Do you try hard to be liked? Do you always want other people to have a good impression of you? Are you worried that maybe some persons you know will look at you in a strange way when you wear old fashioned outfit? Will you be disappointed if a friend of yours looks jealous seeing you holding your brand-new expensive smartphone?
If you care very much about how other people perceive you, it's a sign that you are a normal human being. It's normal when you have an intention to let others say something good about you. You wear nice fancy clothes to look stylish in front of other people. You decorate your house beautifully in order to make your guests feel comfortable and say something nice about you and your house. You put on enough makeup for your face to let others think that you are freshly fine when they look at you or sit near you.
However, I think if you try too hard to make others always have good opinions about you, there's a big possibility that you will become someone who is not the real you. You will do anything to look perfect even if you need to borrow a large sum of money for your perfect look. You will try hard to do good deeds in front of other people even if it doesn't come from your heart.
With your perfect look, you will get what you want: other people think that you are rich, you have everything, you have a happy life. They praise you, they choose you to be a role model, they adore you.
With your good deeds that you've done in front of other people, you will be considered generous, kind, caring, good-hearted. People adore you. People like you.
But of course, the after-effect is coming back to you: you have to pay back the money that you've borrowed for your perfect look. And, you need to always update your stylish look with new items. That means more money to spend.
Or you can be mentally exhausted and in a great depression. Why? Because you help others for the sake of good reputation. You help others with your logical thinking saying that you must do it so that other people will think that you are a good person. In that way your brain works harder because of the 'support' from your desire to show off. That results in great exhaustion.
Isn't it gracefully simple when you apply baby powder on your face just because you feel that the fragrance of the powder can boost your mood? And if someone compliments you because you look cute after applying the powder onto your face, you can take that as a bonus.
And doesn't it feel peaceful when you want to help somebody just because your heart tells you to do it? Then if there's somebody else seeing you doing it and he thinks that you're a kind person, that's a bonus for you.
So, don't expect others to perceive your life. They have their own life to care about and to enjoy, and so do you.
02/10/2018
There is Nothing Wrong with Being Quiet
Quiet persons are often judged as shy, boring, uncommunicative, and incompetent. Yes, it's true that they don't communicate much. Yes, it's also true they often look shy or they are actually shy. But when they are judged as incompetent, that hurts them so bad. When they are judged as boring, they may even judge talkative persons boring.
I've heard many teachers complaining about having passive, quiet students (though sometimes they complain too if they cannot control their crowded students 😅). Those teachers think that they face a big problem if their students are very quiet. They are less motivated to teach if their students don't show their energy.
Don't those teachers ever think that those quiet students' brain has much more energy than their mouth? Their mouth doesn't want to open if they realize that there will be so many other students listening to them. Their brain actually has so much to say, but because they don't want to be the center of attention, they choose to be silent.
I remember when I was at my high school. The school sent me to join a vocational competition. I got the best five. When I brought my trophy to school, one of my teachers said to me, "Retno, you could have become the first, second, or third champion if you had given more answers in the interview test."
Hearing that statement, I just smiled, but I screamed at heart, "I didn't even want to join that exhausting competition!!"
So, let us not misjudge. Every student, quiet or not, must have something bright in their brain. They are born not to be underestimated, but to be appreciated.
I've heard many teachers complaining about having passive, quiet students (though sometimes they complain too if they cannot control their crowded students 😅). Those teachers think that they face a big problem if their students are very quiet. They are less motivated to teach if their students don't show their energy.
Don't those teachers ever think that those quiet students' brain has much more energy than their mouth? Their mouth doesn't want to open if they realize that there will be so many other students listening to them. Their brain actually has so much to say, but because they don't want to be the center of attention, they choose to be silent.
I remember when I was at my high school. The school sent me to join a vocational competition. I got the best five. When I brought my trophy to school, one of my teachers said to me, "Retno, you could have become the first, second, or third champion if you had given more answers in the interview test."
Hearing that statement, I just smiled, but I screamed at heart, "I didn't even want to join that exhausting competition!!"
So, let us not misjudge. Every student, quiet or not, must have something bright in their brain. They are born not to be underestimated, but to be appreciated.
08/09/2018
Fact or Opinion?
When I was with some friends talking about English grammar, we had a little debate about the use of simple present tense. We had a difficulty in defining whether some statements belonged to facts or opinions. According to Azar (1989), it is used for general statements of fact and to express everyday activity. One example of general statements of fact is: The moon shines at night. This statement is, no doubt, a very true fact. Everybody in this world will agree to that fact.
Then one of my friends gave an example of fact statement: Justin Beiber sings perfectly. Because I am not a fan of Justin Beiber, I protested. I said that it was only an opinion, not a fact. But she insisted that it was a fact. Then I realized why she made that statement. It was because she adored him so much.
After some hilarious debate, we finally concluded that simple present tense is also used to express an opinion. A statement like Chris Evans is handsome is just an opinion. For ladies who love to look at his face, including me, that statement feels like a fact. But for others who don't adore him or even envy him will say that the statement is just an opinion.
For those who can really see that the earth is round like a ball, there comes the general statement of fact that the earth is round. So we don't have to argue with those who cannot really see that the earth is round. Those people will make a statement like this: The earth is not round. The earth is flat.(Or the earth feels flat.)
Like what Marcus Aurelius said long long time ago: Everything we hear is an opinion; not a fact. Everything we see is perspective; not the truth.
Then one of my friends gave an example of fact statement: Justin Beiber sings perfectly. Because I am not a fan of Justin Beiber, I protested. I said that it was only an opinion, not a fact. But she insisted that it was a fact. Then I realized why she made that statement. It was because she adored him so much.
After some hilarious debate, we finally concluded that simple present tense is also used to express an opinion. A statement like Chris Evans is handsome is just an opinion. For ladies who love to look at his face, including me, that statement feels like a fact. But for others who don't adore him or even envy him will say that the statement is just an opinion.
For those who can really see that the earth is round like a ball, there comes the general statement of fact that the earth is round. So we don't have to argue with those who cannot really see that the earth is round. Those people will make a statement like this: The earth is not round. The earth is flat.(Or the earth feels flat.)
Like what Marcus Aurelius said long long time ago: Everything we hear is an opinion; not a fact. Everything we see is perspective; not the truth.
25/08/2018
Empat Hal yang Tidak Usah Dibagi ke Orang Lain
Ada yang bilang berbagi itu indah. Pasti indah kalau yang dibagi adalah rejeki dan kabar baik. Ketika ada anak sekolah berbagi bekal makan siang dengan teman sekelasnya yang tidak membawa bekal, pasti ada rasa kebahagiaan. Si anak yang membagi bekalnya akan merasa bahagia karena dia bisa mengajak temannya mencicipi masakan ibunya yang lezat. Si anak yang mendapatkan bagian bekal itu pun akan sangat berterima kasih karena dia sudah mendapatkan tenaga untuk melanjutkan pelajaran.
Siapa yang tidak ikut merasa bahagia apabila ada seorang teman memberikan kabar bahwa dia akhirnya akan menikah? Sahabat dekat dan kerabat dari orang yang akan menikah itu pasti dengan senang hati akan datang ke pesta pernikahannya dan mendoakan untuk kebahagiannya.
Namun, berbagi pun ada batasannya. Ada kalanya, apa yang Anda bagikan kepada orang lain itu justru akan membuat orang lain itu menyimpulkan tentang Anda. Walaupun Anda mempunyai prinsip "gak ngurus", atau tidak peduli apa kata orang, tetapi ada baiknya hentikan kebiasaan membagi 4 hal berikut ini: (1) kehidupan pribadi Anda dan keluarga Anda yang bersifat rahasia, (2) aib orang lain atau keluarga lain, (3) tujuan atau goal Anda, dan (4) kebaikan dan kemurahan hari Anda.
Yang pertama, kehidupan pribadi Anda yang bersifat rahasia. Anda tentunya bisa memilah mana bagian dari kehidupan pribadi Anda yang Anda relakan untuk dijadikan konsumsi publik. Anda tentu rela jika bercerita kepada orang lain kalau suami Anda sangat menyukai sup buatan Anda. Atau Anda seorang suami yang keceplosan bercerita kalau istri Anda tidak terlalu suka memakai make up yang mencolok. Sah sajalah cerita-cerita seperti itu. Tidak diceritakan juga tidak masalah. Namun, apa jadinya jika Anda bercerita tentang kebiasaan Anda yang suka mengomeli suami Anda yang sering pulang malam. Jika memang kejadiannya seperti itu, orang lain tidak perlu tahu. Cukup Anda dan suami yang tahu, dan segera selesaikan masalah Anda berdua.
Yang kedua adalah aib orang lain atau keluarga lain. Adakah faedahnya buat Anda jika Anda dengan menggebu-gebu bercerita kepada teman-teman Anda tentang begitu pelitnya Pak Fulan (bukan nama sebenarnya)? Pak Fulan yang nota bene adalah orang paling kaya di desa Anda tapi tidak pernah mau berbagi rejeki dengan tetangga sekitarnya?Apakah dengan bercerita seperti itu Pak Fulan akan seketika mendapatkan hidayah menjadi orang yang dermawan? Saya tidak tahu. Tapi yang jelas, dengan bercerita seperti itu, Anda menunjukkan nilai Anda sendiri di mata orang lain yang mendengarkan cerita Anda.
Berikutnya yang ketiga adalah tujuan Anda. Sudah ditunjukkan oleh beberapa orang yang saya kenal bahwa ketika mereka mengungkapkan keinginan dan tujuannya kepada saya, ada kecenderungan bahwa apa yang dia usahakan untuk lakukan dalam rangka mencapai tujuannya itu tidak terlalu ngoyo, terkesan santai. Ada yang tercapai tapi tidak maksimal, ada pula yang tidak tercapai sama sekali. Contoh kasusnya adalah tujuan untuk mengurangi berat badan😅. Dia bilang bahwa dia punya target untuk mengurangi sekitar 10 kg berat badannya. Dia bilang dia ingin diet dan olahraga teratur. Tapi setelah saya lihat perkembangannya, dia terkesan tidak menunjukkan ambisinya untuk mencapai tujuannya itu. Jadi, lebih baik terlihat semakin lama semakin berkurang berat badannya tanpa bilang ke orang-orang bahwa Anda ingin diet, daripada sudah terlanjur siaran ke orang-orang bahwa Anda ingin diet tapi kok berat badan nampak stabil-stabil saja atau bahkan makin tambah membesar.
Keempat adalah kemurahan hati Anda. Jika Anda bilang ke orang lain bahwa Anda sudah menyumbang sekian juta untuk panti asuhan dan masjid di kota Anda atau di kota lain, saya yakin gaya Anda bercerita adalah gaya yang mencirikhaskan orang yang sombong: bersuara nyaring, kepala agak mendongak, dan dada dibusungkan. Mungkin dengan bercerita seperti itu Anda punya niat untuk memotivasi orang lain agar mau bermurah hati seperti Anda. Namun, jika Anda menuruti semboyan: Sembunyikan amalanmu seperti kamu menyembunyikan dosamu, maka dari lubuk hati Anda yang paling dalam, akan muncul rasa bersalah jika Anda menceritakan kebaikan Anda kepada orang lain.
Selamat berbagi rejeki dan berbagi kabar baik.
Siapa yang tidak ikut merasa bahagia apabila ada seorang teman memberikan kabar bahwa dia akhirnya akan menikah? Sahabat dekat dan kerabat dari orang yang akan menikah itu pasti dengan senang hati akan datang ke pesta pernikahannya dan mendoakan untuk kebahagiannya.
Namun, berbagi pun ada batasannya. Ada kalanya, apa yang Anda bagikan kepada orang lain itu justru akan membuat orang lain itu menyimpulkan tentang Anda. Walaupun Anda mempunyai prinsip "gak ngurus", atau tidak peduli apa kata orang, tetapi ada baiknya hentikan kebiasaan membagi 4 hal berikut ini: (1) kehidupan pribadi Anda dan keluarga Anda yang bersifat rahasia, (2) aib orang lain atau keluarga lain, (3) tujuan atau goal Anda, dan (4) kebaikan dan kemurahan hari Anda.
Yang pertama, kehidupan pribadi Anda yang bersifat rahasia. Anda tentunya bisa memilah mana bagian dari kehidupan pribadi Anda yang Anda relakan untuk dijadikan konsumsi publik. Anda tentu rela jika bercerita kepada orang lain kalau suami Anda sangat menyukai sup buatan Anda. Atau Anda seorang suami yang keceplosan bercerita kalau istri Anda tidak terlalu suka memakai make up yang mencolok. Sah sajalah cerita-cerita seperti itu. Tidak diceritakan juga tidak masalah. Namun, apa jadinya jika Anda bercerita tentang kebiasaan Anda yang suka mengomeli suami Anda yang sering pulang malam. Jika memang kejadiannya seperti itu, orang lain tidak perlu tahu. Cukup Anda dan suami yang tahu, dan segera selesaikan masalah Anda berdua.
Yang kedua adalah aib orang lain atau keluarga lain. Adakah faedahnya buat Anda jika Anda dengan menggebu-gebu bercerita kepada teman-teman Anda tentang begitu pelitnya Pak Fulan (bukan nama sebenarnya)? Pak Fulan yang nota bene adalah orang paling kaya di desa Anda tapi tidak pernah mau berbagi rejeki dengan tetangga sekitarnya?Apakah dengan bercerita seperti itu Pak Fulan akan seketika mendapatkan hidayah menjadi orang yang dermawan? Saya tidak tahu. Tapi yang jelas, dengan bercerita seperti itu, Anda menunjukkan nilai Anda sendiri di mata orang lain yang mendengarkan cerita Anda.
Berikutnya yang ketiga adalah tujuan Anda. Sudah ditunjukkan oleh beberapa orang yang saya kenal bahwa ketika mereka mengungkapkan keinginan dan tujuannya kepada saya, ada kecenderungan bahwa apa yang dia usahakan untuk lakukan dalam rangka mencapai tujuannya itu tidak terlalu ngoyo, terkesan santai. Ada yang tercapai tapi tidak maksimal, ada pula yang tidak tercapai sama sekali. Contoh kasusnya adalah tujuan untuk mengurangi berat badan😅. Dia bilang bahwa dia punya target untuk mengurangi sekitar 10 kg berat badannya. Dia bilang dia ingin diet dan olahraga teratur. Tapi setelah saya lihat perkembangannya, dia terkesan tidak menunjukkan ambisinya untuk mencapai tujuannya itu. Jadi, lebih baik terlihat semakin lama semakin berkurang berat badannya tanpa bilang ke orang-orang bahwa Anda ingin diet, daripada sudah terlanjur siaran ke orang-orang bahwa Anda ingin diet tapi kok berat badan nampak stabil-stabil saja atau bahkan makin tambah membesar.
Keempat adalah kemurahan hati Anda. Jika Anda bilang ke orang lain bahwa Anda sudah menyumbang sekian juta untuk panti asuhan dan masjid di kota Anda atau di kota lain, saya yakin gaya Anda bercerita adalah gaya yang mencirikhaskan orang yang sombong: bersuara nyaring, kepala agak mendongak, dan dada dibusungkan. Mungkin dengan bercerita seperti itu Anda punya niat untuk memotivasi orang lain agar mau bermurah hati seperti Anda. Namun, jika Anda menuruti semboyan: Sembunyikan amalanmu seperti kamu menyembunyikan dosamu, maka dari lubuk hati Anda yang paling dalam, akan muncul rasa bersalah jika Anda menceritakan kebaikan Anda kepada orang lain.
