Who Do You Think You Are? I’m … (Insert any Nouns Here)

After watching BBC’s documentary series “Who Do You Think You Are?”, I decided that it must be cool to know my family history. I saw the episodes of J. K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Kim Catrall, Emilia Fox. And I felt like, “Wow, I really really wish I could trace my roots back like that.”
But I live in Indonesia. This is one of the places on earth where you cannot rely solely and happily on the recording and documentation systems. Not to mention about the accuracy. We have no idea that the National Archive (Arsip Nasional) still holds papers like birth certificates, marriage documents, census records or whatever that showed precious information on how, and how and when my great great great grandparents with their offsprings lived their lives.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like Indonesians hate their roots but we are more of an oral society by nature. Writing a journal, publish a book or posting on a blog like this means we one step ahead than our predecessors. You spread the words not only to people around you physically and emotionally but also people around the world.
Maybe documenting our important life events is not one of our strongest genes but one can find stories of familial journey in the minds of the people. I find Indonesians mostly are great storytellers (well, most people are) but not many eventually pour their words into printed stuff for the next generation to read.
Yet, knowing how our predecessors lived their lives is not a mere attempt at understanding our identity and origin (which in turn may humble us) but also understanding how the entire nation and the world of that era in general worked. So I can more easily relate myself to historical events, simply because I know some people living in that era were . Suddenly, the long history of my nation seems closer and more relevant to me because I have that strong connection. Knowing my family history proves to be helpful when I have to understand and make sense the history in a larger scale, both national and international. And boy, why should I care about the history in the text books every school student must read in the country? What I find there is a compilation of compromised pieces of so-called facts gathered and assembled by the winning parties, the corrupt rulers ready to distort anything at their advantage. Some cynically said the word “history” actually derives from two separate words: “his” and “story”, which is not necessarily an honest recount of facts or real events. Anyone (a story teller) can manipulate it, improvise as s/he wants to, emphasize this but conceal that, overstate that and understate this. There are abundant rooms for anyone’s creativity and imagination.

