What she's pondering's
A jar of water, sugar
And how lemonade's made.
life’s good as lemon for health and lemonade for drink
Pondering
Tag: journey
Sunflowers
Dear Sunflowers,
Teach me how to be so strong
To face the sun.
She said
"I'm just following
My nature. I'm dead
Without the sun."
RC Gorman’s work of art
Water War
Today
The war was cool
Under the water
With some kids
Who know
Only fun!
look at those 3 teenagers — they shot me with a water gun under the water while i was swimming; they thought i would be annoyed, i said to them “hello” when i breathed in above the water then we became friends, they moved aside when i was passing by — thank you, sweet rascals 😀😘
i saw they did the same to other swimmers 😂👍🏽
i think i have fewer and fewer reasons to ignore blessings in this life
A Home
A home's, Beloved
Where door's silently guarding,
Hot tea's comforting.
it is very easy for me to feel home anywhere i am as long as i see an immediate chance to be calm — i can stay in different hotels in different cities/countries with no effort as long as they are safe and clean
it answers why i don’t enjoy wandering around too long in a market place like shopping mall; i feel like the market place is moving in to me
it also answers why i feel so home in WordPress rather than in other platforms
home is where my heart can tolerate excitement
Pleased, Guilty
Pleased and guilty, love
Intertwine with her black hair,
Making some balance.
They will fall and get flushed out
When the root is weak or dried.
today’s dinner after work (from remote on Monday)
i started cooking almost all my meal in early 2020 when working from remote was applied due to the pandemic; since then i only eat out with colleagues, friends or visiting families or when i myself want to eat Japanese food (good Japanese food needs refined ingredients and high skill that can only happen in a pro place) — no one can cook my Indonesian food better than me 😀
i also started doing all household chores that were before done by a paid assistant
since then i don’t want to give up doing it, even if i have to stay up late i will do all by myself for self satisfaction — so pleased to be moving around at home
just yesterday my regular assistant finally requested to go back to take my weekly chores like before (since pandemic i only call her in emergency situation) — i could not say yes or no as it is not about money anymore although it is not a big expense to do (my mother will complain and say it is an act of ignorance — i’m sorry, Ibu 😘)
i’m still feeling guilty since i finally said no this morning, i told her that i might call her just for occasional need and include her in my meal list when i have something special in my kitchen 😘
i feel that giving up household chores is like giving up some part of my moving meditation
cooking, cleaning, gardening (small group of potted plants), laundry, etc give me sanctuary from routine at work — also honestly give me excuse to reject some (unnecessary) invitation from (unwanted) people
this guilt will be difficult to go away i know
but i prefer losing compliments rather than losing my sanity
💕
Gringsing Bharatayudha (batik)
This battle's, dear heart
Will win you with condition:
You have the courage.
Whatsapp gave me a surprise that my batik Gringsing Bharatayudha is ready to ship; by plan it should be by November this year.
This time I don’t want it to be shipped, I’d like to collect it by myself so I can say thank you directly to the makers.
Gringsing is my favourite aside from batik nitik, kawung and parang. Gringsing reminds me how I was taken care of when I was a girl and sick — my mother would wrap me in a sheet of batik gringsing, my father would chant his mantra (I can remember what it was and will disclose it at the right time some day.) and my siblings would sleep with me in my bedroom until I was recuperated. Gringsing bears a sweet memory about my family in early period.
Bharatayudha is something familiar in our family. Our parents wanted us to be “true Javanese” who knew “the root” as a middle way because our parents held different religions; so Javanese tradition would not make them play tug of war of who would follow whom and it would not harm any of us to learn local wisdom. They bought R. A. Kosasih’s wayang comic books and other funny wayang stories of Punakawan (please allow me talk about it later). Another series that also built some of us was series of S. H. Mintarja’s “Api Di Bukit Menoreh”. We enjoyed it and shared it to other friends — we lost some books as some friends did not responsibly return the books after reading.
Long story short I grew up with Javanese and wayang wisdom before finally I decided to hold one religion as a legal requirement in our country — Indonesian must display their religion in the ID card. 🙃 I am thankful to be raised by parents of different faiths — they have taught us to respect others regardless….
Last year Ibu Tien showed me a white sheet with Gringsing Bharatayudha pattern then several months later the half done. I could not resist its charm.
