The Mighty Ruler

The Mighty Ruler

And there’s the mighty ruler but as only small bacteria attack him or a stroke or …, he becomes so sick, so weak, so small, so helpless, turns a bit wiser and was cured from his delusion.

June 2009

Anwar Sadat

Anwar Sadat

There’s no honor, no courage needed, I’m not impressed when a president visits a defeated country scaring with a show of force of his army. I remember Anwar Sadat bravely visited Israel, a “lion’s lair”, for peace talks.

June 2009

The Right To Own Oneself

The Right To Own Oneself

There never was a man or woman who could claim someone as his, hers. Everyone is of him, herself, even a child. And if they ever possess it, it was because it was granted. “I am yours.” said a loving wife. It’s silly to ever be certain that one is the rightful owner of a wife or vice versa. So, we have no right to accuse a wife, a husband of adultery as they are owners of themselves, not of the husband or wife.

No parents could claim their children rightfully to be theirs. Parents are but temporary Godsend guardians of their children. “I am yours.” says a loving mother. Not, “you’re mine.”

“I could love many women and I could love many men were I a woman. It’s stupid to insist that after marriage one should love one person only. We could stay, live together but we could leave each other if we wanted to. Is it bad, a sin if ‘once upon a time …’ a father loves his daughter or vice versa, a son his mother, a brother his sister, as though they could help it, except that it threatens the health of their offspring, so they say?” Said Pak Arif.

“Could you persuade a pigeon pair to be separated from each other? Could you force a cock and a hen to be faithful to each other?

”One day we become husband and wife without marriage, stay or live together or leave each other in peace as it is our fundamental, so human right as Nature ordained.”

“Sure,” comments si Upik, “there’s no law, no punishment, even the death penalty could ever threaten, prevent one not to love, not to stray or not to leave each other.”

June 2009

Once A Law Is Enforced, Transgression Is Born

June 2009

Musing On Benefit

Musing On Benefit

Because of its usefulness, benefit, value, the whale, the elephant is hunted, forests cut down, river stones taken, sand dug out, the earth drilled for oil, fish kept, cattle, poultry reared for slaughter.

Is there a worse fate than being kept, reared for food? Born prisoner, face death worse than hanging, without having done any crime but because of its benefit as food! Alas! That’s its fault, its crime!

Besides, what’s there not, to turn it into something profitable: social position, a name, an academic title, ... Works of art could become a profitable business.

“It’s a pity, a waste if forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, … are not exploited.” So people argued. They would choose to build real estates, rather than leave the region, the fauna and flora intact, whole.

As long as playing soccer, kite, marble, chess, … doesn’t have any money returns it is blamed as wasting your time with futile, stupid activity.

What’s not measured in money value? Goods, service, success, wealth, development, progress. Usefulness, benefit is synonym to a money mine and not seldom a cause of suffering for creatures and the earth alike.

Is there no activity that would not drive man to pursue the money chase? And I think of travel, picnic, climb mountains, reading stories, listen to music, enjoy art, to research, … all that makes life worth while living?
And I thought of the benevolence of nature, the sea, the earth, the rivers, the air, the sun, the rain, the sky, so free, … that profits, benefits all being.

To prefer, choose mountains instead of skyscrapers, lakes rather than swimming pools, warbling birds than alarm clocks or ringing telephones, a cool breeze than an A.C., see a squirrel live in nature rather than conserved, caged or painted on canvass, to hear the song of frogs, cicadas, instead of the traffic noise. Don’t we wish for a better, healthier, happier life on earth to live in?

But with such a burden of a huge world population what’s not victimized to become something useful, profitable? We have such a high technology to land man on the moon. Why, is it impossible for man to cope with the alarming increase of our world population?

From Berita Buana, February 11, 1993

Would I Ask As My Pressent

Would I Ask As My Present

“What kind of present should we give aunt Eve? It’s so difficult.” So phoned your mom. But to give me a present, your opa, is far more difficult as I’m one of the richest man in the world.