Selamat berbagi rejeki dan berbagi kabar baik.
Kiki is Back
Kiki, one of my male cats, is now back again after missing for almost a year. He is now recovering from an abscess on his neck. Since the day he came back, he has always been calm at home and around the yard. And he has been wanting to eat much but he cannot do it due to his abscess. For now, his favorite dish is fish broth.
On the first day of his coming back, Keni, his brother, was furious at Kiki. But Kiki didn't want to have conflicts with Keni, so he always kept a distance when Keni was around. And when Kiki met Domi, the oldest cat, Kiki showed no signs of fear, anger, or hate. Domi still looked patient when he saw Kiki. Meanwhile, Gogon, the newcomer cat, was so afraid when he saw Kiki. Kiki also hissed at Gogon. I understand this because Kiki never met Gogon before.
The surprising thing came from Gembul's reaction when he saw Kiki for the first time. He sniffed Kiki's nose and Kiki sniffed back. I couldn't say whether they looked confused or amazed at each other. But both of them didn't show any dislike. After sniffing, they were just making a distance; no howling nor hissing. So, I just thought that they smelled their relationship: Kiki knew that Gembul was his nephew and Gembul knew that Kiki smelled like his mother, Krisi.
It has been almost a week since Kiki's coming back. And I see some good progress: Gogon often lays down beside Kiki to relax, Keni also keeps a distance from Kiki when eating, pretending not to see Kiki, and Kiki's energy is slowly back with the help of Gembul and Gogon's cheerfulness. And for Kiki's abscess, I am sure that it can heal because every cat knows how to heal himself or herself.
Lesson learned from Kiki: Though how far and how long you go away, you will always know how to go home, and you will finally go home.
On the first day of his coming back, Keni, his brother, was furious at Kiki. But Kiki didn't want to have conflicts with Keni, so he always kept a distance when Keni was around. And when Kiki met Domi, the oldest cat, Kiki showed no signs of fear, anger, or hate. Domi still looked patient when he saw Kiki. Meanwhile, Gogon, the newcomer cat, was so afraid when he saw Kiki. Kiki also hissed at Gogon. I understand this because Kiki never met Gogon before.
The surprising thing came from Gembul's reaction when he saw Kiki for the first time. He sniffed Kiki's nose and Kiki sniffed back. I couldn't say whether they looked confused or amazed at each other. But both of them didn't show any dislike. After sniffing, they were just making a distance; no howling nor hissing. So, I just thought that they smelled their relationship: Kiki knew that Gembul was his nephew and Gembul knew that Kiki smelled like his mother, Krisi.
It has been almost a week since Kiki's coming back. And I see some good progress: Gogon often lays down beside Kiki to relax, Keni also keeps a distance from Kiki when eating, pretending not to see Kiki, and Kiki's energy is slowly back with the help of Gembul and Gogon's cheerfulness. And for Kiki's abscess, I am sure that it can heal because every cat knows how to heal himself or herself.
Lesson learned from Kiki: Though how far and how long you go away, you will always know how to go home, and you will finally go home.
15/08/2018
The Decreasing Number of Hidden Paradise
What will you do after you watch a video from Youtube about a hidden paradise in a remote village near the mountain in a very small town in your province? Will you share the link of the video to your friends? Or will you plan to visit that hidden place to prove that it is a real paradise?
If you love to see the beauty of nature, there is nothing wrong with telling your close friends and relatives to visit that place. You want them to love the beauty of nature, too. And it's good to enjoy together with the loved ones, strengthening the bond. It really feels exclusively peaceful.
However, it will feel totally different if there are so many other people enjoying the paradise. You cannot hear the sound from the nature. What you hear is human's voice: people chatting, laughing when taking pictures, eating their snack, slurping their soda. Non-nature sounds can also be heard: cars and motorcycles parking, music jingling from ice cream bikes, feet stepping on plastic garbage.
Why on earth are there lots of people coming to that hidden paradise? Of course it's because of the link shared to friends and the people's curiosity and lust for exploring new places. And that means business. The villagers living there will suddenly sell foods, drinks, accessories, and toilet facilities. The much richer persons will build a home-stay for tourists spending the nights or a restaurant providing the best culinary in town.
Then, the local government becomes interested in managing that hidden paradise. Efforts will be made to beautify and to complete the facilities for that hidden paradise. So, the paradise will be open to everyone who wants to devour the place. The local government will get income from that place because of the entrance ticket and the paid tax. A little money from that income will be used for maintenance of that place.
And later on, that place becomes ordinary. Visitors will consider that place not natural, but man-made. Then it becomes boring. There is also no more fresh, clean air because of the exhausts from the buildings and vehicles. The hidden paradise is gone.
Therefore, if you suddenly find a hidden paradise somewhere, try not to expose it with the hope that the hidden paradise will always be hidden.
10/08/2018
Solusi Tidak Harus Canggih
Kecanggihan teknologi sering mendorong banyak orang untuk memecahkan setiap permasalahan dengan fasilitas teknologi canggih. Contoh, jika ada orang yang tersesat ketika berada di luar negeri dan dia tidak mahir berbahasa Inggris atau bahasa negara yang bersangkutan, dia akan meminta bantuan telepon pintarnya untuk bertanya. Bukan dia yang berbicara, melainkan telepon pintarnya yang memanfaatkan Google Translate.
Contoh lain, ketika seorang mahasiswa diberi tugas untuk membuat karya tulis, bukan perpustakaan yang dia tuju untuk melakukan studi pustaka demi mencari landasan teorinya. Dia cukup membuka artikel di internet. Dan terteralah alamat-alamat web di daftar pustaka di karya tulisnya itu. 😀
Saya tidak akan menyalahkan kondisi seperti contoh-contoh di atas karena itu adalah pilihan mereka untuk mencari solusi. Namun, saya teringat sekelumit cerita yang saya pernah baca dari makalah mahasiswa. Sepertinya makalah tersebut bersumber dari internet juga. Cerita ini tentang sebuah perusahaan sabun mandi batangan yang mendapat komplain dari seorang pembeli. Pembeli ini merasa kecewa karena ada kemasan sabun yang ternyata kosong, tidak ada sabun mandi batangan di dalamnya.
Karena perusahaan tidak ingin kejadian itu terulang lagi, bos perusahaan tersebut berusaha mencari cara agar kemasan sabun bisa dipastikan sudah terisi sabun. Dia mendatangkan para ilmuwan dan ahli agar mereka menyumbang ide untuk memecahkan masalah tersebut. Setelah perdebatan panjang di antara ahli dan ilmuwan itu, sebuah alat untuk melihat secara tembus ke kemasan kardus diciptakan.
Bos perusahaan sabun sangat senang dengan solusi itu walaupun dia sudah menghabiskan banyak dana demi mendapatkan solusi tersebut. Rutinitas di pabrik sabun pun sudah lancar lagi. Tidak ada satu pun kemasan sabun yang luput dari perhatian alat canggih itu. Sayangnya, suatu hari alat tersebut rusak. Si bos mendapat kabar bahwa biaya untuk memperbaiki alat itu sangat mahal. Karena dia sudah tidak mau mengeluarkan biaya mahal lagi, dia meminta saran pada karyawannya sendiri.
Ada salah seorang karyawan yang selalu terlihat bersahaja di bagian produksi yang berinisiatif mengambil kipas angin besar. Kemudian dia meletakkannya di tempat di dekat alat canggih itu. Dia mempraktekkan solusinya tersebut. Alhasil, kemasan kardus yang tidak terisi sabun langsung tertiup angin yang berasal dari kipas tersebut.
Jadi, sesulit apapun masalah, jika orang berpikiran sederhana, akan tercipta solusi yang sederhana pula namun jitu. Akan tetapi, jika si pemecah masalah adalah orang yang berpikiran kompleks, sophisticated, canggih, maka terciptalah solusi yang berteknologi canggih pula. Semoga tetap memecahkan masalah.
Contoh lain, ketika seorang mahasiswa diberi tugas untuk membuat karya tulis, bukan perpustakaan yang dia tuju untuk melakukan studi pustaka demi mencari landasan teorinya. Dia cukup membuka artikel di internet. Dan terteralah alamat-alamat web di daftar pustaka di karya tulisnya itu. 😀
Saya tidak akan menyalahkan kondisi seperti contoh-contoh di atas karena itu adalah pilihan mereka untuk mencari solusi. Namun, saya teringat sekelumit cerita yang saya pernah baca dari makalah mahasiswa. Sepertinya makalah tersebut bersumber dari internet juga. Cerita ini tentang sebuah perusahaan sabun mandi batangan yang mendapat komplain dari seorang pembeli. Pembeli ini merasa kecewa karena ada kemasan sabun yang ternyata kosong, tidak ada sabun mandi batangan di dalamnya.
Karena perusahaan tidak ingin kejadian itu terulang lagi, bos perusahaan tersebut berusaha mencari cara agar kemasan sabun bisa dipastikan sudah terisi sabun. Dia mendatangkan para ilmuwan dan ahli agar mereka menyumbang ide untuk memecahkan masalah tersebut. Setelah perdebatan panjang di antara ahli dan ilmuwan itu, sebuah alat untuk melihat secara tembus ke kemasan kardus diciptakan.
Bos perusahaan sabun sangat senang dengan solusi itu walaupun dia sudah menghabiskan banyak dana demi mendapatkan solusi tersebut. Rutinitas di pabrik sabun pun sudah lancar lagi. Tidak ada satu pun kemasan sabun yang luput dari perhatian alat canggih itu. Sayangnya, suatu hari alat tersebut rusak. Si bos mendapat kabar bahwa biaya untuk memperbaiki alat itu sangat mahal. Karena dia sudah tidak mau mengeluarkan biaya mahal lagi, dia meminta saran pada karyawannya sendiri.
Ada salah seorang karyawan yang selalu terlihat bersahaja di bagian produksi yang berinisiatif mengambil kipas angin besar. Kemudian dia meletakkannya di tempat di dekat alat canggih itu. Dia mempraktekkan solusinya tersebut. Alhasil, kemasan kardus yang tidak terisi sabun langsung tertiup angin yang berasal dari kipas tersebut.
Jadi, sesulit apapun masalah, jika orang berpikiran sederhana, akan tercipta solusi yang sederhana pula namun jitu. Akan tetapi, jika si pemecah masalah adalah orang yang berpikiran kompleks, sophisticated, canggih, maka terciptalah solusi yang berteknologi canggih pula. Semoga tetap memecahkan masalah.
Questioning Everything
When you are relaxing yourself, doing nothing important, have you ever wondered about many things related to your life? You maybe wonder why you are very tall. Or perhaps you wonder why you don't get any satisfaction though you have a lot of money. You wonder why it's sometimes cold at night but some other times it's just so freaking hot. You wonder why your life feels so easy whereas somebody else's life looks so tough. You wonder why you feel that all you have said in your prayers is still unanswered.
By wondering and questioning everything that happens, I guess it won't make you foolish. I think it even makes your brain work better because you can think more clearly. When you think of a question, an inner dialog must happen. You try to find an answer to your question. Then, if an inner conversation happens, there is a big possibility that your conscience will interfere your logical thinking. The result is a much wiser answer.
So, don't wait to be an old person to have an old soul. The more intense you coordinate your logical thinking and your conscience when making an inner conversation, the more peaceful soul you will be. The less you will complain about life. The more careful you will talk. The more you will be grateful for being able to breathe and being a dot in this universe.
By wondering and questioning everything that happens, I guess it won't make you foolish. I think it even makes your brain work better because you can think more clearly. When you think of a question, an inner dialog must happen. You try to find an answer to your question. Then, if an inner conversation happens, there is a big possibility that your conscience will interfere your logical thinking. The result is a much wiser answer.
So, don't wait to be an old person to have an old soul. The more intense you coordinate your logical thinking and your conscience when making an inner conversation, the more peaceful soul you will be. The less you will complain about life. The more careful you will talk. The more you will be grateful for being able to breathe and being a dot in this universe.
02/08/2018
Mind-Sticky Quote from A Movie
Recently I watched a horror movie which told about a story of exorcism. I was interested because it was based on a real life event. The title is Crucifixion.
I won't focus on how the story in the movie goes because it is all about Christianity and I am not a Christian. I am, however, more interested in one of the quotes spoken by the priest in the movie. That quote came straight right to my brain, so mind sticky. Here is that priest's quote:
"I think it's important for people to understand that it's not God who seems so unpredictable. He's not the one who failed to answer. We are the ones who have failed to receive."
It is so inspiringly deep because it reminds me of never quitting asking from God what I wish for. The only source is God, Allah. When what I wish for doesn't come true, it's not that He doesn't answer my prayers; he answers my prayers by providing what I truly need, not what I want.
I won't focus on how the story in the movie goes because it is all about Christianity and I am not a Christian. I am, however, more interested in one of the quotes spoken by the priest in the movie. That quote came straight right to my brain, so mind sticky. Here is that priest's quote:
"I think it's important for people to understand that it's not God who seems so unpredictable. He's not the one who failed to answer. We are the ones who have failed to receive."
It is so inspiringly deep because it reminds me of never quitting asking from God what I wish for. The only source is God, Allah. When what I wish for doesn't come true, it's not that He doesn't answer my prayers; he answers my prayers by providing what I truly need, not what I want.
I think it's important for people to understand that it's not God who seems so unpredictable. He's not the one who failed to answer. We are the ones who have failed to receive. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-crucifixion
17/07/2018
Mudahnya Menuju Tenar dengan Berbuat Kesalahan
Hari Minggu kemarin aktivitas senam pagi ibu-ibu di balai desa sudah dimulai lagi. Setelah jeda lama karena bulan puasa dan hari raya, dan karena menunggu selesainya renovasi balai desa, ibu-ibu sudah bersemangat untuk senam pagi lagi.
Saya tinggal di dekat balai desa, dan saya tidak ada keinginan untuk mengikuti acara senam pagi itu. Saya lebih memilih berolahraga sendiri dengan membersihkan rumah dan kandang ayam serta berjemur bersama kucing-kucing saya di halaman rumah. Pernah saya ikut sekali saja, dan saya kapok. Saya tidak mau ikut lagi. Saya risih karena ada beberapa laki-laki yang menonton acara senam pagi itu.
Berbagai jenis musik dimainkan untuk mengiringi senam tersebut, dari mulai house music, lagu daerah, sampai musik dangdut. Saya pun bisa mendengarkan musik itu dengan jelas karena sound system yang dipakai lumayan bagus. Ada satu jenis musik yang saya nikmati dengan bersenam sendiri, yaitu gemu famire. Senamnya santai dan musiknya ramah.
Namun pada hari Minggu kemarin, lagu dangdut yang sedang tenar di internetlah yang dipakai untuk mengiringi senam pagi itu. Lagu itu berjudul "Lagi Syantik". Lagu itu pun sempat viral di Youtube. Walaupun viral di Youtube dan saya sering memutar video di Youtube, saya tidak ada minat sama sekali untuk memutar video lagu itu. Bukannya saya tidak suka lagu dangdut, tapi saya tidak terlalu berminat dengan lagu yang syairnya tidak mempunyai makna yang bagus.
