Sari's posts with tag: for our souls
Posted by Sari on May 24, '07 1:37 AM for everyone
> > A Woman and a Fork .....
There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her Rabbi and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
> >
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the Rabbi was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her."There's one more thing," she said excitedly."What's that?" came the Rabbi's reply."This is very important,"the young woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."The Rabbi stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say."That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked. "Well,to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the Rabbi. The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and from there on out, I have always done so. I have also, always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement.
In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the fork?" Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork ..the best is yet to come."
The Rabbi's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.
> > At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the Rabbi heard the question "what's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the Rabbi told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The Rabbi told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
> > He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.
Friends are a very rare jewel indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your fiends how much you care. Remember to always be there for them, even when you need them more. For you never know when it may be their time to "Keep your fork." Cherish the time you have, and > the memories you share... being friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility.
Posted by Sari on Feb 14, '07 3:27 AM for everyone 
Louise Redden, seorang ibu kumuh dengan baju kumal, masuk ke dalam sebuah
supermarket. Dengan sangat terbata-bata dan dengan bahasa yang sopan ia
memohon agar diperbolehkan mengutang.
Ia memberitahukan bahwa suaminya sedang sakit dan sudah seminggu
tidakbekerja. Ia memiliki tujuh anak yang sangat membutuhkan makan.
John Longhouse, si pemilik supermarket, mengusir dia keluar. Sambil terus
menggambarkan situasi keluarganya, si ibu terus menceritakan tentang
keluarganya. " Tolonglah, Pak, Saya janji akan segera membayar setelah saya
punya uang."
John Longhouse tetap tidak mengabulkan permohonan tersebut. "Anda tidak
mempunyai kartu kredit, anda tidak mempunyai garansi," alasannya.
Di dekat counter pembayaran, ada seorang pelanggan lain, yang dari awal
mendengarkan percakapan tadi. Dia mendekati keduanya dan berkata: "Saya
akan bayar semua yang diperlukan Ibu ini."
Karena malu, si pemilik toko akhirnya mengatakan, " Tidak perlu, Pak. Saya
sendiri akan memberikannya dengan gratis. "Baiklah, apakah ibu membawa
daftar belanja?" " Ya, Pak. Ini," katanya sambil menunjukkan sesobek kertas
kumal.. " Letakkanlah daftar belanja anda di dalam timbangan, dan saya akan
memberikan gratis belanjaan anda sesuai dengan berat timbangan tersebut."
Dengan sangat ragu-ragu dan setengah putus asa, Louise menundukkan kepala
sebentar, menuliskan sesuatu pada kertas kumal tersebut, lalu dengan kepala
tetap tertunduk, meletakkannya ke dalam timbangan. Mata Si pemilik toko
terbelalak melihat jarum timbangan bergerak cepat ke bawah. Ia menatap
Pelanggan yang tadi menawarkan si ibu tadi sambil berucap kecil, "Aku tidak
percaya pada yang aku lihat."
Si pelanggan baik hati itu hanya tersenyum. Lalu, si ibu kumal tadi
mengambil barang-barang yang diperlukan, dan disaksikan oleh pelanggan baik
hati tadi, si Pemilik toko menaruh belanjaan tsb pada sisi timbangan yang
lain. Jarum timbangan tidak kunjung berimbang, Sehingga si ibu terus
mengambil barang-barang keperluannya dan sipemilik toko terus menumpuknya
pada timbangan, hingga tidak muat lagi.. Si Pemilik toko merasa sangat
jengkel dan tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa. Karena tidak tahan, Si pemilik toko
diam-diam mengambil sobekan kertas daftar belanja si ibu kumal tadi. Dan
ia-pun terbelalak.
Di atas kertas kumal itu tertulis sebuah doa pendek: "Tuhan, Engkau tahu
apa yang hamba perlukan. Hamba menyerahkan segalanya ke dalam tanganMu."
Si Pemilik Toko terdiam. Si Ibu, Louise, berterimakasih kepadanya, dan
meninggalkan toko dengan belanjaan gratisnya. Si pelanggan baik hati bahkan
memberikan selembar uang 50 dollar kepadanya.
Si Pemilik Toko kemudian mencek dan menemukan bahwa timbangan yang dipakai
tersebut ternyata rusak.
Ternyata memang hanya Tuhan yang tahu bobot sebuah doa.
KEKUATAN SEBUAH DOA Segera setelah anda membaca cerita ini, ucapkanlah
sebuah doa..Hanya itu saja. Stop pekerjaan anda sekarang juga dan ucapkan
sebuah doa kepada Tuhan yang maha pengasih dan penyayang.
Lalu kirimkanlah kepada sahabat-sahabat anda Biarlah jaringan ini tidak
terputus, karena:
DOA ADALAH HADIAH TERBESAR DAN TERINDAH YANG KITA TERIMA.
 Posted by Sari on Feb 14, '07 3:26 AM for everyone 
Doa berawal dari hati yang gelisah ...
Dengarkanlah gejolaknya.
Doa adalah suatu kerinduan terhadap rumah kita yang sebenarnya ...
Ikutilah bimbingannya.
Doa itu seperti kebun ...
Peliharalah maka doa akan berbuah.
Doa bisa dilakukan dengan berbagai cara ...
Lakukanlah sesuai dengan cara Anda.
Berdoalah selalu, tapi jadwalkan juga waktu khusus ...
Roh, seperti halnya badan, membutuhkan latihan-latihan teratur.
Berdoalah di mana saja Anda berada ...
Tuhan ada di mana-mana.
Jika Anda menginginkan sesuatu, bertanyalah pada diri Anda sendiri, "Apakah
saya menginginkan hal yang dikehendaki Tuhan?"
Tuhan menghendaki kebaikan sejati Anda.
Bila doa Anda menjadi kering dan rutin, teruskan saja ...
Tanah yang kering kerontang menyambut datangnya hujan.
Bawalah kemarahan Anda dalam doa ...
Logam yang panas bisa dibentuk.
Bila Anda berdosa dan terus menerus jatuh, berdoalah ...
Tuhan tetap mencintai Anda.
Berdoalah bila Anda cemas ...
Doa membuat segala sesuatu bisa dipikirkan dan dipertimbangkan secara sehat.
Bila karena sesuatu hal Anda tidak bisa berdoa, bersantailah ...
Keinginan untuk berdoa itu sudah merupakan doa.
Bila doa mengajak Anda untuk mengambil resiko, beranilah ...
Tuhan akan mendukung Anda.
Bila Anda merasa sedih atau menyesal, menangislah ...
Airmata adalah doa dari hati.
Jika Anda tidak menyukai seseorang, berdoalah untuknya ...
Doa mengungkapkan Tuhan yang tersembunyi.
Bila Anda menerima kabar buruk, tegarlah ...
Doa memberi cahaya.
Bila penyakit, usia, kepedihan, atau kecemasan merusak konsentrasi Anda,
bersantailah ...
Tuhan adalah seorang sahabat yang penuh pengertian.
Jika doa membuat Anda jadi pasif dan acuh tak acuh, itu bukanlah doa ...
Doa sejati akan membuahkan kepedulian dan pelayanan.
Gunakanlah saat-saat tenang untuk berdoa ...
Ketenangan menarik Anda kepada Sang Maha Besar.
Gunakanlah saat-saat ribut untuk berdoa ...
Kegaduhan adalah hiruk-pikuk ciptaan yang mencari Tuhan.
Berdoalah bila Anda merasa kesepian ...
Doa membuat Anda ditemani oleh para malaikat.
Bila hidup ini terasa kejam dan tak adil, berdoalah terus ...
Tuhan adalah karenanya, bukan penyebabnya.
Bila hati Anda penuh dengan rasa syukur, biarkanlah demikian ...
Roh Allah sedang berdoa di dalam diri Anda.
Bila Anda terpesona di hadapan misteri, biarkanlah demikian ...
Roh Allah sedang berdoa di dalam diri Anda.
Cakuplah seluruh dunia dalam doa Anda ...
Perdamaian tergantung padanya.
Berdoalah dalam tidurmu ...
Tidur adalah doa dari manusia yang merasa aman dari cinta Tuhan.
Berdoa adalah bernafas ...
Lakukanlah dalam-dalam dan Anda akan dipenuhi dengan kehidupan.
Bila Anda mulai merasa maju dalam kehidupan doa, pikirkan sekali lagi ...
Kehidupan Tuhan itu lebih dalam daripada perasaan dan pengalaman Anda.
Doa dasar dari segala sesuatu yang akan kita perbuat ...
DIA hanya sejauh doa. (Anonim)
Posted by Sari on Dec 3, '06 10:13 PM for everyone  “Oh Tuhan ....ijinkan hamba dekat dengan-MU”
Seorang lelaki berdoa: “Oh Tuhan ... ujinkanlah hamba dekat dengan-Mu”
Tiba-tiba guntur mengggelegar. Tetapi ia tak mendengarnya, dan terus khusuk berdoa.
“Oh Tuhan ... ujinkanlah hamba dekat dengan-Mu”; Doanya lagi.
Sekuntum mawarpun mekar tepat di hadapannya. Tapi saking khusuknya ia tertunduk berdoa, iapun tidak melihatnya.
“Oh Tuhan ... ujinkanlah hamba menyentuh-Mu”; doanya kian memelas,
sembari mengibas seekor kupu-kupu cantik yang hinggap di lengannya.
Diterjemahkan oleh Gung Dé dari Spiritual Jokes (Buddhist and Theosophist)
*********************************************
Kalau Anda bisa mengerti, Anda bisa memaklumi.
Kalau Anda bisa memaklumi, Anda bisa bersabar.
