Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak Nun or Mbah Nun) is the only spiritual teacher that has been in my life since I was around 15 years old. I started reading his poems, articles, essays, etc in printed mass media by then. He was a social justice activist, an artist, an intellectual, a thinker, a columnist, whatever people called him. He was dubbed “Kiai Mbeling” (naughty religious teacher) at that time.
A lot of his analysis he made have happened every now and then. I’m one of the witnesses of all the political unrest that he did predict through data analysis & social sensitivity of his. Many people are late listening to them, late seeing them, missing a lot of facts that were his analysis. However, until today there are many disrespecting him.
Has he become angry because of the way he’s been treated? No! He knows. He understands. He always tells us to go with the God’s flow. Accept gracefully your life.
Once I asked for advice; I was in one of difficult times in life. He just said “Always flow with Gusti Allah, only that.”
Until now I’m still one of his students of life. I respect him for his humble life. He never has more than IDR100,000 in his pocket and he will try his best to give it away to anyone around him needing it.
In this very difficult time in our country we his circle so much miss him. He’d been tamers in many unrest even when the news was never out to the media.
Today he’s still weak and can’t be present physically to tame some important heads.
I personally pray that he soon stands up! Tell them, Cak Nun that this country is exhausted of the corruption & arrogance of greedy politicians.
Dear, God. Please grant our prayers.
Dear, Motherland. Please arrange a real peace for your children.
Amen.
☘️❣️🇮🇩💕
Cak Nun, it’s time! Please stand up & tell them to stop.
There are ways For those hiding To stay hidden. There are ways For those running To keep running. There are ways For those struggling To forever struggle. They say they do it For those they love. They claim they do it For those they care. They pledged they do it For those they respect. Is it true? Words can lie. Numbers can manipulate. Silence can cover. Yet eyes can't bury What's sliding with tears On the face of reality.
Don't lie to me Honesty saves everyone's time. I have no time To have fun If fun is your way to hide Your true face from me. Save yourself By letting go Off the masks That you wear even when alone. Let it fall off And I will stride away With a lot of pray.
Dear, Child. Look at the stars Blinking their signs; The shooting star Burning their directions; The glowing sky Telling their histories.
Dear, Child. Listen to the old songs. See the old galaxies. Touch the swirling dusts. Taste the sweetness of comets. Smell the expanding universe. All no limit But your definition.
Hug me As we travel. Trust me As we wander. Like I hug You, Like I trust You.
Dear Child.
body and soul is like a female and a male in a marriage as discussed in classes of spirituality
in Javanese tradition body is symbolizing the female that is also the earth — accepting, submissive and intuitive; while soul is symbolizing the male that is also the heaven — giving, powerful and guiding
yet to me it’s not always that way; to me yes body and soul is like a mother and a child — the mother holding an infant (can be a girl or a boy) in a state that the mother is making sure the child is purely happy
I personally believe as long as the soul remains childlike, the body is not suffering — accepting what is is the key
about this life I sometimes don’t want to define as definition is a limit
and so I don’t force my understanding to anyone even to those I love the most because spiritual experience is very personal, cannot be forced, can only be synchronised through mutual journey
that’s why spiritual journey is called silent path; even when we’re in the same discussion room, the expansion of understanding might be different from one another
let’s accept our own silent path with no judgment
❣️
Notes: it’s my personal thought, doesn’t mean to influence anyone, a ranting of a life traveler
If I'm a mother, I'd be my children's student And their wisdom guide.
I had a Sunday cafe date with a friend while she was accompanying her son having taekwondo class nearby.
Like usual only with this friend I can always agree to go out of my home at weekend except when I am really caught up with urgent work. With her (and her husband and children) I can talk freely with loud laughter without being afraid of any judgement. They are perhaps my closest friends here in Singapore.
One of the today’s topics was mother.
We know quite a bit about both of our journey of relationship with mothers. As daughter we had almost the same experience of dealing with mother: acceptance to be a daughter of a woman with very different mindset and nurturing experience.
Our acceptance to our mother’s love evolved beautifully. Both of us have realised how much our mothers love us and how much we both love those women called mother. It was just a matter of positioning based on respect and understanding. It is always about knowing what and how love manifests in life.
oolong tea, thanks for witnessing friends’ laughter and genuine talk
That she is herself a mother of two children has taught her what a mother’s love means. To me I experienced various conflicts and arguments with my mother until at one point I realised how hard it was to be in her position and how hard to me to accept the fact that I have to accept my position before her culturally, biologically and ethically.
