A Journey

I read many posts lately on Facebook about the religions intolerance in Indonesia. I feel sad reading some news about it. So far, I have been silent to give comment, but I feel that I need to write my thought. This is the post relating to some recent news about religious tolerance in Indonesia. A thought about what if we, Christians, are forbidden to celebrate Christmas due to religious clash. (source: http://wallpapercave.com/free-christmas-nativity-wallpaper) If Christmas is forbidden, do not lose your courage. Christmas is not just a feast, but a birth. Christmas is not just a program, but a reflection. Christmas is not just a beautiful decorated tree, but a gift itself. If the Christmas has no feast, program and trees, Christmas is still a Christmas. Christmas resounds the birth of Savior for the lost souls. Christmas tells about hope in the hopeless world. Christmas shows the light in the darkest world. So, if this Christmas has no candles...

It’s been a week that  I have been staying here in Pangkalanbun, Central Kalimantan. It’s a small city compared to Surabaya, where I used to live. It is a whole lot different  experience for me who almost never been stayed out from Surabaya. Quite whole of my life, I stayed in Surabaya. I knew the weather, the food, the crazy traffic, the road, the public transportation, the malls, the environment, even the flood! I took pride of being a member of Surabaya. I loved my job, my friends, and my family. I loved the traffic there...! Kindda miss the traffic though hehehe... Yet, in this new place, I have to restart everything from zero. Living in a new place, meeting new people, adapting with culture and habits here are really challenging.  I really have to get out of my comfort zone. I have to develop a new habit of taking care of a shop which I never tried before. I have to memorize the prices and the building materials. I must admit, I am a bad shopkeeper. I cannot...

(source:internet) “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.” ―  Christopher McDougall ,  Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen ( http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/292417-every-morning-in-africa-a-gazelle-wakes-up-it-knows ) Life is harsh. You can be the winner of life or a looser. You can be the champions or be the victims. It's all starting with the soft grey part in our head, brain. However, the brain can be also source of bias, confusion and trickery that even sabotages our life from the best in life. Therefore, brain must be trained. I believe no lion wakes up with no goal in its life. Every lion wakes up with goal to get ...

I just found out that  12 November 2016, is the Fathers Day in Indonesia. The day has been assigned as the Fathers' Day since 2006. However, I believe very few people are aware that today is Fathers' Day in Indonesia. For years, men are actually the victims of  discrimination by telling them that showing affections are sissy and not manly. Men must look tough, unbreakable, and dependable... even emotionless. No wonder there are many absent void emotionless fathers in many families. For some kids who have the good role model of fathers, you must be very thankful to God for those dads. They might be a bit annoying especially with whom you hang out, but all is for your own sake. Dads just want to protect you. Trust me.. those dads are rare!! My own story with my own dad when I was a kid was not really a golden stairs story. I struggled to love my dad, to forgive him and to see him as the victim of the old doctrine of macho man. Nevertheless, I was able to see the man behind t...

I have met many parents telling about their children's problems. I have met many educators complaining about how their students do not behave properly at school. I have also listened many students complain about how many courses they have to do in a week or a pile of tasks and assignments that their parents and teacher have given to them. This is a never ending circle if we never sit and think about this for a while. Parents always think that their children must have the things that they didn't have when they were young. So, they work hard to bring the bacon home to shower their children with materials that they longed when they were kids. They think by doing this, the children will be happy and content. Even, they work longer and longer hours outside the house to make sure their children are taken care well. They put their kids in the best schools, hire babysitters or private tutorial teachers to make sure their kids' needs are fulfilled and their education are well main...

What is love? Love is one of the strongest power in the world. Paris's love to Helen of Troy caused the Trojan War in Homer's Epic. Romeo's love toward Juliet brought them to death in immortal story by Shakespeare. Love can be the reason for the strongest sacrifice yet also the strongest source of jealousy. Kings raised and down but yet the love stories keep repeating. Throughout history, we recorded men and women searching love throughout their lives. Some people get their love of their life, yet some people lost it. But still love is the major theme in many steamy novels to philosophical books. Love has inspired many authors to write great stories, painters to paint beautiful pictures, or sculptors to immortalize the moment. But there's one book of all that also talk about love: (source: http://cutelovequotesforher.org/love-is-patient-love-is-kind-quote-with-beautiful-images/) Yep! that's a quotation from the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, Bibl...