There are two scenes in the batik Gringsing Bharatayudha:
1. Bhatara Kresna the King of Dwaraka on the chariot: He is the coachman of Arjuna who is fighting against Adhipati Karna whose coachman is Prabu Salya the King of Madra. Arjuna and Karna are actually brothers from one mother (Dewi Kunthi) of different fathers whose each upbringing has brought them to different partiality. Arjuna for sure is in the side of Pandhawa, Karna decides to side with Kurawa who has provided life care and social status.
Bhatara Kresna, the King of Dwaraka (the most intelligent character in wayang, the master mind of all wars in his time) used to be my idol when I was a kid before I changed my mind to idolize Semar Badranaya (one humble deity who is assigned to accompany and guide Pandhawa)
2. Bima and Dursasana: Bima is the 2nd of 5 knights of Pandhawa the antagonist of wayang world; Dursasana is the 2nd of 100 Kurawa children the protagonist. In this scene Bima is executing Dursasana to death. This symbolises ending a preserved anger through revenge. Years back Bima swears to kill Dursasana and lets his sister in law Drupadi wash her hair using Dursasana blood — by then Dursasana sexually harasses Drupadi in public when Drupadi’s husband (Yudhistira) loses on a gamble table.
Not a few consider that the Bharatayudha (the civil war between Pandhawa and Kurawa) is not really a politically-triggered war; it is allegedly the result of the wounded pride of Pandhawa and the allies after Kurawa (Dursasana as the main perpetrator under the instruction of Duryudana the King and other Kurawa brothers’ cheering support) harasses Drupadi in the gamble court.
See. Woman can be the cause of war if not treated well— treated well can mean educated well, respected, nurtured, protected, etc. Drupadi is so broken hearted due to the fact that the Pandhawa knights donot do anything to stop the shameful act of harassment and she shouts pledging to wash her hair with Dursasana’s blood — that is when Pandhawa knights get so embarassed and promises to make Kurawa pays some day.
How could a group of knights be so retardedly ignorant? From one side it is integrity, following what’s agreed (the agreement is if Yudhistira loses in the last round of gamble, he has to give up Drupadi), in the other it is cowardice.
Sometimes being good is not an option when there is underpriviledge being abused or harassed. But it is predestined: there shall be evil to bring out good and good to bring out evil — cycle of life.
Fun fact about Bharatayudha: many don’t know that after death Pandhawa representing good side are still sent to hell for punishment, Kurawa considered representing evil are given chance to stay in heaven for some time. Indeed it is not our chosen side that brings us to heaven; it is our good deed does.
What a wisdom on one sheet of batik!
looks like a violence yet it is simply a depiction of a scene in Bharatayudha so please excuse the “looking like” violence
By the way honestly I prefer circle gringsing than square ones. Yet I know Ibu Tien’s team consists of those simbah-simbah and budhe-budhe (senior citizens) whose physical strength is not anymore at prime time so making square gringsing is easier than circle one. I will usually lend them my generous excuse: some of my batik sheets are not evenly dipped and even some are not fully drawn yet I still paid them full price. However, on some batik patterns like kawung and parang I will not let Mbak Izzah miss her grip in managing the work.
Weekend cannot be sweeter with this surprise.
I miss Jogja…. 💕
Delima (batik)
Fruit of heaven, love
No effort to pick-- It hangs
To reach you so low.
Another batik waiting in the pipeline to be disclosed is Batik Delima or Batik Delimo. I chose it because of the colour– white is always giving soothing effect to my ageing eyes.
Delima aka delimo means pomegranate in Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu and Javanese.
When Ibu Tien and Mbak Izzah mentioned its name (Batik Delimo), my curiosity rose as Batik Delima that I knew didn’t look like that. The delimo I knew was a “sido” cluster (ceplok) batik with delima in the center of the cluster. But they insisted that this was known as Batik Delima in Jogja.
No argument with the batik makers please, Rike.
The next was a clarification of meaning which is always the interesting part. Mbak Izzah said “I give you what I know, you improve what I know based on your repertoire of meaning. As you wish.”
To me although that statement was uttered in a very soft speech, it was a blow on my face. Jogjakartan speak their truth through subtly cynical style. They will not tell you are wrong but they will tell that “you have your way which is not mine”. Almost like Japanese– Bloody hell! I’d better prepare as my retirement plan belongs to that city. ☺️
Mbak Izzah said Batik Delimo aka Delimo is about fertility.
