A retreat-gathering invites participants to move from the question “How do people see me?” to “Who am I in the eyes of God?”
The question sounded simple: “What do other people know us for?”
For members of PUKAT KAJ, the Jakarta Archdiocese’s Professional and Business People Group, it became the starting point for a day of reflection on identity, personal branding and faith.
The group, which has brought together people from different backgrounds and generations for nearly 36 years, gathered 37 members on Aug. 29 for “REKORDING,” a combination of Rekoleksi and Gathering.
The venue was unusual for a retreat: Jakarta Mangrove Resort, amid Jakarta’s mangrove landscape.
Participants were asked to answer the opening question through an interactive game. Some may have smiled at the answers they received from their friends. Others may have been surprised to discover that people saw them differently from how they saw themselves.
For a community whose members range from baby boomers to Generation Z, bringing people together is not always easy. Work, family commitments, busy schedules, and Jakarta’s notorious traffic can become obstacles.
PUKAT KAJ tried a different approach.
The retreat was not designed as a formal, highly structured spiritual exercise. It combined a gathering, interactive games, conversations, Mass, and mangrove planting.
Its theme was also closely connected to everyday life: personal branding. But the discussion went beyond how people build an image on social media or advance their careers.
Participants were invited to consider a more fundamental question: Are we building an authentic self, or merely creating an image that we want other people to see?
More than Instagram
PUKAT KAJ chairman Reymund Levy and Nova Manik opened the first session with an interactive game. The discussion began with how other people perceive us and gradually moved toward a deeper question: Who are we, really?
The second session, “Your Uniqueness,” invited participants to recognize and appreciate what makes each person different.
Aldio Mahadika shared his experience and insights on personal rebranding. His message was that rebranding does not mean becoming someone else. It means rediscovering who we are, identifying the values we want to carry, and asking how our presence can bring meaning to the lives of others.
Personal branding, as discussed during REKORDING, was not about having the best photograph on Instagram, the number of followers one has, or how often one appears on social media.
Instead, it is built gradually through competence, integrity and consistency. Together, these qualities produce something more important than popularity: trust.
Pieneke Sutandi offered an example.
At more than 80 years old, she remains enthusiastic about learning how to use Instagram. Her experience served as a reminder that age should not become an excuse to stop learning. She is a businesswoman who has successfully produced Indonesian-style “Parang Kencana” batik dresses.
Ken Prita spoke about the importance of building a personal brand while reminding participants that life has other priorities that sometimes must come before cultivating one’s public image.
Aldio also invited participants to look at life from another perspective: Miracles do not always come in spectacular forms. Countless “small miracles” happen every day, but they often go unnoticed.
From the eyes of others to the eyes of God
After looking at themselves through the eyes of other people, participants were invited to see themselves from a different perspective.
The question was no longer, “How do people see me?”
Instead: “How does God see me?”
That question became the heart of the third session, which concluded with Mass celebrated outdoors by PUKAT KAJ moderator Father Roy Djakarya Pr.
Amid the mangroves, the discussion about personal branding returned to the question of faith.
People may work hard to build reputations, careers and trust. But the reflection invited participants to consider their identity not only through the eyes of others, but also through the eyes of God.
Personal rebranding, in that context, was not simply about how people want others to see them. It was also about rediscovering their identity, the values they stand for, and the faith they express through their daily lives.
Planting what will grow
REKORDING did not end with Mass.
Participants planted mangrove seedlings in a conservation area in North Jakarta’s PIK housing compound, giving concrete form to the day’s reflection.
The seedlings planted that day would not provide immediate benefits. They need time to grow. In the years ahead, they may become part of an ecosystem that protects the coastline and sustains other forms of life.
The activity also reflected one of the retreat’s lessons: What people plant today through character, faith, integrity, friendship, concern for others, and service may not immediately produce visible results.
Father Roy invited participants to see the activity as an expression of gratitude for all that God has given them. Caring for creation, he suggested, is part of a faith that cannot remain merely a matter of words.
After the more serious moments of reflection, participants returned to laughter and fellowship. They enjoyed one another’s company and explored the mangrove area by speedboat.
The retreat had taken on a different character. There were no monastery walls, long hours of silence or overly formal atmosphere.
There were conversations, laughter, reflection, prayer — and mangrove trees.
A retreat to take home
REKORDING showed that a retreat does not always have to follow a conventional format.
Amid the hectic pace of Jakarta and within a community spanning several generations, PUKAT KAJ sought to create an experience close enough to everyday life to attract participation while still giving members space for reflection.
Participants learned about personal branding, but the gathering also invited them to consider something more fundamental: to be oneself rather than merely appear to be someone.
They reflected on continuing to learn regardless of age, on the limits of career and reputation, on recognizing miracles in small things, and on a faith that extends beyond a place of worship.
Caring for the Earth, the gathering suggested, can also become an expression of gratitude.
Perhaps that is at the heart of REKORDING: pausing amid the noise of the world, looking within, seeing ourselves through the eyes of God, and then continuing on with a new perspective.
And leaving behind a few mangrove seedlings that may one day grow into something far greater.
