“Non
est ad astra mollis e terris via" - "There is no easy way from the
earth to the stars”
―
Seneca
In
this world, people can underestimate or overestimate our ability. I probably
prefer when people underestimate my ability.
It
was happened, when my friend wanted to hire me to teach a group of people. They
asked my friend, “Why do you choose Lina? She is not famous and we don’t know
her ability. We can hire the famous motivator or famous speaker”
I
said to my friend, “It is okay if they don’t want me to be their trainer or
teacher. I am fine with that”
My
friend told me, “I told them to give you a chance and see what you can do”
A
month before that class, I told my husband, “I am not famous, but I will do my
best to share my knowledge”
With
smiling face my husband only said, “You can do it and it is good when they
underestimate you … you will be greater than they think”
The
class was very well, I got a good feedback from the participants and some of
them really appreciated my class.
A
week ago, I got a phone call from a director of the school. He said, “Mrs. Lina
we want to invite you as a guest lecturer at least you can motivate our
students here”
“How
do you choose me? I am not famous and I am simple person”
He
continued, “I found you from your writings, I read your blogs and I think you
are the right person”
Deep
in my heart, I kept wondering, “How come my writings can make this man to
invite me to speak in front of his students without knowing who I am”
I
agreed to come to his school and then he asked me back,” Why do you want to
come to our small school? “
My
answer was simple, “Teaching or sharing for me is part of my worship. It doesn’t
matter about the place or the people”
This
time, I asked, “What subject should I teach your students”
He
said, “Just be yourself …”
On
the day of the invitation, the director told me that he would personally pick
me up. I came an hour earlier to the coffee place; my minds kept telling me
that I needed to prepare something… but nothing came out from my brain.
The
director came and we chatted a bit. I saw his body language that he was also
still wondering; maybe he wasn’t sure about my ability.
In
that school, I was surprised, I saw the huge banner on the wall with my face.
They welcomed me as if I was a famous speaker or important person. They played
my favorite music Keroncong, they had a video about my achievement and my
writings.
It
seemed they knew all my life.
I
was speechless …
The
way they treat me, make me so grateful with their acceptance … I am not a
famous person at all, I am not a star at all… but I was accepted with love.
They
made me great not because I am someone who is famous... They made me great
because their acceptance.
I
am grateful of this opportunity, I am not the one who teaches them but they actually teach me.
In
this world, being a star or famous among million of people is not my goal in my
life.
Definitely,
I cannot be the star in the sky; I just want to be a star in someone’s heart.
Note:
Thank you for Mr. Taufik Hidayat for the invitation to be the guest speaker.
Thank you for all students and staffs at JIHS Jakarta- Indonesia.
**Lina
Kartasasmita**
Jakarta,
October 16, 2016 at 9.38PM
