Narnia: Prince Caspian

Okay, maybe it’s a little late for a post on Narnia: Prince Caspian. But better late than never, right? No, my dad was not sitting at the edge of his chair in the cinema like he did for the first Narnia movie, but we all agreed that this one is definitely better than the first one.

So throughout the movie I was busy typing into my handphone. I was not sending SMSes, mind you. I am a law abiding citizen. But I was taking down some of the quotes that I find interesting.

Here’s one, from the scene when Lucy first met Aslan. She was telling Him how she thought she saw Him, while the others brushed it off as an illusion. And His reply was this:

“And why did that stop you from coming to me?”

If I were in Lucy’s place, I would have felt a hard smack on the face. This is a classic example of how we always put the blame on others when things go wrong. Just like in the very beginning. Just like Eve. I thought that I’m more righteous and more worthy of praise than the others, because I believed. Truth is, if my faith was strong enough, I would have taken action, since faith without action is nothing. But like Lucy, when people around started doubting me, I started doubting myself too. And this held me back from taking the required action. This is just as bad as not believing at all. In the end, I am the one to be blamed for doubting my own faith. It’s my fault and no one else’s.

Here’s another one, from the scene when Aslan appoints Prince Caspian as the next King of Narnia:

“Caspian: I do not think I am ready.

Aslan: And for that reason, I know you are.”

It is a wonder how God never calls one who thinks that he is ‘ready and well-equipped’, but one who thinks that he does not have it takes to do the job. Like young David. Like King Josiah. Maybe because it is when we realize our own shortcomings and insufficiencies, that we learn to trust in His superior knowledge and to draw strength from Him. It is time I realize and recognize the fact that, without Him, I am nothing and can do nothing. Then, I’ll be ready for what He has in store for me. Well, maybe not to be Queen, but I wouldn’t mind being one.

And then this one came as a good reminder:

“Susan: Why do you think I didn’t see Aslan?
Lucy: Maybe you didn’t want to?”

How true is that! We want to seek God’s counsel. We want to hear Him. We want an answer and a direction from Him. But at times, He just seems so silent. Too silent, as though He is non-existent. Truth is, he is always there for us. Maybe we even heard it. We just denied it because the answer He gave is not the one we wanted and expected. I should know. How often have I denied His voice just because He was not saying what I wanted Him to. It’s not that I didn’t see Him, I just didn’t want to.

And this next one came as a strong blow that struck me and woke me up. From the scene in which the rat (whatever his name was) found out that he lost his tail:

“Aslan: Perhaps you think too much of your honour.”

I am guilty of this one. Hey! Serving God is not about me or my honour. It never is. How easy it is for me to focus on how well I do my job, and how it reflects on my character, so much so that I have lost sight of the sole purpose to please my Lord, and forgot that His power is made perfect in my weakness. Perhaps I think too much of my honour and not His.

So, bottom line is, if you missed Narnia, go watch it! Nah.... It's just that C. S. Lewis has such a great mind! I mean, he managed to tell the story of Christ on Malaysia's silverscreen! Well, it takes a great mind to do the job.

Muhibbah

Being Malaysians, we are no strangers to the word 'Muhibbah'. In fact, we are all too familiar with it. Day in day out, we hear of the word so often. Everyone whose face appears on the front cover of the newspaper preaches about Muhibbah and racial unity. But do we know the true implications of this word? More importantly, do those who are preaching it know what this word really means?

As I walk to the LRT station every morning to take the train to college, I always enjoy seeing the group of women who gathers at the station parking lot to do their routine of tai-chi aerobic (I don't know what exactly that is, but it sure looks like a mixture of tai-chi and aerobic to me!). They just enjoy doing what they are doing, completely oblivious to the stares of curios passers-by. Some are clad in tudung, some have pottu, while others just look like modern mums from Desperate Housewives. Who cares about the differences? They are happy in their own little world.

This is Muhibbah.