This friend likes to share with me how she raises her kids and the vice versa, I also like to give case studies and see how she treats some situations. Among all married friends she might be the one I would like to be like in most situations, not all as we still have different opinions in some topics if I am a mother (I know it is just an if as I don’t even have a hope to be someone’s wife at this age). She is open to communicate with her kids and husband up to a level of sitting at a round table to openly argue about things; at the same time she has her boundary at which point a mother stops to force and at which line a child must respect parents.
Today’s was our last 2024’s meet-up. She will fly to Karuizawa, Japan on Dec 11 until end of year and I will finish my work before end-of-year’s home country leave for a short while.
This friend always makes me miss my mother.
Ibu, I will call you tomorrow morning…. Know that I will always love you . Know that I will say yes if you become my mother again in my next life.
This experience explains to me why I avoid preaching through concluded statements; it explains to me why I prefer sharing my experience while stating what lessons I’ve learnt through it and let my interlocutors deal with their own thoughts.
I saw a short YouTube video about “how to avoid anger” and said to myself “Ok! I can do it easily! A piece of cake!”
Dropped by the driver in KLCC, I headed to my favourite brand for corduroy pants and skirt. There won’t be time to get them in Singapore because of back to back trips until mid Dec. And the 10% discount as a tourist; what a lure.!
also these books from Kinokuniya 😍
Walking back to hotel prancing, I decided to continue some minor work (no workouts, enough with 4231 steps today and new books to scan before skimmed later) when a call from an unknown Malaysia number came in.
….
“Hello, Ma’am. Good evening. I’m Z the storekeeper in dadada…… I undercharged you by MYR360…. Where are you now?….. Can you come back to our store?….. But I need to close tonight….. Please help me….. I will send the payment link to your email. What is your email?….”
Long story short, I paid. Fact: she is younger than me, she spoke as if I made the mistake, she told me to come back to KLCC, not negotiable for me to come back tomorrow….
Lady, you undercharged me not because I intended to underpay you. Your mistake and yours only. Her tones in the call ruined my good impression about the pretty ex flight attendant.
I was about to rant to her with professional comments when I remembered the video I watched. Damn!
🤭
this person’s message: tips to avoid anger: think before talking: count to 10 before talking (due to bad mood) to younger, count to 30 to those at the same age, 50 to those older, count continuously to wife without talking, no need to count just talking to the husband
😂
i counted to many even though she is younger and it was her mistake
bloody hell! it is definitely not easy to not be angry to someone who annoys me
😝
This explains why delaying responses is important. This explains why I don’t really enjoy concluded statements outside work. This explains why I prefer telling stories and sharing my lessons learnt. This explains why I really want to shut up starting tomorrow except at work or to my nieces and nephews.
The Master, Beloved Shows me how beauty is made And destroyed. That's life.
Ibu Tien is a senior batik artisan who has been my main source of my Yogyakartan classical batik collection. As a Javanese I never want to even sit at the same level with a master; I will sit at least one level lower from them at least when being in a frame. 💕 She is about 15 years older than me. Other then her Mbak Izzah, Ibu Tien’s daughter in law is another master of Yogyakartan classical batik
Mbak Izzah preparing my package; this stack was not one-time haul, many of them are those started 2 years ago — yes, one sheet of batik can be processed up to two years, mine was because some colouring process was done in another city (Solo) and some batik makers had to pause the batik process to go to rice field (taking care and harvesting rice)
Wukir Sari, Imogiri, Oct 25, 2024
Mbak Fitri is a master of “batik nitik” who becomes my main facilitator for “batik nitik” collection. She is the one introducing me to the senior batik artisans who dedicate themselves to this tradition. I sat down on the floor and made her sit at the chair although she strongly refused; my respect to this master although younger than me. 💕
I went out for dinner at the last night stay in Hanoi with some old friends (all auditors I met before I joined this company) and our conversation like always went astray, this time to Q&A about why some of us are singles after 40.
Among 11 of us going, 4 are singles and only I am open to marriage, the other 3 just want to have temporary partnership or commitment without marriage. And so I became the center of discussion; curiosity at its highest season. 😁
Friend (F): At your age, you still want marriage?!!!
Me (M): Yes. That’s the only committed romance I want when a man approaches me. I don’t need a long dating before marriage either.
F: But you’re a romantic type who will need sparks to bloom first before marriage.
M: I will not let a man approach me if I don’t have a spark. Or, if I sense he is just playing around, I will buy strong eraser to erase my sparks immediately. I don’t want to be broken hearted again. The rule is no sh*t, no one between us.
F: So rigid! Put some fun!
