saved

My feet ached. My energy ached more. Gatvol is that not-so-pleasant (eek) Afrikaans word that describes me. We are just pushing along this 24hours.

I do a zombie walk to the gynae ward at 3am, and scrutinize the files through the light of the passage. The patients' groans don't strike me as anything strange - most woman in this rotation are groaning anyway. As I scan the drs notes, the pt whispers "bietjie water asseblief" (some water please).

The gatvolness in me flares up - in retrospect unnecessarily so - my thoughts race... this is not my job, does anyone know how tired I am... I'm not a Sister, speaking of which where are them Sisters? Uff, sleeping as usual. If I have to walk around handing pts water I will never learn what I'm supposed... there's not even any cups in sight...

 Wait a min.

A parable of primary Madrasah comes back to me through my zombieness - 'that sinner-lady of long ago was granted Jannah (heaven) when she gave the thirsty dog water, using her shoe as a cup.'
I shook my sleepy head, severely rebuking myself for allowing my frustration get the better of my humanity. Of me, being Muslim.

Everything around me suddenly took the shape of a possible water-holding utensil.

I thanked Allah, glad that thoughts were not counted as deeds. It still bothers me as to why I was thinking of myself as not worthy of handing out water. As a Dr once told me  - its time for a career change if patient care is no longer the most important.
 May all my evil thoughts be highlighted so I can stop them in time.

The Eye

"...Now do you not see that the eye embraces the beauty of the whole world? It is the lord of astronomy and the maker of cosmography, it counsels and corrects all the arts of mankind, it leads men to the different parts of the world, it is the prince of mathematics, and the sciences founded on it are absolutely certain. It has measured the distances and the sizes of the stars, it has found the elements and their locations; it has given birth to architecture, and to perspective and to the divine art of painting. Oh excellent thing, superior to all others created by God! ....What peoples, what tongues will fully describe your true function? The eye is the window of the human body through which it feels its way and enjoys the beauty of the world. Owing to the eye the soul is content to stay in its bodily prison, for without it such bodily prison is torture"  

                                                                                                Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)


Glory be to Allah, the Creator of all.