Words and I

My friend showed me a book with this title, Miss Minimalist, and I was just like, "Whoa! It’s one of my resolutions this year to be a Miss Minimalist!" In fact, I have just started throwing away unwanted and unused things at home. Also, I have been thinking to sell my house… mmm, maybe that will need more and more thoughts later.

So, I’ve been feeling so crowded with everything! It’s the reason why I don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account. I know some people might call me stupid or ignorant or not being kept up with the trend and all. I don’t know. I just feel that I am so crowded with so many information, sometimes information I don’t think I really need to know. Okay, you can argue with me later.

Back to being a minimalist, I don’t want to be crowded with things either. You don’t really need many things to live, do you? I read a book about someone who really wants to do a downsizing and makes sure that he could only keep 100 things at a time, not more. Very interesting. I wonder if I could do that. 

Life is not about the amount of things you have. You can’t be defined by the things you have. You are not things. 

It seems that it’s about time I give away my favorite books which make my bookshelf looks like an overcrowded flat. If I can….

I’ve been thinking….

I think this is how our life revolves over and over again: either we misunderstand people or people misunderstand us, or both. Even we misunderstand God almost all the time, do we? But at the end of the day, some understandings are created.

Are we not tired of being in this Sisyphus-like-situation? Some are fast learners, and mind you, I think there are more slow learners here, judging from the condition of our world.(Read: we are not that tired with this situation!)

Christmas too never ceases to come each year bringing the same hope, peace, and blessings… but again… the fights, the wars, the injustice, the hurts… all the products of misunderstanding will be here again soon; some don’t even leave.

After Christmas… how would you always pretend and feel and make believe that it will always be here until it comes again next year? 

It will depends on your heart.

Christmas is for your heart to keep.

Have a blessed Christmas again, everyone!  

I’ve been to Bangkok and was just amazed with its transportation system. They have really good and modern train system, the MRT and the Skytrain. There’s no way to ride for free like in Indonesia’s city train. The stations are so clean, and what I love most is that smoking is not allowed. The unruly behavior of the passengers is never to be found.

I’ve been wondering if Indonesia will be like that in the future. Not in the near future, I am sure. But I am not sure either if it will happen in another century. (Sorry…). The thing is, we both are developing countries, but how come Thailand, or at least Bangkok citizens, look so educated judging from their respect of the rules? It seems that Indonesia is really so left behind from other Asian countries.

This idea just popped out when I first rode their MRT: what if the government creates a citizen’s exchange program between these two countries? I am sure Indonesians would learn a lot from the Thais. Would they? I’d just say, "I hope" rather than "I’m sure!"

But we should keep our spirit high, shouldn’t we?

There is this old beggar in the railway station I go to each morning. He always stands near the ticket booth with a stick in his hand and a bag in the other hand. Each time a passenger passes him after buying a ticket, he will beg for some money citing how he will pray for the passenger’s safety and all.

One day I couldn’t help but notice him for the whole 15 minutes when waiting for the train. Wow, in that period, he earned about Rp 15,000 (that’s equal to almost US$ 2!). Imagine that he stands there for 3 long peak hours, let’s say he earns US$ 30 for 3 hours… can you imagine how much he earns in one month?! Wow! Many people have to struggle to earn some money! And this old beggar is just as healthy as he can be!   

Who says life is fair?! 

I think life is still fair for those who feel blessed. 

Ah, being at the end of the year again, and what’s up, Doc? The list is just getting longer, that’s for sure! Perhaps take a rain check for next year? Sure, why not? But life happens. Exactly.

Life happens even when you try to stop. 

I was thinking that by the end of this year I would have been in a different place doing a different thing and meeting different people. Well, I did meet different people, been to new places, been trying to do a different thing… but I am still here. 

Okay, I’ll book a ticket to TImbuktu soon then  

Carefully a middle-aged man carried a basket full of wooden sandals on his shoulder and stepped up the stairs. The basket was shaky and I thought it would just fall over anytime. But slowly he made it one step, another step, then another… then I just realized that one of his feet was crippled. It’s definitely difficult to walk normally, even more with a heavy basket to carry and going up the stairs! But he made it anyway.

I realized then that God has always had a way to remind me: to feel blessed and stop complaining.

But of course nobody’s perfect… and I am included, that’s for sure. I still complain… now and then. I also still feel blessed… not as much as I should. 

I have been thinking that life consists of choices and that we are free to choose…. But the choices are limited, don’t you think? We can’t choose to live in other planet other than the Earth. We can’t choose to win a million dollar lottery either, he he he. But WE ARE FREE to choose from those limited choices (1 out of 2 is not that bad). Even for us who think we do not have a choice, we do. To succumb to one choice we think we only have is silly.

I have a choice. Such a liberating feeling…

Finally I reached the top of Mount Batur in Bali, the highest volcano in the island! Definitely not an easy climb for someone who doesn’t exercise regularly and hadn’t been climbing for years! But it’s really worth it.

Many people refer their life journey as similar to climbing up a mountain. It’s full of challenges to reach the top. Sometimes they need to go back down and come back another day. Sometimes they just rest in the middle before starting again. Sometimes they stop wherever they are. Sometimes they don’t make it to the top.

But I learned to smell the beauty of every spot when trying to reach the top. The view was so breathtaking. The stars were so bright and there were a lot of them! The tiredness could make you want to stop but the thought of what awaited me at the top kept me going. The coldness could bite you into your bones but I learned to appreciate the hard cold rocks I used to grip my hands onto. The wind rushed into your lungs made it hard to breathe but I learned how to get used to it.

Then the sunrise!

The warm feeling seemed to burst from your chest seeing this spectacular view. The sun peeped behind the mountain top, and underneath, a big bluish lake surrounded by fog reflected the first light of the sun! 

I hope I can make it to the top in my life journey.

…myself.

Isn’t it ironic? 

:)

Ojek, a ‘personalized’ public transport in Indonesia is quite an effective one. Using a motorcycle where the passenger just hops on the back seat, this mode of transportation is really an instant solution in the ‘jungle’ of Jakarta, especially during traffic jam which actually happens all the time.  Ojek is also essential in places with no other public transportation in sight, such as a far housing complex.

But some ‘in-time’ arrivers like me find ojek very irresistible, ha ha ha! Just ask the driver to drive like crazy and you arrive just in time to your destination with your hair end up like Einstein’s. And like they say, time is money, well, you will have to dig deeper in your wallet to take an ojek.

I take ojek a lot and it really needs some skills to ride on the back of that speedy bike. You want the ojek driver to drive fast in spite of the road condition, right? Then you need some skills. I am used to riding a fast ojek that often it gets on my nerve when the ojek I take is so slow… especially when I have a train to catch! But then I learn patience from it, too. Just like you cannot hurry love, you cannot hurry an ojek, either, lol. Of course unless your ojek has wings and it can fly like a jet

Dear Lord,

So often I question your ways and fail to trust you,

Thinking that unless things are done MY way,

They will not be done properly.

I repent now, Lord, and ask that when I think this way,

You will remind me that Your plans are greater than mine.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

I came across this prayer one day and it stopped me. I have always been so independent and pretty much know what I want. Although I tend to be flowing with the river, I have always had plans along the way. MY plans. Yes, MY independent and individual if not selfish plans, which sometimes don’t work the way I want.

I should learn to include You in each plans I am making, Lord. Even when I think it’s just another silly and unimportant plans. Really.

(Pssst, Lord, I plan to go to Timbuktu… would You allow me?  )