Terraced hilly fields
Build levels, reduce runoff.
Beautifully strong—
—
Levelled
Tag: haiku
Good Age
How good is friendship?
As good as age of a friend
Whose food transforms taste.
—
Good Roots
Good roots are strong roots
Supporting those on the soil.
They won’t be betrayed.
—
This trip is incredibly beautiful. Meeting best friends is more than anything. We talk. We laugh. We eat. We visit places. We engage with people.
One of my best friends who will be my neighbour in my humble abode is one of best human beings I’ve ever known. She lives to humbly serve humanity. She dedicates her life to help the underprivileged. She is so patient about what others do to her and always in understanding mode. She is so passionate in doing what she is doing to help others.
Among all her non profit projects that are my favourite is opening library in a small village that is functioning as youth center at the same time and supporting buruh gendong (traditional female labours who are paid to carry things either by sellers or buyers in Yogyakarta traditional markets, most of them are senior) in some traditional markets in Yogyakarta. If time allows me to live as long as I wish, our agreement is I will teach free classes of English, Japanese, leadership and management system in her youth center, while occasionally going with her from one market to another to greet the buruh gendong. Yet as an artist she is also teaching (mostly) women on how to make artistic products for sale to support themselves financially.
In this trip we discuss a lot about what we should do to ourselves and others but we can’t because of immovable blockages. We also talk about how we can feel good no matter bad a situation is. We talk about what will happen if the youth are not aware of what lies in their future at the same time we concern about how children around us get mature faster than we did before. And all always last long although with only a glass of tea, a cup of Javanese coffee and some pieces of local snack.
Life is too precious to focus on what doesn’t serve us good anymore. Life is too short to lament of any loss that is truly never loss. Life is too grand to just be sad of how that that we love disrespects us. Life is just too beautiful to consider what is not real.
So thankful for how real my best friends are in helping others. So thankful to be part of their spirit. So thankful that we are ordinary people in this grand life. So thankful that we are a grain of sand in the vast shore. So thankful that we accept who we are. So thankful that we are strong roots for each other.
Thank you, dear friend. It is good to always have a question “so what is our plan and action?” 💝
Alfatihah.
Good Day
What will you do on one bright day? Anything but feel no good.
—
Reflection of Beauty
Ripples break the face
On the lake. Beauty remains
In the lover’s heart.
—
A teacher asked whether there could be two Layla for one Majnun.
Everyone in the class knew the answer. There is only one Layla for one Majnun. That Majnun and that Layla—
Salaam.
Root Stays
Leaves and flowers show
How root is living. They bloom
Through time, root stays.
—
The Call
What colour is soul?
When the call is here, listen.
Skin colour is off.
—
Watching “Soul” again and still finding it refreshing 😍
Clean Up
Cleaning up the yard
From dry leaves and broken twigs.
Summer is coming.
—
Speed
Deaccelerate,
Accelerate on the road.
Life is not a race.
—
Fasting is a very familiar way of life to Javanese. Called pasa or poso, fasting in Javanese culture is always related to the effort to self align. Many Javanese like doing fasting with or without meditation (tapa brata or topo broto) depending on their commitment.
While Javanese Muslim do at least one month of fasting per year in Ramadhan, fasting in Javanese culture itself came even much earlier before Islam was introduced. While in Islam fasting is between dawn to dusk and the same restriction is commonly applied to all kinds of fasting, Javanese fasting is more varied both in term of period and restriction.
Fasting helps Javanese slow down the pace in their mind, regulate the speed of their ambitious behaviour upon life goals, train themselves to be patient.
There are several kinds of fasting in Javanese culture that are still practiced by relatively many nowadays.
1. Regular fasting
This fasting is done only from dawn to dusk like the Islamic fasting. This is a common practice, many Javanese parents use this kind of fasting to train their children about how to manage their immediate excessive desires and concentration in under pressure situation. I remember when we were elementary and high schoolers, we were instructed by parents to do fasting on Monday and Thursday during yearly school testing weeks. Yes, I felt more focused on my study as I had to prioritise tasks to save energy. Brilliant!
2. Mutih
Mutih is derived from the word putih (white in Javanese, Indonesian, Malay). During this fasting, a person is restricted to eat other than white rice and fresh water for 24 hours started either at dawn or dusk. Ordinary Javanese can do it for one day, three or seven. Yet more advanced (usually senior) Javanese would extend the period as per commitment.