Dari pemakaian judul saja, makna yang tersirat hanya fokus kepada keindahan fisik. Untuk konten syair secara keseluruhan, saya tidak tahu menahu. Jadi saya fokuskan ke penggunaan judul saja. Kata "syantik" pun tidak terdapat di kamus bahasa Indonesia. Yang benar adalah kata "cantik". Jadi, secara kata bahasa Indonesia yang benar, harusnya lagu itu berjudul "Lagi Cantik".
Namun, menilik pemakaian kata "lagi", harusnya kata itu dipakai untuk bahasa informal. Contoh di kalimat adalah: "Jono lagi sibuk. Jangan diganggu." Pemakaian formalnya adalah kata "sedang". Jadi kalimat yang baku adalah: "Jono sedang sibuk. Jangan diganggu."
Oleh karena itu, seandainya judul "Lagi Syantik" menggunakan kata baku, lagu itu seharusnya berjudul "Sedang Cantik". Namun, lagi-lagi ada yang terasa aneh dengan frasa "sedang cantik". Akan terasa wajar apabila ada kalimat seperti ini: "Syahranti sedang sibuk berdandan." Masih terasa wajar juga apabila dibuat menjadi kalimat negatif: "Syahranti sedang tidak sibuk berdandan".
Sedangkan untuk kalimat berikut: "Syahira sedang cantik." Atau "Syahira sedang tidak cantik." Terasa ada yang janggal buat saya yang seorang warga Indonesia yang selalu berusaha menggunakan bahasa Indonesia baku untuk menulis. Kalimat tersebut akan terasa benar jika diganti seperti ini: "Syahira sedang terlihat cantik."
Bagaimanapun juga, itulah dunia hiburan. Ketenaran akan mudah diraih jika sengaja membuat kesalahan.
Saya tinggal di dekat balai desa, dan saya tidak ada keinginan untuk mengikuti acara senam pagi itu. Saya lebih memilih berolahraga sendiri dengan membersihkan rumah dan kandang ayam serta berjemur bersama kucing-kucing saya di halaman rumah. Pernah saya ikut sekali saja, dan saya kapok. Saya tidak mau ikut lagi. Saya risih karena ada beberapa laki-laki yang menonton acara senam pagi itu.
Berbagai jenis musik dimainkan untuk mengiringi senam tersebut, dari mulai house music, lagu daerah, sampai musik dangdut. Saya pun bisa mendengarkan musik itu dengan jelas karena sound system yang dipakai lumayan bagus. Ada satu jenis musik yang saya nikmati dengan bersenam sendiri, yaitu gemu famire. Senamnya santai dan musiknya ramah.
Namun pada hari Minggu kemarin, lagu dangdut yang sedang tenar di internetlah yang dipakai untuk mengiringi senam pagi itu. Lagu itu berjudul "Lagi Syantik". Lagu itu pun sempat viral di Youtube. Walaupun viral di Youtube dan saya sering memutar video di Youtube, saya tidak ada minat sama sekali untuk memutar video lagu itu. Bukannya saya tidak suka lagu dangdut, tapi saya tidak terlalu berminat dengan lagu yang syairnya tidak mempunyai makna yang bagus.
Dari pemakaian judul saja, makna yang tersirat hanya fokus kepada keindahan fisik. Untuk konten syair secara keseluruhan, saya tidak tahu menahu. Jadi saya fokuskan ke penggunaan judul saja. Kata "syantik" pun tidak terdapat di kamus bahasa Indonesia. Yang benar adalah kata "cantik". Jadi, secara kata bahasa Indonesia yang benar, harusnya lagu itu berjudul "Lagi Cantik".
Namun, menilik pemakaian kata "lagi", harusnya kata itu dipakai untuk bahasa informal. Contoh di kalimat adalah: "Jono lagi sibuk. Jangan diganggu." Pemakaian formalnya adalah kata "sedang". Jadi kalimat yang baku adalah: "Jono sedang sibuk. Jangan diganggu."
Oleh karena itu, seandainya judul "Lagi Syantik" menggunakan kata baku, lagu itu seharusnya berjudul "Sedang Cantik". Namun, lagi-lagi ada yang terasa aneh dengan frasa "sedang cantik". Akan terasa wajar apabila ada kalimat seperti ini: "Syahranti sedang sibuk berdandan." Masih terasa wajar juga apabila dibuat menjadi kalimat negatif: "Syahranti sedang tidak sibuk berdandan".
Sedangkan untuk kalimat berikut: "Syahira sedang cantik." Atau "Syahira sedang tidak cantik." Terasa ada yang janggal buat saya yang seorang warga Indonesia yang selalu berusaha menggunakan bahasa Indonesia baku untuk menulis. Kalimat tersebut akan terasa benar jika diganti seperti ini: "Syahira sedang terlihat cantik."
Bagaimanapun juga, itulah dunia hiburan. Ketenaran akan mudah diraih jika sengaja membuat kesalahan.
16/07/2018
Lessons Learned from France versus Croatia
I am not a fan of football. A 90-minute match is something that I really need to re-consider watching it or not. Besides its long duration, it's usually aired on TV some time around midnight, especially those of international matches. That makes me prefer sleeping early to watching the match.
However, because of the World Cup 2018, there were some nights that I couldn't start sleeping early because my husband often watched the matches. It's not because of his "goal, hooray!", but because I needed to prepare a cup of coffee for him (and sometimes for me, too). And because of that too, I happened to watch the very long duration match of Russia vs Croatia on a very early Sunday morning. And I could definitely enjoy watching the match with my husband falling asleep next to me.
Then last night was the final between Croatia and France. I didn't have any intention to watch it because I was physically and emotionally tired after some relatives' sleepover the night before. So I fell asleep next to my husband, who was watching the match. I suddenly woke up because I heard the loud noise from the match. It was still 65 minutes of the match, and the score was 4-1, and I wondered why French team looked so happy. I even had a stupid thought about the new timing rule for the World Cup Final that it only needed 65 minutes to play for the final.
It turned out that French team and the supporters felt sure that they would win the match. That's why they cheered so loud to celebrate their upcoming victory. But sooner after their joy of 4 goals, Croatia managed to add one goal. So the score was 4-2.
Though France is the champion of the World Cup 2018, I got two valuable lessons from watching Croatia try to survive for the remaining 25 minutes.
One lesson is about being persistent. No matter how proud and loud France's joy was, Croatia could still create a goal from a very solid teamwork. A weak team won't ever be able to do that.
Lesson number two is about being patient when facing a defeat. It's fine to feel sad and to cry, like when Luka Modric cried and then the president of Croatia wiped his tears and hugged him. But Modric and the other Croatian players didn't show great depression.
In fact, they should feel proud because they have given their energy and effort to play their very best. Even with lower score, Croatian team is the champion to me.
However, because of the World Cup 2018, there were some nights that I couldn't start sleeping early because my husband often watched the matches. It's not because of his "goal, hooray!", but because I needed to prepare a cup of coffee for him (and sometimes for me, too). And because of that too, I happened to watch the very long duration match of Russia vs Croatia on a very early Sunday morning. And I could definitely enjoy watching the match with my husband falling asleep next to me.
Then last night was the final between Croatia and France. I didn't have any intention to watch it because I was physically and emotionally tired after some relatives' sleepover the night before. So I fell asleep next to my husband, who was watching the match. I suddenly woke up because I heard the loud noise from the match. It was still 65 minutes of the match, and the score was 4-1, and I wondered why French team looked so happy. I even had a stupid thought about the new timing rule for the World Cup Final that it only needed 65 minutes to play for the final.
It turned out that French team and the supporters felt sure that they would win the match. That's why they cheered so loud to celebrate their upcoming victory. But sooner after their joy of 4 goals, Croatia managed to add one goal. So the score was 4-2.
Though France is the champion of the World Cup 2018, I got two valuable lessons from watching Croatia try to survive for the remaining 25 minutes.
One lesson is about being persistent. No matter how proud and loud France's joy was, Croatia could still create a goal from a very solid teamwork. A weak team won't ever be able to do that.
Lesson number two is about being patient when facing a defeat. It's fine to feel sad and to cry, like when Luka Modric cried and then the president of Croatia wiped his tears and hugged him. But Modric and the other Croatian players didn't show great depression.
In fact, they should feel proud because they have given their energy and effort to play their very best. Even with lower score, Croatian team is the champion to me.
03/07/2018
Appreciate Every Little Moment of Happiness and Unhappiness
It is never difficult to appreciate a big moment in which we are very happy. For example, we get a raise in salary. That is a big, important moment. We feel so happy about it and we really appreciate that moment. Another example of a big, happy moment is when a woman is proposed by her boyfriend. She must be overjoyed. She will always remember the day when she was proposed.
What about appreciating a little moment? A little moment when you ride your motorcycle in the dark night, passing through some rice fields with the full moon shining softly? Can you imagine the sensation? A little moment when you greet one person that you don't know the name but you meet him or her every day on the way to your office and he or she greets you back with a big smile? Can you feel that peacefully happy feeling warming your heart? A very little moment when you realize that you can always breathe easily? Isn't that very heartwarming?
And have you ever tried to appreciate the following examples of other little moments: a motorcycle rider or a car driver almost hits you while you are walking or riding carefully? Or a poisonous snake is about to enter your house while you are relaxing in front of your house? Or you suddenly realize that there is some money missing from your wallet? Or some other unwanted little moments?
Some people may find it very difficult to appreciate the above examples of unwanted little moments, including me. So, I exercise myself to try to appreciate those unwanted little moments by changing my perspective. Some days ago, I cursed at a careless motorcycle rider because he almost hit me from the front. But maybe he could not hear my curse because he sped his motorcycle. Yes, it was wrong for me to shout and curse, but that was my sudden reaction of my shock. If I didn't curse, I would probably be unable to control my own motorcycle.
Then after calming down from the shock, I tried to think clearly. The moment that I didn't get a traffic accident was very relieving. Then I also created a thought that the man was maybe about to do something urgent and that's why he was speeding his motorcycle.
So, whether we are happy or unhappy because of one moment, little or big, there is always some way that we can try to appreciate it.
What about appreciating a little moment? A little moment when you ride your motorcycle in the dark night, passing through some rice fields with the full moon shining softly? Can you imagine the sensation? A little moment when you greet one person that you don't know the name but you meet him or her every day on the way to your office and he or she greets you back with a big smile? Can you feel that peacefully happy feeling warming your heart? A very little moment when you realize that you can always breathe easily? Isn't that very heartwarming?
And have you ever tried to appreciate the following examples of other little moments: a motorcycle rider or a car driver almost hits you while you are walking or riding carefully? Or a poisonous snake is about to enter your house while you are relaxing in front of your house? Or you suddenly realize that there is some money missing from your wallet? Or some other unwanted little moments?
Some people may find it very difficult to appreciate the above examples of unwanted little moments, including me. So, I exercise myself to try to appreciate those unwanted little moments by changing my perspective. Some days ago, I cursed at a careless motorcycle rider because he almost hit me from the front. But maybe he could not hear my curse because he sped his motorcycle. Yes, it was wrong for me to shout and curse, but that was my sudden reaction of my shock. If I didn't curse, I would probably be unable to control my own motorcycle.
Then after calming down from the shock, I tried to think clearly. The moment that I didn't get a traffic accident was very relieving. Then I also created a thought that the man was maybe about to do something urgent and that's why he was speeding his motorcycle.
So, whether we are happy or unhappy because of one moment, little or big, there is always some way that we can try to appreciate it.
26/06/2018
Why I should Vote
Tomorrow, 27 June 2018, I should decide who I will choose to be the rulers of the town and the province where I live. The problem is that I don't get sufficiently informed about those candidates. Though there are many kinds of campaigns from the media, I still don't have a clue about who to choose.
Those candidates always have fans and followers. I guarantee that those fans and followers will vote for their beloved candidates. And if their candidates are the chosen ones to be the rulers, those chosen rulers will get so many perfect facilities, including big monthly salary. The salary of which money comes from the tax paid by their fans and followers. As for me, because I don't have a very strong like or dislike to those candidates, I only have one reason to vote.
That only reason is my right to use the paper for my voting. That paper is for me to choose who will be the rulers. I don't want anybody else to misuse that paper if I don't come to vote. So, tomorrow, I will just follow my instinct to choose number 1, 2, 3, or 4, or all 😅.
Those candidates always have fans and followers. I guarantee that those fans and followers will vote for their beloved candidates. And if their candidates are the chosen ones to be the rulers, those chosen rulers will get so many perfect facilities, including big monthly salary. The salary of which money comes from the tax paid by their fans and followers. As for me, because I don't have a very strong like or dislike to those candidates, I only have one reason to vote.
That only reason is my right to use the paper for my voting. That paper is for me to choose who will be the rulers. I don't want anybody else to misuse that paper if I don't come to vote. So, tomorrow, I will just follow my instinct to choose number 1, 2, 3, or 4, or all 😅.
Hospital Hospitality or Hostility?
Last week I had a motorcycle accident which forced me to go to the emergency room of a small health center in a small district in Ponorogo. There were three staff taking care of me, cleaning my wounds. My husband, who was also injured, was also taken care of. Because my right eye was bleeding, one of the staff told me that I needed to go to a bigger health center for a better intensive care. She said that the facility to check my eye condition was not available in that small health center.
After some minutes of taking a rest in that emergency room, my husband and I decided to continue our trip to go home by our motorcycle, which was still fine to ride after the accident. Before we left that small health center, those three staff were politely asking us not to say to the staff of the bigger health center that we had visited that small health center. Otherwise, I would be rejected to enter the bigger emergency room. I was asked to say that a nurse in a village had taken care of me.
When we arrived at a bigger health center in my town, my husband sent me to the emergency room while he dealt with the paperwork of my entrance. I laid myself down on one bed in that room. There were more than 10 patients waiting to be treated. I saw two nurses standing near some beds. I thought they were taking care of the patients on the beds near them. So I waited patiently for my turn to be treated.
What really shocked and annoyed me was the attitude of the other staff who were not taking care of the patients and who were sitting and chatting in the reception area. They were talking and laughing and complaining so loud; talking about the food they ordered that had not arrived yet, laughing at some random things, complaining about coming to work on holidays.
I was wondering while listening to all of those: Are all big emergency rooms crowded and noisy like this? How do the patients waiting in line to be treated feel when listening to those noises? How come those noisy staff don't realize that their noise really disturbs?
So, I sat on my bed. I wanted to see those noisy faces. A few seconds later, a delivery guy came in. He brought the ordered food to the reception area. After it was paid, all the staff came to that area to enjoy the food, including the staff who was taking care of a patient.
I saw that and I was sad. They were having a party in front of me and other sick patients. They seemed to show no sympathy and empathy.
But I was calming down myself. I just thought that they were very hungry because they had taken care of many patients on that day. I thought that way to ease the pain of my wounds.
When finally a nurse took care of me, she easily said that my wounds were not serious. I didn't need to be hospitalized.
I thanked God because I didn't have to deal with those uncaring staff any longer. I thanked God because I got this accident so I could know the quality of the service from that big health center. Totally different from that small health center in a small district.
