Keep Calm

 (Photo Courtessy : Tumblr)

 

The key to stay stane, positive and calm is to set your expectations just right. Many times we feel dissapointed, angry or sad because things didn't turn out the way we wished it would. And that happens because we expect too much. In life, things happen beyond what our brain can imagine. It is uncontrollable and can seem unbearable. But things will feel alright if we  have prepared ourselves for anything that could happen. Because life isn't perfect. Neither we are. So why expect things to run perfectly too? God has made the best plans for us, so just enjoy the ride no matter where it leads us to. People change so don't expect them to stay the same forever. Let us grow and become a better version of ourselves, with or without the support from people we wished we would always have. We lose and we gain people in our lives. Because maybe, there isn't enough space for too many people in our hearts. Expect life to be exciting, because it really is. 

-Repost from Diana. R blog

Quote

"If you fail, 

fail again, 

fail better.."

Time Heals Me

I used to be very sceptical when someone told me that time will really heals everything. I think people who said that are just people who are tired of hearing my complains and my whining and all the things that they are so sick of hearing from me, so they choose to calm me down by saying that 'magical-wise-word', but it didn't work for me. 

 I find some part of myself is a drama when it comes to something that i don't like. You know when things don't go my way, i don't accept them right away. I question everything and i think about it all time until i finally getting to the point of feeling, okay, this is how life works. Things dont't always go my way and that's natural, we can't force thing to be happen, period.

Okay.

But it's a bit difficult here. Imagined if you worked hard to build a house from zero, from the very empty ground and you started putting your first cement yourself, and your second, your third, and you painted it, you planted flowers on the yard to make it looking pretty, you sweep the house every morning and you clean up every night before bed, you treated the house very nicely and unexpectedly, someone came and burn it. It burned. Everything i have inside the house burned to dust. I have nothing left right after.

So i was sad. I don't have 'house' to live in and i have nothing left by myself. That's the time when people came up to me telling me that time will heals. How can i even trust their words when they don't even know what i was feeling? I doubted them.

Days by days, months by months passed,
I started feeling better. I started to think clear and telling myself that everything is happen for a reason, and out of nowhere i started to believe that if something is taken from us, either we didn't take a good care of it or that thing itself just don't wanna be with us anymore. As simple as that. And i'm pretty sure that if we lost something, God will replace it with something better. And i believed that.

And that magical wise word, proven true.
I guess nobody wants to live miserably the whole time crying over the past and regret why things didn't go the way they wanted to. And ofcourse i don't want too. I have a brighter future awaits out there that i need to face. And, whatever left from the old 'house' became a memory that i don't need to keep in my new 'house'..

"Resentment"

Goodnight.

So surprising that i never imagined my life could be like this, at the moment where i am sitting right now. The people i thought would be forever be with my journey, aren't there anymore. The others i've never imagined would be here with me, are surprisingly here. I think we just need to emphasize that people come into our life without any intention to stay forever, so never expect something permanent. Forever is just something people who are crazy in love will be saying. And remember, never take life for granted. What we have right now, enjoy, what we don't, let them go.

When We Talk About Compliment

"To get compliments for me is not something that we seek, it's something that we earn. "

Yesterday i was MC-ing for International Multifaith Youth Assembly 2013 that happened to be take place in Makassar, this year. So i felt lucky to be trusted hosting an International Event that attended by Vice Ministers, important people from Embassy and foreign participants that flew all the way their countries to gather here with one vision : creating peace throughout the world by realizing new paradigm of peace, One Family under God. 

As i was hosting the event with English, as well known as a universal languange, i know myself that i am far from perfection. I can speak, i can write, but if i asked to speak formally, gramatically perfect, i can say, that's not my daily thing. But you know, at some point we got to get ourselves out from our comfort zone in order to learn, right? 

So i asked the comitee director to teach me how, she taught me a lot and i felt confidence enough. 

Then i walked to the stage, see the crowded, see the beauty of the diversity among the participants, and i felt so, confident, somehow. 

The event ran perfectly, i felt relieved. 

You know that feeling when you know yourself just did a good job and people agreed with what you think so they tell you the same thing? 