~anonymous 211106 -05.
* dari milis awareness: copy paste dari anattagotama Posted by Sari on Dec 1, '06 1:17 AM for everyone 
Beloved Osho,
Can You say something about death and the art of dying?
Deva Vandana, the first thing to be known about death is that death
is a lie. Death exists not; it is one of the most illusory things.
Death is the shadow of another lie -- the name of that other lie is
the ego. Death is the shadow of the ego. Because the ego is, death
appears to be there.
The secret of knowing death, of understanding death, is not in death
itself. You will have to go deeper into the existence of the ego. You
will have to look, watch, observe, be aware of what this ego is. And
the day you have found that there is no ego, that there has never
been -- it appeared only because you were not aware, it appeared only
because you were keeping your own existence in darkness -- the day it
is understood that the ego is a creation of an unconscious mind, the
ego disappears and simultaneously death disappears.
The real you is eternal. Life is neither born nor dies. The ocean
continues, waves come and go -- but what are waves? Just forms, the
wind playing with the ocean. Waves have no substantial existence. So
are we, waves, playthings.
But if we look deep down into the wave there is an ocean, and the
eternal depth of it and the unfathomable mystery of it. Look deep
down into your own being and you will find the ocean. And that ocean
is; the ocean always is. You cannot say, "It was," you cannot
say, "It will be." You can only use one tense for it, the present
tense: it is.
This is the whole search of religion. The search is to find that
which truly is. We have accepted things which really are not, and the
greatest and the most central of them is the ego. And of course it
casts a big shadow -- that shadow is death.
Those who try to understand death directly will never be able to
penetrate into the mystery of it. They will be fighting with
darkness. Darkness is nonexistential, you cannot fight with it. Bring
light, and the darkness is no more.
How can we know the ego? Bring a little more awareness to your
existence. Each act has to be done less automatically than you have
been doing up to now, and you have the key. If you are walking, don't
walk like a robot. Don't go on walking as you have always walked,
don't do it mechanically. Bring a little awareness to it, slow down,
let each step be taken in full consciousness.
Buddha used to say to his disciples that when you raise your left
foot, deep down say "Left." When you raise your right foot, deep down
say "Right." First say it, so that you can become acquainted with
this new process. Then slowly slowly let the words disappear; just
remember "Left, right, left, right."
Try it in small acts. You are not supposed to do big things. Eating,
taking a bath, swimming, walking, talking, listening, cooking your
food, washing your clothes -- deautomatize the processes. Remember
the word deautomatization; that is the whole secret of becoming aware.
The mind is a robot. The robot has its utility; this is the way the
mind functions. You learn something; when you learn it, in the
beginning you are aware. For example, if you learn swimming you are
very alert, because life is in danger. Or if you learn to drive a car
you are very alert. You have to be alert. You have to be careful
about many things -- the steering wheel, the road, the people passing
by, the accelerator, the brake, the clutch. You have to be aware of
everything. There are so many things to remember, and you are
nervous, and it is dangerous to commit a mistake. It is so dangerous,
that's why you have to keep aware. But the moment you have learned
driving, this awareness will not be needed. Then the robot part of
your mind will take it over.
That's what we call learning. Learning something means it has been
transferred from consciousness to the robot. That's what learning is
all about. Once you have learned a thing it is no more part of the
conscious, it has been delivered to the unconscious. Now the
unconscious can do it; now your consciousness is free to learn
something else.
This is in itself tremendously significant. Otherwise you will remain
learning a single thing your whole life. The mind is a great servant,
a great computer. Use it, but remember that it should not overpower
you. Remember that you should remain capable of being aware, that it
should not possess you in toto, that it should not become all and
all, that a door should be left open from where you can come out of
the robot.
That opening of the door is called meditation. But remember, the
robot is so skillful, it can even take meditation into its control.
Once you have learned it, the mind says, "Now you need not be worried
about it, I am capable of doing it. I will do it, you leave it to me."
And the mind is skillful; it is a very beautiful machine, it
functions well. In fact all our science, together with all our so-
called progress in knowledge, has not yet been able to create
something so sophisticated as the human mind. The greatest computers
in existence are still rudimentary compared to the mind.
The mind is simply a miracle.
But when something is so powerful, there is danger in it. You can be
hypnotized so much by it and its power that you can lose your soul.
If you have completely forgotten how to be aware, then the ego is
created.
Ego is the state of utter unawareness. The mind has taken possession
of your whole being; it has spread like a cancer all over you,
nothing is left out. The ego is the cancer of the inner, the cancer
of the soul.
And the only remedy, the only remedy I say, is meditation. Then you
start reclaiming a few territories from the mind. And the process is
difficult but exhilarating, the process is difficult but enchanting,
the process is difficult but challenging, thrilling. It will bring a
new joy into your life. When you reclaim territory back from the
robot you will be surprised that you are becoming a totally new
person, that your being is renewed, that this is a new birth.
And you will be surprised that your eyes see more, your ears hear
more, your hands touch more, your body feels more, your heart loves
more -- everything becomes more. And more not only in the sense of
quantity but in the sense of quality too. You not only see more
trees, you see trees more deeply. The green of the trees becomes
greener -- not only that, but it becomes luminous. Not only that, but
the tree starts having an individuality of its own. Not only that,
but you can have a communion with existence now.
And the more territories that are reclaimed, the more and more your
life becomes psychedelic and colorful. You are then a rainbow -- the
whole spectrum; all the notes of music -- the whole octave. Your life
becomes richer, multidimensional, has depth, has height, has
tremendously beautiful valleys and has tremendously beautiful sunlit
peaks. You start expanding. As you reclaim parts from the robot, you
start coming alive. For the first time you are turned on.
This is the miracle of meditation; this is something not to be
missed. The people who miss it have not lived at all. And to know
life in such intensity, in such ecstasy, is to know that there is no
death. Not to know life creates death; ignorance of life creates
death.
To know life is to know there is no death, there never has been.
Nobody has ever died, I declare, and nobody is ever going to die.
Death is impossible in the very nature of things -- only life is.
Yes, life goes on changing forms; one day you are this, another day
you are something else. Where is the child you once were? Has the
child died? Can you say that the child has died? The child has not
died, but then where is the child? The form has changed. The child is
still there in its essentiality, but now you have become a young man
or a young woman. The child is there with all its beauty; it has been
superimposed by new riches.
And then one day you will become old. Then where is your youth? Died?
No, again something more has happened. Old age has brought its own
crop, old age has brought its own wisdom, old age has brought its own
beauties.
The child is innocent, that is his core. The youth is overflowing
with energy, that is his core. And the old man has seen all, lived
all, known all; wisdom has arisen, that is his core. But his wisdom
contains something of his youth; it is also overflowing, it is
radiant, it is vibrant, it is pulsating, it is alive. And it also has
something of the child; it is innocent.
If the old man is not young also, then he has only aged, he is not
old. He has grown in time, in age, but he is not grown-up. He has
missed. If the old man is not innocent like the child, if his eyes
don't show that crystal clarity of innocence, then he has not yet
lived.
If you live totally, cunningness and cleverness disappear, and trust
arises. These are the criteria to know whether one has lived or not.
The child never dies but only is metamorphosed. The youth never dies,
there is only a new mutation again. And do you think the old man
dies? Yes, the body disappears because it has served its purpose, but
the consciousness continues the journey.
If death was a reality, existence would be utterly absurd, existence
would be mad. If Buddha dies, that means such beautiful music, such
splendor, such grace, such beauty, such poetry, disappears from
existence. Then the existence is very stupid. Then what is the point?
Then how is growth possible? Then how is evolution possible?
Buddha is a rare gem, it happens only once in a while. Millions of
people try, and then one person becomes a buddha -- and then he dies
and all is finished, so what is the point?
No, Buddha cannot die. He is absorbed; he is absorbed by the whole.
He continues. Now the continuity is bodiless, because he has become
so expanded that no body can contain him except the body of the
universe itself. He has become so oceanic that it is not possible to
have small manifestations. Now he can exist only in essence. He can
exist only as a fragrance, not as a flower. He cannot have a form, he
can only exist as a formless intelligence of existence.
The world has grown more and more intelligent. Before Buddha it was
not so intelligent, something was missing. Before Jesus it was not so
intelligent, before Mohammed it was not so intelligent. They have all
contributed. If you understand rightly, God is not something that has
happened, but is happening.
God is happening every day. Buddha has created something, Mahavira
has created something, Patanjali has created something, Lao Tzu,
Zarathustra, Atisha, Tilopa -- they have all contributed.
God is being created. Let your hearts be thrilled that you can become
a creator of God! You have been told again and again that God created
the world.
I would like to tell you: we are creating God every day.
And you can see the changes. If you look in the Old Testament, the
words that the God of the Old Testament utters look so ugly.
Something seems to be very primitive. The God of the Old Testament
says, "I am a very jealous God." Can you think of God being
jealous? "Those who don't follow me should be crushed and thrown into
hellfire. Those who don't obey me, great revenge will be taken on
them."
Can you think of these words being uttered by Buddha? No, the concept
of God is being polished every day. The God of Moses is rudimentary;
the God of Jesus is far more sophisticated, far more cultured. As man
becomes cultured, his God becomes cultured. As man has more
understanding, his God has more understanding, because your God
represents you.
The God of Moses is law, the God of Jesus is love. The God of Buddha
is compassion, the God of Atisha is utter emptiness and silence.
We are searching for new dimensions of God, we are adding new
dimensions to God, God is being created. You are not just a seeker,
you are also a creator. And the future will know far better visions
of God.