After some minutes of taking a rest in that emergency room, my husband and I decided to continue our trip to go home by our motorcycle, which was still fine to ride after the accident. Before we left that small health center, those three staff were politely asking us not to say to the staff of the bigger health center that we had visited that small health center. Otherwise, I would be rejected to enter the bigger emergency room. I was asked to say that a nurse in a village had taken care of me.
When we arrived at a bigger health center in my town, my husband sent me to the emergency room while he dealt with the paperwork of my entrance. I laid myself down on one bed in that room. There were more than 10 patients waiting to be treated. I saw two nurses standing near some beds. I thought they were taking care of the patients on the beds near them. So I waited patiently for my turn to be treated.
What really shocked and annoyed me was the attitude of the other staff who were not taking care of the patients and who were sitting and chatting in the reception area. They were talking and laughing and complaining so loud; talking about the food they ordered that had not arrived yet, laughing at some random things, complaining about coming to work on holidays.
I was wondering while listening to all of those: Are all big emergency rooms crowded and noisy like this? How do the patients waiting in line to be treated feel when listening to those noises? How come those noisy staff don't realize that their noise really disturbs?
So, I sat on my bed. I wanted to see those noisy faces. A few seconds later, a delivery guy came in. He brought the ordered food to the reception area. After it was paid, all the staff came to that area to enjoy the food, including the staff who was taking care of a patient.
I saw that and I was sad. They were having a party in front of me and other sick patients. They seemed to show no sympathy and empathy.
But I was calming down myself. I just thought that they were very hungry because they had taken care of many patients on that day. I thought that way to ease the pain of my wounds.
When finally a nurse took care of me, she easily said that my wounds were not serious. I didn't need to be hospitalized.
I thanked God because I didn't have to deal with those uncaring staff any longer. I thanked God because I got this accident so I could know the quality of the service from that big health center. Totally different from that small health center in a small district.
12/06/2018
Mengapa Sulit Menghafal Nomor Telpon Sendiri?
Saya sering mendapati beberapa orang, terutama remaja, yang kesulitan menyebutkan nomer HPnya tanpa harus melihat HP dia sendiri. Saya pernah mencoba meminta keponakan saya untuk menyebutkan nomor HPnya tanpa terlebih dulu membuka phone book di HP dia.Yang terjadi adalah protes dari dia. Menurut dia, nomor HP tidak perlu dihafalkan karena sudah tersimpan di HP dia. Lalu saya tanya apa yang akan dia lakukan jika HPnya hilang. Dia menjawab dengan berapi-api kalau HPnya tidak akan dia biarkan hilang. Dia akan berhati-hati membawa dan menjaganya. Ketidakmauan dia untuk menghafal nomer HPnya tergantikan dengan kehati-hatian dia dalam menjaga HP tersebut. 😁
Memang ada beberapa orang yang masih mau menyimpan nomor HPnya sendiri di memori otaknya. Bahkan bukan hanya nomor HP dia saja yang dia hafalkan. Nomor HP beberapa orang yang penting buat dia juga dia hafalkan. Hal ini pastilah menguntungkan bagi dia. Otak akan jadi sangat terlatih untuk mengingat. Untuk bisa mengucapkan satu deret angka sebanyak 11 atau 12 digit di luar kepala, seseorang membutuhkan konsentrasi. Ada beberapa pola menghafal angka-angka di nomor HPnya, misalnya xxx xxx xxx xxx. Atau ada juga yang berpola berikut: xxx xxxx xxxx. Saya mempunyai 2 pola untuk menyebutkan 2 nomor HP saya: (1) xxx xxx xxx xxx, dan (2) xx xxxx xx xxxx.
Bagi saya, tidak ada yang istimewa dari cara menyebutkan digit-digit angka tersebut, entah itu setiap 3 digit, setiap 4 digit, atau 12 digit sekaligus. Jika ada yang berpendapat bahwa cara menyebutkan digit nomor HP berkaitan dengan tingkat intelegensinya, silakan saja. Semua bebas berpendapat, yang penting ada dasarnya. Namun yang jelas, kemauan dan kemampuan menghafalkan nomor HP kita sendiri menunjukkan bahwa otak kita masih bisa berfungsi untuk berkonsentrasi. Otak kita juga tidak akan menolak jika disuruh untuk menghafalkan nomor-nomor lain (nomor kartu kredit, nomor rekening PDAM, dan nomor rekening listrik).
Jika ternyata disadari bahwa penggunaan HP sudah terlalu membuat kita malas berkonsentrasi dalam melakukan hal-hal yang di luar penggunaan HP itu sendiri, ada baiknya disediakan waktu khusus untuk kita melakukan sesuatu yang membutuhkan konsentrasi (contoh: memasak, membaca, menyulam, berkebun, dan lain-lain), dengan kondisi bahwa HP sedang berada jauh dari jangkauan tangan kita.
Memang ada beberapa orang yang masih mau menyimpan nomor HPnya sendiri di memori otaknya. Bahkan bukan hanya nomor HP dia saja yang dia hafalkan. Nomor HP beberapa orang yang penting buat dia juga dia hafalkan. Hal ini pastilah menguntungkan bagi dia. Otak akan jadi sangat terlatih untuk mengingat. Untuk bisa mengucapkan satu deret angka sebanyak 11 atau 12 digit di luar kepala, seseorang membutuhkan konsentrasi. Ada beberapa pola menghafal angka-angka di nomor HPnya, misalnya xxx xxx xxx xxx. Atau ada juga yang berpola berikut: xxx xxxx xxxx. Saya mempunyai 2 pola untuk menyebutkan 2 nomor HP saya: (1) xxx xxx xxx xxx, dan (2) xx xxxx xx xxxx.
Bagi saya, tidak ada yang istimewa dari cara menyebutkan digit-digit angka tersebut, entah itu setiap 3 digit, setiap 4 digit, atau 12 digit sekaligus. Jika ada yang berpendapat bahwa cara menyebutkan digit nomor HP berkaitan dengan tingkat intelegensinya, silakan saja. Semua bebas berpendapat, yang penting ada dasarnya. Namun yang jelas, kemauan dan kemampuan menghafalkan nomor HP kita sendiri menunjukkan bahwa otak kita masih bisa berfungsi untuk berkonsentrasi. Otak kita juga tidak akan menolak jika disuruh untuk menghafalkan nomor-nomor lain (nomor kartu kredit, nomor rekening PDAM, dan nomor rekening listrik).
Jika ternyata disadari bahwa penggunaan HP sudah terlalu membuat kita malas berkonsentrasi dalam melakukan hal-hal yang di luar penggunaan HP itu sendiri, ada baiknya disediakan waktu khusus untuk kita melakukan sesuatu yang membutuhkan konsentrasi (contoh: memasak, membaca, menyulam, berkebun, dan lain-lain), dengan kondisi bahwa HP sedang berada jauh dari jangkauan tangan kita.
10/06/2018
Why Ranking Preachers
There are very many famous Indonesian Islamic preachers. Some of them preach on TV and Youtube, some others are often invited by some Islamic communities to preach in a certain village or town. The personal life of some of those famous preachers, especially those who preach on TV, is sometimes also exposed.
For me, I don't watch their preach on TV. One reason is that because of the commercial breaks. Another reason is because I haven't found for myself a truly inspiring Islamic preacher on TV. And when there is a famous preacher coming to my town, I don't come to that because I can't stand the crowd. So, Youtube is my choice to watch a preacher giving a preach. I just watch if I want to.
Because I don't know much about those famous Indonesian Islamic preachers, I won't do any ranking on them. Maybe I can rank them based on their handsomeness or their voice quality, but that ranking idea is very ridiculous. If there are some Indonesian bloggers or youtubers who want to rank them based on whatever (as long as they use polite language), that is still fine because they have their own opinion.
But I am now still confused about the government's decision to rank them. There are only 200 Indonesian Islamic preachers who are recommended by the government. What are the government's considerations to choose those 200 preachers to be recommended? I don't have any clue about why the government recommends 200, not 500, or not 50. I don't understand what is the government's true reason to rank them.
Have the persons in the government who are in charge of ranking those preachers been expertise enough at understanding Islam as a whole? More expertise than those preachers recommended and unrecommended?
For me, I don't watch their preach on TV. One reason is that because of the commercial breaks. Another reason is because I haven't found for myself a truly inspiring Islamic preacher on TV. And when there is a famous preacher coming to my town, I don't come to that because I can't stand the crowd. So, Youtube is my choice to watch a preacher giving a preach. I just watch if I want to.
Because I don't know much about those famous Indonesian Islamic preachers, I won't do any ranking on them. Maybe I can rank them based on their handsomeness or their voice quality, but that ranking idea is very ridiculous. If there are some Indonesian bloggers or youtubers who want to rank them based on whatever (as long as they use polite language), that is still fine because they have their own opinion.
But I am now still confused about the government's decision to rank them. There are only 200 Indonesian Islamic preachers who are recommended by the government. What are the government's considerations to choose those 200 preachers to be recommended? I don't have any clue about why the government recommends 200, not 500, or not 50. I don't understand what is the government's true reason to rank them.
Have the persons in the government who are in charge of ranking those preachers been expertise enough at understanding Islam as a whole? More expertise than those preachers recommended and unrecommended?
06/06/2018
Once is Enough
If you want to find something entertaining yet inspiring, watching movies, especially dramas or based on true stories, is one good choice. If you are into comedy, horror, action, or science fiction, you still get the inspiration, too. It depends on how you interpret the meaning of the movie for your source of inspiration. But of course, the inspiration you get is about doing good things, right?
There are times when you watch a nice movie and you want to watch it again and again. Or maybe you don't have any intention to watch it again, but when you know it is being played in front of you, you still can enjoy it. You enjoy it because of the funny stories, the excellent graphics, or perhaps the handsome actor. You have already got some inspiring lessons from that movie the first time you watched it.
However, there are other times when you watch a movie which is so painfully heart touching that you don't want to watch it for the second time. You don't want to watch it anymore because you know the effect while watching it; you can't stop crying. You can't stand feeling the pain and sadness of the actors or animal actors in the movie. Have you ever felt that way? If no, that's not a problem. Maybe you are the type of a person who always considers that watching movies is just about enjoying a pure entertainment. You don't get carried away with the emotion in the movie. If yes, you have the same problem with me.
I won't ever watch these three movies anymore: Black Hawk Down, Eight Below, Hachi: A Dog's Tale. The first time I watched those movies, I couldn't stop crying while watching. There were shootings, killings, and brutalities in Black Hawk Down. But that's not what makes me want to not watch it again. It's the feeling of one soldier (played by Josh Hartnett) who had a war in his own heart about that war. It was his big empathy for the victims and his questioning himself about his essence in that war that made me hard to stop crying. I felt very tired after watching that movie. Perhaps it was because of my hard struggle to be strong when watching the brutalities while finally ending up crying.
About Eight Below and Hachi: A Dog's Tale, remembering some scenes from those movies already makes me try hard to hold back my tears. I am not a dog lover, but my heart melts and my tears flow when seeing a dog's loyalty to his dog friends in Eight Below and a dog's love for his human in Hachi: A Dog's Tale. So, once is enough for me to watch those movies. Once is enough for me to know that animals have feelings, too.
There are times when you watch a nice movie and you want to watch it again and again. Or maybe you don't have any intention to watch it again, but when you know it is being played in front of you, you still can enjoy it. You enjoy it because of the funny stories, the excellent graphics, or perhaps the handsome actor. You have already got some inspiring lessons from that movie the first time you watched it.
However, there are other times when you watch a movie which is so painfully heart touching that you don't want to watch it for the second time. You don't want to watch it anymore because you know the effect while watching it; you can't stop crying. You can't stand feeling the pain and sadness of the actors or animal actors in the movie. Have you ever felt that way? If no, that's not a problem. Maybe you are the type of a person who always considers that watching movies is just about enjoying a pure entertainment. You don't get carried away with the emotion in the movie. If yes, you have the same problem with me.
I won't ever watch these three movies anymore: Black Hawk Down, Eight Below, Hachi: A Dog's Tale. The first time I watched those movies, I couldn't stop crying while watching. There were shootings, killings, and brutalities in Black Hawk Down. But that's not what makes me want to not watch it again. It's the feeling of one soldier (played by Josh Hartnett) who had a war in his own heart about that war. It was his big empathy for the victims and his questioning himself about his essence in that war that made me hard to stop crying. I felt very tired after watching that movie. Perhaps it was because of my hard struggle to be strong when watching the brutalities while finally ending up crying.
About Eight Below and Hachi: A Dog's Tale, remembering some scenes from those movies already makes me try hard to hold back my tears. I am not a dog lover, but my heart melts and my tears flow when seeing a dog's loyalty to his dog friends in Eight Below and a dog's love for his human in Hachi: A Dog's Tale. So, once is enough for me to watch those movies. Once is enough for me to know that animals have feelings, too.
02/06/2018
Being Nice or Being Kind?
You are entering a convenience store. The store assistant is greeting you super politely. Is that store assistant being nice or being kind to you? I think you can sense the difference. If not, you try that by yourself. You make a small talk with a polite tone to a person that you don't know. And you do this thing to some strangers in a day. After you finish at the end of the day, how do you feel? If you feel fine, the small talk thing that you have made with some strangers is your being kind. But if you feel so goddamn tired, I think you have tried to be nice for the whole day.
Yes, being nice is tiring. I guess some people whose jobs are customer service officers, store assistants, and receptionists will come home very tired. When the night comes for them to go to bed, it's rather difficult to fall asleep. They are not physically tired, but mentally tired. That's because they are being nice for the whole day for the job. They are afraid if they are not talking politely to the customers, bad things will come to them; customers' anger, boss' anger, salary reduction.
But not all persons with those jobs have that quality of life. Many of them are purely being kind. And I am sure they have a lot more energy from their being kind. That act of being kind is like a mental booster. They don't have any fear of being judged or misjudged. They don't even care about others' judgement. All they need to do is to show the real them.
So, let's not be silly. Let's stop our being nice. Let's start being kind to anybody. It gives us much more energy, a better quality of sleep, and, of course, a better quality of life.
Yes, being nice is tiring. I guess some people whose jobs are customer service officers, store assistants, and receptionists will come home very tired. When the night comes for them to go to bed, it's rather difficult to fall asleep. They are not physically tired, but mentally tired. That's because they are being nice for the whole day for the job. They are afraid if they are not talking politely to the customers, bad things will come to them; customers' anger, boss' anger, salary reduction.
But not all persons with those jobs have that quality of life. Many of them are purely being kind. And I am sure they have a lot more energy from their being kind. That act of being kind is like a mental booster. They don't have any fear of being judged or misjudged. They don't even care about others' judgement. All they need to do is to show the real them.
So, let's not be silly. Let's stop our being nice. Let's start being kind to anybody. It gives us much more energy, a better quality of sleep, and, of course, a better quality of life.
30/05/2018
Why Looking at Screens is Ruining Your Concentration Skill
I often laugh at myself when I watch a certain movie on TV and I recognize the actor/actress' face from other movie but I don't remember the title of the movie. The thing I do that makes me laugh afterwards is trying to google that information by using my smartphone.
