LOST, FOR A BETTER LIFE

Mocca, the nice shihtzu

Mocca, our dog, likes to take a walk. Yet, it's not our routine to take him for a walk. On the other side, Mocca likes to escape from our house, since he like to go outside. He went outside by silently passing the gate when the front door was opened several times. Of course, we got into a panic finding our door opened and Mocca disappeared. We immediately ran for him and searched him around. Luckily, we found him. The farthest distance of his walk was about 500 meters from our house.

That evening, My wife, my daughter and I were having a chat in the bedroom. After a while, I went out of the bedroom and found the front door opened. I shouted, "The door is opened. Mocca escaped." And...we went around and around for about two hours to find him. We didn't find him. We shared the information to the people around our house, hoping that someone saw him and informed us where he was.

The next days we continued going around to find him. We made posters, shared them to people or sellers, and stuck them at some places. We asked an animal communicator to help us trace where Mocca had gone. The animal communicator said that Mocca had been taken by a man. Another animal communicator said that the man loved Mocca, so he took him home. We were guided to find the house that had some plants that looked like chili plants. The animal communicator also said that the man had two other dogs. We tried to find the house as described, we found the area but we couldn't find the house. A neighbour told us that her husband saw Mocca walking with a man twice in the afternoon, but we never met the man with Mocca.

For me, at first, I thought we had lost Mocca. I felt so sad, and afraid of how Mocca could survive. Was he safe? Was he ok? Did he find a place to sleep? How did he find his food  and drink? 😢😢

But now, after three weeks, I have different view. I start to think that God had moved Mocca to a better place and he got a better treatment. God knows who can treat Mocca better at the moment. The time for Mocca to live with us is over. He has given enough happiness to us. It's enough. Now, Mocca has a new mission to bring happiness to another family. The animal communicator said that the man who found Mocca was sad or in bad condition, and Mocca could bring him joy.

There is time to live with your family, your partner, or another that you loved. There is also time for God to take them from you. At first you feel you lost someone, but believe that God promises you a better life, for you and for the one He has taken.

Till we meet again, Mocca....🐶

Morinda citrifolia

I used to go to work at six in the morning and go home at 5 p.m. I never knew what happened in and around my house during that time. 

When we have holiday at home, we usually open all doors and windows in the morning, so we have fresh air going through the house. We can also smell everything around my house. Sometimes we have good smell of our neighbours frying or roasting some food. Hmmm...yummy...I imagine it and it makes me hungry.

Now I have to work from home,  so I know what happens in my house very well for 24 hours. I also know the smell of food in our neighbourhood...huahahaha....

One morning, when I opened doors and windows, I smelt something burnt inside my house. It disturbed me much. I didn't like this smell. I thought someone was burning trash. It came from our surroundings "Hhhh...who's burning trash early in the morning? Why do people still burn trash while there is a truck picking up the household waste twice a week?"

The next day, we had the same smell. It happened again and again everyday, until I was accustomed to such smell.

This morning I cut some branches of my noni (Morinda citrifolia) tree in our backyard. The leaves and fruits fell out to the ground of the house next to ours, so I need to cut the branches. I climbed the ladder to reach the branches that I wanted to cut. Reaching the top end of the ladder, I could see the backyard of my neighbour's. 

Ooohh! I was shocked! 

I saw what I never thought before. The smell that I thought it was someone burning trash, in fact, it was my neighbour boiling water by wood stove. I thought that he, with 3 children without wife and any regular job, didn't have enough money to buy gas for cooking on gas stove, so he used wood to cook. 

Sometimes we quickly think negatively about something we don't like without knowing what stands behind it.

Sometimes we feel comfortable and don't look around, so we don't know - and don't care - that some people around us have to struggle to keep living.

Thank you, my Morinda citrifolia for showing me another side of life.

HOLDIN' ON

Aaahh...again and again...try-out and try-out again....

That girl was ready in the computer room. Yes, she was ready to have some try-out. She and her schoolmates were ready to take an online try-out. 

As ninth grade students, exams are our daily meals. To prepare for the exams, several try-outs are our breakfast.

Today they are taking Bahasa Indonesia Try-Out. As usual, they've got 120 minutes to do the test. For these students, they can finish the test on non-counting subject, such as Civics, Bahasa Indonesia and English, in much less than 120 minutes. And I can see it now, some students have finished their Bahasa Indonesia test before the 70th minute. Unfortunately, they cannot go out of the room before the time ends. This is the problem they have to face: boredom.

