Orthodox Chruch in Surakarta

Few days ago I visited an Orthodox Church in Surakarta accompanying an acquaintance from USA coming there.

Above is the interior of Orthodox Church in Surakarta, which is the first Orthodox Church in Indonesia founded by Father Daniel in 1996.

#13 no title

So I ask, what's the point?

What's the point of being in love with someone, or having dearest friends, if in the end everybody will change, if things won't stay the same, if they eventually will leave you all alone and just like that you will find yourself brokenhearted?

What's the point of feeling the love, being connected to people, developing care about others, if you know you'll just end up no more seeing them in your life, and then you'll be crushed because it's as if part of you were missing, as if your utmost core were stolen, because there will be nobody you can harbor those feelings to feel relieved, there will be no one there for you eventually?

Ego dan Kapitalisme

Also published in: http://www.qureta.com/post/ego-dan-kapitalisme October 3, 2016

sumber: http://orig08.deviantart.net

Dalam filsafat Buddhisme, disebutkan bahwa yang menyebabkan seseorang tidak dapat lepas dari roda tumimbal lahir adalah terdapatnya kotoran batin yang merupakan bibit dari kelahiran itu sendiri, sehingga seseorang akan terus terlahir merasakan penderitaan di dalam samsara (siklus kelahiran-kematian).

Disebutkan bahwa kotoran batin yang paling dasar dan paling sulit dikikis adalah ego atau keakuan. Ego atau keakuan inilah yang kemudian akan melahirkan kotoran batin dan penderitaan lain, seperti keserakahan, konflik sosial, kebencian, serta iri hati.

Dalam budaya konsumerisme, ego ini adalah instrumen halus yang menggerakan pasar kapitalisme. Ego merupakan alasan seseorang berperilaku konsumtif. Baik demi status sosial ataupun menikmati kemewahan dan kenyamanan, ego inilah yang sesungguhnya dijual dan ditawarkan oleh industri kapitalis melalui beragam barang dan jasa dengan harga yang hanya bisa dijangkau oleh mereka yang memiliki cukup uang.

Sastra di Tengah Budaya Sosialita

Also published in: http://www.qureta.com/post/sastra-di-tengah-budaya-sosialita September 18, 2016 

Artikel yang berjudul “Sastrawan Sosialita” yang dimuat oleh Koran Republika pada tanggal 8 Mei 2016 telah menarik banyak perbincangan hingga saat ini tidak hanya di kalangan para penulis, tapi juga kalangan pembaca (dan membuat si penulisnya menjadi cukup kontroversial). Ada begitu banyak argumen pro yang dilontarkan untuk mendukung pendapat si penulis artikel tersebut, namun tidak sedikit pula pembahasan dan argumen kontra dari kalangan penulis dan pembaca.

Karena sudah begitu banyak komentar dari berbagai pihak, cukup sulit menurut saya untuk menyampaikan opini agar tidak menjadi argumentum ad populum et hominem, khususnya mengingat tidak sedikit komentar-komentar baik melalui media sosial ataupun dalam diskusi-diskusi pribadi antara pembaca yang telah menyerang pribadi penulis artikel “Sastrawan Sosialita”.

Semangat Kemanusiaan dalam Tradisi Kurban

Also published in: http://www.qureta.com/post/semangat-kemanusiaan-dalam-tradisi-kurban September 12, 2016

Pada hari raya Idul Adha bagi umat Muslim, selain merayakan peristiwa Haji, yang tak kalah pentingnya adalah memperingati kisah Nabi Ibrahim (Abraham dalam bahasa Ibrani di ajaran Yahudi dan Kristiani) dan Nabi Ismail (Ismael dalam bahasa Ibrani di ajaran Yahudi dan Kristiani) dengan berkurban.

Kurban, secara khusus dalam tradisi Islam, diartikan sebagai persembahan kepada Allah (seperti biri-biri, sapi, atau unta pada hari Lebaran Haji). Tradisi ini merupakan bagian dari salah satu bentuk ibadah atau ritual keagamaan dalam Islam. Tak heran di negara mayoritas Muslim seperti Indonesia, setiap menjelang Idul Adha akan kita temukan banyak orang mendadak berjualan kambing dan sapi untuk memenuhi kebutuhan tersebut.

Kebebasan Beragama versus Iman Mayoritas

Menyoal Intimidasi dan Alienasi oleh Penganut Agama Samawi

Also published in: http://www.qureta.com/post/kebebasan-beragama-versus-iman-mayoritas August 31, 2016

Foto: commons.wikimedia.org

Hidup di negara dengan mayoritas penduduk pemeluk agama samawi — yang masing-masing dari agama samawi tersebut seringkali mengklaim bahwa Tuhan dan ajarannya adalah satu-satunya yang paling benar di muka bumi — mempertanyakan dan memaparkan fakta-fakta yang bisa jadi bertentangan dengan agama tersebut dianggap sebagai hal tabu dan dosa, kalau bukan penistaan terhadap agama.

