small gifts of life

when we grow up, life seems getting tougher everyday. some people, including me (see, i say it loud and clear) becoming a complainer, keeps whining all the time. why? one of the reasons is because i rarely see a bunch of beautifully wrapped gifts like what i saw during my childhood. what i see most now is a bunch of problems that needs to be solved.

however, some people said that each person can see a glass half full or half empty. tonight, it suddenly hit me (in usual place) that i still have gifts wherever in my life. not that big, not beautifully wrapped (not always), not a bunch. it just comes in a small package, sometimes unseen, unspoken, easily forgotten.

like my lunch today: almost all of the team gathered on one big table, eating peacefully, talking each other, sharing stories, laughing, touching. it's quite rare to see the scene happening in my small busy office, when each of us have full schedule and different deadline that forced us to just eat instead of enjoying lunch.

or few days ago: when i got home and still able to watch smallvile in trans7 which means i arrived before 9pm! i'm not a big fan of smallvile but i watched it anyway, just because i know that i still have plenty of time to watch dvd, take a bath, reading some pages, calling or sms-in by buddies, or even do the laundry. it's a bless!!!

well, that's why i decide to write about this at the very moment it hit me. it's wonderful when we realize, which is rarely happening to me, but really easily forgotten. i dare anyone of who reads this, can you identify at least 2 of the latest small gifts of life given to you?

coz i have... and i think i still have some more...

communication

i remember a sentence in my handbook of communication back on early days of my college. communication is inevitable, you cannot NOT communicate, for the rest of your life.

easiest way to communicate is through talking. another lesson i got, talking is creating a dialog, (at least) 2 way conversation. monologue, doesn't count. talking involves sending the message and receiving the message, we can't just keep sending words or the other way around, receiving words into our head. talking is even hard already sometimes.

me and him, sometimes lost the message somewhere in the middle of the process. it turn out that it's not just the content of the message that counts, but also the way we convey the message. the way i say things. my expression. my tone. the volume. when you know someone so well, bet you can tell whenever he/she hides anger from you, coz it's just obvious.

for people like me, who adores writing as main communication channel, technology is a precious gift. back then, i used to write my parents a letter when i had to admit that i was seeing a guy and wanted to invite him to my birthday party (yes lil, where are you now?) me and my dad used to write letters and used telex to share daily stories when my dad on duty abroad for months. phone? rarely yet expensive at that time (we had to stay at my grandfather's house just to receive a phone call from my dad - 1990ish). can you imagine?!

then there it comes hi tech era. when we need to buy specific voucher just to send sms to each other, sms among different providers was quite impossible few years ago. i must admit, sms and internet is one of the best things ever happened to human kind - yes, if we use it wisely. i can freely express my feelings (mostly of anger and despair) to everyone, including my beloved man. downside is, if he/ she is not the kind of visual person who prefers to say everything upfront rather than writing, it's almost like a monologue isn't??

until tonite, when something stupid comes along, when someone is actually in front of my eyes but then i can't see him anyway, i got the most updated lesson. we have to communicate by heart, not necessarily by telepathy but put your heart in the other's shoes. feel empathy to the other. less judgment. less volume. less tone. much love.

forgive me for keep yelling at you today, mplung...