Buddha does not die, he disappears into our concept of God. Jesus
melts into the ocean of our God. And the people who are not yet
awakened, they also don't die. They have to come back again and again
into some form, because the only possibility of being awakened is
through forms.
The world is a context for becoming awakened, an opportunity.
Remember Atisha. He says, "Don't wait for the opportunity" -- because
the world is the opportunity; we are already in it. The world is an
opportunity to learn. It looks paradoxical; time is the opportunity
to learn the eternal, the body is the opportunity to learn the
bodiless, matter is the opportunity to learn consciousness, sex is
the opportunity to learn samadhi. The whole existence is an
opportunity. Anger is the opportunity to learn compassion, greed is
the opportunity to learn sharing, and death is the opportunity to go
into the ego and see "whether I am or I am not. If I am, then maybe
death is possible." But if you find for yourself that "I am not,"
that there is pure emptiness inside, that there is nobody -- if you
can feel that nobodiness inside you, where is death? What is death?
Who can die?
Vandana, your question is significant. You ask, "Can you say
something about death?" Only one thing, that death is not.
And you ask "... and the art of dying?" When there is no death, how
are you going to learn the art of dying? You will have to live the
art of living. If you know how to live, you will know everything
about life and about death. But you will have to approach the
positive.
Never make the negative the object of your study, because the
negative is not there. You can go on and on and you will never arrive
anywhere. Try to understand what light is, not darkness. Try to
understand what life is, not death. Try to understand what love is,
not hate.
If you go into hate you will never understand it, because hate is
only the absence of love. So is darkness the absence of light. How
can you understand absence? If you want to understand me, you have to
understand me, not my absence. If you want to study this chair, this
chair has to be studied -- not that when Asheesh has taken it away,
you start studying the absence. What will you study?
Always be alert, never get hooked into anything negative. Many people
go on studying negative things; their energies are simply wasted.
There is no art of dying. Or, the art of living is the art of dying.
Live!
But your so-called religious people have been teaching you not to
live. They are the creators of death. In a very indirect way they
have created death, because they have made you so afraid of living.
Everything is wrong. Life is wrong, the world is wrong, the body is
wrong, love is wrong, relationship is wrong, enjoying anything is
wrong. They have made you so guilty about everything, so condemnatory
of everything, that you cannot live. And when you cannot live, what
is left? The absence, the absence of life -- and that is death. And
then you are trembling, trembling before something which is not,
which is your own creation. And because you start trembling in great
fear of death, the priest becomes very powerful. He says, "Don't be
worried, I am here to help you. Follow me. I will save you from hell
and I will take you to heaven. And those who are within my fold will
be saved, and nobody else will be saved."
Christians go on saying the same thing to people: "Unless you are a
Christian you cannot be saved. Only Jesus will save you. The day of
judgment is coming closer, and on the day of judgment, those who are
with Jesus, he will recognize them, he will sort them out. And the
others, millions and millions, will be simply thrown into hell for
eternity. Remember, there is no escape; for eternity they will be
thrown into hell."
And the same is the attitude of other religions. But out of fear
people start clinging to something, whatsoever is available in the
close vicinity. If you are accidentally born in a Hindu home or a
Jaina or a Jewish home, you become a Jew or a Jaina or a Hindu, as
the case may be. Whatsoever is available close by, the child starts
clinging to it.
My approach is totally different. I don't say be afraid -- that is
the strategy of the priest, that is his trade secret. I say there is
nothing to fear, because God is in you. There is nothing to fear.
Live life fearlessly, live each moment as intensely as possible.
Intensity has to be remembered. And if you don't live any moment
intensely, then what happens? Your mind hankers for repetition.
You love a woman, your mind hankers for repetition. Why? Why do you
hanker for the same experience again and again? You eat certain food,
you enjoy it, now you hanker for the same food again and again. Why?
The reason is that whatsoever you do, you never do it totally. Hence
something remains discontented in you. If you do it totally, there
will be no hankering for repetition and you will be searching for the
new, exploring the unknown. You will not move in a vicious circle,
your life will become a growth. Ordinarily people only go on moving
in circles. They appear to move, but they only appear to.
Growth means you are not moving in a circle, that something new is
happening every day, every moment really. And when does that become
possible? Whenever you start living intensely.
I would like to teach you how to eat intensely and totally, how to
love intensely and totally, how to do small things with such utter
ecstasy that nothing is left behind. If you laugh, let the laughter
shake your very foundations. If you cry, become tears; let your heart
be poured out through tears. If you hug somebody, then become the
hug. If you kiss somebody, then be just the lips, then be just the
kiss. And you will be surprised how much you have been missing, how
much you have missed, how you have lived up to now in a lukewarm way.
I can teach you the art of living; that implies the art of dying, you
need not learn it separately. The man who knows how to live, knows
how to die. The man who knows how to fall in love, knows when the
moment has come to fall out of it. He falls out of it gracefully,
with a goodbye, with gratitude -- but only the man who knows how to
love.
People don't know how to love, and then they don't know how to say
goodbye when the time has come to say it. If you love you will know
that everything begins and everything ends, and there is a time for
beginning and there is a time for ending, and there is no wound in
it. One is not wounded, one simply knows the season is over. One is
not in despair, one simply understands, and one thanks the
other, "You gave me so many beautiful gifts. You gave me new visions
of life, you opened a few windows I might never have opened on my
own. Now the time has come that we separate and our ways part." Not
in anger, not in rage, not with a grudge, not with any complaint, but
with tremendous gratitude, with great love, with thankfulness in the
heart.
If you know how to love, you will know how to separate. Your
separation will also have a beauty and a grace. And the same is the
case with life; if you know how to live, you will know how to die.
Your death will be tremendously beautiful.
The death of Socrates is tremendously beautiful, the death of Buddha
is tremendously beautiful. The day Buddha died, in the morning he
gathered all his disciples, all his sannyasins, and told them, "The
last day has come now, my boat has arrived and I have to leave. And
this has been a beautiful journey, a beautiful togetherness. If you
have any questions to ask, you can ask them, because I will not be
available to you physically anymore."
A great silence fell on the disciples, a great sadness. And Buddha
laughed and said, "Don't be sad, because that's what I have been
teaching you again and again -- everything that begins, ends. Now let
me teach you by my death too. As I have been teaching you through my
life, let me teach you through my death too."
Nobody could gather the courage to ask a question. Their whole life
they had asked thousands and thousands of questions, and this was not
a moment to ask anything; they were not in the mood, they were crying
and weeping.
So Buddha said, "Goodbye. If you don't have any questions then I will
depart." He sat under the tree with closed eyes and he disappeared
from the body. In the Buddhist tradition, this is called "the first
meditation" -- to disappear from the body. It means to disidentify
yourself from the body, to know totally and absolutely, "I am not the
body."
A question is bound to arise in your mind: had Buddha not known it
before? He had known it before, but a person like Buddha then has to
create some device so that just a little bit of him remains connected
with the body. Otherwise he would have died long before -- forty-two
years before he would have died. The day his enlightenment happened,
he would have died. Out of compassion he created a desire, the desire
to help people. It is a desire, and it keeps you attached to the body.
He created a desire to help people. "Whatsoever I have known, I have
to share." If you want to share, you will have to use the mind and
the body. That small part remained attached.
Now he cuts even that small root in the body; he becomes
disidentified from the body. The first meditation complete, the body
is left. Then the second meditation: the mind is dropped. He had
dropped the mind long before; as a master it was dropped, but as a
servant it was still used. Now it is not even needed as a servant, it
is utterly dropped, totally dropped.
And then the third meditation: he dropped his heart. It had been
needed up to now, he had been functioning through his heart;
otherwise compassion would not have been possible. He had been the
heart; now he disconnects from the heart.
When these three meditations are completed, the fourth happens. He is
no more a person, no more a form, no more a wave. He disappears into
the ocean. He becomes that which he had always been, he becomes that
which he had known forty-two years before but had been somehow
managing to delay, in order to help people.
His death is a tremendous experiment in meditation. And it is said
that many who were present, just seeing him moving, slowly slowly....
First they saw the body was no more the same; something had happened,
the aliveness had disappeared from the body. The body was there, but
like a statue. Those who were more perceptive, more meditative, they
immediately saw that now the mind had been dropped and there was no
mind inside. Those who were even more perceptive could see that the
heart was finished. And those who were really on the verge of
buddhahood, seeing Buddha disappear, they also disappeared.
Many disciples became enlightened the day Buddha died, many -- just
seeing him dying. They had watched him living, they had seen his
life, but now came the crescendo, the climax. They saw him dying such
a beautiful death, such grace, such meditativeness... seeing it, many
were awakened.
To be with a buddha, to live with a buddha, to be showered by his
love, is a blessing. But the greatest blessing is to be present when
a buddha dies. You can simply ride on that energy, you can simply
take a quantum leap with that energy -- because Buddha is
disappearing, and if your love is great and your connection is deep,
it is bound to happen.
It is going to happen to many of my sannyasins. The day I disappear,
many of you are going to disappear with me.
Vivek again and again says to me, "I don't want to live a single
moment when you are gone." And I say to her, "Don't be worried. Even
if you want to live, you will not be able to." Just the other day,
Deeksha was saying to Vivek, "Once Osho is gone, I am gone." That is
true. But this is not only true about Vivek and Deeksha, this is true
of many of you. And this is not something that you have to do, it
will simply happen of its own accord. It will be a happening. But it
is possible only if you allow total trust to happen.
While I am alive, if you allow total trust to happen, then you can
move with me in my death too. But if there is a little doubt, you
will think, "But I have still not done many things and I have to live
my life. I know that it is sad that the master is leaving, and I know
it would have been far better if he was alive, but I have many things
to do, I have to live my life"... and a thousand and one desires. If
there is a little doubt, it will create a thousand and one desires.
