Happiness

is knowing that what you've left behind has given so much to those that you care so dearly...

is experiencing something sincere and tender in a gentle way...

is feeling the excitement of uncertainties, but still have a strong faith upon it...

is possessing the ability to cherish the simplest things in life as great gifts...

is having the opportunity to learn the things that we fear the most...

is walking with someone even though we have no idea on the destination; believe that the journey is the blessing of togetherness...

In the end...
Happiness is not about be with the one that we love so dearly, it's about giving our best to them...
Happiness is not about holding on, it's about letting go and let our prayers be the light for those who we love to see in their quest...
Happiness is not about walking with someone with visible beauty for the world to see, it's about being with someone that we can come to talk about anything and see the true beauty in our souls....
And Happiness is certainly not the idea of being together all the time...,
it's about sharing dreams and thoughts even though we're far apart.
And when we're together..
Every single moment becomes a divine blissful gift filled with wisdom and wondrous of life....

WHAT'S NEXT?

“Next” doesn’t sound like a motto to live by. It doesn’t make for an epic battle cry or moving political campaign slogan. But it was and still is my personal mantra that I used every day since I was growing up. Every single day that passed kind of giving me the feeling, "okay... what's NEXT?" instead of regretting on what had happened.

So, why am I telling you this? Who has any kind of concern in what I have within which I considered to be my personal mantra? I’m sharing this with you because it’s a philosophy that has carried me from nowhere to where I am today.  While I acknowledge that you can learn a great deal from historical precedents, I think we all spend too much time and energy looking backward.  The successes or failures of your past don’t define you.  It’s the ability to turn the page to the next, better chapter.

Take my life for an example, If I had paid attention to my "life indicators", a little girl with ADHD, an orphan, a victim of a physical and psychological abusive marriage; who knows where I would be. Certainly not here, sharing my opinion on life.

And when I decided to leave a certain condition and started a new chapter of my life, most people, well best to say, "the world" demanded me to stay put. And when other people with regular lives are moving up and thought that they have reached certain satisfactory points. I was drawing my own map, blazing my own trail with one single thing in mind after the end of everything, "What's NEXT"??

What was going to be the next great leap after the fall?
What was going to be the next great thought to think about after a certain misunderstanding?
What was going to be the next great step to take after a series of wrong turns in my life?
What was going to be the next idea after the failure of another idea?
What was going to be the next to build after a certain destructive condition?
What was going to be the next to grow after a certain lost?
Again, it was the same question: "What's NEXT" that actually managed to force me to keep moving forward, and somehow.., every end of something became a great beginning of something else too, and another statement will be: "I'm just getting started".

My point is, if you’re looking for an excuse to fail, you will always find one. Don’t get me wrong; I have no problem celebrating the wins. Victories are blessings, they instill the confidence within us that propels us forward. But remember, just don't trip on your victory lap if I may say though...

To some, “next” may come off as a dismissal. To me, it’s the catalyst for endless possibilities.  As a builder and a developer, my job is not done when the deal is closed. It’s about constantly watching  the road ahead.

Well...OK then, that's enough from me today...
NEXT....!!!!!

Always, with love
Lisa Fransiska Sitompul
November 21st, 2012

Bukan DUNIA tapi kita

BUKAN DUNIA, tapi KITA...

My precious, 

Kebahagiaan akan datang padamu saat engkau PERCAYA, bila selama ini jiwamu tertekan dan teraniaya oleh orang-orang yang mengatasnamakan cinta untuk menjeratmu, tetaplah merangkul mereka dalam doa, walau kini mereka murka karena engkau berani berbalik dan melangkah pergi. Tetaplah mengampuni mereka yang begitu pandainya menciptakan drama seolah yang terjadi adalah yang sebaliknya dan menumpahkan segala kebencian dan membuat seolah engkau yang telah menyakiti mereka karena engkau telah memiliki keteguhan untuk pergi dan mengatakan 'TIDAK' pada apa yang mereka inginkan.

Tidak mudah mendapatkan hidup kita kembali, terutama setelah kehidupan kita terenggut selama entah berapa lama dan diselimuti oleh kebohongan dan manipulasi. Namun saat kita mampu mengambil keputusan untuk melangkah, bersukacitalah karena akhirnya kita bisa kembali menjadi insan Allah yang utuh, dan semua yang mungkin pernah terenggut dan segala sesuatu yang tampaknya telah diselimuti oleh kebohongan dan manipulasi selama bertahun-tahun, lenyaplah sudah. 

Bila dunia tidak setuju dengan apa yang kita rasakan, itu bukan karena dunia kejam atau tidak adil, dunia hanya tidak mengerti bahwa apa yang kita rasakan itu mempengaruhi segala sesuatu dalam hidup kita yang secara perlahan menghancurkan diri kita sendiri. 