M: Marriage is a commitment so I need to make it true and real from the start with some fun. The full fun can wait and it is forever. Am I right, hey married friends? (Most of them agreed; a few of them complained about the boredom of being with only one partner.)
a heavily-romantic song from Sal Priadi that might depict a definition of romance to me 😁
F: I wonder what kind of man you are attracted to.
M: No particular.
F: Must be Muslim?
M: No. I stopped talking about religion since forever. A man with religion is not a guarantee, based on my long observation.
F: Handsome?
M: As long as someone is a man, I can call him handsome.
F: Rich?
M: Not necessarily but I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t have enough resource to take care of his family. I don’t want someone from a family that has tendency to overestimate its own and underestimate others. Socioeconomic charisma in society is never my criteria. My criteria is simply stable protection; I don’t look for high profile family.
F: So, what type do you want? Seems humble but you are actually picky!
M: Why are you irritated by my preference?
F: I mean you are 49, don’t you think you need to simplify your criteria?
M: I have done it and I only have 5 main criteria.
F: Name them, lady.
It was funny that I felt life became so roomy when I was able to tell who I am to other human beings without forcing.
M: 1. Sexually straight — I respect LGBTQ++ but I don’t want to be in a romance with them. 2. Not abusive verbally, paychologically and especially physically — abuse is never good, 3. Loyal to me then his and my families — 4. Independent including in making decision for himself and later him and me, 4. Responsibly hardworking.
F: Why hardworking? Smart working no?
M: I don’t know what smart working is, maybe it is just another tyoe of hard working. I saw my father, a hardworking man who took care of his family to the best he could. He might not have been able to make us super rich family but he never gave up. He was a responsible man by being hardworking. We are respected because my father had dignity in his life. No lazy man is welcomed.
F: I am lazy at the weekends, Rike.
M: And you are seriously married. A good combination to a no.
There were other questions but not shareable here. Too private and personal 😎
F: Do you feel lonely?
M: I am not except in a long biz trip like this. Hotel room never feels home after one week for me. When I am home, I never ever feel lonely; I love staying home with or without company.
F: I pray for you.
M: For what?
F: To marry your true love.
M: Thank you! (Funny to accept the prayer from the atheists; so officially that day I started believing that all human beings believe in a power beyond life, some just don’t find the right concept they can accept.)
We enjoyed the chicken claws that tasted much more delicious that evening because of our conversation. Laughter and beer (for me no beer) made the short rendezvous worth goldbars. Then we travelers walked back to our hotels and residents drove back home.
I love my friends! They don’t judge my choice how much ever different it could be.
Be happy, dear friends. See you in our next rendezvous!
to my true love, i am saying hi to you before you arrive,
but if you don’t, do believe that i’m ok with or without you
Beauty, Majesty Both in me-- I'm predictable, I'm throwing surprises, Both simply reflecting One whole me. If you don't want one side, You won't either get the other.
yin-yang, duality in unity, union in separation, jamal and jalal of asmaul husna, beauty and majesty, masculine and feminine, etc; you name it — it is a perfection in an imperfect human being
what do you expect from a human being but two sides of a coin, beloved?
Joy is contagious Spreading through fungi, Growing under the ground, Connecting stations of interest on earth, Glowing through memories, hopes and dreams.
if i happened to be in Jogja today, i would have loved to be there too to meet with these announcers whom i listen almost every morning to start my day; their joyful moment was contagious though so even not joining, i could feel the joy!
i wish you health and joy everyday so you can share good things longer and more
Happiest birthday To my sacred woman, Mother. Please always give Another year Every year For us to pay.
i used to have a difficult relationship with my mother, very difficult; whatever i did was just not acceptable — my choice was her rejection, always
one year to reconcile i asked her to go for major pilgrimage with me but she rejected saying that she was too weak to do (even i offerred the shortest period); but she agreed for a minor pilgrimage — it was to me a cauldron of patience test, and i think the same for her; but we both started to know what was the knot in the rope
i never knew how jealous a mother can be to a daughter who is close to her husband until that day when she said to me “your father loved you more than loved me” — i was very close to my father and now i knew why shewondered why; we both know and accept it now
starting that year our relationship was getting easier and easier until 2018 we were in the peak — i was in my third worst argument in my life with her (1st when i refused to marry a man chosen by her, 2nd when she disagreed with my romance that eventually ended)
since then we started to learn gradually that there was a big misconception about mother-daughter relationship
a mother who thinks that her daughter is a possession should let go; a daughter who wants total freedom should slow down— there shall be a middle way where balance is achieved
and it worked; our relationship is getting better and better — we get along very well, we are relaxed in treating each other
do i love it? yes, except that she will contact me every single day to ask me how i am 🤪
happy 80th birthday, Ibu; thank you for being my mother — hope we clean our karma in this life so when we meet again, everything is going smoothly 😘
She thought The door was open ajar And so she stepped forward Then she found It was never ajar, It was unclearly welcoming, Playing true heart, Causing a burning pain.
