6 – Speakable

(Man! Writing is hard, especially if you’re on a deadline. Inspiration is not something you can evoke under command. Is it true that you can train yourself to be inspired? Well I missed 2 schedule and now I’m back on track.)

It’s the fasting month and it has been 7 days since the first fast. Hmm… life isn’t much different here on Wetar during these days, there isn’t much work anyways. I can say that the nights roll faster now that we have to do the tarawih. Oh how I wish the days would too. Unfortunately, we have to break fast at 6.40 here in Wetar. It’s long summer days in the east. 

Speaking of tarawih, I’ve been thinking. During these 7 days, my co-workers, who aren’t ustadz but religion enthusiasts, have been giving the 7 minute preach, known as Kultum (Kuliah Tujuh Menit), in between prayers. And I must confess, I’m bored and I have the interest of kid to school book on a Friday night. It’s not that the message isn’t good, or useful. It’s a text book preach. And sometimes, they take it literally by reading a few pages from a book. Now, I think reading can do no harm, but we can always pick up a book ourselves and read. We don’t need someone at a podium reading it to us when we just ate a portion of rice and struggling to stay awake. We need to be inspired.

People take preaches too serious. The fact is, the best preaches or public speaking are those that have a personal touch and easy daily examples on how we can apply the holy sayings. The speaker adds that X-factor making a speech not something to just hear, but to feel thus understand. I’m full of it, aren’t I? I might be. Clearly, I am no speaker that can bring a mountain down by one sentence. But I am a good listener which makes up a good follower, which is the essence of a leader, for without followers s/he is just a common mortal.

So I’ve given it some thought, and I think I may just the muse and material for my next blog. Until 2 days!  

Due to slow internet connection, sorry, no pic today guys :(

Preaching to Thy Self!

There is nothing wrong about being spiritual (or religious in some cases). Worshiping a higher power, may it be God, nature, science or that rock on some hill, can give you a sense of peace. Although some prefer it as ‘finding another entity to blame things on and not taking all responsibility’, I still believe that sometimes there is nothing wrong with that!

But I am not going blame anyone or anything today. I’m actually going to be thankful. Today, I came home from lunch and I walked to my room by the beach and felt very blessed. I felt that God (since I am still a believer) has been very kind to me in the past 2 years. And today, She kinda extended Her finger, stoke my curly hair a bit, and said ‘Enjoy this second’ without any ‘but’s, ‘until’s, or anything negative following the sentence.

During these 2 years, I have lazed around, and most of the time in exotic places, Wetar included. I have traveled to dreamlands (my dream destinations and not the beach in Bali, although it is awesome) and have the opportunity to do less yet still getting paid. I lived half my life beside a relatively quite beach with no tourists on it, sleep to the occasionally rambling noise of the waves, inhale ocean air daily, walk, and hang around people with a high sense of humor. Today in particular, the power was out for 3 hours, which means no work. And there will be a marathon this afternoon, so I’m skipping work again for that to have a little fun in the sun.

Wait, you didn’t think I was running the marathon did you?

I have to admit I get bored and my IQ has not been challenged for a while, which actually is the price the company I work is paying me for. And I realize once things are up and running, these happy faces will be gumpy –I’m gonna make you regret you were born- faces. But at certain days, like today it felt more of a blessing than it is a loss.

I don’t think that people praise the Lord enough. Well at least not the people in the typical stable work force that I know. I think they praise Her in typically and live life as it suppose to. You work, play, have a family, and live life as how everybody else does it. After meeting too many people you realize that there isn’t a ‘suppose to’ scenario. Life is chaos! Big and small. If you have a good life and peaceful inner being, then believe me, you are blessed. No matter how boring, or dumb, or in my case, lazy isolated in a neglected island, you are, if you’re good than it’s time for you to take a second and be deeply grateful to the entity that you believe in.

So today, I acknowledge by gratitude towards God for being so nice. She is the almighty and wisest being and I surrender my soul. If there comes a day that I will be crying my lungs out again, I will know that it’s all part of a complex scenario which I will not give up on and still hold responsible for. There are no exact words to express my grateful state of being at this moment. I just am.

By the way, I use the term She for God and not He because I’m not a guy, never have been, so I wouldn’t understand applying male traits on my higher believes. I would only have my girlish understanding of Her… but will discuss that on another day.

PS: I am happy to report that I was on schedule on the writing. Unfortunately, the internet connection was not in my agenda favor. But the program is still on!