Then my family and I walk into a hawker stall, and my Dad starts calling for Samy to take order. He's the guy who works at the mamak stall next to the stall we are dining in. As he comes, he talks to my Dad about everything, from making lame jokes to gossipping about Samyvelu, the big MIC guy who happens to share the same name. They speak in a Malay language that native speakers will never understand, but which amazingly, both of them understand very well. After all, we are Malaysians. We speak only to get our message across, regardless of whether we are grammatically or linguistically correct. Then they will burst into laughter, like they are old friends sharing some old private jokes. And this leaves us all wondering what's going on between them.

That is Muhibbah.

And when I'm done with my meal at Steven's Corner and ask for my bill, I hear a guy counting and asking me in fluent Cantonese what I had for my meal. I turn and look, only to be looking into the eyes of an Indian man. If I am blind, I would think that I am speaking to a Chinese. Oh well, anyway, who cares. We understand each other perfectly well, and he speaks Cantonese as though it is the most common thing in the world.

Now, that is Muhibbah.

Muhibbah sounds like a really big word, or maybe it is just made to sound like a huge one. Truth is, true Muhibbah is found in the most common places, amongst the most common people. I guess the big shots have a really precious lesson to be learnt from the common people.

Surprised by Joy

It was odd, to walk past her as though I didn’t notice her presence, staring at her out of the corners of my eyes, only to find myself turning back and walking again in her direction. Something in me made me turn back, but I cannot put my fingers on what exactly was it.

I did it, anyway. I bought it. I stooped down and I gave it to her. Then I saw it on her face- the smile that was generously written all over her face. She muttered something. Something I didn’t quite understand. But it didn’t matter.

All that took merely a minute. No, it didn’t seem like forever. It felt like what it was- just a minute and nothing more. Then I just walked away casually, like nothing happened.

It must have been quite a sight. After all, anything out of the ordinary does create a scene. Eyes must have been looking. Or maybe not. Lips must have been whispering. Or maybe not. Minds must have been wondering. Or maybe not. I don’t know. I didn’t look. I don’t to care to know. I didn’t have time to look. I just walked away casually, like nothing happened.

As I was walking away, I felt the surge of emotions: of Wonder and Amazement at what I’ve just done; of Joy, in seeing hers, and in knowing that I’ve finally done it. It wasn’t so hard, was it?

I was surprised by joy, finding it in the most unlikely places. But the question that remains to be asked is this: Why did it take me so long?

Let's do away with exams!

Exams! Who ever invented such a thing? It’s the Chinese, isn’t it? I know it’s to test your academic ability and how far you’ve progressed academically, but does it really do that? I mean, you study for a year or two, and then finally your fate lies in the hands of a two-hour paper! What’s the logic of it?

And then there’s always the element of luck. Okay, I know we don’t do luck, but I’m referring to that element in life that lies beyond human control. So call it whatever you want. Divine destiny, maybe? Truth is, sometimes during exams, some things are just out of your control. Like falling sick during an exam period, or getting a super-hard question, or maybe even reading the time wrongly. So you just flop your exam for that simple reason, and it’s the end of the world. How unfair!

Oh, and in standardized test, you don’t even know who marks your paper, and how they do it. You may unfortunately get a lousy examiner, who unfortunately marks your paper wrongly, and there goes your paper, and your future! All that you’ve been labouring for for the past two years… gone, just like that!

So much depends on the paper alone. Too much! It’s like a dice that can either lead you to a box that says, “Congratulations! You’ve won”, or to one that says, “Move backwards 3 steps.” The bottom line is this: exams take the fun out of learning. Just imagine how fun school would be if not for exams. We can then learn because we enjoy learning, and not learn to sit for exams. So, let’s do away with exams!!

Okay… okay! Yes, I am suffering from PET (Post-Exam Trauma) resulting in AES (Anti-Exam Syndrome). Oh well, I’m just glad that it’s over now, at least for this one and a half months. And I praise the Lord that I am still alive. Hallellujah!

So, who cares to join me in calling for exams to be done away with?

So me!

So, I am a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and this really caught my attention!

Actually, sometimes I've got the same questions about God too. But aren't we all like that at one point of time or another? I guess there are times when you just have to cling on to nothing else but faith.