The students have to wait silently, or doing silent activities to kill their boredom. The most enjoyable activity is going to the toilet...maybe because it makes them refresh as they can go out of the examination room. Yet, sometimes they are unlucky, because the teacher in their examination room doesn't allow them to go to the toilet, so that they can only do anything -useful or useless - at their table. 

This is the real exam: waiting patiently. 
You must defeat your boredom. Don't let the boredom defeat you.

In my view, you have practiced facing this situation when your teacher doesn't allow you to go out from the exam room when you have finished your test...and you have to hold on inside the room.
Sometimes when your surroundings cannot comfort you, and the situation becomes boring, you'll defeat this situation...and you won't escape easily....
Or when your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn't act as you expect, and the situation becomes uncomfortable, you won't leave him/her...you will hold on.

I'm always trying to answer my own question: Why does the teacher allow the students to go to the toilet during the exam? 
My answer ( I hope it's true): Because the teacher allows himself/herself to go out of the room, he/she cannot give example how to stay in the exam room when he/she feels bored. Maybe the teacher doesn't know if there is a hidden lesson in such situation.

Hold on...don't escape easily...but wait patiently....

FRIED RICE

That afternoon, Kat was stressed. Her son told her that he had to bring fried rice for potluck. She had two days to prepare. It was a big problem and she thought so hard how to solve it. She felt that she couldn't make delicious fried rice well. She didn't feel confident to serve her fried rice to other people. To buy it in a restaurant in the morning before school started was impossible. Finally she asked her friend to make it for her son, and she gave her friend some money.

Kat made fried rice only for her family - her children, husband and herself. Her husband always compared her fried rice to his grandma's. He always commented that Kat's fried rice didn't taste as his grandma's. This made her lose her confidence to serve fried rice. It happened for several years. Every time she made fried rice, her husband always said that it was so delicious, but not like his grandma's fried rice. 

One day, Kat and her husband laughed together. They finally got an idea - not a solution. When Kat couldn't make fried rice which tasted as grandma's, it was not a problem, so that it didn't need any solution. Kat's husband always said that her fried rice was so delicious...so what's the problem? They just needed to accept the fact that Kat's fried rice was so delicious instead of expecting grandma's fried rice that they would never eat anymore. It was silly to think much about some fried rice that they would never eat. Grandma had passed away 30 years ago.
So...focus on the things that can make you happy and ignore the unnecessary ones.

Doormat

Early in the morning I woke up and I went to the toilet. Then after doing anything, I took a bath. Then before I went to work, I went to the toilet once again. That morning went as usual, I felt nothing wrong. I usually go to the bathroom at least three times in the morning before going out of my house.

I went home late that day. I parked my car and entered the house. As usual, I took off my shoes and socks, and went to the bathroom to wash my feet. I can't go to my room and lay down on my bed without washing my feet. It felt like I brought any dirt to my bed. 
Something strange happened when I wanted to go out of the bathroom. The doormat disappeared. Somebody must have taken or moved it. Consequently, I had to walk on the floor with my wet feet...uuuhh.... I didn't like that situation. It wasn't so important, but it was annoying.

Doormat. Its role is never recognised when it is there in the right place, but when it is taken away from its place, it's terrible. People will look for the doormat if it isn't at its place.
When doormat is in front of the bathroom, people will recognise the look of the door and its handle. When doormat is in front the house, people will admire the architecture of the house or pay attention to the paint or the material of the front door. Doormat is usually made in simple design...and people never recognise and admire it.

Are you a doormat in your community? 
Perhaps your role is unseen and no one realises that you are important.
When you do your job well...when you responsibly play your own role...then other people will really look for you in your absence.

School Monsters

Monsters are everywhere. In the jungles, in the mountains, in the countries, in the cities...and even at the schools.

In the last six months, the students in this school have been talking about some monsters. They have been scared. They can't do anything when the monsters come. The monsters can do anything they want. Some of the students have even been so stressed for this horrible situation. 

The students had given up as they couldn't beat the monsters. They couldn't understand what the monsters wanted. Their marks drastically dropped. They couldn't change the monsters into kind and friendly creatures. They gave up. Eventually, they reported about the monsters to their parents...and then...the parents came to this school, seeing the principal and the homeroom teachers to report the fear that the monsters had caused. 

The 'principal' said, "A few years ago, those monsters came to this school. They applied to make a living here. Then we accepted some of them. We have trained them well. But the results are not exactly the same since they came from different habitats and backgrounds."