That feeling. Is. Precious. 

I've been hosting a lot of event but somehow i find this one quite different and challenging at the same time. 
But at the end, Malaysian participant, Afghanistan, and some others came to me say that i should fly more and learn more abroad, because they told me that i got International quality already. 
I don't know if i'm a bit exaggerating this but i feel just great to be told something really, really mean to me like that. 

And by that i realize that in life we need to get ourselves some compliment in order to grow, in order to respect ourselves and to believe ourselves. Not to be arrogant about it, but be blessed instead. 

Then i randomly pick some compliment pieces that i got from my friends a year ago. I read them one by one, and i feel simply recharged. So i guess it's true, the strongest power comes within, we just need to always remember about it. 

Isn't it good to have a flashback or reminder about what we can do and how precious we are in earth actually?

Happy Reminder

-"Be so happy that when people look at you, they become happy too!"

-"Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy"

                  -"If you're happy and feeling good, then nothing else matters"

-"Happiness is a habit. Cultivate it"

                                                                                      -"Think happy, be happy"

-"Being happy never goes out of style"

                                                             -Life is too short to not be happy"

My Inspirational Scrapbook

Society Circles, Who Are Those?

Few weeks ago i was attending a seminar about youth and political knowledge in Indonesia. One of the speaker at that time was Rene CC, a public speaker and an author of CC Book and UltimateU. If you ever heard about the book, Your Job is Not Your Career yes he is the author as well. Somehow i find this man really interesting! He sends an energetic and exciting vibes to us, the attendants. Since the goal of the seminar was to educate youth about political knowledge, he told us some interesting fact about Indonesia in the past. 

FYI the seminar held not so far from August 17, the Independence day of Indonesia. So he revelead some interesting fact about our Proclamation. Firstly he explained how the proclamation was finally decided to be proclaimed, the people behind, and how Soekarno at that time already believed in the power of youth already. If you ever remember that he once said "Berikan saya sepuluh pemuda, maka akan kurubah dunia" / "Give me ten youths then i will change the world". Agree so far? I do. As i said that he revealed interesting fact that, turns out the attendants of our proclamation was 80-90% youths in the average age of 17-25. So we can imagine ourselves were there, in our age right now. At least if we happen to imagine our soul were there, such a proud feeling. 

At the end of the slides, i got the chance to ask him question. Since i admire his energetic and positive mood all the way, i just simply ask him about how he keep that all the time, cause i know being positive and energetic will obviously influence other people around. And i asked him again, how to start making the change, at least from ourselves? I know i asked such an overrated question but i just wanna hear the answer from this guy. 

So he answered, to be positive and have a happy minded, is to be bless with what we have, never compare ourselves to others, and you know, be funny. When you're funny, everybody wants to around you because you send a positive vibes to others. The rest you just simply need to plant positivity in your heart and mind, Meilia. Simple. (noted).

The second question, he answered, If you wanna make a change, start from your circle. Do you think your circles are good enough? Supportive enough for you to keep you on going? Think about that. You know in life, we have so many society circle that we had. Family circle, bestfriend, boyfriend/girlfriend, organization, relatives, etc. Have you found which circle give you such a positive impact? You already know which one, and which is not really good for you either. And then, you have this one circle that you have been on so many years, consider this as your bestfriend circle. Your hangout buddies circle. You've been with those guys for good and bad, tears and joy, rich and poor and everything. But wait, what else? Instead of hanging out have some coffee and share stories, did you guys ever share about the same interest with education, learnings, motivations, goals instead of sharing what brands of bags are in right now? Think. If you haven't or you don't do that at all, perhaps, that circle is the one that might stops you from going further. 

Now start open up yourself to a new circle, like, organization, conference, voluntering, etc. That time when you start involving yourself in such activities those circles are having, you'll finally realized that you actually can do so much more in your life. And what so important, you can be useful for others and that's very precious. 

He said, when you feel like your idea of living of creating something in your mind doesn't match with the people in your circle anymore, leave the circle for a moment. Because you're way more than them already, you're thinking few steps ahead while they stuck there. You need to find yourself a space to learn and share laernings to other people. Meet new people, explore the living, gain knowledge because remember you only young once so don't spend it not doing anything. Make the best out of it. 