But if there is no doubt, then the death of the master is the most
liberating experience that has ever happened on this earth.
Buddha was very fortunate to have great disciples. Jesus was not so
fortunate, his disciples were cowards. While he was dying they all
escaped. While he was on the cross they escaped miles away, in fear
that they might be caught. After three days, when the stone was
removed from in front of the tomb where his body was kept, there was
not a single one of the apostles; only Mary Magdalene the prostitute,
and another Mary -- two women -- had gathered courage.
The disciples were afraid that if they went to see what had happened
to the master's body or to take the master's body down, they might be
caught. Only two women had enough love. When Jesus' body was taken
down from the cross, then too, three women took the body down. All
those great apostles were not there.
Jesus was not very fortunate. And the reason is clear: he was
starting something new. In the East, buddhas have existed for
millions of years. The Western concept of time is not right, the
Western concept of time is very small, and it is because of
Christianity that it is very small. Christian theologians have even
calculated when the world was created -- the twenty-third of March. I
was wondering, why not the twenty-first? God missed by only two days!
On the twenty-third of March, four thousand and four years before
Christ, the world was created. A very small idea of time.
The world has existed for millions of years. Now science is coming
closer and closer to the Eastern concept of time. In the East,
buddhas have existed for thousands and thousands of years, so we know
how to be with a buddha -- how to live with him, how to trust him,
and how to be with him when he is dying, and how to die with him.
Much of it has been forgotten, by courtesy of Christianity and
Western education. The modern Indian is not Indian at all. It is very
difficult to find Indians in India, almost impossible. Only once in a
while do I come across an Indian. Sometimes it happens that people
who are coming from faraway countries are far more Indian than the so-
called Indians. Three hundred years of Western domination and Western
education have made the Indian mind completely disoriented.
The Western mind is coming closer and closer towards understanding
buddhas more than the Eastern mind itself does. And the reason is
that the West is getting fed up with technology and science, is
becoming more and more hopeless, and has seen that what science has
promised, it has not been able to fulfill. In fact it has seen that
all the revolutions have failed. And now there is only one revolution
left -- the inner, the revolution of the individual, the revolution
that is brought by inner transformation.
Indians are still hoping that with a little better technology, a
little better government, a little more money, a little more
production, things will all be perfectly okay. The Indian mind is
hoping, it is very materialistic. The modern Indian is more
materialistic than the people of any other country. The materialist
countries are fed up with materialism. It has failed; they are
disappointed and disillusioned.
So let me tell you, my sannyasins are more Indian. They may be
Germans, they may be Norwegians, they may be Dutch, they may be
Italians, French, English, Americans, Russians, Czechs, Japanese,
Chinese, but they are far more Indian.
Journalists again and again come and ask, "Why don't we see more
Indians here?" And I say, "They are all Indians! There are just a few
foreigners -- just those few whom you think are Indians, just those
few foreigners; otherwise they are all Indians."
To be an Indian has nothing to do with geography, it has something to
do with an inner approach towards reality. Modern India has forgotten
the ways of the Buddha, and has forgotten how to live with buddhas.
I am trying to reveal that treasure to you again. Let it sink deep in
your heart. The first principle is the art of living. Be life-
affirmative. Life is synonymous with God. You can drop the word god --
life IS God. Live with reverence, with great respect and gratitude.
You have not earned this life, it has been a sheer gift from the
beyond. Feel thankful and prayerful, and take as many bites of it as
possible and chew it well and digest it well.
Make your life an aesthetic experience. And not much is needed to
make it an aesthetic experience; just an aesthetic consciousness is
needed, a sensitive soul. Become more sensitive, more sensuous, and
you will become more spiritual.
Priests have almost poisoned your body into a state of death. You are
carrying paralyzed bodies and paralyzed minds and paralyzed souls --
you are moving on crutches. Throw away all those crutches! Even if
you have to fall and crawl on the ground, that is better than
clinging to crutches.
And experience life in all possible ways -- good-bad, bitter-sweet,
dark-light, summer-winter. Experience all the dualities. Don't be
afraid of experience, because the more experience you have, the more
mature you become. Search for all possible alternatives, move in all
directions, be a wanderer, a vagabond of the world of life and
existence. And don't miss any opportunity to live.
Don't look back. Only fools think of the past -- fools who do not
have the intelligence to live in the present. And only fools imagine
about the future, because they don't have the courage to live in the
present. Forget the past, forget the future, this moment is all. This
moment has to become your prayer, your love, your life, your death,
your everything. This is it.
And live courageously, don't be cowards. Don't think of consequences;
only cowards think of consequences. Don't be too result-oriented;
people who are result-oriented miss life. Don't think of goals,
because goals are always in the future and far away, and life is
herenow, close by.
And don't be too purposive. Let me repeat it: don't be too purposive.
Don't always bring in the idea, "What is the purpose of it?" because
that is a strategy created by your enemies, by the enemies of
humanity, to poison your very source of life. Ask the question, "What
is the purpose of it?" and everything becomes meaningless.
It is early morning, the sun is rising and the east is red with the
sun, and the birds are singing and the trees are waking up, and it is
all joy. It is a rejoicing, a new day has happened again. And you are
standing there asking the question, "What is the purpose of it?" You
miss, you miss it totally. You are simply disconnected.
A roseflower is dancing in the wind, so delicate and yet so strong,
so soft yet fighting with the strong wind, so momentary yet so
confident. Look at the roseflower. Have you ever seen any roseflower
nervous? So confident, so utterly confident, as if it is going to be
here forever. Just a moment's existence, and such trust in eternity.
Dancing in the wind, whispering with the wind, sending out its
fragrance -- and you are standing there asking the question, "What is
the purpose of it?"
You fall in love with a woman and ask the question, "What is the
purpose of it?" You are holding the hand of your beloved or your
friend, and asking the question, "What is the purpose of it?" And you
may still be holding hands, but now life has disappeared, your hand
is dead.
Raise the question, "What is the purpose?" and everything is
destroyed. Let me tell you, there is no purpose in life. Life is its
own purpose; it is not a means to some end, it is an end unto itself.
The bird on the wing, the rose in the wind, the sun rising in the
morning, the stars in the night, a man falling in love with a woman,
a child playing on the street... there is no purpose. Life is simply
enjoying itself, delighting in itself. Energy is overflowing,
dancing, for no purpose at all. It is not a performance, it is not a
business. Life is a love affair, it is poetry, it is music. Don't ask
ugly questions like, "What is the purpose?" because the moment you
ask it, you disconnect yourself from life. Life cannot be bridged by
philosophical questions. Philosophy has to be put aside.
Be poets of life, singers, musicians, dancers, lovers, and you will
know the real philosophy of life: PHILOSOPHIA PERENNIS.
And if you know how to live... and it is a simple art. The trees are
living and nobody is there to teach them. In fact they must be
laughing; seeing that you have asked such a question, they must be
giggling -- you may not be able to hear their giggle.
The whole existence is nonphilosophical. If you are philosophical,
then a gap arises between you and existence. Existence simply is, for
no purpose. And the person who really wants to live has to get rid of
this idea of purpose. If you start living without any purpose, with
intensity, totality, love and trust, when death comes, you will know
how to die -- because death is not the end of life, but only an
episode in life.
If you have known other things, if you have lived other things, you
will be able to live death too. The real man of understanding lives
his death as much as he lives his life, with the same intensity, with
the same thrill.
Socrates was so thrilled when he was going to be given poison. The
poison was being prepared outside his room. His disciples had
gathered; he was lying on the bed ready, because the time was coming
closer. At six o'clock, exactly as the sun sets, he would be given
the poison. People were not even breathing, the clock was coming
closer and closer to six o'clock, and this beautiful man would be
gone forever. And he had not committed any sin. His only sin was that
he used to tell the truth to people, that he was a teacher of truth,
that he would not compromise, that he would not bow down to the
stupid politicians. That was his only crime; he had not done any harm
to anybody. And Athens was to remain poorer forever.
In fact, with the death of Socrates, Athens died. Then it never had
the same glory again, never. It was such a crime, killing Socrates,
that Athens committed suicide. Greek culture never reached such a
height again. For a few days it continued, just echoes of Socrates --
because Plato was his disciple, just an echo. And Aristotle was
Plato's disciple, an echo of an echo. Slowly slowly, as the echoes of
Socrates disappeared, Greek culture disappeared from the world. It
had seen days of glory, but it committed suicide by murdering
Socrates.
His disciples were very much disturbed, but Socrates was thrilled,
just as a small child when you take him to the exhibition is so
thrilled by everything, each and everything is so incredible. He
would get up again and again and go to the window and ask the man who
was preparing the poison, "Why are you delaying? Now it is six
o'clock!"
And the man said, "Are you mad, Socrates, or something? I am delaying
just so that a beautiful man like you can stay a little longer. I
cannot delay forever, but this much I can do. A little bit more,
linger a little bit more! Why are you in such a hurry to die?"
Socrates said, "I have known life, I have lived life, I know the
taste of life. Now I am so curious about death! That's why I am in
such a hurry. I am pulsating with great joy -- the very idea that now
I am going to die, and I will be able to see what death is. I want to
taste death. I have tasted everything else, only one thing has
remained unknown. I have lived life and known all that life can give.
This is the last gift of life, and I am really intrigued."
The man who has lived, really lived, will know how to die.
Vandana, there is no art of death. The art of life is the art of
death, because death is not something separate from life. Death is
the highest peak of life, the Everest, the virgin-snow-covered sunlit
Everest. It is the most beautiful thing in existence.
