how i changed the world today

i farm, and that makes me have more time to see and be immersed in the beauty of a natural setting.  i am pretty sure this makes me a more reflective person.  i am also a keen observer of how nature works and plays, and i never let a chance, or a moment pass, not to be grateful to The Force, for the beauty that surrounds me at La Huerta.  time spent in this heaven of a place has made me realize, too, that there are things that i just cannot change, only influence.

 

my experience today, tho, with the rural women from my town Baao, who i brought to naga city for a pilgrimage to the region's patroness, has made me suspect that i have the power to change the world and today, i saw tangible evidence of it.

sometime ago, when i resettled back here, i would always gripe, grumble and moan about the huge amount of trash that people leave after an event, especially a religious event, at the church yard.  holy week would see a hill, maybe even a mountain of trash by the church, after people, who went to church to pray, disrespect, insult and abuse the very place of their worship, by leaving behind their trash.

back then i could only bemoan and lament over the stupidity, or to put it more lightly, the ignorance of those that do the act.  somehow, over time, i made a pact with the self, to effect change by being an example of how one should deal with the trash issue after an event at the church.  i would shamelessly call the attention of the person near me, young or old, stranger or not, who i see improperly throw trash, to pick it up again and put it in their pockets and bring it back home with them.  i know i have become an irritant to many.  but i couldn't care less.  i was more concerned about my environment than their opinions of me.  some people would just even ignore me.  my well-meaning friends would tell me, i could not do anything about it.  but i absolutely disagree with them.  i know i could do something about it, and i would.

for a while, it seemed futile, the last time i was in church for an event, there was still the pile of trash left by the church-going citizens.  of course the pile does not stay there for long, as a janitor would clean up the church yard afterwards.  but i pursued with my dogged determination and continued to tell people who i see improperly throw trash, to pick it up again and put it in their pockets and bring it back home with them.  a little thing, but one that made me extraordinarily happy every time i did it and every time a piece of trash is picked up by the thrower.

so when i brought my RIC women to naga city, i was a bit afraid that i might have to tell one or a few of them, to pick up trash when i see them improperly throw it, especially when one of the women offered us candies inside the jeepney we were riding.  but i was pleasantly surprised when i observed my seatmate(i couldn't even remember her name, but i know she is from Lourdes, a mountain barangay here in baao), after she took the candy, she put the candy wrapper inside her purse.  how i wanted to hug her and tell her how her simple act had made me so happy.  But i had to hold back, and smiled, and gloated secretly.

maybe i'm really not the one that started that, and it doesn't matter.  the fact is, that i have been trying to see change in that one thing, and i saw that today.


every person, every small act of kindness towards nature.  every small act of mindfulness towards our environment.  every time one little "good" thing happens, . . it increases the love and hope in the world, and changes the world.

today, my world was changed by the very habit that i had started.  if i can do it, so can you. and so can he. and so can she.  little by little. . .and that is how we change the world.

 

kindred spirits

for a long time now, i have been thinking that life's journey will see me alone.  sometimes, i can feel tears streaming down my face, feeling there is no one i share my passions with.
i have always wanted to be lost in a heightened euphoria, just dreamin' and being in the dream.
i have often desired to be immersed in a state of colours and paints.
i have frequently fancied to be ending a busy day with reading a book, or maybe a line from a poem or a story.
and these notions and whims and flights of my imagination, i live them now, alone, or so i thought.
my gifts for today are my passions shared with wonderful, brilliant and amazing people:

18.  francis padua papica - for you have given me back my faith in the natural goodness of a person.  i believe now, more than ever, that one's goodness in the heart exudes and radiates, no wonder you are such a good-looking man.  bwahahaha!  you have also debunked the law that opposites attract, now, there is a new law - kindred spirits attract.

 

 

19.  kristian sendon cordero -  for you have given me back my love for poetry and shared with me wonderful moments of readings.  when you read your poems, i listen to the beauty of verse with its emotional sincerity, intensity and profound insight.

 

 

 

20.  nunilon arnold bancaso, jr. "OsacnaB" - for you have painted my world colourful again.  the art, the critique, the technique, style and all, that you share with me, have made me see beauty much more vividly,  more vibrantly.  you have given me more than just confidence, you have given me power!

there is so much to be thankful and grateful for, but today, i am grateful that the three of you are in my world and are in my lifetime. 

life is good!  bwahahaha!

the gift of wild flowers

yoku mireba

nazuna hana saku,
kakine kana. - basho

when i look carefully
i see the Nazuna blooming
by the hedge

"the picture and your words reminded me of that haiku by basho, a world away from the response of the westerner writer lord alfred tennyson in flower in the crannied wall. whereas the japanese basho just looked closely and marveled at the beauty of the small red flower, the englishman had to pluck the flower and vivisect it, thereby killing it. d.t. suzuki said this in a lecture on zen buddhism. you are a true easterner :)"
- doods santos

my meanderings at la huerta de rosario give me time to marvel at the beauty of nature in a small way, my farm being small. and the paths that twist and bend, just never fail to give me wonderful surprises.

