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| Hajjah Mastura |
And I thought I could find inspiration in a meeting with the who's who in the corporate world. I thought wrong. The C-levels (the chiefs) at big corporations are not necessarily the most inspiring people we get to meet in the entire week or month.
Today I met Hajjah Mastura, the smart, more-than-just-a-cleaner lady. She's probably in her 50s. Omigod, she's a hajjah and I dream and dream about going for hajj.
I chanced upon Hajjah Mastura sitting at the ablution area in my office restroom, reading one of her nine novels. She is a regular at the National Library which is a block away from our office. She uses three IDs so she could borrow nine books altogether and would read them in 21 or 15 days, then return them and borrow some more. That's her routine or rather a lifestyle.
I chanced upon Hajjah Mastura sitting at the ablution area in my office restroom, reading one of her nine novels. She is a regular at the National Library which is a block away from our office. She uses three IDs so she could borrow nine books altogether and would read them in 21 or 15 days, then return them and borrow some more. That's her routine or rather a lifestyle.
She was reading 'Biru Ungu Cinta' ['Blue Purple Love'] heh heh...how romantic. I said to Hajjah Mastura, our 'Chief Janitor Officer': "Your children must be avid readers too." She replied quite flatly, "No." And it sounded more like: "Hello, I am more cultured than them." But she quickly added proudly, "My eldest is getting her degree."
I don't think the Chiefs out there read as much. Not even the Chief Learning Officers, I bet. Not me. And shame on me.
Inspiring moments are truly precious. "Oh wow" moments are rare, especially in office buildings. So what has this Chief Janitor Officer taught me? We must have both a profession and a vocation. They might not always be in sync, but pursue them we must.
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