Minimalist Indonesia

  Morning air breezes as the warm sunlight touches my skin. I start to walk confidently in this empty street. Alone with my running shoes and a black tote bag filled with my wallet and book. I only know one place to go; beach. The same destination I have visited daily since the first day I arrived in this part of Bali. I never found a decent place to read, not as long as I walked this cobblestone path. But I keep carrying my book just in case, maybe one day I get lucky and find a nice shade with the sound of waves swirling back and forth.  I like this so much. I like the idea of me living in a vacation style for months. All I had to do is work from nine to six, Monday to Friday, and strolling to the beach in between my work schedule AND on the weekends. I never get tired of blue sky and sea. Those two are the reason why heaven is so tempting and kept me away from the things I desire; sins. Even though.. I'm not sure how long will I like it. I no longer that person who is anxio...

  Menyederhanakan sesuatu bukan urusan sederhana, justru sebaliknya. Rumus matematika sederhana diperoleh dari proses berpikir yang teramat rumit, dan bukan dari proses berpikir orang yang nonton tiktok empat jam sehari (red; saya). Proses penyederhanaan apapun selalu harus melalui jalan paling rumit, sulit, yang sering kali bikin menyerah di tengah jalan. Hygge adalah sebuah kata dari Bahasa Denmark, kata yang tidak sengaja saya temukan dan saya suka sekali. Waktu saya tahu ini adalah Bahasa Denmark saya makin suka lagi. Sejak lima tahun lalu saya memang terobsesi dengan kultur Danish (terlebih sejak nemenin rekan yang pernah mampir ke Bogor dan saya temani kemana-mana waktu itu. Sekarang dia sudah punya anak satu, masih bayi pula.. terharu banget betapa cepat waktu berlalu..) eh malah nostalgia. Hygge adalah sebuah cara menikmati hidup dari hal-hal sederhana yang kita temui sehari-hari; keberadaan keluarga, teman, tubuh yang sehat, tempat tinggal yang nyaman,. prinsip hidup yang ...

  Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you prefer Sunrise or Sunset? Beach or forest? Why are you here?  *** Hal pertama yang paling penting untuk ditanyakan sebelum memilih untuk tinggal di Bali adalah Why . Kenapa? Kenapa mau tinggal di Bali? Apa masih ada pilihan lain selain di Bali? Kalau masih ada, kenapa Bali? Karena ikut-ikutan saja? Fomo ? Karena mumpung murah? Apa? Ini penting karena niat adalah landasan dari segala perbuatan #amin. Pondasi ini harus kuat, karena kalau tidak kita akan gampang goyah di tengah jalan. Bali tidak seindah video vlog youtuber kaya cuy. Kalau sekarang, memang ada banyak alasan kenapa kita harus ikut mencicipi rasanya tinggal di sini, salah satunya ya karena mumpung harganya lagi murah, atau juga untuk mendukung program pemerintah dalam memulihkan perekonomian negara. #akusayangpemerintah #akusayangSandiagaUno. Kamu harus punya alasan mu sendiri dan itu haruslah kuat. Soal tujuan boleh fleksibel, mengikuti arah angin dan arus ombak. As...

  In order to determine where to live for the next month, I need to breakdown my purpose on why I came to Bali in the first place. This is what I called: re-rooting. I wanna be flexible in where I'm going, as long as my root is deep enough to keep me safe. And I have to write this whole thing down, so I could remember this struggle one day when I'm having a hard time in decision making (again). I see this phase as a 90 days of trial. A bookmark for new beginning, and I have to reinvent my self in order to jump to another stage of life --whatever it might be. Therefore, in this 90 days, I have to live in a new city. As a greedy person --who claimed to be a minimalist-- I don't wanna spend this 90 precious days of mine settling down in just one place. But I also don't wanna have any regret and live in a some weird place with crowded strangers passing through my door. I'm being very picky when it comes to my comfort level. First and foremost, I came to Bali to experien...