So I go to Wikipedia to find more information about that actor/actress. I read the filmography part, and there it is; I manage to help my memory to remember the title of the movie, thanks to Wikipedia. Then I recall my memory about the story from that movie that I have watched. So, when my brain is very busy thinking about that and googling from the smartphone, the movie on TV in front of me is playing.
I feel very ridiculous about that. It is like breaking my concentration from enjoying the movie in front of me. I don't blame my smartphone. I blame myself for placing it near me when I watch the movie. I blame myself for letting my brain recall the title of that actor/actress' other movie. What I should have done is to focus on the movie.
I remember what my teacher had told me long ago about what not to do when reading an English article. She asked me to never open the dictionary when I found some words that I didn't know the meaning. She said that I had to go on reading that article. I could open the dictionary to find the meaning of the difficult words after I finished reading it. I thought maybe she wanted me to guess the meaning of the words from the context while reading.
Then I can finally make a conclusion for myself about what her point is. It is for training my concentration skill. If I often pause when reading just to find the meaning of the difficult words from the dictionary, I will break my concentration. I will not enjoy my reading process.
So now, I try to avoid watching TV programs in which there are some commercial breaks. It means that I limit myself from watching the news, music programs, soap operas, movies on TV, especially national TV channels. Those channels will air their programs with more than five minute commercial breaks for every break. But I still enjoy a movie channel like Fox Movies Premium from cable TV. One whole movie has no commercial breaks on that channel.
Playing games on smartphones can develop our concentration skill? If it is offline, yes it can make us focus on playing and enjoying. But when it must be online, we don't really focus on playing the game because sometimes there is also some advertisement on the screen which will distract our attention.
When it comes to talking about social media and online shopping, those two screen activities are surely focusing on messing up my attention. The notifications of friends' activities on social media application or promotions of sale from an online shopping website can often make me check my phone.
Thanks to the facility of 'uninstall app' or 'disable app' from the smartphone. Right now I am mentally healthy without facebook. The online shopping is sometimes still a magnet for me. But I try to be strict to myself by telling that I don't really need the product that has made my heart beat very fast.
Therefore, if you would like to exercise your own concentration skill, just do anything you like without any distraction. For example, you can make a handicraft. Or you can read a simplified novel without any attempt to pause. Turn off your TV or personal computer and stay away from your smartphone while you are doing it.
So I go to Wikipedia to find more information about that actor/actress. I read the filmography part, and there it is; I manage to help my memory to remember the title of the movie, thanks to Wikipedia. Then I recall my memory about the story from that movie that I have watched. So, when my brain is very busy thinking about that and googling from the smartphone, the movie on TV in front of me is playing.
I feel very ridiculous about that. It is like breaking my concentration from enjoying the movie in front of me. I don't blame my smartphone. I blame myself for placing it near me when I watch the movie. I blame myself for letting my brain recall the title of that actor/actress' other movie. What I should have done is to focus on the movie.
I remember what my teacher had told me long ago about what not to do when reading an English article. She asked me to never open the dictionary when I found some words that I didn't know the meaning. She said that I had to go on reading that article. I could open the dictionary to find the meaning of the difficult words after I finished reading it. I thought maybe she wanted me to guess the meaning of the words from the context while reading.
Then I can finally make a conclusion for myself about what her point is. It is for training my concentration skill. If I often pause when reading just to find the meaning of the difficult words from the dictionary, I will break my concentration. I will not enjoy my reading process.
So now, I try to avoid watching TV programs in which there are some commercial breaks. It means that I limit myself from watching the news, music programs, soap operas, movies on TV, especially national TV channels. Those channels will air their programs with more than five minute commercial breaks for every break. But I still enjoy a movie channel like Fox Movies Premium from cable TV. One whole movie has no commercial breaks on that channel.
Playing games on smartphones can develop our concentration skill? If it is offline, yes it can make us focus on playing and enjoying. But when it must be online, we don't really focus on playing the game because sometimes there is also some advertisement on the screen which will distract our attention.
When it comes to talking about social media and online shopping, those two screen activities are surely focusing on messing up my attention. The notifications of friends' activities on social media application or promotions of sale from an online shopping website can often make me check my phone.
Thanks to the facility of 'uninstall app' or 'disable app' from the smartphone. Right now I am mentally healthy without facebook. The online shopping is sometimes still a magnet for me. But I try to be strict to myself by telling that I don't really need the product that has made my heart beat very fast.
Therefore, if you would like to exercise your own concentration skill, just do anything you like without any distraction. For example, you can make a handicraft. Or you can read a simplified novel without any attempt to pause. Turn off your TV or personal computer and stay away from your smartphone while you are doing it.
25/05/2018
Pasrahnya Tukang Ojek Konvensional
Dua minggu yang lalu, saya ngobrol dengan salah seorang tukang ojek konvensional. Saat itu memang saya sedang menunggu ibu saya yang akan berkunjung ke rumah saya. Saya menunggu ibu di dekat pemberhentian bus. Tak jauh dari situ, saya melihat ada pangkalan ojek konvensional. Saat saya sedang duduk sendirian, saya dihampiri oleh seorang pria separuh baya. Obrolan basa-basi berlanjut ke obrolan yang lebih serius tentang profesinya sebagai tukang ojek konvensional.
Bapak tukang ojek itu awalnya berprasangka bahwa saya juga tukang ojek, karena mungkin penampilan saya saat itu menyerupai tukang ojek; berjaket, bercelana panjang, dan membawa helm cadangan. Saya memaklumi prasangka dia karena memang ada tukang ojek, baik konvensional maupun online, yang berjenis kelamin perempuan. Walaupun saya sudah menjelaskan bahwa saya menjemput ibu saya, dia bilang "Nyari penumpang juga gak papa kok, Bu. Wong niatnya cari rejeki halal kok."
Dia kemudian bercerita bahwa dulu dia sempat tergiur untuk menjadi tukang ojek online. Maka dia kemudian berusaha mengumpulkan uang untuk membeli smartphone. Setelah diterima menjadi tukang ojek online dan mendapatkan fasilitas berupa jaket dan helm dari perusahaan ojek online tersebut, dia menjalani pekerjaan itu. Namun dia hanya bisa bertahan selama tiga hari (entah itu sesuai fakta atau dia membuat ceritanya terkesan dramatis). Dia tidak kuat dengan tekanan kerja sebagai tukang ojek online yang seakan tanpa henti, dari setelah subuh sampai malam hari. Dia merasa seperti tidak diberi kesempatan untuk beristirahat oleh aplikasi ojek tersebut.
Lalu saya bertanya ke dia apakah dia akan terkena sanksi jika tidak mengambil pesanan ojek yang masuk ke dia. Dia tidak mengetahui banyak tentang itu. Yang dia lakukan ketika dia sudah terlalu kelelahan, dia mematikan smartphone miliknya. Dia tidak ingin kondisi motor dan badannya semakin parah. Oleh karena itu, dia memutuskan untuk mengundurkan diri. Dia pun sudah mengembalikan fasilitasnya ke perusahaan. Dia kembali menjadi tukang ojek konvensional.
Dia berusaha legowo dan pasrah dengan nasibnya yang hanya sebagai tukang ojek konvensional. Dia pikir kalau memang rejekinya, akan selalu ada penumpang yang membutuhkan jasa dia karena tidak semua orang memiliki smartphone. Dia bilang "Kerja gini aja sudah bersyukur. Itung-itung motor agak awet dan badan gak terlalu remek."
Kemudian bis yang ditumpangi ibu saya datang. Saya langsung berdiri karena saya lihat ibu saya sudah bersiap turun dari bus. Tukang ojek itu sepertinya baru sadar bahwa saya memang mau menjemput ibu saya; bukannya mau cari penumpang😀. Ketika ibu saya sudah saya bonceng, bapak itu dengan ramah bilang "Monggo, Bu. Hati-hati."
Perkembangan teknologi yang sangat cepat memang membuat beberapa gelintir orang tidak mampu mengikutinya. Beberapa alasannya berkaitan dengan dana dan area; dana yang hanya cukup buat makan sehari-hari, dan area yang tidak terjangkau oleh internet. Namun, dari beberapa gelintir orang itu, masih tetap ada orang yang selalu bersyukur dan menerima apapun yang diperolehnya.
Bapak tukang ojek itu awalnya berprasangka bahwa saya juga tukang ojek, karena mungkin penampilan saya saat itu menyerupai tukang ojek; berjaket, bercelana panjang, dan membawa helm cadangan. Saya memaklumi prasangka dia karena memang ada tukang ojek, baik konvensional maupun online, yang berjenis kelamin perempuan. Walaupun saya sudah menjelaskan bahwa saya menjemput ibu saya, dia bilang "Nyari penumpang juga gak papa kok, Bu. Wong niatnya cari rejeki halal kok."
Dia kemudian bercerita bahwa dulu dia sempat tergiur untuk menjadi tukang ojek online. Maka dia kemudian berusaha mengumpulkan uang untuk membeli smartphone. Setelah diterima menjadi tukang ojek online dan mendapatkan fasilitas berupa jaket dan helm dari perusahaan ojek online tersebut, dia menjalani pekerjaan itu. Namun dia hanya bisa bertahan selama tiga hari (entah itu sesuai fakta atau dia membuat ceritanya terkesan dramatis). Dia tidak kuat dengan tekanan kerja sebagai tukang ojek online yang seakan tanpa henti, dari setelah subuh sampai malam hari. Dia merasa seperti tidak diberi kesempatan untuk beristirahat oleh aplikasi ojek tersebut.
Lalu saya bertanya ke dia apakah dia akan terkena sanksi jika tidak mengambil pesanan ojek yang masuk ke dia. Dia tidak mengetahui banyak tentang itu. Yang dia lakukan ketika dia sudah terlalu kelelahan, dia mematikan smartphone miliknya. Dia tidak ingin kondisi motor dan badannya semakin parah. Oleh karena itu, dia memutuskan untuk mengundurkan diri. Dia pun sudah mengembalikan fasilitasnya ke perusahaan. Dia kembali menjadi tukang ojek konvensional.
Dia berusaha legowo dan pasrah dengan nasibnya yang hanya sebagai tukang ojek konvensional. Dia pikir kalau memang rejekinya, akan selalu ada penumpang yang membutuhkan jasa dia karena tidak semua orang memiliki smartphone. Dia bilang "Kerja gini aja sudah bersyukur. Itung-itung motor agak awet dan badan gak terlalu remek."
Kemudian bis yang ditumpangi ibu saya datang. Saya langsung berdiri karena saya lihat ibu saya sudah bersiap turun dari bus. Tukang ojek itu sepertinya baru sadar bahwa saya memang mau menjemput ibu saya; bukannya mau cari penumpang😀. Ketika ibu saya sudah saya bonceng, bapak itu dengan ramah bilang "Monggo, Bu. Hati-hati."
Perkembangan teknologi yang sangat cepat memang membuat beberapa gelintir orang tidak mampu mengikutinya. Beberapa alasannya berkaitan dengan dana dan area; dana yang hanya cukup buat makan sehari-hari, dan area yang tidak terjangkau oleh internet. Namun, dari beberapa gelintir orang itu, masih tetap ada orang yang selalu bersyukur dan menerima apapun yang diperolehnya.
22/05/2018
Choose: You feel good if you look good OR you look good if you feel good
Are you the type of a woman who loves to wear fancy clothes, expensive jewelry, and a full face of makeup? You must be a lady who is gorgeous to look at. Almost everybody, especially man, is willing to wait for your appearance to adore it, to enjoy it. Some ladies will look at you, either thinking that you show off or they are inspired by how you dress and make up your face.
Or are you the type of a man who loves looking good every day by wearing mix-and-match outfits and some accessories? Oh, you must attract ladies' attention. Some gentlemen will rather envy your look while some others don't even care.
Let's just ignore people's opinion on how you look. Let's focus on you. How do you feel after you make sure that everything related to your appearance is perfect? Do you feel good? Is that feeling good or feeling proud? Well, at least there is a feeling of satisfaction which is worth the money that you spend on those clothes, accessories, and cosmetics. So, based on your taste of appearance, I think you will agree with this quote: You feel good if you look good.
If, on the other hand, you don't really care about how to mix and match clothes, how to choose colors that suit your skin, what accessories to wear on whose wedding party, and so on, I think you will agree with the following quote: You look good if you feel good. On what occasion will you feel good for example? Is it when you read a good book? Is it when you enjoy your solitude with listening to your favorite music? Is it when you have fun climbing a mountain with your lovely spouse?
When you read an interesting book, for example, your eyes are focused. When you focus your eyes, you focus your brain. If your brain is often focused, it means your brain is healthy. I think persons with a healthy brain will look good because they can think clearly, they can make their brain quickly relax, and they can respond quickly if you need them.
So, what is your chosen quote this time? You feel good if you look good? Or you look good if you feel good? You decide.
Or are you the type of a man who loves looking good every day by wearing mix-and-match outfits and some accessories? Oh, you must attract ladies' attention. Some gentlemen will rather envy your look while some others don't even care.
Let's just ignore people's opinion on how you look. Let's focus on you. How do you feel after you make sure that everything related to your appearance is perfect? Do you feel good? Is that feeling good or feeling proud? Well, at least there is a feeling of satisfaction which is worth the money that you spend on those clothes, accessories, and cosmetics. So, based on your taste of appearance, I think you will agree with this quote: You feel good if you look good.
If, on the other hand, you don't really care about how to mix and match clothes, how to choose colors that suit your skin, what accessories to wear on whose wedding party, and so on, I think you will agree with the following quote: You look good if you feel good. On what occasion will you feel good for example? Is it when you read a good book? Is it when you enjoy your solitude with listening to your favorite music? Is it when you have fun climbing a mountain with your lovely spouse?
When you read an interesting book, for example, your eyes are focused. When you focus your eyes, you focus your brain. If your brain is often focused, it means your brain is healthy. I think persons with a healthy brain will look good because they can think clearly, they can make their brain quickly relax, and they can respond quickly if you need them.
So, what is your chosen quote this time? You feel good if you look good? Or you look good if you feel good? You decide.
21/05/2018
Why afraid of aging?
There is nothing wrong with looking pretty and fresh with flawless skin for a woman. That will make her confident and happy. She is happy because she can make others happy by looking at her pretty face. With a simple makeup, she will have that pretty and fresh face skin.
There is also nothing wrong with having a facial treatment for a woman's face. She needs that because of the everyday makeup that makes her skin difficult to 'breathe'. So the skin will be healthier. To do a facial treatment, she can have a variety of choices, from home-made treatment to beauty clinic visit. If she is frugal with her money and wants to go back to nature, she can use things from the kitchen or fridge for facial treatment, such as banana, tomato, or even rice flour (for face mask). If she has a lot of money and wants to look modern, she can visit the best beauty clinic in town.
A little controversy will emerge if some extremely strange substance is used by a beauty clinic to give a facial treatment. One example of this strange substance is applied to Sandra Bullock. I will not mention here what substance is used in the treatment. If you are curious, just google it with 'Sandra Bullock's facial treatment' keywords. And you'll be shocked.
It is okay if Sandra Bullock doesn't want to have many wrinkles on her face because she is an actress. She wants to look flawlessly perfect in front of the camera. But I don't doubt her ability to act, so even if she already has aging skin, her performance in movies will still be inspiring. I guarantee because I love her every movie.
