Living Like a Tree

Have you ever think -- or at least a glance in your mind about the life of a tree?

I was about preparing my final thesis, studying plants (yeah, it may sound weird for some of you) when a flash idea suddenly popped out between my massive headache at those struggling days. 

What comes up when you hear this word: Tree?

Frankly and weirdly it means a lot for me. By ignoring the fact that trees and forests are my research topic and I myself nearly became crazy of it, trees are there, at my interest. 

I will not preach about those stack of plants life or metabolisms or transportation or nutrition or cell communication or even gases exchanging (fakyea my thesis!). They are freaky.

But take a deeper look on these:

1. No matter how tremendous the storms are, a tree will always stand tall after all. Storms might destroy some parts of a tree, but life must go on, life continue...

2. After the rain, a tree will be refreshed and recharged. It is gloomy, yet somehow, a tree needs a little rain to feel more brand new, to release the waste. Analogous to human tears, no?

3. Trees can live both in group or solitary. Furthermore, they don't depend one another to live.

4. They do competition. To gain nutrition, light, water, and air. This is where the theory of survival of the fittest rules. They do competition fairly. They don't need to kill one another to be the fittest, nature does. All the tree has to do is just do its best.

5. A tree will stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky. No matter how tall it will be, the 'feet' always on the ground.

6. A tree absorbs what-they-say-as-a-waste: carbon dioxide. Accept and process them into more useful form. As a sweet 'revenge', tree will release oxygen needed by nearly all living things. A lesson about sincerity

7. Tree provides a shelter, even to strangers. From herbs, small plants, animals to human. 

8. Tree will survive and always be prepared for the changing seasons. There's no such a thing like "I'm not ready for the changes".

9. Tree will always take positive energy. Soak up the sun no matter how terrible the sun light.

10. And after all, a tree lives in harmony and balance with nature.

Happy World Forest Day, for you who care :)

credit:

picture taken from here

#randomthoughts

During these days, I've been a listener to my friends of mine's murmurs. Since I had more times catching up with them as I moved to Jakarta in few months, I've been providing my ears (or my eyes if we're having an indirect conversation through mobile) to be told to. I found myself, I'm not a good problem-solver. I never learned any serious psychological lessons in my past life (might be a little as I learned about organisms). 


But, I tried to analyze this. That problems are worse when you think about it over and over, even worse when you have nothing to do with it. Then, the saying that "Problems are less painful when you share" will have no sense. That problems are just the matter of a perspective and the rest is just how good you play with it. Haha, I know I'm also a vulnerable human being that sometimes I lose my grip and fragile. If one asking me how good I deal with problems that come, I'll probably answer, I don't really know. Once I had problem, the next thing I know was everything got better itself as I tried to fix as much as I can (no matter how good or how poor I tried) and the rest was just let it flow and it is your environment, your friends, the atmosphere play a role. At least that's how I survived my life so far.


Overthinking is shitty, the one that you can control in, blackhole of mess you can't resist. Believe me, everyone has it in lifetime, even a cool motivator or a preacher has the 'right' to overthink, I'm sure. But my friend, life can never be so easy, life can be unfair. But whining gain nothing, overthinking will just lead you nowhere if there's no way to get out and conquer, you possess. Do not harm people around you by thinking they don't understand what you feel. If they are more like shit to you, just make it fuck them as a joke, make it funnier or take their positive energy (if you want to).


Whoa, this is just my own thoughts, for sure. In my 23, I learned that happiness is not a goal, happiness is created along our way to reach the goal itself by our own and more importantly, to be happy or not to be, it's in your hand.
Oh yes, I had been working on my laptop for hours then I ended up with one article in Whiteboard Journal: Happiness According to Alfred Hitchcock (a British film director, producer). Here's the interesting line that came up from him: 

“Happiness is when you have a clear horizon, when all negative emotions are removed you can look forward, the road is clear ahead and now you’re going to create something. I think that’s as happy as I would ever want to be.” 

and here's the video:

Because traveling is watching people passing by, but trying to keep you stay, at least, on my mind.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, 2011 

"After long long time, listening to Efek Rumah Kaca is like taking a time machine, dwelling on the things happened 3 years ago, it was sweet."

