Karma: "Everything happens for a reason"

Have you ever stop and think why you are what you are now? Have you ever think why you can't solve a mathematical problem? Have you ever think why you are not very creative?

Have you ever think why your friend is better than you? Have you ever think why your friend score a better score on a certain test?

"Everything happens for a reason," and it's true. The simple example is that we get hungry because we don't eat. We get thirsty because we don't drink. But is that all? Surely not. If we are looking from a simple perspective, surely we will make the same answers as above. However, if we were to dig the question deeper, we will see more answer! Why was he or she hungry? Why didn't he or she eat when he or she was hungry? Dig the question deeper!

There are many cases of cause and effect. Let's look at the most common cases...

"What we plant is what we get."

Imagine you are planting an apple seed. After some times, the seed has grown into an apple tree! Of course it will not grow into a banana tree, a pineapple tree, or even an orange tree.

Now, about our bad score. Why do we get bad score? To look at it from many perspectives, there will be many answers. But, the simplest perspective is usually because we didn't study hard, or we didn't study at all! Just like the apple seed growing into an apple tree, our action will determine the future! Because we didn't study a certain subject, we don't get a good score. Because we didn't do something good, we don't get something good.

Turning all 'bad-turn-bad' situation into 'good-turn-good' situation. If we study hard, we will gain something: knowledge. This knowledge may help us on our test, and it will help us getting a better score. Now, what if we do something else? What if we train our body so we can type without looking at the keyboard? Of course, we will be able to type without looking at the keyboard, and it might give many other benefits. Of course we won't see the benefit overnight.

Just like the apple seed growing into an apple tree, there is a process. Our action will have an effect after sometimes. If we skip a meal, we will have less energy and feel hungry later.

"Then what if it is biological?"

The concept of biological here, I believe, is something we got from when we were still in our mother's belly. It's true that biological problem is another case. However, we can also look at it at a different perspective. Let's take the seed and tree case. Now, you got an apple seed. After planting it for sometimes, the seed had grown into a small and fragile bud. Then, you learn that the bud wouldn't grow into a fine tree! Now, would you blame the seed? Would you give up?

Well, if it was just growing a seed into tree, we can give up easily. However, what if it's your life? Life is not like that. Even a seed is different from the other. Yes, we can say they are apple seeds. However, we can also say that we are humans. We are peoples. We are different from one another, just like those seeds. One apple seed is different from the other apple seed. Will you give up and give in to your fate? Will you take your own life? 

Let's look at the famous disabled, Mr. Nick Vujicic.

While we may not know how his life was exactly, we can see his smile now. His smile is a very happy smile. Now, can you make a smile as happy as that? Yes, you can. Accept your life and you will be happy.

Now, before we go into the next point. Think about Mr. Nick's parents. Did they throw him away? Did they abort him? Did they...murder him? No. It's not his parents life. It Mr. Nick's own life. Mr. Nick got to choose how he should live his life. The same goes to us. We should choose how we should live. Even with a lot of weaknesses, we should be at least happy that you still have our life! Remember, what we do will affect our future. If we stay negative, we will not be happy.

"I don't need this lesson!"

While it's true that we sometimes hate a certain subject, it doesn't mean we must hate learning them. Now let's look back at the first point. Why do we hate that subject? Is it because of the teacher? Is it because your parents force it to you? Or is it because you don't understand it at all? There is no such answer like, 'I just hate it.'

We hate something because of a reason. For example. A child hates meat because he or she had a meat that was hard to eat. A child hates greens because the child had greens that was either too green or too bland. Although the real case is not as simple as this, we can learn that children hate something because of a reason. Now, do they tell the reason why? If they were to tell you, would you listen to them?

Sometimes, it's not that we hate something because 'we hate them'. We hate something because something had happen in our past. Sometimes we don't want to share because we had shared to someone who force us to repeat that bad experience again! Now, can we blame the one who force us? Well, we can't. Do we know the reason why he or she force us?

Let's get back to the apple tree. Do you know why the apple tree grow healthily? It's because it was watered everyday. It's because it got fertilizer. Now, for those who eat organic food, you probably know that sometimes fertilizer is made of manure. The manure helps the plant grow better.

