Life is but a sandiwara

Seek always the face of the Lord.

With the above verse clinging to my mind, I have the awareness to open my eyes bigger to see what I probably would have missed. I met this woman. She is from the tsunami hit country and her daughter and two grandchildren perished without trace. She was about to burst into tears. I see pain there and hugged her spontaneously.

We sat down and chatted about the foods in Acheh compared to Penang. We talked about the ingredients we used. Making small talks interspersed with really sad things in life is a way to keep a conversation going. We jumped from topic to topic.

She is ill and had to spend a lot of money to get here for treatment. She told me her reluctance in spending her son’s money but the filial man wanted the best for her. As a mother to mother, our hearts connected without barriers. No nationality, no religion nor race. I told her, “Biarlah…anak sayang kak, rezeki tu Tuhan boleh bagi…” (Let it be, your son loves you, blessing will come from God.)

It comes naturally to me to praise the greatness of the Divine Being. I had often used Insyaallah (God’s willing) when I chatted with those nurses and parents in the ICU back here in Malaysia. I don’t see why I should curtail my tongue and not say it when I was chatting with this woman. It is a word to reflect the hopes in a person.

Both of us are very open about how some religions are fighting foolishly over things that cannot be won. I had made it very clear to her that I wasn’t there to preach but merely to keep her or anyone else company. She told me in her very native language, slang and all, “Hidup ini cuma sandiwara.” (Life is just a stage show) And I told her, “Yalah, masa kita di dunia bukan lama sangat, biarlah hati kita tenteram cukup.” (Yes, our time on earth is not long, so let’s have a peaceful heart.)

And in that conversation, I felt an overwhelming feelings of tolerance, understanding, love for a fellow mother, embracing whatever faith she has while I shared freely with her my thoughts. I don’t think I will see her again as I won’t visit till next Monday. But I hope she will be one of the many wonderful people I will meet in future that will enrich my own life, despite the situation we met.

This encounter certainly has given me a lot of courage to tread on that foreign ground. The one where my faith should never come into another person’s belief. Yet, I do not have to push aside and hide my love, total admiration and devotion to the Lord God.