  I love both Sunrise AND Sunset. I love the Sun, in fact, I LOVE everything the Sky has to offer. The moon.. the stars.. the planets.. the kites.. yep, even the kites. Now I have to make another decision, because I like to complicate my life, that's all. Whether to stay or to move. If stay, my current place is actually located near where the Sunset is. But I never visited, except for a few times, dan itupun yang jauh dan bukan deket kost sini. If I move, I could have a place near the Sunrise, even if I have to walk around 15 minutes or so.. I don't know how to make this decision, so I went home, order a bubble tea mix with red beans, grass jelly and everything, watch Netflix. WHY bother with places near beaches if all I wanna do is lay on my bed all day and watch Netflix.. -_- I mean.. maybe I'll choose to move. Sunrise is a better thing to chase. I barely have time for Sunset, my work schedule is now mostly crowded in the afternoon due to time-zone differences. If one day...

  If your family truly loves you, why do they expect you to live the way they want? If you require no marriage to be happy, why do they want you to get one to be happy? Life is confusing, because the ones who put the deepest scar are the ones closest to you. Betrayal came from your friends, not from the enemies. You live the expectation of others, in order to be considered 'normal and happy'. If happiness come from within.. and they truly care about you.. why do you need to live the life they have? It's theirs, not yours. 

  Beberapa hari yang lalu, saya tersadarkan oleh satu fakta bahwa, kita tidak pernah berada di jalan yang benar-benar lurus. This road called life, wasn't designed to be a straight path. Pantas saja, dalam Islam kita diminta untuk mengulang kalimat ' tunjukkan kami pada jalan yang lurus,..' minimal 17 kali sehari. Sejak mengikuti ajaran minimalism empat tahun yang lalu, saya senantiasa berada dalam fase me-review diri. Menjaga agar prinsip ini tidak luntur, walau seringkali terlena, lupa, melenceng, untuk kemudian kembali lagi. Karena dilakukan berulang-ulang, saya pikir.. ah mungkin sekarang saya sudah sangat terbiasa dengan minimalism. Sudah sangat mudah melepaskan, tidak lagi terbebani dengan kenangan, tidak lagi berat jika harus merelakan sesuatu itu pergi atau diambil dari saya. Karena memang itulah yang selalu terjadi, apapun yang saya miliki, jika itu hilang atau saya harus merelakannya untuk dibawa orang lain, saya selalu mampu untuk menyingkirkan rasa sedih itu dal...

  Semburat kuning keemasan, berpantulan di satu petak dinding. Lalu dua.. tiga. Perlahan kabel hitam kemudian menguning, terlapisi sinar yang baru menyembul. Masih pagi. Suara udara masih hening. Suara air, masih terpercik. Suara burung.. masih ramai berceloteh. Menonton matahari terbit memang selalu memukau. Menarik kembali kesadaran pada penciptaan alam semesta. Pada Bumi yang patuh untuk setia beredar mengelilingi matahari. Dalam garis edar tak kasat mata, dengan sistem yang terjalin amat rapi.  Di sanalah tercipta waktu. Konsep kekayaan seluruh umat manusia. Konsep misterius yang mampu menyenbuhkan semua luka. Hanya dengan menyaksikan Sang Matahari terbit, tenanglah jiwa. Pagi ini saya sempatkan untuk menyaksikannya menampakkan diri. Perlahan memantulkan semburat kuning di tembok tetangga, lalu meluas, dan meluas lagi. Walau langit di sini tak seluas di atas laut, yang terpaut kabel penyalur beragam informasi tuk memastikan kami semua terhubung dengan dunia luar, namun men...

