Lots to smile about

Take a breather amids the festive flurry and count worth celebrating.

How does one acknowledge God'sblessings?

What blessings should we acknowledge?

1.If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep at night, you are richer than 75% of other people in this world.

2. If you have money in the bank and your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top eight per cent of the world's wealthy population.

3. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.

4. If you have never experienced the fear of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you're ahead of 700 million people in the world.

5. If you can attend a mosque without the fear of harrassment, arrest, torture or death, you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.

6. If your parent are alive and still married, you are extremely lucky.

And

7. If you can hold your head up daily and smile, you are unique to all those in doubt and despair.

adapted from JOYCE LOH
Sunday Star 13 december 2009

Mahsuri: Lagends of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Mahsuri: Lagends of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Last week my family and I have the opportunity to visit Langkawi Island. We're there to attend the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2009 (LIMA 2009). When we was there, we had a chance to visit the Mahsuri Tomb in Ulu Melaka, Langkawi. As i remember, this is fourth time I was there. First time I was there is in the year of 1989. At that time i was still bachelor. But this time i bring along my family members. I feel attracted to visit this place again and again because of the history of Mahsuri and also the tradisional life of Malay community that is hard to find nowadays. The lessons I have learned from Mahsuri 's event are among others we have to keep our self away from bad characteristic such as spitefulness, jealous and envious.

According to Malay legend, Mahsuri (full name Mahsuri bte Pandak Mayah) (?-1819) was a young woman from the island of Langkawi in Malaysia who was accused of adultery and executed by stabbing. Her tomb, Makam Mahsuri, in Langkawi, has become a tourist attraction on the island

During the time of the powerful Sultanates of the Malay archipelago there lived a young woman named Mahsuri. She was the most beautiful woman in all of Langkawi, and the wife of Wan Darus, a brave warrior. As was required of him, her husband had to go to war, leaving Mahsuri behind to fend for herself. It was during this time that Mahsuri befriended a young man named Deraman.

Their close friendship lead others in her village to believe that their relationship was sexual in nature. Some versions of the legend claim that the parties who perpetuated the gossip were those who were envious of Mahsuri's beauty. Eventually the rumours grew strong enough that the villagers openly accused her of adultery. Mahsuri pleaded her innocence, but no one believed her.

Mahsuri was to be tied to a tree (or pole) and stabbed to death.It didn't work, they tried many ways to kill her but failed each time . Then she told them to kill her with her family's dagger. When they stabbed her with the dagger , white blood flowed from her wound, signifying her innocence. Some birds flew above her to cover her body. With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed Langkawi to have seven generations of bad luck.

Many locals of Langkawi believe the legend to be true, citing the Siamese invasion of 1821 and decades of failed crops that followed Mahsuri's death. It is only at the end of the 20th century, after the seven generations have supposedly come to pass, that Langkawi began to prosper as a tourist destination.

The descendants of Mahsuri continue to live in Phuket, Thailand, and have on occasion returned to Langkawi to visit her tomb.[1] Among them was Sirintra Yayee (Thai:ศิรินทรา ยายี), also known by her Muslim name Wan Aishah Wan Nawawi, came into the spotlight during her visit to Kedah in 2000.[2][3]

Once upon a time, there lived in Langkawi two Muslim Siamese immigrants, a childless couple, Pandak Maya and Mak Andam, who prayed for a child.Their prayers were answered when they had Mahsuri, a sweet delightful child who grew into a beautiful young woman. Being kind-hearted and of such a beauty, she captured the heart and soon married Wan Darus, a warrior and the son of the headman of the village and Chief of Langkawi'

Their idyllic lives were disrupted when her husband went off to fight against an invading Siamese army. A travelling minstrel and poet named Deraman arrived at the village and soon, Mahsuri and Deraman became good friends.
Mahsuri was said to have allowed him to stay at her house. This soon gave
rise to the vicious gossip that Mahsuri was a faithless wife

She was soon a victim of a conspiracy and was falsely accused of committing adultery with the handsome Deraman.There are many versions as to the reasons behind the treachery.Widely believed was that her own mother in law, Wan Mahora, was jealous of her beauty and popularity and had plotted against her.

Yet another version says that the village headman, Dato Karma Jaya
(her father in law) was so enamoured of Mahsuri, that he tried to make use
of her husband's absence to his advantage. Needless to say, his caused wife
(her mother in law) was not amused and plotted to have Mahsuri done away with. Hence, she was accused Mahsuri of being an adulteress, and was sentenced
to death by Dato Karma Jaya, her own father-in-law. Despite her parents' pleas and the cries of her child at her skirts, Mahsuri was dragged away and tied to a tree. Vehemently protesting her innocence,
she begged for mercy, but the villagers, under the influence of the headman's
wife, gave her no quarter.

Legend says that the swords and machetes used by the executors could not injure her. The people really should have believed her when all the spears that they threw at her fell harmlessly at her feet. They were baffled but still convinced that Mahsuri was guilty of wrong-doing.

Finally, Mahsuri, having resigned herself that only her death would appease them, told them how they could kill her. She would only die by the blade of the ceremonial sword kept at her home. Someone was sent to fetch it and legend has it that the sky became overcast and there was thunder and lightning as Mahsuri was fatally stabbed.

