Tag: journey

Light Steps

Learning
There are steps prancing
On a line between two worlds
Within and without.
Lotus shows celebration,
Mud purification.

β€”β€”

Twitter is getting louder and louder before election in Indonesia. Instagram is getting more and more showy with the holidays and parties coming.

I am happier not too much engaged with those two; Twitter is for me to keep abreast with political issues that help me make decision whom to vote in 2024 (I quit abstention this time after for the rest of my life) and Instagram is to tag and be tagged by family and friends. I am now even happier to have stopped stalking unnecessary accounts that made me scrolling and searching to gain nothing but sighs and shivers.

Only WordPress can hug me consistently warmly. Only WordPress can make me realise I have words to travel light, imagination to travel far, values and wisdom to travel with caution and good will to keep moving.

I am safe here.

πŸ’•

how warm and jazzy that place was; see you again, Jazz Gunung Bromo next year! I am happy to be part of your warmth and jazz! πŸ™πŸΌ

Heaven on Earth

Learning
Only by being true,
I find heaven.
They said it is after life,
Yet it is here now
Every time I see
Those who are true to me.

Good morning,
Real Heaven.

β€”β€”

good bye, dunia tipu-tipu forever πŸ’•

Surprise

Learning, Those People
Surprisingly
Life throws one surprise
After another
Of all types
To me who is cushioned
Only by submission
And genuineness.
How generous
Life is!
How intriguing it is
At the same time!

Dear, Life.
I don’t want any other way to love
You.

β€”β€”

Life is full of astonishments to me. The most recent one was when I met the architect of my Jogja base home in Jazz Gunung Bromo without planning. I happened to know that she has been the bamboo stage designer of the annual jazz festival for the past 15 years! Yes, she is an architect cum bamboo artist.

We decided to ride a jeep together to see the sunrise the next morning before she returned to Jogja and I enjoyed my jazzy night.

A short fun meet up with a friend it became.

Thank you!

πŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ

feeling so blessed to have met so many humble human beings in my life and it has made my life even more wonderful

Night

Learning, Poetic
Night is jazzy
With sparkling stars
Among the mountains
Wipe the fog down the slope
To send melodies
Of a warm heart.

β€”β€”

started at 4pm β€” many were not yet seated yet look at the tribune 😍

Ermy Kulit, our 80’s jazz queen

Margie Segers

red for Primavera

blue

2 hilarious MC

The Second Brain

so vibrant

Yura Yunita in white πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌ

Morning

Learning, Poetic
Morning
My only time
That can be broken
But not damaged

Day and night
My only time
That can be merry
Without celebration

Life
My only time
That can kindle hope
Sweeping hatred away

β€”β€”

the red in the tip of east side πŸ’•

old jeeps to climb up to 3 spots to see the daily sunrise, this one is the lowest spot

Mount Bromo and her neighbourhood in one bright morning

the other side of the sea of sand

vertically

Flowing

Learning, Poetic
The water
Flowing
With singing ripples

The air
Flowing
With whistling whispers

The wrong
Flowing
With whirling apologies

The right
Flowing
With blessing forgiveness

The heart
Flowing
With reciting verses

The soul
Flowing
With chanting gratitudes

The music
Flowing
With dancing life

β€”β€”

they bought it from amazon for me and keep it for my next visitβ€” my prayer is flowing with never-ending γ‚γ‚ŠγŒγ¨γ†οΌ

Relax

Learning, Poetic, This Person
What is said
Can be misunderstood.
What is shown
Can be misinterpreted.
What is written
Can be misled.

Only those who clarifies
Will be clear.

Relax.

β€”β€”

sometimes you just want to relax whatever whoever thinks of you 😊 β€˜coz only those who really clarify will understand β€” those who guess too much will lose so much 😎

the seats

the door

the aisle

I’ll Keep It Secret

Learning, Poetic
I don’t fully know
You
But I know your secret
That I’ll keep forever
Even if I’m unpaid.

A lovely secret about
You
And I learn myself through it
That I’ll only talk over
When it is legit.

What secret?
I won’t tell.
I can’t tell.
Although
You smell.

β€”β€”

many use different ways to keep things secret β€” one of them: flush it!

Caution

Learning, Poetic, This Person
Caution, Beloved
Walking down the hill with care.
Climbing hasn’t ended.

β€”β€”

going downstairs is oftentimes more risky than upstairs β€” my father’s last words to me before he died was β€œβ€¦. be cautious”

Gorgeous

Learning, Poetic
I love a girl
Within
Who excites
About life.

She naively says
Whatever
That is bitter
Or sweet.

Sometimes it hurts
However
She is worth loving,
No pretender.

This lovely girl
Furthermore
Is a loyal companion
No doubt.

β€”β€”

We might look weak to some; we might look strong to the others. We might never look good to many. That’s not important.

The most important thing is we know there is honest part of us who will poke our sight again and again to keep us on the right track.

Love yourself first. πŸ˜€

Salaam.