Bila dunia seolah mengatakan kita egois, hal itu bukanlah karena dunia tidak peduli dan acuh tak acuh akan apa yg kita rasakan; dunia hanya tidak mengetahui saat kita hidup dalam kepedihan panjang yang tidak tampak secara kasat mata di depan dunia, dan dunia tidak menyaksikan bahwa jiwa kita hancur perlahan hingga bahkan kesehatan kitapun hancur sedikit demi sedikit, dunia hanya akan berkata, "Kasihan dia" tanpa mampu berbuat apa-apa atau bahkan mengurangi rasa sakit itu.

Bila dunia tidak sependapat dengan langkah akan kita ambil, bukanlah karena dunia ingin menentang kita, dunia hanya tidak merasakan apa yang kita rasakan, betapa pedihnya rasa duri yang menancap di telapak kaki kita selama kita melangkah dalam dalam tekanan, kebohongan dan manipulasi itu.

Karena, selama ini...
Bukan dunia yang menutupi segala sesuatu demi ini dan itu.

Bukan dunia yang merasakan bahwa beban itu jadi makin berat karena setiap harinya muncul obligasi baru yang semakin menjerat. 

Bukan dunia yang merasakan bahwa selama ini beban itu jadi makin menyiksa karena selain kita harus alami semua kekejian dan berkompromi atas apa yang dilakukan oleh orang yang menguasai hidup kita dengan menciptakan kondisi yang mereka inginkan; kita juga harus bersikap seolah semua baik-baik saja dan kita seolah tampak menikmati siksaan itu.  

Bukan dunia yang harus bersandiwara didepan siapapun bahwa kita seolah mencintai seseorang hanya karena orang itu mencintai kekuasaannya atas kita.

Bukan dunia yang meraskaan siksaan keharusan itu walau jiwa kita berontak atas kekejaman yang dilakukan atas hidup kita dengan mengatasnamakan cinta.

Bukan dunia yang harus berjuang untuk menyenangkan orang-orang yang menguasai hidup kita.

Bukan dunia yang akhirnya tersakiti secara batin dan mencoba menikmatinya; yang pada akhirnya lama kelamaan menjadi racun yang menggerogoti jiwa dan fisik kita.

Juga... Bukan dunia yang harus menjaga sesuatu dan bertahan dalam kondisi yang telah dipelintir oleh orang-orang yang memiliki kuasa atas kita karena mampu memanfaatkan kita sebaik mungkin selama periode waktu tertentu.

Dan kini....

Bukan dunia yang harus berhadapan dengan kenyataan bahwa yang benar adalah apa yang dikatakan oleh mereka yang telah menguasai hidup kita selama entah berapa lama, namun berbahagialah engkau yang berani mengambil keputusan menentang semua dengan satu pengertian bahwa Allah mengerti dan mengenal hati kita.

Dan walau kini engkau dihujat...

di sakiti...

bahkan dipersalahkan akan segala sesuatu...

Ingatlah...

Bahwa semakin engkau direndahkan, semakin mulialah engkau di hadapanNYA.

Bahwa semakin pandai mereka mengumbar drama kehidupannya dan menempatkanmu sebagai tokoh si ‘jahat’, semakin hati dan jiwamu berbahagia karena engkau melakukan apa yang engkau yakini, sedangkan mereka sedang bersusah payah menyenangkan penonton drama kehidupannya.

Dan semua rangkaian kejadian yang tampak menyakitkan ini hanya sebuah proses yang semakin menguatkanmu, semakin membuat engkau bersyukur karena engkau telah keluar dari sebuah kondisi yang selama ini selalu kau turuti dan ikuti, semakin membuat engkau menyadari bahwa engkapun punya hak hidup dan hak berkarya yang sama dengan orang lain, engkau bukanlah sekedar sosok penggembira dan pemuas keinginan orang-orang tertentu, bahwa engkau bukanlah orang yang tidak bersyukur atas keindahan yang juga tetap muncul di tengah jeratan itu, dan engkau tetap berjuang untuk tetap membuat keindahan itu indah dan memukau dengan caramu yang tetap mengandalkan kasih sayang sebagai dasar dalam melakukan apapun yang ingin kau lakukan, bukan sesuai dengan apa yang diinginkan oleh orang-orang yang ingin menguasaimu.

Sehingga akhirnya kelak, engkau akan menyadari,

“ONLY THE DEAD FISH GOES WITH THE FLOW”

Hanya jiwa yang matilah yang berdiam dalam kondisi-kondisi yang selama ini telah engkau jalani...