At her execution by stabbing with a sacred 'keris' or dagger, the villagers were shocked to discover that the blood flowing from her body was white, signifying her innocence. Others maintain there was the sudden appearance of white mist that enveloped the spot where she was executed, which it was believed was a sign of mourning of her innocence.

Mahsuri is probably best remembered for her curse. With her dying breath Mahsuri placed a curse on the island of Langkawi by uttering, "For this act of injustice Langkawi shall not prosper for seven generations to come."

In 1821, not long after Mahsuri's execution, Siam invaded Langkawi. To starve the invading Siamese soldiers, Dato Karma Jaya ordered all the rice on the island be collected and burnt in Padang Mat Sirat. This proved to be a foolish move, for the residents soon died from starvation.Remnants of the burnt rice could still be seen in a cordoned area in Padang Mat Sirat, Kampung Raha. The burnt rice is said to have been buried below ground before being burnt, but often appears on the surface after a rainy day. Do you not think it strange that the rice grains have not turned into soil after so long? Some things have to be seen or experienced first-hand to be believed.

The village headman and his sons were killed fighting the Siamese and
neither was his wife spared. Decades after Mahsuri's death, Langkawi experienced a period of tribulation with her population dwindling in size. The island became a desolate place, beset by series of misfortunes. As for Mahsuri's family, they left Langkawi and settled in Thailand.

No one knew much about what had happened to them until the year 2000
when the Kedah government located them on the island of Phuket. They were invited to Langkawi for a visit and to see if they would like to make the island their new home. The time for Mahsuri's seven generation old curse to end was at hand and it was hoped that with the arrival of her descendants, Langkawi could finally put its sad past behind and move forward towards prosperity and progress.

Coincidence or not, one of the two siblings who are of the seventh generation descendants, is a young and pretty fourteen year old girl (at 2003) named Wan Aishah Nawawi who bears a striking resemblance to Mahsuri as depicted in a portrait painted quite some time ago. The family has since returned to Phuket as they have not yet been able to make the all important decision of becoming Malaysian citizens and resettling in Langkawi.

The public was first introduced to Langkawi by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman
Putra al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. As a young District Officer in Kedah, the Tunku used to visit Langkawi and had wanted to visit Mahsuri's
grave to pay his respects. However, no one could tell him where it was. So, the Tunku made up his mind to find it. He was not one to give up and so persevered until one day, he came across a grave hidden in some undergrowth. He was sure that it was Mahsuri's although there was no marker indicating that fact or otherwise. He approached a Chinese contractor to build a tomb for her. Shortly after the tomb was erected, the Tunku was given a promotion and was eventually to become the first Prime Minister of Malaysia and the contractor who had borne the costs of building the tomb became rather prosperous – as he soon landed several lucrative contracts.

Mahsuri's tomb is now encased in white marble,quarried from the hills of Langkawi - white symbolising her innocence. Nearby is a well, which Mahsuri used to wash and bathe.Photographs of her descendants are displayed on the board next to her grave.
Whether fact or fiction , the curse, believed to have brought destruction and
doom to the island and was to last for seven generations. It was said that at one time, buffaloes even outnumbered villagers. It has only been recently with the birth in 1980 of Aishah Nawawi, a direct descendant of Mahsuri, the eighth generation, that Langkawi has started to really prosper.

To Malaysians, Mahsuri is more than a legend; she is the epitome that truth and goodness shall prevail. And just as the Tunku had freed Malaya from colonial rule, so too had he helped Langkawi to free itself from the shackles of its own past.

MAHSURI BINTI PANDAK MAYAH

MAHSURI A VICTIM OF TREACHERY AND JEALOUSY WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN 1235 HIJRAH OR 1819 A.D. AS SHE DIED SHE LAID A CURSE ON THE ISLAND : THERE SHALL BE NO PEACE AND PROSPERITY ON THIS ISLAND FOR A PERIOD OF SEVEN GENERATION

My Story : The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Peace be upon you.

There is a book that is quite interesting that I want to share with all readers. In 1994 I have the opportunity to purchase this book at MPH book shop in the Mall Kuala Lumpur. The title of this book is "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" written by Steven R. Covey. This book quite interesting because it point out a few role that we played as a human being. This book opened my mind to change and I strive to be an effective among family members and also those who deal with me. We as human beings always face many constraints and obstacles in efforts to achieve happiness in our life. Therefore it is better if we make our motto of our lives to always want to change towards a better life and creating a positive effect to our life and the life of other people around us. One of the way is to increase our knowledge continuously through reading for the rest of life.

Stephen Covey

Stephen R. Covey (born October 24, 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah) wrote the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Other books he has written include:

First Things First,

Principle-Centered Leadership,

and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families.

In 2004, Covey released, The 8th Habit.

In 2008, Covey released The Leader In Me—How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time

Covey lives with his wife Sandra and their family in Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, where Dr. Covey taught prior to the publication of his best-selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of fifty-one with his wife, he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Covey established the "Covey Leadership Center" which, in 1997, merged with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey, a global professional-services firm and specialty-retailer selling both training and productivity-tools to individuals and to organizations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere".