Anyway, Sandra Bullock has her own right to spend her money on that facial treatment, which I think is controversial and which is not a controversy in her opinion. She wants to be forever young to please her fans. In that way, she will remain happy.
Because I am an ordinary person with an ordinary life style, it makes me peaceful to accept the very fact that I age. I try to have a healthy life style because that's a must for me, but I am not denying that I will age. I am not denying that my body will decay eventually. So, I want to have a peaceful, happy soul with my own quote: "To age is to become wiser". To inspire you more, this is a satirically funny quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Do not try to live forever, you will not succeed."
There is also nothing wrong with having a facial treatment for a woman's face. She needs that because of the everyday makeup that makes her skin difficult to 'breathe'. So the skin will be healthier. To do a facial treatment, she can have a variety of choices, from home-made treatment to beauty clinic visit. If she is frugal with her money and wants to go back to nature, she can use things from the kitchen or fridge for facial treatment, such as banana, tomato, or even rice flour (for face mask). If she has a lot of money and wants to look modern, she can visit the best beauty clinic in town.
A little controversy will emerge if some extremely strange substance is used by a beauty clinic to give a facial treatment. One example of this strange substance is applied to Sandra Bullock. I will not mention here what substance is used in the treatment. If you are curious, just google it with 'Sandra Bullock's facial treatment' keywords. And you'll be shocked.
It is okay if Sandra Bullock doesn't want to have many wrinkles on her face because she is an actress. She wants to look flawlessly perfect in front of the camera. But I don't doubt her ability to act, so even if she already has aging skin, her performance in movies will still be inspiring. I guarantee because I love her every movie.
Anyway, Sandra Bullock has her own right to spend her money on that facial treatment, which I think is controversial and which is not a controversy in her opinion. She wants to be forever young to please her fans. In that way, she will remain happy.
Because I am an ordinary person with an ordinary life style, it makes me peaceful to accept the very fact that I age. I try to have a healthy life style because that's a must for me, but I am not denying that I will age. I am not denying that my body will decay eventually. So, I want to have a peaceful, happy soul with my own quote: "To age is to become wiser". To inspire you more, this is a satirically funny quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Do not try to live forever, you will not succeed."
19/05/2018
Happy Fasting
I just had a conversation with some teenagers. They talked about their experience of fasting in this Ramadan month. It was a very light conversation because I was asking about the menus they had for iftar and suhoor. Some of them had difficulties in waking up for suhoor, so they didn't eat anything for suhoor. Then when it came to iftar, they were so hungry that they could eat a horse. So, on the way to go home from school, they would buy anything that they wanted to eat later at iftar. But when it really came to iftar, their hunger and thirst would be satisfied with only drinking a glass of sweet hot tea.
Then I remember myself when I was still a teenager doing fasting in Ramadan month. What happened to them happened to me too. I wished I could eat anything I wanted when it came to iftar, but my stomach couldn't take it. Anyway, I still tried to eat all I wanted because I wanted to feel full. When my mom woke me up for suhoor, I felt that my eyes and my whole body so heavy that I couldn't get up. As a result, I was just up for a while for a glass of water, and then went back to sleep again.
Growing old, I can feel the huge benefit of enjoying iftar moment by drinking a glass of hot tea and some dates (if I have the stock in the fridge). And those teenagers, who had a light conversation with me, are perfectly correct. At iftar, I can satisfy my hunger and thirst by sipping my hot tea slowly and doing it mindfully. After giving some long pauses, I will really enjoy my meal without feeling too full or too greedy to eat any other food.
Doing fasting in Ramadan month feels so much better when I don't have to worry about the limited stocks of food in my fridge, and when I don't have to join conversations about mouth watering food and drink😁.
Enjoy your Ramadan fasting.
Then I remember myself when I was still a teenager doing fasting in Ramadan month. What happened to them happened to me too. I wished I could eat anything I wanted when it came to iftar, but my stomach couldn't take it. Anyway, I still tried to eat all I wanted because I wanted to feel full. When my mom woke me up for suhoor, I felt that my eyes and my whole body so heavy that I couldn't get up. As a result, I was just up for a while for a glass of water, and then went back to sleep again.
Growing old, I can feel the huge benefit of enjoying iftar moment by drinking a glass of hot tea and some dates (if I have the stock in the fridge). And those teenagers, who had a light conversation with me, are perfectly correct. At iftar, I can satisfy my hunger and thirst by sipping my hot tea slowly and doing it mindfully. After giving some long pauses, I will really enjoy my meal without feeling too full or too greedy to eat any other food.
Doing fasting in Ramadan month feels so much better when I don't have to worry about the limited stocks of food in my fridge, and when I don't have to join conversations about mouth watering food and drink😁.
Enjoy your Ramadan fasting.
17/05/2018
It is Just a Tool
If you are a real thriller movie lover, you must have watched Joyride. If you haven't, and if you miss Paul Walker so much, please watch this movie. This Joyride movie is really thrilling to watch. The thing happening in the movie can possibly happen in real life. Just imagine when you want to prank someone you don't know by using a CB radio. And the next thing is out of control. That person you pranked is a psychopath and he always tries to scare you to death by chasing you down and hurting those who are close to you.
There is one important lesson from that movie: Think twice when you are about to prank somebody. If you already know that person, but he is not in his good mood to receive your prank, he perhaps will be angry with you for days. If you know nothing about this person, the worst case is like in Joyride movie. It's true that pranks can be funny, but you must keep in mind that some people are very aggressive.
The case in Joyride actually starts from a CB radio. After watching that movie, some usually give a comment like this: "Huh, this is because of that CB radio!" Or this comment: "See! That CB radio is the cause of everything." The tool makes a mistake. But, can it really make mistakes?
If you blame the CB radio, maybe you experienced different ways of upbringing when you were still a kid. For example, when you were still learning to walk and then you fell down the floor, your mom maybe said something like this:"Oh no, this floor is naughty. Are you hurt, baby?" And then she hit the floor in front of your eyes, meaning that she gave a punishment to the floor.
Let's think about the CB radio again. What's the real function? It's for communication within a specific range, right? If you misuse it, be ready to get the consequences.
What's the use of a knife? For peeling fruit, for cutting meat, for slicing bread. If you use it for crime, be ready to stay in jail.
So, a CB radio or a knife is just a tool.Whether you use it to do good or bad, it is not a good tool or a bad tool. It is just a tool.
There is one important lesson from that movie: Think twice when you are about to prank somebody. If you already know that person, but he is not in his good mood to receive your prank, he perhaps will be angry with you for days. If you know nothing about this person, the worst case is like in Joyride movie. It's true that pranks can be funny, but you must keep in mind that some people are very aggressive.
The case in Joyride actually starts from a CB radio. After watching that movie, some usually give a comment like this: "Huh, this is because of that CB radio!" Or this comment: "See! That CB radio is the cause of everything." The tool makes a mistake. But, can it really make mistakes?
If you blame the CB radio, maybe you experienced different ways of upbringing when you were still a kid. For example, when you were still learning to walk and then you fell down the floor, your mom maybe said something like this:"Oh no, this floor is naughty. Are you hurt, baby?" And then she hit the floor in front of your eyes, meaning that she gave a punishment to the floor.
Let's think about the CB radio again. What's the real function? It's for communication within a specific range, right? If you misuse it, be ready to get the consequences.
What's the use of a knife? For peeling fruit, for cutting meat, for slicing bread. If you use it for crime, be ready to stay in jail.
So, a CB radio or a knife is just a tool.Whether you use it to do good or bad, it is not a good tool or a bad tool. It is just a tool.
16/05/2018
A Newcomer
It's been a while I haven't written about my cats. There are only 3 cats left which always stay in the house or somewhere around my yard; Keni, Gembul, and Gogon. Gembul's mother is Krisi. I don't know Gogon's mother because I took it from a public trash site some days ago. He was alone, still a small kitten, and looked filthy. The first night of Gogon's coming, Gembul looked very angry. He always hissed at Gogon when he came closer to Gembul. He didn't even sleep in my bed at that night because there was Gogon in that bed. But on the next day, Gembul started to welcome Gogon because they could play chase and friendly fight, not a real fight. This morning when I saw them doing a friendly fight, Gogon chose to be in a defeated position. I think he did that because he wanted to be accepted as a lovely pet in the house.
Domi, my oldest cat, is still fine. He often plays in my neighbor's house. He goes there after he finishes his breakfast and then comes home at dusk. Sometimes he doesn't come home at dusk. But I am not worried because he is a well behaved cat.
Keni is now healthy again. A few months ago, he came back crawling with his mouth full of vomit. I was suspicious that he accidentally ate some food containing poison when he was outside. Or maybe there was some random person in the neighborhood who did not like Keni's being naughty, so he poisoned him. I was not very sure. My focus was how to make Keni's condition back to normal. He couldn't walk, he couldn't close his mouth, but fortunately his tongue was still reacting when I gave him the green coconut water. That water is said to be effective to cure for this case. Slowly but effectively, Keni was getting much better.
Encrit, however, couldn't make it. She got the same condition as Keni. But because she was often sick when she was still a little kitten, she became very vulnerable to diseases and poison attack. She died three days later.
Soon after that, Krisi delivered Gembul. After Gembul could eat by himself, Krisi started to draw herself away from Gembul. She was often running away from Gembul when he came closer to her. She chose to be close to Domi. Then one day, she disappeared. She hasn't gone home until now. And that happened to Kiki, too. I don't know where they are until now. I hope there is a family falling in love with Krisi and Kiki's cuteness. If they are still alive, I am sure they will come back. They are newcomers for other houses, and Gogon is a newcomer in my house.
Domi, my oldest cat, is still fine. He often plays in my neighbor's house. He goes there after he finishes his breakfast and then comes home at dusk. Sometimes he doesn't come home at dusk. But I am not worried because he is a well behaved cat.
Keni is now healthy again. A few months ago, he came back crawling with his mouth full of vomit. I was suspicious that he accidentally ate some food containing poison when he was outside. Or maybe there was some random person in the neighborhood who did not like Keni's being naughty, so he poisoned him. I was not very sure. My focus was how to make Keni's condition back to normal. He couldn't walk, he couldn't close his mouth, but fortunately his tongue was still reacting when I gave him the green coconut water. That water is said to be effective to cure for this case. Slowly but effectively, Keni was getting much better.
Encrit, however, couldn't make it. She got the same condition as Keni. But because she was often sick when she was still a little kitten, she became very vulnerable to diseases and poison attack. She died three days later.
Soon after that, Krisi delivered Gembul. After Gembul could eat by himself, Krisi started to draw herself away from Gembul. She was often running away from Gembul when he came closer to her. She chose to be close to Domi. Then one day, she disappeared. She hasn't gone home until now. And that happened to Kiki, too. I don't know where they are until now. I hope there is a family falling in love with Krisi and Kiki's cuteness. If they are still alive, I am sure they will come back. They are newcomers for other houses, and Gogon is a newcomer in my house.
14/05/2018
What to Learn from a Know-It-All
A few days ago, I had a little conversation with a person I met in a beauty salon. She was confused about what Islamic boarding school she would send her son to. She said that she wanted her son to get good Islamic education from a good boarding school.
Because I only know the names and locations of some famous boarding schools and don't understand any details of them, I only mentioned those schools' names and little information about them from some persons who claimed that they had studied there.
She replied that she was skeptical about those schools because she heard that the students living there experienced much discomfort, such as limited meal, bed bugs, limited number of bathrooms, and so on.
From what I try to understand, maybe she belongs to the know-it-all category. She loved to talk much about the topic that she didn't quite understand. Also, maybe she thought that I knew more than her and she didn't want that.
She looked a little bit impatient when listening to me. The way she responded was making me feel bad about my own statement.
Know-it-alls like to make their statement formulation sound like a fact. For example, when a car accident happens, they make a sudden concluding statement like: 'The driver is careless.' They disregard any other possibilities such as car engine breakdown, sudden body paralysis, distraction from other vehicles, or poor road facilities.
But of course, there are always some lessons behind any situation. Know-it-alls make me know that I don't know. When listening to a person with a background of language study giving an opinion about political situations in his country, it makes me learn that talking about something beyond my field is absurd. I know myself that I don't know much about politics. So I will not share what I have in mind about politics to public.
Know-it-alls encourage me to dig deeper about things that I am really interested in. For example, when they say that movie A is more qualified than movie B, I myself will check those two movies. I get the benefits of entertainment and life lessons from the movies.
Last but not least, know-it-alls make me aware of the danger of wrong interpretation. Their desire to not control their words prevents me from saying without some previous thoughts.
So, why don't we become a learn-it-all instead of a know-it-all? Let's learn thoroughly about anything of our interest so that when it comes to stating opinions, ours are well-researched ones.
Because I only know the names and locations of some famous boarding schools and don't understand any details of them, I only mentioned those schools' names and little information about them from some persons who claimed that they had studied there.
She replied that she was skeptical about those schools because she heard that the students living there experienced much discomfort, such as limited meal, bed bugs, limited number of bathrooms, and so on.
From what I try to understand, maybe she belongs to the know-it-all category. She loved to talk much about the topic that she didn't quite understand. Also, maybe she thought that I knew more than her and she didn't want that.
She looked a little bit impatient when listening to me. The way she responded was making me feel bad about my own statement.
Know-it-alls like to make their statement formulation sound like a fact. For example, when a car accident happens, they make a sudden concluding statement like: 'The driver is careless.' They disregard any other possibilities such as car engine breakdown, sudden body paralysis, distraction from other vehicles, or poor road facilities.
But of course, there are always some lessons behind any situation. Know-it-alls make me know that I don't know. When listening to a person with a background of language study giving an opinion about political situations in his country, it makes me learn that talking about something beyond my field is absurd. I know myself that I don't know much about politics. So I will not share what I have in mind about politics to public.
Know-it-alls encourage me to dig deeper about things that I am really interested in. For example, when they say that movie A is more qualified than movie B, I myself will check those two movies. I get the benefits of entertainment and life lessons from the movies.
Last but not least, know-it-alls make me aware of the danger of wrong interpretation. Their desire to not control their words prevents me from saying without some previous thoughts.
So, why don't we become a learn-it-all instead of a know-it-all? Let's learn thoroughly about anything of our interest so that when it comes to stating opinions, ours are well-researched ones.
11/05/2018
Two Tips to Have Qualified Breathing
Have you ever thought about the way you breathe? Never? That makes sense since breathing is always automatically done. As long as you are alive, you will automatically do it. You don't need to force your brain to give command to breathe.
There are times when you find it a little bit difficult to take a breath, for example, when you are tired, when you have a big problem, or when you get a sudden asthma attack. It feels as if the oxygen you inhale could never come to your lungs. I often experienced that when I was still young. When I was a kid, for instance, after I got tired from playing hide and seek, I often ran out of breath, making me inhale and exhale quickly by slightly opening my mouth. The more I breathed, the more tired I became. When I felt very cold at night, I did that same way of breathing, making the coldness worse.
Then I realize that my breathing way is all wrong. I breathed through my nose and mouth most of the time. So, for the sake of a better condition of my body, I have two tips for my qualified breathing:
You can do those two tips too if you like. There is nothing to lose to try a better way of everyday things like breathing.
