Hello Indonesia-The Life Chart of Mr. Arifinto

One of the great joys of blogging is checking your stats (as I'm sure most of you do) and seeing, on some occasions, the wide variety of countries that are represented. A recent example for me was the 10 page views on the Royal Wedding post from Iran. It is a rare privilege to think that someone from that country may have read about 'Life Cycles'. I believe my topic is a universal one and new knowledge is always appreciated by some people. Also, when I see smaller countries like Guadalupe and Nepal in the list, as well as the well-known larger ones, it is very rewarding.

However I have a special greeting for the people of Indonesia. Ever since the popularity of my 'Tree Man' post last year (which I regard as a personal favourite); I am aware that I have a larger than expected following in the country, which lies just to the north of mine. So in honour of your country I will present another story of one of your citizens. This time the nature of the saga is a high-profile meltdown, but the intent is to show that by playing detective you can piece together a portion of a 'Life Chart' from very little information.

Mr. Arifinto (no article I read mentioned his first name) was until recently a senior politician in the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which was a Conservative Muslim party in Indonesia. He had responsibility as a lawmaker and was a founding member of the Party. He was photographed by a journalist in Parliament watching a pornographic movie, on what was called a 'tablet computer'. He at first tried to brazen it out, by saying that he didn't do this intentionally and that he had opened an email attachment by accident. However his screen was shown to be full of thumbnails of different sex videos. This caused huge embarrassment because the PKS were the most aggressive advocates of the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law. So what has this got to do with 'Life Cycles'. The thing that first drew my attention was that he was said to be 55 years of age at the time and thus in his 'Year of Broken Pathways'. This totally unexpected scandal was his challenge, that was set to last for the rest of the years of his current cycle. More dramatic than most, but it meets every criteria. It could never have been foreseen and try as he might to squirm out of it, his life altered for good and all at that moment.

In fact he virtually tells us what lies ahead as he tries to climb the mountain to seek redemption. The Shariah Board will dismiss him from it's advisory council and he will apologise to the Party and seek religious forgiveness:- reciting the Koran and engaging in acts of piety. He doesn't want to leave the Party or political life, so I'm sure it'll be several years in the wilderness for him. Now how do you construct part of a 'Life Chart' from this? I could find no biography and no career summary and as I said no-one even mentioned his first name.

All I had to go on was that he was a founding member of his Party, so I went to a profile of the PKS Party. The Party was established as the Justice Party on July,20 1998, when I would estimate that he was aged 42. What event happened in the next year (being his 43rd 'Year of Broken Pathways') that would have provided a much younger Mr. Arifinto with a challenge? The answer, in fact, does exist. In the June, 1999 general elections (when he was aged 43) the Party failed to get the required 2% vote to contest the next 2004 elections. In other words they couldn't survive on their own. He would obviously have been challenged and was trying to come up with strategies for the future. Then, in 2002, they merged to become the Prosperous Justice Party.

So, following this, is there evidence of an upheaval and new direction for Mr. Arifinto when he was in his next 'significant year', which was his 48th 'Year of Revolution'? Remember 'Life Cycles' can set up some exacting tests and I use only the public record. Once again though the answer is 'Yes', for in the April, 2004 elections (when he was clearly aged 48) the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) won 7.3% of the vote (giving it 45 out of 550 seats). They were now the seventh largest party and his political career reached a new high and it was his new age/direction. Can you see how 'Life Cycles' operates in the life of Mr. Arifinto? As always, if I can't ever find any supporting evidence for what I say, I would simply fade away and just play tennis, chess and poker. But that is not how it goes. I have the evidence in abundance. I know I have a mission and it is the most important contribution I will ever make.

So please let me know if you enjoy this post and if you would like me to feature someone from your country in the future. One thing I know for sure is that 'Life Cycles' only has meaning if it can relate to you personally. As always I wish you well and until next time:- may the cycles always bring you good fortune.