5 cm

It all started on New Year’s Eve. I was writing my blog,  Vallaura Awards. I was shocked to know that I did not read a lot of books in 2011. So much for a person who claim to be a bookworm. So, I got some gears and started reading again. 5 cm was the first book I finished in this 2012.

It’s an Indonesian book and I borrowed it from my friend. I found the book not really have that wow factor but it was not a disappointment as well. It was about 5 friends who like to hang around until they decided to have 3-month break of seeing each other. And after the 3-month period they set a time to meet and go for Mahameru trip (Mahameru is a name of the tallest mountain in Java, Indonesia). The Mahameru trip was described interestingly vivid. So, it was a good part of the book. But that’s all.

The writer also spiced up with his thoughts through out the pages, as if he was reading with us. Some of the spices, I admit, keep us going for the sake of curiosity. while the 5 cm philosophy, it’s a bout dreaming. In essence, if you have a dream, hang it 5 cm before your forehead, so you will always see it and determine to pursue that dream until you make it happen. A good one.

Here I quote original writing from the book, it’s in Bahasa Indonesia (but have similar meaning with what I’ve told you before).

…Apa pun hambatannya, bilang sama diri kamu sendiri, kalo kamu percaya sama keinginan itu dan kamu nggak bisa menyerah. Bahwa kamu akan berdiri lagi setiap kamu jatuh, bahwa kamu akan mengejarnya sampai dapat, apa pun itu, segala keinginan, mimpi, cita-cita, keyakinan diri… biarkan keyakinan kamu, 5 centimeter menggantung mengambang di depan kening kamu. Dan… sehabis itu yang kamu perlu… cuma… cuma kaki yang akan berjalan lebih jauh dari biasanya, tangan yang akan berbuat lebih banyak dari biasanya, leher yang akan lebihs ering melihat ke atas. Lapisan tekad yang seribu kali lebih keras dari baja… dan hati yang akan bekerja lebih keras dari biasanya… serta mulut yang akan selalu berdoa.

pp. 362-363, 5 cm by Donny Dhirgantoro

Thank you for Ribka for lending me the book.