on my way back home from work, a couple of days ago, on the bus ride, i managed to get a seat behind four people. three were female and the fourth was male. he obviously was gay. to me he even appeared more girlish than the others. i guessed they were in their middle twenties. there were only a handful of us passengers on this early morning bus ride and although these young people were a bit rowdy and noisy, the rest of us did not mind.
i knew they just came from a late night party since i can overhear them recalling the events of that time. at one point in their conversation the word "reunion" popped up and i surmised it was a reunion party they came from. i could not force myself not to listen to them since they were conversing very loudly and animatedly. i tried to close my eyes to grab some sleep but i can't. well, their talk was mostly about what had happened to them and their classmates after graduating from school. i heard names mentioned of classmates who are now doing well and leading rich lives. of those who were fortunate to leave the country and was able to settle successfully in foreign lands. also, of those who were able to go abroad but unfortunately found worst. i heard a name or two of those who died young. the four of them, i heard they were all settled with nice-paying, steady jobs and they are satisfied with the way their lives are going, except for one thing --
all four of them had not found a steady partner!
alternately, i heard their summarized love stories. all experienced great beginnings, then the relationships started to sputter and eventually fail. all of four of them blamed their partners for the demise of love. most of the failed relationships pointed the reason to be that their partners did not manage to sustain the energy of the great starts. they never blamed themselves. well, i told myself silently, i am just hearing one side of the story. it could be the other way around. of the four of them, it was the gay male that appeared more devastated. he kept on sobbing at one point and one of girls hugged him. he might be coming from just a recent love breakdown again ...
they all got off the bus and i finally was able to grab a thirty-minute sleep before the bus reached my stop.
at home, i immediately rummaged through my poems cause i remembered something i wrote way back when i myself wondered if ever i shall find love ..
the poem went like so ---
heart knows when time is ripe for loving
for it shall pulsate with all its vibrant energies
it shall summon the kisses of butterflies on flowers
and sing the songs of countless love-starved bees;
it shall borrow the golden glow
of the moon and the stars at night
and seek to wear the sun's silver cloak
glistening, glittering, full-bright;
heart patiently awaits for cupid's arrow to pierce it straight
for time is now, its palpitations so dictate
it must be done, it must not be late,
before the songs die
before the night the lights slowly suffocate!
at home i sat and thought. there is this other Love which the Masters and the Sages always enjoin us to rediscover. this is the Love of the Creator for the created. this is the Love that is all-enduring, all-encompassing, unending, unyielding, unconditional, unfettered, undiminishing. this is the Love that is not blind. this is the Love that is True. we already have this within us all. it is just that in our pursuit of love in the level of this material plane of existence, we forgot.
we are in an ever changing world. on this earth plane everything is not constant. we need to let Cupid pierce our hearts with his arrow of True Love. for,
only True Love will remain.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
water ... everywhere
well, it's been said somewhere that we are, technically, water people, because a bigger percentage of our physical constitution consists of the water element. even at the onset, when we are inside our mother's womb, we are practically, enveloped in water. so, we must be comfortable with this element.
and yet, just this early week of august, we here in this beautiful country of ours, the philippines, had been tested by this very element, water. unceasing rain for more than 10 days. the weather bureau noted that the volume of water that fell for the first 3 days were actually what is supposed to fall for the entire month of august!
during these early days of august, the skies were perennially grey and downcast. that glorious light, the sun, remained hidden, or, in hiding.. so rain fell. and the land got saturated with the water element. the drainage system for most places failed and so large areas got flooded. some were ankle-deep, some waist-deep, and some were so flooded that only the roofs of houses were visible. a great many of us were inconvenienced. well, this is another grim reminder from the Infinite. Mother Nature can express herself in so many ways and we must always be prepared.
many families from the affected areas were evacuated. of course, everyone rallied to help these families. in our own small ways, we helped. contributing small sums of money, offering prayers to the gods, donating used clothes, etc., many volunteered for actual service, augmenting the personnel resources of big foundations which spearheaded the drive to help these stricken people. in these times of need, the philippines produced lots of supermen and aquamen. superheroes all which do not need superpowers. just that firm and sincere resolve to help the countrymen. they do not need their names to be bandied about or splashed across newspapers. they are the silent ones. a warm smile, a comforting handshake, or a tight hug, is all they need to be recompensed.
after this, when the sun is brightly shining once more, i'd be expecting lots of finger-pointing again. concerned public officials and organizations will be passing/putting the blame on anybody else. why did the drainage system fail again? how did the roads got inundated once more? how did landslides happen again? why did people who are supposed to have been relocated away from danger areas still were found to be inhabiting these prohibited zones?