Then the 'principal' told he students, "You are lucky. You're in a good school now. At home, your parents spoil you. Every problem you face is solved by your parents. Now..here in this school...the monsters train you how to survive and be tough. The monsters have different characteristics. Some of them like to treat you as you wish...give you what you like. On the other side, you cannot drive other monsters as you want. They make you taste the difficulties in life. If you can't change the monsters, change yourself...change your manner...change your way of thinking about these monsters." 
The monsters won't kill you...and everything that makes you feel difficult but it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger.

Culicidae

It was hot that night. It was dry. We had no rain for a few months. I was working on my laptop. I had some work to do and I needed to focus on my work. The weather was not friendly to me. I felt like diving into the swimming pool was a need instead of working on the laptop.

Hot weather that night annoyed me perfectly because it was supported by a troop of mosquitoes (Culicidae). I didn't know when they came and started to bite any parts of my body. I had to wave my hands and move my body to prevent them biting me. They were all female. You know, only female mosquitoes bite us as the female ones require meals of blood in order to develop and lay eggs. They attacked me brutally and I had to defend. I couldn't do my work quickly because of the disturbers.

After working uncomfortably for a few minutes, I slowly focused more and more on my work than on the disturbers. And finally, I could finish my work more quickly than I thought since I had decided not to care too much about the hot weather and mosquitoes.

In life, we often care too much about the distractors. We often blame anything that disturbs our work or goal. And we forget our goal. But being annoyed or not is our choice. So choose. Being annoyed...or focus on our goal.

A Little Gift

It was Sunday Evening. Kinar asked me to take her to the stationery.

In her ballet course, the teacher taught the students to give a present to their friends on their birthday. She taught them to give little attention, to care for others. She suggested the students to bring a little gift, less than IDR 25,000. That was the reason why Kinar wanted to go to stationery. She wanted to buy some gift for Tasya, her ballet-mate.

Kinar loves being given a present. She thinks that all people likes to have a present from friends or relatives. On Kinar's birthday, none of her ballet-mates gave her a present. Only the teacher gave it to her. The teacher had reminded her friends about her birthday, but no one remembered to bring any gift. That's why she really wanted to buy some gift for Tasya. She said,"I was sad when no one remembered my birthday. Tasya must be happy if I remembered her birthday and I give her a present."

Being disappointed is not a good feeling. But Kinar didn't want her friend to have the disappointing experience like how she had ever felt.

Let your disappointment remind you not to disappoint others.

Incident

Katrin is a generous woman. She likes giving and sharing what she has to others.

About two months ago, Katrin went to the market to buy some meat and vegetables. She went there by motorcycle. She brought a small purse with some money in it. After buying what she needed, she walked to a parking lot where she parked her motorcycle. She was anxious as she couldn't find any money left in her purse and pocket. She needed only IDR 2,000 to bring the motorcycle out of the parking lot, but she had no money at all. She didn't bring the motorcycle document, either. She went in to the market, wishing to meet someone she had known so that she could owe any money. But...no one could help her. 

Then Katrin went out of the parking lot without the motorcycle. She needed to take some IDR 2,000 at home and go back to the market to "free" the motorcycle. Incidentally, she met Engkong (sorry...I don't know his real name), a becak driver in the area. Engkong works as a becak driver - and a becak driver earns little money. It had been a long time for Engkong not to drive her going anywhere. Then...you can guess...she went home by Engkong's becak. On the way, Engkong told her that his life was getting worse since there had been many online-ojeks. You can also guess what happened next. Katrin paid the fare much more than it should be. She was a blessing for Engkong.

Today, Katrin didn't go to work. She was ill. In the evening, she went to the doctor, not far from her house. Entering the clinic, someone came to her. Engkong! Engkong was ill, too. Then, Engkong was called to go into the doctor's room. Going out for the room, the administration staff told him to pay IDR 150,000 for the treatment and medicine. And Katrin paid it.

I do believe...really believe that it's God's work.
God planned those incidents - losing the money and being ill. God had worked on Engkong's life through Katrin's incidents. God had made these so Katrin could meet Engkong and helped him. Katrin's incidents are blessings for someone else.

And I do believe...that tomorrow Katrin will get well, because she has accomplish the mission.

Be thankful since God loves you. As He has done to Engkong, He never lets you tumble.
And be thankful since God makes you a saviour - like Katrin - for others.


becak = tricycle rickshaw moved by man's power, not by engine
ojek = public transportation using motorcycle

Not Far

A few weeks ago we had a trip to the Island of Gods. It was a nice experience after more than 20 years not visiting the island. There are many new tourism objects that I haven't seen before. I felt like visiting a new paradise.

We went to the objects by bus as one is far from another. At night, we went around on foot.