Kini, saat engkau telah berbalik dan mengerahkan tenagamu untuk meraih apa yang telah lama ingin kau raih, mungkin engkau harus melawan arus yang teramat kuat, mungkin engkau harus melewati rintangan yang tidak terbayangkan oleh banyak orang, mungkin engkau akan harus menjalani penghakiman sosial dan dianggap manusia yang berbeda dengan sekelilingmu...

Well, in my opinion....

The difference between ORDINARY and EXTRAORDINARY is that little EXTRA in between, and who knows, that you can be more than EXTRA by being DIFFERENT...

With love, 

Lisa Fransiska Sitompul

November 16th, 2012

GO THE EXTRA MILE

I wrote yesterday,

I found two interesting things yesterday morning,

1st:
"When someone asks you to walk with him/her for a mile, do it for two miles instead... Who knows what will happen along the way n what will impact your life during the journey."

2nd:
"When you can hate someone by any reason at all, be the exceptional to impact lives by compromising, let go of hatred and forgive... Be kind n put your best effort in building relationship to others as a service n contribution to life."


How can I relate these two things into something that actually able to influence my life in a positive way, and perhaps, able to impact other people's lives too. The first thing was shared by Gaylord, one of the speakers of “Entrepreneurship with Purposes” Training. Well, I continued the statement with what was the possibility that might appear after we do something ‘more’ as explained by Gaylord.

I’m extremely blessed by Gaylord’s story about a man, Fred Share. It is amazing to know that a simple Mail Man called Fred Shaw could actually do something to many people in a very simple and sincere way. Not many still use real mails to send letters, mails nowadays is related to sending things instead of letters; meanwhile, there are many chain supply companies that actually provide the same services. In short, what Fred does for a living is certainly not a popular thing! No high education level is required to be mail men, as long as we can read properly, have a healthy physical condition, able to coordinate addresses and willing to walk or drive here or there; any of us can be a mail man. So, by this fact, when everyone can be a mail man, is this occupation is an un-important job?

And Gaylord stated:
“There’s no un-important job while many people think that they do something un-important!”

I was thinking the moment Gaylord mentioned that statement, and it has given me the peace of mind upon some things that actually happened in my life recently. What have been said by Gaylord kind of giving me the motivation to break in and walk through a wondrous wilderness of uncertainty an extra mile away; and this has given me the courage to make a decision upon something that I fear for quite sometimes; which is meeting someone that had caused quite big un-comprehendible issues in my life.

One of my dearest friends, Charles; calls me ‘Blessing Lisa’.
I don’t really know why he chose that nick name for me, I was quite hard to him during his most difficult times, I even pretended to look at the other way around when he needed me the most by giving me him the terms and conditions on what he should do in order to talk to him as friends that we used to be. And that action didn’t make Charles to leave me as a friend of changed my name into: “Dreadful Lisa’. Instead, Charles kept on reaching me and tried to show me that he was, he still is and he will always be a good friend with one understanding:

‘She was being so hard on me because she wanted me to stand up and move on with my life without any regrets and let go of the pain within me...’
And by this, I believe that Charles has forgiven me for some of the actions that I applied upon our friendship, and unconsciously, Charles has also taught me about a different form of forgiveness related to the visions, missions, objectives and plans in our lives. In Short, we both blessed by problem occurred in our lives, we both blessed by our disagreements and we both blessed by the different paths that we had taken in which, eventually, it had led us to the same destination! And away from our awareness, both of Charles and I had taken an extra mile in sharing and giving to each other.

So, get the picture now?
Going the extra mile is strongly related to forgiveness. Maybe for some situations it will be just accompanying someone in getting through something, but have you ever think about something that you might learn along the way?
And this is a real life, my friend... Most of the times, bad things, unfair things or perhaps unpleasant events actually occur in our lives or those who walks with us along the way. And it’s quite normal if most of us would say or think, “It’s none of my concern”, but I have learned that by a simple and small sincere caring, we can create a beyond compare outcome. It may give better impact to someone’s life or even ours!

Developing something in our lives requires us to communicate, interact and relate properly with every aspects in our lives. Not many people think that this can impact our lives so much, how we see our perspective, how we coordinate our priorities, or maybe, how we solve problems in our lives?
Communicate in a positive way leads us to better understandings, interact in a positive way leads us to better solutions and by maintaining relationship in a good and positive way, it will improve the quality of every aspects in our lives both personally and professionally.