during the summer months, people were regaled by the seemingly unrelenting "improvement work" in almost every street, in almost every location. and yet, when the waters came falling down, almost every "improvement work" was found wanting. this early week of august proved this -- "improvement works" did not improve anything. people who have been entrusted for these kind of work should learn well from the silent supermen and aquamen i mentioned above. work should be sincere and honest and effective.
water is a difficult element to master. we are part water. our tears are water.
our tears must not add to the water we now see, everywhere ...
and yet, just this early week of august, we here in this beautiful country of ours, the philippines, had been tested by this very element, water. unceasing rain for more than 10 days. the weather bureau noted that the volume of water that fell for the first 3 days were actually what is supposed to fall for the entire month of august!
during these early days of august, the skies were perennially grey and downcast. that glorious light, the sun, remained hidden, or, in hiding.. so rain fell. and the land got saturated with the water element. the drainage system for most places failed and so large areas got flooded. some were ankle-deep, some waist-deep, and some were so flooded that only the roofs of houses were visible. a great many of us were inconvenienced. well, this is another grim reminder from the Infinite. Mother Nature can express herself in so many ways and we must always be prepared.
many families from the affected areas were evacuated. of course, everyone rallied to help these families. in our own small ways, we helped. contributing small sums of money, offering prayers to the gods, donating used clothes, etc., many volunteered for actual service, augmenting the personnel resources of big foundations which spearheaded the drive to help these stricken people. in these times of need, the philippines produced lots of supermen and aquamen. superheroes all which do not need superpowers. just that firm and sincere resolve to help the countrymen. they do not need their names to be bandied about or splashed across newspapers. they are the silent ones. a warm smile, a comforting handshake, or a tight hug, is all they need to be recompensed.
after this, when the sun is brightly shining once more, i'd be expecting lots of finger-pointing again. concerned public officials and organizations will be passing/putting the blame on anybody else. why did the drainage system fail again? how did the roads got inundated once more? how did landslides happen again? why did people who are supposed to have been relocated away from danger areas still were found to be inhabiting these prohibited zones?
during the summer months, people were regaled by the seemingly unrelenting "improvement work" in almost every street, in almost every location. and yet, when the waters came falling down, almost every "improvement work" was found wanting. this early week of august proved this -- "improvement works" did not improve anything. people who have been entrusted for these kind of work should learn well from the silent supermen and aquamen i mentioned above. work should be sincere and honest and effective.
water is a difficult element to master. we are part water. our tears are water.
our tears must not add to the water we now see, everywhere ...
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
high rise
it's been some time since i was able to visit this blog. i must admit there was this seeming lull in my mind's meanderings. there were lots of thoughts and feelings and impressions but there is no "push" to compel me to write. they say this really happens. i don't want to force myself to write. i know if i do it then things will not come up sounding honest. while getting one's thoughts, feelings, and impressions written down, one must have that exhilarating and liberating feeling of release, a "birthing" process, so to speak for the mind's meanderings.
there must be joy while writing the mind stuff, an equal gladness as when one is already reading the words that "birthed" those ideas in the mind.
we've moved office. the management found it necessary to go to a better business district. they are following the old adage "birds of the same feather flock together". if you want more money, you have to go to where money is the primary item. like attracts like, as they, the business-minded, the money experts, often say.
yet, this is not about money. this is about me suddenly finding myself holding office in a building more than 30-storeys high. i was asked to find my niche in the 17th floor, a far cry from the 5th floor spot i was accustomed to at the former place.
after about a week, we are all settled in the new building. now, there was this time, probably the first saturday in the new place, when i managed to get a seat very near the building's glass walls overlooking the world outside. it was about 2 am and it was still very dark outside. the thick glass wall does not even permit one to see the lights of the other neighboring edifices. i had to press my face against the cold glass and cup my hands by the side of my face to be able to glimpse the world outside. looking at the lighted offices from the buildings opposite us, i know we were not the only ones doing business at this unholy hour. when i looked below, i can see the pinpoints of light from vehicles worming their way to an early traffic. these images evoked in me a feeling of sadness. this darkness. this cold night. there's not much work on hand so i became a bit sleepy.