But in family history, there is no or much less political influence. Families here, as far as I know, don’t really care about their family history (not even document or record that carefully) because of course even if one can manipulate it, what can s/he benefit from the distorted chronicles? Not much.
In the process of writing, I need to really workd hard on understanding the explanation of my paternal grandmother. She hardly speaks Indonesian, and never ever learned English in her lifetime so the one and only language she employed is Javanese, which happens to be my mother tongue. Yet, as I have been growing older, Javanese has gotten less and less spoken around me because Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia) started taking place in academic and other formal contexts. Even English was first introduced to me when I was a sixth grader. I was happily embracing the foreign language just like a new toy. And it IS a toy to play with, linguistically speaking. I hoped to learn more by acquiring English, and I really did. I had always wanted to live outside my hometown, where almost my entire family reside. And English enabled me to do that. Reaching out something new. That is what I want: newness, novelty. I didn’t give stability a damn because it translates to boredom. I refused to embrace the teaching world in which the majority of my family members earn a living, partly because there is part of me saying:”You don’t have to follow them. Find your own path or you’ll be sorry for good!” So I did and thus far there has been no remorse in my life for listening to this voice in me. There are of course a price to pay but the excitement seems to be surmounting the ordeals.
Muntianah, my paternal grandmother, had been raised as an orphan since her being an 8-month old fetus. Her mother (my paternal great grandmother) had died many years ago. I still recall her face and remember her funeral back then. There was no hollow feeling or great terrible loss sensation because I was too young to even think of and experience such painful emotion. I knew people mourned, wept, prayed for her peace up there but I just couldn’t make sense of the whole situation, like “She died. Oh, so what?” All I cared about was that I knew I could still watch my afternoon cartoon series on TV and eat foods I liked and went to school with all of my homework that day properly answered and being free from the fear of being grounded by the teacher. So that makes me help understand why the younger brother of my deceased cousin looked lively and act normally still even after he found out his eldest sister lost her life following a series of legs amputation procedures. He has his own world and the sister was apparently like a nice-looking gadget to his eyes; something cool to have but not his (almost) entire world.
One day, young Muntianah was told by her mother to clean up the house in and out. In the meantime, the mother was doing her chore: preparing foods. Kudus, like other towns in Java during Japanese colonial era which only lasted a few yet very bloody years, experienced food scarcity. Muntianah knew first handedly people around her dying of extreme hunger. But that very day, the family was lucky enough to be able to find things to eat: waloh (pumpkin-like fruit) and kangkung (a type of green vegetable having thicker stalks than spinach). Young Muntianah was struck by a bundle of ‘treasure’ thrown away in the rubbish basket. She opened it and found that in it there was some garlic and onion. Definitely not something worth getting rid of! She shrieked at her mother who was still cooking.
“What’s wrong?” my grand grand mother said to her daughter.
She replied and showed the garlic and onion, “I found these, Nyai (yes, she seriously called her mom this way to show respect which in today’s context sounds more like a total derogatory joke)!”
She later found out Nyai had deliberately put all of them into the rubbish basket, only to test how much young Muntianah really cared about the entire household, even what was thrown into the rubbish basket.
Nyai was really really stern when it came to household management. Young Muntianah had better clean all the floor of the house, refill the bath tub (in which one couldn’t soak him/herself like in what we have seen in the West), and make sure the house chores done very well or else she had to miss the breakfast. The breakfast was ento-ento. It went without saying that it wasn’t the best or most delicious food ever but that was what they could afford that time. The texture of ento-ento was not particularly pleasant to the tongue. As coarse as pebbles, only you could swallow that safely.
As a good mother, Nyai also sometimes treated her daughter when she knew she still had enough money even that meant there was very little extra money she could spend. Off they went to “Menoro”, which was an area of Sunan Kudus’ cemetery (as it was told by the ancestors). Sunan Kudus is like a local saint here. Along with Sunan Muria (whose corpse was laid in Mount Muria, according to folklores). They were two of the 9 walis (Wali Songo) who helped spread the Islamic teachings around Java that used to be Hindu and Buddha-centric. Nyai was there to buy a serving of delicious home-made soup which was usually accompanied by rice. Young Muntianah jumped with joy. It was the word “rice” that made her act that way. Rice was a culinary luxury of the era. Japanese troops would choke any natives to death in case they caught one hiding or eating rice for themselves or their own family members. High quality rice was to be sent only to the Japanese. But Indonesians as we know didn’t accept that as it was. There were many methods devised to violate the rule. People could enjoy rice but only when there was no single Japanese soldier around. Nyai was happy to give what her daughter wanted but Young Muntiah was far than happy. She was disappointed upon knowing that gobet (I hardly know what this is but it is very likely that gobet is another pariah’s food) was the replacement of rice in her ‘extraordinarily nourishing’ menu.
Young Muntianah was never ever a fan of school. In almost every occasion, she reminded the audience (well, you know, it is her descendants) of how awful the system of education of the time to her eyes. She held begrudge towards a highly disciplined male teacher wearing blangkon (Javanese male attire).
“He (the teacher) was insanely inhumane. He made a student stand inside the school restroom all day long. The poor student couldn’t help telling his parents and everyone as soon as he was done from being grounded. Everyone dreaded such teacher,” she reminisced looking up to the house ceiling. It was still the same house she used to live with her mother decades past, only much bigger and taller. My father and uncles had helped her renovate the house.
(to be continued=> http://akhlispurnomo.net/2013/09/08/who-do-you-think-you-are-part-2/)

Pusat Penerjemahan Sastra: Impian Eliza Vitri Handayani, Penerjemah dan Masyarakat Sastra Indonesia

Dari kiri ke kanan: Penerjemah David Colmer, penggagas InisiatifPenerjemahanSastra.org Eliza Vitri Handayani, penerjemah Kari Dickson dan penerjemah bahasa Inggris-Norwegia Kate Griffin

Saat saya masuki aula besar di atas galeri seni di Erasmus Huis Sabtu pukul 7 lewat 15 menit malam kemarin (13/10/2012), suasana khidmat terasa. Ruangan yang besar tersebut tidak terisi penuh. Kursi di bagian depan cuma terisi satu dua orang. Hampir setahun lalu saya juga pernah berada di sini, untuk menonton film pemenang ajang SBM Golden Lens Award di bulan November 2011. Sangat berkesan.