By this, I truly have come to the understanding that by giving a little bit more, putting a greater effort into something in which is ‘going an extra mile’; combined with the positive mind set and the attitude by possessing the sincere ‘forgiveness’ behaviour, we can build better communications to interact in a healthy way in order to maintain our relationship with our loved ones, friends, family, colleagues or even our business partners. A very inspiring statement, ‘simple things are great and great things are simple’ is so easy to comprehend when we see things in our lives through positive perspectives, apply it into our lives in a positive way and share it to our surrounding in a very positive way too. Hopefully, we can do more, share more and dare to inspire more through simple ways in our lives to actually improve our inner quality and values, strengthen our integrity and enrich our sensitivity to our surrounding.

In the end, I wish us all to dare to ‘go an extra mile’ and share more ‘forgiveness’ in our lives; and hopefully, we all can be this positive energy, the positive 'cancer' that inspire and multiply people’s will to do more, to give more to lives, dare to impact more in other people’s lives in reaching better things in our lives.

Always with love,
Lisa Fransiska Sitompul
August 8th 2012

Cross or Burn the Bridge

I always say,

'A day only lasts 24 hours, a day will always end at a certain time as it will  always starts with new hope and new beginnings...
So, hold on a little bit more, defeat your fear and make peace with your pain, embrace your life and love yourself a little bit more each day.."

A single step can change the pattern of our path, a single turn can create a whole different course in our lives; and I just wrote;
"Good decisions come from experiences, even the worst ones.. And believe me most of the time, Precious experiences come from Bad Decisions."

Considering these facts...
Does a bad decision make any of us a lesser person that we truly are?
Or
Do precious experiences turn us to better persons?

Quite confusing, don't you think?

And amazingly, we should never be able to avoid the fact that the hardest thing to learn in life is to decide which bridge to cross and which to burn. Disappointment, Confusion and Doubts are the instruments of life that will always be attached in our existence on this planet, whether we like it or not...

I know it is not easy to train our heart to believe that even in the worst moment of our lives, there might be a tapestry of greatness beyond our mind to comprehend. 
Do we need to understand it directly?
Well, perhaps there are sometimes in our lives require us to surrender to our limitation in understanding things and simply moving on and moving up, giving our best and contribute something more, eventually... things will work out beyond our expectations.

And acceptance brings up to greater beginnings...
And letting go is just another best way to embrace life more, another way to tell the world and our loved ones, "I love you" over and over again...

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday...
with love,

Lisa Fransiska Sitompul
July 31st, 2012

Blessed by greater things to comprehend

I can't stop the sun from shining after a break of the dawn as much as I can't stop the leaves to fall down to earth when the season changed from sunny days into autumn...

I can't stop the planet from revolving and the turning of the stars above the sky as much as I can't stop the wind from blowing to where it wants to blow...

I said once that I am blessed by the crumbs of bread instead of the bread...
For bread might safe us from hunger, while crumbs of bread have the power to safe us from desperations...

I just wrote this morning, 
"Looking through things in common ways provide us common things in life...
While looking things through the essential beauty of life in imperfections gives us something beyond..."

I don't need a perfect day to start to actually have the ability to share and inspire the world in my surrounding, I don't really need a perfect condition to understand different matters in my life and I certainly need no explanations to things that crossed my mind. There are the times in our lives that we can just sit and listen to things in our surrounding, to the sound of the wind, to the songs played in the radio, or simply listen to our own hearbeat. Give it a time to entertain yourself in silence and loneliness. Focus on what's within you instead of torturing yourself with guilt and desperations that leads to no end!

I couldn't stop expressing my gratitude to God for He has allowed so many amazing things happened in my life. I learned so much to let go in order to embrace new opportunities and greater chance to be a better person. Extra-ordinary things only happen to extra-ordinary people; I don't really need a further explanation that leads to better understandings upon this matter.

I have learned that by our innocent and sincere nature we can learn so much things in life. Surrender to the facts and say to ourselves, "Let it be", then simply move on, this attitude might strengthen us to simply "Move UP" too...
Remember that Harbours are made for ships to rest its anchors, but that's not why ships were built! So, prepare yourself for another voyage and believe that whatever come next, you'll be ready to face any kind of storms at all...

Bring into play the almighty power within you, so that on the  stage of life you can fulfill your high destined role. Believe that possessing the joy in looking through things in a different point of view and possessing the ability to comprehend things in wiser ways are the God's best gift of life; this may lead us more to things beyond our imaginations. It is entirely our choice whether we want to respond to miracles in our surrounding to actually acknowledge them as miracles instead of disasterous events!

So, the choice is ours...
And this is simply the best way to see things as inspirations to our lives and our surroundings...
For giving is so much more than receiving, cause we will always be blessed by greater things to comprehend....

Always with love, 
Lisa Fransiska Sitompul
June 12th, 2012