For Blog Action Day '09.

What with all the natural disasters we’ve seen lately, I highly doubt if there’s still anyone who thinks climate change is a myth. Tsunamis, typhoons, flash flooding, extreme weather changes, wherever you are you certainly feel it’s real, and it’s serious. It’s never been more apparent that everyone has to make certain lifestyle changes if we want a future to look forward to. What do we do? As we wait for our world leaders to discuss the future of our planet in Copenhagen this December, there are things we can personally do to work towards keeping things green.

From unplugging appliances when not in use, to skipping plastic bags & investing on reusable shopping bags, skipping bottled waters & for the tougher crowd, eating more vegetables instead of more meat - we can all do something.

I’ve compiled a few links that I think are worth reading; it’s time to be informed!

For more detailed ways on how we can help: 10 Solutions for Climate Change

To know why the 15th Conference of the Parties at Copenhagen is a big big deal and for the list of events happening before that: Events That Will Rock the World Before COP15 Does

For the gadget savvy: Buy a Mac Save the World 5 Apps to Help Save the World

For all shoppers: Reusable Shopping Bags

For the world travelers: How to Plan an Eco-friendly Vacation

To sign the climate petition, link is at the bottom of the article: Oxfam: Your Chance to Leave a Legacy

Maraming bagay sa mundo na mahirap maintindihan. Many things are hard to understand. The bane of everyone with an A type personality is that you want to understand everything, always looking for a sound explanation. The lesson is sometimes, there just really isn't one. There is no sound explanation for murder, greed, or every irrational fear... yet even those contain truths that can only unfold in due time.

I don't like waiting. Life, I thought, does not happen to those who wait. You want something, go get it now. And there, clear as crystal, lies the great danger. Waiting has lost its value. What we want is instant gratification.

There is good reason we aren't born 25. Life is designed to have multiple stages, from birth to death to everything in between, each with its own goal to accomplish. As infants we were expected to distinguish between those we can trust and those we couldn't. As adolescents, we were expected to distinguish who we wanted to be and who we really are versus what our environment and peers would like us to be. The point is each stage had its own expectation, and success or growth could be measured through the completion of these goals.

One step at a time, the stages say. There's a reason we don't marry at 5. Or start work at 90.

The perils of not being able to wait can easily be seen in those who cannot wait to grow up. Cliche examples would be 13 going on 30 or Fools Rush In.

Couldn't wait for the next pay cheque, or for the savings to finally add up? Swipe that credit! (We don't need to count the multitude who get stuck in credit debts...)

Couldn't wait to reach the top of the ladder? Make use of "necessary evils." (We all know our social butterflies, especially in politics...)

Couldn't wait for the green light? Major collision at the intersection.

The list goes on. We can all cite our "couldn't wait then suffer for it" moments. I have lots, and well, I charge it to experience.

Again with the A type personality, waiting can really be difficult. You always want to see what's ahead so you can take the necessary precautions. Maybe you don't even have to be an A type. Maybe it's a natural thing to want to know where you're headed. Lest you bump into an otherwise obvious glass door.

The best analogy for this is that of the car's headlights. Say you're driving from Manila to La Union or Vancouver to Washington, the headlights help you see the next 100 feet or so. (I'm not sure, feel free to correct me!) They don't illuminate the whole stretch, because those 100 feet are all you ever need to get to your destination. Especially in the dark, you just trust that the road will keep unfolding, and you'll eventually reach your goal, 100 feet at a time.

By the way, I found out I'm not even strictly an A type! I know it's hardly what we may call professional and reliable, but it has to be based on something real right? I took this test found on Discovery Health, try it if you want an idea what personality type you fall under: http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/type_a_personality_access.html

UPDATE: First few quotes mentioned on the latter part of the entry have been confirmed by Mr. Jim Paredes to be thoughts he's expressed in his blog. I am now pretty sure I can give him credit for them!

“Time named her Woman of the Year at the end of 1986, the first female to hold TIME’s annual distinction on her own since the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth in 1952.” (Time’s Special Report, Corazon Aquino, 1933-2009, The Woman Who Changed Asia)

*Thanks to my tito, our family was able to go inside the Manila Cathedral for the funeral mass. I just wanted one shot, the one I saw on Inquirer’s front page, the view from the balcony. ‘Yun lang, ok na ako," I said. Dreaming too little, I still got more than I asked for. All the while mumbling, “This is history.” And I am so grateful to be one with the nation in celebrating a hero’s life!