Malam kemarin juga tak kalah berkesan. Saya bertemu teman yang selama ini hanya bersua secara virtual di Facebook dan blog, Dina Begum. Teman-teman baru sesama penerjemah juga banyak bertebaran di seantero ruangan sampai saya bingung harus memilih meredam gesekan usus yang masih kosong atau berkenalan dengan sebanyak mungkin orang di kesempatan langka malam itu. Cuma sempat berkenalan dengan Budi Suryadi yang membuat kami tergelak dengan lelucon angsa dan kuda nil di tengah danau dan Asep Gunawan yang mengira saya masih lulusan  baru.

Eliza Vitri Handayani malam itu membuka acara pembacaan hasil penerjemahan karya sastra penulis Gustaaf Peek dari Belanda dan Kjesrti A. Skomsvold dari Norwegia. Wanita muda penggagas InisiatifPenerjemahanSastra.org itu menyampaikan pidato pembukaan dengan fasih di hadapan peserta lokakarya penerjemahan sastra yang telah berlangsung selama 5 hari sebelumnya, para pembicara dan sejumlah pemerhati dunia penerjemahan di tanah air. Kalangan penerbit dan badan lain yang menaruh minat pada penerjemahan juga menyempatkan hadir.

Eliza tampak sibuk melayani percakapan dengan tamu lain sehingga saya harus berpikir beberapa kali untuk menemukan cara menyela obrolannya dengan orang lain. Terus terang saya bukan orang yang suka menyela. Itu salah satu hal yang paling tidak berbudaya menurut saya.  Dan sekonyong-konyong, saya terkejut saat Eliza menghampiri saat saya menundukkan pandangan untuk berfokus pada makanan di piring yang sudah hampir tandas. Mungkin ia dengan sengaja menghampiri semua orang di ruangan ini. Peluang emas, pikir saya. Saya bombardir saja dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan spontan. Inilah cuplikan singkat wawancara impromptu saya dengan Eliza.

 

Apa tujuan utama diadakannya lokakarya ini?

Tujuannya sebagai alat pengembangan kompetensi penerjemah. Berdasarkan wawancara dengan penerjemah, editor dan penerbit, saya temukan 3 kendala utama dalam dunia penerjemahan di tanah air yakni: kompetensi penerjemah, kondisi kerja di penerbitan, dan rendahnya apresiasi terhadap karya terjemahan. Dan tahun ini tujuan acara ini (lokakarya penerjemahan di Erasmus Huis) adalah untuk memecahkan masalah-masalah tersebut. Pertama, meningkatkan kompetensi penerjemah dengan mengadakan lokakarya, seminar, membahas kondisi kerja dan acara umum seperti ini untuk mengangkat profil penerjemah. Apalagi mereka jarang diundang. Jika diundang pun, penerjemah jarang diberikan kesempatan berbicara di depan. Di sini, mereka diwawancarai dan diberikan kesempatan berbicara.

Orang juga perlu menyadari bahwa proses penerjemahan karya sastra itu tidak hanya baca karyanya lalu mengetik, atau menbuka kamus dan tinggal memasukkan arti kata. Prosesnya sangat rumit.

Ada alasan khusus mengapa memilih karya sastra dari Norwegia dan Belanda untuk lokakarya tahun ini?

Sebenarnya bisa dari mana saja karena kebetulan saya tinggal di Norwegia separuh tahun dan (kita memilih) Belanda karena kita memiliki hubungan sejarah yang kuat dan dukungan praktisnya juga karena mereka juga memiliki lembaga tersendiri untuk mendukung penerjemahan karya-karya sastra mereka.

Apakah benar apresiasi terhadap hasil penerjemahan karya sastra lebih rendah dibandingkan terhadap karya aslinya?

Saya pikir tidak. Hanya banyak yang kurang percaya dengan terjemahan bahasa Indonesia sebab banyak orang berpikir dengan kemampuan berbahasa Inggris sedikit, orang sudah bisa menerjemahkan, banyak buku yang tidak diedit, penerbit cuma mengejar tenggat waktu untuk merilis buku, dan banyak pembaca yang bisa membaca bahasa Inggris. Jadi mereka tidak percaya dengan hasil terjemahan dalam bahasa Indonesia.

Mengapa memilih karya Gustaaf Peek?

Ada berbagai pertimbangan yang tidak hanya dari kita tetapi juga dari donor. Gustaaf belum menerjemahkan karyanya ke bahasa Inggris, kita ingin karyanya bisa diterjemahkan ke bahasa Inggris dan lainnya. Dan karena karyanya menarik.