Tidak jarang pengetahuan akan sains modern dan penemuan arkeologi dianggap sebagai antitesis terhadap ajaran agama, dan karenanya tidak boleh dijadikan landasan pandangan hidup, apalagi dasar pencarian atas kebenaran.

Tentang Dia dan Secangkir Kopinya

Blog post ini dibuat dalam rangka mengikuti Kompetisi Menulis Cerpen #MyCupOfStory Diselenggarakan oleh GIORDANO dan Nulisbuku.com

Sore menjelang malam itu aku diundang makan di sebuah restoran oleh kenalanku yang berulang tahun. Tidak banyak yang dia undang, hanya 6 orang termasuk dirinya. Dia tidak memiliki banyak teman dan kenalan sehingga untuk sebuah makan malam ulang tahun jumlah 6 orang itu termasuk sedikit. Bahkan aku baru berkenalan dengannya 2 hari yang lalu. Seandainya aku menolak berarti hanya ada 5 orang yang hadir di acara itu.

Di acara makan itu, hanya ada dua orang yang sudah aku kenal, yang berulang tahun dan temanku yang dua hari sebelumnya mengenalkan aku pada yang berulang tahun. Tiga orang lagi aku baru saja berkenalan dengan mereka pada saat itu. Salah satu di antara mereka adalah seorang yang akan aku ceritakan dalam kisah ini, yang membuatku tertarik pada pertemuan pertama sehingga kami berkenalan lebih jauh setelahnya.

After 'Suicide Squad', Here's What To Expect From 'Justice League'

This piece was also published by The Jakarta Post

Following the epic fail of “Martha” in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad does not escape a lot of bad reviews either. Many say that the storyline is too boring and underdeveloped, glorifies Deadshot too much, sexualizes Harley Quinn and is more like a zombie-apocalypse movie.

A friend of mine, who is a big fan of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), said that the big mistake in assessing the quality of DC movies was most people expect them to be bright and exciting stories. A real fan knows best that DC’s style is about dark twisted stories and they are sometimes rather monotonous because of too much talk. Moreover, according to him, we should compare them to their animated versions, instead of to Marvel’s movies.

Movie Review: Despite The Bad Reviews, ‘Suicide Squad’ Is Ironically Good

DC movies are somehow well-known for bad reviews, especially because most people always compare them to Marvel movies. For real fans of DC, however, they probably will beg to differ. DC is unlike Marvel that presents high-spirited combat with fascinating problems and funky life stories. Instead, it chooses to package its characters with dark and philosophically twisted backgrounds.

The bad reviews aren’t exception even for the latest movie, Suicide Squad. Many say that the story is too simplistic and underdeveloped, only focused on Deadshot, sexualizing Harley Quinn, and more like a zombie-apocalypse movie. I get why those points reason the bad reviews, but I believe Suicide Squad is about the anti-heroes and anti-heroines defeating evil, so probably we can try to evaluate some good in the bad.

Lelaki Kardus and Ugly Truth of Parenting for Children

About one month ago, many Indonesians have been surprised to find out that there was a music video titled “Lelaki Kardus” (Cardboard Man) sung by a little girl. The lyrics are totally not children-friendly. National Commission for Children Protection (KPAI) has been protesting against the distribution of the song in internet and asked Youtube for the music video to be removed.

According to an interview, the song lyrics are based on true story. They were written by the stepfather of the girl singing the song in the music video, and her mother said it was okay for her daughter to sing it because it’s based on true event. The girl, though, is now fifteen because the music video was made a couple of years ago.

Stop Justifying Violence Against Children

 

This piece was also published by The Jakarta Post with title: Stop Justifying Violence Toward Children

Since the case of teacher pinching student that the teacher might face 3 years of imprisonment, many opinions have been spoken out in social media as well as in electronic media such as radio and television. Mostly disagree with the imprisonment of the teacher.

I don’t agree either for such case to be exaggerated to such extent. However, I also oppose those who support violence as appropriate punishment for children; no matter it is either practiced by the parents or teachers.

Many argue that back in the past, we were also punished harshly and violently as part of our educational system and we have now turned out to be okay and behave in accordance with propriety. To me, not only that’s an oversimplification, but also irrelevant.

What Is Love?

