The coin box and trust

" Trust is earned when actions meet words"

Just came back from my family trip to Kuala Lumpur. I must say that even though it was a short two days trip, I really enjoyed myself because of the company. 37 people went and for the first time, I felt so comfortable with such a large group of people and it was really very fun for me. I didn't feel awkward at all with anyone and I just could be my bubbly self.

The highlight of this trip is obviously the food that I ate. Even today, I am still full from all the food I consumed for the last two days. Alhamdulillah! Surely, I need to start exercising soon too hahaha! (I hope) Well, I've learnt a lot from this trip too. I learnt patience when our bus actually broke down. However, there were hidden blessings. We were stuck at the restaurant where we ate our dinner. I think it was a blessing as we were not stranded anywhere else. For example, in the middle of the roads. Also, the jam subsided right after we left for the checkpoints which was around 1 AM. And we got home safely by 2 AM.

The second incident that made me reflect was during the first day of the trip, we stopped by Malacca and we ate at this seafood restaurant. My mom decided to go to the toilet so I followed her. Outside of the toilet, I saw this sign in Malay stating "Please pay 30 cents in the box below". So there was this locked coin box hanging below the sign with a small hole for people to slot in coins. My first reaction was I told my mom, "Ma, you have 30 cents?" and others behind me were replying, "Don't need lah! The owner is not here". I didn't know what actually made me had the guts to blurt it out but I said "Amanah, amanah".

Basically, 'amanah' is a malay word which means trust. The owner gave us the trust to actually pay after/before using the toilet. But what I was more moved by is the fact that people actually paid after I said that. They didn't argue with me nor repeated whatever they said earlier.

What can I actually learn from this?

1) Sometimes you just have to remind others of the right thing to do. Even something so small, it tests your core values as a person in life. Are you that person who gets away when no one is watching or still obey the rules when no one is watching?

2) Allah s.w.t is watching When we think that no one is really watching, God is All-Seeing, so He is the one watching us. If we didn't think the owner didn't notice, Allah s.w.t did and I bet the owner had full trust on Allah s.w.t. If people broke their trust, it was between them and Him. 3) The act of gratitude I feel 30 cents is really nothing much for the water used and the ease to do our business in the toilet. These owners actually deserve more. But why are we still so selfish to just donate 30 cents for their kindness of placing a toilet near their restaurant. They could have locked the toilet and only made it as "staffs only" toilet. We are given such ease yet it is still difficult for us to take out 30 cents from our pockets but so so easy to take out 30 bucks to buy something.

As we embark on a new journey to a new year in the Islamic calendar, there needs to be a change and improvement within ourselves. Certainly, there are times where we are really down with everything around us but I always remind myself to have the habit to get back up and improve myself again and again. Sometimes, we get so disappointed with ourselves. Why aren't we doing as good? Why are we acting up the way we are now? Why can't we be just as perfect as we see others too? and so on... But sometimes there is no point in complaining about ourselves and we just have to reflect deeply upon our actions and act accordingly to correct it.

I pray that in all darkness that everyone faces, He will show us the light and shower His mercy and love upon all of us and forgive us in all our wrong-doings. ♥

thepinkrosette