A Gift from Nature

Nature never fails in giving gifts to us, if we may notice. I have a gardenia tree in my little garden. I noticed that it has been giving gorgeous flowers since June this year. I have been enjoying its white color and also the fragrance so much. Look at the beautiful picture below. I shared this picture to some friends and contacts. Along with the picture, I put a caption ‘what do you feel looking at this flower?’. Most of the people expressed their good feelings about it. It validated my thought that everybody loves flowers. A friend used the same word to express with me, ‘so gorgeous!’ We shared thr same feeling.

It looks so gorgeous!

Only one person said that she didn’t feel anything. My other friend said that everyone relates to flower differently. The feeling might be different from one person to another as well. The seed of the beauty is not in the flower, but in the heart. The flower is just the trigger. The beauty (the feeling) is kept in the heart. Some will get triggered, other may not get triggered.

Forget the numbers

When I got covid-19 and just got tested, it said that my CT level was only 14. It was very low. The lowest among anyone I knew who got covid-19. I was introduced to start knowing some numbers. The body temperature, the pulse rate and also the oxygen saturation. All is indicated in numbers. I had an oxymeter to check the oxygen saturation and pulse with me. I heard from people the oxygen saturation tends to drop in covid patients. and when it drops to 90 or 85, one needs oxygen. The virus infects the lungs and quickly affect the respiratory system. Most of the covid patients experience shortness of breath, including me.

Bye oxymeter!

It should be checked regularly to know whether the patient need oxygen or not. Every time I checked my oxygen saturation that little monitor showed numbers, it kept changing from 99, 98, 97, 97,95, then 94. It takes a little bit of time to finally stop and show a number of oxygen saturation level. If you are the patient, that few seconds can make so panicked and restless. It was said that you need to be cautious if it goes down below 95. In such a situation, I decided not to check it again. I just didn’t want to know it anymore. Much later a friend who shared her story to me, taking care of four people in her family who got covid at the same time said that she became very stressful hearing the word oxygen saturation. The four people had to be hospitalized and all needed oxygen. The sad story was that one of them died, her brother in law.

The only thing that I kept with me is a thermometer. It was to check my body temperature. I needed to know if I still needed to take paracetamol or not. Covid-19 might not a simple disease. But I didn’t want to get myself complicated with those numbers and get stressed and worried. Worries would never help me. So I chose not to be worried.

The Cutest Dog

A friend sent me this picture. A very cute dog. He is Luke. My friend told me that he bought Luke as a gift for his wife at their wedding anniversary. It is their second dog. The first one is Axel. A different type of dog. I met both of them when I visited my friend a few years ago. Luke has become everyone’s favourite dog in the family. Everyone in the family should take the dogs out for a walk everyday. It was the deal they made. I think my friend loves the dogs very very much. Now I understand why people love their pets so much. I didn’t understand when another friend kept mourning for few days or weeks for the loss of her dog. I remembered a colleague had to take a half day leave from office to attend the funeral of her cat. It just didn’t compute in my mind at that time.

Look at this smile!

I asked my friend if somebody loved Luke and wanted to buy the dog : ‘Would you sell it?’ His answer was interesting. He said : ‘Noone wants to sell his family.’ Luke has become part of the family. I think he and his family have given him so much love and a very good care. I can see from the big smile, a very happy smile.

I never think of having any pet. I don’t think I have enough time and atttention to take care of it. When I was small and living in my parents’house, we had a small dog. I remember I used to play with it after school. And much later when I hmoved to my house, a nephew who lived with me was having a turtle. It was very small. But after a few years it grew so big. We planned to go out of town for one week or so. Not wanting to feel guilty leaving the turtle, I asked my nephew to give it to his friend who was willing to give a good care of it.

Do you have a pet in your house?

30 Minutes Celebration, Free from Covid-19

I remember I had a thought of having a celebration when I got recovered. I call it ‘30 Minutes Celebration, free from Covid-19’. I shared this idea to a friend. In fact my body was so weak at that time. My friend might think that I had been feeling better. He said ‘It is a great idea. When you keep light and positive about it, it will inspire people.’ Actually I was not even going through my lowest point, my body was too weak and I still got high fever. Yet my mind was busy thinking and planning on the idea – the format of the celebration, what I wanted to share or say, who would be invited etc. Thinking of the celebration is having a positive thought. A positive thought gives power to the soul. This thought has made me focus on the recovery and not on the sickness. It must have contributed to my speedy recovery.

My virtual celebration

Since then I have a mission to encourage people to stay calm and stay courageous in dealing covid-19. Last Sunday I had my celebration on ZOOM. I invited my bosses, colleagues and friends for this. I was very happy that they could make it. I shared my experience in dealing with Covid-19 fearlessly, how I stayed happy and courageous. To my bosses, colleagues and friends, thank you for making time to join my celebration. You have supported me through your good wishes. I am so grateful to have you all.

My mission is to inspire people to be fearless.

One mission is accomplished.

How I stayed grateful while having Covid-19

When a colleague was being hospitalized due to Covid-19 in December last year, he told me that he didn’t like the meals provided by the hospital. I posted his story on A Solo Battle. So he decided to get his meals from outside through online order.

