The hourglass

The picture represents a quote from Buddha, ”The trouble is, you think you have time”

Devina drew it with a strong understanding that in life we are always busy to plan something about our life, we want so many things to have in this life, but we forget that our time is limited. While we are busy planning our future, we miss a moment in the present, we cannot enjoy what we should enjoy or we don’t have any awareness about the present time because our mind tries to capture everything.

We run from day to day to collect everything we need to be happy while happiness is simply in us. We are looking for something that we think we do need in life while we ignore all the blessings we already have in life.

I thought I did those mistakes too in my life, I was busy going back and forth between the past and the future, I tried to fix any mistakes I made in the past and I also tried harder not to repeat the same mistakes in the future by making many good plans. Travelling between past and future, my minds were full and tired to make everything went right. I really forgot that I could only make everything better at the present moment, so that would fix the mistakes that I had done before and I would be a different person for the future.

This drawing reminds me to take a break and I learn to enjoy what I have today.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha

**Lina Kartasasmita** Jakarta July 19, 2015 at 5.26PM

“Never give up on each other”

I have been waiting to have this time to sit and to write a note for my 24^th wedding anniversary. This quote came into my mind

“A perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other”

That was actually what we had been through at the first five years of our marriage. Both of us totally imperfect people who thought we were perfectly glued by the love we have. When two people promised to share their life together, it was never easy to do. We started the adjustment by daily basis, from the simple actions such as where to put the towel or the taste of the food we had.  It could create the problems from simple one to the most complicated one. It created a burden in my heart, so I told my husband, “Maybe it is better for you to find someone who is perfect for you”

He said, “I don’t want to give up on you, I tried to manage our long distance relationship for 7 years and we did, I can find someone else to be with, but there is no guarantee I will not have problem. I might not have the same problem that I have with you, but for sure I will have different problem with that person. I still believe you are the right person for me, so I don’t want to give up”

I was glad he never gave up on our relationship. It took a lot of sacrifices to understand each other, to accept the good and bad of our personality, and to adjust our expectation to the reality of marriage. Love is one of the elements to glue our marriage, but on the top of that is the strong commitment and the vision we have to build the happy family.  Our commitment is not to give up on each other.

Love is not a feeling, nor an emotion; but it is a commitment. Anniversaries remind you the day that you commit yourself many days and years ago. Jazzian Ortega

Happy 24^th wedding anniversary to my husband and my best friend, thank you that we never give up on each other.

**Lina Kartasasmita** Jakarta, July 17, 2015 at 9.39PM