Wear 'Em Like (a) Diamond

"Do I love you because you're wonderful, or are you wonderful because I love you?"
- Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella

A friend of mine came to me the other day, happily told me how his new girl been "wearing him like a diamond". Meaning she was just so radiantly enjoying his company and has been proudly showing him off to everyone. Good for him I say, but as usual it made my mind tickle: is he or is he not a diamond? Was he that good that the girl thinks highly of him or did the girl thinks he's super special (whatever the truth is) thus made him a diamond in effect?

To be fair I would think that diamond or not diamond, it was the wearer that will determined the effect. (I know you'll read this dude, rest assure that I think you're super too. So read on lol)



As brilliantly showed by Joshua Bell and Washington Post, not many people can appreciate beauty if taken outside the context. An expensive piece of art placed in your local cafeteria without any brands or expensive tag will not be looked upon, on the contrary a child's scribble being framed and hung in a well-known museum will definitely earn accreditation. And when almost nobody took a second glance of Joshua Bell in the subway, can we really be sure that the crooner on the expensive stage really is as good as he/she was marketed? In the current civilization things need context to structure them, to give value. A diamond will not shine as bright if the wearer is ignorant of its value.

It does sound rather shallow and stupid, doesn't it? Because here's the joke: Beauty is everywhere. And everything is priceless.

When you see an item, it is impossible to fully comprehend the value and beauty of it, since we can only focus to certain characteristics and not the whole meaning of the item as it will take years of research and fruitless brooding. An bouquet of daisies can intrigued the biologist for its species and shape, the philosopher for its significance in life, and a girl simply because it looks so pretty. It is even more so when we're talking about human, since humans are like many-faceted diamonds that will shine differently if shone by a certain light or simply looked from a different angle.



A tour from my Facebook timeline will show (to most people) a motley assembly of friends: the narcissistic, the almost Buddha-ist, the boring family man, the geek, and so on. Not too interesting perhaps, especially since almost none of them showed, ah, the "real bling". However, a closer look of their education/work tells a different story: a doctor and clinic owner, a bank portfolio manager, a financial consultant, master degree in Psychiatry, scholarship graduates from Tokyo University (and German and Singapore and Italy), the list goes on forever.

These are, of course, more than enough reason for me to flaunt my friends like they're diamonds. I have not one or two amazing friends, I have the whole league of them. But this is not what makes me so proud of them.

In that timeline I see someone that is so adapt in material engineering she actually thinking (jokingly she claimed) to send David Guetta her big book of material strength because "Titanium is NOT the strongest metal as he claimed in his song!"; I see a man so dedicated to his family yet still willingly spend time as my personal IT consultant (most of my wealthy clients don't even have one!); I see a girl that dressed and think beautifully (and it's no mean feat); I see people that loves me no matter how broke, how devastated, and how less-pretty I might have been. For these reasons I'll proudly wear them like diamonds and other precious jewels. And I know they feel the same way about me.



I know, I know. It's just words, right? But think about it. What if, what if you can spot the beauty and appreciate the value in every single thing in life? In your friends, in your work, in yourself? What if you can do that? Then you'll be so proud with what you have, so satisfied and feels so complete, it was as if you are graced and decorated with all the precious materials of earth. And the effect will be just as wonderful to the people (or things) around you, because once you appreciate someone/something you have given them self confidence and pride. In the end, everybody happy.

It's all up to you. You can strut blindly as if in fake gold rolexes, or you can stop and appreciate the beauty and proudly show it off like you're covered in diamonds and jewels. An easy choice, I'd say. Me? I'm simply richer than King Solomon's wife. My loved ones ensure that ;)

What I Do (and Lets Get Married) Means

I like you, I like you a lot
It’s not that I don’t love you, because I’m really in love with you right now
But I know that even if the madness ebbed away,
I’ll still enjoy your company for years to come
Even when we got too old to really discern each other (darn cataracts!)
I feel comfortable being with you, waking up beside you, no matter what my look is
And I don’t mind being with you either, and will accept your quirkiness just as you accept mine
I trust you and I don’t have to lie to you, and neither will you
(White lies, especially for surprise party is tolerable. I think)
Your good genes will ensure perfect child(ren)
And your patience makes you the perfect dad
You also firmly believe that I’ll be the perfect mother for your child(ren), genetically and mentally
And between ourselves (and our kids),
Between our anger and frustration and defeat,
One of us will have the coolness to say, “Stop. Let’s not continue for now”
And embrace each other till we’re cool enough to discuss
Even without any child(ren) life will be undeniably tough
But we will always ride through the storm, because we believe in each other
When one down, the other will pick him/her up
For wings need to be a pair in order to fly
Time may come when one of us felt we don’t need each other
Time may come when one of us felt we don’t trust each other
But back to each other arms’ we flew,
Openly discussed our anguish and fear to look for solution
For that is what commitment is all about
And when we grew old with wrinkles and such
We’ll still sleeping in each other’s arms,
You’ll still kiss my forehead every morning and smile, “Good morning sunshine”
I’ll still kiss your cheek and smile, “Good morning angel”
And felt so fortunate that we have each other

This is not a dream or a wishful thinking
This is what I know what happen when I say “I Do” to you
(And what you believe will happen when you ask me to “Let’s get married”)
These are strong beliefs, and both you and I wouldn’t say “I do” if we don’t believe it
You and I know the heavy consequences for your request for marriage
You and I know the heavy consequences for me accepting it
So yes,
I do.
With all my heart.

