Land

A pair of strong wings
Bring me to a land of thoughts
Where hope shines the light.

β€”β€”

landed home after burying hope to grow with flowers and spreading love with billowing incense smoke

Lovely

You’re lovely
Like the songs in my heart.
Unluckily
You belong to another heart.
Verily
You’d thrown me to a new start.
Luckily
You didn’t break my hope apart.
Hopefully
My life again to bloom.
Undoubtedly
You feel ease in the room.

Life is rich and enriches,
Full of sad and happy surprises.

β€”β€”

one of my good friends is a handicrafter; this bag was just completed 2 days ago and delivered yesterday

my mother said β€œlovely”

β€œdo you want it?”, said i

β€œis that ok if i take it?” she said

β€œwhy not, Ina can make a new one for me” said i.

i am happy to make my mother happy with a happy (unintentional) surprise πŸ’•

Mosquito

Mosquito’s buzzing,
Scarier than it’s biting
Ears though can’t complain.

β€”β€”

when i said to my friends that i wanted this, they chorused high toned answer β€œno, it is not Japan, with this type of water garden, you’ll be mosquitos’ daily party here!” 😁

View Finder

The light that is in,
The angle that frames, both play
To find the best view.

β€”β€”

About Tugu Yogyakarta

photo taken while my friend was driving fast to avoid some motorbikes; i’ve missed the opportunity of taking its picture many times, this time no although not from a nice point of view

Dripping

This heart is leaking.
Droplets of love are dripping,
Fertilising life.

β€”β€”

About wedang uwuh

wedang uwuh, a favourite beverage in breezy night of Jogja

inside wedang uwuh

Lovely Friendship

The spell of friendship
Is not F R I E N D S H I P.
To spell friendship
Is to put some magical words
To a bond
So it lasts forever
In love.

My friends put a spell on me.
I put a spell on them.
We put a spell on each other
To stay together
Gleaming like stars
In a cluster
Or in different ones blinking to each other.

How beautiful friendship is
When bonded with genuine drops
Of souls
And
Adorned with true colours
Of hearts.

How real friendship is
When soul and heart
Are sprinkled on to
A life that hopes
And loves.

β€”β€”

this book of friendship β€” no where to find in souvenir shop but found in the heart of friends

fun and true and real and genuine πŸ’• friendship with my beloved nephews

On A Rope

A rope might help
To travel to the other side,
Yet it might be not.
Being in the other side
Is not always wise
As a wise is
That that means
Decision for the right.
Right time
Right place
Right person
That might be
Not right:
Not always right amount
Not always right distance
Not always right calculation.
This rope is right
Only when it is about
Knowing that pulling or releasing
Are both hurting
Right where and when it is decided to.

this?

this one is wiser for now πŸ’•

might not be the right one, yet being relaxed and easy is sometimes the right one for now β€” i just don’t want to think too much; wisdom is not always hard πŸ’•

Books To Breathe

Have a seat, dear friends.
Breathe this home before our chat.
Leave the heat outside.
Pages of shapes and colours,
Tell them to bring their best selves.

β€”β€”

Coffee table books are good to make guests relaxed before longer chat with me and at the same time to lay foundation of the chat. Not all guests visit me to chill out; some do to ask for help that might make it difficult for them to start a convo, so some flash reading can help them break the ice and sometimes for the host to loop back to the ice breakers when strategising to refuse unreasonable requests. πŸ˜‰

Just fyi, some people don’t easily give up β€œselling misery to get a buy-in”, so be softly tough; one exquisite coffee table book might not even work.

About coffee table books

coffee table books taking turn monthly to welcome my friends

this book contains reproduced masterpieces of world’s well-known painters; the characters in the original paintings are all replaced by cats

all reproductions are by Susan Herbert

thank you, Ma’am for your art! πŸ™πŸΌ

here is very few from a total of 140 illustrations

The Beguiling of Merlin β€” Edward Burne-Jones, 1872-7

A Couple β€” Pierre Auguste-Renoir c. 1868

The Milkmaid β€” Johannes Vermeer c. 1660

The Child’s Bath β€” Mary Bassat, 1893

this is originally not a coffee table book but i will make it one β€” currently reading it πŸ‘πŸΌ

always suitable anytime so it will be forever on the table accompanied by the monthly one β€” only women have this power 😊

Be Happy, Beloved

I won’t, Beloved
Take you from what completes you.
Your here now is that, not this.
This garden with lemongrass
Is my here and now I love.

