Yep. That’s the theme of this year’s Panaad Festival here in Negros Occidental which officially opened last April 22. After staying for so many years in Cebu, the family really wanted to witness what this festival is all about. We came back here in Negros in the year 2004 and you could say we’re somewhat like strangers to our own homeland. During the previous years, we were just so busy we were not able to experience this annual event. Now, we decided to take time out from our hectic life and just be there. Wow, I was so excited! This week-long event is a showcase of festival dances, cultural shows, sports events, livelihood seminars, band concerts among others. It sure would be fun to attend all these but our preference was to visit, if possible, all the theme booths of participating cities and towns from all over the province. It’s just like having a mini-tour of Negrosanon arts and culture in one place. So, off we went to the Panaad Park and Stadium yesterday.
It was getting really hot when we made our stop at the garden show. I was dead tired already… and we haven't even gone to the other booths yet.
Suddenly the sky darkened and rain fell! Big drops at that! We scampered for shelter inside the Silay house. Good thing it was airconditioned. I took rest in one of the wooden chairs, and almost fell asleep. Yikes. Now, I wanted to go home. Duh…enough of my over-ambitious desire to visit all the booths today. I just wanted a good rest. Everybody was tired too. And it was raining anyway, how can we move around with all the raindrops and the pathwalks getting muddy? But wait, we haven't gone to Hinigaran yet… and Pontevedra… and La Castellana! Still so many booths we haven't visited yet! Sigh. I’m tired. Time to go home.
After yesterday’s experience, I have but three fervent wishes for next year’s Panaad.
First, I hope we’ll be able to visit all the booths and maybe even get to watch some cultural presentations. Second, I hope we’ll have lots of energy and more time for roaming around. And finally… I really do hope it won’t rain.
One of the major reasons why we fail to find happiness or to create a unique lifestyle is because we have not yet mastered the art of being.
Jim Rohn
Wherever You Are, Be There
I was at the beach with family and friends today . The sun was really scorching hot when we got there. Good thing there were trees to shade us from the heat.
As soon as we arrived, I immediately scanned the area with my critical eyes. Hmmmm… not so white sand, and oh, the waters looked a bit greyish… I was not impressed. I was not a bit enthusiastic about the whole place. After my seemingly harsh judgment, I was about to prepare myself for a not-so-exciting day ahead. Then I changed my mind. I resolved to myself I will do my best to be fully present in this God-given place and time.
We picked a nice spot under a shade, then toured the place a little and had an early lunch. The wind was so cool and refreshing, I felt a bit drowsy so I decided to catch a few winks. Despite the loud music in the jeep beside where we are and the ongoing conversation on gasoline and mileage, I drifted on to dreamland and was able to get a really good rest.
Later that afternoon, I saw one of the kids playing in the sand; I eagerly took pictures of him. He gamely posed with head tilting to one side. It was such a pleasure looking at him. I joined him in his little amusement and we played with his slippers, some bottle caps and some nutshells.
After a while, my cutie sis and I hiked a bit to a slightly distant part of the place. There were still some vacant cottages. We gladly took shade in one of them and spent some time just looking at the clear sky and the pounding waves, listening to the sounds of the beach and enjoying the really cool breeze. What a grand experience. And to think I was so cynical that morning. Walking back to our picnic spot, we passed by some notable scenes – somebody sleeping contentedly in a hammock, one group singing along boldly to their favorite music, a charming couple on a cottage, energetic kids running around.
When it was almost time to go, I realized I did enjoy my day in the beach after all. Well, it was not the white-sand-blue-water kind of a beach but there was something more than just the place that made a difference – the good company of my family and friends, the allure of nature, the mixture of different faces and scenes. I chose to fully experience that very moment by just being where I am and in return I was rewarded with an inner sense of peace and renewal.
This brings back my thoughts to one of our bus trips from Cebu to Negros. It was Christmas season, so the bus was really jam-packed; it was not a comfortable trip for the family. My elder sis brought her two kids with us, a six-month old baby boy and a three-year old girl. All along the trip, I tried to cheer up the little girl. I would point to her some trees, or trucks, anything to amuse her. I was thinking if she realized she was already in the Philippines or if she was still in Thailand where their home is. I asked her, “Anzel, do you know where we are now?” I really expected her to answer “Philippines!” or “I don’t know Auntie, where are we now?” But her answer caught me by surprise. I learned a very good lesson from this little angel. She just smiled and effortlessly replied, “heeerreeeee!” How true. She was simply enjoying the trip and had fun just being herself and being with us. She was completely present to the experience by just being there.
Today marks my 14th day of blogging! For someone new to this craze, I’m a bit overwhelmed (me heaves a deep sigh). So many blog-related terms for me to understand. Anyway, it's worth it. My own blog-hopping procedure follows this rule: (1) read the 3 most recent posts, if you're not amused, find another blog, then repeat (1) otherwise, if you find the entries interesting, (2) go to the archives and read from the very first entry, (3) if you have read more than 5 entries and still got yourself hooked, (4) bookmark the page so you can go back and read the entire site during your spare time. hehe… way lingaw!