I agreed. I involve myself in volunteering activity already actually, organization and signing up for several conference, being busy filling essays and just stay in front of my computer pretty while seeking for opportunities that life offers, ignoring some coffee hours with my friends for a while indeed, and, i,  feel good :) 

Count Your Blessings

 

Today my day was simply amazing just by spending it alone at home. I lately have not so much thing to do i just enjoy my times at home. You know sometimes when you have much time and got nothing to do, you start wondering things, like you know, anything that could be? 

I surf the internet pretty much, seeing people's Instagram and found picture that opened up my eyes about how bless and happy our life actually can be. If we just think bout it, and count our blessings, i bet you'll realize that blessings can't be count, cause it comes every second, every breath, every wink, all the time. Happiness is simple. Think about it. I am happy now, and i think, why shouldn't i be happy?

 Here are the list of things that make me feel happy : 

1. I am breathing right now. 

2. I had a good time pampering myself at home today. 

3. Yesterday i got called and being told that i got to be recommended to be MC for some International Youth Assembly 

4. I ate Martabak a lot. 

5. I opened up my wallet and i see i got enough savings until the weekends 

6. I watched my favorite TV Show, Masterchef. 

7. I'm currently listening to John Mayer. 

8. I just took my medicine. 

9. I got stable internet connection, writing this, enjoying every single word i write. 

See? Isn't it simple? :)

Teaser : Fira & Syahrial

 Been working on this pre wedding shots lately, these are some behind the screen stuffs and, the teaser :)

 

The Choices Are : To Be Happy and, To Just Be Happy.

 (pict taken from Tumblr)

I think i have come to the realization that in life, we actually have so many things out there to explore if we want to get out from our comfort zone and, move. As simple as i was doing a karaoke yesterday for approximately 4 hours (if you can imagine how terrible my voice now is) i gotten my head opened just by enjoying every single song that i sang, reading every beautiful lyrics carefully, drinking my lemon tea like it was tasted sweet, you know, having to enjoy my life like i haven't done for so long. I am happy and realized that the world is, WIDE. 

Repeat : I am happy. 

And i know, life doesn't stop for anybody. 

So, heartbreaks, dissapointments, anger, betrays are a part of life that we are indeed gotta be in, in someways, but that is fine. Thought life is about ups and downs, we all know that. 

I learned. 

I learned that 'nothing last forever' is proven true.

It doesn't matter how long you've been with each other, how many years, how many quality times that you had, how many holidays that you spent together, how many fights, how many make ups, how many hugs, how many kisses, how many laughs, how many pictures captured the togetherness, how many miles we have been through, how many dollars that we spent to see each other in every spare time we had, how many flights (include how many missed flight and cancelled flight), how many midnight-morning calls, how many chats, how much happiness, tears, joy, blessings, how many 'hello' and 'goodbyes', how many gifts that we gave each others, how many journeys that we went together, how much love that once shared, 

Nothing is last forever anyways. 

And as long as you don't stuck on what's left behind and keep moving forward instead, you're gotta be fine. 
When you lose someone in your life, just remember that perhaps, there's not enough space in your heart to keep all the people stay there, so,

You lose some, you'll gain some. 

Don't stuck your mind on what hurts, from what hurts, you learn.
From what's saddening your mind, you learn to be strong. 
Even if you're sad, it won't last forever.

So why not choose to be happy instead? 

Have You (Really) Grown Up?

What is exactly the meaning of growing up?

Does it means to start differentiate which one is good or which one is bad, to be legal to drink alcohol, to be able to go out with friends until midnight and having to put make up on our faces already because we start being aware with our appearances cause that's when we start falling in love?

That's?

When i was a little girl i always wanted to be a grown up. Seeing my mom going to her office wearing her perfect suites, high heels on, make up and lipstick, that was my dream. I can't wait to be a grown up so my parents would let me go out with my friends just like my cousins did with their friends. I always wanted to be able to drive car by myself and putting cool musics on and just, act cool inside the car.  Always wondered when will i start wearing senior high school uniform and start dating a guy just like in a movie. Then again i started wondering when will i enter university and start acting like a real grown ups. And so on, and so on.

