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Job op: Public Relations Manager in SENADA

SENADA, a USAID-financed Indonesian competitiveness project, is currently recruiting for a senior Public Relations Manager (Code: PRM).

He or she will develop and lead the implementation of communications strategy for SENADA. The strategy will consist of a master plan to communicate with SENADA’s stakeholders, including the business sectors, the industry or business associations, the government and the general public.

If you meet the above criteria, please send your CV and three professional references (with phone numbers and email addresses) via email to SENADA@dai.com (to be considered position code must be included in the subject of the email) or fax to 021-579-32578 by Wednesday, 24 October 2007. No phone calls will be entertained.

To learn more about the position, you can download this document. For more information about SENADA please visit: www.senada.or.id.

Note: I'tikaf (By A. Chodjim)

[Bahasa Indonesia]
The Arabic word "i’tikaf" gets popular especially towards the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan. People go to mosques, conduct the prayer, read the Qur'an, and spend the whole night (or more) in the mosque.

What is the essence of i'tikaf?

I’tikaf is about contemplation to achieve spiritual transformation. To contemplate on our conduct thus far, to contemplate on our relations with other beings and the whole universe (not just among human).

Al Qur’an does not specify how to conduct the i'tikaf. Thus the imams of the muslim provide the explanation, with some differences in the details.

Whatever the name may be, to me, contemplation is an important thing to do. Contemplation does not mean we think of a certain issue with specific objectives or achievements in mind.

Contemplation means opening self or heart so that the higher energy can infiltrate us, be present within.

The energy that can naturally and automatically guide us in navigating our lives, in harmony with our function and mission in life.

You can download the complete note (in Indonesian) here.

Are we really fasting?

[Bahasa Indonesia]
The traffic in Jakarta has been crazy (or crazier) these last several days. Not sure what this has anything to do with the fact that Idul Fitri is just about a week away.

I still do not see the connection, why the traffic has gone worse in the third week of Ramadhan compared with the first week of Ramadhan.

Anyway, here I was, stuck in the midst of this craziness. I looked around. I presumed most of the people on the road were fasting.

They say that fasting is to train us to be more patience. To better control ourselves. To refrain ourselves not just from food, drinks and sex, but also to "hunger" ourselves from all negative emotions.

Yet all I could see, could experience, at that time in the middle of the traffic jam was how aggressive people got when they were driving. The vehicles were barely inches from one another. Motorcycles going here and there, trying to find the narrow gap between cars for them to pass by.

Nobody wanted to give way to another. When somebody tried to move in front of the cars, you could see the sudden increased of intensity in the drivers’ face.

So I wonder, how many of us really fast. And I hope to God that towards the end of the month, we all can celebrate Idul Fitri --- the return to our pure-self.

The Witch of Portobello

[Bahasa Indonesia]
I wasn't that interested in Paulo Coelho's novels anymore. With all due respect to the gifted writer. It was just not my cup of tea.

So when the Witch of Portobello came out, I was not exactly running to the bookstore to get it.

That was, before a trusted friend recommended the book to me.

I was curious. I knew and trusted her preference in books.

On the same day she sms-ed me to recommend the book, I went to the bookstore, bought myself a cup of coffee, and sat at the coffee shop for hours reading that book.

I went home and continued reading it. I finished the book in one day. I could not put it down.

Then I told another friend about this book. Her response was unexpected. She said, "So what's the result?" An sharp and odd response to a story about reading a book. It was a good question though. What was the result?

The result was it got me thinking about something I had not thought about for quite some time. Threw me back into an introspective and retrospective mode.

So if there will be a significant change in my life in the near future, you can blame it on Coelho. Or thank him.

On being a student

[Bahasa Indonesia]
There was a long discussion about the poem I put in the previous entry. One friend was a teacher. He said sometimes he signs up for classes just to be a student again.

I have different opinion.

To me it is easy to be a student when you are actually a student. If I sign up for a class, of course I feel like a student because I am literally a student.