I came across this http://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-priebe/2016/06/we-dont-always-end-up-with-the-loves-of-our-lives-and-thats-okay/ and found it relatable to me, or at least used to. I remember thinking of someone as the love of my life but couldn't end up with, and still cannot. The only difference is now I am not sure if the person is truly the love of my life. I may now have fallen in love with someone else and this new significant other of mine is probably the love of my life, or not. No one can ever know.

The article eloquently describes how it feels to have found the love of life but end up separated, and how it's okay.

Grey's Anatomy Season 06, Episode 01-02 (Good Mourning & Goodbye)

"According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, when we're dying or have suffered a catastrophic loss, we all move through five distinct stages of grief. We go into denial because the loss is so unthinkable we can’t imagine it’s true. We become angry with everyone, angry with survivors, angry with ourselves. Then we bargain. We beg. We plead. We offer everything we have, we offer our souls in exchange for just one more day. When the bargaining has failed and the anger is too hard to maintain, we fall into depression, despair, until finally we have to accept that we’ve done everything we can. We let go. We let go and move into acceptance.

 

In medical school, we have a hundred lessons that teach us how to fight off death, and not one lesson on how to go on living."

 

"The dictionary defines grief as keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret. As surgeons, as scientists, we’re taught to learn from and rely on books, on definitions, on definitives. But in life, strict definitions rarely apply. In life, grief can look like a lot of things that bear little resemblance to sharp sorrow.

Grief may be a thing we all have in common, but it looks different on everyone. It isn’t just death we have to grieve. It’s life. It’s loss. It’s change. And when we wonder why it has to suck so much sometimes, has to hurt so bad. The thing we gotta try to remember is that it can turn on a dime. That’s how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can’t breathe, that’s how you survive. By remembering that one day, somehow, impossibly, you won’t feel this way. It won’t hurt this much.

Grief comes in its own time for everyone, in its own way. So the best we can do, the best anyone can do, is try for honesty. The really crappy thing, the very worst part of grief is that you can’t control it. The best we can do is try to let ourselves feel it when it comes. And let it go when we can. The very worst part is that the minute you think you’re past it, it starts all over again. And always, every time, it takes your breath away.

There are five stages of grief. They look different on all of us, but there are always five. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance."

Iman Di Tengah Kesenjangan Nasib: Memamerkan “Tuhan”

Below is my article published by IndoProgress. It uses Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian). The English translation of the title would be Faith In The Midst of Social Gap: Showing Off "God"

Original publication by IndoProgress: http://indoprogress.com/2016/03/iman-di-tengah-kesenjangan-nasib-memamerkan-tuhan/

Image from: Pinterest

DI ERA media sosial saat ini, banyak orang berlomba-lomba mengeksibisikan beragam lapisan kehidupannya. Kita bisa menemukan berbagai kiriman status dan foto, dari yang menunjukkan perasaan sedih dan kecewa, sampai pencitraan rupawan sebagai penanda bahwa hidup ini indah dan patut untuk disyukuri.

Why I Choose Not To Believe

(This is originally my post titled "The Life Battle of Our Own, and Mine Especially", but then has been sent to Magdalene with some revision, and got edited and published)

original publication in Magdalene: Why I Choose Not To Believe

I’ve seen many of my friends or acquaintances put up fights against some gross injustices that oppress them or things that are important to them. They defend the rights of homosexuals, or advocate equal rights for women, or champion vegetarianism and ethical treatment of animals. They bravely speak up in public space against an unjust government, or fight for interracial and interfaith marriage. Each of them rumbles against society, against a world that imposes unjust values on their lives.

Gravitational Wave: Its Philosophical Value and Our Civilization

In case you still haven't got it, please be informed well that lately human race has finally discovered gravitational waves, a phenomenon 100 years ago was hypothesized by a great scientist, Albert Einstein. Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space-time which propagate as wave transporting energy as gravitational radiation. They cause matters distorted following the distortion in space-time because of the radiation.

Just watch the video below if up until now you still can't comprehend what in universe the gravitational wave is.

Terrorism, School, and Morale

Part of this post was also published  in The Jakarta Post national newspaper page 8 on Readers' Forum with title "Terrorism, school, and morals"

On Thursday, January 14th 2016 the All-Girls High School Santa Ursula located in Jln. Pos no. 02 Central Jakarta had all its students of 10th and 11th grade day off because the 12th grade students would have to be defending their scientific paper as their final assignment.

My little sister is an eleventh grader studying in All-Girls High School Santa Ursula. She lives nearby in a dormitory of Santa Maria located in Jln. Batu Tulis Raya no. 30 Central Jakarta. Although it was a day off for her, her friends and she had to attend choir practice in school for an upcoming school event.