The Time of My Life - A Survivor's Note

"I've been waiting for my dreams
To turn into something I could believe in
And looking for that magic rainbow
On the horizon, I couldn't see it"

We'll never know how toxic something is until we break free from it, or until we die from it.

It felt like an eternal winter for me: The forever bleak surrounding with occasional torrent rain and wind that howls through the dead trees. This is what my mental state is. But I am not unique. I believe anyone with a broken relationship walks (and trapped) in this forsaken state for a certain period of time. Some stayed forever.

The toll? Death of the soul. Got so used with unhappiness that they just stay there, unable to wake up and live their life, and watch helplessly as their world crumbles apart. I got trapped for so long that I no longer care whether I wake up or not the next morning; and I was forced to see my work, which I'm fiercely proud of, slowly destroyed due to my inability to focus, to wake up. I could've stayed like this forever (and forever actually means whatever short time I have left thanks to my reckless behaviour), but God intervene.

What we need to understand is each person has different strength and different burden. It is impossible to generalize and say: "it's just a guy/girl, get over it!". For some cases it probably is, just a hapless hopeless puppy love. Yet look deeply, observe closely, watch carefully. Your friend may have won the ticket to The Wood of Eternal Winter when you shrugged your shoulder and say, "She/he'll get over it.". And on the contrary, your stretched hands and open arms might save them from that wretched fate. You could be God's intervention, you could be their ticket out.

Yet in some cases, we sunk too deep to even notice our friends' effort to help us, or that future and sunny world outside that bleak woods do exist. I could've stayed there forever, if He didnt send someone that shatter my world. But He did, He send me someone that in an unthinkable way shook me out and show me my true worth. Yet I can choose. I can close my senses and reject it, stayed in my eternal winter forever, because another winter after the sun will be too much to bear; or I can accept my golden ticket and hope there will be no more winter. I choose to accept it.

There are so many people trapped in depression, in their own eternal winter. Maybe you or your loved ones are among them. And if not, maybe you can be their ticket out. Of course, it will be up to them to use their ticket out or not; but at least you have given them the chance. And maybe one day, the wood of eternal winter will lay abandoned, as all people happily gathered in the land of eternal sunshine. One day, some day.

"Until I let go, gave in to love
Watched all the bitterness burn
Now I'm coming alive, body and soul
Feeling my world start to turn

And I'll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time, this is the time to be
More than a name or a face in the crowd
I know this is the time, this is the time of my life
The time of my life"

The Time of My Life - David Cook

The Phone, The Flight, The One-Night Cinderella

Was it the phone you decided to buy
Was it the flight I decided to take
Whatever it is, I become a one-night cinderella

The world is a large mask-party
And we are it's unassuming guests
2 people from the end of the world to the other
I found myself dancing with you in the light

The phone that rang
The plane that flew
And me a cinderella that wish the night will never end

It was a night of magic and light
Where words come alive
Where feelings are melodius like songs
Where I become what I've always dreamed to be

Yet the phone'll stop ringing
The reverse flight will need to be taken
And cinderella will be alone again,
Broken shards of glass shoes in her bloodied feet

But behold!
The night is young, the moon is full
Let's worried not with the uncertain future
And let us dance, dance, dance!

Let me be lost in the music, drown in your warmth
And let us thank the phone and the flight
For I've become your cinderella

Melihat Keindahan, Ada Waktu?

Bayangkan anda melihat seorang pemusik di jalanan. Bayangkan anda saat itu sedang terburu-buru. Seberapa pun indahnya, apakah anda akan berhenti untuk mendengar? Mungkin sebagian besar tidak, karena anda "dikejar waktu" dan lagipula, ia hanya pemusik jalanan toh.

Nah sekarang, bayangkan bila pemusik itu ditempatkan di sudut mewah atau cafe terkenal dengan tag: "Tuan A: Pemusik Terkenal"; seberapa buru-burunya pun anda apakah anda akan berhenti untuk melihat? Saya yakin akan banyak yang berhenti melihat.

Terakhir, bayangkan bila sebenarnya si pemusik jalanan itu lah yang pemusik terkenal. Dan anda sebenarnya bisa saja menikmati konser gratis nya di pinggir jalan daripada membayar jutaan untuk konser resminya. Ouch. Menohok ga sih.

