as i am at present in a low mode, my thoughts hardly would want to converge into weaving words perceived to be of value.

however low it may seem though, i am to come back wiser...

the greatest sets of words ever written were a product of times either too good or too unpleasant..

there'll be more.. may disputants don't needlessly protract this mode..and if some good sense refute these disputants, then re-existence will be just in a jiffy..

meantime, you enjoy!

while i chill out........


off to my cavern..

you are only hurting yourself with your anger - Job 18:4

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom -Psalm 90:12

Edwin's dad passed away last Sunday. There's mourning of course. It was unexpected, a heart attack. If you are Edwin and your wedding is in 2 weeks, how would you feel?

The barong Tagalog (a Filipino formal wear) that his dad's supposed to wear on Edwin's wedding day is the same one he is wearing while lying peacefully in his coffin. A few weeks ago, Edwin jokingly said "Papa will stand out in this barong. It even is better than the one I'll be wearing on my own wedding day!"

I was there on the 3rd night then on the 5th. While sharing stories, me and other friends worked on "kim" - a brown paper folded like a boat with a stamped name of the person who just died. It's a Chinese tradition to have boxes of kim burned. They believe that the more kims burned, the more money there will be in the next life. The name is stamped and serves as a seal to indicate who should receive it - in this case, Edwin's dad.

Edwin is one of those who do not believe in most of the Chinese traditions and customs. But just so as not to offend his dad's relatives and to avoid more arguments with them, he opted following some of these traditions.

On the day that I learned about the death of his dad, I literally didn't know how I'd be able to at least comfort him and Julie, his fiancee. Both are my close friends. Good thing Ciel and Anthony were there. They did what I couldn't.

My father passed away 5 years ago. I spent a whole week locked in my room crying. It took quite a long time before I eventually got used to not having him around. And once in a while, when I remember something about him, I of course miss him terribly. So I know, no amount of comfort and encouraging words can lighten up the feeling of one who has just lost one of those he dearly loves.

I understand that birth and death are normal events every one has to go through. And life is indeed too short. First day of school, graduation, wedding, a birth of a child, death of parents, growing old... then life ends. Don't you wish you were able to do more the past years, or perhaps yesterday? Don't you regret not having loved more and given more?

Live today as if it were your last..

We plowed through ten inches of snow into the cemetery, got about fifty yards from my dad's grave, with the wind blowing about twenty-five miles per hour, and the six of us lugged that casket down to the gravesite... We watched the body lowered into the grave and we turned to leave. I felt something was undone, so I said, "I'd like for us to have a prayer." The six of us huddled together and I prayed, "Lord, this is such a cold, lonely place..." And then I got too choked up to pray anymore. I kept battling to get my composure, and finally I just whispered, "But I thank you, for we know that to be absent from the body is to be safe in your warm arms." -Bob

a well spent day brings a happy sleep

I was in Spore a month ago and met a group of IT people who's into helping every Filipino in Singapore every chance they get and however they can. One of the noble projects they did was the computerization of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore - guess what? for free! They help each other even with problems at work, immigration, etc. They're dead serious into building each other up :) I'm just so proud of this group that I can't help sharing it with you. I just told them I hope the kind of culture they were able to start will just continue and be like a contagious disease that will eventually spread through the hearts of other Filipinos in Spore. You know even some of the dhs drag each other down. It's really sad, but this group is starting and trying to change that. Like them, I really hope we can all contribute something into making our fellow kababayans proud of our country and our race. I feel even more inspired to strive for excellence upon learning about this group. May this inspire you also. :)

"If each citizen does not use his freedom to try to make things a little better, then his apathy helps to make things a little worse."


can't remember where it's from

fear is just a normal reaction, a feeling
towards
something one has not come across before,
a situation one has never been into,
something one has not enough knowledge of
a situation one has not the confidence to handle

to listen and not merely hear, is a way to have enough knowledge
to have enough knowledge is a way to understanding
to understand with your heart is a way to wisdom
with wisdom is confidence
and confidence conquers fear

wisdom is received by those who seek for it...

A responsible Warrior is not someone who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders, but someone who has learned to deal with the challenges of the moment

Warrior of the Light

If racing against mere men makes you tired,

how will you race against horses?
- Jeremiah 12:5


Dream no small dreams
for they have no power
to move the hearts of men.

Goethe


It is for us to pray not for tasks
equal to our powers,
but for powers equal to our tasks,
to go forward with a great desire
forever beating at the door of our hearts
as we travel toward our distant goal

Hellen Keller


When you do the common things in life
in an uncommon way,
you will command the attention of the world.

George Washington Carver


"By Endurance We Conquer"
He lived by and was haunted by these words.
He tested these words everyday of his life,
He ran,
he walked,
he pulled,
he pushed,
he studied,
he listened.

Leonard Sweet, referring to Shackleton

Nothing earthly
shall make me give up
my work in despair.
I encourage myself
in the Lord my God,
and go forward.

David Livingstone

Do Business Honorably

Lots of folks confuse bad business ethics with destiny.

Somehow we forget the saying that even if we win the rat race,
the winner is still a rat!

Business does not exist in order to make a profit.
It exists in order to benefit society.
Profit is simply society's reward
for the job well done.
- Konosuke Matsushita
(Japan's legendary and revered business genius)

..business is an art for the nobles, not a science for the charlatans. Business, therefore, is not to win, it is to achieve a win-win situation. Somebody provides and responds to a need and he gets rewarded for doing so when he earns a reasonable profit.


Three Little Words

tough times

When something bad happens to us, it may just be a consequence of a wrong decision or action we made in the past. These consequences are supposed to teach us something. how do we handle them? still head on.. tough times make us tougher. It is through difficulties that we learn most and develop a better character - that is if we handle them correctly. Ask God for wisdom and provision (for your needs), obey and let Him lead your every action, consult Him for every decision you have to make, then thank Him for all He has done and yet to do.

Any thing that comes to us, whether good or bad, may still lead into something great. Just with the right perspective and an unflinching faith that our God is able to turn and make things work together for our good :)