Tea or Coffee Part 2

 

There is a never ending story behind these two exclusive beverages of all time- tea and coffee. I am not an expert, but I know that both tea and coffee, after water, are the most widely consumed beverages in the world.

Tea is traditionally prepared by pouring boiling hot water over loose tea leaves. The tea leaves itself are taken from a tea plant, or well-known as its binomial name: Camellia sinensis (Wikipedia). Tea can come in many types- black tea, green tea, oolong tea and white tea. Nowadays, people are so much spoilt by many different forms of tea available and how to enjoy it. If you think you are a practical person, you can pick those wonderful tea bags from the market. Or, if you belong to a classy person who likes everything in a proper version, try the English afternoon tea. Either way, tea is indeed becoming the hottest beverage on the block.

Meanwhile, coffee, similar to tea, is also prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. It is a sort of flowering plants from the Rubiaceae family (Wikipedia). Like tea, coffee also comes in many forms. Black coffee, cappuccino, espresso and caffe latte are few examples of the most well-known coffee drinks that most people commonly enjoy. If women normally go with tea, then coffee must be the complete opposite. This is a masculine drink for a masculine creature. However, more and more women seem to enjoy the beverage these days.

Tea and coffee, similar yet different. Both contain this odorless caffeine which is bitter and acts as a stimulant drug. Its wake-up effect is so much favoured since it keeps you going, improves concentration and increases wakefulness. Somehow, in terms of taste, strength, and thickness, these two most-loved drinks, to me, completely differ. And personally, I always think that both tea and coffee are just like two different men.

Tea, my favourite ‘morning call’ of all time, always tastes real nice in my mouth. I love it when it rolls over my tongue. It is the combination of pleasure, sweetness, mildness, grace, luxury, and serenity. To me, tea defines a man in the most beautiful way. It is a creature who is so caring, loving, charming and tender. Man like this knows exactly how to make women feel special, that they are the centre of all the beauty, grace, and elegance. He makes women feel like they are the best creatures God has ever made, ones who should be treated in the most delighting way. Thus, women often find themselves feeling so comfortable and secure when he is around.

The other way around, coffee has its own way to define a man. With its being thick and strong, coffee manages to make the body alive. Its combination of toughness, strength, and savage leads me to a complete distinct description of this special creature. It is a being who can make every woman feels like she can start everything all over again, like she can bring out all the power and energy out of somewhere. A man like this doesn’t spoil women. Otherwise, he encourages them to explore all her potential. He does treat them well, but it’s not something which is additive. In other words, he is this warm blanket who is ready to give you the comfort and security, yet he is also the alarm clock who is ready to wake you up in the middle of the night. 

Now the question is which one do you prefer, tea or coffee? Well, to me, it’s never an easy question to answer, as sometimes we, women, need to be spoilt, need to feel the luxury and sweetness. But at a certain time, we simply need the hammer to hit our head, to wake us up. So, the best answer to the question is probably, let’s have both then, the tea and the coffee. Or, is it me being greedy?

Tea or Coffee?

So, basically when mum asked me this Friday morning, “what do you want to drink?”, I, after a second pause of emm said, “tea, please. Thank you.” And that was what I thought I’d like to have to start the day, exactly the same as yesterday, the day before yesterday and many days before that. A cup of tea has always been the best. Make it a bit bitter and add two tea-spoons of sugar then this brown transparent liquid will immediately give you such a tranquilizing effect. I can’t remember when I first started this, but long ago, when I was a teen, I used to loathe breakfast and always went for a cup of tea mum had made me instead. And so the habit went on. Now years after, even when I eventually can enjoy my breakfast again without a following nausea, I truly can’t have my breakfast without a cup of tea. This has turned into a compulsory for my 'daily breakfast curriculum'.

But it was a bit different this morning. Ten minutes after that stingy mum-and-daughter conversation occurred, I dragged myself into the kitchen. There laid on the big old rectangle wooden table two different cups- one full with dark brown tea and the other full with black coffee. I carefully took a seat right before them and examined those cups which now I’d like to call a two-exclusive-morning option. In what felt like a whole minute, I was considering whether I should just go with my first choice which was tea, or be spontaneous by having the black coffee. Next, in a matter of second, I had found myself delightedly sipping the latter. 

Hey, look what I just did! I normally have a cup of tea to complete my ordinary breakfast, but this morning I didn’t. In this bright Friday morning I had the black coffee instead. And it’s seriously nice, it’s just as relaxing. To be honest, I think it’s even more pleasing. Then I took my time to contemplate life. How it truly is full of surprises! And to enjoy that, we, humans, simply need to go extraordinary, to simply break the routine. Imagine yourself in such a long tiring voyage with the company of nobody, sooner or later you’ll get bored or sick of the same old view. Apart from how wonderful it might be in the beginning. But then, in a certain time, you’ll come across random things which are completely out of the map. You’ll either meet the pirates with its giant ship or an uninhabited remote island with its beautiful scenery. And if you are lucky enough, you’ll probably come across that very map leading to a hidden treasure. Grab it and be a treasure hunter.