Inilah yang terjadi di Washington D.C. Pemusik terkenal Joshua Bell bermain secara incognito ala pemusik jalanan di Stasiun Metro, baca cerita selengkapnya disini. "Acara" ini diselenggarakan oleh Washington Post sebagai bagian dari eksperimen sosial tentang persepsi, selera, dan prioritas orang. Pertanyaan yang ingin dijawab adalah: dalam lingkungan biasa pada jam tidak tepat: Apakah kita mampu melihat keindahan? Apakah kita mau berhenti untuk menghargainya? Apakah kita bisa mengenali bakat dalam konteks yang tak terduga? Ternyata belum tentu.

Dalam buku The Naked Ape, Desmond Morris menggambarkan secara brilian kehidupan masyarakat purba yang tidak dikejar waktu. Kalau dipikir-pikir, sebenarnya siapa yang mengejar kita sehingga kita tidak mampu berhenti sejenak dan mengagumi/menikmati hidup? Kenapa SMS/telepon harus dijawab saat itu juga dan tidak menunggu sampai anda memiliki waktu luwang sebagaimana jaman dahulu dengan surat/pos biasa? Terkadang tanpa sadar kita terus berlari dan mengejar sesuatu, sampai melupakan bahwa hidup cuma sekali, sampai tidak sadar bahwa hidup itu indah.

So yeah, lain kali anda merasa melihat/mendengar/mencium/menyentuh sesuatu yang indah, berhenti sejenak untuk menikmati, manjakan kelima indera kita. Lupakan bahwa "sesuatu" itu tidak berada di tempat yang tepat. Ibaratnya, pemusik jalanan pun bisa anda nikmati musiknya bila ia memang benar-benar bagus. Lihat jauh kedalam, jangan dari kulitnya. Saya yakin hidup anda akan jadi lebih baik :)

Selamat Pagi Tuhan :)

Entah kenapa pagi-pagi tiba-tiba teringat lagu ini. Walau sebenarnya saya belajar lagu ini cuma sekedar syarat saat SMP (saya masuk ke SMP Katolik), tapi buat saya lagu ini benar-benar mengena dan sangat berkesan. Tenang, saya masih teguh memegang Hindu ;).

Yang saya suka, lirik lagu ini sebenarnya universal dan bisa masuk untuk agama manapun. (Jangan tersinggung ya, para pembaca yang beragama Nasrani, ini pujian lho). Semua agama pasti umatnya akan memuji Tuhan, akan memohon diberikan rejeki, akan meminta dijauhkan dari godaan dan diampuni semua kesalahannya. Coba saja buka pikiran anda dan coba resapi lirik ini. Sama kan? :)

Bapa Kami - Versi Filipina
Bapa kami di dalam surga
Dimuliakanlah namaMu
Datanglah kerajaanMu
Jadilah kehendakMu
Di bumi dan di surga

Berilah kami rejeki
Pada hari ini
Ampunilah dosa kami
Seperti kamipun mengampuni
Yang bersalah kepada kami

Jangan masukkan kami dalam cobaan
Tapi bebaskan kami dari yang jahat
Sebab Tuhanlah Raja
Yang mulia dan berkuasa
Untuk selama-lamanya
Amin, amin, amin

Selamat Pagi Tuhan, I love You so much ;)

You Look Best When You Smile

You look best when you smile
It was like the sun shine through the cloud
Like the rainbow after the rain
Like the warm spring wind after the harsh winter
You maybe not a beauty queen
And definitely not James Bond
But seeing you smile fills my heart with gladness
Making me feel the world is such a beautiful place
So smile, angel. You'll never know who you might saved with your warm, honest smile
Cause you look best when you smile

- This note is dedicated to all that read this article. Smile, gorgeous ;) -

Live in Love

Catholic is shaken by reports of sexual abuse, but priest in Detroit keep delivering items for the needy even though their church is gone

Christian is said to be harsh and aggresive to homosexual and other religion, but my Christian foster father only spoke of love and acceptance no matter how lewd i seem to be

Hindus in India/Pakistan is responsible for viscious attack to the moslem, but my priests and books taught me only kindness and understanding the universe

Jewish is loathed by probably half of the world due to the fight for the "promised land", but they do not hesitate to back and bring justice for a little girl that being harrassed by a small group within themselves

Moslem has been pictured as "the bad dudes" and militant thanks to a small group people who thinks terrorizing will earn them respect, but an Arab helps a group of Jewish to escape Nazi while knowing fully well the horrible risk of his action.

Those are but a glimpse of how religion is portrayed and how it actually works in reality. It was never about the religion, it was always about the people.

