Wednesday, November 27, 2013

slacks and perks

An early bird catches the most worms, doesn't it? But, leave all afternoon for exercise and recreation. Wait...evening is a time of real experimentation.

Liza has been having difficulty getting up in the morning. Though her job starts from 9 she can't still figure out how has she been coping to be on her senses early in the morning. Most often, after being up, she goes straightly to the shower room, and then prepare to go to work. Good thing she doesn't have much task in the morning in the office. She is not a morning person.

Every after lunch, Rooney tends to be fast asleep whether at work or at home. Afternoons seem to have a potion for him to be so laid-back and lazy. There are times that dozing off turns into a deep kip. He tries to be alert when the sun is under his head but nothing seems to make him alive. He is not an afternoon person.

Gigi has a very simple life. In the morning she goes to work. In the afternoon she comes home. Then after dinner her body is likely to be tempted by her bed. So before 9 or sometimes 8 she is already dead as a door-nail. It could have been her working lifestyle at daytime that is making her snore early at nighttime. Sometimes, she just can't even be awakened during Christmas or New Year's Eve. She is not an evening person.

There are times in our life that we feel like being a lark. Sometimes, we just want to be a sunny bum or maybe a night owl. A certain survey of over 400 adults showed approximately 15% morning people, 25% evening people, and 60% intermediates. For whatever category we may fit in, always remember that life has its slacks and perks.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

square pen

Sunrise lights it every morning. Up the hill, it stands alone with its stern walls. Several big logs are like in a stack with a little space in between them forming a square type hut with a grass roof at almost two persons high.  But what is distinct about it is that it has no door nor opening. Sunset means the start of darkness in this isolated place. 

Lien, 27, has been there for almost seven years now. He has braved seasons after seasons whether it's hot, cold, snowy, or stormy. He only has a wooden bed with a couple of thick fleece to survive time. Imagine him freezing like ice maybe during winter or melting like ice cream during summer. Lien seems not to bother any of these. His body hasn't changed- still as thick as the logs around him.

Chen, his father, visits him every other day. It has been his routine for several years. But there has never been a visit that he did not cry. Looking at some meters away from his son's cage, he begins to cry. He can't help it. 

Chen had had some difficult times taming Lien as he was growing up. At the age of 20, Lien's physical stature had begun to become strong and feral. Chen tried many times to tie him with a rope but Lien could still break the knot. Chen thought that Lien couldn't be controlled so he decided to bring him up the hill and built a special place for his son.

Schizophrenia has totally damaged Lien's life. Chen can't afford to take Lien to a specialist. Moreover, their village is quite far from the town and as far as medicine which costs an arm and a leg is concerned, there are just a few doctors that treat the case of Lien.  It breaks Chen's heart everyday thinking about the condition of his son. But he has no choice. He thinks that this is the safest thing for his son.

Chen has never thought that life is unfair. He doesn't think that he is old enough to hope that one day he could be with his son not up the hill but on his side like when Lien was still young. He dreams that one day he would not go into that square pen up the hill again. 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

what is your church?

A church is an edifice where worshipers mostly sit  for at least 3 hours or even more, and stand occasionally. This is possibly the more prominent definition among others. 'Ecclesia' is the old term in Greek for church which literally means assembly or a place where gatherings occur. 

Everyone has a church. This is not only the structure which maybe has high roofs and concrete walls with different images inside or outside but it is also a place or activity that they spend most of their times. For many, their houses or workplaces could mean church. They spend almost a day for the same chores. For others, it could be in front of a television. There are these people who allocate much time watching TV programs. They just can't begin their days without turning their TVs on. Or maybe, they just can't sleep without that boob tube sound as their lullaby.

Some may say that their church is the court or the field. Playing their favorite sports which eats most of their time and energy is their ritual. Some may say reading a book salvages their time and brings comfort to their soul majority of their time in a day. It could also be a walk with their dogs in a park almost every other day. Or, driving a motorcycle rounding the village or city oftentimes in a week.

For whatever church people choose and have, no matter how trivial, shallow, important, or deep it may be for some, may they find the underlying meaning of church which is contentment, joy, and peace of mind.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

paradox

Paradoxes are not just trivial occurrences that happen to everyone. For whatever purposes they may serve, there are and must be lessons behind these paradoxes that we encounter in our lives. . A paradox is like a conundrum. Every incident of paradox leaves a puzzling remnant that needs to be unraveled and it requires a number of nerves in the hypothalamus to shiver ending up a good answer to the puzzle. The same way with life, it necessitates someone to undergo the what we call introspection for him to realize the lessons of paradoxes. 

Life has full of paradoxes. In our everyday life, we may encounter different and bizarre paradoxes. You might have been a demonstrator who is against the American capitalist but teach English in school or you might have hated wearing pink since you were a kid but now most shirts on your wardrobe are pink. Maybe you think that fermented rice has a very appalling smell but when you are on your dining table you are hypnotized by it then eat it selfishly like no more tomorrow. You may have promised yourself not to wear shorts in your entire life because you have not good legs or you may have thighs like logs but when you are away from your place or residence you wear skimpy shorts as if it is running out of some piece of clothing. You said you don’t love your ex-boyfriend anymore but secretly and intimately date with him every other day. You even incessantly buy expensive stuff knowing that your parents only earn enough for your meals three times a day. Even in movies, paradox is immanent. Look at those rags to riches movie theme or think of Robin Hood stealing for the benefit of the poor? You can read in newspaper an addict turned priest in a church. And many more…


Do you have the same story? To what story do you consider you are most likely akin to?


lesser-friend


Sometimes we close our ears to hear other sides of story because of personal biases. We only consider one side because on that side is our close friend and on the other is a distant one. Sometimes we even sacrifice our friendship with the lesser-related friend in favor of the closer one. Too bad that because of prejudice and hypocrisy we lose one and keep the other.

"My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here’s a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?' (James 2:1-4).

the choice


The havoc our country has been experiencing is really saddening. But what makes it more saddening or should I say sickening is the media that gives partial and bias information to the people. I am aware of media's primary role in the society which is to give information to the public, but a few media men and some known celebrities have not been sensitive and sensible enough of which information to be given to the public. Some local and international media personalities have gone beyond reporting. I don't want to assume that some of them are making this hideous calamity as their platform to gain applause and recognition. Apparently, they have trespassed 'depersonalisation' neglecting their pivotal role which is maintaining objectivity in information dissemination. Sensationalizing events and occurrences in the typhoon stricken areas by them have led netizens to blame the authorities or the people in charge of the affected places. Worse, netizens have grown weary leading them to post any news reports from youtube or news/cable channels. On top of it, netizens have neglected to scrutinize what they have been posting online.


Be responsible. Choose what you post!