aide-mémoire

In Love

With the song

With the music video

The meaning behind every word

The meaning behind every move

While I was walking along my usual work-to-home "route", earlier today I was accompanied by a close friend of mine. We work together as colleagues at first, but as we share a lot of things together we found out that we have the same life principles. It's the main reason why we just click. Anyways, she was telling me that despite all the work or other activities being done everyday.. she thinks that it really isn't enough for her to live her life just by doing the "main regular" activities. The interesting part is that her confession was exactly the same as I've been wondering and feeling about. After all the talks and what-not, we concluded that we can't be restless wanderers..living our life without a purpose!

Call me a naive.. but hey, I try not to complicate my life and my measurement of having a fulfilling life may not be the same as other people. Some people are driven by resentment or anger, but I choose not to because all the hurts in the past have just given me a stronger heart to hold on and love God more. Some people are also driven by materialism, but really... possessions only provide temporary happiness because as many also say that "(physical/tangible) things do not change, we eventually become bored and then want newer, bigger, better versions" it will never be enough. Would you be so desperate and depressed when you lost all your money? Would we take all our "physical" things with us when we die? of course we need those things to live, but what matters the most?

What matters most is that my life has to have a purpose, and that I want to have a God-centered life. I have my beliefs..and I have my faith. Life experiences have taught me everything to always be a better, stronger, wiser person. And that is a turning point for me, for my friend, that we need to do something to give back..to the people we love..to other believers, to everyone in need. And time is my life. Believe me, I am honestly still way behind from reaching my main purpose (still working hard on it!)..but that conversation today was just an eye opener for me and I am more than happy to share this to all of you. I am not ashamed of my faith, because I love my God. and He is everything for me.. and that

"He is good and loving" 

"He is all-powerful" 

"He notices every detail of my life"

"He is in control"

"He has a plan for my life"

"and He will save me"

This post is also inspired by "Michael W. Smith ft. Kari Jobe - The One that Really Matters"..loving this worship song! the vid has just been recently published on YouTube :) here's the link:

It's the moment of truth..the moment of CRAZINESS! 

And it was the moment you were underwater for seconds..It felt like hours and thought that this was it. But you managed to control your emotions, finally come right back up again and feel a great sense of RELIEF. YOU ARE UP and ready to take control of the world, yet again!

A Major Throwback

Sudden feeling of "oh-I-wanna-play-the-piano-now-and-just-sing!"

Can't believe that this video from 2010 has been viewed by +4,000 peeps! such an achievement..I suppose :)

ps. follow my sister's youtube account and like her videos. Support her (and my brother) aka "The Macarons Project" as well..and no regrets will follow you lol.

Breathe in a Smile; Breathe Out a Chuckle. (You Can Do It)

Been doing yoga for quite some time and am still practicing some of the "challenging" yoga poses.

I woke up this morning (Friday morning) and I felt a sudden urge to do something I've never done before..nor even thought about this as part of my new year resolution.

So 2014, I decided to make a long list of what I did for you (for the past 2 weeks in January) and what I'll do for the next 11 months. The list will not be a continuous one since I'll just write it down on my very own Facebook timeline.

This list will be something that will keep me going throughout the year.. and will be something to push my very own limits to help myself become a different person (in a good way, of course) and a better person for myself and for everyone around me.

The raindrops outside have finally pushed me to write my personal thought about the world I am living in now. It's not meant to point out the obvious but I just want to share what I think about the "tangible" things that we can possibly enjoy nowadays.. especially since I moved back to my beloved hometown, Jakarta.

Beloved? we all know the meaning of this word. We could say that it's something that we treasure. Or it's perhaps our favorite, precious, special thing that we keep (again) dearly in our hearts. But sometimes the reality, as we speak, is not always something that we actually want to see. It's like staring at a mirror, you expect to see what you want to see but the imperfection of the world is not allowing us to do that.

Why? because the world I am living in now is not a perfect one. I'll just use one obvious example. The world now is being consumed by the power of conspicuous consumption, that is pretty much highlighted with the existence of leisure facilities such as shopping malls. What interests me the most about living in my hometown, is that it's so different from the city where I lived before. The local developers have still put a lot of high hopes in building more and more shopping malls.

Okay, so what is conspicuous consumption? According to wikipedia, and I'll just write it here again..is that it's the power of spending money to get goods to publicly display economic power. One reason could be that it's part of their motivation of self-gift giving because they have worked so hard during weekdays and the weekends are their only payback time. Their compulsive spending behavior is certainly the answer here. Most people go to malls to buy things they might not need right away. It's always about what they actually want at the moment and not about what they really need.  But on the other hand, I can relate to them as to why they do that.. and that is because they have no other choice anymore, at the very least, a better one. Yup, the answer goes all the way back in the beginning of my statement above and I certainly don't blame them 100%. More and more shopping malls are their definite "weekend getaway" destinations. It's more of "hop on/hop off malls" sort-a-thing. 

What about other destinations? like enjoying God's good works...

What about hanging out outside the beach on a sunny weekend, while reading your favorite books or playing beach volleyballs?

What about having good quality conversations with beloved friends and family before watching sunset from a mountain valley? 

