Turning lead into gold.

And in the Name of the Most Giving and Merciful...Lord of Creation and Lord of the Here and Now...The Cherisher of Life, the Lord of Power that gives strength and energy for my very existence...astarghfilrula, ...Al Ghafur ur Rahim... the Ultimate Forgiver... in Him I put  my faith and unto Him I surrender my will...what keeps me alive and there is none but Allah hu Akhbar...All Praise be unto Him. Every breath I take and every step I make He is with me closer than my own jugular vein, for His Temple is within me, His breath is what keeps me alive and His Will is that which keeps me going in pursuit of a higher and clearer understanding of what this is al about. This life of almost seventy years that has slipped me by what have I learned? What do I know? How far or how near am I to the truth if there such an idea, again at the very least I hope to get to know me better and what are my potentials and how I can exit this life with my mead held high and not succumb to mediocrity.

The words of one of my teachers form the past once said,

“From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75 I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.”
― Hokusai Katsushika  

One of my favorite quotes that I keep referring to every now and then to remind me that being seventy is just the beginning, life begins at seventy they say...who they? Never mind don't need to know. Katsushika Hokusai died in poverty, perhaps just as Van Gogh had. The other man whose life as an artist that most influence me was my grandfather,  a Singhalese Artist from Sri Lanka who came to Penang to do the murals on the walls and ceiling of the Mahindrama Buddhist Temple, it is still all there for tourists to enjoy. This is the same temple that I grew up as a Buddhist for at least a few childhood years of my life. I was converted to Islam at the age of 12 in the East Coast State of Terengganu. For the next twelve years I lived with my parents and siblings, it was my nightmare as well as a blessing  as I was introduced to being a Muslim and embraced Islam. Hence, I have many rivers to cross, as the song said...and I don't know where to begin ...I'm praying for time...

My life could have been a whole lot worse had I given in to what was expected of me from my family relatives and friend and yes most meant well; I had chosen to break away from that which had threatened to bind me into submission without question. I have made it my practice to make as much sense as I could of what had been, what is and what will be. I strongly believe that my efforts are for a reason not just for myself but all those who stumble upon this Blog and take their time to read with and open mind and a true yearning for knowledge if not wisdom; turning lead into gold.