Hope this helps.

Today's the second day of Ramadhan..and the first day that I would start everything all over again. A new life as a person.. now that syaitans are all locked up, the only battle within me is my own hawa nafsu. Be the best that I can be, even though I know there are mountains of things to learn and discover to become the best person I can be. I shall persevere, if God wills :) And I seek forgiveness from Him, for there is no one but He could forgive me. Ameen.

Now, can you answer this question of mine that I've been having in my head? It says:

Do people in general, when they observe other people, tend to remember the bad characteristics more easily than the good ones?

I don't know. But obviously if that person shows good characteristics all the time I'd give that person a 10 (out of 10 :P) in terms of goodness. What if that person there soon or later shows his or her weakness for the first time to me? Will I then lose respect for him/her or treat him/her differently? That's just not fair for me to do that, does it? No, I don't think it's fair at all.

This is because, as we all know it, people have their strenghs and weaknesses. And each person is unique; having some advantage of that and some disadvantage of this. We do know, yet how often do we remember it? More often than not we tend to have a negative impression of the person, even though it only lasts for a few seconds. But sometimes even though that negative impression would last briefly, it will reoccur in our minds and there you go again, another bad thought about the poor person.

This is where Islam is the solution to all problems in life. We all need to teach ourselves to be understanding, to be forgiving and loving to one and another all the time, not just during a month that is free from all syaitans. Perangai berburuk sangka, even that lasts for 1 second shouldn't exist in muslims, as that would just deteriorate us even further. Accept people's weaknesses if there are any, but never dwell on it. Cherish the person's positive characteristics, talk about them and remember them forever. If you think you can help the person to improve, then by all halal means, GO FOR IT.

I'm thankful for having friends who understand me. If they still don't then it's my job to make it clear of where I stand, who I am, how I was brought up, etc. But yeah I'll take it easy :) As much as I want people to understand me, I also need to do the same thing too. The latter's more important I should say.

And Allah knows best (yup, He sure does!)