Extracting What’s In

Of sun of the day,
Of moon of the night, it comes
The sense of language—

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No, it is not a story of a human with a name. It is a journey of eternal flame.

Opening page by page, the last page is not an epilogue. It is a prologue of another story.

Beloved, are you a book or a library?

It doesn’t matter, just read.

May all beings be happy.

Strahav Library – not my photo collection, you can find it everywhere

Friends Truly Taste Summer

A gate wide opens
Out to a meadow. Summer,
Show your charms to earth.

Not that I’m happy all the time but speak happy talk happy smile happy eat happy work happy has made me happier longer than before.

So why not?

Thanks for those humble and kind orbiting around me. So blessed for being some simple waza waza for each other! 💝

It is not easy there but you can do it!

This too shall pass!

Salam…. 🙏🏼

flowers from the desert, beauty and endurance blended in colours like friendship

Morning Has Broken

Morning has broken.
Path’s cleared by last night’s rain. I—
Miss you in the dark.

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New day, please bless me…. 🤍 Erase all the torturing memories even from the best listed ones…. Amen….

You The Punctuation

You are you thats you
The you thats not you the you
I think is you Who

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There are so many yous in you You through a complex prism is able to compel one to sign an everlasting contract with no terms and conditions but saying yes to all of you

Your signature is a punctuation while mine is a dragged line called names

Youre that important that history of alphabet puts you as a technology that moves meaning

Punctuation is you

May all beings be happy

you beauty that builds meaning

Story of Today’s Rain

Indeed, Beloved
Whatever’s left by the rain
Is good memory.
Each water droplet saves it;
Plays its melody sweetly.

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I wish I could read your mind, borrow some of the words and insert them into a unique story.

An everlasting wish….

💝

after rain

July Sun

Journey, Beloved
Is wonderful flow and hike.
What a bright sunshine!

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Welcome, July. Please be kind like how a good sister treats me.

Happy birthday, dear sis…. 💞

protea and mini chrysanthemum

A Neighbour-To-Be

One step out of gate
Is a neighbour who greets you,
Supports you with heart.

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‘ve always loved to have neighbours, good neighbours. Bad neighbours? Gosh! They are just those who don’t know how to thank for what they have been given and think that others are more blessed and happier. I had both back then. Now? My neighbours here are doors with numbers, cleaning service and security guards. 😁

Many want to live in a place where neighbours are those greeting and supporting each other with heart. I don’t mind to have a few rather bad neighbours among most good ones. And my home-base-to-be seems showing good signs. A good friend cum a good neighbour-to-be said that her friend owns a restaurant located near the home-base-to-be. A restaurant named “Jiwa Jawi” (literally means Javanese soul) is there right at the back of the home-base.

Wouldn’t it be nice that our backyard is looking out to a restaurant in a small jungle? When the food at home isn’t enough for visiting family and friends, just dial the number and get some to be delivered in no time. Indonesian food will always be one most favourite on the home-base’s dining table.

Another good news, this restaurant is a ground where people can eat, chat, camp, play, gather, pose to enjoy the day! When some intermezzo is needed, just step out of the gate and chill out there. Some friends said it is instagramable.

Can’t wait, can’t wait…. I miss home.

Salaam….

You Like It Or Not, Feel Good

Orange horizon
Warms her dusk, welcomes her night.
Weekend’s over soon.

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How beautiful is the sunset in the west? The color, the shape, the impression plus the drama that it can create. That’s how poetic a natural phenomenon can be in the hand of a literary person.

How high is sun’s temperature? Burning, suffocating without oxygen, lack of blue and green all red. That’s how emotionless a sunset can be through scientific point of view.

I prefer feeling good…. 🎼

Live Longer? Keep Fit!

Chasing the sunset,
Pushing cardio. Keep fit.
For one happy breath—

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Living healthily. That’s enough to make one happy…. Eh? Not really. I mean that’s condition #1 of being happy. 🤩

Ready for another packed week! Oh, dear Corona…. Would you please spare me from your not-only-making-people-sick-but-also-making-them-super-busy?

May all beings be happy.

Salam….

feeling so free with just me! 💞

Am I Free

I’m a torch no more.
I’m a morning for my day
To be. Am I free?

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Just one click! Then the monitor shows something brighter and full of hopes! Vast ocean of happiness—

Why is it so blocked to be optimistic? Take a mirror, unlock just one sweet smile, look into the smiling face more deeply a little bit longer and know why…. Dear, Love. Just one click!

May all beings be happy.

Beautiful Scars

Bruised and scarred she is;
A stained-glass window to see
Both sides of her world.

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22:22 / Sunday – June 6, 2021

I thought all of those were wounds and warts until observing carefully. I’ve been living with a beautiful stained-glass window which puts colours and gives unique perspectives when seeing inside and outside. As long as it doesn’t derail from being a human being, I think I’m blessed.

Why shouldn’t I be thankful and happy? 💞

And….

May all beings be happy.

Salam.

Duality Comprehended

Happy and healthy
Two to walk, to cook good food—
About the balance

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Have ever questioned why duality is everywhere? Right left. Hot cold. Bright dark. Name it.