16. monstera deliciosa in bloom

17. a patch of zingiber zerumbet all in bloom this time of the year.

there are depths to see and feel in the simplest of things. nature has so much to offer.

and true enough, i am such an easterner, i just look closely and marvel at the beauty. . .and acknowledge the force.

burikbutikan: dulot ki ina opens

burikbutikan: dulot ki ina opens: for artists, an art exhibit is always a validating experience. when i got invited to join the "dulot ki ina" exhibit, by elmer oliva, i d...

my own rainbow's end

life is a work of art.
you've got to paint it
c o l o u r f u l!

saturday success story - ms. bidibidi

aspire. motivate. succeed.
your daily dose of inspiration.

saturday success story

thanks, alpha!
may my story inspire others to pursue their dreams and live their passions.

dishevelled soul

if i could sing you my soul songs
and let the notes rise
and ride the stormy breeze
that softly, fiercely caress my face. . .
i would offer them to you
dedicate the tunes to you
because i know
your soul would open up
to receive them,
allow them. . .
their echoes would wrap around you,
enfold and swathe you,
move through you, feel you
and it would be as if
wisps of our souls are entwined, tangled
uniting together
and through this dishevelled soul web
would vibrate, quiver and throb
the spirit of our hearts

laughter. smiles. giggles.

i didn't take a picture of my gift this week.
i couldn't.
i was sitting in the thick of getting prepped for the inaarak group art exhibit, which happened at the cafe des artes, last saturday.
doing it, was surely a gift, but it was kinda hard to hold your sides and a scratched red nikon coolpix at the same time.
so, when i got the pics of the gala opening last saturday, taken by tobmeb of me and my galpals,
i simply knew what my gift was, for the week
and is, for life. . .

this week's gift:
15. a table full of laughter and giggles.

i'm not talking about any old laughter,
i'm talking table poundin', side splittin', belly-achin' laughter.
the kind that lifts you right off the ground and calls for santa to visit pre yule. bwahahaha!

laughter, smiles, and giggles, ok, they don't literally lift chairs off the floor, but surely did my spirit!

contentment. . .hmmmmm. . .

what a totally awesome, splendid, afternoon, yesterday's was.
at the farm. . .

sittin', groovin', on tunes i have forgotten about, well, not really, as i always find myself hummin' 'em. . .
occasionally goin' to my canvass tiles, dippin' my brush on some whimsied colours and paintin'. . .

i never feel more close to the force than on moments like this, when i find myself alone. . .

with my tunes and my paints. . .

as the creative energy flows from my fingertips. . .

and the music winds its tendrils around my heart. . .
healin', rememberin'. . .

i feel i am where i belong. . .
doing what i was created to do!

thank you!

gifts. people. friendships

my recent trip to cebu has certainly, certainly (stress, not a typo) made me more convinced and assured that gifts come in all shapes, sizes, colours and forms.
even before booking my flight to cebu, i already knew i will have fun, but what i had was much, much (stress, not a typo) more than what i expected.

14. shawn perez espina

i have known shawn when i was living in cebu, back in the late 80's, enjoying the freedom one gets earning from a career (more an adventure, for me). i was ready to see the world, armed with a diploma and a working contract from a multi-national, a driver's license, i took the first chance i got to hop to an island. and it was cebu.

shawn was then an intern, fresh from med school. my job was with a pharma co, so all my friends and acquaintances were in that circle. those times are but a blurr now, but one thing remains clear in my memory and that is, shawn was a good friend, and i was right, he was and still is. but what surprised me more, is that shawn and i also share the same passion, now: painting and farming.

thank you, shawn, for the hospitality and the kindness.

15. jenjen, rachel, alan

cervini and eliazo

if i would be given a second chance to go to college again and live the college life again, i, without batting an eyelash, would pick to live in eliazo hall. dorm life at eliazo was simply the best, and being neighbours with cervini is an additional treat! bwahahaha!

i had dinner with alan, jenjen and rachel, on my first night in cebu. actually, this trip was like going down nostalgia lane. so when the four of us had dinner at abaseria, there was no avoiding that route. bwahahaha! it was so much fun to reminisce and make fun of our own experiences (well, not ours alone. we did talk about other people's, too. bwahahaha).

thanks, jenjen, alan and rachel for the shared memories and laughter.