(source: http://quoteaddicts.com/topic/children-innocence-quotes/) I like the wise quote above. It reminds me that every kid is unique and cannot be compared one to another. Each kid has his/ her own quirks, antiques, characters and intelligence. As I am doing a revision on my thesis for my post graduate program in school management, I remember the time when I conducted the research. I learned a lot as I observed my students during the research time. My thesis is a class action research based on the English teaching. The idea is so simple. I made a lesson plan for reading practices based on the Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences approaches and Carl Jung's idea of Learning Styles. At first, I had to measure the Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles of each student in the class. After that, I made the learning strategy which then I put the learning strategy into lesson plans. I used the lesson plans to conduct the research and then measured the results at t...

The Path A path is hidden from lazy eyes, Yet the path is showed to the keen ones. A path that leads to happiness of life, A path that leads to utopia land. Yet the path is just a guidance map, Which never grants the fullness of life. Unless the pilgrims start to walk in that path, And stay until the end. The pilgrimage journey is not easy, most of time it is risky. The pilgrims must go through the mire of desolation, and they must defeat the giant of selfishness. The path sometimes is not seen clearly, Therefore,the pilgrims must seek it keenly. They must cut out the tentacles of obstacles, so that the path is opened before them. The path sometimes leads the pilgrims to the end alley, Where the big wall stands covering the path. Sometimes the only way to get through the wall is easy, Just leap in faith. Some of the pilgrims fail to reach the end, As doubts and fear will be their chains. As they are chained, their eyes are blinded with lusts, Their heart ...

I like this commercial of SK II. It reminds me to dream again. When I was a kid, I was often asked "What will you be when you grow up?" Well, my answers were varies. I wanted to be a ballerina, a writer, an artist, a doctor, a journalist, a policeman, a teacher, a chef, and so many other jobs. However, as I grow up, I become bitter with the world and forget to dream again. Once, I lived with daily rat race for several years - Getting up, working, working, working, and going to bed. Day by day I lived that way without any passions and dream. In the process, I lost myself and my dream. I became so pessimistic with life. I lost my confidence as well. I was so afraid of losing my job and working just for the sake of getting money. Even, I let others to look me down and mock me in front of my face or behind my back. I was the big failure in that place. Even one of my colleague once said, "Why you are still working here? What do you after?"  That time, I couldn...

Poem 2: Redemption Part 1 Christian in the City of Destruction looked up to the sky He saw... There was fire outbreak in the city, but people seemed not aware. They danced with the smile on, But the smiles didn't reflect on their eyes. The doomsday came near, The end was here The city would be in fire drown, As the time lot had already drawn. How fickle is human life? How easy has it appeared and gone? Life is like a vapor, trapped in a soulless endeavor. Drunk! Fool Lust! Slowly suck souls down in endless mire. The burden went heavy and heavy. It piled up higher and higher.. dragging souls beneath it went under. Christian went down under.. Part 2 Christian told the story... As I groveled on the ground, A hand reached out to me. It's a hand of Preacher, The only hand that comes on my way. His smile pasted on his face, Hint of joy reflected on his eyes. He said to me to go through a narrow door, to the Hill of Redemption. I t...

I wrote this poem based on the protagonist of the story of Pilgrim's Progress, Christian, who travelled from the City of Destruction to Celestial City. I try to capture the struggle and battle of Christian during his journey and joy when he reached the Celestial City. For the summary of the whole story, you can click it here : summary Poem 1: City of Destruction  Eyes shut closed, the thunder roars.  No light hits, no hope soars. Life in chain, Soul in bargain. Exhausted in pilgrimage, World is the image. Pureness is sold, Lies are told. There is no black and white, Only grey is on the sight. Eat and sleep, slumber and dally. Rotten in a place of everyday rally. Being trapped in blinded light,  Live blindly without a sight. No one cares about the city of fire, They are drunk in the house of mire. Burden grows heavier and bigger, Shape the heart of men harder. I see myself has stunned Rock become I have d...

June is always a special month for me as it is the time to take a break and contemplate with my life. June is also the time of renewal as well. During June, I usually have a time to reschedule and recheck what I want in my  life. Last June, I have resigned from my job in a Christian school. I loved my job. I loved my colleagues and a bunch of tasks there. However, I have to move out to another island next October. I don’t know what I am going to do yet. There's a doubt, fear too. This is almost the same situation in June 2014.  I remembered two years ago, I quitted my job  which I had worked for 7 years. That time, I had resigned from the job without knowing that I would get another job in an instant. Same as that June, I once again has taken a leap of faith since I don’t know what the future will store for me. As June has passed, there are many possibilities to go. First thing first, I have to finish my thesis writing. Oh.. boy, the hardest challenge is to de...