I’m only really supposed to have one post here every week (have you noticed?), but I’m making an excuse this week, just because.
Thanks, February, for being so awesome. February 2013 may just have been the best February I’ve had so far, and I am not kidding about that at all. So just like how I thanked January, here I am thanking February, too.
And now…
On the second night of the 20th SFC International Conference, I had an amazing epiphany that kind of blew me away:
One of the talks on the second night of the conference was about Emptiness, and truth be told, I was kind of expecting to be a blubbering mess by then. Or maybe not a blubbering mess, exactly, but I expected that I would shed some tears over the things that will happen on the second night, just like how I was sort of crying during the worship and session on the first night. I used to think the sign of tears is when God talks to me during conferences, so I got myself ready for the second night.
But instead of a cry-fest, I got that. I listened to the talk, took notes and then marveled as that realization dawned on me.
I’m not empty.
Not anymore.
When our hosts in Jakarta asked us about what we expected about the place and what we wanted to do, I had no idea what to answer. Not just because I’m not a fan of expectations, but it’s really because I had none. Other than this being a surprise trip, I didn’t really do much research about it. I didn’t have time to do research, actually, plus even if I am good with organizing things, I’m not that good with fixing itineraries just yet.
So I really, really had no expectations whatsoever. And it turned out to be a really, really awesome thing. :)
Jakarta was nice and warm and lovely. That’s what I say when people ask me about my trip. It really is, and of course, the people I met while I was there really helped seal that impression. Jakarta reminded me of Manila in several ways, but it’s bigger, cleaner and interestingly, had more traffic. But that was because they have no train system (boo-hoo, and I like trains), so there’s really just more cars on the road.
It was a very lovely trip — full with activities and food and laughter and new friends. It’s nice to go on a trip with very little expectations because you get so surprised about so many things along the way. ((Come to think of it, this applies to everything in my life.)) :)