Category: Life

Beauty, Caits Meissner, Health, Life, Love, photography, Poetry

Recipe For Grounding, a poem by Caits Meissner

Raidah Shah Idil

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Please hop on over to The Elephant Journal for this beautiful, beautiful poem by my poetic mentor, Caits Meissner: Recipe For Grounding. Read it out loud, whisper it to yourself, feel the words resonate through your soul.

May this poem inspire you to stand tall, grow roots, and simply be.

(If you haven’t already, I encourage you to be a reading member of The Elephant Journal for only $13 per year. Support this gorgeous independent press and its writers!)

I took this picture at The University of Life, at Janda Baik. It’s truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stepped into.

Health, Life

Raw milk, by Bright Cow

Raidah Shah Idil

bright cow logoOne of the best things about living in Malaysia is our access to delicious, creamy and nutritious RAW MILK!

That’s right folks, unpasteurized and unhomogenised milk is delivered to my doorstep twice a week at the amazing price of 8 ringgit per bottle (1 litre). It is literally the best milk I’ve tasted.

If you’d like to learn more about it, you can hop on over to their website.

Also, Poskod MY ran a lovely article on Bright Cow.

For those curious about the health benefits of raw milk, click here.

Drink some Bright Cow milk and notice the difference!

 

Health, Life

Love, Marriage and Bipolar disorder – My SISTERS article

Raidah Shah Idil

I was inspired to write this article after watching The Silver Linings Playbook for the second time. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the book, by Matthew Quick. I can totally see why Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for her brilliant performance. Bradley Cooper has really grown as an actor since his days in Alias!

I’d like to thank Tamara Redfern, life coach extraordinaire, for helping me bring my article to life.

I spotted an error in the second paragraph in my article: I’ve interviewed a writer with Bipolar Type 1, Sara (pen name) and her husband, Ali (pen name), who does not have bipolar. I’ve also interviewed Tamara Redfern, Sara’s life coach, who also has bipolar.

Sorry about that, folks. Nobody is classified as an illness!

art, Beauty, Life, Love, Poetry

My first published poems are up!

Raidah Shah Idil

Screen-Shot-2014-03-04-at-5.34.43-PM-165x200I’m thrilled to share that my first set of published poems are up!

Please scroll down Cait Meissner’s website and download the free course anthology titled “Armed Only With Our Souls”. Thank you Caits and the lovely ladies of the April Digging Deep, Facing Self group – I am honoured to have tread that path of creative expression and healing with you.

To any woman who is on the precipice of change but feels stuck…I urge you to sign up, do the hard growth work, and marvel at the outcome.

Life, Permaculture

Stop the EKVE highway cutting through Selangor State Park

Raidah Shah Idil

vVxxPvBOKGMWCxy-556x313-noPadMalaysia needs your help! So much greenery is being cut down to make way for ‘progress’. Rapid deforestation will mean longer droughts, stricter water rationing, and even more polluted air.

Please help the people of Malaysia by signing the following petition about the proposed EKVE highway. Share this with your friends and family. Save our rainforests! The deadline is Monday – tomorrow.

Stop the EKVE from Cutting through the Selangor State Park : Selangor’s Water Tower

Beauty, Life, Mark Gonzales, Writing

Reflections on my book launch with @markgonzales @mayfahmi @sarasaleh #wagebeauty

Raidah Shah Idil

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(Photo credit: Subhi Be)

WOW. That’s all I’m sayin’. Being on the “A Word’s Worth” panel with May Fahmi, Sara Saleh, and Mark Gonzales sure was inspiring! It’s so refreshing to be part of a dialogue about the written word because sometimes, the act of writing can be isolating. I really benefited from the creative energy buzzing in that room.

As much as we enjoyed listening to Mark Gonzales speak, I appreciated his curiosity about what the rest of us had to say. May and Sara, I’m SO thrilled to hear that your screenplay is being turned into a short film and I cannot wait to watch it!

Thank you, the LMA team, for giving me the opportunity to be a panelist as well as showcase my book. Reading out the first chapter of Finding Jamilah and The Story of Yusuf really brought back my sense of wonder. It’s so easy to get caught up in the drama and back and forth of editing and publication. My book launch was a reminder of the love I have for writing and story-telling.

I’d also like to thank all my friends and family who came to my book launch, as well as those who couldn’t make it. I couldn’t have gotten this far without your love, prayers and support. Here’s to many more book launches!

