Innes National Park

Terletak di Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

Bahagia: Sebuah Kata , Sebuah Aplikasi

Bukalah berbagai kamus, kita akan temukan berbagai definisi Bahagia. Kita tahu maknanya, tapi mungkin tak penting membahasakannya dalam rangakaian kata yang rumit.

Hampir setiap hari saya bertemu beberapa orang tukang kebun di depan kampus saya, mereka menyiram bunga, makan pagi dan siang bersama, mencambuti rumput dan merawat tanaman. Sebagian dari mereka sesekali membawa anak kecil bersama mereka, anak menunggu sambil bermain. Terlihat begitu nyaman dengan profesi mereka. Bahagia yang tidak hanya sebuah kata, nyaman dan menikmati profesi adalah sebuah aplikasi yang sebenarnya dapat ditularkan untuk jenis profesi lainnya.

Bagi sebagian orang, tayangan YKS adalah sampah. Bagi sebagian orang lainnya YKS adalah Bahagia, sebuah aplikasi dan bukan sekedar kata. Mereka tak perlu repot berfikir etika, moral dan kebobrokan dalam sebuah tayangan. Cukup mantengin televisi, ikut menari seronok, melupakan politik, dan Bahagia.

Bagi sebagian orang, Bahagia adalah mengkritik dan menulis segala kejelekan calon Presiden yang didukungnya.. disini Bahagia adalah kata, saya percaya manusia yang mampu menulis adalah manusia yang berfikir, dengan berfikir sedikit banyak pasti hati nurani nya ikut bermain, maka Bahagia disini bukanlah sebuah aplikasi. Tujuan tertentu terkadang jadi faktor pencetus lahirnya tulisan-tulisan hebat dengan isi-isi "hebat".

Mungkin bagi Nanik S. Dayang, Bahagia adalah rangkaian kata-kata terstruktur yang tersimpan dalam memori dan literature, yang kemudian tumpah dalam tulisan-tulisan jurnalistis. Apapun itu isinya, penulisnya adalah saya, mungkin begitu yang ia fikirkan saat ia ingin mengaplikasikan “Bahagia” nya. Namun, bagi orang lain Bahagia adalah ketika kita mampu menempatkan diri dalam kendali-kendali. Menulis sebuah seri cerita dengan plot yang zig zag akan menciptakan sebuah penilaian bagi jurnalis tersebut, bukan bagi tokoh utama dalam plot tersebut. Maka lahirlah para kritikus-kritus yang kemudian juga ingin “Bahagia” karena bisa berusaha menghentikan “fitnah” berkelanjutan. Ini nyata, Bahagia adalah sebuah aplikasi.

Bola, si kecil bundar yang membuat milyaran orang Bahagia dan Tak Bahagia dalam kurun waktu sebulan ini. Siapapun jagoan anda, dia tetap membuat anda “Bahagia” dengan permainan nya. Anda berteriak, meluapkan emosi positif dan melompat-lompat saat Goal akan tercipta. Mencoba memperluas makna “Bahagia” bagi diri sendiri, tahun ini saya  mencoba mengenal Bola, ternyata Bahagia nya tak sekedar kata.. Karena tak hanya Bola yang membahagiakan saya, tapi teman-teman dan juga adegan ngemil malam yang tak pernah dirasakan sebelumnya. Ingat, di sudut sana ada orang-orang yang memaknai musim World Cup ini sebagai Bahagia, yang hanya sebuah kata. Karena judi adalah nikmat dunia.

Orang bijak pernah berkata : Anda bertanggung jawab untuk kebahagian anda sendiri”. Baiklah, saya akan dalami makna nya. Karena bagi saya, ketika Kebahagiaan kita dapat kita tularkan, maka itulah Bahagia.. yang tidak hanya sebuah Kata, namun juga Aplikasi nyata.. terlihat, tersentuh, terucap, dan tersebar..

Selamat menjalankan ibadah Puasa di bulan Ramadhan.. memeluk Bahagia dalam 1 bulan, untuk 11 bulan lainnya.

Thailand, 8 Ramadhan 1435 H / 6 Juli 2014

(dalam rindu mendalam untuk orang-orang tercinta)

"Mommy" as a word

Is there anyone who does not have a mother ? i think NO. But who is your mother ? Not everyone knows whom. Was she the one who deliver you ? Is she the person who raise you ? is she the person who finance all your needs? is she who is praying for you from distance ? for me all the questions above have 2 poles answers definitely, the dichotomous. Mother had you, but do not pay for your life. Mom raised you , but not breastfed you. Mom saw and prayed for you from a far, but not able to touch you . Lucky people will have all the options, was born, raised, trained, financed, supported and prayed for an all-out, by a mother who was willing to sacrifice everything for their children's happiness .