The same feeling I sense when I re-listen to The Adams or Pure Saturday. Realizing that they are one of my life parts, remembering that I was fine then. Though I'm not really sure most of you are familiar with this bands. But you know, I spent my school years and my time being teenager, falling in love with a boy with this kind of music covered up my head.

Selalu ada yang bernyanyi dan berelegi
Dibalik awan hitam
Smoga ada yang menerangi sisi gelap ini,
Menanti..
Seperti pelangi setia menunggu hujan reda

Aku selalu suka sehabis hujan dibulan desember,
Di bulan desember

Sampai nanti ketika hujan tak lagi
Meneteskan duka meretas luka
Sampai hujan memulihkan luka

(Desember, Efek Rumah Kaca)

#firstworldproblem

Barusan ngobrol sama temen, dia bilang ada buku ini dan dia lagi order langsung dari NG. Karena gue orangnya gampang terpengaruh, sampe rumah langsung lah gue searching buku ini di NG. Ternyata gue menemukan sebuah fakta bahwa untuk books & DVD lagi ada diskon 25% + free shipping (kalo minimum purchase $50). TUHAN, COBAAN INI TERLALU BERAT. Tempting sekali karena pertama harga asli bukunya ga terlalu lebay dibanding buku-buku best seller yg lain (yang harganya bisa sampe $40 an, kayak buku inceran 2 orang temen gue Andriani dan Abraham), kedua gue sendiri belom pernah nemuin ini di Indonesia (karena mungkin emang bukan best seller). Terakhir kalo ga salah pernah liat ini waktu ke NG Store Singapur, dan yang ketiga adalah buku ini tentang Himalaya. 

Sejak gue (terpaksa) nonton Into Thin Air 8 tahun lalu waktu awal-awal masuk ELPALA, terus akhirnya terpengaruh baca bukunya. Himalaya, Tibet, dan Nepal selalu menarik buat ditelusuri lebih detil (tapi bukan untuk dinaikin karena aing mah ga bakal kuat kayaknya haha). Oh iya yang suka buku + film-film beginian, Into Thin Air bagus banget. Bagi yang udah nonton 127 Hours di mana pemeran utamanya adalah mantan pacar majikan gue (James Franco, red), ya konfliknya mirip-mirip lah dan sama-sama based on true story. Cuma bedanya kalo 127 Hours bercerita tentang solo trip, Into Thin Air bercerita tentang team trip. Breath taking dan bagi yang easily touched kayak gue akan ada bagian-bagian yang bikin air mata sempat menggenangi mata gitu dan sempet pengen berhenti naik gunung aja (padahal di sini gunungnya ga bersalju juga sih, cupu).

Jadi, tolong Oom-Tante kalo kasian sama saya yang belum mapan ini, bisa dibantu. Kesempurnaan hanya milik Tuhan, kekurangan milik Bunda Dorce.

Wassalam.

Bridge to Pulau Menjangan, Bali Barat.

Menjangan in Indonesian means "Deer". This small island is a part of Bali National Park and well known for its magnificent underwater world, one of the best diving sites with beautiful coral reefs in Bali. Photo taken in 2009.

I've Got You Under My Skin

Just shoot me in the head for this cover of one of my favorite jazz standards by Michael Buble

Animals

20 kg of plastic found in dead giraffe’s stomach!

Sebuah headline miris dari The Jakarta Post.

Mungkin bagi sebagian orang berita ini gak begitu berarti dibanding hebohnya kasus korupsi wisma atlet, sidang Angie-Rosa, atau berita jumlah kekayaan PNS muda yang disinyalir hasil (lagi-lagi) korupsi.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Kliwon adalah jerapah terakhir di Kebun Binatang Surabaya dengan akumulasi plastik ditemukan di dalam perutnya. Plastik tersebut diduga adalah hasil akumulasi selama bertahun-tahun yang diperoleh dari makanan (saat mati, Kliwon berumur 21 tahun). The plastic had clogged Kliwon's digestive system, collapsed, and lost his appetite. Mirisnya lagi di Kebun Binatang ini aja, setidaknya ada 14 hewan yang sedang sakit dan benar-benar diujung kematian. Diantaranya ada harimau Sumatra yang mengalami masalah pencernaan, beruang hitam Amerika yang memiliki tumor kulit, dan unta yang memiliki luka-luka di kaki dan punuknya. 