I couldn’t have come home at any better time.


Growing up in a family that’s always been big on taking part of the political events of our nation, I would’ve preferred to be in the Philippines when it witnessed passion flow into the streets once again. That’s because I only have stories from my parents and uncles and aunts to relive the People Power that shook the autocratic world that was--the first People Power, the one that other nations looked to and spoke of when they wanted to create solidarity against tyranny, and still keep the peace. I was part of the second one, but that really isn’t something to be proud of... Given what it has come to denote posthype. (And given who--or more accurately, what--it ushered into power--that’s a different story.)

Cory. I didn’t give the late president much thought before. In most circumstances, we never really think of people until they’re gone, do we? She was just the lady in yellow whose husband I am so in awe of, and the prayer warrior who led the rosary at the Church of the Gesu before the first simbang gabi masses in all my 4 years in Ateneo.

Until cancer took its turn for the worse and prayers were said in her name, and yellow ribbons and twibbons covered the streets and the internet.

Until her death happened and hearts not only in the Philippines but all over the globe witnessed epic movement.



Until the newpapers, tv and radio stations celebrated her beautiful life again, for the benefit of the younger generations, or anyone who’s forgotten.



I realized that yes she was the lady in yellow. The widow who shared the indomitable spirit of her brave Ninoy.





And yes she was the prayer warrior who led the rosary. Asia’s first woman president whose everlasting help was her unwavering faith, which rallied a wounded nation to claim its democracy once more.









Strong women have a special place in my heart. I keep thinking I should share the list of A-rated women in my life, from people I know and people I could never meet to people I still hope to talk to some golden time. Some other time. Back to the strong women, Cory is definitely one of them. For everything that’s been said this past month, and everything else we’ve realized for ourselves, why is self-explanatory.






I have these notes that seem so random, now that I don’t remember for sure who said them, and when. Top of my head, my best guess is Jim Paredes, and during the time Cory was lying in state, so around Aug. 1-4. This I’ll try to verify; for the time being here are the words:

-Something's possible beyond the jail of cynicism we've put ourselves in.

-Idealism is the new realism.

-The great leaders of this time think in phenomenal terms.

-We have to think of a future that goes beyond the trend of what's going on now.

-Sa dulo ng lahat ng ito, kabutihan pa rin ang mananalo.

I like taking note of things that touch my heart. Something about these words... the call to hope and innovative leadership perhaps... made me write them down.











How lucky are we Pinoys to have had a Ninoy and a Cory! And now that they’re gone, so many of us are asking, where do we go from here? You know too well the heart-crushing list of presidentiables we currently have... But the words say: something (else), something (good) is still possible. So we push ourselves to think differently, even when it’s extremely difficult to be hopeful and ideal.

Believe in this first, and then act.

Our Sages teach us that it is mankind's ability to speak that sets us apart from the animal kingdom. Speech is a uniquely human characteristic, endowed upon us from the Almighty. Certainly not something to squander, speech and communication enable us to serve God in numerous ways, and they are vital in our human relationships as well. We are told that every word a person says is recorded and will be played back after the person departs this world, when God examines his or her life.*

*Riva Pomerantz, Talk Is Cheap

A few weeks ago I was faced with the dilemma of deciding what to write as a preface to a gift I was going to give. It's customary to write a short note to explain why you're sharing a particular book, or any form of literature, to someone else- so I wasn't too comfortable giving it without some message... It wouldn't be as meaningful. For someone who loves to write and read, the fact that I've been at a loss for words for so long now pushes me to utmost reflection.

You might think, "Ano ba! Simpleng-simple lang, write from your heart, you don't have to overthink."

I agree. It just isn't as simple as that. The things is, I've just come to hold people to their word, and that accountability for words will be meaningless if I could not be held accountable for my own. So I've recently made it a personal commitment to watch what I say.

If you won't see what you say through, it'd be better for everyone if you just didn't say it. Because words are powerful. I always thought words were just costly, I've long been aware that words can not only heal, but also wound, and that's what makes it, well, possibly catastrophic. I have learned that talk can be costly AND absolutely cheap. It's costly when the repercussions of our words cause so much damage to others; it's cheap when we don't walk the talk--and in both cases, whether we're aware of it or not.

Scenario # 1. Maraming pangako, papuri, salita, na labas lang sa ilong kung sinasabi. You only have to watch the news to see how true this is. We say lots of things we don't mean.