Abby is so gorgeously naive; every one of us has one within πŸ’• don’t kill the child within πŸ’•

Tragic Comedy of Blind Love

Learning
It is until
Something pokes the very eyes
That eyes believe
Facts hurtfully bite.

The eyes that glowed
Are the same eyes weeping.
The lips that sweetly smiled
Are the same lips bitterly grinning.

This heart sings an elegy to itself,
A broken heart sinking.
The head that insisted
Is the same head accepting.

The feet that stayed
Are the same feet away walking.
The hands that clasped together
Are the same hands up surrendering.

The road that sprawled
Is the same with the dead end.
Life is a tragedy
For those who love while blind.

β€”β€”

this girl is me when seeing a fact yet scared to accept the fact until seeing someone I trust seeing and accepting the fact β€” that’s how love can make a person dumb πŸ˜€

naive is not so far away from stupid 😝 i accept me as one of those

Borrowed Heaven

Learning, This Person
All these are borrowed,
I’ll have to return all.
Let me borrow humbly,
So all won’t make me fall.

So much has been blessed to,
So much has been given to,
So much has been here now for,
This life.

It’s all what is,
And I accept.
I give up all struggles
To travel light.

Thank
You.

β€”β€”

The Corrs

Bitter Sweet

Learning, Poetic
Life is bitter sweet
For sense that is alive,
Willing and happy to taste
Whatever that is served.

Enjoy.
Life is full of tastes
From all directions

Enjoy.
Life is worth tasting
Until its completion.

β€”β€”

enjoy! carbo please….

healthful food is food from my own kitchen

bitter gourd with sweet chicken filling

green and fresh

Loosen Up

Learning, Poetic
Loosen up,
Beloved
Between sunrise
And sunset.

Breathe in,
Beloved
Inhaling love,
The colourless.

Halt here,
Beloved
Enjoying void
That’s alive.

Breathe out,
Beloved
Exhaling blessings,
The colourful.

β€”β€”

AgnesMo reminds me that whatever season it is, don’t forget to insert a space to have fun β€” thanks, Agnes although my way is so much different from yours πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌ

Beauty

Learning, Poetic, This Person
When I was a girl
I admired my mother’s beauty;
Being a juvenile,
I admired my sisters’ and girlfriends’;
When adult,
I admired my idols’;
Getting more mature,
I admired flowers’;
All of which forgetting
The beauty in front of the mirror:

Now I admire no one’s,
But I appreciate everyone’s;
All through realising
The beauty reflected in the mirror.

β€”β€”

beauty after beauty

beauty refreshed

tell your beautiful self β€œThank you!”

High

Learning, Poetic
I’m high
Of thinking of
You that hums and chants
Nature of love
Spraying peace
Around my orbit.

I’m high
Of rotating on my own self,
And revolving around
You.

β€”β€”

not so high a stack but it took three hours to do so β€” yes, i’m slow Iron Woman 😁

Just Like That

Learning
I stand on a sheet of paper
Full of flying poems
That tell me
That life is just like
That.

I stand in front of a mirror
Full of dancing shadows
That tell me
That real is just like
That.

I stand across the bridge
Full of swimming hopes
That tell me
That memory is just like
That.

I stand on a piece of heart
Full of singing loves
That tell me
That dream is just like
That.

I stand next to a bucket
Full of listed completions
That tell me
That failure is just like
That.

I stand with myself
Full of cries and smiles
That tell me
That success is just like
That.

Be just right,
Not less,
Not more,
As life is just like
That.

β€”β€”

I never wanted to visit Korea until one colleague sent me a photo of library near our office in Seoul. Today he reminded me again about the library and told me to go there soon as he is moving to another location soon and might need to travel long to bring me to the library.

But he also said β€œLibrary is just like that. The most important thing is its collection, not its building.”

β€œAnd the building is like in the photo? Just like that?”

β€œYes. It is just like that. You’re still welcome to Korea though.”

β€œSure! Scheduled.”

πŸ™πŸΌ

thank you!

Colours in The Dark

Learning, Poetic

I first saw his works in Amsterdam and Paris in 2017 β€” stunning and extraordinary! So when β€œVan Gogh: The Immersive Experience” came to Singapore, I didn’t think twice to go.

While there was so much to enjoy, the huge room where people can just relax within the expo before continuing their look-around or after doing it was my favourite.

This video was of my first entry to the room. After enjoying the Van Gogh VR experience, I went back there to enjoy the time before finally left the expo: children playing, adults chatting, some sleeping, even a lady dancing. There was serenity in this dark room full of Van Gogh’s colours virtually projected to the walls by technology.

I am blessed to be there.

Thank you!

Salam.

🐣

Home

Learning, Poetic
Evening awaits
Trippers who miss home. Hurry.
Go home happily.