But you can know the beauty of death only if you know the beauty of
life. Life prepares you for death. But people are not living at all;
they are hampered in every possible way from living. So they don't
know what life is, and consequently they will not know what death is.
Death is a lie. You don't end with it, you only take a turn. You move
on another road; you disappear from this road, you appear on another
road. If you are not yet awakened, not yet enlightened, then here you
die, there you are born. You disappear from one body and you appear
immediately in some womb, because millions of foolish people are
copulating all over the world -- they are just waiting for you! And
there are really so many that it is good that you die unconscious and
you choose the new womb unconsciously. If it was a conscious choice,
you would go crazy. How to choose? Whom to choose?
Unconsciously you die, unconsciously you are born into the closest
possible womb that fits with you. One body is gone, and another is
immediately formed.
But if you are enlightened.... And what do I mean by "enlightened"? I
mean if you have lived your life with awareness, and you have reached
the point of awareness where no dark spot of unconsciousness exists
in you, then there is no longer any womb for you. Then you enter into
the womb of God -- existence itself. That is liberation, moksha,
nirvana.
Osho - The Book of Wisdom
Posted by Sari on Nov 24, '06 2:52 AM for everyone  Richard Hoefler, in his book WILL DAYLIGHT COME? (1979, C S S
Publishing Company), tells about two young children visiting their
grandparents for the summer. Johnny was given his first slingshot. He
practiced shooting in the woods, but missed everything he aimed at.
As he returned to Grandma's back yard, however, he spied her pet
duck. It wasn't the only duck she kept, but it was her favorite. On
an impulse he took aim and let it fly. This time he didn't miss. His
stone struck and killed the duck.
The boy panicked. He didn't mean to hurt the bird -- he was even sure
he'd miss! But he had killed it. His panic grew to desperation and
he hid the duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister.
Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing to her grandparents.
After lunch that day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes."
Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today.
Didn't you Johnny?" She whispered to him, "Remember the duck."
(Blackmailed by his sister!) So Johnny did the dishes.
Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma
said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled
and said, "That's all taken care of, Johnny wants to do it." Again
she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went
fishing.
Johnny did both his chores and Sally's for several days, and could
stand it no longer. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the
duck.
She said, "I know Johnny." She gave him a big hug and added, "I was
standing at the window and saw the whole thing. But because I love
you, I forgave you. I just wondered how long you would let Sally make
a slave of you."
His grandmother was more ready to forgive then he was even to ask for
forgiveness. Similarly, we are surrounded by more grace than we may
realize. But a disturbing inner voice often whispers, "Remember the
duck. Remember the duck." Some people live their whole lives enslaved
by the voice that says, "Remember the duck." They never let
themselves be forgiven!
They don't know the meaning of deep peace. They are seldom free of
guilt and feel as if happiness only comes to others more deserving.
What does it matter if the whole world were to love us, and accept us
in spite of our failings, if we persist in feeling badly? Are you
sick of feeling sick about the mistakes of your past?
Maybe it's time to forget the duck! After you've done all you can to
rectify the past, then it's time to put it down. Forget the duck --
and be free.
__________
Life Support System Publishing, Inc. Posted by Sari on Nov 24, '06 1:53 AM for everyone  Kutu anjing adalah binatang yang mampu melompat 300 kali tinggi tubuhnya. Namun, apa yang terjadi bila ia dimasukan ke dalam sebuah kotak korek api kosong lalu dibiarkan disana selama satu hingga dua minggu? Hasilnya, kutu itu sekarang hanya mampu melompat setinggi kotak korek api saja! Kemampuannya melompat 300 kali tinggi tubuhnya tiba-tiba hilang.
Ini yang terjadi. Ketika kutu itu berada di dalam kotak korek api ia mencoba melompat tinggi. Tapi ia terbentur dinding kotak korek api. Ia mencoba lagi dan terbentur lagi. Terus begitu sehingga ia mulai ragu akan kemampuannya sendiri.
Ia mulai berpikir, "Sepertinya kemampuan saya melompat memang hanya segini." Kemudian loncatannya disesuaikan dengan tinggi kotak korek api. Aman. Dia tidak membentur. Saat itulah dia menjadi sangat yakin, "Nah benar kan? Kemampuan saya memang cuma segini. Inilah saya!"
Ketika kutu itu sudah dikeluarkan dari kotak korek api, dia masih terus merasa bahwa batas kemampuan lompatnya hanya setinggi kotak korek api. Sang kutu pun hidup seperti itu hingga akhir hayat. Kemampuan yang sesungguhnya tidak tampak. Kehidupannya telah dibatasi oleh lingkungannya.
Sesungguhnya di dalam diri kita juga banyak kotak korek api. Misalnya anda memiliki atasan yang tidak memiliki kepemimpinan memadai. Dia tipe orang yang selalu takut tersaingi bawahannya, sehingga dia sengaja menghambat perkembangan karir kita. Ketika anda mencoba melompat tinggi, dia tidak pernah memuji, bahkan justru tersinggung. Dia adalah contoh kotak korek api yang bisa mengkerdilkan anda.
Teman kerja juga bisa jadi kotak korek api. Coba ingat, ketika dia bicara begini, "Ngapain sih kamu kerja keras seperti itu, kamu nggak bakalan dipromosikan, kok." Ingat! Mereka adalah kotak korek api. Mereka bisa menghambat perkembangan potensi diri Anda.
Korek api juga bisa berbentuk kondisi tubuh yang kurang sempurna, tingkat pendidikan yang rendah, kemiskinan, usia dan lain sebagianya. Bila semua itu menjadi kotak korek api maka akan menghambat prestasi dan kemampuan anda yang sesungguhnya tidak tercermin dalam aktivitas sehari-hari.
Bila potensi anda yang sesungguhnya ingin muncul, anda harus take action untuk menembus kotak korek api itu. Lihatlah Ucok Baba, dengan tinggi tubuh yang di bawah rata-rata ia mampu menjadi presenter di televisi. Andapun pasti kenal Helen Keller. Dengan mata yang buta, tuli dan "gagu" dia mampu lulus dari Harvard University. Bill Gates tidak menyelesaikan pendidikan sarjananya, namun mampu menjadi "raja" komputer. Andre Wongso, tidak menamatkan sekolah dasar namun mampu menjadi motivator nomor satu di Indonesia.
Contoh lain Meneg BUMN, Bapak Sugiharto, yang pernah menjadi seorang pengasong, tukang parkir dan kuli di Pelabuhan. Kemiskinan tidak menghambatnya untuk terus maju. Bahkan sebelum menjadi menteri beliau pernah menjadi eksekutif di salah satu perusahaan ternama. Begitu pula dengan Nelson Mandela. Ia menjadi presiden Afrika Selatan setelah usianya lewat 65 tahun. Kolonel Sanders sukses membangun jaringan restoran fast food ketika usianya sudah lebih dari 62 tahun.
Nah, bila anda masih terkungkung dengan kotak korek api, pada hakekatnya anda masih terjajah. Orang-orang seperti Ucok Baba, Helen Keller, Andre Wongso, Sugiharto, Bill Gates dan Nelson Mandela adalah orang yang mampu menembus kungkungan kotak korek api. Merekalah contoh sosok orang yang merdeka, sehingga mampu menembus berbagai keterbatasan.
BREAK YOUR BORDER . . . . TOUCH THE SKY . . . . !
(sumber milis tetangga)
* thank you novita Posted by Sari on Nov 22, '06 10:15 PM for everyone 
Ini adalah cerita seorang ibu yg akan menyelesaikan skripsinya.
This is really a good story....
=========================
Saya adalah ibu tiga orang anak (umur 14, 12, dan 3 tahun) dan baru saja menyelesaikan kuliah saya. Kelas terakhir yang harus saya ambil adalah Sosiologi.
Sang Dosen sangat inspiratif dengan kualitas yang saya harapkan setiap orang memilikinya. Tugas terakhir yang diberikannya diberi nama "Tersenyum". Seluruh siswa diminta untuk pergi ke luar dan tersenyum kepada tiga orang dan mendokumentasikan reaksi mereka.
Saya adalah seorang yang mudah bersahabat dan selalu tersenyum pada setiap orang dan mengatakan "hello", jadi, saya pikir,tugas ini sangatlah mudah.
Segera setelah kami menerima tugas tsb, suami saya, anak bungsu saya, dan saya pergi ke restoran McDonald's pada suatu pagi di bulan Maret yang sangat dingin dan kering. Ini adalah salah satu cara kami dalam antrian, menunggu untuk dilayani, ketika mendadak setiap orang di sekitar kami mulai menyingkir, dan bahkan kemudian suami saya ikut menyingkir.
Saya tidak bergerak sama sekali...suatu perasaan panik menguasai diri saya ketika saya berbalik untuk melihat mengapa mereka semua menyingkir. Ketika berbalik itulah saya membaui suatu "bau badan kotor" yang sangat menyengat, dan berdiri di belakang saya dua orang lelaki tunawisma.
Ketika saya menunduk melihat laki-laki yang lebih pendek, yang dekat dengan saya, ia sedang "tersenyum". Matanya yang biru langit indah penuh dengan cahaya Tuhan ketika ia minta untuk dapat diterima. Ia berkata "Good day" sambil menghitung beberapa koin yang telah ia kumpulkan. Lelaki yang kedua memainkan tangannya dengan gerakan aneh sambil berdiri di belakang temannya. Saya menyadari bahwa lelaki kedua itu menderita defisiensi mental dan lelaki dengan mata biru itu adalah penolongnya. Saya menahan haru ketika berdiri di sana bersama mereka.
