Coffee and Contemplation - 1

on
  It was a pleasant evening, and I always order a Japanese iced filter whenever I spend time at this particular slow bar in Jakarta. As I sipped my 50k-something coffee, my mind began to contemplate the passage of time. Ten years ago, I only paid 18k for the same menu item, the same beans. I understand how inflation works, and I know that coffee crops depend heavily on nature to thrive. Yet, as I sat there, I realized how drastically prices have skyrocketed over the last decade—not just for coffee, but for everything. Even though my salary has increased fourfold in that time, I still feel as though my buying power has weakened. It wasn't just the price of the beans that bothered me; it was the realization that the cost of living is quietly eroding everything I’ve worked for. I won't go into the weeds of government mismanagement, but it reminded me of a scene in The Trial of the Chicago 7 , where Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character asks Sacha Baron Cohen’s about his contempt for hi...
0

Vice Versa

on
'Kalau Shinta baik sama orang, nanti orang juga akan baik sama Shinta.'

Itu penggalan nasehat dari nenek gue. Agak sedikit meleset, gue mengartikannya jadi: kalau gue baik sama A, si A juga harus baik sama gue.

Pengertian itu lanjut kebawa sampe akhir semester ke lapan pas gue kuliah. Lalu, sabeum gue bilang:

'Nggak gitu, Shin. Contoh gini. Lo suka rese sama gue. Gak ada baik2nya dah. Tapi sekarang, pas lo down gara2 skripsi. Gue ada di sini.'

'Betul, kita harus baik sama orang. Tapi, kalau lantas kita berharap orang itu berbuat baik sama kita, itu yang namanya pamrih. Berarti kita masih itung-itungan dalam berbuat baik.'

'Padahal, ibaratnya sedekah aja, kita gak berharap orang yang nerima sedekah kita balik ngasih kita sedekah kan? Kita bakal bilang: biar Allah yang ngebales kebaikan kita.'

'Nenek lo gak salah. Cuma lo emang suka laen ngartiin maksud orang. Jadi, Shin. Gue sekarang bantuin lo, mungkin nanti pas gue susah, yang ngebantuin gue si A. Pas si A susah, ada si B yang nolong. Giliran si B ada masalah, bisa jadi pas waktunya lo bisa nolongin si B. Gitu. Ngerti?'

Hehehe, sebenernya ngerti sih. Tapi logika gue rada gak rela nerima itu. Jadi, kalau gue berbuat baik sama orang, lalu orang itu malah jahat sama gue, it's not a big deal? Kirain kayak hukum take n give.

Tapi iya juga sih. Jadinya gue pamrih. Jadinya berharap terlalu banyak. Emang rumusnya: 'biar Allah yang bales'

Termasuk kalau gue dijahatin orang. Gue gak perlu jahatin mereka balik. Allah yang bikin perhitungan. Jadi, kalau dapet musibah, coba ditelaah. Apakah itu teguran atas kesalahan kita, ujian untuk kita jadi lebih baik, atau azab Allah?

I always try to be better in His eyes. Not in human eyes. Karena saya gak bisa menyenangkan semua orang, kan?

Comments

Post a Comment