I read some articles about pomegranate in different places and culture but I won’t include it here to avoid complication.
Pomegranate is used in one of Javanese traditional function named “tingkeban” which is a ceremony held on the 7th month of pregnancy when the fetus is considered mature enough to be called a human being. Pomegranate is one of the ingredients needed to make “rujak tingkeban” which consist of 7 kinds of fruit. Yes, Javanese is obsessed with number 7 (seven, pitu in Javanese, the short version of pitulungan that means help).
Pomegranate is added as a message that the fetus will grow strong until it is ready to be a newly born.
Those 7 kinds of fruit shall represent all taste of food: salty, sweet, sour, hot. These are to symbolise that the baby has started learning about the taste of life before her/his delivery to the world.
It is said that if the rujak tastes good, the baby will be a girl; if it tastes “not that good”, the baby will be a boy. Interesting fun (not verifiable) fact. Do I believe it? No, I believe in ultrasonography from the obgyn. 😁 I love though believing that this tradition is loaded with conprehensive stories of what happen around human being’s life. Fabulous!
it is very refreshing, i make this rujak every now and then — one big bowl for one week
Back to Batik Delimo….
There are three elements in this batik that deserve attention: the pomegranate, the pomegranate flowers and the birds (pigeons).
The pomegranate is about fertility itself.
The pomegranate flower is about potential of fertilify that are surrounding the fruit as if waiting to continue the cycle.
Birds (pigeons) is those dwellers of pomegranate tree. They are the ones guarding the fertility.
Does it make sense? I will ask Mbak Izzah when I meet her in Jogja. I know she will just smile sweetly, saying nothing. 😂
This time I don’t include number in my intrepretating the batik as I am afraid Mbak Izzah will condemn me too creative. 😁
I know though someone intreprets delima from its linguistic aspect. Delima is transcribed as DALIMA. Dal is the 8th Arabic script (د). Lima is 5 in Javanese and Bahasa Indonesia. 5 “د” (five dals) is connected to a suurah in the Quran that has 5 “د” in its composition which is Al-Ikhlash.
Suurah Al-Ikhlash is about singularity in which human being is surenderring to the single authority in life.
So if people are interested to connect this batik to suurah Al-Ikhlash, it is possible. Yet, the story will not be about the 7th month celebration of a fetus. It might be about a fetus that is ready to worship the One.
😁
I prefer Batik Delima is about fertility. More simple, more straightforward–
Thank you, Mbak Izzah! 💕
Batik Delimo aka Delima
pomegranate fruit, symbol of fertility
flowers of pomegranate, symbol of potential of fertility
pigeons of love, symbol of protectors of fertility
a pair of batik delima from Ibu Tien and her group – matur sembah nuwun, Ibu Tien, Simbah-Simbah and Budhe-Budhe
batik sogan never fails me, even its fragrance is a stress reliever to me
Dipped
Dip me in
Your colours
In which
Arrogance turns to
Modesty,
Selfishness turns to
Compassion,
Torrential current to
A calm flow.
Dip me in
Your colours
In which
Paintings sing
Love songs,
Music displays
Flowing curves,
Sculptures splash
Romantic hues.
Dip me in
Your colours
In which
I keep living love
With true intension
However little it is.
Never let
Your colours
Fade away from me.
Breathing Forgiveness
Good morning, morning.
Would you please lend her fresh air
To forgive the world?
please make forgiveness air that i breathe
today i learnt that i am not that forgiving
Fear & Hope
Dear, Beloved.
Thank
You
For reminding me
About being humble.
I won't
I won't
I won't
Let this self
Boast of one's self.
Please always tone me down
When I am too high.
Yours truly,
One of
Your breathed
Soul....
the first page that i continue reading from “Fihi Ma Fihi” directly slaps my ego to tone down
thank you for not giving me long time to feed my selfishness
thank you for reminding me that i still have fear to shadow my hope and ears to listen to what universe whispers
please protect those that i love the most from the imbalance between fear and hope
thank you, always
A Noise In My Head
A noise in my head
Is a noise in my stomach
And in the kitchen.
weekend is a noisy kitchen
Nicely Blur
Nicely blur, dear heart
It takes glasses to see you.
Still you're nicely blur.
What will the curtain disclose?
