How Important Other People Are
As well as trusting yourself, you value others highly. Travelling alone means you have to rely on strangers all the time, from cab drivers to the customer service desk in the airport. You accept that you are not always in control, and you can rely on others to help and assist you.
13. You Know Yourself Well
Spending time alone is the perfect way to really get to know yourself. You love the people in your life, but you also love how travelling solo gives you the opportunity to spend some quality time with yourself.
14. You Can Fake Confidence
Often there are a few semi-disasters per trip, from losing your room key to getting lost on the way back to the hostel. Solo travellers have to fake confidence regularly to help solve problems, which often helps them to become genuinely confident people later in life.
15. You Want To Travel Solo Again
You’re happy to travel with friends or your partner, but you know at some point you will travel alone again. You get to truly connect with the country you’re visiting, you can do whatever you want and you get to spend some quality time with yourself – perfection.To sum up, we should not be scared to set off for a solo journey! For some people it might be a tough decision and a weird feeling for the first days of solo expedition, but at the end of the day you will not regret it as it’s much more adventurous and challenging, it shapes your personality and gives you enormous possibilities to test yourself.
Disadvantages of Solo Travelling
There are a few notable disadvantages of travelling alone to consider. The first being the fact that you won’t be able to split costs with someone else as often as you could if you had a permanent travel mate. This would be the case in those situations where there may be no cheap hostels in town and instead, you may only come across guesthouses or hotels which will cost you more. Another situation may be when you just have to pay for that cab or tuk tuk by yourself to get where you’re going or need to pay for something else that you could easily split if you had someone travelling with you.
The other most obvious disadvantage of travelling alone comes in the aspect of safety. With no one watching your back, you have a target on your back. This isn’t to say that you cannot have a safe trip while travelling alone; however, you may want to look into travel health insurance. Trip insurance can help with trip cancellations, injuries and illness, and if you get mugged or pick pocketed.
Furthermore, if you are alone, an injury or illness pretty much means your travels are over—a friend can get you around, the general public isn’t so accommodating.
Another disadvantage is not being able to share all your travel experiences with someone else. Sure, you’ll share most of them with fellow travellers you meet along the way but when you finally make it home, it can be nice to be able to look back on your trip with your travel partner and reflect on all the experiences you had together.
And lastly, for those rough travel days (and there will be some), when you’re tired or sick (or hung over) and you’ve got that map out and all you want to do is figure out which street to turn down or how to get from point A to B, etc. it can be nice to have that friend by your side to help navigate and to simply share in the experience. As mentioned, most often you’ll find yourself travelling with others from one place to the next but the most likely times you may find yourself solo are the times when you first enter into a country since those last friends you were travelling with may not have had the same travel route as you.
The other most obvious disadvantage of travelling alone comes in the aspect of safety. With no one watching your back, you have a target on your back. This isn’t to say that you cannot have a safe trip while travelling alone; however, you may want to look into travel health insurance. Trip insurance can help with trip cancellations, injuries and illness, and if you get mugged or pick pocketed.
Furthermore, if you are alone, an injury or illness pretty much means your travels are over—a friend can get you around, the general public isn’t so accommodating.
Another disadvantage is not being able to share all your travel experiences with someone else. Sure, you’ll share most of them with fellow travellers you meet along the way but when you finally make it home, it can be nice to be able to look back on your trip with your travel partner and reflect on all the experiences you had together.
And lastly, for those rough travel days (and there will be some), when you’re tired or sick (or hung over) and you’ve got that map out and all you want to do is figure out which street to turn down or how to get from point A to B, etc. it can be nice to have that friend by your side to help navigate and to simply share in the experience. As mentioned, most often you’ll find yourself travelling with others from one place to the next but the most likely times you may find yourself solo are the times when you first enter into a country since those last friends you were travelling with may not have had the same travel route as you.
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