Come true, Beloved,
Wishes colouring this life,
Bringing love and joyβ
β
My mini daruma dolls package arrived from Japan. Now it is time to make wishes and draw the left eye.
May all beings be happy!


graphs of my Universe
Come true, Beloved,
Wishes colouring this life,
Bringing love and joyβ
β
My mini daruma dolls package arrived from Japan. Now it is time to make wishes and draw the left eye.
May all beings be happy!


Your face gleams in stars
I look up alone at night.
Your words shine with suns
I search in far galaxies.
Your heart sits so high,
Itβs frozen. Should I leave now?
Said I to my heart.
A line of white clouds stop me.
These feet are stuck here
Standing on dewy grasses.
Itβs almost morning.
Maybe youβll wake up, Iβll see.
Itβs a bird story
Finding a place called a home.
She thinks home is far.
It lies in her heart meadow.
β

Penang – Oct 5, 2022 / 04:56am
One last sign, dear Love,
Closure of a long journey,
End of a battleβ
β
Finallyβ¦.

Feel good, Beloved,
No matter what. Stars still shine.
Moon and earth still spin.
—
Why are you nervous, my dear? Romance is within reach, just between breathing in and breathing out. Stars, moon and earth give you so much attention while you are ignoring them. They have done their jobs; you should do yours if you think it feels good.
May all beings be happy.
Salaam. π



These gifts, Beloved,
Peace and love hummed to loved ones
Living here and thereβ
β
One of the Javanese and Islamic teachings that I will never leave for the rest of my life is sending gift of prayer containing peace and love to my loved ones wherever they are, whether they are physically wandering on earth or spiritually gathering around life.
I believe that my passing-away ancestors are living in different levels of consciousness (call it hell, heaven or somewhere in between up to your liking) and they are watching their offsprings without being able to directly communicating with us. They deserve my gift as they have been my line to get the chance to be here now. They deserve peace and love as they have done the best they could to draw a meaningful family tree. Yes, some might have made silly mistakes but hey thatβs what Buddhism calls βkarmaβ. Yes, some might have caused shameful stains on the family picture but hey thatβs what Islam calls βalam syahadahβ. Whoever and whatever they were, all of my ancestors deserve good wishes sung to them.
I also wish peace and love to those I love still breathing the air. Wishing all of them health and happiness. π
We Javanese Muslim will send gift by reciting some Javanese prayer closed with Alfatihah, a short chapter in the Quran containing peace, love, praise, forgiving, protection and guidance. A basket of beautiful wishesβ
How light this heart is to be sure that all whom I love are well.
Alfatihah to all whom I love. Youβre loved. Youβre blessed. Donβt shop too much. π
Happy weekend!


Guessing, Beloved,
The least inaccurate points
Of mangosteen seedsβ
β



Thatβs what we call βtebak buah manggisβ, guessing game to decide whether the number of sections at the bottom of the fruit accurately matches the number of seeds inside. Mostly matching, yet this time it is not! π Life is sometimes unpredictable even with good database; anomaly is a rule whose patterns are not yet formulatable oops formulated by human beings β please excuse my English, Iβm not a native. π
Like someone we love. We thought they are 6, in fact they are 5.
Fair enough to say: seldom expect accuracy in estimation; better be sufficiently into the least inaccuracy so it wonβt drop one down to abyss when finding inaccurate things. Iβm trying to be wise as myself for myself about myself. π₯°
Oh dear, mangosteens!
Idyll, Beloved,
Found in rural area;
Hidden heritageβ
β
Saw a package in front of my door today. It had been there for several days as instructed to the courier while I was away for a biz trip. Three pieces of jarik batik (long fabric with traditional batik patterns) from Yogyakarta were delivered safe and sound.
Idyllic gift for myself for the hard work in the past one year. Thank you, dear self! π


Truntum (depiction of thousands of jasmine flowers) symbolises life under divine guidance and peaceful life fragrant like jasmine. Sido asih symbolises living in love and compassion.



While sido asih pattern bears common symbols everywhere in Java island, the color and the strokes show its place of origin. Black and thin lining is originated from Solo, white and bold lining is originated from Yogyakarta.