Dalam lokakarya dilakukan penerjemahan secara relay (dari bahasa Norwegia –> Inggris –> Indonesia). Apakah dengan cara ini risiko kesalahan justru akan makin tinggi?

Betul, biasanya memang demikian. Tapi kita berusaha mengatasi itu dengan mendatangkan penulis aslinya dan penerjemah asal. Saya dengan berat hati mengadakan penerjemahan relay tetapi tidak merekomendasikan relay translation tanpa partisipasi penerjemah pertama.

Apakah nanti jika penerjemah Indonesia membutuhkan bantuan untuk menghubungi penulis atau penerjemah pertama, apakah akan dibantu?

Ya, jika kami nanti sudah menjadi sebuah pusat penerjemahan sastra di Indonesia. Sekarang pun jika kami bisa membantu, akan kami bantu.

Seberapa perlu penerjemah karya sastra memahami konteks sosial budaya yang menjadi latar belakang karya sastra?

Itu juga perlu, seperti tadi saat membahas keadaan cuaca di Norwegia yang tidak bisa ditemui di Indonesia. Unsur pakaian juga. Dengan menghadirkan penulis, kita bisa mengetahui semua itu, bagaimana rasanya memakai pakaian itu.

Itu kalau penulisnya masih ada, jadi proses penerjemahan lebih lancar karena masih bisa berdiskusi. Bagaimana jika penulisnya sudah meninggal?

Tujuan lokakarya ini bukan supaya kita menjadi lebih tergantung pada penulis. Kita tidak selalu memiliki kesempatan untuk bertukar pikiran dengan penulis. Ini hanya sebagai cara untuk membaca teks lebih dekat. Karena penulis juga sebisa mungkin ingin memasukkan semua yang ingin ia sampaikan ke dalam teks.

Untuk tahun-tahun mendatang, apa yang akan dilakukan setelah penyelenggaraan lokakarya penerjemahan karya sastra ini?

Kita memiliki ide untuk memberikan penghargaan bagi buku terjemahan karya sastra terbaik karena belum ada yang khusus mengapresiasi terjemahan sastra sampai sekarang. Padahal itu ada prosesnya dan seninya sendiri.

Kira-kira kapan realisasinya?

Pinginnya tahun depan.

Sudah melobi pihak apa saja untuk realisasi ini?

Rahasia dulu deh. Haha.

Tapi secara umum, apakah antusiasmenya sudah ada terhadap apresiasi terjemahan karya sastra?

Sudah. Secara umum saja, dari Festival Sastra. Sebab itu pesta, kita memberi anugerah untuk merayakan pencapaian jadi alangkah baiknya kalau di Festival Sastra. Jadi akan ada banyak penonton sehingga suasananya meriah. Pihak lain ialah organisasi yang tertarik dalam bidang penerjemahan, media yang banyak bergerak di bidang penerjemahan.

Apakah tahun depan diadakan lagi lokakarya seperti ini?

Sedang direncanakan. Kalau bisa dari bahasa-bahasa Asia.

Apakah ada rencana untuk memberikan lokakarya tetapi yang melibatkan bahasa-bahasa lain yang tidak sepopuler bahasa Inggris?

Ada. Tantangannya akan lebih sulit mencari pesertanya. Tetapi itu memang harus ditumbuhkan seperti misalnya yang sekarang di lokakarya yang langsung dari bahasa Belanda, kan kebanyakan dosen atau pengajar bahasa dan itu memiliki kesulitan sendiri karena mereka belum tentu memiliki kemampuan menulis yang baik tapi di sisi lain kita harus tumbuhkan minat mereka untuk menerjemahkan karya sastra Belanda.

Bagaimana dengan kualitas para penerjemah kita?

Banyak yang sudah hebat seperti para pembicara di lokakarya tadi. Tapi banyak juga yang lain yang masih perlu ditingkatkan.

Wawancara pun harus berhenti karena dua teman Elisa menghampiri dan mengajak mengobrol sejenak untuk berpamitan dan mengucapkan dukungan terhadap inisiatifnya mendirikan pusat penerjemahan sastra pertama di Indonesia. Saya pun mempersilakan padanya untuk menyantap makanan yang sudah diambil sebelum saya memberondongnya dengan pertanyaan.

Semoga impian Eliza, yang juga impian kita semua, akan terwujud dengan lancar segera!

