schools kill creativity

I find this talk by Sir Ken Robinson interesting. :)

playground

what if the world is really your playground?

enough

The word 'enough' has come several times to me this past two weeks. First, it was from a book I was reading (by Jostein Gaarder), about how we evolved to be human with two hands and two feet because two hands and two feet are enough for us. Then when I blog-walked a few days after, I encountered some blog post about being enough, one of them is this. Then just last Sunday, there was this column in Kompas, written by Samuel Mulia, titled "Enough".

I pondered on the word often.

As I googled the blogs for link references above, I found this article by Ruthe McDonald. I especially like this paragraph:

Yet, none of this is possible if I cannot accept who I am. If I cannot love me. If I cannot be content in the skin I'm in, until I am who God has called me to be. Don't get me wrong, when I say: accept who you are, I want you to always strive for what God says you can have. Accepting who you are, is the ability to love who you are and where you are going, without comparing yourself, or coveting what some else has. Accepting who you are does not mean that you stop dreaming, or living, or trying to enrich and improve your life. Accepting yourself, is loving who you are enough to become who God has ordained you to be.

I am enough.

I am loved.

lent and bedtime

During this season of Lent, I am abstaining from complaining. It was easy during the first day, then I tend to forget about my abstinence.

The struggle is harder around bedtime, which in my family happens around midnight. No matter what the activities are, Jove seems to have his energy renewed in the few hours approaching sleep. His favorite activities consist of playing with his cars on the bed, watching movie (he has been playing UP every single night for more than a week now), jumping up and down the bed, drawing, and being read a book (his latest favorite is a children's encyclopedia). Sometimes he asked for a snack or a glass of milk.

I used to become so grumpy if he didn't want to sleep at around eleven. But I stopped since being grumpy irritated my husband and my children, plus it didn't make Jove sleep earlier anyway. I tried to be involved in his activities and enjoyed it. Our favorite is to put the children on a blanket, then my husband and I will swing them while singing some songs. The we drop them on the bed giggling and asking for more and more until my hands are red and sore (being stronger, husband has no problem with that).

Last night, I was tired. Jove did not nap during the day and he was still very physically active at midnight. I got angry and I forced him to sleep. I complained high and low about how tired I was and how I needed rest and how I was sore of breastfeeding Kay to sleep (she kept on waking up because of his brother's activities). He slept at last. But I regretted my actions.

This morning, my husband told me that I should not force the kids to sleep again. Because sleeping is a peaceful act, the kids should be able to fall asleep in peace. Well, I completely agree with that. I just need to figure out what I can do to stay nice and sweet till my kids fall asleep peacefully.

everyone has talent

On Thursday, I went with mom and the kids to Mall of Indonesia, Kelapa Gading. When we crossed the ground floor to go from lobby 5 to lobby 1, I glimpsed an x-banner ad by Jaya Suprana school of performing art (if I was not mistaken) and a beautiful quote by Erica Jong written on top of it. We were walking quickly with the two kids in tow and I missed the ending of the quote (with no chance to walk back and re-read). I found it just now, accidentally, when I was blog-surfing.

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

I did not know who Erica Jong was. After a few clicks, I know that she is apparently a well-known novelist, essayist and poet. I also found her writings here.

couldn't fail

What would you do If you know you couldn't fail?