Kematian memang urusan Tuhan, tapi kita (manusia) punya akal dan usaha. Lalu gimana dengan hewan yang gak punya akal? Di sini peran manusia. Kita udah terlalu banyak "intervensi" di dalam kehidupan mereka, habitatnya kita rusak, rumah alami mereka kita habisi untuk berbagai kepentingan, beberapa dari mereka diekploitasi untuk tujuan tertentu, bahkan kita pun memburu beberapa dari mereka untuk egoisme, kepuasan, bahkan prestis manusia. 

Ketika makan sirip ikan hiu jadi suatu kebanggaan (yang katanya ikan hiu-nya berasal dari budidaya, fyi, seumur hidup, gue sendiri belom pernah tau ada tempat budidaya hiu), ketika memakai barang-barang kulit reptil for the luxury's sake...manusia sudah keterlaluan.

Sejatinya kita itu sama-sama hewan. Satu kingdom, kingdom Animalia. Sejatinya semua faktor biotik dan abiotik di bumi ini sejalan, selaras, balance, saling mendukung satu sama lain. Namun semua berbeda sejak manusia diberi privilege berupa akal. Privilege yang jadi boomerang. Akal yang membuat sebagian dari kita bertekuk lutut pada egoisme, akal yang terglobalisasi sehingga apa yang dilihat itu yang dianggap benar, apa yang dilihat itu yang ditiru.

Alam dan organisme lain non-manusia dianggap benda mati dan gak berguna bagi sebagian orang. Padahal, mereka punya kehidupan. Mereka punya hirarki yang menentukan kelangsungan hidup mereka, mereka saling membutuhkan satu sama lain, mereka juga butuh keseimbangan. Ketika salah satu komponen hirarki hilang, maka terancam lah mereka.

Oke lah, habitat alami mereka kita ganggu, lalu kita ganti dengan membawa sebagian dari mereka ke habitat buatan (kebun binatang, hutan buatan, dsb). Tapi itu bukan penyelesaian, ada kewajiban bagi kita yang membawa mereka ke tempat tersebut untuk terus merawatnya. Sekali lagi, mereka tidak punya akal, kita yang punya!

Mungkin bagi gue (dan teman-teman gue) sejurusan akan merasakan hal yang sama, sejak kita mempelajari seluk beluk alam beserta isinya. Coba aja semua manusia punya pikiran yang sama, pasti gak akan ada tuh pejabat yang dengan bangganya memamerkan beliau baru aja makan sirip hiu :p

Tapi di dunia ini gak semuanya jahat, ada beberapa kelompok yang punya pikiran seperti ini kok. Mungkin di situ kita bisa menyalurkan aspirasi. Belom sadar juga? Coba perbanyak jalan-jalan ke alam bebas, duduk, diem, dan rasakan apa yang bisa dirasakan.

Belom sadar juga? 

Well, you do not deserve to live on this planet, human.

We are animals we are animalsWe are animals we are animalsWe are animalsWe are animalsCome with me run with me leave this world behindCome to me come with me I know that we will findWe are animals we are animalsWe are animals we are animalsWe are animals
(Nazareth, Animals)

Take a Train in Jakarta

If you take a train in Jakarta, be warned: the images that would unwind behind your windows could be too disturbing to bear for someone who is not a war correspondent or a medical doctor. It would often feel as if hundreds of thousands of the wretched of the earth decided to camp along the tracks, as if the garbage from the entire East Asia had been dumped along the rails, as if the hell really materialized here on earth, instead of threatening us from some imaginary religious realm.

From the unwashed windows of the train you would see people suffering from all imaginable diseases. You would probably spot exposed wounds, faces burned by fires, terrible hernias, untreated tumors and omnipresent swollen bellies of children suffering from malnutrition. And there would also be some ailments and deformities that are simply too terrible to describe or to photograph.

Continue reading >>

by Andre Vltchek

Source: Counter Punch Weekend Edition February 17-19, 2012