I like reading the first entry. I’m curious about how and why the blogger started writing. The transition period is also interesting to note: graduations, getting a job, promotions, job-related problems, changing of careers or gf/bf, travels, marriage, etc. Try comparing the first entry and the most recent entry, and you see a person that has changed either for better or for worse.
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Here’s a very good site which I encourage you to see. They use “satellite imaging” to feed data and images from schools all over the globe. I was so surprised to see two candid photos of me with my friends taken during my college days! Check it out; you might see your own pic years ago in school. Enjoy reminiscing!
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Quote for the day:
To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children, to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to give of one's self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Plants and trees tell you of the phases and cycles of nature. I can sense another time of the year is coming when I go outside the house and look around.
We have two mango trees in our backyard. They are of the sour green variety, not the yellow sweet ones. Few months ago the trees started to bear fruit. Now its harvest time. The fruits are ripe and bigger and the heavy ones fall to the ground when the wind blows.
It's mango season once again.
The mango tree gives a sad yet inspiring story. It has been in our backyard the whole year, with nobody taking notice… but it waits patiently until harvest time, when it becomes a source of enjoyment with its fruits.
Life too has its own seasons, and much patience is needed for us to go through it. Sometimes, I would get too impatient with the way things are. I often fail to recognize the wisdom of the perfect time. One wise person realized this and said…
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
“Happy is a yuppie word…” so goes the chorus of my background music. It’s one of the cuts in Switchfoot’s latest album.
Cutie sis or better yet “Curious sis” made a comment, “Huh, what exactly does that mean?”
“Dunno…” was my reply. Nowadays you can hear songs being played with senseless lyrics or maybe the composer was just too poetic.
The sis was satisfied with my answer I guess ‘cause she went out of the room after a while.
I was not. I decided to take a break from my computer stuff and do some “very important” research. I have a bit of an idea what the word yuppie means (young urban professional) but I wanted to know more.
So, I went click-clicking… google-ing, yahoo-ing… finally found so many results, but the definitions via urbandictionary.com gave a different outlook.
Now, the research doesn’t stop there, right? How can you relate being happy with a yuppie? I decided to get it straight from the horse’s mouth and clicked on to the band’s official site. My investigation was not in vain…
In 1991, when Rolling Stone interviewed Dylan on the occasion of his 50th birthday, he gave a curious response when the interviewer asked him if he was happy. He fell silent for a few moments and stared at his hands. “You know,” he said, “these are yuppie words, happiness and unhappiness. It's not happiness or unhappiness; it's either blessed or unblessed.”
This record was written somewhere between the blessed and the unblessed, between the godly and the ungodly by a few young urban professionals from San Diego. These songs are dreams and questions, bleeding together, breathing in and out- always somewhere between life and death. And I feel this tension, this distance now more than ever, like a numbing ache… deep inside. The distance between the way things are and the way they could be, the distance between the shadow and the sun. And this is where we exist: within the paradox. (more)
Hmmm…. Research done.
Happy is a yuppie word. I may not be as happy as I wish I could be, but I am so blessed.
Back to work.
Happy Easter! I just want to share with you this story I got from Stephen Covey’s classic “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. To those of you who read the book, exactly when was the last time you got hold of it and read it? Last year? I strongly suggest going back to it again and again… our minds have the tendency to forget. It’s good to learn and apply the principles and lessons once more. It’s worth it. Meanwhile… enjoy reading this excerpt…
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Arthur Gordon shares a wonderful, intimate story of his own spiritual renewal in a little story called “The Turn of the Tide.” It tells of a time in his life when he began to feel that everything was stale and flat. His enthusiasm waned; his writing efforts were fruitless. And the situation was growing worse day by day.
Finally, he determined to get help from a medical doctor. Observing nothing physically wrong, the doctor asked him if he would be able to follow his instructions for one day.
When Gordon replied that he could, the doctor told him to spend the following day in the place where he has happiest as a child. He could take food, but he was not to talk to anyone or to read or write or listen to the radio. He then wrote out four prescriptions and told him to open one at nine, twelve, three, and six o'clock.
“Are you serious?” Gordon asked him.
“You won't think I'm joking when you get my bill!” was the reply.
So the next morning, Gordon went to the beach. As he opened the first prescription, he read “Listen carefully.” He thought the doctor was insane. How could he listen for three hours? But he had agreed to follow the doctor's orders, so he listened. He heard the usual sounds of the sea and the birds. After a while, he could hear the other sounds that weren't so apparent at first. As he listened, he began to think of lessons the sea had thought him as a child - patience, respect, and awareness of the interdependence of things. He began to listen to the sounds - and the silence - and to feel a growing peace.
At noon, he opened the second slip of paper and read “Try reaching back.” “Reaching back to what?” he wondered. Perhaps to childhood, perhaps to memories of happy times. He thought about his past, about the many little moments of joy. He tried to remember them with exactness. And in remembering, he found a growing warmth inside.