I wish you a full figure.
let’s call it a week, welcome home
4-day intelligence exchange on a round table just makes me want to enjoy my weekend cooking, video calling with family and friends then reading my owed books
so blur even when these eyes see things clearly — sometimes it’s nice to be blur ☺️
Glued
They are clearly glued
Sailing through tides, high and low
One sweet tomorrow--
back to 2022, 2024 photo is not published as the pose is too vulgar 😁
we 1st met in 2013 and this friendship is lasting forever
born in different countries, nurtured in different culture, educated in different discipline, moulded in the same work culture — see you again in mid Aug, ladies!
Well Treated
You're good, Beloved--
Very. Would you treat me well?
To be verified--
it’s not how good you are, it’s about how well you treat me
i met two good friends who are colleagues — our topic is always flourishing like flower in summer
one of them always reminds me with this sentence “don’t trust people easily, everybody is good but choose that that treats you well”
the other is always the one accurately analysing whatever happens to me; her analysis is never wrong so far — today she said to me “don’t believe a man who kisses you, believe him who holds your hands”
see you again, ladies❣️
Listen to Heart
I want to sit
Under the red leaves
Where only you
Can hear the songs
From this heart.
Listen to this heart
That can only whisper
To you afar about dreams
Of no words but eloquent
Of no light but bright.
Please hear me.
Here me.
I am here.
It is just here
Now.
Just one click of your message.
autumn is so romantic, composition of quiet garden and eloquent heart
Stuffy
Stuffy, Beloved
It's airless and no laughter.
Go out for breathing.
tada!!! tofu-stuffed squid for today 😍
tofu, carrot, spring onion
squid — now I know why it should be big squid, the small will be difficult to be stuffed
Rhombusly Flying Kite (ranting)
Five dots of a shape
Balance the soar, fly and land.
A flying rhombus--
I listened to a rebroadcast of #DVETSiaranPagi last evening and thought the discussion points are relevant with what I’ve seen around me: the love bombing, ghosting then missing, not true to self, etc. Thanks for discussing it! I’d like to reflect about myself on those. 💕
about (my falling in) love
Through time love in human being is still the same, a sprectrum of certain emotion quality expression that expands to different extremes, either one or the other extreme or both extremes in order to serve one’s own life and others’. One extreme is the lust-loaded love that imprisons and the other is compassion-loaded love that saves the world and true love as a balanced combination of both that liberates. (my personal opinion based on what I’ve learnt, unlearnt, relearnt — can be inaccurate and impermanent)
Expansion of service and love expression can be within or without the person depending on how the human being experiences life and responds to it. Some human beings build a unit of society (family, organization, community, village, etc) to feel the expansion of service, others don’t. Some can be expressive in love, some just hide emotion deep down. No right or wrong, it is a process of balancing horizontally and vertically –like flying a kite– that might be successful in here now or not.
In my age (late 40’s) if I am found out of falling in love (romantically) in my country, I can be cursed as “wanita gatal” (itchy woman) even if I don’t do any harm to others with my love. In fact what happens is simply an expansion of love — from loving myself to loving myself and another person. Lucky I live in a country where people don’t care about what’s not harming them. Thank you!
Romantic love very seldom perches on my emotion tree yet once it comes, it will not be something I will stop. I will just wisely manage the emotion as I never want to disturb the person I love especially when seeing there is no reciprocity and/or compatibility between us, hoping that this emotion fades away slowly gradually with as little harm as possible. Broken hearted is not nice. 🙃
I will show him from certain distance how I feel about him but I will make sure it won’t make him feel threatened. Yet who can control his reaction or response? This is where I am different from my passive friends on romance.
about love bombing
It is a new terminology for me yet I know very well that I experienced it in my relationship (the only one I had, ended in 2010): given all attention and gifts, promised with sugar-coated lies, got ghosted then left in despair. Oh, never again….
about love expression
I love poems and I love my Beloved, the only One most understanding me, the only One never leaving me in any situation and the One putting much love and compassion in my heart.
My mental body feels like a rhombus kite with 5 dots: the dot on top is my soul, the dots at the right and left are my thinking function and my feeling function, the dot at the bottom is my desire towards physical pleasure whatever it is (food, drink, jewelry, sex drive, etc) and the dot in the middle is my heart which is the balancing gravity of the 4 dots at the 4 points of rhombus (qolbu in Arabic). Only when all those 5 dots are interacting in balance then this rhombus kite can fly, soaring perfectly, riding the wind; that is when a human being is in a state of mindfullness or meditative. Rhombusly flying kite❣️
With my poem I will express all the love from those 5 dots. Sometimes I talk from the dot at the top. Sometimes from the dot at the bottom. Sometimes from 2 dots, 3 dots, 4 dots; and when I am aware of the true self, my poems are the love expression of my 5 dots.