However bad our experience was, we still need to try it again. Who knows it might be more fun than you thought? Who knows it might be useful later? Just like Mr. Nick Vujicic. We don't know how many bad experiences he had felt. However, those probable bad experiences had turned him into a wonderful man! We must not blame our present condition. Instead, we must look for a way to improve our present condition! That way, we will get something useful.

"You own your own karma."

It is actually a Buddhism teaching. You own your own karma.

Now... If I didn't study. Who decided it? Me. If I skipped my meal. Who decided it? Me. Who will get the effect of not studying and skipping meal? Me. See? Don't blame someone else because something bad happen in your life. Remember, it's all because of yourself.

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Conclusion:

Life is always a complex process. We learn many thing, and sometimes what we just learned contradicted with something we had learned before. Probably, what I write contradict each other...

However, looking at the cause and effect, we can say that we meet so many cases in our lives. Depending on our choices and actions those case will lead to a certain result. Let's stop and think for a while. When should we do something good? When should we do something beneficial? The answer is now. We should do something good or beneficial now! Who knows you will get the effect sooner than you expected?

Even if you did something bad in the past, it doesn't mean that you must stop doing something good just because you already did something bad in the past. You live in the present, and you are living for the future.

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My apologize if it was too sensitive or if I said something wrong.

Hope this will be useful,

Luce

Relative: A Way of Thinking

Has someone asked you whether a cloth look good on him or her? Has someone asked you whether a certain someone is handsome or not? Has someone asked you whether a certain movie is interesting or not?

Well, if someone were to ask you, how will you answer those questions? Say you were to honestly answer that the cloth look good on him or her. Say you were to honestly answer that a certain someone is handsome. Say you were to honestly answer that a certain movie is interesting. What will happen? Well, some quarrel might arise if the one asking you disagree. Also, the level of intensity of the quarrel might differ from one to another.

Now. What if someone were to ask to you whether a certain politician is good or not? What if someone were to you whether a religion is good or not? What if someone were to ask you something more sensitive? Now, is there a right answer? If there is, then what if you don't know the right answer?

How should we answer such questions? Here are several things to consider when you're making an answer:

1. "My good and your good is different."

My friend love something spicy or sour. Me? I don't really like something sour, and I can't handle something spicy. When I ate something spicy with her, she always said, 'It's not spicy enough.' While me? I was sweating and my tongue was literally burning.

When I was on a vacation on a mountain with my family, they said the mountain is cold, while I thought it was cool. They wore thick clothes, while I wore something thin.

See? Everyone has their own standards. I have my own standards on several things. You have your own standards on several things. We have our own standards on several things. Can you measure the standard itself? While you can measure it, the measurement from a person to another might differ. My friend always says, 'Beauty is relative.' True! Remember. You have your own standards on several things. In other word, your standard for beauty and my standard of beauty may be different.

So? We need to think more about other's taste, not just fixated on our own taste. We can't judge the quality of something just by seeing it.

2. "'Good' and 'bad' are made by humans."

Yes! Human created the word of 'good' and 'bad'. Just like 'right' and 'left'. But we use them everyday! Why? Because they are agreed universally. 'Good'. 'Bad'. What determine something is 'good' and what determine something is 'bad'? John Stuart Mill and the theory of Utilitarianism say something is good because it is beneficial to the society. However, there are many other theories that might clash or contradict with the theory of Utilitarianism.

'You're not answering the way to determine whether something is good or bad.' Okay, that's very true. With so many standards or theories of good and bad, we have no choice but to choose. Well, to live is to choose after all. The simple evidence is that we choose what we want to eat and what we don't want to eat. Everyday, we choose, choose, and choose. We are not a robot which is coded to do the same thing again and again. Even robot has to make choice sometimes.

Now, we need to choose from so many theories and decided which is the most suitable theory to use. In other word, we need to choose what kind of good and what kind of bad is suitable for certain situation. We need to choose which is good and which is bad for certain situation.

While it's true that not everyone know such theories, we still have something we call heart. We can use our heart to determine which is good and which is bad. It's called moral.

3. "What do you mean?"
Conversation is not a process of asking answering. Conversation is a process of transferring a knowledge or information from a person to another. If we don't get what context the one your speaking is using, then you have to ask! True, asking something fundamental might sound stupid, and asking a stupid question is just...stupid. However. When we grasp what the problem is, we will be able to make a better solution. When we know what the true meaning of the question, we will be able to see the answer.