It was a glass window Protecting a door That was never open-- Neither for her Nor for anyone Probably-- Some home is designed To lure hope Just to damage true trust.
She decided that It's her fault And mindfully she's to be careful As her heart won't Bear the cost of What's not true Anymore.
stand in front of a door that is finally found never open for me, time to go within
it is my first time, very first time to find that a heart can show me so overwhelmingly huge clear admiration and hope but then cause me to free fall ridiculously
maybe i did something really bad to that heart in my previous life
dear, love — i don’t want unclarity next time; i don’t want false alarm; i want only clear mind and genuine intension
lesson is learnt in many ways; i thank life for teaching me so much love — this time love that has no clarity about its own self
thank you, love for giving me clarity about myself and about you
A gift, Beloved, Wrapped or unwrapped, it will be Blessings to both sides.
today i met my Tapa Brata room mate, she is a sister in this spiritual and medical journey for me; while she is much younger than me, she is tremendously more advanced in what we both are doing — today she wrapped me a silver jewelry that i right away wore to go dinner with her in PS
She's blessed, Beloved In the name of none but love By those knowing love.
almost done with the packing — short getaway somewhere connected with 1-week biz trip to KL
i’ve been in good mood
this was the first time i was kissed and hugged by the CFO of a company after a closing meeting — she said she had heard my name from other counterparts in other branches and she liked the way i defended my standpoint; or, probably she was just being a mother who remembered her daughter
Thank you, my morning For giving my passion back After short suicide.
the lagoon pool this morning, its splashing sound competing with the traffic picking up was the background when i called my mother after my morning walk
my mother is sometimes too worried about me then she says “you’re too active”; she’s not exactly right— yes i swim every 2 days, walk 5km every 2 days and bike now and then but i see others run, hike the mountains, box (some of my Filipino colleagues do), etc
so i told my mother just now that i will keep being active if this is what she calls active as this is what makes me greet my morning with positive vibes everyday
i don’t want to waste my time by doing what those in despair do
and she always tells me “don’t forget the routine fasting but eat more” — what?! mother…. a woman that annoys you but you can’t stop loving her
Today’s dvetsiaranpagi episode is so far the most heavily belly-shaking (to me) esp. on the scout experience & the proverb “bagai pungguk merindukan bulan” parts. Downloaded, rewatched at lunch break and will be rewatched for my rest–
You're a book she's read, Much to digest and absorb. A witty preface--
i breathe books in everyone i meet; their life stories are all worth telling; some in secret, some in public — no one is unworthy
sometimes i can sense a dazzling story just by reading its preface; sometimes the preface doesn’t represent the helter-skelter conflicts within the book; sometimes a book simply puts me to sleep soundly
She won't let go, Love The softness and clarity She's gained through tough years.
found it this morning and sent it to Ina and Novi, my bestfriends — humble human beings whose heart talks to me with blissful joy, i to them and would be on and on
She's simply composed, Not even shaken by storm. Rooted to the earth--
My intuition works wonder when it comes to family esp mother, as if knowing when something wrong happens even no one informs me.
Yesterday I contacted my sister saying that mother might not be good. She said mother was ok and sleeping.
My gut said different. I contacted my cousin saying the same thing and she said “Yes, she fell and injured a bit on her chin and left hands.”
I happened to know later that my mother didn’t allow my sister to tell me about the incident.
I tried to digest the “lie” although the feeling inside was a mix of anger, disappointment, sadness, left behind at the same time relief that she was now ok.
This morning after a long meeting I called my mother. I really wanted to give her some “lecture” that she should be careful, should not do this or that and should let me know whatsoever happens to her. But I detered myself from doing so.
I know what I would say is something true but don’t want to hurt her motherly affectionate decision. I chose to accept her reason of not informing me: so my child can work with light heart.
My mother is one of the mentally strongest women I’ve known in life. None of people knowing her will say otherwise.
Once I joked around with her “Ibu, please pray that I don’t have to be as strong as you in life as when I’m as strong as you, it means I will have one most challenging of human life.”
She said “You can be stronger than me but don’t need to experience what I have in life. Trust your life.”
Yes, I do trust life will protect me from the harms.
rike jokanan 
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