What would be more challenging is to be a student every single second of life. To have that humbleness that I can learn from the person in front of me because there is something he/she knows that I don't. To have that zeal, that eagerness to learn.

Be honest. When you are a manager, a director, a vice president, a senior at your office, and you are faced with an intern who barely graduates from college, can you feel like a student to this intern? Or would you roll your eyes and grumble every time he/she says or does something 'ridiculous'? Yes, I thought so.

I could not get the poem out of my head that evening. It was like a reminder (to not say slap me on the face) to this confident, arrogant, know-it-all person to learn from every single person or single incident that passes by in her life.

I threw myself to something completely new sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally. To be a first grade student one more time.

Perhaps it is time for me to do it again.

It is a pleasure to be a student

I am a student.
I have been a student as long as I remember
And it is a pleasure to be a student.

It is a pleasure to learn that I don't know.
It is a pleasure to learn that I already know.
It is a pleasure to learn that I was mistaken.

It is a joy to learn from Great Masters.
It is a joy to learn by sharing what I learnt.
It is a joy to learn how to be what I am.

I seek to learn about the world around me.
I seek to learn about what I actually am.
I seek to learn how to be a proper human being.

Clouds show me the nature of my world.
Rivers show me the nature of myself.
Babies show me how to be more human.

I am a student.
I will be a student as long as I live.
And it is a pleasure to be a student.

A poem by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche. Read during a Beshara gathering.

Quiet

[Bahasa Indonesia]
I have just realized it has been some time since I last wrote in my blogs. Any of my blogs. Not that I don't want to. Not that I don't have the time.

But I just don't know what to write.

I don't know what to write. That is a scary thought.

A friend once told me that she thought my writing while I was in Spain was good. She asked whether it was because of the ambiance, or the state of heart that I was in. It was both.

If I write well when my surrounding was conducive and the heart is in the right state, what does "don't know what to write" mean? That's a scary thought.

Lost kid

Yesterday my family had dinner in an outdoor restaurant, celebrating my nephew's birthday.

On our way out, suddenly there was this four year old kid tagging along. So my brothers and sister started asking, where was your mom and dad? The kid did not say a word and there was no adult part from my family.

So my family stopped. My brother returned to backtrack our route, trying to find the kid's family. He did not return until he found it while the rest of us waiting patiently with the kid.

The kid was returned to his family. We went home.

Happy birthday, ji. You have a good loving family.

How can you call yourself good?

[Bahasa Indonesia]
A friend asked. Let’s call this friend A him and the other B her, for the sake of this conversation. A and B used to be friend, but not anymore. It was a heated separation. (and I am being modest in my use of words).

Basically A thinks B is a snake, and the feeling is mutual. Different animal but on par. So friend A said to me, “How can you call yourself good when you are still friend with her?”

Good question, I thought. Well, first of all, I never call myself good. Second, is it wrong to make friend with those who are considered to be snake by more than one person (to say the least)?

I actually discussed this with the snake herself, I mean, B, without refering specifically to A. I said, “perhaps that is because I believe that you will not bite me”

She responded, “You should not say that. That is called arrogance. Instead, you should say because you don’t have any bad intension against me.”

She was right. I don’t have any bad intension and therefore, God’s willing, it is safe to play with the snake. Even the snake has its wisdom.

SMS

[Bahasa Indonesia]
I received an sms today. A cousin of mine, his child died in the womb, before birth.

I don’t know what to say. I remember once a friend ask what would be one of the things that I fear most and I answered, “to see my children die before I do.”

I don’t know why I said such thing. I don’t have a child yet. I can only imagine. Actually, I probably cannot. And I hope I will not. Ever.

.hope you are well.

The King Inside

And without further ado, the second one:

The King Inside

There are people with their eyes open
Those hearts are shuts. What do they see? Matter.

But someone whose love is alert,
Even if the eyes go to sleep,
He or she will be walkng up thousands of others.

If you are not one of those light-filled lovers,
Restrain your desire-body’s intensity.
Put limits on how much you eat
And how long you lie down.