For all aspiring writers who haven’t yet published – keep writing! I hope that your stories will see the light of day, the way mine have. That being said, writing is a craft and an art that takes years to refine, so enjoy the journey. Do your part, and let things unfold.

On another note, I took away three gems after listening to Mark Gonzales:

1) Vulnerability is strong, and not weak. #fiercevulnerability

2) We can choose to tell the same stories of our hurt and oppression, or we can write better ones of where we want to be. https://www.facebook.com/narrativegrowth

3) When writing/creating art, remember our values, vision and non-negotiables.

I wasn’t able to attend any other events with Mark Gonzales because of my hectic travel schedule, but I’m hoping to be part of a team who’ll host him in KL, Malaysia! We have amazing food there…#wagebeauty #tehtarik

 

Life

#prayforMH370

Raidah Shah Idil

sky-1438001-2-m“Pray for MH370,” a Malaysian friend wrote on our Whatsapp group chat, on Saturday morning.

I was in Singapore at the time, getting ready to catch the bus back to KL. My husband’s uncle turned on the television and we watched the breaking news on the missing MAS flight.

Since then, TV channels and radio stations have been updating us on the search and rescue mission. There isn’t much new information, reflecting the vast expanse of ocean which the rescue teams are searching. It’ll take time for anything concrete to surface. All we can do is wait and pray.

To make things worse, Twitter and other forms of social media were generating false leads – the false rumour about the plane landing at Nanming being an example – showing the danger of speculation during this stressful time. Click here for the official media statement from Malaysian Airlines.

As I write this from KL, I can testify to the general mood of anxiety and concern, and the heartfelt prayers murmured by everyone I speak to. So many of us are frequent fliers, and what happened to the passengers of MH370 speaks to a subconscious fear within many of us. Ultimately, there is so much beyond our control.

I’m praying for the missing passengers and their families. I can’t begin to imagine the uncertainty and fear faced by everyone involved. Whatever the outcome, I pray that eventually, our hearts will find rest.

Life, Permaculture

Water cut in KL

Raidah Shah Idil

kampungUnbelievably, while living in tropical Malaysia, I’ve found myself in the middle of a water cut.

There was barely enough water from the tap for me to make wudu. And we actually have a water storage tank! I thought my water-rationing Jordan days were over.

SubhanAllah. Having uninterrupted tap water is a blessing that is so easily taken for granted, especially in countries that ordinarily have a lot of rainfall.

This news article explains the reason for the water cut, which started yesterday morning. Alas, one of the MRT construction works accidentally burst a water main. This translates to no municipal water for folks like me – 1 million residents, in total. Meanwhile, there are also water cuts in Hulu Langat because of ammonia contamination in Langat River.

Please pray for us and for others in countries with little or no access to clean water. With all this lack of rain, think of ways to harvest rainwater for yourself and your families.

Based on the weather forecast for KL, from the Malaysian Meteorological Department website, it looks like there’ll be rain on Wednesday and Thursday. InshaAllah, Ya Rabb!

Life

Good Morning, Malaysia!

Raidah Shah Idil

skyscraper-2-1355123-mI can’t believe it!

My husband I touched down on Malaysian soil on Saturday night. It feels so surreal to know that this time, I won’t be flying back to my home in Sydney. Goodbye Sydney, hello Kuala Lumpur!

I’m really glad that the weather is mercifully cool thanks to the rain. It actually helps to migrate to a tropical country during the summer months, instead of the winter.

I already miss the familiarity of home, and I really miss my family and friends. As I write this, I’m looking forward to their regular visits and will bribe them with offers of tasty food and super cheap pamper packages *ahem*

Here’s to a smooth transition to the next chapter of my life.

Disclaimer: TOO MUCH GOOD FOOOOD!

 

 

 

 

 

freelance, Life, Writing

Peril mag submission

Raidah Shah Idil

Screen-Shot-2013-06-05-at-4.55.41-PMI’m happy to report that I’ve just submitted my Connected/Disconnected piece to Peril Magazine. Click on the link to find out more about the call for submissions. Binaries are always so fascinating (hot/cold, dark/light, good/evil) and it’ll be really interesting to read what gets published.

There’s still time to submit – the deadline is November 1st!

I really enjoyed this piece, Passing As An Asian. The author made me chuckle at several points, and I loved how she drew her piece to a close. The peaceful, funny and reflective note made me think about my own life and where I am today. There’s some real gems in Peril Magazine, so trawl through and enjoy!