Mother as a biological mother is who gave birth to a child through a pregnancy regardless of her or other's ova instead . A process of pregnancy is something that is amazing for some women, but the burden for some others. Quite often we see the complaints and impatience of women to quickly terminate the pregnancy. Not all biological mother had a chance to raise their children, she may pass away, the child may be adopted by someone else, the child may be unwelcome to the left side of the road, or maybe she is always with her ​​child but not "raise" hers in the sense that it really is. Instinctively, she will be a very full of love person. Form of love is manifested in many ways. Attention, sacrifice and pray may be some of many manifestations. Laughter and tears decorate the life of a mother, of course .

So what makes a mother murder a child? Ms.Dedeh case in Indonesia that does not regret her actions after killing her 2.5 years old daughter made ​​me wonder " then where is her common sense?" .. Anger, frustration and economics burden became the reasons beneath. Vigilant, even the pull factors above are capable to negate the "pure love of a mother" in a matter of seconds , which is shrouded in anger and mental instability . Not all mothers are perfect .

Who is the mother of "motherless children? Not all people clearly admitted that she was a mother to those kind of children, because her maternal instinct deserves to everyone without exception. How many millions of children are motherless at the orphanage house. Are you familiar with a name Dorce Gamalama ? She's a mother of motherless children. Adopting 3 children from childhood , a transgender ( male into female ) became mother and father of 3 children. Here we can see, the status of biological sex is not a problem for humans to become a mother. Moreover, she was more than an ordinary mother to have thousands of children in his orphanage. A quote : "A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled", seem so true for most people. Mom was the one that you went to, when you 've got a problem. A mother provide her arms and shoulders to hold you.

Mother also became a word which has meaning as a "leader", whether she is a soft-hearted woman with tough attitude or hard-hearted woman with gentle attitude. A country led by a woman will be a little different from  led by a man. "Motherly leader" will shed tears when she explains about her country. Mother here will see "the kids"  read : the people) with her big heart and the hope for change. Given the pros and cons about Risma leadership (Mayor of Surabaya), i personally saw her as a truely mother, of prostitutes who want to repent but had no other choice, of teenagers who tortured cadres by some groups of sex workers, of the children of a broken home. She is just an ordinary human being, but she is maximizing the "ordinary" in her profession bears the "mother" of this noble .

Is there a father became a mother or a mother become a father? certainly YES. But both are not much different. Because it is something that is paired, then it would not be fair just to glorify the Mother term and exclude the meaning of a Father. Because a mother never glorify herself , other people glorify her .

Robbighfir lii li wa waalidayya warhamhumaa kamaa robbayaanii shoghiiroo

Similar contents can be accessed in https://www.facebook.com/notes/yunia-makmoer/memaknai-kata-ibu/10153924359505263 (Indonesian version)

saya bertanya

Saya pernah bertanya
Pada malam yang setia
pada lelaki disudut parit
Yang tak berbusana dan bersahabat lamunan
Duhai malam,
Mengapa dia?

Saya pernah bertanya pada secangkir kopi diatas dipan
Yang tak lagi hangat
Yang mulai di datangi semut-semut pengumbar cinta
Duhai secangkir kopi,
Mengapa ia?
Mengapa wanita tua penyulam ini selalu memintamu menemaninya,
Namun tak menyeruput mu sedikit pun

Saya pernah bertanya,
Pada sepatu baru sebelah kanan,
Mengapa wahai sepatu,
Kau mampu mengatur waktu
Dalam keterburu-buruan wajar
Yang kau kejar dan tergapai

Tak satupun dari mereka menjawab
Saya bertanya berkali-kali
Tak satupun dari mereka menjawab
Ahh,,
Memang semestinya begitu
Mungkin tak semua pertanyaan harus di jawab
Karena diam adalah rangkaian kata-kata
Yang bertuan, tapi tak beraga..

Apa cita-citamu nak?

Mengenang masa kecil, tak semua yg dapat saya ingat.. Yang masih membekas dikepala sampai sekarang adalah sy punya jawaban yg sama setiap ada yg bertanya soal cita-cita : PRAMUGARI, itu mutlak dan tidak dapat diganggu gugat selama bertahun-tahun, mungkin cita-cita itu melekat sejak usia 5 sd 9 tahun. Entah apa alasannya. Pengalaman pertama naik pesawat saya rasakan di usia 6tahun, itu juga hanya dr Bna-Mdn. Mungkin bukan karena kesan dengan pramugari saat itu, karena sejak 5thn sepertinya sy sudah mendambakan profesi yg satu ini. Saat itu sy punya teman yg sangat sering berlibur, setiap pulang liburan dia akan cerita mengenai pengalaman2 nya sepanjang perjalanan di pesawat, mungkin karena itu juga..kesan baik yg sy terima membuat saya tertarik.

