"Love..."

When life seems too unclear,

love clarifies.

When everything turns lonesome,

love cheers.

When people walk out on you,

love stays.

When tears fall heavily,

love consoles.

When in deep pain,

love heals.

When lost, 

love finds a way.

When silence looms,

love listens.

When you stumble, 

love picks you up.

When the past hurts,

love explains.

When the present gets barren,

love inspires.

When the future grows uncertain,

love ensures.

When all is forgotten,

love remembers.

When everything is gone,

love persists.

And if I ever stop writing,

                                        ... love just goes on.

12.11.2020

04:51 PM

"Stay With Me"

 

When a person wants someone or something to "stay", he desires discontinuance or delay to that which is foreseen at hand. In most cases, this suspension allows one to prepare for what is imminent; to act prudently despite its (possible) inconveniences. 

Jesus, for instance, in anticipation of His impending end, dramatically readies himself to suffer. 

In anguish, he bleeds inwardly. 

Crestfallen and disconsolated, he weeps in isolation. He alone knows, afterall, the intensity of his pain; He alone knows, even from the start, the misery of his own fate. 

But when Jesus foresees all of these, he demands nothing from His Father's will. He, instead, like all human beings who go through the same discomfort, calls on for an "interruption"-- a stop, a respite, even for a moment. He does so not to change or prevent the inevitable to happen, but to find in a very limited time a rare kind of strength in every quiescence.

In the garden, he surrenders His divinity. 

He kneels. 

He cries. 

He agonizes. 

He pleads for a companion:

"Stay with me..." 

Would you stay awake and watch Him even for tonight?

(A Maundy Thursday Reflection, 2019)

Digital Art by: Lot Jr Tabilid

"Paradox"

 

The way to our dreams has always been a treacherous climb eversince. And yet, God has been Good all the time by sending us people to guide us through our journey. Through them, the "Ups and Downs" have been manageable. The tears, though at times deafening in some midnight wakes, have been flowing for a much treasured purpose: to bleed so that others may live. Despite distance and time, the laughters, likewise, have been a constant reminder of a life best cherished when you have friends and families to enjoy them with. 

The old and new faces have been dancing with me even if sometimes they couldn't hear the music. 

Ironically, there seems to be a sense of balance in such an abysmal confusion and self-disorder; there is Happiness in such a disarray. I agree with Friedrich Nietzsche: "One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."

So, before 2019 exits gracefully, I want to say,

Thank you for the drama.

Thank you for the tragedy.

Thank you for the comedy.

I needed them to stay alive!

"Filipino Resiliency"

We Filipinos are capable of withstanding any forms of challenges without existential rupture or deformation.

No matter what life gives us-- financial instability, ceaseless exposure to natural calamaties, health adversities, or being forced to leave family and friends to search for a much greener pasture abroad, and more-- we tend to adjust easily to misfortune or tragedy.

When problems arise, we respond to them naturally. We cry. We express regrets. And we unsteadily falter. But once the storm clears, we respond exceedingly. The most common way is that we "joke" about our misadventures. We find ways to make fun of our problems as a way to get ourselves back to normalcy. When this happens, life seems to 'laugh" back at us-- feeling "amused" as if mishaps are just routes to re-calibrate us to a much better individuals.

"The world is trying to break [us]," Jessica Zafra sarcastically pens, "by sticking around, [we] annoy the hell out of it... [we’re] giving the middle finger to the world. [We’re] telling the world that [we’re] strong; unbreakable."

15.05.2020

11.05 PM

"Dream and Melancholy"

 

Anyone who has a bigger dream that takes them away from the comfort of homes, I think, can understand the struggles and challenges in finding daily meaning in a foreign land. In most cases, we even sacrifice too much just to surrender our happiness to the inevitable, the unforeseen and the unknown. Sadly, if we could only take a glimpse of what lies ahead, the "waiting" wouldn't be that excruciating at all. But somehow, there must be something about the future that makes it worth anticipating. Whatever that is, only the bravest of souls can tell. 

Bo Sanchez adherently says,

Despite daily obstacles, [never] cancel your dreams, just adjust [the] details and deadlines.

Modify your execution.

But never give up!

Hence, I must continue living.

13.09.2020

07:35 PM

"Memoire"

To remember is to retain a memory of someone or something; to recollect, to be reminded of.

To love someone, for instance, is an emotive act that deserves a heartening reminiscence. It reminds us of our decision and commitment with someone or something of greater value. It shows us time and again, to borrow the wisdom of the Little Prince, that "we become responsible, forever, for what we have tamed." And within such tideous process of "taming" each other's character, lies experiences that mold us to who we are today.

They either shake or shape us. 

Undeniably, no matter how dull or colorful those moments are, they constitute largely to what we have become. 

Hence, a part of what makes us truly human is our ability to rekindle moments that either help us treasure or, sadly at times, disvalue the yesteryears.

Lest we forget that a portion of us is our remembered past. And he who forgets has nothing to remember.

22.09.2020

11:58 PM

Digital Art by: Lot Jr Tabilid