I used to think that to be a grown up was just to look good and to behave like a grown ups.

Never thought it would be this hard complex.

When we start being a real grown ups, life becomes full of complexity. Either the complexity are actually made by our own mind or indeed sometimes life and everything in it are so complex.

Growing up can be different meaning for each person since we live our lives differently.

When i said that when we grow up life becomes more complex, if i had to define what i meant about complexity is, that when everythings are mixed up as one, either differences, problems, even love sometimes.

As we grow up, we learn that sometimes things not go as the way that we wanted them to be, we learn that in life there are so many things, so many people, so many thoughts that sometimes no matter we like it or not, we just had to deal with. We learn to accept differences, we've taught about pressures, we learn everything from what we see, what we read, what we hear.


How do i measure my maturity level? By admit that i am now 22 years old and i've got myself considered as a grown up?

I think.. (and based on what i read)

•  We have grown up when we have our way of thinking and we can have our thoughts. We care what we care, we care what others think about us, but most importantly we care we what we think we are best. 

•  We have grown up when we can accept people's opinion wisely instead of getting angry for what we don't agree. We learn to appreciate people because that is how life works.

•   We have grown up when we start differentiate what's good and what's best for ourselves. Not in general, but more for ourselves. We learn to be responsible for every action that we take. 

•  We have grown up when we think, before we act. When we taste our mouth before we spit it out. 

•  We have grown up when we make mistakes and learn from it instead of making the same mistake happens for twice. 

•   We have grown up when we can accept that life is not only bout sweetness, but pain is a part of it too. You might cry and ask why pain coming to you but afterall you think and try to understand what caused the pain and learn from it instead. 

•  We  have grown up when we start acting wiser instead of being selfish. Remember that world is so wide and it's not only us living on it. 

•  We have grown up when we don't hold a grudge. Thinking that when someone hurt you, you gotta hurt them back is just like going around the same wheels over and over again. 

•  We have grown up when we start being able to control our emotions and not being controlled by our emotions. 

•   We have grown up when we can accept every facts in this world. No matter how hard it is. Like, we gotta learn to accept the fact that we all are going to die, someone we love might leave us, something we like might lost and so on. Life can be so bitter sometimes and we just have to deal with it. 

• We have grown up when we learn about love. When we learn that love is something so precious. When we are happy being in love. When we are okay loving someone and not having them love us back cause we know that real love is not demanding. When we are happy seeing the person that we love being happy. When we learn that love is something so sincere and so pure that comes within. When we realize that love is not hurting cause we are not expecting anything from love. Cause we just simply loving without expecting anything. When we don't get hurt cause nothing to get hurted about. Cause we learn about how wonderful love is. Love, is, love. 

•   We have grown up when we understand about life and values. Not about money, but, life values.

Those, some thoughts about how grown ups are actually perhaps live their lifes.


And if i had to be asked but how i think myself, i questioned myself about expectations. I questioned myself a lot about love. I questioned how i was so easy writing that love is not expecting anything in return when me myself expecting so much in return till i get hurt? I questioned my feeling.

I wish i could be a real grown up that i can accept every facts that happens in my world.
I wish i could grow my thoughts and my mind to be more enlighten.
I wish i could learn more about what i have wrote.
I wish i could start loving without expecting anything in return, cause that's how real love works.
I wish my life for the best.

People Come and Go, But We Don't Stop Moving

Well, as much as we hope it weren't so, but this is life. Someone that we have loved with all of our hearts one day can, quite literally, dissapear from our lives the next. It's just simply the matter of time. Not even a death, if i can say, circumstance. Who can possibly take a best friend, a lover or whoever, never to be seen again. So does things, they come and go. Today you might have a lot of money like you can buy a nice car by cash and tomorrow you don't even have money to eat. As simple as that. And as real as that.

Indeed sometimes fact can be scary.

But don't forget that if we lose something, there must be something bigger awaits for us in the future. 