One evening, Dian, my colleague ask me to go around with her. "How do we go there?" I asked. "On foot," she replied. "How far?" "Just near where we are now,"

Another evening, some colleagues and I planned to go to a beach. "How far?" I asked. Biso, one of us, answered,"Look! Only 300 metres"

Everyday on the bus, when I asked the tour guide, Mbok Dewi, about the distance of the next destination, she always said,"10 minutes from the first traffic light."
I tried to think...and found...that they had taught me about this: 
How far we go, just do it step by step. 'Near' by 'near', The first 300 metres...the second 300 metres...the third 300 metres.... Or the first traffic light...the second traffic light...the third one...and so forth until we reach the destination.
Thanks a lot for this simple lesson of life, my brother and sisters. Thanks for sharing a positive energy. :)

A Simple Good Morning

Not everyday, but I often take my children and their mom to school. Their mom works at their school. To save my time, I usually drop them off not in front of the school, but in front of the cluster. Then they walk. Everytime they walk past the security officers, my wife greets them - just a simple 'good morning'. They just nodded at first. Then, to reply my wife's greeting they smiled. After some greetings, they replied by nodding, smiling and saying good morning.

People learn from what they see, they hear and they feel.
When they can see, hear and feel that they are respected, they also learn how to show and give respect.
Let's DO it, not only tell it. Share your positive energy to others.

Park Here!

Today I went to the hospital where my sister-in-law has been lying for two days. I took her mom and sister there to visit her. But this is not about them. 

After my wife and my mother-in-law got off the car in front of the lobby, I drove it to the parking lot to find a space for Greeny - my car. It was the peak hour. I knew this very well as I often went there to visit some relatives or friends. Many people couldn't find a space to park their cars. Neither did I.

I drove around and finally I passed the lobby. I went on driving around to a different area of the parking lot, and I saw a car came out of a space. I drove faster to reach the space that had just been left. Unfortunately, a car from the opposite came faster to the space...smoothly. Ouch! I wanted to be angry but I tried to control myself. I thought that being angry couldn't help me find the space for my car. I sent a text to my wife, "Maybe I've got to wait in the running-around car as I can't park my car.... Please tell me when you have come out to the lobby." I was just waiting for my fortune.

Again...I passed the lobby.This was the third time I saw it. And I had to drive around again. I tried another area of the parking lot. Again! I passed the lobby for the fourth time!

After passing the lobby, not far from that place, right in front of my car, suddenly a car came out and left a space. And when I saw behind me, there was no car. Then I could freely park Greeny at that space, not far from the lobby, like a VIP!

God loves you. When He doesn't give you the thing that you think is good, believe Him that He will give you the better one. God is also there...in the parking lot with me... :)

Believe Him...and give your problem to Him to solve it His way!

A Plastic Bottle

In the last few days, my classes have discussed about 'go green'. It led me to think about the recycle process of plastic bottles. It has taught me a lesson.

It was the time for me to have lunch. And as usual, I brought my plastic bottle to the dining room. When I was walking to the dining room I saw some other used plastic bottles in the rubbish bins along the corridor. And I started to think if they were alive.

A girl was holding a bottle of drinking water. He said,"How proud I am! This girl needs me everywhere she goes. She can't live without me. I've made her alive." Then after using the bottle for some time and the bottle's condition became worse, the girl bought a new bottle and threw the old one into the rubbish bin. Then the old bottle said,"Ooohh...I'm just rubbish now. Can anybody help me out of this rubbish bin? It's too dirty here. Hey, you, rubbish! Get out of my life! How can I live in the place that smells so bad?" In the afternoon a man took the rubbish and moved it into the bigger rubbish box.

Then one day the truck came to take the rubbish from the big rubbish box to a big field full of rubbish. "Oh my God! What a place!" Then a machine took him and let him gather with other plastic bottles. And then the machine crushed them! "Lord, have mercy! I was too arrogant to be a bottle needed by the girl! Please let me out of this place!" But it was too late. "Now I'm broken into pieces. It's so painful!! All I can do is just hope and pray."

The next day the broken pieces were put into a machine. "Help! It's so hot here! I've got no shape now!" But after a while, a machine took him and made him a new plastic bottle. "Thank God...I've got my new life!" The new plastic bottle was very grateful and he swore he wouldn't be arrogant anymore.

Have you ever felt the same as this plastic bottle?

Have you ever experienced the process of recycle which is done by God?

Maybe I'm in the process now. Not being the old anymore...but not yet the new one....

NOT NOW

Every school has their own characteristics. So does the school where I work. We have some ideal characteristics that have to be achieved. Every teacher has to build the students' characteristics in activities inside or outside the classroom. The students are expected to have the spirit of Cc5 (Compassion - celebration - competence - conviction - creativity - community).