So much about duality in which one finds oneness as the balance after these years of living and to many years to continue living— With less and less confusion for sure

Harmony

Black in white, white in black

Polarity well comprehended

Centeredness in busy hours

Distance between zero and infinity

May all beings be happy.

sour, sweet, curve, corner – such a nice flavour, a lime tart from a local shop yum yum!

All Is Sweet

How sweet is a day?
Take a bowl of taste, sit down.
Nature’s gift is real.

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There is always a way to make a good day as long the stove has fire. Cooking can be one tastiest meditation. Stewed pumpkin and crunchy cashew nuts!

saviour without halo

Home Is Here

When chords are played,
Heart beat tunes its harmony.
Song of peace and grace—

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Bengawan Solo is always giving me home wherever it is. There is a river flowing in me.

Message of Love

What happiness brings?
Smiles, grins, and message of love
From long unmet friends—

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Two cute jars of Lebaran cookies and a beautiful message from my dear niece whom I haven’t met for more than one year due to this pandemic and some illness, while we live only 5 kilometers away.

Thank you for much of love, Sasha!

Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisted by words;
By taste, too that kicks the sense;
A toast to the health!

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turmeric, ginger, aromatic ginger, tamarind, coconut sugar (brown sugar), drops of lime if you like 🥰

The Present

Of being human:
Letting others be human
Although for a while.

If only human being is being human, giving up other predicates just for a while. If they give up the wrong concept of being religious, maybe no one will need to say “I’ll do whatever I want” because everyone respects everybody.

Humanity, Human, humanity.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Present_(2020_film)

More Meetings, More Water. More Lipstick?

Red fades away of
Talks, drinks, not kisses. Lovely,
Lively, blessed long day.

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You want to drink more after talking, you do. Drink! Water, not alcohol.🫖

You don’t want to look pale even when you’re too tired, you don’t. Put lipstick. Why did I even put lipstick when I didn’t turn on the video in the call? 🧐

Long day is as short as short when you know what you’re doing.

May all beings be happy.

one jug of water is not enough! too much lipstick today!

Laughter Is Powerful Medicine

Balance off? Get up!
Round wheels, thousands of chances—
Some laughter won’t harm.

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When joy overrides pain, laughter is the best medicine!

No one sees! Only ghosts are around! Laugh again! More loudly!

Journey Through Life Abstraction

She walks to a place,
Knowing it or not. She’s timed,
Knowing it or not.

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One used to want to be a doctor then changed to be an engineer then to a flight attendant then to a journalist then to a teacher then to a writer then to be rich then to be happy and peaceful then to be a human being…. Maybe someday she will change, who knows?

Hope time and space take the side on her.

🐣

make life like flower, either its shape, colours, fragrance or uniqueness — never none of them 🌺

Does Too Much Love Kill?

Too much love will kill
Who? None. Love will overflow,
Reviving the death.

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Finally an agreement was achieved among some friends to start a project to support a few batik makers that we know and to spread knowledge about batik from unique perspectives. There will be video about batik, the batik artisan’s life and thin slices of Javanese wisdom. And so I have to restart the old hobby that has been dormant for how long only heaven knows.

Can’t wait to travel to dear home-base-will-be and produce slides and shows….

Hope it works well.

Friendship nurtures human beings in many ways possible.

good, the tripod still stands still 👍🏽

He Is Zero Today

When moments collide,
Time slows down, space enlarges.
A coincidence?

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Based on solar calendar, it is my father’s birthday today. Based on lunar calendar it is his death commemoration.

Mathematically the two calculations are crossing, astronomically celestial bodies are in moving in harmony, momentarily it’s just a coincidence. To his family it’s a special moment— celebrating a point when an important human being’s life in the world is started and ended.

God bless you, Bapak. Happy 0th birthday! Are you watching me? Thank you. But no need, just take a rest, I’m safe now. 😘

my favorite taste, not his coz I eat it not he😁

Cycles

Under the green leaf,
Crawls then sleeps. Wake up with love.
Fly, Butterfly, fly.

Metamorphosis of egg to caterpillar to cocoon before butterfly is beautiful and relevant with the cycles of human being’s life in all aspect.

How someone finds a potential and amplifies the potential with any resources that one can think of such as schooling, taking courses/training/workshop, reading, listening, watching, contemplating, consultancy…. Oh some others who don’t have clear thinking include their actions of cheating, stealing, breaking the law, stepping the integrity lines, backstabbing, etc.

It is like witnessing the eggs sheltered by some shade of plants and with the weather and pressure, they are pushed to crawl out of the shells. Here it comes one hungry caterpillar, playing happily, eating this, eating that, eating these, eating those, eating everything. This caterpillar can only stop eating when one feels numb and one’s fullness melts away and wraps itself to sleep. The things one consumed liquifies it like ice thawed in a plastic bag.

Sleep soundly, hungry caterpillar and don’t wake up until someday your fluid self come into form, embodied into a totally different creature. The butterfly you are!

