Why Numpang Pipis?

It feels awkwardly weird sometimes whenever a friend or colleague of mine meets me, they’d ask “Mau #numpangpipis, Pak?” “Sudah pipis, Pak?” or simply “Pipis di mana aja Pak kok nggak pernah kelihatan.” And of course, so many other questions alike with the word pipis. This is probably not that important to be discussed for it has nothing to do with politics or this country’s rotten condition, but if you’d really have to ask “What’s with numpang pipis?” –a phrase included in each Facebook status I write, well this is the story behind it.

Truth be told, it was just something unintended, to update wherever I was in Facebook with the location mark. Not to be a narcissist, let alone having other hidden intentions –but I just wanted to show my wife and my family where I was. Occassionally having to be on the roads during midnights of course would make my family worried about my condition and whereabouts. If I were to call my wife, she’d be fast asleep and I really don’t want to wake her up. So then came the idea to always update my location whenever stopping by, so that if my wife were awake, she could just easily log on to Facebook to know where I was. Clever, isn’t it? If I weren’t home until 2 am, only then we’d have to make a call.

#Numpangpipis actually has some kind of a balance philosophy behind it. As one Javanese philosophy goes “sejatine urip iku mung mampir ngombe” which literally means that life’s nothing but stopping by for some drinks. Life is a just a pit stop. A moment could be mindblowingly memorable at times, but that’s all it could ever be –a moment. A human, during that time where he stops has to control his 4 basic natures which are nafsu angkara, amarah, keinginan dan perbuatan suci (lust, anger, desire and good will).

Everyone is basically always in their own long story of a journey. Life, is just one short episode among that long way, which is where we stop by to drink. Such short span of time yet it determines all. Without drinking, the journey would stop. Why did we go through the journey in the first place? De Finance (1980) wrote that humans are Citoyen de Deux Mondes (the citizen of two worlds). Humans are those who venture to seek perfection, yet matter of factly, he would never find that perfection. Humans never finish, for they are the ones finished by death. Those are the two worlds. Two poles. Hehehe, why so serious? But you have to be serious with your life, man. Up to this point, you might wonder –then what does it actually have to do with numpang pipis? If you haven’t understood, well let me put it in the easier way. Numpang pipis has the balancing philosophy of the verb stopping by to drink. You can’t keep drinking without feeling the need to pee, right? That means, all activities should be balanced. If something goes in, another goes out. Just like peeing. As simple as that. And in a wider meaning, share whenever blessing or happiness comes your way. Spend, and God will send. That’s what they say!

Puas....?
(Gambar : nyontek SI Juki)