At three o'clock, he opened the third piece of paper. Until now, the prescriptions had been easy to take. But this one was different; it said “Examine your motives.” At first he was defensive. He thought about what he wanted - success, recognition, security - and he justified them all. But then the thought occurred to him that those motives weren't good enough, and that perhaps therein was the answer to his stagnant situation.
He considered his motives deeply. He thought about past happiness. And at last, the answer came to him.
“In a flash of certainty,” he wrote, “I saw that if one's motives are wrong, nothing can be right. It makes no difference whether you are a mailman, a hairdresser, an insurance salesman, a housewife - whatever. As long as you feel you are serving others, you do the job well. When you are concerned only with helping yourself, you do it less well – a law as inexorable as gravity.”
When six o'clock came, the final prescription didn't take long to fill. “Write your worries on the sand,” it said. He knelt and wrote several words with a piece of broken shell; then he turned and walked away. He didn't look back; he knew the tide would come in.
Mabaw ra ko ug kalipay. I'm chatting right now with my sis in Thailand. She sent us some pasalubongs thru a friend who will be arriving today! yeheyyyy….. one thing I can say about my sis, she is soooo thoughtful (100000x)!
What would you like your death to be? Would you liken it to a gradual, slow and lingering illness… or the sudden out-of-the-blue unexpected shock of an accident?
This question hit me hard when my grandmother died long time ago. It was a great loss to our family. Her last days were spent in bed, being fed thru a nasogastric tube (NGT). I was at work in the office when my Dad called up and told me “Wala na si lola mo.” Her death was the first time I ever cried for somebody who died. It opened my mind to the reality that life is fragile. It made me more aware of my own mortality, and how my life can be likened to a journey which must end. As they say, we are pilgrims here on earth, we are just passing by… our home is not here, but beyond. Before my grandma was bedridden, she was an active and funny woman, bugoy kaayo. Seeing her so helpless was difficult to accept. I had a lot of searching within me since then.
So, what would I like my death to be? I used to wish it would be just happy and painless… I imagined myself growing old gracefully and finally on the day of my death it would be the happy scene of me lying on my deathbed, surrounded by my loved ones, exchanging parting words until I finally say “Goodbye… I have to go now; I will be missing you all.” That was my wish then for how my life's last moments would be.
Through the years, I have seen how God has worked in my life, from the apparently simple and trivial things to the most crucial and important events of my existence. I have been witness to His loving and mysterious ways. I learned to trust Him more and to place the frailty and uncertainty of my life (and mortality) in His hands.
Nowadays, whenever I hear disturbing news about bombings, landslides or car accidents, I am once again reminded of my own question about dying… but this time, it’s a different concern for me:
“WHATEVER way I am to DIE my own death is not a bit as significant as HOW I am to LIVE my life.”
Have blessed and meaningful Holy Week.
“Rejoice in your deep connection to the rhythms of the universe. Your monthly cycles are as wondrous a part of the cosmos as the tides and the phases of the moon.
There is natural wisdom in your life's cyclic pattern - your experience of shedding the old and regeneration, of fullness and emptiness, of rest and activity. Let it teach you.”
Karen Katafiasz, Celebrate-your-Womanhood Therapy
This is girls talk.
Every month I have visitors. Scarlet pays me regular visits since I was 12. I used to dislike her at first but little by little I came to realize her importance to me and I gladly accepted her in my life. We’re now good friends. She has a cousin Dys who usually tags along with her. Before her first day of visit, another cousin Pree would come, usually one or two days ahead, to inform me of Scarlet’s coming.
Well, guess what… I wasn’t able to do my work yesterday because of Scarlet and her cousins. A schedule of my activities for that day was already laid out. My day didn’t go as planned because of the visit. So, I was just in bed resting and just thinking …. and thinking …….. and thinking more… It was nature telling me to slow down and be in tune with the cycles of life.
So, there I was, listening deeply to nature… a strange feeling of awareness came, I felt so much a part of God and the universe… I imagined myself as a tiny speck in the whole vast creation of God… it was such an extraordinary feeling.
Today I feel much better now and I’m back to work. I’m a day behind my schedule but it’s OK, yesterday was a day of connecting with nature.
I thank God for Scarlet, Dys and Pree.
I’m quite aware of this blogging craze years way back… I learned about it from a friend who’s got his own homepage with a blog and he posts regularly like it’s his diary. First time I saw the word, I pronounced it separately as “bee-log”. A bit curious, I asked him, “What’s a blog anyway?” He can’t explain it very well himself; he just gave me its definition courtesy of a website. Anyway, I would just shrug the thought of me actually doing it. Oh well, I have read about some people getting addicted to it. Uhuh… One lady even refrained herself from blogging as her way of “abstinence” for the Holy Week. (Tsk tsk…so you can compare blogging with craving for yummy chocs.) And what about the news of somebody accused illegally because of what she wrote in her blog? For a lot of reasons, I haven't been blogging… yet.
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Ideas are powerful. A train of thought can make or break, build or destroy. The choice is ours. Our ideas become our future. I believe that life’s meaningful lessons are best learned when shared with others.