 

 

Being Racist is Humane but Must Be Kept Wisely

The yoga community I’m actively involved in perhaps remains the one and only relatively racism-proof social circle I have in Jakarta.

Everyone can freely say or think racist but the thing is whether you can keep it to yourself (and some close friends and limited social circle around you) or thoughtlessly display it to the rest of the world, both offline and online. And that distinguishes you from the racist folks out there. Knowing the boundaries is absolutely crucial in this case.

Today I found myself stranded in some racist talks. So let me tell you how I was positioned in the conversation. There was this one senior citizen in front of me, and then a girl younger than me and a middle-aged lady that holds higher authority and an older man I look up to and admire. The first mentioned one was the center of attention because he professionally “owns” us at work. The younger girl is somewhat equal to me in the hierarchy. And here’s the highlight, I am Javanese and these four people are Chinese, ethnically andphysically speaking. I am obviously a minority here. I have no power, not to mention wealth or experience that is valued very highly in their microcosm. So I went meek, as meek as a lamb one can find. I said “yes” whenever I deemed necessary followed with nods and a tone of approval and pleasant attentive gestures and body language.

This is exactly the opposite out there. I am Javanese and Javanese rule here in the capital and even in the current administration. Our ‘melancholic’ president is someone born in Pacitan, East Java. The vice president is even more Javanese than his partner. By name, you can effortlessly guess his ethnicity. Ethnically and genetically, both rulers residing in the Merdeka Presidential Palace (Istana Merdeka) are Javanese.  They are Javanese to the very core.

And the conversation went on, quite randomly. It ranged from migrant workers to the possible relation between the Olympic silver (correct me if I’m wrong) medal won by an Indonesian weight lifter and the nation’s derogatory title: the land of porters. Yes, porters. The old man said that was the Indonesian first president’s quote. Can everyone tell me if Soekarno did mention the line somewhere in our national history records?

For anyone’s information, it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like any of these four people. In fact, I like the candidness the old man had managed to show me. I have something to ponder now, thanks to him.

Yet what bothers me even more is  the tickling question: How can we make this derogatory title part of history?

After all, what I at last learned is that everyone including you and me is racist from the very beginning. But again, the wisdom separates the fools from the erudite.

As Creative Industry Thrives, More Indonesian Translators are Needed

The Indonesian creative industry is blooming, and gaming is one of the most  promising.  As more and more games with foreign languages on the interface should be localized, translators’ service is needed.

“International social media sites targetting Indonesia require translators’ service. Hence the demand of such a profession is high,” stated Indra Blanquita Danudiningrat, a sworn translator and a linguist to Hilda Sabri Sulistyo, a journalist of Bisnis Indonesia.

Recently there are more variations of games played on social media, Internet-based media, or even other celular devices.

The increasingly numerous number of players in the Indonesian gaming market triggers higher demand of games with Bahasa Indonesia on the interface. This explains why there are pools of opportunities for translators in Indonesia to focus on games translation niche.

“Aside from games translation opportunities, the development of creative industry also taps another stream of opportunities due to the higher demand in Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions business (MICE business),” added Indra.

Linguists or interpreters are required in almost every international conferences and seminars. Last year after Indonesia served as the ASEAN leader and host to various international conferences, it is revealed that there are high prospects in this MICE industry.

Sadly, translator as a profession has not received wide acknowledgment  of people yet so translators need to work hard on getting this. It is such an anomaly as the profession started to come into existence since the country regained independence.

“Translators’ service is badly needed but it is not admitted as one of profession types here. That’s why we translators find it difficult to apply for credit to banks,” Indra reasoned.(Translated from the Bisnis.com)

Tentang Damai

Berikut adalah ringkasan dari apa yang disampaikan oleh Mala dari Brahma Kumaris, organisasi spiritualis yang diundang ke Yoga Gembira, Taman Suropati hari Minggu tanggal 11 September 2011. Temanya ialah perdamaian.

Mala yang berasal dari Australia ini mengutip sebuah kalimat inspiratif dari Mahatma Gandhi di awal pertemuan: “Be the change you want to see the world”. Kemudian ia berkata dalam bahasa Indonesia yang tergolong amat lancar bagi ekspatriat, “Dalam konteks perdamaian maka bisa diubah menjadi: “Be the wave of peace you want to see the world””.

