NOT a Guru!
Keeping it simple, without the hype. PC tips and Internet advice for mom and pop businesses.
Keeping it simple, without the hype. PC tips and Internet advice for mom and pop businesses.
Engineer Ivy soraya gives readers a wonderful, personal perspective of life in Indonesia in her blog, Dreamlover. Her blog covers her travels, her spiritual insights and business life.
The view from the author's "home tower" in Banda Aceh
The blog journey begins with Ivy’s spiritual awakening in Banda Aceh, where she learns to temper her business stress. Throughout the months, Ivy’s blog gives a written and photographic tour of various destinations, such as Sabang Island, the Lhoong waterfalls, and some entertaining fishing expeditions. She writes about a car accident in one of her adventures and describes the hospitals and health care system.
American news lately is filled with gloomy tales about the mortgage crisis, the alleged failed economy, taxes and so forth. These American woes are comparable to similar tales in Indonesia. Ivy writes about her struggles with finding employment and other economic challenges she faces in her country. She admits that she does not understand real estate mortgages but, from an Indonesian perspective, tells her readers what is involved in paying vehicle taxes and trying to get a name change on her license. Taxes and red tape are something that we can all relate to! For those interested in religious customs and traditions, her stories about mosques, fasting, religious prayer and wedding traditions give a unique perspective that you won’t find in a text book.
An Anai artist at work on the bride's special wedding decor -- the woman will need to remain still for the rest of the night for the artwork to set correctly.
Here in the States, we tend to think that our way is the only way. For those who like a broader view of life, blogs such as Ivy’s Dreamlover blog give a personalized perspective on other cultures, religions and life. Because it is a foreign blog, the writing style is not in perfectly written English grammar … but then again, I’d say the majority of us native English-speaking writers do not use perfect grammar, either.
Personal blogs such as Ivy’s demonstrate that all of us, no matter what the religion or culture, share most of the same “issues.” For instance, Ivy writes about her relationship issues, her employment situation, and her understanding of faith. One thing that stands out in Ivy’s blog entries is her genuine love for her family. The topics that Ivy writes about in her blog represent universal core values that all of us deal with at some point or another.
I watched television news for the first time in months this weekend and was appalled at some of the rhetoric in our own political process. One lady who was interviewed as part of a political poll opined that anyone who is a devout Muslim is “dangerous.” The “race card” was brought up constantly and I think it was on CNN that they showed a clip where a couple of voters were passing around their twisted version of the “new food stamps” that showed images of Obama, fried chicken and watermelon. Others seemed to blame Bush for virtually everything wrong in society and indicated that all rich people are bad and that there needs to be a cap on how much a person is allowed to earn. I’m neither Democrat nor Republican and found the level of innuendo and bigotry slung about not by the campaigns themselves, but by the voters who professed to be aligned to the right or left, very shallow minded. They tend to put people into “boxes” instead of seeing any kind of commonality. Rich people go in one box, Muslims in another box, blacks in another box, gays in another box, Born Again Christians in another. This only fuels judging others as the causes of problems and refusing to look at our inner gunk.
In my opinion, the biggest gift of the Internet is access to information, news and insight that goes beyond what is offered on mainstream television that tends to put people and issues into little compartments that we can judge from afar. Perhaps the way to transcend limited “us vs. them” thinking is to start spending more time online and reading personal blogs. Blogs such as the one from Ivy soraya offer a way to think outside of our little judgment boxes and to understand humanity by reading people’s personal stories.
Iva offers some timeless advice in one of her posts:
- Great minds discuss ideas
- Average minds discuss events
- Small minds discuss people.
How true this is! Keep up the good work, Ivy.
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Hi…….thank you for reviewing my blog….you have a nice blog.
My pleasure, and thanks for the compliment.