I try to build this spirit in my activities with my students. One of the activities is the students choir. Since 2003 we have done the service. And one special event for the choir members was the annual charity concert. My students always prepared the performance enthusiastically. During the preparation, they experienced many things and many kinds of emotions and learned how to manage them. The performance was not the only thing to achieve, because we had two things - concert and charity. We have held the charity concert for ten times. The spirit of Cc5 lives in this event - I think!

We are going to end this school year soon. We planned to end the school year with the 11th annual charity concert. Unfortunately, the principal said that the school would not hold the concert. There were some problems (or mistakes) of the previous concert. And the problems became the reason not to hold the concert. I thought that the problems could be solved easily to hold a better concert. But the school authority did not say so. We fought for the concert because we thought that we were still walking on the spirit of Cc5 track. But...we couldn't change the decision. There must be some 'political' reasons here.

As the charity concert cancelled, we were sad...shocked...disappointed....

But this is the fact...God's will. I asked Him. But I'm sure He says,"Not now. I'll give you better than what you have asked for."

Don't give up. Let's set the spirit of Cc5 on fire!

Eyes, Lips and Nose

1. Hi, I'm eye. Am I beautiful? 

 
2. Hi! I'm lip. Can you see if I'm beautiful?
 

 
3. Hi, I'm sure you know me. Yes! I'm nose! Do you think I'm the most beautiful?

If I've got to answer those three questions, my answers are all 'No!'. I can't see the beauty of each of them. The eye is too dark and not shiny. The lips are too pale. The nose is too flat. When I see their physical appearances, they're not interesting. Yet, can you see the function of each of them? When they work, they will be meaningful. When they work together, they will form a harmony. When they are put on a face appropriately, they will show the beauty of the face - not the beauty of each of them.

God created them with their own function.

God put them on a face to show the beauty of the owner of the face.

God created us....

Have we played our own role? And have we avoided being selfish to show the beauty of our Owner?

Lucky Beggar

Nobody wants to be poor. Nobody wants to be a beggar. Nevertheless, some people choose to be beggars because of their own situation. They have their own reasons. Sunday is the day that more beggars come to my house. It may be because the owner of the house is at home.
That Sunday my wife and I were not at home. Only my children and their nanny were at home. Before I went out, I had left a banknote of Rp. 50,000.00. I asked the nanny to spend the money to pay for the laundry. When I was away, she called me asking where I put the money. I told her where I put it but she could not find it.
The next morning the nanny told me that she could not find the money. I said ok, and asked her to look for it once again.
Then my 4 years old daughter told me proudly,

A Humble Leader

In my church, our leader is a good priest who is very strict about every church's rule. Maybe only one thing he misses. He forgets to come to the people although he usually accepts the people who come to him warmly. That day was a special Sunday for us as the mass would be led by Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo, the bishop of Jakarta. A day before He sent a message "....If there are some of your people who are sick, I have time and I can visit them...." It's a great pleasure for the people who could be visited by the bishop. He, who has higher position than my local leader, was willing to visit ordinary people who needed to be visited, who needed to be touched. The great leader who is so humble....

When he came and I met him, I reported how the mass should go. He gave this response, "Just do as what you have planned. But if there is some mistake or something that you haven't planned happens, it'll be ok, right?"

I was so happy to hear that. I wondered how he could be that humble, how he could give it all to God, the greatest planner. He believes that God's plan is always better than ours. So let us be humble before Him.

Do It With Love

Yesterday I watched 'Masterchef Australia' on TV. The participants had to cook food that they had eaten when they were kids. They cooked food that their mommy, daddy or grandma had cooked for the kids. They cooked while they were trying to remember the moment they ate it.

After finishing their cooking, the jury tasted the food they had cooked. The jury gave good comments and they said all of the food were delicious. All were delicious! Because they cooked it emotionally. They cooked it with heart. They cooked it with love.

I believe that anything done with love will be amazing!

One of my students was walking along the corridor when she met me. She didn't greet me or even send a smile although she looked at me. What's wrong with her? Or what's wrong with me??? My students usually greet me when they meet me.
I observed her for a few days. It happened again and again when she met me. I didn't know whether she did it to others or not. I hoped she only did it to me, not to others. On the fifth day, I tried to smile at and greet her. She smiled and replied.
Ah, it's so simple! Smile comes from ourselves, not from others. So why don't we start our days with a smile? We cannot make others smile unless we smile to them.

Be led by reason.

(Greek Proverb)