In 2008, Covey launched The Stephen Covey's Online Community. The site is a collection of online courses, goal management and social networking. He uses it as a place to teach his most recent thoughts and ideas on current topics and self leadership.

In 2009, Covey launched his career development webinar series to help people struggling in the economic downturn. He plans to offer timely and current topics on a regular basis.

Covey holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from University of Utah in Salt Lake City, an MBA from Harvard University, and a Doctor of Religious Education (DRE) in LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Church History and Doctrine from Brigham Young University. He also holds membership of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. Covey argues this is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he believes to be universal and timeless.[1]

The book was enormously popular, and catapulted Covey into public-speaking appearances and workshops. He has also written a number of follow-up books:

First Things First
Principle Centered Leadership
The Power Of The 7 Habits: Applications And Insights
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families
Beyond the Seven Habits
Living the Seven Habits, a collection of stories from people who have applied the seven habits in their lives

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, a sequel to The Seven Habits published in 2004

Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version of the book for teens, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers so they can better understand them. In October 2006, Sean Covey also published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make: A Guide for Teens. This guide highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them.
Stephen Covey's eldest son, Stephen M. R. Covey, has written a book titled The Speed of Trust.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's best-known book, has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. (The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies.) Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He instead promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one’s values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey adamantly refuses to confound principles and values; he sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people’s behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.

[edit] The 7 Habits

Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision

Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution

Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding

Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

[edit] Follow-ups
Follow-up titles to The Seven Habits aim both to add to the original and to form a cohesive philosophy on personal, principle-based leadership. They come in the format of audio books as well (such as the title Beyond The 7 Habits). Covey has also written a number of learning-books for children. His son, Sean Covey, has written a version for teens: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies Covey's 7 Habits for younger readers to better understand them.

The 7 Habits

Dependence to Independence
Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution

Independence to Interdependence
Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding
Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation

Continual Improvement
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

The chapters are dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:

Habit 1 - Principles of Personal Choice:

Covey emphasizes the original sense of the term "proactive". You can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for every aspect of your life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey also argues that man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we have the power of free will to choose our response.

Habit 2 - Principles of Personal Vision:

This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends formulating a "Personal Mission Statement" to document one's perception of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational mission statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization rather than prescribed.

Habit 3 - Principles of Integrity & Execution:

Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans. Habit three is greatly expanded on in the follow on book First Things First.

Habit 4 - Principles of Mutual Benefit:

An attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as others, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.

Habit 5 - Principles of Mutual Understanding:

Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a working communication.

Habit 6 - Principles of Creative Cooperation:

A way of working in teams. Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Habit 7 - Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal: Focuses on balanced self-renewal: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities. Covey also emphasizes the need to sharpen the mind.

[edit] Maturity Continuum

Dependence - is the paradigm of you--you take care of me; (I blame you for the results)Independence - is the paradigm of I--I can do it; (I am self-reliant)Interdependence - is the paradigm of we--we can do it; (we can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together)[2]

[edit] Abundance mentality

Covey coined the term[citation needed] abundance mentality or abundance mindset, meaning a business concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and success to share with others, when looking at optimistic people. It is commonly contrasted with the scarcity mindset, which is founded on the idea that, given a finite amount of resources, a person must hoard their belongings and protect them from others. Individuals with an abundance mentality are supposed to be able to celebrate the success of others rather than be threatened by it.[3]

A number of books appearing in the business press since then have discussed the idea.[4] The abundance mentality is believed to arrive from having a high self worth and security, and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and responsibility.[5] Organizations may also apply an abundance mentality while doing business.[6]

Habits have a tremendous gravity pull

Lift off takes a lot of effort,
but once we break out of the gravity pull,
our freedom takes on a whole new dimension

Ready for take off ?

Habit 1:
Be proactive

You are respons-able: able to choose your respons!”

We have a wide range of concerns, but not all of them fall into our circle of influence

“Anytime we think the problem is out there,
that thought is the problem”

You can choose your language

Reactive:
I must
If only
They made me
If I had

Proactive:
I prefer
I will
I choose
I can be

Habit 2:
Begin with the end in mind

The key to the ability to changeis a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value

Habit 3:
Put first things first

The key to time management is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities

It’s almost impossible to say NO to the popularity of urgent, non important matters, if you don’t have a bigger YES burning inside

“Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least”

Habit 4: Think Win/win

“You can only achieve win/win solutions with win/win processes”

It’s not your way or my way, it’s a better way

Habit 5:
Seek first to understand, then to be understood

“We have such a tendency to fix things up with good advice, but often we fail to take the time to diagnose, to really deeply understand another human being first”

Habit 6:
Synergize

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

“When we are left to our own experiences,
we constantly suffer from a shortage of data”

“The person who is truly effective has the humility to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings”

In order to have influence, you have to open yourself up to bé influenced

Habit 7:
Sharpen the Saw

Read, write, relax, exercise, play, love, get involved, meditate …

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things … I am tempted to think … there are no little things”