I have kept this baju kurung for three years. It is too precious for me to wear.
It was originally presented to me as a piece of 4-metre pure silk batik, together with a chocolate-coloured selendang, by my ex-colleagues in one of the companies I worked for before I came to JB.I served the company for almost 4 years.
I do believe that we are fated to work where we work. Today, we may grumble and grouse and complain about our job and our employer. We would do anything just to get out. In our anger, we forget to remember the blessings that we are given with the job. We forget that the mere fact that we can put food on the table is a blessing. We forget that the lessons we learn through our hardships there is a blessing. We forget that each and every face we meet through the job is also a blessing.
Tommorow, when we look back, we will see how it all falls into place as one perfect picture of our life's journey thus far. Whatever has happened along the way, whether good or bad, had left no adverse traces on us, only made us grow up.
Today, I am working for the passion. I no longer worry about the money, because I hold a simple thought: a lack of it is my failure in planning, an abundance of it is God's gift.
This silk baju kurung reminds me of one fact. The job itself had no chemistry with me, but I held on to my belief that I should be there until such time when God says it's time to move on. And when I did move on, many of the friends I made were treasures I took with me throughout my journey. This baju kurung, in all its splendour, is a testimony of how people around me appreciated what little contribution I made to their work and their lives.
I have a saying. "When we stop becoming colleagues, we become friends." That doesn't always hold true of course, but when it does, it's a very nice thing indeed.
And so I never had the guts to wear this baju kurung, for fear that I will spoil it, because it is a treasury of my memories.
Maybe someday.
