It Takes Time

This morning a lecturer of mine hit me again with a statement that communication is all about process.

We cannot reach out to something that maybe we call as a goal just in seconds. There are steps. It's all by the process. Instant is definitely out of the vocabulary. How we manage to take or give knowledge as the basic, then level up to understanding, and come up with the conative effect which symbolize in action. The output, the outtakes, the outcomes, is all matters.

It's funny that somehow, as a communication student, I still found out people in the same faculty as mine: which means they're communication students as well, didn't get the point or tend to forget that communication is a process. They rush things, they didn't appreciate things, and they underestimate little things. You know, it's kinda disappointing. But please, do note that it's not all people that I met, only certain people.

We are all just humans. We grow all day errr day, we learn. As well as our mindset, becoming more mature in every decision made in life. Do realize that process is important. Trust the process and the result will never betray. 

Changing the perception is quite easy, but changing the belief? That's quite challenging. 

Toodles! :)

The End

"What comes up in mind when you hear a sound of a door close?" told him, more like a murmur from his honey-coated lips. I barely heard what comes out of his mouth.

Wind swings around my ears, the birds chirping and it sounds like they sing, being a choir of our warm conversations in the edge of twilight. The questions hanging, we managed ourselves not to look at each other, but staring at the blue sky and still searching for the whitest cloud. The sky and clouds, the colors that we always adored. I know myself that he always questioned everything, and that's what makes my mind stolen at the very first time, or heart. 

"Do you like endings?"

And here you go, straight forward to what he means. He likes to metaphor, everything, even his deep as an ocean eyes. It's just his thing and never changed a bit, mystical creature with the sweetest look.

"How can I like endings when I often stereotype it as sad things. Just so you know."

I cannot be more honest than that. I've experienced endings my whole life, and I believed he had the same thing. Why should I give myself a respect for such an experience then?

He smiled. The worth-a-thousand-meanings smile that he always preserved. The smell of coffee poking our noses, tickle our lickings to drink. He sips his coffee in a tiny cup, the bitter liquid tastes fantastic. I've tried to distract my mind with any little thing I caught, but I couldn't. Yes, it's the situation where he just stared me right in the eyes while I'm doing nothing, but stared at him too.

"You know, we meet endings everyday and I kinda love it," he continued, " why don't we change our point of view and giving a chance to embrace endings? I like to explore things, and ending is such a thing."

"And why is it matter?"

"Because endings are actually heading you to new beginnings, new doors open. When we touchdown to endings, it means we have to be ready to face new things, which should be exciting." He blinked and continued, "Imagine your mind as a garden. You managed your consciousness as a fertilizer to make sure all things in tune with your intellectual standards which seen as flowers. When the flowers died, you come out to buy seeds and plant some new ones, then keep it with a good quality of fertilizer so the flowers stays."

I sighed. He always brings out the positivity of everything, which I actually admired. 

"So what's with the garden thingy? Are you trying to be a gardener now?"

"It's all the matter of preparation, darling, mentally. Endings makes us learn and grow. Night comes as an ending, then comes morning. It leads us to appreciate every single time and thing we have, so we do need endings. For me, endings radiate something more than just a twist of life. You just have to take courage to feel it."

"And do you want me to be your ending?"

"If being with you gonna take me to new beginning forever, then yes. You're gonna be my favorite daily-ending."

Whimsical feelings and he seems to enjoy. I realized that it's night already, and it becomes starry. 

"Do you like it now?" asked him.

"Very much with a cherry on top."

And it just ends. 

Ada Apa #1 | Cerita

Sore tadi saya teringat bahwa saya pernah bertemu Sukab, lakon yang paling melekat di ingatan dari cerpen-cerpen karya Seno Gumira Ajidarma.

Saya bertemu dengannya di kereta arah Tanah Abang, saat itu saya baru saja menyambangi perpustakaan suatu universitas negeri di Depok. Sukab yang saya temui terlihat gelisah, raut wajahnya menunjukkan ada kejanggalan yang kiranya melanda. Ia berdiri di depan pintu kereta rel listrik, memandang ke arah jalan. Sesekali Sukab melihat layar ponsel dan orang di sebelahnya. Rambutnya klimis, tetapi saya rasa bukan karena gel atau disengaja seperti itu, melainkan karena keringat yang bersarang dan membuat setiap helainya lepek. 

Sukab menenteng tas kerja hitam di tangan kirinya. Warnanya sudah sedikit memudar, dengan kulit tas yang mengelupas di ujung-ujungnya. Kemeja putihnya lusuh, dipasangkan dengan celana kain hitam yang terlihat agak kebesaran. Mata Sukab sendu, bibirnya tampak menggumamkan sesuatu, tetapi bukan perihal mengingat Tuhan. 

"Ka, lihat, itu Sukab."

"Sukab? Siapa?" kata seorang teman, heran.

"Sukab, yang di cerpennya Seno, ia hidup."

Sampai akhirnya Sukab turun di Stasiun Sudirman, lamat-lamat tubuh ringkihnya ditelan kerumunan.

Saya senang karena tokoh yang biasanya hanya ada di imajinasi berhadapan langsung dengan saya, nyata. Segala lelah setelah mencari referensi buku dan jurnal untuk sebuah penelitian sekejap hilang. Saya bertemu Sukab.

Bukan, post ini bukan tentang Sukab. 

Bertemu dengan orang asing selalu membuat saya menerka-nerka, seperti apa ya kisah hidupnya? Mengapa wajahnya masam? Lapar? Atau resah? Siapa yang membuatnya tersenyum hari itu? Seseorang yang menjadi wallpaper ponselnya, kah? Atau mungkin, angin sejuk yang tiba-tiba datang saat matahari berkaca.

Saya suka mencermati, orang-orang yang lewat, yang sedang bercengkerama di sudut restoran. Dari ujung kaki sampai ujung kepala, bahkan brand dari sepatunya. Tenang, saya tidak menilai orang dari apa yang ia pakai, kok. 

Saya mencoba "mengenal" mereka, dari apa yang terlihat oleh mata dan terlintas di udara. Somehow, dengan memerhatikan orang-orang yang nggak dikenal, membuat saya jadi lebih bersyukur juga. Apa yang kita punya, belum tentu mereka punya. Begitu sebaliknya. Dengan "mengenal" mereka, saya belajar pula untuk mengirimkan doa agar mereka menjalani hari yang baik. Kita nggak pernah tau, apa yang sedang dihadapi mereka, bukan? 

Tak jarang saya langsung meluapkan cerita saya dengan orang yang berada di dekat saya. Ada yang menyambut antusias, ada yang tersenyum dalam diam, ada pula yang tidak menghiraukan dan memilih pacaran dengan ponselnya.

Beberapa teman bilang,

"Nulis cerita mah di kertas aja, atau nanti kalau ketemu laptop."

Menurut saya, hasrat bercerita nggak melulu harus dicurahkan dengan media kertas atau laptop. Hal tersebut membuat kita menunggu, dan cerita tidak harus menunggu. Di mana pun dan kapan pun, kita bisa bercerita, atau membuat cerita. Walaupun hanya di pikiran dan hati kita sendiri, buat saya tidak masalah. 

Saya disadarkan bahwa rasa senang atau kebahagiaan, tidak melulu ada karena sesuatu yang besar. Dan bercerita menjadi salah satu kebahagiaan saya.

Bahagialah karena kita sadar, untuk selalu membuka mata terhadap hal-hal kecil di sekitar kita.

Apa ceritamu hari ini?