If we, however, don't look into a question deeply, we will always find more than one answers to it. For example, 1+1 equals to 2 in math. However, 1+1 doesn't equal 2 in group work. 1+1 can sometimes equal to 1 too! And that is the reason why we need to know what the question really is.

4. "What make you think like that?"
Why do you like eating something spicy? Why do you like that cloth? Why do you hate that cloth?

Again, conversation is a process of transferring knowledge or information from a person to another. Back to the 'does the cloth look good on them or not' question. Well? How is his or her reaction on your honest answer?

Your answer have to be backed up with a reason. Why did you say the cloth look good on him or her? Why did you say the cloth look bad on him or her? Now, can you think of a reason or two?

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Conclusion...

Now, you might be thinking, 'What is the point of all of this?' We know that everyone thinks differently. Being different is good, but being different also mean we need more effort to know each other. Some problems or situations in our live are relative, not absolute. A present problem and the past problem which look alike might not be identical.

Every point I wrote tells us about relativity. Relativity, being the opposite of absoluteness, mean that everything we face is not set on the stone. Everything we face is something that we solve by choosing. Even when we are answering a question, we form the answer by taking many things into consideration. With this mind set, we will be able to answer a sensitive question easier. Why? Because we know we are not going to answer just by seeing the question from one side. We are going to see the question from multiple sides.

I hope this will be useful,

Luce

Hi!

Hi! My name is Luce. I am a very curious person. I am a fun-seeker, and I definitely love to solve any problem (or puzzle) I can find. I think that live itself is the grand puzzle that will keep me entertained. Also, I'm a rather talkative boy, who definitely love to share what I think!

Lately, I've been wanting to share some of my opinions on a certain stuffs. Then, I thought, 'Why not make a blog or something? I can post anything I want and someone who loves to debate or to share may join in and my curiosity may be sated!' Though, I debated with myself to either make it or not. 'What if they doesn't care about my blog? What if they doesn't want to read what I write?' Well, the thought ended as soon as I made this blog! Luce's Talk! Here, I will make a lot of opinions on certain topic. I might make mistake. But that will help me grow! That will help me get better!

Of course, I need to push myself. I have to be confidence! Other may say mean or bad things about me. But in the end, it's me. If I say 'yes' to what they say, I can't grow!

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Hai! Nama saya Luce. Saya adalah seseorang dengan rasa ingin tau yang besar. Saya suka mencari kesenangan, dan saya sangat suka memecahkan masalah (atau puzzle) yang dapat saya temukan. Saya menganggap hidup adalah sebuah puzzle terbesar yang akan terus membuat saya terhibur. Oh ya! Saya adalah seorang laki-laki yang bawel. Saya suka membagikan apa yang saya pikirkan.

Belakangan ini, saya sangat ingin membagikan beberapa opini saya untuk beberapa hal. Lalu, saya berpikir, 'Kenapa saya tidak membuat blog atau sejenisnya? Saya bisa memasang apapun yang saya inginkan dan seseorang yang suka berdebat atau suka berbagi dapat bergabung dan rasa keingintahuan saya dapat terpenuhi!' Akan tetapi, saya berdebat dengan diri saya sendiri. Apakah saya harus melakukannya atau tidak? 'Bagaimana jika mereka tidak peduli dengan blog ku? Bagaimana jika mereka tidak mau membaca apa yang saya tulis?' Well, pikiran itu berakhir setelah saya membuat blog ini! Luce's Talk! Disini, saya akan membuat banyak opini terhadap topik tertentu. Saya mungkin akan membuat kesalahan. Tetapi hal ini akan membantu saya bertumbuh! Kesalahan-kesalahan yang akan saya lakukan akan membantu saya untuk menjadi lebih baik!

Tentu saja, saya harus mendorong diri saya. Saya harus percaya diri! Orang lain mungkin saja mengatakan sesuatu yang buruk atau menusuk hati kepada saya. Tetapi pada akhirnya, ini bergantung pada saya sendiri. Jika saya mengatakan 'ya' kepada apa yang mereka katakan, saya tidak akan bisa berkembang!

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Yes. I'm an Indonesian, and I can speak write English! Or so I should say... Yap! Saya adalah seorang warga negara Indonesia, dan saya bisa menulis Inggris!