People might think it is an exaggeration of love expression; many of my friends reading my poems said “kamu kasmaran nggak henti-henti ya, Rike?” translated into “are you constantly madly in love, Rike?” and that was why I hide the comment section so no one will have a chance to spit bad words about my love poems. Only some who know my journey will really understand. It doesn’t matter.
I saw love bombing although not as often; am I? I am showering my life and life surrounding me with love and compassion; and I am grateful for that. That some of the expression is aiming at someone (who eventually can feel it), I’m thankful and saying “You are safe, I am not love bombing you, this is a tiny love that I can offer.”
Without mentioning my crush name, I discussed my feeling with my best friend who unsurprisingly didn’t judge me yet she said “I restrict myself from loving a man, I don’t want to think about romance, I just want to retire happily” 😂 I didn’t continue the discussion as I never want to shake her feeling of security of being single.
Will I continue my love expression? With no doubt: yes, it is about being true to myself until time decides otherwise. If I don’t look true to others, so be it.
I won’t waste my time hating or worrying about being hated. I don’t either believe with “too much love will kill you”; it is too much lust that kills you.
My love flows like a river, (over)flows to the sea to unite with
You. Insya Allah.
about true to self
I express love more smoothly but when it comes to job, I don’t openly talk about it in social media or public because it contains NDA. Job to me is a dedication in life, in which I feel that my life is meaningful for and well utilised by the human beings in my walk of life. My job is about being true to my own self and true to the contract that I’ve signed. 💕
Dear Love,
I rest my case for now. I have to work.
Salaam.
So Bright
What's
So true
Except
Your love?
None, Beloved.
You give me so much
I can't count.
You show me the light
So bounty of light
That all is
So bright.
not a light week with everyone’s intelligence on the round table – a light week though plunging my weak body to the dark water
bless me, Beloved – let me be your basket of blessings no matter what others say or think ☺️
i’ve proven who understands will understand, who doesn’t will not, who misunderstands derails 🙃
So Light
Dear
You,
Bless me
With true heart.
I surrender to
You.
No game with this heart,
I just want to walk slowly
Bringing this tiny love
So light.
revelation of light
Forgiven
And you're, Beloved
Forgiven in every breath.
This soul is well fed.
well fed soul sees paradox as blessings rather than curses
Forgiving
Forgive, Beloved
This self questioning one's self
About where to go.
i’m headin’ 2 U
Forgiveness
Forgive me, dear love
For taking so long a time
To forgive you. You?
watching this video, i remember my mother said that it took so much forgiving and compromising between her and her husband
when i asked what biggest forgiveness each of them had given to each other, she said “many, i can’t summarise”
but she reminded me of one ridiculous thing happening to her hair
there was a traumatic incident between our parents that we will never forget; my mother doesn’t mind anymore sharing it with many — she said it was stupid act by both of them and others should not experience the same thing
once my father could not well control his anger and did something beyond imagination in front of his children; he shaved my mother’s hair bald just because of jealousy; for the next several months my mother had to wear wig to work and social functions until her hair grew back up to certain length — she said if she could explain more elaborately and he would listen more patiently, it would not have happened
when we all got older, we liked jokingly mentioning that incident to our parents, Bapak would smirk and explain that it was a misunderstanding; Ibu would only say “love is blind and sometimes idiot” then both of them laughed 😝
now she would always advise us to know when we are angry and take some minutes to breathe before taking unnecessary action
she told me that my father could tolerate things except when it came to men; he could be irresponsibly and unreasonably jealous to men talking in friendly manner with my mother
i asked again who apologised more and who forgave more?
she said it was always easy to forgive him as he would do his very best to fix issues but she also said that she would make it difficult for him to apologise – alamak
when i asked her why she did so, she said that she wanted to always win 😂
today i called my mother and asked what she feels when she remembers that handsome kind man, she said “I should have been kinder and made it easier….”
so sweet!
“….but he should have said the same thing about me”
eh?
