Guilt
sharing another reminder as we meet our relations today, especially if we do not see them often and do not know what their personal challenges are: “Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” ~ Anonymous. Another good way to remind us that "semua orang ada dugaan masing-masing"... may Allah ease our hardships and grant us strength ameen.
I was reminded of this when we visited hubby's relative and briefly met with a distant cousin of his who was rushing to work. In that brief encounter, he was smiley, warm and affectionate towards Umar, full of hospitality. Only after he left did we learn from his mother that his wife is battling cancer and his son recovering from an accident.
An acquaintance on fb shared this on her wall. It's a timely reminder for me because a grandaunt just passed 2 days ago. I felt sad not because I was close to her but I havent visited her for the past 5 years...even during Hari Raya. There are some years which we can't go visiting because of valid reasons and try as I might, Allah know better.
But I know could have made that extra effort to visit my relatives to foster and maintain the silaturrahim. Singapore is small but everyone is too busy with their lives to have the luxury of visiting each other. Yes, Hari Raya is only a day but if we dont try to visit people who matter, we will simply drift further and have that can't-be-bothered attitude.