β€”β€”

Ibu sent me this picture that she took by herself after forever saying β€œI can’t take good pictures like you, don’t ask me any” β€” 3 slices of some cake I bought online (sold through Twitter) and delivered directly to her β™₯️

she said β€œthank you for the β€˜spikoek’, it is amazingly yummy”

my mother’s love is so huge that i don’t realise like seeing a sheet of paper from 1 millimeter away πŸ’•

i am enough with a few humble friends that truly understand me so i won’t anymore beg friendship from that not even wanting to know who i am 😁

Bloom

This heart blooms and blooms
Leaving quiet budding season,
Emerging from mud.

β€”β€”

One of my friends complained why all my poems are about love, like I am either falling in love or broken hearted day by day.

After some time of chat and juice against wine glasses that friend answered one’s own question.

β€œYa! Life is about loving: smoothly or broken-heartedly. Now I know what you mean. I thought all were about romance! Ahhh!”

I tried a sip of wine from that friend’s glass.

β€œYou’ll get drunk more at home and write more love poems!” Said that friend laughing.

β€œYes, I won’t give up this love whatever interpretation is thrown about me to me. I am thankful enough to have very few true friends who understand.”

Salaam.

true love is too tasteless for those weighing it with money; yet too complex for those weighing it with faith β€” for those not knowing the true secrets behind words, love is just a marriage between distrust and fear hidden in sparkling plastic πŸ™ƒ i know love is still beautiful whether it is well understood or misunderstood πŸ’•

Good Day

Good day is good hope
Lining waiting for handling
By heart that sees light.
Dance, Beloved. Welcome the day.
The gate opens wide with smiles.

β€”β€”

the view from in front of my door; seeing the reservoir has always energised me πŸ’•

even 2024 looks good from here πŸ™πŸΌ

Friends

We fight
We peace
We laugh
We cry
We tease
We toast
We friend
We dance!
We grow
We flow
We age
We page!

What goes around
Comes around,
And friends
Are best to count.

β€”β€”

Some of my colleagues are very good friends of mine. We genuinely talk as friends outside of work term. They invite me for drinking without making me drink what they drink. We celebrate birthdays together and deeply share some ideas of how life is.

This and next weeks we meet for work and have good chances to meet almost every day after all back to back meetings. Lunch and dinner can be the best time to insert some teasing and sharing and blessing.

We are growing old but still excited of what we are doing at work.

Thanks for pur wonderful life celebration.

Salaam.

growing old and mature is a luxury; let’s enjoy it with true friends πŸ’•

Light Steps

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

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

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

That Dance

That we have to dance
With beautiful souls that dance
Is sheer dance of life.
Dance, you who hope for the light;
These notes are jazzing for you.

β€”β€”

the best from Jazz Gunung Bromo πŸ’•

Night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Home (ranting)

There is a home
That no one refuses
Through series of rejection.

There is a home
That many dream as grand and proud
Through sweats and tears.

There is a home
That all thank for
Through blessings and trials.

There is a home
That one gets shelters and hugs
Through age and moment.

There is a home
That one lives in
Alone and together.

β€”β€”

Disclaimer: a ranting from a head full of dreams through 2 thumbs β€” please read responsibly, beware of jumping contexts, connect the dots carefully

β€”β€”

There are 3 homes that a Javanese should build within her/his life time. Those 3 are raga, wisma, buana.

RAGA

Raga means body in Javanese language. It is one significant aspect as it is the materialisation of life that enables life to experience life. There are senses only when life is embodied in this plane. There are emotions only when life experiences in this plane. And that life is manifested in human being body is the next level of blessings that make life live to the fullest as human being is considered the highest level of creature whereby lowest to highest qualities gather.

There are three layers of raga according to Javanese tradition: physical body, mental body and spiritual body. Which is to be taken care of? All, no exception as three are making the home.

This is the first home that should be built by a human being. Connection to her/himself is the foundation. Contribution to life is the pillars and walls. Dedication and devotion is the roof. The rest is optional.

