Change yourself -- seize the day

Change yourself -- seize the day

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"I want to be less idealistic," a Yogyakartan artist said.
"I want to care less about my physical appearance," a Bandung
girl confessed.

"I want to have a boyfriend," a Yogyakarta student announced.

"I want to leave my parents," a Jakarta kid uttered.

"I want to know what I should do in life," a Jakarta
university student said.

"Change yourself ... when life needs to be supplemented," said
Irwan Ahmett, or Iwang, who conceived the movement known as
Change Yourself (CYS).

Iwang, 30, has changed a lot in recent years; he is now
somebody whom he likes more.

He is happy with his changes and he wants people to have the
same experience. He set this movement to motion by toting his
Apple notebook computer and hundreds of round, blue stickers to
Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bandung, meeting young people and
arranging presentations.

Iwang, an owner of graphic design house Perum Desain
Indonesia, writes dozens of verses about why and how to change:
"When your desires continue growing but are not yet fulfilled,
when hope becomes merely a dream, then boredom becomes an empty,
daily routine.

"Change Yourself is for those who want something new in their
life and who try to see change as a simple tool. Let's change.
Change yourself, when life needs to be supplemented," Iwang
wrote.

He writes several suggestions, from the radical to the
trivial, on how to effect change: "Cut your hair, say hi to God,
get married, stop watching reality shows, pay all your credit
card bills, change the fonts on your computer. You can do it,
change yourself," Iwang writes.

"I have received many good responses. After a presentation I
usually get about 10 people who want to consult me on their
problems and how to change them," he said.

Iwang, married for five years to Tita Salina, who also
conceived the movement, started it all when he became tired of
family arguments, largely due to communication problems.

Iwang later asked family members to reopen family photo
albums. It turned out that the photographs had a visual power
that enabled his family to reminisce about old memories.

"Unwittingly, tears welled up in their eyes, a longing for
past, peaceful beauty overcame them. Finally, each family member
was touched and agreed to accept differences, dispense with anger
and end their dispute," Iwang said.

As a graphic designer, Iwang believes in the magic of visual
images.

"There's a boy in Jakarta who craves drugs every time he hears
the word 'Manggarai' (a district in South Jakarta) because he
associates the word with his visual memory of drug dealers
there," Iwang told The Jakarta Post.

"In the consultation I told him to change his visual memory to
move away from images of drugs and dealers to whatever appealed
to him. It could be Pasaraya department store, a McDonald's
restaurant there, or whatever," he added.

He said he believed that once the boy was able to change his
perception of "Manggarai" he could become a "clean" person and
escape his addiction to drugs.

Iwang is quite serious about the movement. He has discussed it
with psychologists and spiritual gurus.

He has also shelled out Rp 20 million of his savings to
finance the project since January this year.

"It will end in September with an exhibition of the project's
progress at Cemeti Gallery, Yogyakarta," Iwang said.

To create a domino effect for the movement, Iwang printed blue
stickers with suggestions for change imprinted on them.

"I gave a bundle of 25 stickers to one person, asking them to
distribute them to their friends and so on; so the idea spread,"
he said.

Are there any grand objectives expected from the project? Like
for example, an anticonsumerist society?

"No, nothing grand. I just want to announce that change is
good," Iwang said.

Indeed. After all, as Iwang says, ultimately, we all move in
the same direction: Toward death.

Meanwhile, why not change for a change?

Website:

www.perdisi.com

E-mail:

changeyourselfin2005@yahoo.com