"All is Well!"

"Orang kata, big challenges are for people with big heart"

This post is going to be filled with loads of quotes, and the one I just begin my post with is one of the first quotes that comes to my mind when I feel like 'everyday is a tough day at this point'. And recently it has been a quote I am reminded of the most. This academic term has been the toughest time I have ever had in my university years so far. Moments of freaking out, worrying and stressing out while trying to sort things out were COUNTLESS. But anyway, that's life (okay while writing this phrase I literally sing the Frank Sinatra song 😂 so for the fun of it, let's just put that bit here hahaha).

That's life (that's life) I tell ya, I can't deny it
I thought of quitting, baby
But my heart just ain't gonna buy it
And if I didn't think it was worth one single try
I'd jump right on a big bird and then I'd fly

*SIDETRACKED*

(I am sorry for an early ad, so we better move on). A few weeks ago I had this one thought at home while dealing with my taxing assignments. As we grow, I think every single thing in life just got tougher, and quitting seems like one of the best possible option for some people. When cooking is hard, stop cooking, and eat out or buy prepared food. When relationship gets tough, break up. When someone finds studying hard, he/she quits university. When working seems hard, people quit their job. (I am trying not to be simplistic but I guess you get my point)

So what happen when life gets hard?

Yes, people (may) opt to quit living. In other words,

They suicide.

As I was thinking about how the 'giving up' option is getting more 'demanding' as we get older, it hits me how grateful I should be for the fact that I am blessed with this trait called 'persistent'. In this competitive world we (especially the younger generations) are living in at the moment, it can be quite hard to be persistent and determined about things that we're juggling with, let alone being confident about the future.

Being persistent is not as easy as telling people to "have faith" when they're going through any sort of life crisis. It takes a huge amount determination in dealing with physical and mental challenges to be persistent. I am pretty sure you guys can relate to the quotes 'there's no elevator to success' and 'usaha tangga kejayaan' - we all have had those days when we worked so hard for something we want to earn out of it. And what are those things telling us? After all this hard work, it will all be fine at the end of the day!

But that's it - it will be fine at the end, not the beginning nor the journey. BUT, there are ways to 'be  or act fine' while heading to that finishing line, while waiting for the end to come - and for that I'd like to quote Aida Azlin from her (not really recent) video "Let's Talk About Rezki"

While in that state of waiting, we should tell ourselves, Allah; who is the Most Fair, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful (ar-Rahim), Most Generous (ar-Rahman), He is the One taking care of our rizq. He is the One arranging every single little thing in our life.

Shouldn't that reassure you and comfort you, and just...you know, like really...just chill!

Literally guys, just chill. I do freak out a lot, but alhamdulillah, it doesn't take me long to breathe easily again - I am the kind of person who can gain my rationality back in the next two hours, and that's it for the day  (but I might be freaking out tomorrow again hahaha jk) 

So, in case anyone forgot, whatever is meant for us will come to us.

All we need to do right now is just try to do the right thing, and just try to work on our relationship with Allah - Aida Azlin

I read Tunku Sarina's piece about life struggles and spirituality on her blog (dearsarina.com) few weeks ago and I have been in love with this bit that she noted in her lovely post (that you guys should absolutely read!):

With that, I'd love to remind myself of the quote 'great things never came from comfort zones', and that's definitely the reason why I have to keep seeking for comfort and relief and persistence from Allah s.w.t. while going through every single moment of life, and of course, keep believing that if He brings me to it, 

He will definitely bring me through it :)

And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. - Haruki Murakami