Running Away

Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies- Sarah Jessica Parker.

Different strokes for different folks. Masing-masing orang punya cara hidup berbeda-beda. Ada persepsi umum di luar sana bahwa orang yang punya gaya hidup berpindah-pindah, tidak tertarik dengan kemapanan, tidak memiliki pekerjaan tetap layaknya mayoritas orang, mereka dianggap ‘weird‘ alias ‘aneh’.

‘Aneh’ karena memberikan tanda tanya apakah mereka sebenarnya sedang lari dari suatu hal. Kenyataan hidup yang pahit atau pengalaman yang traumatis yang mendesak mereka pergi meninggalkan their comfort zone. People assume that bad lives, bitter past experiences are the reasons behind their travels. Those are perceived to be most likely the excuses of running away from the ‘real world’.

Having a nomadic lifestyle, not being a one-place person, sometimes I get that question. My answer to those people, I say to them – they’re right. Completely right. I am running away. I am avoiding life — their life. I choose a life out on the run. I escape from their idea of the “real” world of office life, commuting, and weekend errands. Because I want to see exotic places, hike every mountain, experience every culture, attend crazy festivals, meet new people, eat weird foods and spend nights in places I should know better.

I am running toward the world and I never plan to look back.

The idea of exploring the world, encountering something totally new that’s what excites me and keeps me on the road.

‘The David’ Inside

‘The Tourist’ was me. A couple of months ago I made a trip to Italy. Unlike the Hollywood story, I was not there to mend a broken heart and not expecting to find myself in a flirtatious encounter. I planned a two-week ‘getaway’ vacation that I hoped would satisfy my thirst for exploring new places.

I stayed in Rome and traveled back and forth from there to the cities nearby. Being in Italy, I would not miss a visit to Florence. City of romance, art, food and wine. A day trip that I did was obviously not enough! I should have spent a week or more scouting and truly enjoying the city. Under a very limited time I had, enjoying Florence was a challenge.

It’s hard not to complain about the tourists who flocked to every spots in the city. They squeezed down the narrow streets; they choked the majestic Piazza Duomo; they swamped the Uffizi Gallery. Hordes of them!

However, even if I could siphon the tourists off and replace them with picturesque Italians, enjoying Florence takes time and effort. Unless ones just want to soak up the dazzling Florentine sunshine with no cultural agenda, the hours would not matter.

I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this as so called Renaissance city .The pernicious Florentine charm has really seduced me.

The world’s greatest masterpieces can be found in numerous museums and art galleries around the city. Some of the most famous, prolific and notable names in history were born and made their lives here. Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Michelangelo. Medici, Galileo Galilei, Machiavelli, Roberto Cavalli, Salvator Ferragamo. In all its glory, Florence is a cultural hub of history and art beyond comparison. I had imagined it would be the perfect place to find joy and inspiration.

Like what tourists do when they come to Florence, they will jaunt into Galleria dell’ Accademia where the replica of Michelangelo’s giant David being placed. The statue has attracted a sizable contingent of art lovers from around the world. They looked in awe at the David. Somehow it hadn’t struck me. It was a strange feeling. I noticed the beauty of the room, the soaring ceiling, and the sound of the hollowness of the space. People spoke little in the presence of the David.
I just looked at the statue for a moment then a stranger said with a sense of wonder, ‘Isn’t it beautiful? Just grand!’

“It’s big, that’s for sure.’

“Yes! It really is giant,thirteen and a half feet tall. It took Michelangelo more than two years to sculpt him from beginning to end!”

One day, Michelangelo was working on this marble that later would become David. A young man came by where he was working. This young man asked Michelangelo why he was working so hard hitting the rock. Michelangelo said to him, ’ Young boy, there is an angel inside of this rock and I am setting him free.’

According to the old tale, the original big piece of marble was cut for work before Michelangelo was even born. It was commissioned to Agostino di Duccio who worked under Donatello’s direction. But he could not decide what to do with it so he gave up the commission. Then another artist by the name of Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to work with the marble. As with Agostino he could not see what the marble could become. The block of marble then neglected for twenty five years. Even Leonardo da Vinci was asked to consider working the marble. He declined for two reasons. First, he thought that sculpting was a low form of art. He was arrogant that way. Brilliant but arrogant. Second, he too could not see what the marble could become.