Generalizing people based on their religion is not only stupid, but also discriminative. Saying that all Jewish are crooks, all Moslems are terrorists, all Christians are bigots is like saying all blacks are violent, all asians are stupid, all westerners are immoral. None of it true. You cant accuse a group sharing the same (unpleasant) trait just because a few member of the group act indecent. Would you like to be accused a rapist just because one of the people in your family/circle of friends is a rapist? I assume not.

These facts sound irrelevant, unimportant, can be brushed aside. But I beg to differ. The world is in crisis, and the only way to ride through the storm is to face it together. Answer truthfully: does it matter if a Moslem or a Jewish is your cashier at the supermarket? Does burger made by a devout Christian at your local fast food joint taste better? Assuming you dont know what their religion is, the answer would be NO. The reason is simple: religion is one's business with God, not with people. Except when they forced their religion during what should've been professional work, I see no reason to complain or discriminate.

Take a deep breath and try to digest this: religion is one's own business with God, it's not other people's business. Let it go. Have faith in human. All religion taught love and compassion, and all human (even the atheist) are born with it. Love one another, see through religion, skin color, or whatever difference that you can creatively find. All living things are unique and different, cherish it :)

In the name of God

At darkest moments like this, where sea of emotion swept me away and misery engulf me, towering like contemptous wall of darkness around me, at moments like this I can feel Him next to me.

I can feel Him stroking my hair lovingly; lift my chin up and kiss my forehead gently. I can feel Him put His arms around my shoulders protectively, look me in the eye and as He wipe my tears He smile and say: "You are with me, my child. Fear not, distress not, as I love you. I always do." And with that, I found peace.

In the name of God I shall prevail; I shall not fail His test, his task. In the name of God I will make it; will break free from this hatred emotion and bathe in His love instead. In the name of God I shall walk, for I am His child, as all things dead or alive in this universe. I love you, God.

How big is the world?

How big is the world?

If you can look away from your self and stop thinking you're the main hero/heroine in this life, you'll find that the world is amazingly big. So definitely big.

One Day on Earth - Motion Picture Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

How happy are you? - From Yahoo Shine

Give yourself one point for each of the things below that you have done within a month (it doesn't have to be exact), and please write it in as a comment.

If you score low, no worries! Keep the list and share it with your friends to remind you of the little things can make you feel really good :)
Enjoy!

• coloring (yes, grown-ups can do it, too)
• crisp cotton sheets
• soft skin
• old family recipes
• the first daffodils of spring
• sleeping in
• an exercise endorphin high
• window boxes
• a perfect cup of coffee
• a genuine compliment (giving or receiving)
• the way babies smell
• a handwritten letter
• waking up in a good mood...for no real reason
• singing in the shower
• finding a couple forgotten dollars in your pocket
• doing something nice for your neighbor
• a home cooked meal
• laughing
• movie theater popcorn
• playing hookey
• a bubble bath
• swimming
• an afternoon nap
• street musicians
• your favorite song
• saying thank you
• helping someone in need
• old fashioned photo booths
• fresh whipped cream
• inspiring blogs
• a glass of wine
• rainy afternoons
• the funny things kids say
• a novel you can get lost in
• finding the perfect piece of clothing...on sale
• clean laundry
• the wind in your hair
• treating the person behind you at the drive-thru
• sharing an umbrella
• the smell of lavender
• a long walk that clears your head
• a bear hug
• The Beatles
• smiling at a stranger
• eating with chopsticks (Chinese food optional)
• butterflies
• staying in your pj's all day
• singing along to the radio and knowing all the words
• fresh herbs
• ordering in pizza
• happy endings...even if they're fictional
• flying a kite
• puppies
• root beer floats
• holding open the door...
• ...or having someone hold the door for you
• fountain soda
• white, fluffy towels
• sunshine
• spending an afternoon at a museum
• really great advice
• green lights all the way home
• the sound of rain hitting the windows
• sitting in a booth
• holding hands
• a great hair day with no effort
• building a fort with your kids
• when someone falls asleep with their head on your shoulder
• fireflies
• the perfect taco
• geraniums on a windowsill
• slow dancing
• the smell of fresh-baked bread
• cheesy, uplifting musicals
• great stories
• the smell of gasoline
• the cold side of the pillow
• love letters
• old friends...
• ...new friends
• a pull-through parking space
• a baguette -- crisp on the outside, airy on the inside
• when a dog licks your hand
• sitting at the counter at an old-fashioned diner
• using your favorite dishes
• reading your child a bedtime story
• Girl Scout Cookies
• flossing
• kissing someone you love
• the smell of onions and garlic cooking
• hot chocolate
• jumping in puddles
• old photographs
• birds hopping on the sidewalk
• Ella Fitzgerald
• a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar
• your softest t-shirt
• a new magazine in the mail
• fireplaces
• having exact change
• bacon and pancakes cooking on Saturday morning