Suppose someone would present me with a car, I would say, “What a pity, it's but a car, a gift for the poor. I’m so rich. Only my legs are worth far more than a car and is far more magnificent.

What’s a car? A stupid present as to a kiss exactly on your 17th year as a gift. That’s what I would ask as my present. That’s what I call a present.

So wrote Opa Johan to his granddaughter.

Juni 2009

A r t

Art

“Art is a Divine whispering, spark, revelation to someone” says the choir conductor.

June 2009

You

You

How I love you.
Though I’ve never seen you,
Might never meet, speak to you.
You could have lived some thousand years before
Or may be you’re a woman of the far future
But you spoke to me.

June 2009

The Choir Conductor's Thought on Kyrie Eleison

The Choir Conductor’s Thought On Kyrie Eleison

It means: Lord Have Mercy On Us.

As I’m growing older my former thoughts, believes (credos) are gradually changing. I don’t, can’t believe in such a pitiless, cruel, wrathful God that would take vengeance on his creatures and punish them in hell. I don’t think he ever should take compassion on us as I firmly believe, am convinced, He has created us perfectly, superbly, instead of being weak and to be pitied.

Many Kyrie Eleison choral music will always sound beautiful whatever the thoughts, sung with other words, lyrics or without words.

It’s a shame that some one should pity me which makes me feel weak, helpless, bad, wretched.

Though knowing that music I most love is for my sake first, then share it with my members, then offer it to the congregation then dedicate it to Him last, He would laugh and say “you scoundrel”, yet, God wouldn’t be offended or punish me.

June 2009

Opa Johan And A Waterfowl

Opa Johan And A Waterfowl

“Guess, what something special have I bought on my trip to Cipondoh lake.” So said opa Johan to his wife.

“Iced, pressed sugar cane juice.”

“Wrong! That’s not very special.”

“Is it food, a drink?”

“No, I bought a captured waterfowl from a fisherman. I saw it fluttering, hanging on a long pole trying to free itself. I asked him what he would do with such a very small bird.”

“He said ‘Cook and eat it.’ Remember he is a poor villager.

“And I thought of the captured turtle a week before. I’m always slow to decide, it came upon me when I had left the fisherman and was far away when the thought turns up to buy it and set it free in the lake. So this time I know what to do and bought the bird. He offered it for Rp.10.000.-, not one dollar yet. I didn’t haggle much about the price, for her life is for her even more worth than the whole world.

“I got the bird, but it wasn’t yet free. First the “chains” on the pole must be broken and he tried to break it with his cigarette fire, then again the “chains” fastening its legs. And he was so rough as he held the little creature on its legs upside down. He wondered how I ever would take it with me on my bike back home without a cage. When I examined the bird more carefully, I saw that its beak was also in a delicate “chain”. “She would peck you. But it’s easy to remove it.” He ascertained.

“So I went away. I tried to unfasten the plastic thread from its beak, it was so strong I couldn’t break or remove it. What if I free it now, it would certainly starve, so I quickly ran back and the man luckily was still there. It wasn’t easy for him either. He handled in a very indifferent way,- he could injure the bird by forcefully breaking the thin string on its beak – yet he managed to do so.

“I sought an open area with low grass where I would free and see the occasion. It did not fly away but immediately ran so fast that within a second it was hidden in the bushes.

“Certainly am I very happy and a lucky man to ever see and have the bird in my hands. Perhaps that’s a waterfowl that is able to walk on floating water plants. Tenth of years I’ve not seen it. What a loss if it would become extinct. It’s a pity that I didn’t ask for its name.

“What is so incredible is that during a heavy drought I once walked in the lake that was as dry as a barren plain, there couldn’t be any fish survive, but now after more than ten years I saw these fishermen with a lot of huge fish, not common to me, captured with their long nets How could these fish come to be there? But I didn’t rescue them and they were still alive, though.

“And so I celebrated the occasion with drinking iced cincau (jelly cake of cincau leaves) on the road back home some thirty km, a heavenly drink of just Rp.1.000.-, imagine, not yet one dollar cent.

“Aren’t you proud of your fine husband? I deserve a kiss.”

June 2009