Start Each Morning (ranting)
Start each morning, Love
With ready ears to listen,
Heart blessed with shared joy--
DVET Siaran Pagi in TikTok
one sample of rebroadcast that i randomly watched 🌶️
I feel like talking about my excitement that makes my morning brighter. There is a morning show (in Indonesian only) in TikTok labeled DVET Siaran Pagi.
There are two announcers in the morning show. And they have made my days with the show although I mostly watch its rebroadcast through YouTube in the evening; I can listen to them live when commuting or when working from remote and no meeting starts early.
I started listening to this show in early July through YouTube as a random algorithm result (justpopped up like that) while the show has been there since 2023, so I kind of not know what topics have been covered before. Yet it doesn’t matter, I don’t need to flash back to enjoy their hilarious friendly talk.
What topics so attract me?
Any random topic in life. It is just like when radio show was happening (when I was young — gosh!) the announcers talked about anything s/he liked or experienced or breaking news in town/country (sometimes alone, sometimes more than one announcer at the same time) and played some song playlist that was planned or sometimes requested by the listeners.
These two announcers in the DVET Siaran Pagi act like they are video calling and talking about their day like two friends — you can hear laughter, slangs, swearing. Simply like we are eavesdropping on two friends. 😝
Anyway I think they are truly friends in life.
Who are they?
One streamer is Dave Hendrik, a previously radio announcer is now a prominent MC in Indonesia — his name has been one of very few celebs that I adored because of his originality and confidence.
When sexual orientation or identity was still a rare topic to touch, he was already himself — even as a straight I respect his openness as he is not the one forcing others to follow his choice.
I also love how he treats his niece and nephew (at least that’s what I see in his Instagram) actually he’s inspired me to do the same thing to mine — thank you, Dave.
The way Dave expresses himself is sometimes “random” that I have no choice but laughing or exclaiming “what?!” or “huhhh?!” While talking smart he can suddenly produce wrong pronunciation, wrong naming, slip of the tongues and the like. Hilarious!
Wishing Dave a good life for making my days. If I meet him in Jakarta someday, I will give him a bar of Toblerone. ☺️
The other announcer is Iwet Ramadhan. He was also a radio announcer back then; he is now a business leader.
Among his works that I know his batik documentaries in YouTube should have been one biggest contribution to Indonesia culture & that he has a batik-based business to support “mothers working at home” in Jakarta has made him a decent man to respect. I hope he continues the culture-based activities and gets bigger success. 😍
I so much like him 💕 for his intelligence, laughter and a vibe that I can’t explain (maybe maturity and confidence?) — and so he becomes special to me. Not surprising: a male celeb must have many female eyes on him.
There is one song he mentioned (Daur Hidup by Donne Maula) and now it becomes my cooking or gardening soundtrack. Thank you!
Wishing him a good life, too and….
…. If meeting him in person in Singapore someday, I will treat him ice cream as much as he likes in Orchard Road 😂💕
note #1: both of them once were hosts of gossip shows that I didn’t enjoy 🙃 They’ve changed the way they discuss things – quite objective and balanced at least in the show 😁 Salute to you, both!
note #2: I created TikTok account only to watch this show
note #3: in this era human beings do not have to meet in person to support each other; just do something online and here you go!
Garden
Garden's, Beloved
Where seasons play with the sun,
Weathers with the shade.
Japanese garden layout in Winsor & Newton water colour
i’ve always wanted a Japanese garden in one spot of my yard
i contacted one Japan contractor but they offerred USD8,000 just for the design for 11*2 size
i politely refused the offer and decided to work on the design by myself and transferred the USD8,000 to my own bank account 😁
now it is ready to execute; i’ll be working with a garden contractor to complete this task; i’ve also found moss and grain loval sources – see you in 3 months, dear Jogja
layout of behind study, near maintenance entrance — yellow bamboo bush will sing when the wind blows
layout of in front of bedroom — no grass, just moss, grain, a few boulders and shrub of hosta; the engawa is a perfect seat to contemplate either at dusk or dawn
after some time of hibernating
Choice of Words
Choice of words are leaves
Falling, dancing by contexts.