Three artists-one of them one of the most famous ever-came before Michelangelo and could not see what that marble held deep inside. But Michelangelo, he saw the angel deep at rest within the rock, waiting to be set free. He took the giant block of stone and turned it into a finished work of art.

The story is then being used as a metaphor to encourage people finding their passion in life. There is an angel lies dormant within each person. There is a person of beauty and a person of power whom David represents both. The real David, the King of Israel was a very diverse fellow. He had wide interest that ranged from writing poetry, playing harp to slaying giants and going to war. Both the man and the statue, David was described as a beautiful and powerful figure.

Each of us has a beauty and we are valuable for who we are. Every person has tremendous capacity to be a person of value and a person of accomplishment, of beauty and of power. When we embrace it and come to truly believe it, an entire destiny will open before us.

I dwell on this for quiet some time and I know that I will not find the answer in one afternoon. The seed of this thought has been planted. I hope in time it will grow to become a driving force in my life. There is an angel inside, waiting to be set free and soar.

Six words can say a lot

Magic happens when you string the right words together.

Ernest Hemingway once said that he could write a great piece of story in six words. His story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Inspired by Hemingway to write equally economical yet evocative, here is a site collected the six words insights:

http://www.sixwordstories.net/

Some of my favorites:

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margartet Atwood

Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please.
- Steven Meretzky

I came. I saw. I conquered.
- Julius Caesar

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner

We kissed. She melted. Mop please!
- James Patrick Kelly

It’s interesting to acknowledge the example of brands that successfully tell their stories and build their images around six words

Starbucks
Third place between home and work

McDonald’s
The fastest burger anywhere on earth

Guess, can you name this brand?
Mint with a hole. Fresh breath.

Interested to read more? There is a book dedicated to six word memoirs

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18768430  (or just google)

These stories demonstrate that a brilliantly honed narrative can be as startling and powerful as a story of traditional length. A few chosen words can evoke a larger, more complex chain of events.

City of a Hundred Spires

‘Prague is more European than the rest of Europe. Exactly what one (American) expect from a generic European city: old buildings, strange language, multicultural place, history both medieval and WW2. Some remnants of old glory and some periods of misery. In Paris, you see France. In Amsterdam, you see the Netherlands. In Prague, you see Europe.’

Beer, puppets, and splendid architectures dominated by brightly hued Renaissance and Baroque buildings are just a few reasons to visit Prague.

Prague was a rare European capital to escape the ravages of WW2. Old buildings arrayed throughout the city center left intact and well preserved.

Since emerging from the somber shadows of Nazi occupation and one party rule, Prague has reversed into a hip tourist destination and embraced vibrant modernism where culture buffs and pleasure seekers mingle in chic cafés and Gothic cathedrals.

Standing in the busy commercial center of Prague today, it’s hard to imagine the painful history, which the city endured in the forty years of Soviet domination. Until 1989, inspired by the uprisings throughout Eastern Europe, the Czechoslovak people staged a peaceful protest known as the “Velvet Revolution” which then led to the overthrow of the communist regime.

Relics of Prague from those days behind the Iron Curtain seem like nowhere to be found now except in the Communist Museum (Ironically, it’s located on top of McDonald’s and in the same building as a casino).

Highlights from the trip

In Prague, the best way to explore the city is by foot, as most of the historic attractions are concentrated within easy walking distance of each other. Getting lost in the labyrinthine streets of Old Town is common. You have not truly experienced the city if you haven’t stopped at some point, wondered where you are, pulled out a map and started searching for the elusive street signs. And these moments often lead to unexpected surprises: a quiet lane, a charming cafe or a striking sculpture that’s not marked on map. In a city of Prague’s size, you won’t stay lost for long.

Among many sites to visit, the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle are the city’s signature landmarks. To get a superb view of all, walk across the Charles Bridge, look around from there and you can spot many other Prague hotspots such as Petrin, St. Nicholas Church, Prague Castle, Letna Park and the National Theater. If you turn around and look back towards Old Town, you’ll see why one of the Prague’s nicknames is City of 100 Spires.

The richness and diversity is what makes Prague a place of striking contrast. Tragedy meets comedy, the mundane meets the exceptional, the predictable meets the refreshingly novel. That is the beauty of Prague and the reason why all who come here are bound to return and some never even leave.

I hope to get a second chance to come back.