Cita-cita umumnya sudah terbentuk sejak kecil, diawali dengan memiliki seorang Role Model. Tak heran anak sekarang punya cita-cita ingin menjadi penyanyi dangdut karena mengidolakan Ayu Ting Ting. Sebuah survey iseng yang dilakukan seorang blogger mendapatkan bahwa beberapa anak-anak memiliki cita-cita seperti ingin menjadi : dokter, dokter gigi, polisi, pramugari, pemilik toko bakery, guru, sampai ingin menjadi 'bapak-bapak'.. menarik yah..

Saya pernah mendapatkan sebuah jawaban unik, di beberapa lembar jawaban yg dikumpulkan dr anak-anak, sebuah kertas membuat saya tercenung : "saya ingin menjadi tukang sampah". Umur anak ini mungkin 7 tahun, mata saya hangat saat itu. Apa yg sy renungkan? Sy bermain dengan fikiran sy sendiri, apakah diri sy "mempersepsikan" profesi "tukang sampah" sebagai cita-cita kelas rendah ? sy tercenung dan tidak bertanya apapun selama 15 menit. Oke, otak sy berputar, anak ini pasti hidup ditengah orang2 berprofesi sebagai tukang sampah. Mungkin begitu. Oke waktunya sy mendekati dia, "sayang,, benar ini cita-cita kamu?".."benar, bu.." .."orang tua kamu kerja dimana sayang?" .. "pegawai bu.." (didaerah sy jika menyebut pegawai itu umum diartikan sebagai PNS) .. dia menambahkan "mamak saya guru di sekolah ujung itu". Well,okay..sy terdiam lagi, kali ini hanya boleh 5 menit saja.. "kenapa kamu memilih cita-cita ini sayang?" ..
anak itu tertawa terbahak-bahak.. sy ikut tertawa, menikmati kebahagian yg ia sebarkan .. "kata mamak, cita-cita harus setinggi langit, dan cita-cita kita itu harus bisa buat orang lain bahagia, kata mamak cita-cita harus mulia, gitu kata mamak.." .."tukang sampah?" .."iya bu, tukang sampah tiap hari ngambil sampah dirumah kita, jadi rumah kita tidak kotor dan gak ada lalat, itu buat kita sehat, tukang sampah itu semuanya orang-orang baek bu.." ..

Pelajaran yang berharga, sangat..
Persepsi orang tua dan persepsi anak-anak tentang cita-cita bisa berbeda..anak ini mengajarkan sy dasar dari cita-cita itu sendiri.
Pengalaman pribadi membuat sy yakin, cita-cita bisa berubah seiring dengan berjalan nya waktu.. pengalaman menempa individu untuk memilih jalan yg paling baik menurut dia dan manut pada tuntutan sosial. Contohnya, orang-orang tertentu terpilih menjadi PNS dimana itu bukan cita-citanya..ia akan menciptakan cita-cita baru..bertahan dengan profesinya dengan jabatan yang dijalankan dengan baik dan benar, bisa jadi itulah cita-cita barunya. Sebagian orang terlahir dr keluarga pebisnis yg sukses, anak mungkin tidak bercita-cita menjadi bisnisman, namun tuntutan sosial dr keluarga membuat anak suatu saat harus menjadi penerus bisnis keluarga nya.

Cita-cita tak hanya diciptakan, sesekali ia dipilih, tidak oleh individu yg bersangkutan, namun dr dunia luar, dari sebuah "kesempatan", dr social conformity, dan dari tempaan hidup.

Saya setuju untuk kembali ke "mamak" , cita-citamu  harus setinggi langit, harus bisa membahagiakan orang lain dan harus mulia.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

simalar contents can be accessed in : https://www.facebook.com/notes/yunia-makmoer/apa-cita-citamu-nak-/10153860713120263

Hello, we have Asam Sunti here..

Born in the northern tip of Sumatra island, im proudly tobe Acehnese,, one of ethnic groups in Indonesia.

This time i would like to share something about our local food, particularly a very special traditional herb we have called Asam Sunti. Asam Sunti is made of small starfruit. I have no idea what should i call for this fruit in English because it is not exactly the "star" starfruit. Trying to find in google, i found another term for it : Averrhoa Bilimbi. Okay, good start..(for me).

Acehnese people use Asam Sunti in many kind of traditional food in daily life such as Tumeh Keumamah (stirfried dried tuna) and Asam Keueng (sour spicy soup).. woof im drooling. It tastes so typical, food with asam sunti must be sour as it's made from fruit.

How is it made?