β€”β€”

good evening, commuters β€” go home happily πŸ’•

never bored with this angle; whatever weather, whatever colour β€” i love to be home πŸ’•

Now Is Calling Me

Learning
Written on a board
Dreams as deep as memoriesβ€”
Now is calling me.

β€”β€”

i wish to write this in one ema for JLPT N5 πŸ˜‚ someday 🐣 yet i don’t want to lose my today, the best day i have every day πŸ’•

Day Out

Learning
It’s one fun day out
When colours race with the light
Depicting good moods.

β€”β€”

life is a gambling for those betting against it

β™₯️ weekend well spent

πŸ’• much to learn in silent colours

sunflowers β™₯️

what do you see?

Van Gogh’s bedroom in the asylum

i brought this home together with some souvenirs πŸ’

Selfie Bin

Learning

While some think selfie as an indication of mental health issues (spectrum of narcissism, unhappy personality, having no friend and so on and so forth), I think it is the best indicator of self acceptance, self confidence, ability to enjoy aloneness, and ability to well capture any possible angles. I also see selfie as another kind of painters’ self portraits.

I believe my opinion is not the right one but I prefer holding it with good will and positive pride. And so my Instagram account is a bin of selfie photos especially when I am in a trip β€” yet only those I have met physically are welcomed to befriend there. πŸ™πŸΌ

While some selfies are truly liked by my family and friends, some others are criticised mostly because of angles that (they said) make me look not pretty although what they said is never an issue for me. I know that life is not always of best expected (often not) and I truly love the way I have looked over time.

β™₯️

What makes me love selfie even more is that I can manipulate them using Apps; not changing my face to look beautiful (damn there is no need and possibility for that β€” I am as beautiful as I am) but using them as canvasses to play colours and light.

getting lost? selfie!

super tired? selfie!

loving the day? selfie!

not always happening but accepting what is is a daily goal to me β™₯️ selfie!

trapped in a small space yet wanting to capture wide angle πŸ˜‰ selfie!

Trace of Power

Learning, Poetic
Power that is left
Tells outer layers of truth
That might not be true.

β€”β€”

And it doesn’t matter as truth might have millions of layers depending on number of thoughts dissecting their stories.

Life is unlimited.

πŸ’•

Okayama Castle – front view

Okayama Castle – back view

super fragrant flower in Karokuen Garden

Drink with Friends

Learning, Poetic
Hold your own beer,
I’m busy with my tea.
Enjoy your brewed fruits,
I’m busy with my brewed leaves.

Toast!
For long friendship
With so much drink
Without getting drunk.

β€”β€”

the chairs are beer barrels, tables are a wooden board on top of piling beer crates, food are mostly beef, beverages are all things

oolong tea for me, beer for Asahi-san, peach tea for Yakisoba-san yesterday night

we told him he still had to help us with errand bags so he’d be better not to get drunk πŸ˜‚

Tokumori Shrine after work today

Power

Learning
The main cable’s cut,
Power surge’s down. Light’s off.
Ruin of pride sprawlingβ€”

β€”β€”

Mori Tadamasa β€” the owner of Tsuyama Castle

not taking high IQ to learn that many if not all the daimyos and above were human beings thirsty of power

human beings are both individual and social, original and political, psychological and cultural, good and evil; let life be fair at the right time and the right place to me β€” i just want to be humane and nothing else 😊 avoiding people with intrigues is paramount even if they are the ones that i love the most 😘

life of non aristocratic is more interesting to me where politic is just about how to stay in self control with some occasional sparks of witty explosions and to gracefully stabilise the society β™₯️

rebuilt part of Tsuyama Castle’s Bitchu Yagura (viewed from not so nice a point) β€” you don’t have to look pretty or grand all the time, dear Castle 😍

when i saw the high stone walls of this castle, i could imagine how it was strongly fortified

just with 6 ruins of hundreds of castles in Japan I visited (Asahi-san has visited 75 and counting) and it is already clear to me what kind of culture this nation was built upon and what type of aristocratic people started the build β€” all nations are blessed in different ways

this is how beautiful Tsuyama Castle scenery was in one sakura season (foto borrowed from tsuyama.kokosil.net) β€” i’m blessed enough to see it in Jun β™₯️

thank you, Tsuyama πŸ™πŸΌ

Note: Castle is open from 8:40am to 7pm Japan time

Green and Greener

Learning, Poetic
It’s green grass back home,
Her grass looks greener, sweeter
Though. Is it the sun?

β€”β€”

There is a proverb in Indonesian β€œrumput tetangga selalu kelihatan lebih hijauβ€œ that literally means neighbours’ grass always looks greener. And yes, that’s always what I feel in many countries outside Indonesia and Singapore yet at the same time I miss to be home in either Indonesia or Singapore where sun is both indulging and heating.

I am truly β€œgreen-eyed” some time. And I so much miss home.

πŸ§‘β€πŸŽ€

dancing orange

orange in joy

yellow having a chat

it’s just sweet!

inspiration for the garden right in front of my bedroom; right size to copy β€” thank you!