The house smells great when I bake.  Do you know what is a great thing about baking?  It is the best distraction for the soul. I haven't been well for a while, but tonight.. after two days in a row going to the office, I chose to bake some cookies once I got home. Baking only took me an hour, but it needs three hours to prepare and another hour to cleaning the mess.  I feel better after I tasted them. My cookies taught me to never judge anything by their appearance. Because they might be not so pretty, but they taste really good (at least to me). Also, they smell great.. kinda give me a glimpse of illusion of how one day I will be a mum, and this is the smell that my children long for.  :') Anyway, This isn't me.  This is the PMS-Me. I know I'll wake up tomorrow, with blood in my undies, and say.. 'alright. there she is.' *** Bogor, 22 April 2021   I hope, whoever end up with me, wouldn't mind me trying out new recipes, and willing to eat my ugly cookies or...

  Do you ever have the time in your life, when you sit in silence in your room or your house, looking around all the stuff you have bought, all the experiences, opportunities that have brought you to where you are now.. and thinking.. where is this all coming from?  You see, sometimes.. or in my case, it's most of the time, those amazing things that happened, are all coming from just one call. Basically one call, and your whole life change. To some people, maybe it's the job offer, or the collaboration offer, or other new kinds of offer. And those offers, are the ones that we've been waiting for so long.. we've been dreaming of and hold closely in our heart and it eventually came true. Looking back to where I was five years ago, things would be very different. Ten years ago, I would never imagine that I can be so 'domesticated', staying at home, bake cookies, brew juices, live in an organized way of living, and all the things that I thought was bullshit enough t...

Forgiving your self is a real job. It's hard, it takes a lot of time and energy, and sometimes we fail. But once we get into the end and did it, the reward is amazing. If you still struggle to forgive your past mistakes.. time you've been wasted on someone not worth waiting for.. or the sins that you've made when you were young and stupid.. if you still battling in the inside, prevent yourself from blaming yourself.. all I can say to you is this; Walk the process at your own pace. It doesn't matter if it's a slow progress, like an old-grandpa-turtle slow. Recognize every aspects that stings. The things that when you remember it, you start to hate yourself. Hold it. Hold it tight. Tell yourself, that it was in the past, and there's nothing you could do but to forgive. Forgiving other people who do bad things to you is easier than this. I know, because I had it too. But you can't live a full life before accepting who you are, and those mistakes, are part of yo...

  Burnout is new to me. I don't know what to do, nor that I have motivation to do anything. 2,5 hours has passed and I did nothing on my desk but to scroll stock market and buy a couple of lots. I have nothing in mind, and this is when I decided to write this down: When you feel burnout.. try to recognize the situation. Try labelling the feeling. Why. Why you feel the way you feel now. Ask why for five times. Why you lose your motivation. Why you need company. Why you need to talk to other people. What is it that you want? How to make you feel better. Keep asking these questions until you know what to do with yourself. It doesn't matter if you remain stoic or take no action about it, as long as you got the label, you put it clearly in your head, and enjoy the rest of your day, in stoic mode. Time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted anyway. Do it mindfully, at least, so that you won't regret it later. This is a tough time for everyone. It feels like last year, only recent. Feel...

Being Twenty Nine, Day One. This is probably the most 'normal' birthday I had for the past five years. No over enthusiasm, no fake laugh, just plainly and calmly, and the people who celebrate my birthdays, are the real ones. I don't have to remind them that it's my birthday (which I always did annoyingly and proudly), because now.. is the first time in five years since that trauma.. I feel like.. healing. The only reason why I exaggerate my birthday was because he left right before it. He brought me a huge teddy bear, one that I always wanted, left it on the door, and never returned. Now, the teddy is gone, tetangga's sister was asking to adopt him and I gave it to her happily. I no longer have any expectation on what may comes next, and just focus on what I can change with my effort. This is a new kind of relieve.. one tranquility I don't have to fake. And besides.. I spent the 'day' firstly at twelve a.m.. di bengkel ketok mejik Pekayon! >.< Jadi...