Life keeps on turning, people come and go, but we keep on going.  

What Mother Theresa Said

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”
― Mother Teresa

Remember This

Hey.
I feel kinda sad never updated anything here in so so long period of time. The internet connection at home was super sucks even it has been fixed but it screws still so, anyways, i'm in the middle of my thesis working right now but i just somehow gotten myself so excited about saying something here. Don't worry, dear thesis i'm gonna go back to you as soon as i done this. I'm on my chapter 4 already anyway so please God please give me super mega boom power to get it done as super soon as Your possible way to make it (and oh, my struggle ofcourse). 

Alright. 
Sooo lately i feel so lucky cause i am surrounded with great great inspiring people which they are my friends from exchange youth alumni. It's the second year i am blessed to be a part of them and sharing our learnings and learn and learn. I am not that kind of person who learn (much) by reading, or by watching news or well if i can say, from mass media then. Well, i read newspaper every morning i wake up, i watch news on TV every night before i sleep, the thing is i don't read book that much. Which is everybody knows that book really helps you to grow and to learn things that you want to learn since book are so complete though. But this part about saying books are helping to learn and to grow somehow i found it a bit different in me. I mean, here's the thing. As i told you before that i am currently surrounded by great people, by any means that sharing things and learn from each others experiences are for me, the best learning-effective-not boring-method ever. 

Isn't it?

I mean, here, to communicate is human's way to keep living and to socialize with their surroundings, right? You can read book, you can watch TV, but in the end you will still communicate anyways either way you talk or you communicate non verbally, doesn't matter. But as i said, learning by communicate is the most effective way to learn is because you do it naturally even sometimes you learn without you intend to do it. So it's just like the more you talk, the more you communicate, the more information you can get. And it's obvious. 

So what i want to emphasize here is that don't be afraid to talk, to ask, and to share things that you feel comfortable to share with.

Cause every place is a school and every person is a teacher. 

Have a good day!

It's Good Cause I Choose To Make It That Way ☺

 Today another start has come again..

I woke up this morning and i'm telling myself from the first that today is going to be good. 

Then i started myself smiling.

By that i know that the strongest power in this entire universe is come within,

from you yourself. 

So why not keep the good power burn, every single day? 

XO, Meilia

Things Aren't Quite Like What They Used To Be

♫ Cause this pain i feel it won't go away, and today i'm officially missing you..♫

People come, people go.

Life brings you down, life gets you up.

I rarely talk about love for serious this far cause i just somehow narrowly think that talks about love seems so serious and spoil, and it's all about blue feeling, sadness, heart broken and so on. 

But excuse me this time to talk about it, i wonder what is love actually?

I had a good relationship with a guy that i once made me feel like i could spend everyday with him without feeling bored at all. You know that kind of feeling you feel when you're around someone and you feel like you can be who you are and you can do anything without feeling afraid that he'll leaves you because you do silly things, you look ugly and stupid? I had that. I thought loving is a feeling of being loved unconditionally.

For my own thinking, commitment is not something that we need to make that official. Like, choosing a right date for our anniversary and you will ask will you be mine and i say yes, and we're officially being a couple, that day where we confess our feeling we mark that as our special date. No, i'm not that kind of person. For me, having someone who always be there for me 24 hours/day and having him to love me unconditionally, i love him back in return, for me that's enough. 

But maybe not everyone agree that way.

I had this thing going on nicely until realizing that relationship without commitment is like a dream without goals. It's like walking without direction, just keep going and if it's dead end, then we're dead. As hard as it sounded and so we're indeed dead.

If one person leaves, how could a relationship stays?

Things are never be as easy as a wink when one person left and just like a sudden everythings changing. Life's change, habits that we gotta left behind, everything. 

How come one simple problem could turn to a very dramatical separation? I asked.  

The anwer is yours, either it's mine yet i'm still questioning. Again, commitment that never came out from our mouth? Broken promises, or what? 

One person made me loves and i don't demand, i get hurted but i won't cry. Thought love is fair, it will be nicer in time. True love will find their way. Path. Destiny. God's way. I put my faith with them.