There was a time when an employee is so preoccupied with what one is doing, as if one is wrapped in a system that trapped one doing the same thing like no choice is given. One does it everyday until finally not having to think of how to do it already. One might feel the job is ingrained as a thought, a feeling, an intuition, movement, the life itself. Trained skills and talents make an art, the integrity shapes wisdom. A job—when has become a dedication— will not betray a human being.

Hope someday mine becomes one. It is never about how high I climb but about how deep I dive into the commitment of making what I’m doing a wisdom and benefits for those we promise to protect and support.

I think it is ok to be one hungry caterpillar, looking greedy and craving for more knowledge, experiences, adventures. As long as it knows where poison lies, it is safe to chew and swallow anything. No no not anything…. Select wisely, Beloved.

I remember Steve Jobs said “Stay foolish, stay hungry”. That person really knew what he was doing. Many people might have thought negatively about him, laughed at what he was doing, called him crazy, kicked him out for having different ideas, backstabbed him to stop his annoyance. Those people just didn’t know that that guy was a hungry caterpillar processing into a cocoon before butterfly. Amazing human being! God bless time when he was alive and forever.

Hmm…. Perhaps he truthfully made himself hungry by fasting and foolish by learning and unlearning.

God bless you, Steve Jobs and the people around his belief about staying foolish and hungry.

Salam….

you know what colours will be yours

Sit Still

Silent nights have come
To sit still and greet the heart.
Please forgive me, Love.

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Ramadhan month is almost over. Many Muslim will spend the last 10 days of Ramadhan in the mosques. They focus on the zikr (remembrance) by enchanting attributes of God and reciting the Quran. They call it i’tikaf— literally meaning staying put or sitting still, commonly understood as retreat in the mosque to worship the God recommended at the last 10 days of Ramadhan. How beautiful those nights are!

How lucky people who have the time to spend with themselves and look in to their own inner journey.

I’m not a devoted one so I don’t do the i’tikaf anymore. For retreat I prefer attending discussion or meditation session or just being alone contemplating or just wandering at the nature.

I feel lucky that this past one year has been a kind of long retreat through the working from home during pandemic. I’ve got sufficient time to do what I missed doing for almost the past 12 years in which back to back trips were a cup of tea, and do it slowly with (sometimes not full) awareness.

Cooking own food, washing own clothes, cleaning the whole house alone, running or walking at the river bank, biking around midnight time, painting, singing out loud at lunch time, writing journals and blog, watering my plants and talking to them, and so on…. All thanks to working from home—

Thanks to Life for all those. Thanks for everything.

At the same time I made a series of mistakes to someone. Some things are misunderstood naturally. It’s gonna be ok. I hope Life forgives me and lets my journey be easier.

May all beings be happy. 💞

beauty comes again

Missing Home

Where’s home, Beloved
That gives warmth, food and laughter?
Winter gets longer.

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Never was in mind that I would live in the time of Corona. Gabriel Garcia Marquez sounds relatable.

Salam….

Brown beetle keeps coming, attracted by the light

Endless Blessings

Heaven is open
When words bear petals of rose.
Blessings with no end—

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Orange rose, seriously? Orange or rose? 😛

Luxury

What is luxury?
The rarely found, Beloved
Regardless its price—

Some find synonyms of luxury in caviar, Hermes, Lambo, penthouse, blahblahblah…. Not always

It’s my luxury today! 🥰

Tada….! Incredibly delicious! True luxury!
Lack of convincing colours, I was doubtful of its flesh and taste.
Fondue fork is quite useful
Banana again 👍🏽

Add Acceptance To Each Plan

This night gets longer.
More dreams linger in silence.
Lid the bucket list.

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I pray to have enough time to be able to visit all places in my bucket list as 2020 and 2021’s trips are unchecked. If only dreaming is stoppable,

Thanks God I enjoy getting lost walking or biking that’s the best option in this cute island.

May all beings be happy.

🍀

Plan as if you live forever. Accept today as the best gift.

Be Happy With Your Loved One

It's almost your day
You're the best gift for you. Yes,
Unbox yourself now.

Are you bored of celebrating unboxing the best gift which is you for you? Hope not….

☺️

Language of Dreams

Almost given up:
Milestones to reach the final.
Language of dreams

Japanese is almost as difficult as Arabic but I didn’t find hard time learning Arabic as the brain was much fresher with more time to focus on lessons by then. I almost gave up this Japanese lesson as I felt too slow. Until today mixing up between シ and ツ still happens again and again. Different forms of adjective and noun when tenses change still confuse me. The crazy kanji has also tortured me. Why did I even learn this language? 🤪 Drama! 🥰

But hey! I won’t stop until I can read and compose beautiful poems in Japanese. Too much a dream? Ok, I won’t stop until I can present the company’s Code of Conduct in Japanese! Making more sense! 😁

If the teacher isn’t this good, I might have given up earlier. The Sensei is such an expert of Japanese language and culture that she can make me understand why those Japanese I’ve met have behaved so strangely not as I expected Japanese I thought would be. 😝

Some people are just so “like that” regardless they are Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Singaporean or any other….. Life is so interesting, take it easy!

God bless all….

One of the easy thing I was frustrated of….! What a stupid me! Look at the ugly frustrated hand writing! 🥶