  She was born a saint, her childhood was spent in the chamber. Serving God.. that's what she's been told. An obedient girl she is, obeying the rule without ever questioning. She is devoting her life to Allah, and content with it.  Until she carries a child. A fatherless child. Fatherless as she know, but not with society. They judge her, despise her, called her sinner, called her a disgrace to the community. A saint woman was once wish to be dead. Under Palm Dates Tree, she is wishing for death. Death is much more preferred to me now, she said which we recites loudly slowly beautifully in the Quran now. A saint woman, whose entire life is devoted to serve God.. is wishing to die while delivering the baby.  Now we read her story and just know it. We know she is strong enough to face the trial. We know now that she is one of the most honoured women of all humanity. But the question is.. did she know?  When she finds out her pregnancy, did she know that she will be str...

Anak-anak Suku Anak Dalam Bujang Hasan (SAD Hasan), Jambi - Oktober 2019.   Salah satu inspirasi saya dalam menekuni minimalism adalah suku-suku di Indonesia yang saya temui sepanjang menjadi assessor dalam konteks sosial untuk projek-projek yang berkaitan dengan sertifikasi sustainability perusahaan perkebunan. Karena jika hanya traveling biasa, saya mungkin tidak akan sampai ke Suku Anak Dalam, ke area marga-marga di Humbang Hasundutan, ke pelosok Kotawaringin Timur, remote area di Miri, Serawak, dan ratusan desa lain yang saya kunjungi selama tiga tahun pertama menggeluti karir di bidang ini. Dari satu desa ke desa lain, satu suku ke suku lain, walau terpisah jarak dan watak, saya bisa melihat ada satu kesamaan yang nyata dari cara hidup mereka; yaitu menjunjung tinggi kesederhanaan. Saya berkesempatan mengunjungi satu rumah adat Suku Batak Toba yang sudah ratusan tahun usianya namun masih kokoh berdiri. Area itu hanya dihuni oleh tujuh kepala keluarga, yang mempersilakan kami m...

  (Sebelum masuk ke tulisan ini saya mau curhat dulu, as always,  bahwa sebetulnya saya sudah menyiapkan sekumpulan ide dan pemikiran untuk ditulis malam ini dengan mood yang ceria, namun rusak tiba-tiba oleh sebuah pesan yang masuk lewat pukul sembilan malam. Ini malam minggu, dan besok hari Minggu. Tentu saja seharusnya semua orang beristirahat, mengistirahatkan bukan hanya raga tapi juga jiwa. Bukan berarti jika itu adalah sebuah pesan, bisa ditinggalkan begitu saja tanpa berasumsi pesan yang masuk itu tidak mengganggu, bukan. Tapi yah.. mungkin ini tidak seberapa. Mungkin orang lain di luar sana mengalami jauh lebih parah.  Saya hanya kembali tersadarkan bahwa akan sia-sia jika kita bekerja untuk manusia. Sekeras apapun kamu sudah berusaha memberikan yang terbaik, memeras otak untuk sekreatif mungkin mencari solusi, di mata manusia akan selalu ada kurangnya. Dan bukan hanya itu, pasti selalu  ada yang tidak cukup dan harus kamu tambahi, tambahi lagi, dan tambahi ...

  There will be sunshine after rain, One day you're happy, the other days you're sad.. and then there is.. work. Work is always there for you. Work is the one for you. Work is your soul, your DNA, your blessing in disguise. The tropical splash to your winter. *** Don't worry because nothing really matter, said The Bohemian Queen. A minimalist wouldn't worry about tiny little things, because they're believe in the essentials. Their vision, their goals, things that they want to accomplish before they die, and how they leave a legacy. Minimalist believes in meaning, what values their time, and how to mindfully spend every second. Therefore, a Minimalist wouldn't care if they're rich or they're broke because they have what they have, they pursue what they pursue, but their heart is beyond things that they're chasing. *** The rain will gone, Sunshine will come. A minimalist would enjoy every second, for they know everything always have an end. *** Bogor, ...