A note for the future: to be the water or to become a Japanese

For the past few months, all i have been thinking is what my future would be. To return to Indonesia or not was simply a choice, but I choose to pick the idea. I was so afraid of the future as if the bleak future awaits at the end of the corder. While the truth is, no one knows what the future holds.

Walking toward the future is like walking in a long dark tunnel. Without any light, any map, or any sign that there is a way out. We might carry some candles, but we don't have the match or lighter. We are in a complete total darkness. Sometimes, we just wish that we could turn on the light and run faster.

But a friend reminds me this morning, that we have an alternative on how to move forward. Not by turning the light on the candle, but to make a new tunnel! yes, a new tunnel for ourself. Don't follow the path that has been laid out, make our own path.

So much his word, it reminds me of what Ibu Dewi once told us. "Dont act like water, try to become a Japanese". What does that means? Water usually will go along the streamline. Its shape will follow what it hits. If it hits a tree, then it will follow the shape of the tree trunk. If it hits the table, it will follow as well. But try to become a Japanese. It means that you dig the mountain, make a new tunnel for a new road or railway. Or to make a highway under water, like one in Odaiba, Tokyo.

Be brave and be bold. Quoting a friend," you need no candle, you need a hoe (cangkul)"

Yoooosshh.. Gambarou!

p.s. I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to a dear friend for giving me a time of peace when she said, "returning to Indonesia is not a bad idea. It feels like a bouncing ball. Indeed, you bounce to the bottom but the ball bounce back to the air even higher than before. So don't be afraid. You are coming back to Indonesia only to raise higher". Your word saved me.. Thank you..


Kyoto, 3 September 2010