Scenario # 2: Ang papalit-palit ng isip. Our own fickle-mindedness, our fickle-mindedness! "Let your Yes mean Yes and your No mean No. Anything more is from the evil one." (Mt 5:37) And it's true. Minsan talaga masyadong madali magbago ang isip... From one fad to the next, from one belief to another, even one partner to the next.

& Scenario # 3: Promises were not made to be broken.

I don't know about you, but I promise myself lots of things! For example, when I experienced:

...a loved one’s death, I promised to never take any minute of my life for granted... I also promised to love more...

...losing something I worked hard for, I promised to take better care...

...letting a loved one down, I promised to set my priorities straight, and to get my act together...

...Until time pushes forward and life eventually returns to its normal cycle and the shadows of death, loss and failure fade away...and I forget what I promised.

These 3 scenarios are just examples of times when words are absolutely cheap. Is there anything sadder for a writer to admit?

Flashback to the times where lawyers who conjured mountains of paperwork to ensure party agreements were unimaginable... when people simply spoke face-to-face, gave their word, and that was all anyone ever needed. This was when people were as good as their word. “Itaga mo pa sa bato.” Fast forward to today, where we could sign a gazillion papers and still be tricked by loopholes, perfectly worded terms, conditions and clauses that were designed to confuse, if not fool.

If we can count with our fingers the number of people we can hold accountable for every single promise, exhortation, or even word that comes from their lips...

...Sigh.

What is accountability in this case? It's having the guts to stay true to your word. And backing it up with action.

I challenge myself to walk the talk, and I’m making this challenge public so you can all hold me accountable for my words. I give you permission to say, “Excuse me, I think you’re forgetting something...”

I still haven't thought of what to write in that note. I want to write words that survive time, distance, and circumstance. If they only ring true at the present, entirely dependent on situations and conditions, then their worth is only as good as that fleeting moment. (In short, not worth much!)

Because the truth is, you can only gauge how genuine something is when it survives change, especially the most difficult ones. And who would want anything less than genuine?

Labels: power of words, self-reflection

How can cruelty emanate from truth, love, & goodness?

It's not the same as asking "Why does God allow bad things TO happen to good people," or "Why does evil persist," but simply and honestly wondering how creatures fashioned in the image and likeness of a perfectly loving God can possibly create so much pain, hate, suffering and destruction?

I recently read that in the twentieth century alone, humans killed in excess of one hundred million fellow humans.

In the words of Eckhart Tolle:

Humans inflicting pain of such magnitude on one another is beyond anything you can imagine. And that's not taking into account the mental, emotional and physical violence, the torture, pain and cruelty they continue to inflict on each other on a daily basis.

Do they act in this way because they are in touch with their natural state, the joy of life within? Of course not. Only people who are in a deeply negative state, who feel very bad indeed, would create such a reality as a reflection of how they feel. Now they are engaged in destroying nature and the planet that sustains them. Unbelievable but true. Humans are a dangerously insane and very sick species. That's not a judgment. It's a fact. It is also a fact that the sanity is there under the madness. Healing and redemption are available right now."

So only people who are themselves deeply hurting can and will hurt other people deeply as well. Somehow the fact that misery loves company does squat to shed any semblance of sense to this fact. Two cents are appreciated!

We all like attention--that's a fact. We don't even have to be psychologists to figure out why those who choose to emotionally withdraw (i.e the suicidal--or less extremely--the angsty teenage emos of today) do what they do... they, just like you and me, desire to be given value. Or at the very least, noticed.

True. AND there's a line. I find it extremely challenging to not shake my head in disappointment when I hear of people who would do everything to stay in the limelight--regardless of who they leave behind. Because just as I know how it feels to be left behind, I also know how it is to leave people behind--and neither really leaves a very lasting sunny feeling.

Two things:

1. Self-gratification
2. Exclusivity VS. inclusion

What makes a group a group? Or a community a community? It's that every single member feels like s/he belongs. Regardless of status, race, gender, age.

What happens when a group of people within that group decide to make the community revolve around them? False self-gratification.

What happens when power is limited to a select few? Exclusivity.

I personally find that it's exponentially more satisfying when we allow others to experience the same companionship, same warmth, same love we personally enjoy--instead of keeping everything all to ourselves, all to our own little cliques. It's so much better to shine with others, and let others shine. :)