One of the rules to enjoy life to its fullest, I believe, is how we challenge ourselves with new option. If you think you can sing, then encourage yourself to do it at the graduation party. If you like travelling, then go to somewhere you've never been to before. Or, if you never drink black coffee, then why not try to have it? You might surprise yourself at how nice it tastes in your mouth. Well, life of course isn’t as simple as that. Yet sometimes we’ve got to take the risk. As Socrates says, “Every action has its pleasure and its price.” In order to gain the joy, there is always something to sacrifice. One who chickens out of the new option, then his life is nothing but a programmed machine. This morning I picked the black coffee, and so I gave up the tea. Still I didn’t feel bad at all as now I know some other drink that can tranquil me, apart from tea. And what if I didn’t like the coffee? I’ve got nothing to lose. At least I would know coffee is not a part of me. Real life, indeed, equalizes the routine and spontaneity.

Vaguely, I heard dad crying, “where’s my coffee?”. I coolly replied, “Why don’t you try the tea? It’s just as nice.” Silence followed. Not long after, I could hear a gulp of dark brown tea pouring down someone’s throat.

Empty Your Bookcase, Empty Your Heart

Sore ini ada yang tiba-tiba menarik perhatianku. Entah untuk keberapa kalinya aku memandang ke arah yang sama, namun baru kali ini aku menyadari sebuah eksistensi yang sebenarnya tidak pernah menjadi masalah, namun dengan sangat tiba-tiba berubah menjadi begitu mengganggu. Rak buku. Ya..salah satu benda favoritku ini lah yang justru sangat mengusik rasa nyamanku saat ini. Entah karena apa tiba-tiba saja aku merasa ada yang salah dengan rak buku tersebut. Serasa ada yang ganjil dan terus-terusan menggelitik imaginasiku. 

Rak buku ini terbuat dari kayu, dengan lebar 30 cm, panjang 100 cm dan tinggi 138 cm. Bagian dalamnya tersekat menjadi dua kolom dan empat baris. Sehingga dari penyekatan itu diperoleh delapan buah bookshelves berwujud persegi panjang. Dibagian depan, rak buku ini dilindungi oleh sebuah kaca bening yang bisa bergeser ke kiri dan kanan, kecuali dua bookshelves terbawah yang memang sudah terlapisi oleh pintu kayu berwarna coklat tua.

Entahlah, apa gerangan yang kurang mengena di hati sehingga tiba-tiba saja rak buku ini tak menyenangkan lagi. Semuanya tetap sama. Warnanya yang coklat tua memang sengaja kupelihara. Aku menyukai semua yang masih pada kodrat alaminya, seperti kayu yang setia pada warna, serat dan teksturnya. Pun puluhan buku yang mendiami. Semua masih kujaga dan kusimpan dengan rapi sesuai dengan tebal dan tinggi. Tapi kini rasanya aneh, ada sesuatu yang membuatku kehilangan gairah padanya. Apa itu…aku mencoba menerka-nerka. 

Jengah dengan teka-teki ini, kusambar semua buku dari tiap rak. Kukeluarkan dan kubentangkan di atas lantai. Satu persatu kutata buku tersebut disana. Kini lantaiku bak lautan buku saja. Ibu yang kebetulan lewat pun jadi terheran-heran olehnya. Biarlah..yeng penting tersalurkan jiwa yang sedang gulana ini. Kuamati rak buku tersebut. Kosong. Bak pulau di sebuah remote area. Seperti semesta yang tiba-tiba kehilangan bintang dan planetnya. Kini rak buku itu menjadi lapang dan begitu terbuka. Mungkin itulah yang seharusnya kita lakukan saat jiwa sedang gelisah. Ketika sudah terlalu banyak simpul dalam tali kehidupan kita. Keluarkanlah beban-beban itu, bukan untuk membuangnya melainkan untuk menatanya kembali di kemudian hari. Kendurkan simpul di tali dan luruskan yang dulu sempat terlilit. Kosongkan ruang di hati. Lapangkan bilik di jiwa. Dan tentu saja luruskan pola di otak. Atau dengan kata lain, go back to default setting, refresh everything. Dengan begitu, gundah tidak terburu berkembang menjadi gulana.