But if you are awake here in the chest,
Sleep long and soundly.
Your spirit will be out roaming and working,
Even on the seventh level.
Muhammed says, I close my eyes and rest in sleep,
But my love never needs to rest.

The guard at the gate drowses.
The king stays awake. You have a king inside
Who listens for what delights the soul.

That king’s wakefulness
Cannot be described in a poem.

Taken from Coleman Bark's A year with Rumi, daily readings, June 17th, p195.

Beyond Love stories (2)

The first of the two Rumi's poets. For those who observe the fasting of Ramadhan. And those who walk a similar path of cleansing the soul.

May we obtain more than just hunger and thirst.

Beyond Love stories (2)

You risk your life to feed desires,
Yet you give your soul only short grazing spans,
And those grudgingly.

You borrow ten and repay fourteen.
Most of your decisions can be traced back
To cuisine and sex.

The fuel basket goes from one stokehole
To the next. Six friends hoist
Your handsomeness and carry it
To the cemetary.

Food changes going from table to latrine.
You live between deaths,
Thinking this is right enough.

Close these eyes to open the other.
Let the center brighten your sight.

Taken from Coleman Bark's A year with Rumi, daily readings, June 16th, Page 194.

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Note: The pearls of living in peace (By Arif Rachman)

[Bahasa Indonesia]
The note was made during Pak Arif's speech in the comemoration of my sis's mother-in-law's passing.

Pak Arif opened his speech by stating the usual “Assalamu alaikum wr wb. Shawalat and salam..“ and followed by saying “prayers and peace be upon all of us, especially to the host of this event and to our teachers.”

A verse in Al Qur’an urged us to fast so that we can become the person of faith (takwa). Takwa should be the end, the destination of our journey.

That is why we are given clues, a key to heaven named Al Qur’an, whose first verse contains an order for all of us to read (iqra). Not just plain reading, read to understand, to do, to make it part of our personality and a tool for all of us to live in harmony.

This state of harmony is something that we should work on. There are five pearls to living in peace, in harmony:
1. Remember Allah, in every second of our lives.
2. Conduct everything without expecting anything in return, ikhlas. Pak Arif said that if we want to learn the word “ikhlas”, the best teacher is our mother.
3. Shalat. Pray. In shalat, we are reminded of our mission in life, in the prayer “indeed, my shalat, my life, my death is only for God.”
4. Be patient. Patience that is accompanied by our obidience to God, a lot of good conducts and night prayers to ask for forgiveness.
5. Be thankful. Pak Arif said that nowadays people are much better in complaining. Endlessly. Where in fact, our complaints can close the door to what He wants to open for us.

Complete note (in Indonesian language) can be downloaded here.

Note: On fasting (by Bapak Memed)

[Bahasa Indonesia]
This note discussed about the foundation of fasting, which is QS Al Baqarah (2):183-188, and the its objectives. There are three objectives in fasting:

First: takwa - to increase the quality of the person, to become a person of real faith, those who maintain himself (from wrongdoings), who seek to be closer to God, who fear God (acknowledge God as the higher power) and who feel like he is being watched by God.

Second: syakirin – to be thankful. To realize what we have all these times, to accept, to take care and to utilize them well.

Third: rasyidin – to live a clean life, the correct way of living.

These verses, especially the one that talk about alms giving, are also emphasizing the social value of fasting. So that we do not forget those who are less fortunate that we are.

So that we will not create a weak future generation, physically and mentally – there should be improvements in nutrition and education. If not us, who else?

At the end of our fasting, the real test is to evaluate our lifestyle after Ramadhan, the way we talk, the way we act and how we use our wealth.

Have a great fast. I apologize for all my mistakes. I sincerely hope that we can improve ourselves to the “takwa” level, and not just feel the hunger and thirst.

Complete note (in Indonesian language) can be downloaded here.