Nitik (literally means making dots/points) is an original batik pattern in Bantul district, Yogyakarta. Nitik βcakar ayamβ (literally means chicken claw) symbolises someone who is good at providing good life for his/her family (hard working, prosper and wise).
Two-sided batik is such a luxury to have in modern day. It doesnβt always show the price; but it is more about the maker has to block both sides of the fabric and it doubles the time of craftsmanship. Most batik is one-sided nowadays.
Canβt wait to directly thank the batik makers for their love to Javanese culture.
Matur sembah nuwun, Mbah. Mugi penjenengan dipunbarokahi dyaning Gusti Allah Kang Maha Agung. ππΌπ
Alfatihah
Feeling, Beloved,
Sparks from a crater deep down
Show that itβs alive-
β
Time is paper
With which poems are unrolled.
My beloved said
You need pens, I give you trees.
You need ink, I give you oceans.
Write love poems with love
Until you run out of paper.
I said
I need much paper
I want as much as I want
My love poems are trillions and more.
My beloved said
I wonβt let you write forever
The last paper is not for you
It is for me to invite poets for a party
Where a special spread is ready.
I asked
How much paper will I get
Will you give me as much as I want
Will you let me write trillions of love poems?
My beloved said
Write as much as you want
Iβll give you as much as you write
Youβll get your paper for your trillions
As long as theyβre yours.
My beloved said
Be dignified, write your own poems,
As the spread will be only for those
Not claiming from othersβ names.
β

Little bird, dear love,
Telling her to soar then go home
To where her heart isβ
β
Home. Is it a what, a who, a whom, a whose, a which, a when, a where or a how? She knows hers and it doesnβt always the same as othersβ. π

Nuance, Beloved,
Painting one heart in two hues;
Comparing two timesβ
β
Some songs like poem will stay in my heart and wonβt die. One of them is Dewaβs Kangen.
Never getting bored of listening to itβ Weekend is the best music box! π
With love, Beloved,
All is done and completed.
How would she not thank?
β


What is love and trust?
Wind and water pushing boat
Sailing to a landβ
β
Yes, love can come mysteriously like Capt Nemoβs Nautilus suddenly emerged from sea surface. She might love one that she doesnβt logically expect to love at all. Love is an active emotion. If she loves, she does. If she doesnβt love, she doesnβt. Accept and embrace it with its pain and foolishness.
Yet, trust can promote or demote one to or from a position like how Capt Nemo finally trusted Aronnax, Ned and Conseil as his main crew in the submarine. Trust is a living action. Test and investigate it with loyalty and integrity. If she trusts, sheβll promote the one to an inner circle. If she distrusts, she demotes one to outer layer.
Aaah! Love is always sweet in wordβ just that some people donβt have sufficient vocabulary to express and to understand. Trust is always inevitable in number β just that some people are accustomed to data manipulating to look good and so hiding the fact.
Still loving you though π π
May all beings be happy.

Dream home, Beloved,
Sitting with all senses on,
Capturing momentsβ
β
Lunch break + very very heavy rain = early wish of birthday getaway to come true!





To be continued with more destinations in 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, 2036, 2037, 2038, 2039, 2040, 2041, 2042, 2043, 2044, 2045, 2046, 2047, 2048, 2049, 2050, 2051, 2052, 2053, 2054, 2055, 2056, 2057, 2058, 2059, 2060, 2061, 2062, 2063, 2064, 2065β¦. As if I knew how long I will wander around here? I hope to live as long as time is mentally and physically enjoyable with family and friends without bothering them.
Long life, fresh and sane!
Then came the calculation partβ¦. A lot of coins to spend to comfortably celebrate that way in those particular places. Easy! Just need a clover pendant to make it happen. π

Thanks for the rain and daydream. I know there is more than meets the eye! Life is so rich and I accept all the gifts.
I donβt want to race.
Only safety that I wish
So I can meet you.
β


A beautiful view
Conjured by moon, sunk by sun.
It feels faraway,
A dissipating shadow.
At least I dream about you.
β
Sunday, did you conspire with the sun to snap my dream? Never mind. Iβll call the moon again to get it back. π
Happy Sunday!

Your name, Beloved:
Air blanketing fragrant space,
Soil firming the stanceβ
β
Shakespeare said βWhatβs in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.β
He isnβt wrong. Yet he isnβt always right.
I call a name when rain is sweetly pouring down, call another name when day is scorching too bright and hotβ¦.
Why is it easier to call your name than my own? Is your name so strongly rooted that only it I can remember when it rains? Is it your name or is it you that stays with me?
Oh youβ¦.
Oh your nameβ¦.
Salaam.