Begitu pula dalam cinta. Terkadang kita perlu mengosongkan hati untuk menelusuri semua akar permasalahan. Suatu eksistensi yang sudah terlalu lama melekat di hati memang terkadang membuat kita lupa diri. Menganggapnya sebagai yang abadi dan tidak terganti. Padahal yang sebenarnya adalah bagaimana kita telah terus menerus membohongi diri sendiri. Menganggap keberadaannya sebagai formula sempurna tiada banding dan tak mungkin disanding. Meski sebenarnya, jauh di lubuk hati kita tahu bahwa ini tak lebih dari sekedar sebuah mission impossible. Hanya saja, harapan lah yang selalu membuat kita berkelit lagi dan lagi. Jadi, lepaskan harapan yang berdesakan itu dan ciptakan ruang kosong di hati. Dengan begitu, kita dapat mengulang semua prosesnya dari awal lagi.

Sejenak kupandangi rak buku yang kini melompong itu, sebelum kumasukkan lagi satu persatu semua buku yang ada di atas lantai. Namun kali ini aku mempunyai modus yang sedikit berbeda. Secara acak aku tata buku-buku tersebut. Tidak lagi aku kelompokkan mereka sesuai dengan ketebalan ataupun tingginya. Semuanya berpadu secara acak baik warna dan ukuran. Dan aha! Ternyata hasilnya sungguh diluar dugaan. Cantik apa adanya. Kini rak buku itu tampak berbeda. Meski warnanya tetap coklat tua dan buku didalamnya nya pun tetap sama. 

Sejatinya cinta itu memang sanggup membuat sesuatu yang sama menjadi istimewa. Yang biasa menjadi indah. Yang tak kentara menjadi jelas dan nyata. Yang awalnya hanya kelakar, menjadi wibawa. Memang begitulah tradisinya, tak bisa disanggah pun tak bisa diterjemah. Karena sebagai wayang, kita manusia hanya bisa pasrah pada sang dalang. So, let’s empty the bookcase everyone!

Tentang Adinda (Gadungan)

“Baik sekali, Saijah. Aku ingin kawin dengan kau jika kau telah kembali. Aku akan memintal, dan menenun sarung dan selendang, dan aku akan membatik, dan bekerja rajin sekali selama itu”. ~ Adinda pada Saijah, Max Havelaar.

Sayang sekali Adinda yang ini tak bisa memintal ataupun membatik. Pun tak tahu ia bagaimana cara menggunakan sarung ataupun selendang untuk membalut badan. Adinda yang ini juga tidak pandai dalam tetek bengek pekerjaan yang begitu perempuan. Baginya, perempuan jaman sekarang sudah bukan lagi perempuan di zaman penjajahan. Yang hanya dinilai melulu dari keterampilannya menggoyang tangan; mengolah rempah dan palawija, mengucek ataupun memeras kain, dan mengelap kusen atau teralis. 

Memang pernah suatu ketika Adinda berpikir untuk putar haluan. Dibayangkannya hidup sebagai perempuan selayaknya yang ‘hanya perempuan’. Aduh, pusing sekali kepalanya tiba-tiba. Pening tidak karuan. Jangan salah sangka, Adinda bukanlah anak manja yang tak mau tangannya menyentuh tanah. Pun Adinda bukan jenis perempuan yang enggan menyingsing lengan baju. Hanya saja, Adinda masih memilih untuk melakukan yang sekarang benar-benar ingin ia kerjakan.

Lantas kau mungkin bertanya, sebenarnya mau jadi apa kau, duhai Adinda? Adinda akan menjawab, “aku ingin jadi perempuan. Tapi bukan perempuan yang HARUS selalu berada di dapur saat waktu makan, perempuan yang HARUS memegang kain kotor setiap minggu, perempuan yang HARUS mengepel lantai. Adinda ingin menjadi perempuan yang memasak dengan hati, mencuci dengan pengabdian, menyapu dengan ketulusan. Dan itu bukan berarti sebuah keharusan."

Adinda yang ini ingin menjadi jiwa merdeka tanpa embel-embel seorang perempuan. Yang diberi batasan-batasan dalam pola pikirnya. Yang dikurung oleh ‘kodrat sejatinya’ seorang perempuan. Baginya, jiwa bebas berarti bisa bersanding dengan jiwa mana saja yang dia suka. Berbagi hidup dengan mereka yang bebas pula. Adinda ingin dinilai kualitasnya sebagai seorang manusia, bukan perempuan. 

Duhai Saijah, apakah kau termasuk jiwa yang merdeka? Jikalau iya, tidak sabar rasanya Adinda melihatmu kembali. Jikalau bukan, biarlah saja ia menjadi Adinda gadungan. 