Mala kemudian bertutur panjang lebar tentang bagaimana mencapai kedamaian batin dalam diri kita. Kedamaian batin, menurutnya, tercermin dalam:

-Stabilitas/keseimbangan emosi

Dalam hidup pasti ada naik turun, fluktuasi, tetapi jika seseorang damai dalam batinnya, ia bisa stabil, menyeimbangkan diri. Pikiran berfluktuasi karena emosi karena itulah emosi perlu dikendalikan.

-Ketenangan sehingga tidak mudah terpancing.

Pause button dalam diri seseorang. Ia tidak bereaksi secara langsung. Mengheningkan diri sebelum bereaksi, mengambil keputusan, berbicara.berpikir lebih pelan, untuk melihat lebih jelas dan ambil tindakan yang lebih bijak. Terlalu cepat ambil keputusan, bisa berbuah petaka.

– Kesabaran

Kesabaran dalam menerima dan memahami sesama, suatu wujud kedamaian karena tak merasa terancam. Saat tak nyaman, kita cenderung hostile.

-Kesukarelaan

Saat terpaksa melakukan sesuatu, hati tidak damai karena merasa terkekang. Berpikir jernih dan damai kita bisa melakukan semua hal dengan sukarela, datang dari diri kita sendiri, bukan karena situasi.

-Harga diri yang bisa dipertahankan

Orang sakit merasa tidak bisa mempertahankan harga dirinya karena tidak bisa bermakna pada orang lain. Pertahankan harga diri dalam sakit, musibah itu adalah wujud kedamaian batin.

-Kemampuan merelakan

Ketenangan batin tercapai saat kita bisa melepaskan pengalaman buruk dari pikiran.

Kedamaian harus dimulai dari diri kita. Saat kita terus menuntut dunia eksternal di sekitar kita untuk damai sebagai prasyarat agar diri kita bisa merasa damai, maka kita tak akan merasa damai. Dengan meditasi dan yoga, kedamaian ini bisa dicapai.

Bagaimana kita bisa menerima orang yang berbeda?

Pahami bahwa setiap orang itu unik, karena memiliki misi hidup yang berbeda dari kita. Sebab lain kita sulit menerima orang lain ialah karena kita selalu punya harapan/ tuntutan terhadap orang lain. Saat orang lain tidak bisa memenuhi harapan kita, kita menolak kehadiran mereka. Meskipun tujuan sama, cara untuk meraih bisa berbeda.

Saat memaksa orang menuruti kemauan/ tuntutan kita, kita pada dasarnya belum paham akan drama kehidupan ini.

Perjalanan hidup mereka juga berbeda dari kita. Ibarat kita tengah menumpang kereta, kita tidak bisa memaksa penumpang lain untuk menempuh rute yang sama dan turun di stasiun yang persis dengan kita. Kita tak bisa memaksa orang lain untuk selalu ada di samping kita.

Ada hikmah/ pelajaran dalam segala kejadian dalam hidup ini

Segala sesuatu di alam ini terjadi untuk alasan tertentu. Tidak ada kebetulan, tidak ada yang salah (kata “salah” hanya label dari manusia, karena suatu hal tidak sesuai keinginannya). Dengan menggunakan cara pandang seperti itu dalam memaknai semua peristiwa dalam kehidupan, kedamaian dalam batin akan lebih mudah dicapai. Dama itu juga berarti kita bisa menerima sesuatu apa adanya.

Segala sesuatu yang terjadi di alam sudah tercatat dan kita hanya menjalani yang sudah ditakdirkan. Perlu waktu untuk memahaminya, “Apa maknanya bagi saya? Bagaimana ini memperkaya saya?”

Pengalaman pahit atau manis akan bisa digunakan sebagai bekal hidup dan ditularkan ke orang lain.

 

Bagaimana saya harus bereaksi terhadap tuntutan dari suatu situasi yang saya belum mengerti?

Pertanyaan reflektif ini perlu kita tanyakan pada diri sendiri saat berkata, “Saya punya satu pengalaman buruk, sangat buruk, tak ada hal positif di dalamnya”.

Kita perlu menganggap setiap hal dalam hidup, termasuk peristiwa/hal terburuk , sebagai sebuah hadiah indah yang terbungkus rapat oleh kertas rombeng. Kita perlu membukanya dengan perlahan.