True colors

You with the sad eyes
don't be discouraged
oh I realize
it's hard to take courage
in a world full of people
you can lose sight of it all
and the darkness inside you
can make you fell so small

But I see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like a rainbow

Show me a smile then
don't be unhappy, can't remember
when I last saw you laughing
if this world makes you crazy
and you've taken all you can bear
you call me up
because you know I'll be there

And I'll see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like a rainbow

.happy birthday.

Message of the week: pray

[Bahasa Indonesia]
The message sometimes seem to get subtler by the day.

This week has been one busy week for me. A couple of days ago, a passer-by in my old blog left a comment. Somehow she (I presume, a she) advised me to pray, because prayer has such great power.

Yesterday I realized that my driver’s license was not where it usually was. I kept thinking about it but could not bring myself to remember what I did with it.

You see, I have a habit to not bring a bag and put my ID card in the bag of whoever was with me at that moment.

This morning, as I was leaving the house, I asked You-Know-Who to let me remember. Suddenly my mind wondered to my sister.

I tried to remember when the last time I went out with her and I did not bring my bag with me. Owh, that one evening in our home town. Now, where exactly did I put the ID card? Hm, the camera pouch.

It just so happened that I have that very pouch in my bag. I took it out of the bag and looked inside. There it was. My driver’s license.

I felt like He was saying, “…all you have to do is ask...”

(Traffic) Jammin'

[Bahasa Indonesia]

Today the street is really 'jammin'. My usual commuting time of 3/4 hour has turned into 3 to 4 hours.

My thought goes to Sutiyoso and his plan to build a bus way on this very street that I was stuck in, turning the two-lane street (one way) into one-lane. That would be the day.

But traffic jam is always a good training ground for me. It makes me aware of the fluctuation of my (im)patience. And tonight was no mean an exception.

I can hear people honking impatiently. All looking very tired. Eager to get home yet having no clue how to get there (sooner).

I saw a young couple with a young child riding a motorcycle sharing one raincoat. And I think of those who do not even have proper cover from the rain.

I saw another child at the gas station playing happily with his mom, probably glad to have the five minute break after the long ride.

I saw the fried rice street vendor getting more customers than he usually does.

And I saw my house. Feeling happier to see it than I usually do.

It was also one of those on-the-road moments when I thought, hm, bathroom would be good.

Behind each eye

Today as I was reading the usual A year with Rumi book, I cheated, pop. I skipped June 19, 20, and 20 to peek at June 22, your birthday. I wanted to know what he writes for June 22. And I felt my eyes watering.

The poem entitled "Behind each eye"

Spring overall. But inside us
there is another unity.

Behind each eye
one glowing weather.

Every forest branch moves differently
in the breeze, but as they sway,
they connect at the roots.

I know you have moved on and I won't be the one who holds you back.

Yet I also know you are always be here for me. Because we are always one. United. Connected at the roots. With you cheering at me. Praying. Glowing. With God's love.

I miss you so much, especially at times like this. I love you. And wish you well.

Patience

[Bahasa Indonesia]
Have you ever gone out of a mall, looked at your parking ticket and found out that you have spent about three hours and ONE minute. Which means that we have to pay an extra hour for that one minute. Annoying (to me).

And on those times, my impatience shows its ugly face. So when I am in a certain mood, I would rush to ensure that I do not have to pay that extra minute. Unnecessary, I know.

So earlier tonight I deliberately train my patience. In the gym, I glanced at the clock, I knew it was going to be tight. So I consciously slowed down. I locked my locker carefully. I took my time in drying my hair.

There was an instance when I lost that rhythm. Suddenly when I was about to open my locker, I took the wrong key. I realised this and I returned to the rhythm. Aware.

The parking ticket was in my car key wallet and I deliberately did not even take a peek at it. I walked slowly to my car. Went down on the escalator and did not try to speed up my walk.

I got into my car and drove to the exit gate. Only when I was near to the gate, I took out the parking ticket and looked.

I went in at 19:44:53. I came out at 21:43:59.

God really does have great sense of humor.

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