That Creepy Thing is Called 'Heart'

Seems like it was yesterday when he and I sat side by side, struggling with a monotonous lecture together with the other many expressionless faces who were mostly bored, and probably didn’t even have any idea of what they had been dealing with for the whole morning. Or, when we joked around with each other, guiltily giggling at someone else’s silliness. Or, when we simply enjoyed hundreds of nights talking about how rubbish the days we had been through, while sipping our tea from those white cups with some peculiar painting of flowers on it, which I bought for his birthday present. Yes, all of a sudden, it all now feels practically so close when this person, the one who, in my poor understanding of life, used to be the only figure that best defined my existence, turned up uninvited that night, just out of the blue. 

But wait, don’t think about us renewing the relationship! Forget about that weird hysteria when your lover calls, or that inexplicable excitement every time you see his name popped up on your screen. It’s not even close. The other way around, I felt an absence of emotion in this giant savannah of my heart- no surprise, no eagerness, no pleasure, and even no grief- just nothing. What happened that night was monumental, indeed. Well, at least to me, but more in a way that it eventually confirms all the theories. That time heals the wound. That yesterday is only a history. And that was it. That one-hour telephone conversation means nothing but a statement- that I am completely over the past. Now, I can gleefully look back on my life and joyously ridicule myself for once being such a moron.

However, the bizarre revelation is maybe how I still get mesmerized, even after so many times, at the thought of how we, humans, never really have an absolute control over our very own heart. How odd the fact that heart is an outsider! It’s a stranger that lives in such a privileged inner-circle with, even peculiarly, some sort of authoritative power to rule the other parts of the body. Just like the Queen who has got the ability to rule ‘the kingdom of feelings’, or the King who indirectly governs all the other system. It is a solitude though surrounded by a lot of intertwined bonds. It is a joker.

And, even more amazing to me is how it works. No matter how well you think you know yourself, you’ll never truly know your heart. Scientifically, heart is merely a pump. It distributes blood throughout the body. It is indeed very complex and prominent, but still just a pump. Then how come such an ordinary pump has a significant power over everything? My ingenuity always fails to grasp the explanation. Okay then, let alone the quirky vital organ. Science is not something I am familiar with, and will never be.

Back to the night when that very telephone conversation occurred, so he called me. We talked about stuff, and then we hung up. It didn’t feel weird at all when the chatter was happening, but it does feel strange when I contemplate about the scene every now and then. This was the person I once cared too much, the one who I was stuck on for such a very long time. He made my heart skip a beat, or maybe two, or three. And when he was gone back years ago, I unintentionally dragged myself into a murderous cycle of crying-getting mad-hating and self-loathing. Now I am completely over that phase. All those feelings have, finally, drifted away. Or should I call it vanish? As nothing lingers, like nothing at all. We are now nothing else but two people who accidentally know each other. Two tiny pieces of the gigantic universe. 

Indeed I don’t have power over my own heart. I am simply an object of its authority. It works in such a way I can’t translate. And in spite of its clenched-fist size, it has managed to make me and my entire world, its slave. So the feeling could actually go forever! This when I come to realize, maybe I was trying too hard back then. Why didn’t I just give it a space and time? Let my heart do the magical trick freely, without tension or resistance. Let it unknot those tangled things without breaking anything, replace the feelings of loss and regret with freedom and relief. 

How I can’t rule my heart! On the contrary, it might rule ME. It’s like a supreme energy of the divine. It does what seems can’t be done and undoes what has been done. What appears dazzling yesterday, might turn foolish today, and vice versa. It's all in the hands of this creepy organ called heart. So who says heart is fragile? It’s totally incorrect. It is monstrous!

This World They Live In...

They spend long tiring hours working on algebra. The fact that this gives them not even the slightest feeling of joy does not even matter. They struggle with memorization (very often, without understanding) of hundreds specific information and dates or years of certain occurrences every now and then. Not only that, those kids of yours also have very little freedom to choose between what they like to do and what they have to do. It sounds a lot like there are no more things to discuss when it comes to personal opinion. It is now only and always parents’ or teachers’ opinion.

What is this world they have to live in at the moment? Unlike years ago, when kids are free to play after school without being bothered with courses and tutors. When they enjoy coming to school without fear of not being able to please their parents or teachers on math or language tests. When they simply have a whale of a time.

This brand new world they live in nowadays is a world of ambition. Ambition to declare whose kids are better. Ambition to show the smartest kids off. Ambition to achieve a bunch of praise which leads to self odor. And to a large extent, ambition of the adults upon the kids. Have the world changed that much? Or is it us?

Finally, kids, whoever they are raised by, are independent human beings. Parents and teachers may give advices and choices, but they may not decide for them. Kids, just like adults, hate to be told what to do. Instead, why not let them understand? Let them figure out a problem, show them the way to solve it instead of stepping in and solve it yourself. Let them get their world back. Not this idea of that perfect world adults think kids should live in.