A very easy way is known by all Acehnese people, especially by women. Supposed we have a starfruit tree in our house, then making Asam Sunti must be one of activity of that family member. Pick the fruits from the tree, wash them, and dry under the sunshine. Once they're softly shriveled, we must smear them with salt then dry again. Salt smearing must be done for three or four times depends on the look of the starfruits after dried for 3 to 4 days. If they look like brown candy already, they are ready to be stored in a closed box. A very dry Asam Sunti can be stored until 1 year without putting them in fridge. A very salty taste prevents Asam Sunti from decomposition

Below is one simple recipe of traditional food using Asam Sunti, we call it Eungkot Tumeh (stirfried fish). All we need are :

1. Fish (commonly used Tuna) : 1/2 kg

2. Coriander powder (Acehnese: bubok Aweuh) : 1/2 teaspoon

3. Turmeric powder (Acehnese: bubok Kunyet) : 1 teaspoon 

4. Onion and Garlic : 3 and 1 medium size

5. Red Chili : 1/2 oz

6. Asam Sunti : 1/2 oz

7. Cooking Oil : 5 tablespoon

8. Salt and pepper : 2 and 1/2 teaspoon

9. Curry leaves (Acehnese: On Temurui)             : 4 sheet

How to cook ? Blend all items in no.2 to no.6, stirfry fish using cooking oil, then put salt & pepper and curry leaves. This is it, done. Acehnese traditional food, in simple way.

Well, that's an example of many traditional cullinary using Asam Sunti that Aceh has. Gotta have time someday to try it, to feel the spirit of Aceh.. the porch of Mecca. 

similar contents can be accessed in :

https://www.facebook.com/notes/yunia-makmoer/hello-we-have-asam-sunti-here/10153792849760263

Wat Prabaht Nampu - The AIDS Hospice Care

There is a place that is very popular and legendary in Thailand. Its name is Wat Prabaht Nampu , which is a temple that is located in the province of Lop Buri, about 150 kilometers north of the city of Bangkok. Today, the temple is being a home to 152  HIV- positive patients .

The founder of this place is a Buddhist monk named Alongkot Dikkapanyo. This place was originally a Buddhist temple worship which then functioned as a shelter for AIDS patients in 1992 when two young men with HIV positive status came asking for help and shelter to the temple because they were rejected by the families and the hospitals. Started with only 8 beds , Wat Prabaht Nampu now able to provide 400 beds to accommodate patients. Until now, this temple has been treating more than 10,000 of the 610,000 people infected with HIV in Thailand , according to data from the UN .

Most patients used to work as commercial sex workers or  who contracted the disease from their partners. 60 of the 152 patients who are now in the temple are currently in good condition and being healthier. They are each placed in a small bungalow with bedroom and toilet facilities, not  together with the patients with other opportunistic infections that are placed in several sal care. 60 patients were allowed to work in the temple depend on their each appropriate skills such as cleaning service, administration officers and being assistants to help nursing the paralyzed patients. They are also involved in the empowering group to make some creative handicrafts. The handycrafts are shown and sold in the special gallery. Actually, they live like normal people. They choose to settle in the temple because of family rejection and stigma from society .

Some NGOs conducts some supporting programs in the temple. They may run some programs to the patients as well as to the temple physically. There is also a special room for receiving guests who wants to make donation in small or big amounts. The donation could be in form of money or goods. When I was in that place, a truck came bringing  full loaded of goods to be donated to the temple. They bring instant foods and some useful household utensil. There is special corner to unload all the packages.

In the front park, there is a corner which displays some artificial statues name Bone Resin Art. The statues are very beautiful. They are made of unclaimed  human ash and bone mix together with resin. The statues form reflects the AIDS patients sufferings.

Patients who died will be put in the refrigerator while waiting to be picked up by the family . If the body is not picked up, it will be cremated by the temple. In the past when the temple still used old cremation machine, it would leave bones as well as ash. But now it uses modern cremation machine that only make the body being into ash. The temple now has 8 modern machine. Last year in 2013 there were about 7 to 8 bodies that were cremated each week, but this year the number is decreasing. Piles of the bones and ash of the patients are stored in the museum on some big shelves. The museum is known as Life Museum. It is located inside the temple complex  and also contains the display of the preserved bodies of AIDS patients who donated their bodies for the sake of study. In addition, there is also a small museum named Body Part Museum. This place displays some important body parts and organs of AIDS patients that placed in some big glass jars. The body parts and organs are such as hands, feet, heart, penis, intestine, bladder, etc.

That is how wonderful to share and be able to make them smile. So that they still feel "meaningful " , although in the queue to the cremation machine , sometime in the future .

Similar contents in Bahasa Indonesia can be accessed in:
*http://aceh.tribunnews.com/2014/01/21/kuil-jadi-rumah-inap-bagi-penderita-aids