16. marilou, chinqui, sandy, zeny, ellen,(lilit, majo and rudjen)& i

roommates reunite!

that is how the headline should be. the reason why i went to cebu is to meet up with my roommates! after 27 years! oh, my! after college, we somehow lost contact with each other, but fate would have it that after 27 years, we will meet up and see each other again, in cebu.

it was such a happy reunion!

ellen came all the way from new york, sandy came from manila, zeny from cagayan de oro,

marilou is based in cebu, so she hosted our sumptuous dinner (crabs flown all the way from surigao and cakes flown all the way from butuan, what a jetset of a feast! bwahahaha!)

and chinqui, who is of this moment in cebu, was gracious enough to initiate and make this reunion possible. i know lilit, who flew in from london, would have joined us, but was kept from doing so because of some urgent matter. rudjen will know about our reunion in sfo and of course majo, too, soon, in paris. and i, i had to take a 7-hour bus trip, stay overnight in manila, fly to cebu, to attend this important reunion. and i would not have missed it for the world.

the moment we saw each other again, after 27 years, was precious. memories, laughter, dreams. . .these things and more, pervaded our conversation.

the food at cyma was ignored, not because it was no good, but because we were so excited to see each other, we could hardly take a bite.

we then had coffee and more stories, walked our way to marriott and i met, for the first time, ellen's beautiful kids.

after the dinner at marilou's, we bunked with sandy at the shangri-la, and true enough, it was a remote place and what made it a paradise (at least for me) was the fact that i was with my roommates.

room 202 and room 204.

after this, my recent trip to cebu, i know, without any doubt, that the people i meet, the friendships we create are not by chance but rather, by design. . .

and i submit.

this is your life

recently saw this and i must re-post.
life is good! live it!

beyond my wildest dream

it was yesterday morning. i found myself smiling while strolling along the newly re-landscaped rosario's path, that leads to the heart of la huerta. i cannot help admiring how fast inggay and my don bosco students learned of how i wanted the path to look and feel like, worked and planted and arranged my irises and caladiums. . . and yesterday morning, i found myself smiling while moseying along the newly re-landscaped rosario's path.

it is a short, winding and meandering plumeria-lined trail (contrary to the banal, trite, prosaic and cliched 'matuwid na daan', i purposely had this 'daan' crooked, just to state my case. bwahahaha!). the flat stone leaf-shaped steps have not been installed, they will soon be, so i found myself leisurely walking on the soft and rich dark earth of the promenade. it felt totally glorious, to realize that i have conquered this part of heaven, at least, that is how i look at it.

my arms were outstretched, to reach for the verdant leaves, beckoning for my avian friends to perch on them. and oh, the things i heard! softened by the coolness of the morning farm air, i could hear children and a dog playing in the distance, the birds were singing their early morning tunes, an invitation to their flights! my senses were heightened as if i had finally come into harmony with the universe. each movement, each thought found its place in the tapestry that was being woven on that day, right before my very eyes, and it was still early in the morning.

i am pleased to say, that my gift from that experience, is the gift of being at total peace and the contentment in the moment.

and as i am busy pounding on my lappy's keys right this very moment, i still asked myself what to be grateful for, today. and it dawned on me that a better question stands: is there anything that i should not be grateful for? for even in the moments that are not as peaceful as yesterday morning's, they are a gift, for i cannot know peace and contentment and joy without the occasional absence of those things.

so this is the gift:
13. the present. and the ability to revel in it.

and then i heard it: pssssst, pssssst. . . i turned my head, afraid to see who is not there. . . but i did. . . and i saw joy! (and that is another gift entry for the morrow. bwahahaha!)

just do it!

my favourite line is: just do it!

i do not wait for the other shoe to drop. waiting for it is a lack of faith: in the force, in love, in goodness and in the self. the older i get (and wiser, i wish. bwahahaha), the more i am convinced that a person can live fearlessly! (different from carelessly). and i believe that living fearlessly is the only way that i can experience all the flavours and nuances of life, everyday.

on a personal level, i know i have been given the strength to come through whatever comes my way. i believe in L.O.V.E., and i am not afraid to put it out there for the world to know.

when i tell you that i love you, i tell you, so that you will know that you are never alone. that i see the goodness in you and that i see myself in you.

i will not be afraid to love you. what have i got to lose?


ps: john 3:16