Connection to self: with all the needs for survival, acknowledgement, justification, compliments and other external alignment; human being tends to forget to talk to her/himself, thank to her/himself, listen to her/his true self. S/he ignores the self as long as s/he feels pride and externally justified. I don’t say it wrong; yet based on my own experience connecting to self through honest conversation with my own self is the only way to realise that this very body is the safest home.

Connection to my self is a needed foundation to have more genuine and stable contribution to life. Not easy but doableβ€”

Contribution to life: appreciate others, help others, support others, be genuinely kind, let go off others’ negative impression about self β€” and the like. I used to bear all those as burden until finally I realised that proper connection to myself is a key to my contribution to life.

When I was younger, I protected my ego and pride as if others would snatch them away. When I was younger, I would not tolerate others who behave slightly different from what I expected. When I was younger, I would not show genuine affection to others as I was afraid they would misunderstand me β€” bloody hell as if I was a perfectly beautiful or truest creature on earth 😝

It has taken almost all my life to be genuinely kind even to my own self. It took me brutal honesty and judgment and rejection and humiliation and disrespect from my own self and from others. Yet I am ok.

It has taken and will continue taking time to bring my self to where β€œthe existence is as much as the non existence”. I will be patient with my self.

Dedication/devotion: complaining is one highest skill of many human beings where I am now living. I can say I’ve learnt this (new) skill here. Paradoxically I also learnt to be more sincere and to complain the least. The massive complaining vibe has taught me that the dedication to what we are doing regardless how hard it is is like polishing a stone to finally expose a gemstone in the core β€” I had verbally complained lesser and lesser until finally I can tame my self to not complain without and within.

I devote my life through what tasks assigned without thinking how much the contribution to life materially is as long as I know it is to enrich my and others’ life. I will continue doing what I am doing until I cannot so what I am doing.

πŸ’•

WISMA

Wisma means house or home.

Why wisma? Why not greha/grha (not graha)? Greha/grha refers to building, while wisma refers to both building and a place to rest.

So, wisma is a house that makes a Javanese being her/himself with those s/he commits to spend her/his true self in certain period of life time, to rest from all the outside world that might have degraded her/his being human. Whether the wisma is owned or rented, it is not a matter; the matter is it can give shelter and peace to the dwellersβ€” both should be guaranteed.

What about being homeless? While some travel from one place to another β€œto find her/himself”, a home is paramount for all Javanese to finally go home; and being homeless is not a preferred condition. For common Javanese homeless is an indicator of disconnection (from self and/or from family/community and/or from environment/universe).

It might be a culture that changes over time. Young people prefer buying other things first before buying home. It doesn’t matter, they perhaps find home in those.

πŸ™πŸΌ

BUANA

Buana is the world, the earth in particular as a nature.

When Elon Musk said he wanted to move to Mars, I could understand. This earth is probably not feeling home to him (and some people who know what is really happening to certain level of global situation) and so he needs to find a new home where life can be safer and more controllable.

The earth has been exploited and I’ve been part of it with my liking to clothing and paper books. The earth has been tortured and I’ve been part of it through the fossil fuel consumption and the craving of cheaper prices of almost everything.

What have I done to take care of this home? I can just do the least: using as least plastic as possible, keep my space clean and hygiene, use environmentally friendly products for primary stuff, eat organic food when possible, support animal welfare causes and plant more trees in my own garden.

Not so much I can do yet that’s a commitment to love Mother Earth.

πŸ’•

Yet I still feel dragged to be in those 3 homes. I feel like trudging with shackles around my ankles walking to where I am not feeling good and well appreciated. I am not yet prancing enjoying being home.

It doesn’t matter, I will be patient to this human side.

Happy weekend! Laundry is waiting πŸ₯°

Salaam.

3 homes, 3 sources of freshness, 3 balancing points

Borrowed Heaven

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

Snack for Today!

Baking that heals πŸ’•

my productivity outside office πŸ’•

not bad at all! πŸ’•

with matcha as my cocoa is expired 😝

new yeast was not yet into my day, the doug didn’t rise as expected even after 3.5-hour rest πŸ™ƒ

two types of flour for one recipe

feeling better with baking β€” trying new yeast that I’m not friendly with