amigdala

I watched again the movie for several times last night.. still it amazed me.. beautiful scenes that taken, the battle of Nameless (Jet Li) and Broken Sword (Tony Leung), the philoshopy of hero that reconstructed, the sacrifice for a peace they made... the message that brought : "everyone sees you what you seem to be, but few know what you are" (Machiavelli)

Just wonder whether i can hear such story nowadays or not.. story from the ultimate principle from both swordmanship and chinese calligraphy.. from the man who has achieved the swordmanship's ultimate achievement: "the absence of the sword both from hand and hearth.. the swordman is at peace with the rest of the world.. he vows not to kill and to bring peace to mankind..."

Broken sword undefended himself and let his soulmate, Flying Snow, killing him to make her believe the meaning of true love, Nameless let his life taken by the arrows of chinese troops to give a chance for a greater love (by Letting King Qin alive and create a peace in China) and throw away his own love (by revenging his Zhao's family that killed by King Qin's Troops)..

They sacrifice their lifes, throw away their ego for one single word: Love... a true love.. a different level love from what most of nowadays generation show off such kind of "valentine love"...

I chat once with my friend, Lina.. she asked me to explain what "takwa" is.. I told her, actually it means "fear" in arabic, but i couldn't agree with that translation n try to find a different perspective. The reason is, I think it doesnt make a sense that someone has to do good deed hoping a reward from God (heaven/jannah) nor has not to do bad things fearing for God's punishment (hell/naar). Coz in my opinion, we don't ask anything for someone who we really love.. we don't feel fear before someone we love... we only want -Him- to love us, to be always with us...

n when we try to reach His love, we shouldn't stop at our "ego" love - our love for our girl/boy friend, our love for our wife, even family, just like what Nameless did- but we should use them to reach the highest level love, Love for One who creates us...

The term came out in my conversation with one of my friend in Sheffield, Ovi.
Her home in central Sheffield has a lot of rooms. She told me that she always has a lot of friends through the weekend nights. Watching indonesian horror movie, chatting superficial stuffs, cooking some indonesian fried rice, playing "Uno" card.

Similar situation always happen to me. In evey place i stay, it almost got "base camp" labelled. Even in UK, in my Sunderland uni's hall of residence's room. It's only about 4x4 m square with one small bed room, but there almost a friend of mine-once there 4- who sleep in the floor, close to the heater, trying to keep warm. My room always become a first choice for indonesian friends who come to the small 'mackem land', sunderland.

It also happened when i was study in Yogya, one of Indonesian student's heaven city. In my room in "kost la wa laa" (labelled by my friend, it means: the residence that too much prohibition) the door always be opened to everyone. It was becoming a family room, the place where we watch some premiere league or even world cup match, the place where often me n my friends sleep with an opened window. Sleep in sleeping bag under the naked sky, waiting for a shooting stars, spending the night with a guitar singing some iwan fals' old songs.

Even in my home sweet home in Jakarta. It usually becomes a base camp for every meeting. It seems has its own attraction for my friends. The position of the room, (u don't have to meet the whole family to stay in my room), the dish in its late night (Indomie telor), the "gorengan" in its morning, the 'le' Temu Loundry' for some of my friends, (especially John), the free clothes they can use, the about 4 spring beds with lot of rather stingky pillow, the orchestra sound of "jangkrik", the loudly voice of my respectly father trying to wake us up in the very early morningn, "Deeedd.. Subuuuh...." and the mosquito that will sting your sweet blood mixed together with it warm and peace aura of DN islamic boarding school and create its own sense. My mom even once call me, said that she miss me and suprisingly, the friends of mine who always spent their weekend in my home. In previous Ramadhan nights, she sometime felt so sad opening the room to find only the empty room. she said ;

"ded, penginepan mama sepi nih bulan puasa kali ini.."

hmmm.. well, someday, if i have my own home, i'll keep trying to create such situation. There might be no my friends that will spend the weekend nights. There will be only my luvly wife and sons. But, for sure, it will always be opened for every friends of mine.

"....fal yukrim dhoifahu.."

One behaviour that i like from the people in this country is how they trying to keep the door open for those whoever walk behind them when entering the building.. they're sometime even waiting for a seconds.. " ta', cheers, or thanks" expression that come from those who walk behind usually come up as a subsequent..

It may just a small piece of british daily life.. but it might indicate something.. i remember what one of british management suhu said, Charles Handy, in his book, The Hungry Spirit.. it said that there are three different British in this country, sustaince driven, outer directed and inner directed.. people who work for their life is sustaince driven, they're work to survive, to earn money, perhaps they can buy some food and basic daily needs. Outer directed is a term used to describe those who earn money because they not only need it, but also love it.. they collect it more than they need.. capitalis.. their final destination is money. that's it!. The last kind people, n suprisingly, it's said about 39% of population, are inner directed. Inner directed are those who have relatively high sense of social care. They help others not for their material advantages, but for a balance and a better world.

Well, i don't think that's only happened in Britain, it's normal situation. What make i sad is that its hard to find that small nice behaviour in my home country, Indonesia. Country that was famous with it smiling face inhabitant. Country with biggest moslem population in the world.