3. Ngasrep or nganyep
Ngasrep is derived from the word asrep that means cool or cold; while nganyep from the word anyep means tasteless. In this kind of fasting the food and drink should be all cool and tasteless. The person is suggested to eat only boiled vegetable without adding taste (salt, sugar, oil, sauces, etc) and drink fresh water. It is mostly done in three days.
3. Ngrowot
Ngrowot is a word derived from the word krowot that means Javanese common carbo source except rice. The person who does this fasting will only eat carbo non rice like sweet potato, suwek (konjac), gembili, gembolo (English please….), taro, cassava and other tubers.
4. Ngebleng
Ngebleng means staying in; so doing this, a person will do regular fasting but very limited food intake allowed without leaving room or house, not meeting anyone, just doing meditation or doing household chores without distraction from anyone. Someone can do it three and seven days and forty days. Not many are doing this as this is a challenging one: not easy to find a place. This fasting is quite heavy because it does not allow sufficient food intake for a long time.
5. Pati geni (pati: turned off, geni: fire)
It literally means “fire turned off”. This is the highest level of Javanese fasting as the restriction applied really tests the person’s very high commitment: s/he is not allowed to eat, drink, sleep including fall asleep and see any light both artificial and natural. How long? The shortest is 24 hours, maximum unlimited. Note: if s/he sleeps or falls asleep, s/he has to restart the fasting.
There are other kinds of fasting in Javanese culture which were done by very limited people and have been left by many due to the impracticality such as pasa ngidang (from the word kidang or deer) in which a person is only allowed to eat raw foliage like a deer, pasa ngalong (from the word kalong or bat) only eating ripe fruit from the tree, pasa kungkum (bathing up to chin level either in the pool, river or shallow sea) without eating or drinking, etc. There are probably other kinds of fasting as Javanese used to be very creative in “fasting engineering” hahaha….
Javanese believe that with fasting they will connect better to themselves and inevitably with the ultimate power of the universe. They will usually become confident people without showing off. Those fasting committed people —if doing it right and without evil intension— will be a highly spiritual people and voluntarily dedicated to environment and people.
Javanese believe that this type of people bring blessings to the surroundings although blessings are not always tangibly seen. The blessings can be as simple as peaceful daily life with little conflict,
Do we still have many of them? In very silent villages around Java island we might still find a few. They are traditional farmers who feel the need to connect with the ultimate power as only that can help them manage their humble farming that is now severely industrialised and exploited.
Hope we still have them in silence. Amen.
Alfatihah.
Flowing
River is flowing.
Stuck, it is lack of clean air,
Home of mosquitoes.
—
Keep flowing and feeling good no matter what. Some people think that is a suggestion to someone weak. Nope! That is a sentence to someone who knows that life is so abundant and doesn’t offer thing except feel-good. Kindly know. 😊
Yet those who don’t know interpret most things only from what the senses capture in the surface.
May all beings be happy.
Neighbour
See you, dear neighbour.
The old prays, the new welcomes.
Good memories stay.
—
One of my neighbours move to a new place as they need an apartment with 3 bedrooms after having a new baby. We met at the basement carpark when they were stuffing cartons and stuffs to the Lalamove lorry.
The wife gave me their new address that is near my office so it can be easy to visit them someday.
We pray for your nice warm new home. We bless our 4-year neighbourhood. Thank you.
Salam…. 🙏🏼
A Dream
A dream is shadow
Who is loyal to the light,
Acting as the dark.
—
Weekend is always the second best after everything even when it is cloudy and full of rain everyday. 💝
Cycle
Follow the cycles
As driven by wind through path.
Move with heart and soul.
—
Good Fact
The earth is loyal
To the sun, and vice versa.
A very good fact—
—
Note: A fact is a fact. It is neutral in its nature. Good or bad is a label given by human beings in their favour. The best option is to responsibly respond to the fact to stay in good mood.
Colour
Eyes see colour hue
Splattering on a palette
Ready to draw taste.
—
Excited for my kitchen will be! 😘😘😘
Music
Is the one flowing
River? Can be flow of notes
Infusing good air—
—
Never forget that music is an inseparable part of life. Put some in every part of the day. If all those in the playlist become boring, drop a pencil on to the floor and that’s music. 😊Or, drop a pan on to the floor… No no no, that is music (and louder) but too extreme to listen to. 😁
Salaam.
