Quotes of members

“I've told her a fairy tale that she doesn't remember. I have written hundreds of poems that could not touch her feelings. To her I was not a poet. To her I was not a good writer. I was not the right person for her to love.”

“More than all the thoughts and feelings I have written down. I don't pretend to be a poet. I feel happy enough when someone is willing to read what I have written.”

“The only thing that keeps us alive is when we still have hope.”

“Is it foolishness for someone to make himself a light when he is surrounded by darkness and misguidance?”

“Is gratitude necessarily born as our response to the suffering of others?”

“How naive man is when he thinks he can measure the depth of the sea, the flow of a river, the speed of the wind, the distance between stars and galaxies. Is he still able to weigh his own foolishness and arrogance? That he can uncover the secrets behind all truths?”

“What weighs on the soul is ignorance of one's own will and worry over the absence of a future.”

“I should have THOUGHT for Myself. Life is too cruel”

“Love needs no explanation, of course. There's nothing to explain. About love or longing. The thoughts that accompany our feelings. It's been there for a long time. Ever since it first came to say hello and then declared itself.

It's not something strange, not easily understood. It's like the togetherness we share today. Sit and chat with friends. Enjoying time and joking. Playing old songs, from The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro and Elvis Presley.

We're not too old to go back to those days. Revisiting the stories of the past. Talking about paintings from Sudjojono or Affandi to Dede Eri Supria and Lucia Hartini. Arguing who is greater; Chairil, Sapardi or Sutardji?

We put aside the issues of political depravity and the news of leadership succession that is not what the public expects. Let time resolve everything. Better to talk about climate change, which is sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny. Or the heat that does not hesitate to burn your head until it reaches 37° while in other places heavy rains cause floods everywhere. We will never know, until the wind takes us back from the past.”

“After time betrays history. We forget the words of the heroes. What did they shout when a bayonet pierced their chest or a bullet lodged in their head? There was blood that flowed soaking the earth. Not only fostering anger or revenge, but also love for the motherland. It was the overflow of a soul that wanted to fly to freedom. Still wanting to fight against death. For hopes, dreams, justice and truth. No longer shouting the word: "Merdeka!" but to uphold the dignity of our beloved country as high as possible.”

“History and the past should be a mirror for us to reflect on our own ugliness, shortcomings and depravity. Not just to preen and beautify ourselves.”

“The fact that we have forgotten history is that we have placed the ego as the basis for justifying the logic of thinking based on the dominance of gender, skin color and especially power. Human collective history tends to be absurd, senseless and even insane. We have mistreated our fellow beings, ignored humanity and peace, destroyed the earth and damaged the environment, created wars, nuclear bombs and weapons of mass destruction in the name of personal ego.”

“The ego tends to put itself above everything that is philosophically corrupt and destructive. Can we accept the idea that the ego must accept the consequences of what it has done? It must take responsibility for the motive behind it. If that motive is virtue and goodness, then we have placed the ego in the right proportion. But on the contrary, if it denies the human traits that collectively uphold moral ethics, law, justice and honesty, then it will easily fall into the hole that it has dug for itself.”

“The idea of ego often defeats all human efforts to achieve happiness. Will we eventually come to peace of heart and mind? Can we let go of the ego to return to the purity of the soul? And the blessings look like twinkling stars in the sky. Blessed are the great souls who are able to overcome the shallowness of the mind and the pride of the soul.”

“This world has been corrupt from the beginning. It was humans who corrupted the noble order with manipulative ideas. They always tend to seek justification for themselves. The fact is that no one can escape from personal motives and subjectivity.”

“It is human nature not to forgive easily and not to forget easily. However, this is one of the important tasks of mankind, to always create brotherhood and peace.”

“The biggest obstacle for rulers is upholding the commitments they have been entrusted with since they came to power. How easy it is for rulers to forget what they have said and how easy it is for them to break the promises they are supposed to keep.”

“The highest mandate of power is to ensure that it is never abused.”

“We are born through a difficult path and we are forced to live through various difficulties. Nothing is ever easy. Difficulties will always be present wherever you are. Whether you like it or not, it will always be there. That's what we think for. It only takes intelligence and imagination to be able to see problems and find ways to solve them.”