Wanita muda di counter menanyai lelaki itu apa yang mereka inginkan. Ia berkata, "Kopi saja, Nona" karena hanya itulah yang mampu mereka beli.
(Jika mereka ingin duduk di dalam restoran dan menghangatkan tubuh mereka, mereka harus membeli esuatu. Ia hanya ingin menghangatkan badan).
Kemudian saya benar-benar merasakannya - desakan itu sedemikian kuat sehingga saya hampir saja merengkuh dan memeluk lelaki kecil bermata biru itu. Hal itu terjadi bersamaan dengan ketika saya menyadari bahwa semua mata di restoran menatap saya, menilai semua tindakan saya.
Saya tersenyum dan berkata pada wanita di belakang counter untuk memberikan saya dua paket makan pagi lagi dalam nampan terpisah. Kemudian saya berjalan melingkari sudut ke arah meja yang telah dipilih kedua lelaki itu sebagai tempat istirahatnya. Saya meletakkan nampan itu ke atas meja dan meletakkan tangan saya di atas tangan dingin lelaki bemata biru itu.
Ia melihat ke arah saya, dengan air mata berlinang, dan berkata "Terima kasih." Saya meluruskan badan dan mulai menepuk tangannya dan berkata, "Saya tidak melakukannya untukmu. Tuhan berada di sini bekerja melalui diriku untuk memberimu harapan."
Saya mulai menangis ketika saya berjalan meninggalkannya dan bergabung dengan suami dan anak saya. Ketika saya duduk suami saya tersenyum kepada saya dan berkata, "Itulah sebabnya mengapa Tuhan memberikan kamu kepadaku, Sayang. Untuk memberiku
harapan."
Kami saling berpegangan tangan beberapa saat dan pada saat itu kami tahu bahwa hanya karena Kasih Tuhan kami diberikan apa yang dapat kami berikan untuk orang lain. Hari itu menunjukkan kepadaku cahaya kasih Tuhan yang murni dan indah.
Saya kembali ke college, pada hari terakhir kuliah, dengan cerita ini ditangan saya. Saya menyerahkan "proyek" saya dan dosen saya membacanya. Kemudian ia melihat kepada saya dan berkata, "Bolehkan saya membagikan ceritamu kepada yang lain?" Saya
mengangguk pelahan dan ia kemudian meminta perhatian dari kelas. Ia mulai membaca dan saat itu saya tahu bahwa kami, sebagai manusia dan bagian dari Tuhan, membagikan pengalaman ini untuk menyembuhkan dan untuk disembuhkan.
Dengan caraNya sendiri, Tuhan memakai saya untuk menyentuh orang-orang yang ada diMcDonald's, suamiku,anakku, guruku, dan setiap jiwa yang menghadiri ruang kelas di malam terakhir saya sebagai mahasiswi..
Saya lulus dengan satu pelajaran terbesar yang pernah saya pelajari: PENERIMAAN YANG TAK BERSYARAT.
Banyak cinta dan kasih sayang yang dikirimkan kepada setiap orang yang mungkin membaca cerita ini dan mempelajari bagaimana untuk MENCINTAI SESAMA DAN
MEMANFAATKAN BENDA-BENDA BUKANNYA MENCINTAI BENDA DAN MEMANFAATKAN SESAMA.
Jika anda berpikir bahwa cerita ini telah menyentuh anda dengan cara apapun, tolong kirimkan cerita ini kepada setiap orang yang anda kenal. Disini ada seorang malaikat yang dikirimkan untuk mengawasi anda. Supaya malaikat itu bisa bekerja, anda harus menyampaikan cerita ini pada orang-orang yang ingin anda awasi. Seorang malaikat menulis:
Banyak orang akan datang dan pergi dari kehidupanmu, tetapi hanya sahabat2 sejati yang akan meninggalkan jejak di dalam hatimu. Untuk menangani dirimu, gunakan kepalamu. Tetapi untuk menangani orang lain, gunakan hatimu. Tuhan memberikan kepada setiap burung makanan mereka, tetapi Ia tidak melemparkan makanan itu ke dalam sarang mereka. Ia yang kehilangan uang, kehilangan banyak; Ia yang kehilangan seorang teman,
kehilangan lebih banyak; tetapi ia yang kehilangan keyakinan, kehilangan semuanya. Orang-orang muda yang cantik adalah hasil kerja alam, tetapi orang-orang tua
yang cantik adalah hasil karya seni. Belajarlah dari kesalahan orang lain. Engkau tidak dapat hidup cukup lama untuk mendapatkan semua itu dari dirimu sendiri.
Posted by Sari on Nov 19, '06 5:49 AM for everyone | | ada versi yang lebih indah lagi tergantung di sebuah rumah di jalan suryo kebayoran... |
Posted by Sari on Nov 18, '06 11:44 PM for everyone 
Problem utama dari kebanyakan orang di dunia ini ialah kesepian. Apakah Anda
mengetahui kebanyakan orang yang dtg kepada para pembimbing agama mereka,
karena mereka mempunyai problem kesepian atau tidak mendapatkan kasih sayang
maupun penghargaan? Apakah Anda mengetahui bahwa lebih dari 70% orang bunuh
diri, karena merasa kesepian? Rasa kesepian dapat membuat orang jadi
depresif, sehingga akhirnya mereka terjerumus jadi pecandu alkohol, maupun
narkoba.
Kesepian (lonely) bukannya berarti seorang diri (alone), sebab di dalam
dunia yang penuh hiruk pikuk dan hingar bingar sekalipun, ternyata banyak
sekali orang yang merasa kesepian, padahal seharian penuh, kita menerima
puluhan email, maupun SMS, tetapi kenyataannya ini semua tidak dapat
mengusir rasa kesepian. Disamping itu kebanyakan dari kita sudah memiliki HP
jadi sebenarnya rasa kesepian itu tidak harus ada, walaupun demikian banyak
orang yang merasa kesepian, merasa ditinggal sendirian, haus akan rasa
kasih, rasa kehilangan dsb-nya.
Menurut psikolog, rasa kesepian itu berasal dari dalam hati. Sehingga
lingkungan kerja yang sibuk dan teman2 di sekelilingnya sekalipun, tidak
akan mampu mengusir rasa sepi. Di kota2 besar, rasa kesepian ini banyak
melanda para wanita karier dan profesional muda. Meskipun mereka memiliki
aktivitas yang cukup padat dan setiap hari selalu bertemu dengan banyak
orang, ada perasaan sunyi di sudut hatinya. Rasa kesepian tidak bisa
dihilangkan dengan uang.
Rasa kesepian bisa saja timbul, walaupun kita sudah memiliki pasangan hidup,
keluarga, pekerjaan maupun memiliki banyak sahabat. Bahkan Ratu Belanda -
Beatrix sendiri pernah mengungkapkan bahwa ciri jabatan dari seorang Ratu
adalah „Kesepian namun tidak pernah sendiri“. Kesepian itu bukannya, karena
tidak ada orang disekitar kita, tetapi di dalam hati maupun perasaan kita
merasa se-akan2 mereka tidak membutuhkan mau memperhatikan kita lagi. Tiap
orang membutuhkan atensi maupun kasih sayang!
Tetapi yang paling mengerikan adalah saat kita justru kesepian ketika kita
bersama orang yang kita kasihi, tetapi sayangnya kita tak bisa
‘menyentuh’nya, karena ia sedang sibuk entah dengan acara TV maupun
hobi/pekerjaannya. Berapa banyak Ibu Rumah Tangga yang kenyataannya lebih
tertarik akan pembicaraan pemeran di sinetron daripada pembicaraan sang
suami atau anaknya.
Kesepian adalah salah satu bentuk kesedihan. Kata kesepian itu berasal dari
akar kata “sepi” yang dalam kamus sering di definisikan sebagai “tanpa
teman, tersisih … sendirian. Sedangkan kata sifat “sendirian” berarti
“Merasa tersisih, karena tidak ada yang menemani”. Kesepian sering kali
memanifestasikan diri dalam bentuk rasa sakit, rasa hampa, dan efek samping
yang lebih gawat lagi ialah sering kali berbentuk depresi yang mendalam
sampaikan menyebabkan bunuh diri.
Dan apakah Anda tahu bahwa kesepian itu bisa jadi pemicu potensial penyebab
penyakit jantung koroner ataupun kanker. Suatu penelitian bahkan pernah
mengatakan bahwa pada tahun pertama setelah ditinggal mati oleh orang yang
kita kasihi, maka risiko faktor angka kematian akan meningkat tujuh kali
lipat jauh lebih tinggi.
Sehingga banyak sekali orang yang mengajukan pertanyaan: "Where are You,
God, when I’m lonely?" pasti jawabannya ialah "Right beside you!", walaupun
kita tidak merasakannya, tetapi Tuhan selalu hadir di dalam kesepian kita,
karena kasih Nya, Ia tidak akan meninggalkan kita dalam keadaan apapun juga
kita berada.
Tuhan menciptakan dunia dan alam semesta ini dalam keadaan sempurna, tetapi
kenyataannya masih saja ada yang kurang dan yang “tidak baik” ialah “rasa
kesepian”. Oleh sebab itulah problem kesepian itu adalah problem dunia dan
problem manusia yang pertama yang diatasi oleh Allah
TUHAN Allah berfirman: "Tidak baik, kalau manusia itu seorang diri saja. Aku
akan menjadikan penolong baginya, yang sepadan dengan dia." ...Lalu TUHAN
Allah membuat manusia itu tidur nyenyak; ketika ia tidur, TUHAN Allah
mengambil salah satu rusuk dari padanya, lalu menutup tempat itu dengan
daging. Dan dari rusuk yang diambil TUHAN Allah dari manusia itu,
dibangun-Nyalah seorang perempuan, lalu dibawa-Nya kepada manusia itu.