The depth of silence is
As deep
As ocean of possibilities.
Shaken, the ocean will splash
Drops of gifts.
Time once revealed
When the gifts will appear.
It once said
There is a moment in time.
Space once revealed
Where the gifts will arrive.
It once said
There is a point in space.
Spacetime once revealed
Why the gifts will engender.
It once said
There are reasons in life:
Unfortunately wrapped
In colours and shapes,
Often times disguising things:
A crow into a dove,
A wolf into a sheep,
A dumpsite into a garden,
A villainess into a heroine,
An evil witch into a kind queen,
Bent into straightβ
Misleading this travelerβs direction.
Once it was said
There is
One
That she will find
Somewhere some time only if
She minds.
Dear, Light.
Only
You can reveal
True colours
True shapes
True hearts
True reasons.
Be deeply silent
Even in the crowd
Where ocean of possibilities
Is shaken
In this spacious time.
Hey!
The gift is relatively fair, Beloved.
Be ready.
β
π

The top, Beloved,
Only with you I go there.
Others are wasted.
β
Others are wasted.

Point zero, my love
Here now, unshakeable ground
After the earthquakesβ
β
Iβve been a full time thinker for the past one weekβ¦. Thanks to the physical weakness brought by the virus! π₯° And here is the ranting abridged π
Life has always suggested me to walk through places where paradoxical situations exist and has made me weigh what life path should be chosen. Luckily life has always sent me angels (fallen angels included π) who remind me that life isnβt only about exploiting whatβs considered lucrative and physically pleasant; itβs also about exploring whatβs wising-up and spiritually enriching.
When I was young; books, courses, lectures, workshops were kind of βsubscriptionβ I had to shape a level of mental toughness. Yet there was exhaustion and anti-climax for intensity every now and then (good deed included π). Losing faith, difficulty to trust human beings and skepticism to almost everything triggered me to deconstruct my own mindset.
Another βpoint zeroβ came and brought a decision to take a course inspired by one friend named Eva (not one of my close friends but she is definitely one trusted human being). I promised to myself that this would be my LAST course to finally be unshakeable me.
I flew to Edinburgh and was driven from the airport to a place called Chisholme House by Mr Brix who became an excellent opening of my self re-discovery. He introduced me to the richness of self re-discovery even before the course started. That was when I felt so lucky to have read Ibn Arabi, Rumi and English literature although not extensively and to have learnt Javanese wisdom that is considered βlocalβ by many of my friends (which I always disagree) as Mr Brixβ languages were using all those keywords in the repertoire from my literature reading and cultural wisdom. Indeed Mr Brix was a βgateβ welcoming me to a true friendship or fellowship bonded by humanity.
The course was simply daily schedules for us to an experiencing life or βhuman beings who workβ β physically, mentally, spiritually, socially in connection with their own self, other human beings and nature. Of course the classes was the superb! Collins, Hiroko and Aaron were excellent facilitators and to me they are role models of ordinary yet impressive human being! Collins was a loving husband and father cum the best administrator. Hiroko was a loving mother and wife cum an excellent painter! Aaron was an excellent chef cum wise philosopher! π
It was so normal a life that I felt so blessed. We woke up in the morning then took a bath or at least took ablution. We started the day with a group meditation β everyone: the course participants, kitchen staffs, office staffs, garden staffs, etc except those who overslept. Then we had breakfast β English breakfast! After that we started the class; the staffs started their duties. After that we had tea break then WORK! Work meant doing the assigned chores (garden, kitchen, house, laundry). After that class again then English lunch! Then lunch break for one hour. Class again. Mediation again. Work again. Afternoon tea. Personal time (we could go to the hill, forest, sleep, talk to staffs or participants, whatever). English dinner. Discussion time. Free time. Sleepβ¦. Repeat.
Completing the βself re-discoveryβ, I found that life is like riding bicycle, balancing while moving. I lose, I win. I fall in love, I break heart. I get sick, I get cured. I trust, I distrust. I think, I feel. I work, I take a rest.
Balancing is about knowing the limit. I lose against someone/something but I gain wisdom. I fall in love at the same time I have to accept the unpredictable responses. I get sick then I will be cured. I trust with or without reasoning yet can also distrust because of the true or false reasoning. I think based on logic yet when logic doesnβt count, only feeling of acceptance will neutralise the situation. And, when I am tired, I should take time-out. Just like that!
And I actually graduated with flying colours from many βextraβ lessons: doing laundry, washing dishes, house keeping, potato harvesting, making bread, cooking English lunch, preparing dining table, raking dry leaves, going up and down the hills in the rain, walking in the moorland, listening to silence, listening to othersβ opinions, identifying and recognising true intelligent people, trusting the right people at the right time in the right place, respecting stupid idiot (myself included π), taking a bath in the cold morning, and more and more!
And yes, that was the last course in my life. Ordinary yet impressive, like what I always want myself to be to and for those having in touch with me.
I want to be back there not as a participant but as a guest in the English breakfast or lunch bringing a best friend who deserves an ordinary yet impressive life.
β¦. π
Thanks for today! π΄
Salaamβ¦
β