after about an hour, i noticed this faint orange glow as i stared on the plate glass. it was an orange ribbon of light against that blackness. morning is breaking forth. the sun is slowly moving up. dawn ... it was beautiful to behold. that glorious light, minute-by-minute stretching its carpet over the horizon. orange, then a bit yellow, then golden, the buildings' silhouettes appearing, the blackness slowly diminishing, greying, surrendering to the light. and that light, sunlight, expressing itself, drawing the curtain of night, claiming its dominion over this phase of time, turning gracefully to silver, then white, oh glittering white. revelation follows, the objects of the outside world starting to be seen. i gazed at the sky. it is blue. the clouds are for now just faint wisps of cotton. sailing silently. their gentle dance betrays the wind that blows. i no longer need to press my face against the plate glass. everything is clear. even the spears of white sunlight had pierced the glass and pierced me as well. i can see my gray shadow seated on the carpeted floor of the office. i stood up and looked down below. i can see the vehicles now. and the trees and the greenery. and the houses of the adjoining residential village. i can see the streets and the sidewalks. and on those sidewalks i can see little dots moving in all directions. hurrying. trying to beat time. little dots. people on their way to their appointments of this day. from where i stand i see them. little dots, little people, little lives. and yet i know, if i go down there and mingle with them, these will become big lives, some will be gigantic lives even.
i looked at the vast panorama sweeping before me. behind one of the tallest buildings peeked the sun majestic. light that binds us all. immediately this sudden remembrance came to mind. the old masters and sages had said -- once one is able to rise to the consciousness of the Infinite, one will be afforded the True View of Life. one will be able to see the True Nature of Existence. i thought to myself, if this 17th-storey view of life awed me at this time, what more if i am able to rise to that level of consciousness that the Sages have referred to?
they say that highest view of Life is attainable and this is what every one must strive for. when one gets this Clear View, then one will have arrived. one will know. one will understand. one can say with conviction that there is just One Life.
the masters and sages have tried to describe the nature of this Life -- Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Truth-Consciousness-Bliss.
there must be joy while writing the mind stuff, an equal gladness as when one is already reading the words that "birthed" those ideas in the mind.
we've moved office. the management found it necessary to go to a better business district. they are following the old adage "birds of the same feather flock together". if you want more money, you have to go to where money is the primary item. like attracts like, as they, the business-minded, the money experts, often say.
yet, this is not about money. this is about me suddenly finding myself holding office in a building more than 30-storeys high. i was asked to find my niche in the 17th floor, a far cry from the 5th floor spot i was accustomed to at the former place.
after about a week, we are all settled in the new building. now, there was this time, probably the first saturday in the new place, when i managed to get a seat very near the building's glass walls overlooking the world outside. it was about 2 am and it was still very dark outside. the thick glass wall does not even permit one to see the lights of the other neighboring edifices. i had to press my face against the cold glass and cup my hands by the side of my face to be able to glimpse the world outside. looking at the lighted offices from the buildings opposite us, i know we were not the only ones doing business at this unholy hour. when i looked below, i can see the pinpoints of light from vehicles worming their way to an early traffic. these images evoked in me a feeling of sadness. this darkness. this cold night. there's not much work on hand so i became a bit sleepy.
after about an hour, i noticed this faint orange glow as i stared on the plate glass. it was an orange ribbon of light against that blackness. morning is breaking forth. the sun is slowly moving up. dawn ... it was beautiful to behold. that glorious light, minute-by-minute stretching its carpet over the horizon. orange, then a bit yellow, then golden, the buildings' silhouettes appearing, the blackness slowly diminishing, greying, surrendering to the light. and that light, sunlight, expressing itself, drawing the curtain of night, claiming its dominion over this phase of time, turning gracefully to silver, then white, oh glittering white. revelation follows, the objects of the outside world starting to be seen. i gazed at the sky. it is blue. the clouds are for now just faint wisps of cotton. sailing silently. their gentle dance betrays the wind that blows. i no longer need to press my face against the plate glass. everything is clear. even the spears of white sunlight had pierced the glass and pierced me as well. i can see my gray shadow seated on the carpeted floor of the office. i stood up and looked down below. i can see the vehicles now. and the trees and the greenery. and the houses of the adjoining residential village. i can see the streets and the sidewalks. and on those sidewalks i can see little dots moving in all directions. hurrying. trying to beat time. little dots. people on their way to their appointments of this day. from where i stand i see them. little dots, little people, little lives. and yet i know, if i go down there and mingle with them, these will become big lives, some will be gigantic lives even.
i looked at the vast panorama sweeping before me. behind one of the tallest buildings peeked the sun majestic. light that binds us all. immediately this sudden remembrance came to mind. the old masters and sages had said -- once one is able to rise to the consciousness of the Infinite, one will be afforded the True View of Life. one will be able to see the True Nature of Existence. i thought to myself, if this 17th-storey view of life awed me at this time, what more if i am able to rise to that level of consciousness that the Sages have referred to?
they say that highest view of Life is attainable and this is what every one must strive for. when one gets this Clear View, then one will have arrived. one will know. one will understand. one can say with conviction that there is just One Life.
the masters and sages have tried to describe the nature of this Life -- Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Truth-Consciousness-Bliss.
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