• 

Oats and raisin for breakfast

When I was in my self-quarantine at home, I didn’t have choices what to have for my meals. I only had in my stock one big package of oats, a box of raisin and a box of milk. I was not favourite for having breakfast with oats and raisin actually. But that was the only menu that I could have for breakfast. It is very easy and very quick to prapare. Only 3 minutes! My body was too weak to prepare my own meal longer than 3 minutes. So I had oats and raisin for my breakfast every single day. Since then I love this breakfast.

The 3 colours vegie soup for lunch

I had vegie soup for my lunch. I call it three-colors soup. Sweet corn, spinach and carrot. It looks fresh and super nice. I also had this menu every sibgle day. When I shared my soup photo to my colleague (I mention above) with a caption ‘I am very grateful with this soup’. He quickly responded ‘It must taste so good’. In fact I only put salt and pepper in it.  It is just similar with hospital’s meal. It’s quite plain, not spicy at all.

• 

My honey lemon tea

The covid patients are always adviced to have sun rays, so I also did it. I sat just right in front of my front door to get the morning rays from the sun. It was really cool having my favourite drink, honey lemon tea. It is the hot one. It was just my mood booster.

I was really grateful with my simple meals during my self-quarantine.

When you are grateful, your heart is happy because you love what you have and you are not craving for something you don’t have.

How I dealt with Covid-19

It has always been very CLEAR with me that this virus only infects the body, not the soul. The soul remains safe and courageous. I kept telling myself and everyone ‘I know this soul is very strong.’

I think this thought helped me a lot in dealing with the virus. My friend said that this is the power of thought.

I took the medicine and vitamins that prescribed by a doctor. I had my covid vaccine. I heard from many people that after having vaccinated someone may still get infected but with mild symptoms, like me. This also helped me in my recovery.

I could maintain a state of having no complaint, about my situation nor the virus. I always communicated to the virus with love ‘Virus, you may stay here but I need to make this body strong. You will be more comfortable when this body is strong.’ In this way,  I only allowed love fill my heart, including love for the virus. When there is love, there is no fear. In this way I remained fearless.

Actually people are not afraid of covid-19 but death. Because rarely people have prepared for their death.

We are afraid of death, not Covid-19.

I have one mission now, to inspire as many people as possible not to be afraid of covid-19 and stay courageous.

Would you join me?

I am back!!!!

Positive Covid-19 with CT 14

I didn’t post anything in this blog in the last two weekends.

Yes, I was positive covid. I have been in a self-quarantine for the last two weeks. It was a wonderful time during the two weeks.

I had my first jab of covid vaccine on June 17th 2021. I got fever, sore throat and cough.

I will share how I dealt with this virus fearlessly in my coming posts.

Anger is not a strength

Human being is sometimes called a reaction machine. To react easily. To be reactive is to act without thinking. When we are angry, we tend to react. Anger is an emotion. It is not permanent, it is temporary. It takes a very short time to release anger. When an anger is not controlled, very often it leaves us a regret. The anger doesn’t stay long, but the regret may stay longer.

How to be free from anger and not becoming a reaction mechine? Work on the root cause of the anger. Work on the pain that causes your anger. Many times it is an emotional pain, not a physical pain. Work on the emotional level. If the reason of your anger is a feeling of being unworthy, work on it, start realizing your self-worth and become worthy. If the reason of your anger is a feeling of hurt, deal with that hurt and start the healing.

Know your pain, realize it is there. Don’t deny it! Accept that pain and start dealing with that pain. Empower yourself and make yourself strong enough. Anger is not a strength, it is a weakness. If you can stay calm and not react easily, then you are strong inside. It is the real strength.

Hi, it is December!

This pandemic has completely reset my mind. I think in a personal level, I have adjusted myself quite well. I do not have the courage to make any travel plan. It is already December. Ussually I have made a travel plan for a year end vacation before December. My colleagues also usually have made their plans for their family vacation every December.  But not this year. Nobody has shared any trip plan yet.

When a colleague was talking about air ticket promotion which sounded really a good deal, I felt like I just woke up from a very long sleep. “What is it?” I said in my mind.

It has been a year when I had my last travel. I never imagined before that it would be this long, we have to stay in our place and not travel. A vacation for me is to spend sometimes in nature, away from the city. In December last year, I went to Banyuwangi. I thought I would like to travel from one end to the other end of Java. I took a train from Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Banyuwangi. A very long trip, but it was a really wonderful trip.

It is the place where you can see blue sky everyday.

It is called ‘Africa van Java’

People call it “Lord of the Ring” forest

Me and the Loro Jonggrangs

I have found several ways to enjoy my December with no traveling nor ‘vacation’.

What about you? Do you have any plan to end this year?

Developing an attitude of gratitude

Developing an attitude of gratitude is really the way to happiness. If you want to make yourself happy right now, you need to develop this attitude. Be grateful for everything you have with you. List down everything you have right now that you are grateful for – health, job, family, friends, good relationship, some skills, food, clothes, house, vehicle etc. Many people do not have what you have right now. Many people out there are struggling for what you have.

Be grateful for what is with you now. Don’t wait till they are gone and you can only appreciate it whe it is already gone. It will be too late. There will be only regret.

If you focus on what you have, your heart will become content. A contented heart is a happy heart. To be grateful is to be happy. So don’t postpone your happiness till you get what you want to get. Be happy right now.

Don’t think too much of what you do not have right now. Don’t let it steal your happiness.

Can you write a list of what you are grateful for right now?