The Bishop of London's Sermon on The Royal Wedding, Prince William & Catherine Middleton

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.
Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.  
In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.
William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.
A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.
It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but the hope should be fulfilled it is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.
You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.
We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely a power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.
Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:
“Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,
Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon.”
As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.
As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.
I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:
God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.

Source: (http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/blog/2011/April/29/The-Bishop-of-London-s-Sermon)

Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.     

Window Shopping

Yes, window shopping is always fun...indeed! Mau punya uang, tidak punya uang, bermaksud beli, atau hanya cuci mata, stress relief, atau sekedar olahraga. Itulah asiknya window shopping.

Semalam nonton CSI NY season baru dan di akhir episode ini, ada dialog menarik tentang window shopping. Katanya hidup ini seperti window shopping, semuanya bisa kita lihat tapi kita tidak perlu/harus beli...kita tidak perlu miliki. Saya pikir, itu betul sekali! Bahkan, filosofi itu bisa lebih dikembangkan lagi.

Ada thin red line, batas tipis antara 'butuh' dan 'ingin'. Masalahnya adalah, tergantung situasi, manusia susah membedakan mana 'butuh' dan 'ingin'. Kalau mau ikut kata hati, kita mau semuanya! Tapi 'semuanya' itu belum berarti kita 'butuh' dan tidak akan pernah cukup. Kuncinya, syukuri apa yang kita punya...pasti semuanya berasa cukup.

Filosofi 'window shopping' ini juga bisa dilihat dengan cara lain....cara kita memandang sekitar, cara kita memandang sesama. Kita juga perlu 'window shopping' dengan kesuksesan orang lain....kagum dan belajar, bukan malah jadinya sirik. Seperti layaknya kita kagum dengan manekin yang menggunakan tas dan sepatu Tods yang simple dan nyaman dengan warna terbaru (dan harga selangit....hehheheh), demikian juga kita seharusnya kagum dengan prestasi/pencapaian/keberhasilan/kecantikan orang di sekitar kita. Alangkah indahnya hidup ini kalau semuanya dilihat dari sisi positifnya. We might learn something from that person for us to be better. 'Stealing' in positif meaning :-)
Bisa juga dengan cara lain, menjadikan apa yang kita lihat saat 'window shopping' ke orang lain sebagai 'target hidup'. "Yes, i would like to be like that person!". "Oh, i 100% agree with the way that person sees life'. "Wah, cara hidupnya sehat ya? Pantesan selalu kelihatan segar. I want to know how that person do it". Tentu saja memandang dan kagum dengan sisi positifnya yang layak dicontoh.

Pada intinya, hidup ini pasti indah kalau kita syukuri dan selalu berpikir positif. Sering-seringlah ber'window shopping', supaya bukan hanya mata kita yang puas...tapi hati juga ikutan puas :-). Happy 'Shopping'! :-)

Facing the (giant) fear

There is a saying: 'The best way to overcome fear is to face it'.
Setiap orang punya ketakutan dalam hidup, i'm sure. Dan tiap orang juga punya cara yang berbeda menghadapi ketakutannya. Ada yang lari, ada yang menghindar alias hadapi setengah-setengah, tapi sebenarnya kuncinya adalah: hadapi. Kenapa, cepata atau lambat, someone has to face the fear to move on. Makin lama dihindari dan lari, makin parah ketakutan itu.


Tapi selalu sisi manusia itu muncul, lari dan menghindar. Manusia secaa nature mau punya rasa aman dan nyaman, dan facing the (giant) fear will make this human side disturbed. Jadi, apakah salah kalau kita menjadi 'manusia' yang lari dari ketakutan? And i think its fair....and very normal, very human.

Mungkin bukan lari (bukan pembenaran lho!), but simply gathering might & power to face the fear. Karena pada saatnya, kita akan hadapi itu.

So, to my fellow human...its OK to stay away for a while from your fear, when you have the power and the right has com, you'll have the time to face it. Anyway, preparation is always a key to a great success,right?:-)

Change

Albert Einstein bilang hidup itu seperti mengendarai sepeda, untuk tetap seimbang maka anda harus bergerak. 'Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving'. Artinya, kita tidak boleh diam tapi harus terus bergerak, berubah. Bahkan kalau mau menang dalam persaingan, kita harus 'bergerak' lebih cepat dan lebih pintar dari yang lain.

Tapi bagaimana kalau perubahan itu lebih cepat dari yang anda harapkan. Bagaimana kalau we do not want that change to happen. Hey, i love the current situation! I dont want to change! Tapi kenyataannya adalah: 'The only thing that does not change, is change itself'. And we have to live with that, mau tidak mau kita harus berubah dan beradaptasi.

Perubahan pada prinsipnya adalah baik; menantang zone nyaman, improved dan berubah ke arah yang lebih baik. Personally, i love change. Termasuk tipe yang cepat bosan dan perlu tantangan baru. Sebagian pekerjaan adalah memang untuk make the change happen in my workplace dan menjadikan perubahan dan improvement sebagai bagian dari keseharian kita. Tapi bagaimana jika sisi manusiawi itu muncul, bahwa ada saatnya kita merasa 'aman' & nyaman di situasi yang sekarang....situasi stagnant yang saya sendiri tidak rela untuk berubah? Denial...yup, penyangkalan. Perlu hati yang besar untuk mengakui bahwa sisi manusia kita 'bisa' mengalahkan logika. Manusia butuh rasa aman, butuh istirahat, butuh merasa terlindungi, punya hati & perasaan...karena manusia bukan robot yang terus bergerak dan tidak perlu istirahat.
Tapi ternyata, tidak ada salahnya untuk kita berada di sisi satunya, sisi yang berbeda dengan yang lain.

I am sick and tired of change....at least for now. I missed atmosfir yang dulu dari tempat ini...i want it back. Kangen ngumpul sama teman-teman, kangen orang dengan manner, kangen social life such as gathering after hours, kangen the laughter and eating festive, kangen function-with-no-reasons, kangen tempat ini sepi dan hanya diisi olah orang-orang yang saling kenal.
Hey, wake up girl....semua itu tidak akan kembali. Berpikir untuk menyerah? Yes and no. Tapi waktu berlalu, dan tenaga dan emosi kita terkuras seiring berjalannya waktu. Work idealism vs life idealism...what a choice.

However, the decision has to be made...and i decided to keep my life idealism, that the greatest thing in life isnt things. There are more that life can offer, and its up to me to make a better choice: to be happy and enjoy life or being washed by change and pretend that i can hold on.

Ya, keputusan itu sudah bulat....just cant wait!. Life, dreams, future...here i come:-)