There are times when you find it a little bit difficult to take a breath, for example, when you are tired, when you have a big problem, or when you get a sudden asthma attack. It feels as if the oxygen you inhale could never come to your lungs. I often experienced that when I was still young. When I was a kid, for instance, after I got tired from playing hide and seek, I often ran out of breath, making me inhale and exhale quickly by slightly opening my mouth. The more I breathed, the more tired I became. When I felt very cold at night, I did that same way of breathing, making the coldness worse.
Then I realize that my breathing way is all wrong. I breathed through my nose and mouth most of the time. So, for the sake of a better condition of my body, I have two tips for my qualified breathing:
- When I don't speak, I discipline myself to really close my mouth to let my nose do the breathing. This is actually difficult because it is about changing a habit. But it really works. When I focus in doing this kind of breathing way, I feel that I breathe less. And this makes my body more relaxed.
- When I inhale through my nose, I focus to move my belly; not my chest and shoulders. Based on the breathing theory, it's called diaphragm breathing. After I don't move my chest and shoulders when breathing, I don't experience extreme fatigue anymore.
You can do those two tips too if you like. There is nothing to lose to try a better way of everyday things like breathing.
09/05/2018
A Picture to Remember
For me, because I don't have a good camera, I usually take photographs with my phone or pocket camera. I just shoot any object that I want to shoot, mostly connected with nature. For example, I was about to take this photograph because I was interested in the empty street in the green forest. But suddenly, an old man with his bicycle bringing a load of firewood showed up. So I thought that was the best timing for me to shoot.
This picture helps me to remember a few important things. I must keep in my mind that nature always has her awesome beauty. It always feels peaceful when I can unite with nature. I also remember the importance of having a lot of quiet moments in my own life. It is good to detoxify my brain.And the most important thing, inspired from that old man's life, I should live my life fully with all my heart. The burden on me is not a burden; it is the responsibility as a living human being.
So, let's take pictures using your phone or any camera that you have. Capture any moment that can make you smile, feel peaceful, and think deeper and wiser.
08/05/2018
Conserving or abandoning?
From the look of the building, you can see that it is decaying. Some trees are occupying the building. The branches and the leaves are covering some parts of the walls.When I managed to walk around the fort, some parts smelled bad, like the smell of urine. There was also some excrement, which I thought it came from bats which lived inside the dark sides of the fort.
In my opinion, this is a unique style of conservation of the historical site. It is brilliant to let the trees grow inside the fort, to let the bats live there, and to do no modification and reparation to the building. That fort looks abandoned, but actually, that abandonment leads to real conservation.
07/05/2018
Showing Your Value
Are you the type of a person who cannot accept any kinds of injustice and dishonesty? For example, You will be infuriated when seeing someone weaker being treated poorly by someone else stronger. Or you become anguished after knowing a transaction between a buyer and a seller in the market with the buyer insisting on saying that he has given the money to the seller while in fact he hasn't. This has something to do with your value. And I think, if I am not mistaken, everybody has this value. If you are still a human being and you have clear conscience, you have this value.
But what if you are the type of a person who doesn't react at all to this kind of injustice or dishonesty? You are just acting normal when you meet your married neighbor walking together romantically with a woman that you know she has a husband. You just greet him like nothing wrong happens. There are some possible reasons why you are acting normal; not shocked. One reason is perhaps you are very excellent at managing your emotion. You can hide your feeling shocked. It is acceptable. Some people are expertise in controlling their non verbal communication. Another reason is maybe you don't care about others' personal life. You are the type of a person who has "mind your own business" mantra each time you see some personal wrongdoings.
It will be so much different if the reason is your being permissive to injustice and dishonesty. I am positively sure that it is very easy for you to do something unjust and to talk about something dishonest to others. It's also easy for you to 'protect' somebody who has stolen money from somebody else. This being permissive of you can indicate that you want to look nice and 'kind' to the person you want to protect.
Well, let's not think about what others think about you; let's just think about your own value.
But what if you are the type of a person who doesn't react at all to this kind of injustice or dishonesty? You are just acting normal when you meet your married neighbor walking together romantically with a woman that you know she has a husband. You just greet him like nothing wrong happens. There are some possible reasons why you are acting normal; not shocked. One reason is perhaps you are very excellent at managing your emotion. You can hide your feeling shocked. It is acceptable. Some people are expertise in controlling their non verbal communication. Another reason is maybe you don't care about others' personal life. You are the type of a person who has "mind your own business" mantra each time you see some personal wrongdoings.
It will be so much different if the reason is your being permissive to injustice and dishonesty. I am positively sure that it is very easy for you to do something unjust and to talk about something dishonest to others. It's also easy for you to 'protect' somebody who has stolen money from somebody else. This being permissive of you can indicate that you want to look nice and 'kind' to the person you want to protect.
Well, let's not think about what others think about you; let's just think about your own value.
04/05/2018
The rapid growth of subsidized housing business in Indonesia
We need a house to live in to protect us from feeling cold at night and hot at day. Then what we do to find one can be variational. We can rent a house, or stay with our parents or parents in-law. If we have a rich relative who owns more than one house, we can be allowed to stay in his empty house. If we are very rich, we can buy a very luxurious house. If we have a low income, we still can buy a house. The government gives subsidies for us to buy that small and 'cheap' house with the help of a loan from the government's banks. For a newly-wed couple or for a couple with one kid, having their own house is a pride. And having this kind of small, subsidized house is also making them proud. This situation triggers some businessmen to start their business of building subsidized housings, resulting some positive and negative effects.
The positive effects are, of course, the good and conducive business environments. Government's banks can circulate their money because they give loans to debtors and they charge those debtors some interest for that loan. Housing developers will often ask material distributors to supply things they need to build houses. Land owners are very happy to receive money from those developers who buy their land. The debtors, or those who buy the house, will work very hard so that they can get money for the monthly payment to the bank. Office employees and factory workers will have to be loyal to their boss in order to survive longer in working for that company. All of those conditions make the business really alive.
When it comes to talking about the negative effects, I don't mean to complain. I just need to elaborate things on my mind based on my observation. One of the negative effects is about the decreasing number of land. There are many wooded areas and paddy fields here in my town which have now become housings; either non subsidized or subsidized. Another negative effect is about the increasing number of people who want to look rich. Here in Indonesia, especially in my town, owning a house is already considered somewhat rich because if we own a house, we also own a land of which price is fantastic. It is a high pride for most people to be called rich.
And, in fact, there are some rich people who manage to buy a subsidized house while actually the market segmentation is for people with low income. So, those rich people who live in a subsidized housing will easily modify and beautify the building of the house, while some of their neighbors still live in their standardly built house with the struggle of financing the monthly payment to the bank. Those rich people who start to look poor in order to be 'able' to buy the subsidized house will feel the satisfaction of being regarded as the rich from their neighbors. That modifying and beautifying of the house motivates the neighbors to do the same.
If this situation continues and there is no control, let's get ready to welcome the more and more greedy people. Let's strengthen ourselves to say goodbye to green woods and paddy fields.
The positive effects are, of course, the good and conducive business environments. Government's banks can circulate their money because they give loans to debtors and they charge those debtors some interest for that loan. Housing developers will often ask material distributors to supply things they need to build houses. Land owners are very happy to receive money from those developers who buy their land. The debtors, or those who buy the house, will work very hard so that they can get money for the monthly payment to the bank. Office employees and factory workers will have to be loyal to their boss in order to survive longer in working for that company. All of those conditions make the business really alive.
When it comes to talking about the negative effects, I don't mean to complain. I just need to elaborate things on my mind based on my observation. One of the negative effects is about the decreasing number of land. There are many wooded areas and paddy fields here in my town which have now become housings; either non subsidized or subsidized. Another negative effect is about the increasing number of people who want to look rich. Here in Indonesia, especially in my town, owning a house is already considered somewhat rich because if we own a house, we also own a land of which price is fantastic. It is a high pride for most people to be called rich.
And, in fact, there are some rich people who manage to buy a subsidized house while actually the market segmentation is for people with low income. So, those rich people who live in a subsidized housing will easily modify and beautify the building of the house, while some of their neighbors still live in their standardly built house with the struggle of financing the monthly payment to the bank. Those rich people who start to look poor in order to be 'able' to buy the subsidized house will feel the satisfaction of being regarded as the rich from their neighbors. That modifying and beautifying of the house motivates the neighbors to do the same.
If this situation continues and there is no control, let's get ready to welcome the more and more greedy people. Let's strengthen ourselves to say goodbye to green woods and paddy fields.
02/05/2018
Jalur Kandangan - Ngebel ditutup?
Sekitar lima tahun lalu, suami dan saya berkendara sepeda motor untuk berkunjung ke Telaga Ngebel di Ponorogo. Kami melewati rute yang biasa, yaitu melewati Dolopo, Madiun. Setelah cukup puas melihat telaga, kami berkeinginan mencari air terjun yang informasi letaknya tertera di petunjuk arah di daerah telaga Ngebel tersebut. Menurut informasi dari penduduk sekitar, letak air terjun itu tidak terlalu jauh dari telaga. Rute tersebut ternyata penuh dengan tanjakan dan turunan yang curam.
Kira-kira 30 menit kemudian, kami sampai di lokasi air terjun itu. Sudah lumayan banyak pengunjung yang memarkir kendaraannya di area tersebut. Untuk menuju air terjunnya, kami harus berjalan kaki sejauh kira-kira 500 meter. Setelah melihat air terjunnya dan menyempatkan diri membasuh muka dengan airnya, kami beristirahat sejenak di warung kopi di dekat tempat parkir. Dari obrolan kami dengan penjualnya, ternyata lokasi itu tepat di perbatasan Madiun-Ponorogo. Kami dianjurkan untuk tidak usah melewati jalur yang tadi kami lewati, tapi melanjutkan perjalanan melewati jalan tanah yang hanya sering dilalui oleh pemotor yang mencari rumput buat pakan ternak dan mobil pickup yang mengangkut hasil panen ketela pohon di hutan. Penjual tersebut bilang kalau jarak tempuhnya sekitar 45 menit menuju perkampungan di dusun Kandangan, desa Kare.
Tanpa berpikir panjang, kami pun pulang melewati rute itu karena selain lebih dekat, kami ingin mendapatkan udara pegunungan Wilis, sekaligus mengeksplorasi jalanan yang belum pernah kami lewati. Dan ternyata memang benar. Rute tersebut sangat sepi dan ekstrem. Benar-benar hanya pernah terjamah oleh segelintir orang. Tidak terlihat bekas-bekas rombongan pemotor yang pernah mengeksplorasi rute itu. Sangat jarang terlihat sampah plastik ataupun botol. Yang ada hanya sampah daun dan rumput kering serta ranting dan dahan pohon yang terjatuh. Kira-kira sekitar 30 menit kemudian, atap-atap bangunan di kebun kopi Kandangan sudah mulai terlihat walaupun jaraknya masih cukup jauh. Kami merasa lega karena akan bisa melihat peradaban lagi. Perjalanan melintasi kawasan pabrik kopi Kandangan pun juga tidak terganggu. Akses jalan bisa dilewati.
Akan tetapi, hari Minggu sore kemarin, ketika kami mencari udara pegunungan di daerah Kandangan tersebut, kami kecewa karena akses jalan menuju arah Ngebel ditutup oleh pihak kebun kopi Kandangan. Kami tidak tahu apa alasan ditutupnya akses oleh mereka. Sebenarnya kami bisa bertanya kepada penjaga pintu palang tersebut. Namun karena hari sudah sore, kami langsung balik kanan. Ada banyak kemungkinan mengapa akses tersebut ditutup. Pertama, mungkin saking kayanya pengusaha kopi tersebut, dia bisa membeli area sampai ke batas Kandangan-Ngebel. Otomatis akses jalan pun terbeli. Kedua, mungkin akses menuju Ngebel rusak berat, tidak bisa dilewati jenis kendaraan apapun. Ketiga, bisa jadi pemerintah kabupaten Madiun ingin memberikan surprise buat warga kabupaten Madiun dengan memperbaiki akses jalan tersebut. Oleh karena itu, akses terpaksa ditutup sementara sambil menunggu perbaikan.
Yang mengetahui alasan sebenarnya tentunya adalah pihak dari kebun kopi Kandangan tersebut, pihak pemerintah desa Kare, dan pihak pemerintah kabupaten Madiun. Apapun niatannya, semoga nantinya hutan di daerah tersebut tetap asli dan asri sampai berpuluh-puluh tahun mendatang, bahkan ratusan tahun.
Kira-kira 30 menit kemudian, kami sampai di lokasi air terjun itu. Sudah lumayan banyak pengunjung yang memarkir kendaraannya di area tersebut. Untuk menuju air terjunnya, kami harus berjalan kaki sejauh kira-kira 500 meter. Setelah melihat air terjunnya dan menyempatkan diri membasuh muka dengan airnya, kami beristirahat sejenak di warung kopi di dekat tempat parkir. Dari obrolan kami dengan penjualnya, ternyata lokasi itu tepat di perbatasan Madiun-Ponorogo. Kami dianjurkan untuk tidak usah melewati jalur yang tadi kami lewati, tapi melanjutkan perjalanan melewati jalan tanah yang hanya sering dilalui oleh pemotor yang mencari rumput buat pakan ternak dan mobil pickup yang mengangkut hasil panen ketela pohon di hutan. Penjual tersebut bilang kalau jarak tempuhnya sekitar 45 menit menuju perkampungan di dusun Kandangan, desa Kare.
Tanpa berpikir panjang, kami pun pulang melewati rute itu karena selain lebih dekat, kami ingin mendapatkan udara pegunungan Wilis, sekaligus mengeksplorasi jalanan yang belum pernah kami lewati. Dan ternyata memang benar. Rute tersebut sangat sepi dan ekstrem. Benar-benar hanya pernah terjamah oleh segelintir orang. Tidak terlihat bekas-bekas rombongan pemotor yang pernah mengeksplorasi rute itu. Sangat jarang terlihat sampah plastik ataupun botol. Yang ada hanya sampah daun dan rumput kering serta ranting dan dahan pohon yang terjatuh. Kira-kira sekitar 30 menit kemudian, atap-atap bangunan di kebun kopi Kandangan sudah mulai terlihat walaupun jaraknya masih cukup jauh. Kami merasa lega karena akan bisa melihat peradaban lagi. Perjalanan melintasi kawasan pabrik kopi Kandangan pun juga tidak terganggu. Akses jalan bisa dilewati.
Akan tetapi, hari Minggu sore kemarin, ketika kami mencari udara pegunungan di daerah Kandangan tersebut, kami kecewa karena akses jalan menuju arah Ngebel ditutup oleh pihak kebun kopi Kandangan. Kami tidak tahu apa alasan ditutupnya akses oleh mereka. Sebenarnya kami bisa bertanya kepada penjaga pintu palang tersebut. Namun karena hari sudah sore, kami langsung balik kanan. Ada banyak kemungkinan mengapa akses tersebut ditutup. Pertama, mungkin saking kayanya pengusaha kopi tersebut, dia bisa membeli area sampai ke batas Kandangan-Ngebel. Otomatis akses jalan pun terbeli. Kedua, mungkin akses menuju Ngebel rusak berat, tidak bisa dilewati jenis kendaraan apapun. Ketiga, bisa jadi pemerintah kabupaten Madiun ingin memberikan surprise buat warga kabupaten Madiun dengan memperbaiki akses jalan tersebut. Oleh karena itu, akses terpaksa ditutup sementara sambil menunggu perbaikan.