Kedamaian memang tercapai saat tidak ada gangguan tetapi gangguan justru bisa menunjukkan seberapa baiknya kita dalam memelihara ketenangan batin. Setiap gangguan membawa kita ke tingkatan kedamaian yang lebih dalam. Jadi kalau kita masih merasa terganggu, kedamaian batin kita belum begitu dalam. Maka kita perlu memperdalam kembali.

 

Saat kita menghadapi orang yang marah, apa yang sebaiknya dilakukan?

Menghadapi kemarahan sebaiknya dengan memahami alasan mengapa ia marah. Seseorang tidak akan marah tanpa sebab yang  jelas. Saat kita berusaha memahaminya, perasaan marah kita sebagai balasan kepadanya akan teredam.

Orang yang marah itu bak seorang pengemis. Orang yang tengah marah adalah pengemis dalam pengertian emosional dan psikologis. Ia perlu empati, kasih, solusi, perhatian dari orang-orang yang mereka marahi. Tanyakan pada diri kita, “Apa yang orang ini butuhkan dari saya?”  Posisikan diri kita sebagai pemberi agar kita tidak larut dalam kemarahannya. Saat kita berada dalam posisi memberi, kita akan terlindung dari serangan emosi negatif orang lain. Ini bisa diterapkan di masa modern saat banyak manusia bertindak tanduk layaknya penyedot debu yang suka mencari untung tanpa memberi. Mereka terus menuntut tanpa memenuhi kewajibannya.

Apa yang bisa dilakukan saat kita tidak bisa menemukan sisi positif seseorang?

Kadang kita begitu benci dengan seseorang hingga kita menjadi buta dengan sisi-sisi baik yang mereka miliki. Adalah sebuah kemalangan bagi kita sendiri jika kita tak bisa menemukan sisi baik seseorang. Ego kita membutakan kita, menganggap orang lain lebih rendah. Kita lupa bahwa seseorang itu buruk di mata kita bukan karena orang lain itu tidak punya sisi baik sama sekali. Justru yang patut dikasihani ialah kita yang tidak bisa menemukan kebaikan dalam diri orang lain.

Dunia nan damai terwujud dari diri sendiri.

Namaste!

 

 

Quick Wrapup Post

Forget the pricey Ace or Fit, get the Gio instead!

Paul Costigan and Patrick ORiordan : Irish reps at the event. They dont speak Indonesian, sadly.

My life ‘s almost all about translating recently. I’m fed up with it. But unhappily can’t escape before everything gets done.

So many new interesting updates I want to post but well, the time isn’t enough. I get burned out, I need time to relax. Blogging is supposed to be relaxing but blogging needs eyes and my eyes are shrieking for rest.

So far I’ve got these amazing events to cover on this blog:

#StartupLokal (Sat, April/ 9/ 2011)

I went to the community’s first anniversary and ended up going home with more than a dozen of business cards (read: lots of new acquaintaces and opportunities!).

Thanks to Natali Ardianto and Nuniek Tirta. The spouse (don’t get it wrong,Natali is a guy) invited me on behalf of my legendary boss (Mr. Entrepreneurship evangelist, as I put it). And there I was, happily trapped amongst a flock of local startup founders. I’ll save the details later on..

The historical purchase of Samsung Gio (Sat, April/ 9/ 2011)

Call me mr. Show-off but let me tell you I’ve just updated my cellular experience with one of the overly-hyped Android-embedded handsets, Samsung Gio. I embrace the principle of minimalism, and if you think I waste my dear money just to keep up with my Android-addicted coworkers, you’re wrong. I made up my mind more than a thousand times for this. And at the end, after a painful lengthy consideration, I dashed to the Samsung showroom and grabbed the shiny Gio with no regrets. I can guarantee this purchase is a well-weighted one, with good reason. For the sake of productivity…

Workshop at BPPT (Wed, April/13/ 2011)

Well, it was still related to technopreneurship. But this one was a lot more conservative in some way. Again, my legendary boss couldn’t make it and another ‘right hand’ he appointed to represent appeared for him.

Receiving “#StartupLokal Kita”

Rhein Mahatma couldn’t provide me one at FX Plaza so he bothered himself riding to the office through the most notorious street in the capital where things are so screwed up in that Tuesday morning.

This month also marks my 1st anniversary of working for this extremely entrepreneurial company…

Sarah Lacys and #Startuplokals books: Back then, never did I think I'd write so extensively about entrepreneurship.