what's your excuse?

i walked to the masjid today. the car wasn't at home because my cousin had to use it to go to the clinic. since we didn't have a spare car, my uncle and i had to walk to the masjid. my uncle went first as he was always early to the masjid. i left the house about 15 minutes after my uncle left.

i took my time walking, admiring the shady green trees, people's homes. the sunlight was cooled down by the slow breeze and fluffy clouds and i actually enjoyed the walk. the road was quiet and i could actually hear what i was thinking in my head. i was thinking about how it would be cool if i have my mutant powers: which is the ability to change people's thoughts and re-write their lives, and create illusions and also (possibly) to move objects with my mind.(maybe i should write about this imagination of mind someday)

i reached the masjid about 7 minutes later. i chose the same place i sat two weeks ago and started fidgeting with my blackberry. a big, tall guy with curly hair and chinese eyes sat next to me. he smiled and held out his hand to salam and i returned the favour. as i was looking around the inside of the masjid, a man caught my eye.

he entered limping into one of the entrances of the masjid. funny, i thought to myself. before he sat down, he pulled his jeans a little bit and then i saw it, his metallic leg. he was wearing(?) prosthetic on one side of his leg. i was in awe. i had never seen a man, a real life man, wore a prosthetic before. i've seen people wearing(?) prosthetic on tv but not in real life so i was a bit 'jakun' you would say. though he was sitting in front of me and quite a distance as well, i could still see the metallic parts of his prosthetic leg.

then, there was the azan and the khatib read the khutbah and when it was almost time for the prayer i saw two guys, chinese rushing to enter the masjid because it was time for prayer. muallaf, must be, i think to myself. after finishing with the prayer, i waited for my uncle. he had difficulty of getting up and from a far before the prayer started, i could see that he was praying while sitting on a stool. 

we walked back together and he was talking about (well more like complaining) about the masjid's committee members and the unfinished white masjid which my uncle said one of the non-muslims referred to as "like a white elephant," and my uncle of course, laughed. i just smiled. my uncle was not so healthy and he had some problems with his knees and plus, he is old so our walked back took some time. the weather was beautiful though. the sun was covered by the fluffy, dark clouds and the wind was blowing. this made the walk back home easier and bearable.

i'm writing this because many of us tend to make up lame excuses for things that we can actually do. our flaws, our deficiencies, our insecurities should not stop us at doing something. we may be crippled, we may be not part of the majority, we may not be young and in the best shape of health but that should not deter us from doing the things that we love, or the things that we are obliged to do. take a moment to reflect what we have, what others don't, what others have and what we don't and just be thankful for everything, every God given opportunity. take chances, don't back down before trying. prove to people we can do it. don't give them the opportunity to bring us down. inspire people, even if we've only inspired one.

p.s: because really, we've got nothing much left to lose. only one life, and time's a ticking.