Filsuf Jerman, Nietzsche, melukiskannya begini "Kurangnya cinta terhadap
diri sendiri menyebabkan kesepian sehingga menjadi penjara yang paling berat
bagi manusia". Dan kuncinya hanya bisa dibuka dari dalam ialah oleh diri
kita sendiri.
Setiap orang yang merasa kesepian harus berani mengambil keputusan: “Apakah
saya mau membayar harga untuk mengubah situasi kehidupan saya ini? Pertama
dengan belajar mengasihi orang lain terlebih dahulu dan berhenti menaruh
belas kasihan terhadap diri sendiri. Kasih itu seperti gema, pasti ia akan
balik kembali !
Mang Ucup
Email: mang.ucup@gmail.com
Homepage : www.mangucup.net
Posted by Sari on Oct 27, '06 11:23 AM for everyone  Angin telah menerbangkannya kemana-mana. Ada sebuah ceritra rakyat abad kesembilan-belas yang mengisahkan tentang seorang lelaki yang berkeliling sebuah kota kecil menyebarkan fitnah terhadap orang bijak kota kecil itu. Suatu hari, ia pergi ke rumah orang bijak itu untuk meminta maaf. Sang bijak, menyadari kalau lelaki itu belum sepenuhnya sadar akan apa yang sebetulnya telah diperbuatnya, memberitahunya bahwa ia hanya memaafkannya atas satu syarat: pulang ke rumahnya, mengambil sebuah bantal bulu, merobeknya, dan menebar bulu-bulu itu melalui tiupan angin. Setelah melakukannya, ia boleh kembali ke rumah sang bijak itu. Kendati merasa bingung akan permintaan aneh itu, si pemfitnah merasa senang bisa menebus dosanya itu sedemikian mudah. Dengan tergesa-gesa ia memotong dan merobek bantal itu, menebarnya kemana-mana dengan bantuan tiupan angin, dan kembali lagi ke rumah sang bijak. “Apakah saya sekarang dimaafkan?” tanyanya. “Hanya satu syarat lagi,” jawab sang bijak. “Sekarang, pergi dan kumpulkanlah kembali semua bulu-bulu bantal itu.” “Itu tidak mungkin. Angin telah menerbangkannya kemana-mana.” “Persis,” jawab sang bijak. “Kendati kamu benar-benar berniat memperbaiki kejahatan yang telah kamu perbuat, tidaklah mungkin memperbaiki kembali kerusakan yang kamu timbulkan melalui kata-katamu itu, semustahil mengembalikan bulu-bulu bantal itu seperti sediakala. Kata-katamu itu sekarang beredar di pasar, menebar kebencian, bahkan saat kita sedang berbincang ini.” Sungguh menarik untuk diamati kalau kita, sebagai anak manusia, sedemikian cepatnya mempercayai kejelekan yang dikatakan orang lain tentang seseorang, sedemikian mudahnya menerima “berita-berita” yang terkandung dalam bentuk-bentuk cetakan dan tabloid-tabloid televisi, serta sedemikian siapnya untuk beranggapan buruk terhadap perbuatan orang lain, dimana kita menyangka kalau tindakan jahat yang kita tebar tentang seseorang itu bukan berarti apa-apa. Lebih tidak masuk akal lagi adalah, kita tampaknya tidak bisa segera dan dengan tegas menyadari fakta bahwa gosip yang kita bicarakan bisa —dan memang sering— menimbulkan kerusakan signifikan terhadap seseorang. ~ Lori Palatnik dan Bob Burg. _____________________________________ Judul asal: “Speak No Evil”. Diinterpretasikan oleh Gung Dé pada hari Kamis, 28 September 2006. Sumber: http://www.beliefnet.com/nllp/Inspiration.Posted by Sari on Oct 27, '06 11:12 AM for everyone 
In the morning
When I began to wake,
It happened again--
That feeling
That you, Beloved,
Had stood over me all night
Keeping watch,
That feeling
That as soon as I began to stir
You put Your lips on my forehead
And lit a Holy lamp
Inside my heart.
Poem by Hafiz
Posted by Sari on Oct 9, '06 9:20 AM for everyone 
Pernakah Anda mempertanyakan kata-kata, betapa pikiran bisa menjadi sedemikian diperbudaknya oleh kata-kata —umat Hindu, Buddhis, pengikut Mohammad, kaum Komunis, kaum Kapitalis, kaum Demokrat, anggota Kongres, istri, suami, kata Tuhan, ataupun bukan Tuhan?
Pikiran kita adalah budak kata-kata. Dan untuk membebaskan si pikiran dari kata itu —apakah mungkin? Jangan terima begitu saja apapun yang saya katakan. Mungkinkah membebaskan pikiran dari kata itu? Dan apabila mungkin, lalu mungkinkah bagi si pemikir, si pemerhati, menatap hal itu tanpa label, tanpa istilah, tanpa simbol? Dan bilamana ia bisa sedemikian langsungnya, tanpa gangguan campur-tangan dari label, dari kata, simbol, barulah tidak ada si pemikir yang mengobservasi hal itu. Sekarang inilah meditasi. Kalian mengerti, Tuan-tuan? Dan itu memerlukan atensi besar, yang sama sekali bukan konsentrasi. Atensi menyiratkan sebentuk totalitas, sebentuk perluasan dari sebentuk totalitas, sedangkan konsentrasi adalah sebentuk pembatasan.
Dari: NEW DELHI, 7TH PUBLIC TALK, 22ND JANUARY 1961.
(dari milis awareness)
Posted by Sari on Oct 9, '06 8:04 AM for everyone 
Kebenaran, Tuhan yang sesungguhnya —bukan Tuhan yang dibuat oleh manusia— tidak menghendaki batin yang telah rusak, remeh, dangkal, sempit, terbatas. Ia membutuhkan batin yang sehat untuk mengapresiasikannya; Ia membutuhkan batin yang kaya —kaya, bukan dengan pengetahuan, melainkan dengan kepolosan— suatu batin yang padanya tidak pernah ada goresan pengalaman, suatu batin yang bebas dari waktu.
Tuhan-tuhan yang Anda ciptakan untuk kenyamanan Anda sendiri menerima siksaan; mereka menerima batin yang telah dibuat tumpul. Tetapi [Tuhan] yang sesungguhnya tidak menginginkan itu; ia menginginkan manusia yang total dan lengkap, yang hatinya penuh, kaya, jernih, mampu merasa secara intens, mampu melihat keindahan sebatang pohon, seulas senyum anak kecil, dan kepedihan seorang perempuan yang tidak pernah makan kenyang.
Anda harus memiliki perasaan yang luarbiasa ini, kepekaan terhadap segala sesuatu —kepada binatang, kepada kucing yang berjalan di atas tembok, kepada kekumuhan, sampah dan kotoran manusia yang berkubang dalam kemiskinan, dalam keputusasaan. Anda harus peka —yang berarti merasa secara intens, bukan ke arah tertentu, bukan emosi yang datang dan pergi, tapi yang berarti peka dengan saraf Anda, dengan mata Anda, dengan tubuh Anda, dengan telinga Anda, dengan suara Anda. Anda harus sepenuhnya peka sepanjang waktu. Kecuali Anda sepenuhnya peka seperti itu, tidak ada intelijensia. Intelijensia datang bersama kepekaan dan pengamatan.
~J. Krishnamurti.
Dari: THE BOOK OF LIFE, terjemahan Hudoyo Hupudio
Posted by Sari on Oct 2, '06 11:23 PM for everyone 
A little boy said to his father, "Let's play darts. I'll throw the
darts and you say, `Wonderful!'"
Here is a boy who was not afraid to ask for the encouragement he
needs. Maybe we all have something to learn from him!
Inspirational author and educator, Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, relates a
story about the devastating effects of discouragement. Dante Gabriel
Rossetti, the famous 19th Century poet and artist, was once
approached by an elderly man who asked him to look at a few of his
sketches and drawings. The gentleman wanted to know if the artist
thought they were of any value.
As gently as possible, Rossetti told the man that the sketches were
of no value and showed little talent. He apologized for the harsh
assessment but said that he believed he should be honest.
The visitor was disappointed but asked the artist if he could take a
look at just a few more, which were all done by a young art student.
Rossetti looked over the second batch of sketches and immediately
became enthusiastic over the talent they revealed. "These," he
said, "oh, these are good." He went on to say that the young student
shows much promise and should be given every help and encouragement,
as he may have a great future if he will study and work hard.
The old man was deeply moved. Rossetti asked, "Who is this fine,
young artist? Your son?"
"No," replied the visitor sadly. "It is I - forty years ago. If only
I had heard your praise then. For you see, I became discouraged and
gave up too soon."
Mother Teresa wisely said, "Kind words can be short and easy to
speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Sometimes it may be
enough to just say, "Wonderful!"
BE INSPIRED by 50 Wonderful Stories from Steve Goodier ...
Posted by Sari on Sep 26, '06 4:35 AM for everyone 
There is a story about a flower which is well known in the Zen circles.
One day the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1,250
monks and nuns. He did not say anything for quite a long time. The
audience was perfectly silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking hard,
trying to see the meaning behind the Buddha's gesture. Then, suddenly.
the Buddha smiled. He smiled because someone in the audience smiled at
him and at the flower. The name of that monk was Mahakashyapa. He was
the only person who smiled, and the Buddha smiled back and said, "I have
a treasure of insight, and I have transmitted it to Mahakashyapa." That
story has been discussed by many generations of Zen students, and people
continue to look for its meaning. To me the meaning is quite simple.