I certainly have missed out a lot on those outdoor activities here.. Sometimes we just have to accept it. But how to do that? well, it is best to just embrace the imperfection. At least for me -- as long as I am not being pulled into compulsive buying behavior, I am totally fine. Going to malls to catch up with friends, I'm always up for it. But it would certainly be best if I am given the chance to enjoy things that last more..

After a while, I finally got the time to start writing on my blog again. After quite some time, we always need to spend the time only for ourselves.. to do something that we love doing it alone.

So here it is, a topic that just simply pop out in my mind now.

They say that "actions speak louder than words", and I completely agree with this one. This quote best interprets someone's true behavior. 

Maybe it's a way of recognizing one's true self, as we have given the chance to meet one particular person. At first, the confidence and intelligence that he/she possesses might attract your sight. But, there is always a but.. despite all the qualities you can think of, he/she is only a person also surrounded by his/her very own flaws. As they also say, "no one is perfect"

And for me personally, it's just a matter of accepting who that person is, as well as compromising. It's a matter of considering.. knowing this person as a blessing or a lesson for us. We just decide what we want to do next. But again what I think is that meeting new people has always been a blessing.. because all different personalities they have really help me shape who I have become. Maybe you could be wiser, or perhaps you could be more patient to them..or the people we meet would give us the opportunity to be different.. anything to make yourself a better person. As they also say "new people, new life"

Thanks to my special people, that I have finally (willingly) spent the time to do exercises by going to the gym now :) now that I know, it's kind of addicting that your body has its own needs to stay strong and keep energized. Two-three times a week is definitely a good start for me and doing this for almost 3 months now really has been a great accomplishment for myself. 

Me: Oh man, what could possibly go wrong with my day, with the things around me, with the people around me? Today has just been one of those bad days.. but I have my own moments, I'm sorry (a laughing face, then me bursting out into tears)

The only constant in life is Change. 

Finally, that time has come... time to change, time to put things into a new perspective.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to change everything you know, you believe in, you feel, you have? Of course it requires a lot of effort and time.. yet for some people including myself, change is definitely a good thing.

As it has probably been mentioned by some people, that change is continuous.. it's inevitable. One simple example of how living cells in our body constantly undergo cellular transformations. The cells have been transformed (changed), and the process cannot be undone. It is not easy.. to leave your old life and enter a new one. You feel like you have been so used to everything around you... while at the same time, you are trying so hard not to think about how you will cope with your new life. But then again, things are not the way they used to be anymore. You can't plan it, you can only walk on the new path that is given to you.

Some quotes also talk about how change leads to improvement. Yes, I truly believe in this. Change gives me the opportunity to learn something.. to be better, to feel better, to know better. There are no What-Ifs anymore in this case. All I know is that I don't feel any regret. 

We all want to know that our life meant something, and we did something for someone else and that we spread positivity, no matter how big or how small. 

We can do anything to help people every single day. Whether we are spending our money for people in need, using our skills in helping others, or even spending our time for them...anything we can do for others really matters. The impact won't be only on us, but on those people we've helped. Life is not only about me, myself, and I. Life is about you and me..because there won't be me if it's not because of you...and the greatest gift of all is to learn something good and positive from someone else if that will lead me in being a better person. 

The World Humanitarian Day is not going to be on August 19 only. But it's happening every single day. This video really reminds me of something I will never forget... I have been truly grateful that I can be someone's best friend.. that I have witnessed how kind, gentle, and how loving she is towards others. Yes, I was there.. and I felt that my soul had been touched, my eyes had been opened by God through that one small event of my life.. that I was not living alone in this world. and still I am not. That a lot of other people are not as lucky as I am. They have their own struggles in life and yet, they have love and always smile whenever I see them..whenever I talk to them. That there is pure love right there..and that's the most precious thing in their lives.

The moment my friend introduced me to those special people, I felt like the luckiest person alive. Alive to have felt that one-of-a-kind love. Love that surrounds us because of our God who loves us the most. Love that will keep me alive and strong and happy and be forever grateful for my family, my friends, and my God.. despite all the downs I have had in life. That love truly exists... and so I thank you..

Thank you, my best friend.

Thank you, my dearest friends.

And now you have left

Without saying goodbye

Without seeing your last smile

Without hearing your soft voice... calling out my name

How can it be?

Sometimes I just wonder

And yet cry...

My heart has broken 

I have missed those moments

When I cheerfully say "goodbye and will see you again"

And  when I see you again

I see you smile

I hear your soft voice... calling out my name

How can it be?

Sometimes I just wonder

Why are we so far away?

My heart aches

I can't say goodbye

But I do know..

That there are some things I should know

You are not saying goodbye

You can now see me smiling

You can always hear me calling out your name

Because you are forever in my heart

In the arms of the angels,

You are happy now

And knowing that, I should be happy

Sponsored by Vancouver Foundation's Neighbourhood Small Grant, OMNITA Cultural Arts and Media proudly presents "Batik Making Workshop" which will be held at New Westminster Public Library.

Click on the link and pre-register if interested! and I will see you on January 19, 2013 if you want to learn how to make Batik :)