30. my trees

today i am thankful for my trees.

you, who created the universe,
the stars in the heavens
and the rivers here on earth,
bless me with the strength of the trees
that you have given me.
may my body and mind know the same vigour
that sustains, upholds and nourishes them
through the changing of seasons.

may my heart be as steadfast, unfaltering, committed and firm
in the storms of my life,
as the trees are through the storms
that come with time.

may the wounds 
caused by those storms heal, mend and restore,
just as the trees do.

may those around me draw comfort and strength form my presence
as i do from your creation, 
from the universe.

help me to understand, comprehend, appreciate
that just as the trees lose their leaves
and bare themselves
to the coldness of their winters,
the changes in my life will last for the season. . .

but that spring will surely come to me again.



ps. ilysm.  thank you for the colours.

puerta trasera de una serpente

siendo apuñalado en la espalda por un joven

que se come en mi mesa y toma parte de mi vino, 

no es sino una parte triste de ser antigua y hermosa.  bwahahaha!

te quiero muchisimo!  gracias por los colores!

dreamer

"only those who truly love
and who are truly strong
can sustain their lives as a dream.
you dwell in your own enchantment.
life throws stones at you,
but your love and your dream
change those stones into flowers of discovery.
even if you lose, 
or are defeated by things,
your triumph will always be exemplary.
and if no one knows it,
then there are places that do. 
people like you enrich the dreams of the worlds,
and it is dreams that create history.
people like you are unknowing transformers of things,
protected by your own fairytale, by love."
- ben okri talking to bidibidi

ilysm, my life is a fairytale.

fairy tale

right in the middle of my ordinary life, 

love gives me a fairy tale. . .

ilysm.  i know you know it!  ♥ ♥ ♥

when you love someone

i know!  do not look at me like that!  bwahahaha!
for me, everyday is valentine's day!
and love should be celebrated everyday.

i believe i have to dare to love.  whether i discover the love of my life, or get my heart torn asunder, i should be commended for putting it all on the line, risking everything for love, because that is no small matter. . .

when you love someone
bryan adams

when you love someone, you'll do anything
you'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain
you'll shoot the moon, put out the sun
when you love someone

you'll deny the truth, believe a lie
there'll be times that you'll believe,  that you can really fly
but your lonely nights have just begun
when you love someone

when you love someone, you feel it deep inside
and nothing else can ever change your mind
when you want someone, when you need someone
when you love someone

when you love someone, you'll sacrifice
give it everything you got and you won't think twice
you'll risk it all, no matter what may come
when you love someone

you'll shoot the moon, put out the sun
when you love someone

ilysm.  i know you know it. ♥ ♥ ♥

a jar and two cups of coffee

you may have heard a version of this before but the message serves us all well and is definitely worth a read.
when things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours a day may not be enough, remember the jar and the two cups of coffee.

a professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  when the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  he then asked his students if the jar was full, the students said it was.  the professor next picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  he shook the jar lightly.  the pebbles rolled into the areas between the golf balls.  he then asked his students if the jar was full, they agreed that it was.  

the professor next picked up the box of sand and poured it into the jar.  of course the sand filled up everything else.  he asked once more if the jar was full, the students responded with a unanimous yes.  the professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  the students laughed.  "now", said the professor as the laughter subsided, "i want you to recognize that the jar represents your life.  the golf balls are the important things - your family, your health, your friends, your favorite passions and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life will still be full.  the pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.  the sand is everything else - the small stuff.  if you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles and the golf balls.  

the same goes for life.  if you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  play.  take time to have dinner, to explore, to visit a new place.  there will always be time to clean the house and fix the sink.  take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter.  set your priorities.  the rest is just sand."

one of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.  the professor smiled.

"i'm glad you asked.  it just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

ilysm!  i know you know it!  ♥ ♥ ♥

my muse

 "but it was you who let everything into my heart, and it was you who once again awoke my spirit!"

it is hard to understand where my inspiration, motivation, stimulation
comes from now, 
yet it is like a fresh wind blowing in
a new season.
my muse may be leading me on
to manifest, reveal something of great beauty.
however, 
my muse is speaking in an alien 
and unfamiliar tongue
making it a challenge for me
to use the material.
no matter how odd, strange and unusual it seems
i try to take the ideas that come to me

and work them into what i create, write and paint.
ilysm.  i know you know it!  ♥ ♥ ♥

the button hole

when i first constructed this structure, all i was thinking about is a training hall, where my farmers can learn the new technology in farming, and farm hands-on by the nearby plots.

where my rural women can learn skills and earn a little keep.

now, my button hole is my haven, my retreat, my sanctuary, where all the creative juices be.