Torii, Beloved,
Opening from here to here
To be entered nowβ
β
Iβll always make tomorrow morning inevitable in life like a torii that connects here now and another here now. These happy steps are walking from torii to torii, with another pair of steps inevitably aligning with me.
Salaam.
π

Duhai, Indonesia. Serupa apapun engkau, kau adalah tempat lahirku. Walaupun saran dan nasehat bertaburan untuk menjadi pemegang status PR di rumah keduaku ini, aku tak goyah. Nggak papaβ¦. PR atau bukan PR passport-ku tetap Indonesia. Hanya cinta dan hidup-mati saja yang boleh membuatku jadi PR atau pindah kewarganegaraan. Selain itu, no way!
Indonesiaku, terima-kasih telah menjadi tempat lahirku dan tempatku belajar hal-hal pokok untuk menjadi manusia utama. Kalau aku dilahirkan dan dibesarkan di negara lain, mungkin aku jadi orang yang bermewah-mewah dan tidak down to earth.
Indonesiaku, kemanapun aku pergi, kamulah darah yang mengalir di tubuh ini. Dimanapun aku tinggal, engkau tetap menjadi tujuan pertama pulang atau liburanku (ya setahun satu atau dua kali deh). Dengan siapapun aku bergaul, kamu tetap warna primerku.
Kecintaanku padamu bukan pada para pejabat buruk yang mengurusi ketatanegaraan. Kecintaanku tulus pada tanah, air, udara, rakyat dan makhluk di sekitarnnya.
Merdeka!


Broken clay jar, Love,
A love letter torn apart.
Message of a heartβ
β
How broken you are, I will always love and respect you as a clay jar that records history and memory, in the hands of an ignorant they become waste and rubbish, in the hands of wise lessons and wisdom.
Iβll take your broken clay jar to kintsugi craftsmen in near future trip just in case they can also repair broken clay jar. π€
Otherwise, Iβll keep it in my mini cabinet of curiosity to be a reminder that a heart is so fragile or so broken and so worth handling with care.
Salamβ¦. ππΌ

7, Beloved,
Oceans, mountains and heavens
Represent this joy!
β
Canβt move on from number 7. Thanks so much! π
I will win
In any battle.
My flag is rising
As high as the farthest star
Reaching you
Bravely!
In me is a girl who dares!
Iβm brave!
Donβt try me!
I amβ¦.
Brave!
β
Nocturne, Beloved,
Desert at velvety nights;
Her hair is waving,
Where pitch and rhythm dangle
Sprinkling tones of a warm heart
β
Night is a sweet shelter that never complains whether I snore or sing or cry or laugh or play or work or just sit on the window nook.
Sereneβ¦.

Listen, Beloved,
Humming angels keep singing
Song of union.
Ears canβt hear, too low a voice.
Heart can, swayed by the wind though.
Root deep, Beloved.
The song vibrates in the earth,
Making grass and flowers bloom,
Brightening up the meadowβ
Listen, Beloved.
β
It takes enormous patience to listen to the silence. Hey! Is it being patient or simply allowing quietness to sit where birds and monkeys are hopping and making noise?
Listening is a skill. A skill needs practices to mastery. Mastery takes time. Time takes breathing, in, out, with awareness.
βpracticing listening mode onβ

A lady is walking to the lake.
An empty clay jar sits on her waist.
Her hair is hanging loose,
Listening to love songs, waving to the sky.
Sitting, she looks down
Saying hi to her reflection on and on.
My hair, thanks for growing long
And for listening to my love songs.
A lady is walking back to home.
A clay jar full of water sits on her waist.
Her hair is waving by the wind:
Spreading patchouli fragrance, calming down the lane.
Walking, she looks forward
Humming her best love songs.
My hair, thanks for spreading good scent
And making my life so fragrant.
My hair, thanks for being silken
And keeping this flame ardent.
My hair, grow grow long.
My hair, listen to these love songs.
My hair, stay here
Until home is welcoming me.
β
Each and every one deserves love and appreciation. Today I took longer time to scrutinise and caress my hair; this stubborn tough protein deserves love and appreciation, too.
A hymn for my hair is not too much, an extra love after shampoo to clean, conditioner to soften and sometimes hair dye to match the mood.

Some beats, Beloved!
Letβs dance under this night rain!
Gotta get thru this!
ππ½
Ending one week to start another with a favourite song by two favourite singers!
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