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

Bitter Sweet

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

Dos & Don’ts

Do what you want
Just don’t touch my thing,
Said I.

I moved your thing
But I didn’t take it,
Said wind.

Sometimes naked words
Are taken as a wrapped joke,
Said I.

No one said anything
As it is just a blowing wind
Missing me one day.

β€”β€”

two days of sick leave and when i was back to work, my cats and boxed stone were re-arranged by heaven knows who

maybe my cats climbed up or jumped 😝

original arrangement πŸ’•

Loosen Up

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

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!”

Home

A home is a breath
Haled in and out, slow and deep
Kindling sparks within.

β€”β€”

Home is a house that I build very slowly with deep thought. The amount of energy put there is a number one priority about my future β€” I even pause almost all my personal travel plans this year in order to totally focus on this project full completion.

Bless me, dear Life.

Thank you!

πŸ’•

This is magnificent! So much money and thought must have been put to finally materialise this home. Very unique and serene! The β€œ99 doors” must be symbolising the 99 attributes of God in Islam, the 99 names reflecting feminine and masculine qualities of God in the teaching. πŸ™πŸΌ

Do i wish to have this type of home? Javanese modern, yes but my home would be much smaller and humbler. πŸ™πŸΌ

The only resemblance of this one to my mini Javanese home is the wood that were bought from antique collectors, the greenery and the homey atmosphere. The rest is just two poles apart.

I am thankful to have a second home that shows the me in its character (my tiny home in Greater Jakarta is an industrial mass production that is definitely not me)

And I am charmed by the Javanese home belonging to Ms Farah.

High

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 😁

Sunset

Sunset,
When you greet,
You greet with messages
To see an end
As a start,
To see brightness
Wrapped in some dark,
To feel some doubt
As a protection.

Sunset,
Not long after you
I will sleep
To dream what I can’t achieve,
To release what I can’t detach,
To kiss my beloved,
To travel to where your sister
Sunrise gives back
All what rest.

β€”β€”

today’s beautiful sunset πŸ’•

pretty wind chime from Bogyoke Market, Myanmar that has been light and sound reflector since 2018 β€” thank you for today!

Just Like That

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

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

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

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’•

You to Me

In a bottle of perfume
You are the heart note.
In a cup of coffee
You are the acidity.
In a full course meal
You are the entree.
In a life of a human
You are the love.

β€”β€”

stronger with YOU

Sweetness of Heart

My life is sugar cane
That I chew in summer day
Before singing.

My life is honeycomb
That I suck in rainy day
Before whistling.

My life is a bowl of ice cream
That I dig in on a quiet day
Before humming.

My life is sweetness of heart
That I choose
Before resting.

β€”β€”

i wish to be back someday to enjoy it in summer πŸ’•

Day Out

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Love Is Not Leaving

Love is not leaving.
Kernel then seedling then tree;
Stays yet multipliesβ€”

β€”β€”

After some journey and some work finally dinner was here now and it was an unforgettable one.

This long dragged day is nothing compared to today’s dinner. A dinner accompanied by a poem.

Yes my life is full of flower.

Thanks for the blessings!

Salaam.

β™₯️

sure it is about flowers β€” thanks much! i feel a tiny love bouncing and getting bigger and bigger in my heart when eating

they put it under my green tea; what a sweet creativity this restaurant demonstrates β€” will never forget this!

Nodding Orchids

Those nodding orchids
Complying with breeze flow hum,
Dance then fly away.

β€”β€”

life is just like that β™₯️

found the ID: Brassavola Great Egret

the other one finally bloomed yesterday, both dancing together since then

the slowest to bloom among the gang yet the most gracefully dancing

Today

Celebrate today
β€˜Coz there won’t be tomorrow
Everyday’s today.

β€”β€”

Weekend is packing and doing household chores while enjoying rhythm of the rain.

β™₯️

some for today with grapes before going out after my success with laundry and this lovely jadah

voila! i will bring some for my next week biz trip β™₯️ we call it JADAH or TETEL or ULI

steam for about 30 min, 45 min max if softer texture is preferred β€” while it is hot, pound it slowly until it becomes cake

add grated coconut

up to this consistency

boil it with coconut milk added, salt is optional based on taste preferred

glutinous rice soaked in water for at least 30 min

A Head In A Table

This head, Beloved
Is full of colours
That suck all memories
To an abandoned landfill
Where poems dance in joy
Recycling precious moments
Into glowing beads
Jingling around a neck,
Chuckling on millions of love wishes
That scatter on a table.

β€”β€”

yeah! this is one busiest corner of my head everyday! messy yet full of love πŸ’•πŸ˜€