Yang mengetahui alasan sebenarnya tentunya adalah pihak dari kebun kopi Kandangan tersebut, pihak pemerintah desa Kare, dan pihak pemerintah kabupaten Madiun. Apapun niatannya, semoga nantinya hutan di daerah tersebut tetap asli dan asri sampai berpuluh-puluh tahun mendatang, bahkan ratusan tahun.
29/04/2018
Listening is caring
If you want to tell your problem to someone else, I think the best person to go to is the one that is very close to you. This person can be your best friend, your spouse, or your parents. And you will tell about your problem privately or face to face. You won't want others to hear it. You tell that with the hope that you will not feel burdened or that person can give you advice.
There are, however, some special persons that you will share your problems with. These special persons are not close to you. Maybe you just know their nick name; you don't know anything else about them. These people have the face which says, "Now tell me about it." They don't need to say that to make you tell everything. They have good listening skill and highly qualified patience. They never want to interrupt your story because they know when to give best responses.
After you finish telling about your problem, you will feel a sudden relief. This is not because of their giving a suggestion (most of the time they don't give it). That relief comes from how appreciated we feel when we tell them our problem. And you will feel sure that they will not tell about your problem to other people they know. They are quite good at keeping secrets.
One more thing about them is that you don't have to pay for that session because they are not psychologists. They are just ordinary persons who are willing to be a garbage bin for your problem.
There are, however, some special persons that you will share your problems with. These special persons are not close to you. Maybe you just know their nick name; you don't know anything else about them. These people have the face which says, "Now tell me about it." They don't need to say that to make you tell everything. They have good listening skill and highly qualified patience. They never want to interrupt your story because they know when to give best responses.
After you finish telling about your problem, you will feel a sudden relief. This is not because of their giving a suggestion (most of the time they don't give it). That relief comes from how appreciated we feel when we tell them our problem. And you will feel sure that they will not tell about your problem to other people they know. They are quite good at keeping secrets.
One more thing about them is that you don't have to pay for that session because they are not psychologists. They are just ordinary persons who are willing to be a garbage bin for your problem.
27/04/2018
Speed bumps oh speed bumps
It is very common to see many speed bumps on streets this day in my town. That is, I think, because there are so many vehicles, so many people, and so many careless people driving fast cars or riding motorcycles. These speed bumps can make them slow down their vehicle. As a result, accidents can be minimized. However, there are some sadly annoying things from those speed bumps.
One sadly annoying thing is about the height and the shape of the speed bumps. The ideal height and shape is of course based on the government regulation. But in reality, those speed bumps are bigger and higher than expected. Even if we already slow down, the after-effect shake still hurts. Sometimes, out loud curses are heard after passing speed bumps.
Another annoying thing is the speed bumps' location. It is still acceptable if we find them on the streets of housings because many children often play near the street or on the street. However, if those speed bumps are on main streets where drivers and riders have their 'normal' speed, sooner or later their vehicles are damaged. It will be worse if there is no sign that there will be speed bumps ahead. For patients with emergency situation, passing that speed bump with maximum speed will risk their life.
The best solution for me myself is just to avoid main roads with speed bumps. There are two main roads in my town Madiun that I will avoid as long as I can: Urip Sumoharjo street and Letkol Suwarno street. If anyone wants to pass those streets, happy bumpy driving. 😉
One sadly annoying thing is about the height and the shape of the speed bumps. The ideal height and shape is of course based on the government regulation. But in reality, those speed bumps are bigger and higher than expected. Even if we already slow down, the after-effect shake still hurts. Sometimes, out loud curses are heard after passing speed bumps.
Another annoying thing is the speed bumps' location. It is still acceptable if we find them on the streets of housings because many children often play near the street or on the street. However, if those speed bumps are on main streets where drivers and riders have their 'normal' speed, sooner or later their vehicles are damaged. It will be worse if there is no sign that there will be speed bumps ahead. For patients with emergency situation, passing that speed bump with maximum speed will risk their life.
The best solution for me myself is just to avoid main roads with speed bumps. There are two main roads in my town Madiun that I will avoid as long as I can: Urip Sumoharjo street and Letkol Suwarno street. If anyone wants to pass those streets, happy bumpy driving. 😉
25/04/2018
Appreciate what is for us
There are times when we really wish we could have the thing that we don't own at the moment. That's normal because we are human beings; we have desires. When we see our neighbor buy a new car, we want to have that kind of car too, or even a more expensive car. When we see our friend get a better job than us, we want that job too. When we get a free doughnut with vanilla topping while our friend gets one with chocolate topping, we take that doughnut with the chocolate topping from our friend because we don't like vanilla. We don't even care whether our friend likes vanilla or not. How selfish we are. How immature we are. Therefore, it's time to start to appreciate what is for us and what we have.
Let's learn from a chicken. In its normally healthy condition, it will eat the grain that we usually give. After it feels full, it will stop eating. That chicken never looks so busy to prepare stocks of grain for it when it feels hungry later. I have three roosters and three hens at home. The food for the roosters is a special chicken feed, while the hens eat a mixture of leftover rice and bran. If I check from their menus, the chicken feed is much more nutritious than the rice and bran mixture. However, I never see those hens interested in eating the chicken feed given for the roosters. The roosters also focus on eating the chicken feed. If I give some chicken feed to the hens, they actually eat it. But those hens never try to eat from the place for the roosters. Those roosters and hens really appreciate their present moment.
We human can do that too. If we can appreciate the present moment, we can also appreciate what is for us and what we have. If at the present moment we are drinking, please appreciate that our mouth can still open to let the water in. Some others may have a difficulty opening the mouth. If at the present moment we are still cleaning the house, appreciate that we can still live in a house. There are many homeless people out there who don't have a house to clean. If at the present moment we are thinking hard about a solution to a problem, appreciate that moment, because there are some people who cannot use their brain properly.
Let's learn from a chicken. In its normally healthy condition, it will eat the grain that we usually give. After it feels full, it will stop eating. That chicken never looks so busy to prepare stocks of grain for it when it feels hungry later. I have three roosters and three hens at home. The food for the roosters is a special chicken feed, while the hens eat a mixture of leftover rice and bran. If I check from their menus, the chicken feed is much more nutritious than the rice and bran mixture. However, I never see those hens interested in eating the chicken feed given for the roosters. The roosters also focus on eating the chicken feed. If I give some chicken feed to the hens, they actually eat it. But those hens never try to eat from the place for the roosters. Those roosters and hens really appreciate their present moment.
We human can do that too. If we can appreciate the present moment, we can also appreciate what is for us and what we have. If at the present moment we are drinking, please appreciate that our mouth can still open to let the water in. Some others may have a difficulty opening the mouth. If at the present moment we are still cleaning the house, appreciate that we can still live in a house. There are many homeless people out there who don't have a house to clean. If at the present moment we are thinking hard about a solution to a problem, appreciate that moment, because there are some people who cannot use their brain properly.
23/04/2018
Enjoying sounds
It's sometimes weirdly funny when I see two people having a conversation but both of them talk. A simple example is when their topic is about spending their holiday. At the same time, one person says, "Yesterday I visited a beautiful beach in my hometown", while the other person says, "The food in ABC Restaurant was super delicious."None of them stops talking until they finish the sentence. It becomes much funnier when one of them increases the volume of his voice. It surely means that he wants to be heard; he feels that he and his story are much more important than the other one's story.
That example above indicates that most people want to be heard. If so, who will listen? If everyone wants to be heard, no one will be able to listen. No one doesn't have the willingness to listen. If a person does listen to someone's speech, his intention of listening is only to reply. For a beginner listener, that's still okay. But a real listening is not that simple.
When a person speaks louder than usual, there are some emotions there: pride, anger, or maybe happiness. Yes, the content is always clear. But if we listen deeper about how he delivers his content, we can know and sense many things. In my opinion, this kind of deep listening can be exercised by doing simple things every day. And that is by enjoying many kinds of sounds, from the sound of a falling leaf to the sound of many speeding trucks passing by. Happy listening.
That example above indicates that most people want to be heard. If so, who will listen? If everyone wants to be heard, no one will be able to listen. No one doesn't have the willingness to listen. If a person does listen to someone's speech, his intention of listening is only to reply. For a beginner listener, that's still okay. But a real listening is not that simple.
When a person speaks louder than usual, there are some emotions there: pride, anger, or maybe happiness. Yes, the content is always clear. But if we listen deeper about how he delivers his content, we can know and sense many things. In my opinion, this kind of deep listening can be exercised by doing simple things every day. And that is by enjoying many kinds of sounds, from the sound of a falling leaf to the sound of many speeding trucks passing by. Happy listening.
19/04/2018
Insurance? As an Indonesian who works for an Indonesian private company, I have to join BPJS, the Indonesia's health insurance. Like it or not, I have to pay every month for that insurance. I treat that money as a donation to the government because the government is too poor to facilitate the health service. I always hope that I will never use that money, meaning that I will not use the facility of the hospital for the medication because I am always staying healthy. So, every time when an insurance telemarketer calls me, I will strongly but elegantly refuse.
However, sometimes it's rather difficult to end the call from those insurance telemarketers even if I already say no. They insist on knowing why I say no, why I am not interested though I am chosen, and why I ignore that opportunity to be their 'priority'. They say that they are excellent at managing my money. Don't they ever know that I am not rich? Or is it possible that they intend to make me much poorer than I am now? Yes, I won't be able to claim the money when I cannot pay that insurance anymore. I cannot claim the money. The money that I have paid them doesn't belong to me! It belongs to the insurance company! Yes, they are excellent at managing my money to become their money.
My response is simple. I tell them that my money belongs to me, so it is I who should manage the money; not anybody else. And if they still insist, I will answer like this: "I want to enjoy the here and the now. I don't want any burdens of long term, complicated planning."
However, sometimes it's rather difficult to end the call from those insurance telemarketers even if I already say no. They insist on knowing why I say no, why I am not interested though I am chosen, and why I ignore that opportunity to be their 'priority'. They say that they are excellent at managing my money. Don't they ever know that I am not rich? Or is it possible that they intend to make me much poorer than I am now? Yes, I won't be able to claim the money when I cannot pay that insurance anymore. I cannot claim the money. The money that I have paid them doesn't belong to me! It belongs to the insurance company! Yes, they are excellent at managing my money to become their money.
My response is simple. I tell them that my money belongs to me, so it is I who should manage the money; not anybody else. And if they still insist, I will answer like this: "I want to enjoy the here and the now. I don't want any burdens of long term, complicated planning."
18/04/2018
Mari berbicara dengan sederhana
Bahasa sangatlah penting dalam
kehidupan kita sehari hari. Suatu hal akan lebih mudah kita ungkapkan dengan
lisan meskipun ada pula yang dapat kita
mengerti dengan isyarat. Dalam kehidupan
kita saat ini, mungkin banyak di antara kita yang mengungkapkan sesuatu dengan
bahasa asing ataupun bahasa gaul. Terlintas di benak kita bahwa gaya berbahasa tersebut akan
meningkatkan status diri kita di depan lawan bicara. Tetapi sadarkah kita apakah
yang ingin kita sampaikan dapat dipahami oleh lawan bicara kita? Itu yang harus
digarisbawahi dan dicetak tebal dengan penulisan miring. Berikut adalah sebuah contoh kasus sederhana dan
menggelitik tentang kasus penyampaian yang kurang pas dan jadinya amburadul.
Ada seorang guru SD di pelosok
desa, dengan jenjang pendidikan tinggi yang bergelar S.Pd, S.H, S.Sos, M.M, M.Hum dan seterusnya sampai susah
mengejanya. Sang guru juga aktif dalam organisasi masyarakat dan kepartaian. Menurut
kabar yang beredar, sang guru juga mau mencalonkan diri menjadi ketua RT di
kabupatennya. Untuk lebih mudah memahami cerita, kita sebut saja
sang guru dengan nama Pak Jhon.
Di suatu hari saat istirahat
siang di sekolah tempatnya mengajar, pak Jhon merasakan suasana yang panas. Walaupun
berada di dalam ruangan, pak Jhon tidak kuat menahan hawa panasnya karena 50%
atap ruangan sudah hilang. Kerongkongan pak Jhon pun seperti terbakar. Akhirnya
pak Jhon menyerah, dan memanggil Panjul muridnya kelas 3 yang ingusan,
kerempeng, dan dekil. Pak Jhon minta tolong pada Panjul untuk membelikan ORANGE JUICE di toko yang tidak jauh
dari sekolahnya. Dengan sigap si Panjul siap melaksanakan tugas karena dia
adalah murid yang berbakti. Pak Jhon memberikan uang 50 ribu rupiah dan bilang
ke Panjul, “Tulung tukokno minuman orange
juice. Tak ejrah yo, O-R-A-N-G-E juice.” Setelah pak Jhon mengeja nama
pesanan minumannya itu, si Panjul pun menjawab, “Injih Pak.” Si Panjul lalu berlari secepat mungkin ke toko.
Sesampainya di toko, si Panjul
merasa agak bingung dengan permintaan pak Jhon. Setelah berpikir keras tentang
nama minuman yang dieja oleh pak Jhon tadi, si Panjul memberanikan diri
bertanya pada pemilik toko, “Buk, badhe
tumbas ombenan sing mboten nyuntik.”
Si ibu pemilik toko merasa kebingungan dengan mulut menganga mendengar
ucapan si Panjul tersebut. Lalu si ibu bertanya, “Iku
ombenan opo yo? Aku gak tau ngerti. opo iku ombenan anyar yo? Terus olehe
kulakan nang ngendi? Jajal sesuk tak golekne.”
Mendengar jawaban si ibu pemilik toko, si Panjul takut bukan kepalang
dan lari tunggang langgang. Ketika mendekati sekolah, langkahnya lemas
kecapekan dengan hati gundah gulana karena merasa gagal menunaikan tugas
kehormatan sebagai murid berbakti. Pikiran si Panjul melayang membayangkan
hukuman yang akan diterima karena mandat pak Jjhon tidak terpenuhi. Dengan hati
was was si Panjul memberanikan diri untuk melaporkan kegagalan tugasnya. Baginya
tugas adalah tugas dengan kejujuran yang harus diembannya.
Di hadapan pak Jhon dia menghadap
dan meminta maaf, “Pak, pangapunten, teng toko mboten wonten minuman
sing mboten nyuntik.” Mendengar laporan si Panjul, pak Jhon melongo dan
tepuk jidat sambil berkata, “Yo wes lah, tak tuku dewe, wes kono gek
ndang mlebu kelas.”
Dari cerita di atas, jelas sudah bahwa bahasa berperan dalam menyampaikan maksud dan membuat paham lawan bicara kita. Yang kita utamakan adalah pemahaman tentang karakter orang yang kita ajak bicara; bukan mengutamakan pencitraan untuk memperlihatkan status sosial kita.
Dari cerita di atas, jelas sudah bahwa bahasa berperan dalam menyampaikan maksud dan membuat paham lawan bicara kita. Yang kita utamakan adalah pemahaman tentang karakter orang yang kita ajak bicara; bukan mengutamakan pencitraan untuk memperlihatkan status sosial kita.