Seasons of meanings--
this is one of beautiful books i’ve ever read
need to re-read as after reading both there is different impression and insight i got from those two versions of translation
translation is not merely choice of words, it contains the context where the translators’ mind has been built — context can come from educational background, life experience incl trauma, ideology, etc even up to the translators’ independency towards certain topics
translation is not an accurate tool to transfer knowledge yet it is the best option for learners who need to learn something from different culture through books while they don’t master the language
but too much interference of translators’ contexts will make the translation an interpretation which will unnecessarily pollute the learners’ thinking process
the best option for independent learners is learning the language — i wish i could….
today is about books and paper — reading and throwing away all unnecessary paper
Welcome
Welcome, Beloved
To a home in a quiet house
Where heart sings sweetly.
i trained myself rigorously today: no distraction 🤩
and then….
kitchen is always a good welcome home — let me boast my best oxtail soup aka sop buntut sapi and almost frozen pomegranate aka delima & osmanthus pudding 💕
Dear Life
Please keep me in
Your heart
Yours only, where
I stay with those
You love the most, where
You keep all what's private.
In a crowd of stars
I can only see
You, who will never
Remove my favourite sparks:
The bright true blue--
Please keep me in
Your heart
Yours only, where
Soul looks out to the world.
In there wherever you are,
Just peace now here--
In a darkest night
I can only see
You, who will never
Let me travel alone as
I'm your satellite.
RC Gorman’s work of art
Endurance
How long
How far
How intense
Does she endure life?
Start slow and steady,
Move at constant pace,
Travel farther,
Rest when needed,
Fix technical issues,
Read and review,
Keep going.
She endures to reach an end
Safely,
Not swiftly
And that's her endurance.
i didn’t meet Sam today, she probably took a break or maybe she knew that the pool was packed (normally only 5 at this hour, 12 today) so she pulled herself back — my 30′ went fast with a lot of interruption, my next is two days from now and i wish to see fewer people so i can train myself better
Pride
What's pride, Beloved?
That that kills genuineness,
Disguises distress--
my favourite cat on my favourite logo that can confuse me between pride and self esteem
[only in Bahasa Indonesia]
Found a dearest good friend wrote a touching message in Instagram this evening and would love to keep it here — only in Bahasa Indonesia though
My translation into English might never be good enough to contain how compassionate her message is. You might want to translate with Google.
Note: it is a verbatim text
❣️
bertahun lalu, ketika berkesempatan mengunjungi ka’bah, aku duduk menatapnya lalu berucap: “tuhan, tunjukkan aku cara membaca (iqra) alquran. karean aku tidak percaya tuhan mana pengasih maha penyayang se-strict itu.” aku mengacu ke penekanan pada dosa dan neraka yang kerap diangkat.
sejak itu—atau sebenarnya jauh sebelumnya, aku percaya tuhan terus menjawab permintaanku: hidupku adalah tanggapan tak putus dari tuhan atas permintaan itu. dia menunjukkan betapa dia maha pengasih, maha penyayang dan nama-nama lain yang terlingkupi oleh rahman dan rahim.
aku dipertemukan dengan manusia dan makhluk lain (kucing misalnya) yang menunjukkan ragam bentuk kasih sayang, diperjalankan melalui peristiwa-peristiwa yang membantu melembutkan hati—atau menunjukkan di bagian mana hatïku masih perlu dilembutkan; dan dititipkan pada sekolah-sekolah yang secara gamblang membimbingku untuk lebih berwelas asih, berserah, dan merayakan hidup dan keagungannya.
manusia sejatinya bisa berjalan sesuai fatwa hatinya; bisa tergerakkan oleh arahan jiwa (spirit)-nya; bisa hidup dengan lebih jujur minimal kepada diri sendiri. utopis? atau bisa jadi pemikiran bahwa hal ini utopis telah membatasi kita?
banyak yang ingin kuceritakan. bukan untuk mengajarkan, karena siapalah aku ini. namun, lebih ke berbagi. siapa tahu ada yang mengetuk hatimu, lalu kau mengetuk hatiku kembali. Sama-sama kita belajar menjadi manusia.
ingin bercerita, tetapi belum tahu bagaimana. kutaruh tulisan ini di sini sebagai langkah awal. atau, mungkin, kau punya cerita, kegelisahan, pertanyaan, atau ide yang bisa melanjutkkan pembicaraan ini?
terima kasih.
❣️
Thank you, dear friend. You’ve touched my heart many times, I hope I’ve at least once done as good as you.
Thanks for making room for me. Always.
Salaam.
rike jokanan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.