on gifts

this was supposed to have been posted last december.  one of my early attempts at writing on a journal.  it is funny, now that i am thinking about this keeping a journal thing.  way back then, before computers became  a necessary household appliance, like a tv or fridge, i had these thick notebooks where i write in my mind's meanderings.  now seeing them again,  these old notebooks, they've browned in time, most pages had become crisp and brittle, in some pages where i used a fountain pen to write, many of the words were smudged and were unreadable.  probably a cockroach, or a rat, or some little pest, must have found a way to these my hidden treasures and peed on them.  or, some liquid substance must have seeped thru them and thus erased the words.  those that i've written with a ballpoint pen or a pencil were intact though.  i reread those old thoughts of mine and i am amused by most.  i had a ball trying to recall what prompts i had during those times to have decided to write down those impressions.  i'll burn most of these notebooks now though.  i am keeping a high tech journal now.  oh how times have changed ...  here's this old post ..

on gifts

yesterday, i wanted so much to give someone i love a little gift.  however, that friend declined to receive it saying that it feels odd to always be in the receiving end.  i tried hard to reason, saying that at that moment i could afford to give and that it will not cause me any inconvenience whatsoever. also, my friend is not always on the receiving end, my friend has also been very giving, though at times perhaps, my friend does not even realize a gift is being given .

a sweet smile, a warm caress, a comforting word, a wink, a telephone call, a cool glass of water, a steaming cup of coffee -- these are gifts too, and how regularly they are being given!

beloved friend, the mere act of receiving with honest gratitude and with sincere thankfulness another's gift is a gift in itself.  what is most important is that the Heart is gladdened.  whatsoever brings gladness to a Heart is a gift.

so, if this little note makes your Heart joyful, then it is my gift to you.  

your reading it is your own gift to me.

falling ... in early 2013

it's been so long since i am able to visit the web and blogging.  have had internet provider problems but during the lull i was able to devote the time to other worthwhile pursuits.  i was able to go back to my "library" and reread my collection of books.  siddharta by hermann hesse, the good earth by pearl s. buck, the yearling by marjorie rawlings, the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger,  business @ the speed of thought by bill gates.  classics all, in my estimation.  i got lost in these excellent creations of these great minds.  i remembered i think it was francis bacon who wrote, " reading maketh a full man. "  i'd say rereading these, my treasures, had me overfilled.

also, i was able to go back to myself. as my Master had always admonished, our greatest duty, and should be our dearest work,  is to Know the Real Self.  one can only do this by "going inside". so i was able to spend more time meditating and going inside. the more one learns of himself, the more one is able to control inner turmoil. the more one becomes at peace.  the more one becomes One. the more one learns of inner Joy.  i was able to hug the ukulele and the guitar closer to my heart and feel their strings' vibrations against my breast, not just listening to the notes they bring forth as my bony fingers slide over the fretboard. for this struggling musician, the feeling is overwhelming.

anyway, another new year had come!

early on the first two days of this 2013 i went over the news.  i read three news pieces which i will classify under the heading -- Falling.  (i read this all in our local broadsheet, the philippines daily inquirer.)

first,  the account of the death of a little girl, stephanie nicole ella.  she got killed in what the newspaper referred to as "celebratory gunfire" on New Year's eve.  the little one was eagerly awaiting the advent of 12:00 signifying the New Year's arrival, after getting tired of dancing, she sat on a chair to wait and rest.  a little later she was seen sprawled on the ground her head bloodied.  it was pierced by a bullet that fell from above.  an irresponsible person pointed his gun to the skies and fired. what went up must come down and it was nicole who got hit.  a sad falling ... officials says this will not go investigated ... well, we really hope so ..

second,  the newspaper had it as " singer of 3rd best-selling record ever dies at 85 ".  another sad falling ...
now this was about patti page who made the song, tennessee waltz, one of the best-selling recordings ever.  died in a nursing home.  one of the great voices, a pure singer, never has to coat her voice with the magic of electronics.  sing on, dear patti ...

third,  the newspaper enjoins everyone to " catch early showing of falling stars ".  the news said, " if the sky is clear, the annual Quarantid meteor shower, from jan 1 to 7, will be visible to filipinos in the predawn hours, beginning at 2 a.m. until daylight ..".  now, this one should be a happy falling, if the sky is clear.  it is an exciting event to watch a falling star, how much more exciting will it be to see many falling stars ....

a bullet falling and a little girl's death,
a singing star falling,
a shower of meteors,

welcome to 2013 ...