Small Joy
Blooming orchids show
Vibrant hues waited a while
Without counting time.
—
I think so much surprise comes to us because we just do without craving for the expected result. Not 100% correct, but that is most what has happened to me. ☺️
Welcome, blooming flowers. You have been as stubborn as the gardener. God bless you! 😍
Sunday is full of cleaning, laundry and sweet surprises!
Salaam.
Hello Dusk!
Bright Eyes are blinking
Lazily greeting the dusk
Hiding mister sun.
—
Colours
The biggest secrets
Are sitting on the eyelids
Without disguising.
—
Where Is Peace
Where is peace on earth?
In deep sea, blue sky, green land,
Kind heart and here now.
—
Skin of Soul
Day and night take turn
Defining wrinkles on skin,
Brilliance on soul.
—
Autumn
Dark night starts early
In fall when red leaves sway down
To earth cooling off.
—
While normally talking about spirituality and self love, one day one bestie and I conversed about money. To me she appears much more calculating than all of us in the circle. She manages her money very carefully and (of course) influences her friends to do so.
“If we feel ready with both predictable and measured emergency issues, we can feel good in more time than not.” 100% agree!
She is one of two besties teaching us to save at least 12-month income for emergency, fully pay all the loan the soonest possible, stay liquid rather than fixed (assets), not lend any assets to anyone anymore even with one’s emergency reason. I stubbornly disagreed with last one.
And she said all should be done soon because 2023 seems gloomy.
I didn’t take her words until watching a bunch of YouTube videos about financial analysis and forecast by experts and practitioners for the past two years.
Not hoping the darkness happens but there is no harm to prepare the umbrella before it rains.
Please save us. Amen…
Andalusia
Lines of orange trees
Tell stories of a city
With its bright fruit juice.
—
Raindrops
Rain falls on the roof;
Water drops are melody
Lullabying earth.
—
Library
Opening the door,
She finds books and thesaurus
Stacked high to the sky.
—
What else is this life mainly but library? Read your books! 💕
“Read your books” is excepted from one Quran verse “Read your records (the word kitabaka can also mean your books or your scrolls). You alone are sufficient this day to take account of yourself” that implies self observation, self evaluation, self assessment, self correction.
Ouch! An internal audit it is — becoming the auditor and the auditee: acting different roles in the same place using different points of view. Doable and sustainable! 😍
May all beings be happy.
A Whole
A hole curls sweetly
As a center of a whole.
Delicious truth—
—
Stories to Revisit (ranting)
Steps measure long roads
Where historians write stories
Tracking their own mind.
—
History isn’t about what’s written only but it is also about what’s tied to myths and folklores. Reading history books by ignoring what’s verbally circulated by people through myths and folklores is like describing a rose through picture: failing to experience the touch and the fragrance. People are always the actual sources of history— without them history doesn’t exist.
History versions are as many as heads on earth as all people have their own life history related to certain incidents in the world; not all of them though write. Many save their history in head and heart with different reasons— no time, no tools, no courage! My blog is my history book (that to some brilliant people looks like full of unnecessary complaints and cheap experiences). I love my history book how much ever people laugh at it. Hey! When people laugh at it, it means my comedy works. 😁
Salaam.
Loud & Clear Sign
Loud enough and clear—
Thunder strikes and rain begins.
Children play outside.
—
Your signs are well read, well noted, well understood. Well…. 😎
Birthday
On your birthday, Love,
Magic sends sweet messages
And flowers and gifts.
—
Ibu turns 78 today. It is a 78 years of human beings, 54 years of a wife, 53 years of a mother of 5. 47 years of being my mother— maybe the most annoying of facing this one rascal among 5 angels. 🙃 She might not be always happy being her but she is full of sweet smiles and words of encouragement.
If her life is a painting, it will be a colourful canvas full of fragrant tropical flowers and powerful herbs that can be concocted as medicines especially for her family and friends. Beautiful and full of healing for others— No wonder her family and neighbours highly respect her.
Ibu, I know you never like big celebration and that’s why we only send stupid messages on your birthday. But I know you always miss us to annoy you and that’s why we give surprises! Much love today and forever!
Salaam…
Oct 9, 2022
Soft Voice
The wind brings voice of
Falling leaves softly rustling
About silent notes—
—
I humbly apologise for not being able to read your signs…. Or maybe they are for other addresses.
Salaam 💝
rike jokanan 
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