When someone holds up a flower and shows it to you, he wants to see it.
If you keep thinking, you miss the flower. The person who was not
thinking, who was just himself, was able to encounter the flower in
depth, and he smiled.
That is the problem of life. If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the
present moment, we miss everything. When a child presents himself to you
with his smile, if you are not really there - thinking about the future
or the past, or preoccupied with other problems - then the child is not
really there for you. The technique of being alive is to go back to
yourself in order for the child to appear like a marvellous reality.
Then you can see him smile and you can embrace him in your arms.
-Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (Thich
Nhat Hanh)
[Available @ Awareness Place: www.AwarenessPlace.com]
Posted by Sari on Sep 26, '06 4:06 AM for everyone 
Keep doing the same thing and you will keep getting the same results.
Two men were avid moose hunters. Every year they chartered a plane to
take them to the Canadian back country. This year hunting was
especially good and in a few days they each bagged a moose. They
radioed for their pilot to come pick them up.
When the plane arrived, the pilot took one look at the animals and
told the hunters they could not take such a heavy load along.
"But we spent all week hunting for these moose," they protested. "And
besides, the pilot we hired last year wasn't worried about the
moose's weight."
After much argument, the pilot finally relented and allowed them to
load the moose. The heavy plane was only airborne for a few
minutes when it lost altitude and crashed into the side of a
mountain.
As the men struggled out of the wreckage, one hunter asked, "Where
are we?"
His friend answered, "About a mile farther than we got last year."
Keep doing the same thing and you will keep getting the same results.
It is true of flying and it is true of living.
What is not working well for you? A habit you are trying to break? A
relationship with a parent or spouse or child or friend? What is a
source of on-going frustration? Getting around to that project you
keep promising to complete? Never having enough money to pay the
bills? Running up against the same old walls at work?
The truth is, if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting
the same results. So, if you don't like the way things are turning
out, something must change. Are you ready to try something different?
__________
This reading is found in Steve Goodier's popular book ONE MINUTE CAN
CHANGE A LIFE http://lifesupportsystem.com/onemincancha.html
Posted by Sari on Sep 19, '06 9:56 AM for everyone 
"Oh, cinta ini, cinta ini, yang membuat dunia berputar!" seru
sang bangsawan dalam cerita 'Alice in Wonderland', mengutip kata-kata
dari karya Dante, 'Divine Comedy'. Sepanjang kita mempunyai mata untuk
melihat dan telinga untuk mendengar, sepanjang itu pula cinta akan
memimpin irama dunia. Dan orang sedang jatuh hati yang mana yang tidak
merasakan bumi bergoncang dan bintang-bintang berdansa dalam kebahagiaan
bersama?
Tapi cinta - tergenggam maupun lepas, apakah ditemukan dalam
kontraksi dua jiwa menjadi satu atau ekspansi satu jiwa ke dalam
keseluruhan alam semesta - betul-betul adalah sebuah komedi.
Kita mencoba mencintai, tapi begitu sering kita gagal. Kita gagal
menemukannya. Kita gagal menjaganya. Kita gagal mengerti, gagal berbagi,
dan gagal saat lepas darinya. Kita gagal lagi dan lagi, pun demikian
kita tetap tersenyum seraya kembali mencoba sekali lagi. Ini jelas-jelas
bagian dari sebuah komedi : begitu manusiawi, begitu bertahan lama,
begitu indah.
Banyak orang salah memahami kata-kata Buddha tentang cinta.
Buddha tidak pernah melarang kita mencintai seseorang. Beliau cuma
mengingatkan bahwa cinta membawa kemelekatan dan kemelekatan menghantar
kepada penderitaan. Kehidupan seorang pertapa bukan untuk kebanyakan
orang. Bagi kita, bahkan bagi orang yang paling tercemar, hidup dengan
cinta lebih baik dari pada hidup tanpa cinta.
Saat membaca bagian ini, saya harap anda bisa menemukan pertanyaan dan
jawaban yang dapat membantu anda mencintai atau bahkan menikmati proses
belajar mencintai.
----------------------------------------------------
Sumber : What Would Buddha Do? - 101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas
oleh : Franz Metcalf
diterjemahkan oleh : Ir. Edij, MM
diterbitkan oleh : Yayasan Pemuda Buddhayana
Posted by Sari on Sep 19, '06 9:50 AM for everyone
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally
slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing.
=== Ada satu keluarga kura2 memutuskan untuk pergi bertamasya. Dasar-
nya kura2, dari sononya memang sudah serba lambat, untuk mempersiap-
kan piknik ini saja mereka butuhkan waktu 7 tahun.
Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place for
their outing. During the second year of their journey they found a
place ideal for them at last!
=== Akhirnya keluarga kura2 ini meninggalkan hunian mereka, pergi men-
cari tempat yang cocok untuk kegiatan piknik mereka. Baru ditahun ke-
dua mereka temukan lokasi yang sesuai dan cocok!
For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic
basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had
forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all
agreed.
After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the
salt from home.
=== Selama enam bulan mereka membersihkan tempat itu, membongkari
semua keranjang2 perbekalan piknik, dan membenah-susuni tempat itu.
Lalu mereka baru sadar dan lihat bahwa mereka lupa membawa garam.
Waduh, sebuah piknik tanpa garam? Mereka serempak setuju dan ber-
teriak itu bisa menjadi bencana luar biasa. Setelah panjang lebar ber-
diskusi, kura termuda yang diputuskan terpilih untuk mengambil garam
dirumah mereka.
Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little
turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one
condition: that no one would eat until he returned.
=== Meskipun ia termasuk kura tercepat dari semua kura2 yang lambat,
si kura kecil ini merengek, menangis dan me-ronta2 dalam batoknya. Ia
setuju pergi tapi asal berdasarkan satu syarat: bahwa tidak satupun bo-
leh makan sampai ia kembali.
The family consented and the little turtle left. Three years passed
and the little turtle had not returned.
=== Keluarga kura itu setuju dan sikura kecil ini berangkatlah. Tiga ta-
hun lewat dan kura kecil itu masih juga belum kembali.
Five years ... six years... then on the seventh year of his absence,
the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that
he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.
=== Lima tahun....enam tahun.....lalu memasuki tahun ketujuh kepergiannya,
kura tertua sudah tak tahan menahan laparnya. Ia mengumumkan bahwa
ia [begitu lapar dan] akan mulai makan dan mulai membuka rotinya.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a
tree shouting, "SEE! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go
get the salt."
=== Pada saat itu, tiba2 sikura kecil muncul dari balik sebatang pohon,
teriaknya, "LIHAT TUHHHH! Benar kan? Aku tahu kalian memang tak
akan menunggu. Ahhh, sekarang aku tak mau pergi mengambil garam."
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our
expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we
don't do anything ourselves.]
=== [Beberapa dari kita memboroskan waktu sekedar cuma menunggui
sampai orang2 lain memenuhi harapan kita. Sebaliknya, kita begitu kua-
tir, prihatin, sering2 malah terlalu memperdulikan apa yang dikerjakan
orang2 lain sampai2 dan sehingga kita cuma berpangku tangan tanpa
berbuat sesuatu sendiri.]
Posted by Sari on Sep 19, '06 9:48 AM for everyone  sent by mlespiritu, Chinese Fables (orig. subj.)
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he
could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and
asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied,
"There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs --- millions of them.
They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!"
=== Seorang petani masuk kota dan menanyai pemilik sebuah restoran
apakah ia bisa memakai sejuta paha kaki kodok. Pemilik restoran itu
kaget setengah mati dan bertanya balik, dari mana ia kok bisa menda-
patkan paha katak segitu banyaknya! Petani itu menjawab, "Didekat
rumahku ada sebuah kolam yang berjubel penuh kodok -- wuihhh, pasti
ada jutaan. Semalaman mereka itu mengorek, pokoknya terus menerus
berbunyi dan hampir2 mmbuatku gila lah!"
So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that
the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time
for the next several weeks. The first week, the farmer returned to the
restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs.
=== Jadi mereka sepakat dan membuat suatu perjanjian dimana dinyata-
kan bahwa sang petani itu akan memasok paha kodok kerestoran itu, se-
tiap kali kiriman sebanyak 500 untuk beberapa minggu mendatang. Pada
minggu pertama, petani itu kembali kerestoran itu dengan wajah agak le-
su dan tanpa semangat, ia membawa serta dua ekor kodok agak kecil.
The restaurant owner said, "Well ... where are all the frogs?"
The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs
in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
=== Pemilik restoran bertanya, "Lohhh......mana katamu kodok segudang
itu?" Si petani menjawab, "Ternyata saya salah. Yang ada cuma dua
ekor ini. Tapi mereka kok benar2 membuat keributan luar biasa loh..."
[Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you,
remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember
that problems always seem bigger in the dark.
Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which
seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are
pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look,
you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
===[ Lain kali bila kau dengar orang mencelamu atau meng-olok2mu, ingat,
itu barangkali hanya ributnya dua ekor kodok saja. Ingatlah juga, bahwa
problim selalu tampaknya lebih besar dikegelapan.
Pernahkah kau malam2 terbaring diranjangmu, menguatirkan perkara2
yang mencekammu dan tampaknya seperti bunyi ributnya sejuta kodok?
Kemungkinan sekali, bila fajar menyingsing dan kau dekati lagi masalah
itu, bisa2 kau tertawa sendiri kok semut kau jadikan mastodon. ]
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