life is good!  with you in it!  ilysm ♥ ♥ ♥

mi flor es para ti, mi diego

la esencia de una flor

 soy la esencia,

el espiritu, 

el corazon

y el alma

de una flor real.

no escudarse 

de algun falso manto de petales,

ni velo,

o el sudario.

yo soy la criatura 

mas querido de La Fuerza.

llamo mi esencia

de mi corazon.

como una flor,

hacer lo 

que debe hacer una flor,

prosperar,

florecer

y florecer.

y cuando llegue el momento

de que yo debo marchitan,

con estilo,

elegancia

y gracia,

tomare mi arco final.

the essence of a flower

i am the essence
the spirit
the heart
and the soul 
of a real flower.

i do not hide
behind false petals,
nor veil, cloak or shroud.

i am The Force's 
most loved creature

i draw my scent
from my very core.

as a flower,
i do what a flower must do.
i thrive,
blossom
and bloom.

and when the time comes
that i must wither
with style,
elegance
and grace,
i will take my final bow.

ps.  ilysm and thank you for the colours.  bwahahaha!

for MY diego rivera

must i turn my back
to evade
the enticing spell 
that you cast on me, 

must i allow
my eyes
to see your charms
my ears
to hear your whispers
my lips
to utter the entangled language
that only your heart
can unravel,

how can silence remain smothered
when only your love can silence
my restless heart,

and
just how can i face
my empty world
when days pass on
like empty dreams
without you,

would you conquer
the stillness
of my aching heart?

tell me.
i will listen. . .

ps.  ilysm and thank you for the reciprocity.  bwahahaha!

experiencing bacolod

good friends are like stars... you don't always see them, but you know they are always there...

last thursday, i took the bus to manila and did the first leg of my trip to experience bacolod.  i was with friends ritzie and kristian.  the bus arrived in manila early so the three of us checked in at my place by the diamond hotel.  bwahahaha!
we had the chance to catch on some lost sleep and freshen up before taking the afternoon flight that would transport us to bacolod.

i have never been to this place, tho i have heard so much about it.  my ilonggo experience before this was a few bites of piaya for which bacolod is known for.  and except for a few pleasant college memories with my former ilonggo dorm-mates in the eliazo-cervini halls at the ateneo, the place is practically alien to me.

Balay Negrense

The Ruins

 @ Tana Dicang with Ritzie and KC

i never thought that my first ever bacolod trip would be the best ever short holiday i would take,  and i had taken a lot other.  after two days of experiencing bacolod, i took my flight and a bus ride home, filled to the brim.

Raymund BB Legaspi

Charlie Co

so today, i am grateful for my bacolod experience which has rekindled, reawakened, renewed old friendships, and introduced, bridged, started a few new ones.

27.  my ateneo friends who i have shared my college life with at the eliazo & cervini halls.  seeing them again, after more than two decades, has given me the chance to reminisce the good old days.

KC, Ritzie, Angelie Yulo, Alan Gensoli, Karina Montalvo, bidibidi & Connie de la Rama @ the Art District

connie, who made sure all the arrangements were done way before the trip dates, whose friendship made it possible to reconnect with angelie, karina, alan and francis.  

Francis Te

who paved the way for us to meet new art friends and new farm buddies.  and who hosted all our bacolod dinners.  thank you so much, connie!

28.  my new friends who i share my passions with, in the arts and in agriculture.

Raymund BB Legaspi

 

Charlie Co

raymund bb legaspi, charlie co and the orange gallery artists who have shared with us their own art experiences and welcomed us wholeheartedly in their group.

the orange gallery and some bacolod artists

KC & bidibidi with the film artist, Tiaks & BB

the Art Forum @ the Orange Gallery

during the forum

mr and mrs henares who made me realize that before a farmer can grow lettuce, he must first grow a conscience.  

with Mr. Henares at the farm house @ buro-buro farm

dinner @ mushu with Connie & Pam Henares of buro-buro farm

29.  my hometown friends who took time to see us.

lunch @ pendy's with Tiaks & Romy & Betty Aglugub

romy and betty aglugub, also for hosting our pendy lunch.

@ The Ruins with Connie

@ buro-buro farm with Mr. Henares & Ritzie

organic lemon orchard @ buro-buro farm

art on exhibit @ Tana Dicang

enjoying frozen brazo with Charlie Co at his residence & studio

visual art exhibit opening featuring Moreen Austria @ Italia

at the lobby of Nature's Village resort, where we stayed

at Tiak's ornamentals nursery

@ Balay Negrense with Ritzie

what a wonderful mix of experiences.  life is definitely good, in bacolod!  bwahahaha!.