…Hopefully this part will be as beneficial as I expected it
to be for motivational purpose…
Kak Najwa and I had a blast by going to nature reserves here
in Sheffield; we never thought that this hobby of ours can be very meaningful
in a very abstract way.
Woolley Wood is another nature reserve that currently is
being taken care of Sheffield Council. Here, we expected this particular area
to be full of English Bluebell, a wild kind of flower that grows only in
Spring. We were almost right because this wood is literally has English
Bluebell duvet, they covered every inch of the wood’s floor and that was a gift
from Mother Nature! SubhanaAllah.. It superbly soothed my hectic heart.
But…
It wasn’t just that. Before we discovered this
fairy-tale-background wood, we had to walk for 3 consecutive hours amidst a
small town during a hot afternoon just to find the entrance. As a matter of
fact, our thermal wear burned us from the inside along with again, hunger. Both
of these factors led to major carelessness and lots of miscommunications. In
timely manner, we were first directed by a local farmer (thankfully), only that
it was a vague guide which contributed to our little miscommunications. We
appreciated his help though because without the ‘vague’ guide, we couldn’t make
it to Woolley Wood. Alhamdulillah.
After performing our Zuhur prayers nearby big trees, we took
some more time to rest and to eat our lovely lunch. Well, we just wanted to
enjoy the view for a bit longer plus our legs were terribly sore. One thing we
did not know at that moment was since this small region is just 10 yards hidden
from a residential area (which is why we couldn’t find it with ease initially),
there were of course dog owners along with their dogs or shall I say big sized
ones.
Let me tell you a fun fact about a dog, it has a very
sensitive nose that theoretically can smell something for over miles away from
them. So, let us all imagine a situation where me and my partner was having our
sweet little lunch in the wood and they were passing by a main path that
coincidently also coming our way! They barked and continue to bark at us
expecting food while running towards us and almost bit my leg. I am scared of
dogs not because of the typical reasons; neither because I am a Muslim nor I am
Malay or even I had lack knowledge about dogs. It was because I was chased by
wild dogs twice in separate events before. So, logically, I do get easily
scared by them and truthfully, I almost cried. Yes too, I am scared of many
things.
I am writing these just to inform and maybe learn our lesson that
we humans get scared instantly if we think we can be compromised by something.
If our lives are in jeopardy, it is totally acceptable and because we think our
lives are in jeopardy all the time by so many things now, we all accept
whatever reasons that are scaring us. It is a noble act by respecting other
peoples’ fears but in the same time, we are being fooled by our own kind. We
now can get scared of cockroaches, home spiders, rats, heights, fur and
electricity.
It makes every sense because respectfully, we all have bad
experiences with those creatures. So did I. But, what we are lacking of are
strong will and courage to tell our brains not to be afraid. This is usually
the hardest part of dealing with fear. The only thing that stops us is
ourselves. So, let’s think harder about this which I reckon that this issue
also applies on our careers or relationships etc.
Last but not least is Blacka Moor. This is the last nature
reserve that we had a chance to go to during the break. This specific reserve area is also an attraction to people
that have science interests as written on the entrance sign which I cared less
about it but felt more intrigued to go in.
To our luck, it hailed that day. Heavily that it almost seemed
to look like heavy snow in December. Hail is just a shorter name for water and
ice rain and looked like snow. Nonetheless, we had our best chance to see
beautiful colours of flowers covered by snow. It is most likely that the two
seasons, winter and spring, combined at one time. SubhanaAllah again. We were
almost speechless to actually discover all white surrounding since we are
originally came from tropical weathered continent.
We, again tried to find the best spot to eat our lunch and
perform our solah along the way through the very cold temperature which I
presumed approximately 2 ̊C. My gloves were wet due to the hail and could not
protect my hands anymore until my both hands swelled that I could not even
scratch my nose with it. Plus, I was not wearing the gloves the entire time
because I was busy taking photos of the dramatic landscape.
We managed to hike to the top of a hill and made our way back
down to ground level then to the swampy area of Blacka Moor. It felt like we
were walking down to Harry Potter dead parents’ house because of the trail
provided in the swamp was freaking us out just by walking on them. The trail
was slippery because of the water and some were even covered by moss. Once we
headed back to the forest, the icy surfaces were almost all disappear. Birds
and other small animals started to make their unique sounds again which we both
interpreted it as a natural therapy. No living things dare to go out in heavy
hail except us. We were both lucky and damned at the same time. Mesmerised by
the astonishing landscape and got flu by the cold temperature. Fair enough I
think.
That experience made me reconsider about how much we complain
and still go through our routine every day without knowing those complaints are
building a character in us in which it is okay to complain once in a while as
long as we made it till the end of our day. It is also known as a humanly
trait. I am sorry for us that we actually do this but I do believe that it is also
the most traditional and the hardest trait to get rid of which is why it also
is worth knowing this fact.
All nature reserves; Mam Tor Hill, Bamford Edge and Ladybower
Reservoir, Wyming Brook, Fox Hagg, Moss Valley Woodlands, Ecclesall Woods,
Woodhouse Washlands, Woolley Wood and Blacka Moor that Allah has given us
chances to go to, all hit a different spot in our hearts in a good way every
time by taking lessons after experienced multiple difficult tests along the
journey, by allowing ourselves to absorb and by really think about the lessons.
All made me a better thinker as a Muslim and I would be stupid if I don’t use
these lessons in the future. Again, just wanted to restate my aims of writing
this blog which are solely for me and Kak Najwa to remember what we have learnt
along the way during the break and those who read this entry to learn and think
about several new things in reality.
Au revoir, Assalamualaykum..
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