Entries for June, 2007
June 5th, 2007
Startling Startings
All of the sudden, I am so back on the game of writing.
Anyway, school's around the corner. Yeah, it's that rainy month of June already--time to hit the books again! Unfortunately, it also closes the summer vacation. As the opening of classes draw near, bum, restful days at home come to an end.
Which gave me a thought about laborers, workers, employees--whatever you'd like to call those out-of-school people with jobs. It made me think of their situation as to have no break at all--only when they asked for it at the time they most prefer. As the summer heat draw to an end to give way to cold rainy days, students like me are looking forward to a fresh start. We're about to leave lazy days behind, and start anew with [also] a new semester/school year.
Come to think of it: what about those workers, laborers, emloyees that I've mentioned? Do they also share the same feeling of 'fresh start' and 'new beginning' as the sun is slowly covered with rain-full of clouds? Do they look forward to something--or perhaps a lot--'fresh' and 'new' as another season pass away and a new one comes?
The summer ends for them, but is that all? Just ending, no beginning? Didn't they say that as the door closes, a window opens? Or perhaps they have a different timeline--like, just about any time of the year, only it's not mother nature's mood, nor a long period of hiatus.
Then again, whenever that time is--whether it's in the heat of the summer or the brink of ice-cold winter days, doesn't really matter. Students and workers have only one thing in common that determines that 'end' and 'beginning.' To end is always to leave--either you leave behind something, or you yourself get left behind. But to start is grand--which is to enter a new stage, something different from what used to be. Just as new subjects to a sophomore, new challenges in work also awaits that of the employee.
Anyhow, so I've said earlier that school's around the corner. The thought of it sent shivers down my spine. Just kidding. I was thinking since the 1st of what I am to post as a sem-starter for my blog. As usual, the first thing that struck me is listing down my objectives and goals for this semester.
Last night, before I finally had the guts to type the words in my laptop, my subconscious told me, "Hey, how many times have you written such before? Come now, they don't do you any good. Why not write something else? Or better yet, write nothing at all!"
Oh good grief, what was I thinking then? So, maybe the sub is right. I gain nothing from these goals list, and really, only how many of them do I get to fulfill? They're non-sense, even stupid. As if they actually direct my life.
Well, indeed, I no longer have to post another objective list here. I already have one placed in the side bar that I long ago listed. Silly, of course I wasn't discouraged to be goal-oriented just because of what my sub told me. I may be thinking of such unconsciously. But we know that we can, and we have power to control our minds--to think of only what we choose to think, to entertains the ideas we only want to our character to seep through.
So, instead of letting my mind wander off to fantasy island [a place I say, full of goals and dreams that are either accomplished, realized, or simply not] once more, I'll post something to keep me up and going all-year-round. Rather than imposing almost impossible goals on myself that challenge my ability, I'll inspire myself. I'll motivate myself, something I have not done for so long already--something that I believe I lack all this time.
I suppose that I want to encourage you as well, so read on.
I have just finished one of Og Mandino's best-selling 'Greatest' series entitled The Greatest Miracle in the World. It is not a narcissistic, self-help book that only deals with the self, of how one's thinking can change oneself and then eventually the whole world.
This book is not really intended solely for Christians. Og definitely was not thinking about his Catholic faith when he wrote this one. For that one thing he had in mind was not Christians, but his own kind--human beings.
For the past year, my mind has been blinded. Beliefs overlapped one another, confusing me with who I truly am: what my character is, and the principles I believe in. And this book opened my mind, once again, to the truth that I have long ago discovered, but has been buried deep in the recesses of my soul--covered with a mixture of the world's lies and God's truth.
This I knew, this I have known, and this I will always know: I am something else. I have the power. No, there's no shift from others to my own self. Instead, the shift of mind goes to God. I realize now the connection with being important, intricate in this world, and that one powerful source of all.
I am important because of God.
Now Og shared the truth with his readers--he shared it with me, as well. I now have a grasp of how truly wonderful this complicated life is. Now, I am sharing it with you as well: God loves you.
Yes, all of us are loved by God. It all started with creation. If we were placed on this world to be just another dot in the face of the planet, why bother put the dot if it meant nothing? If we are all doomed to go back to the earth and eventually rot in grave, why would God care to breathe life on our bodies?
I need not quote a bible verse to repeat the gospel truth: GOD LOVES YOU. You and I are important to him than anything else. And just as we are essential to him, so should we feel the same for ourselves--give ourselves the right amount of TLC and pampering. This life is important, and God definitely doesn't give it away just like that! So we ought to pay attention to what we do with our bodies, what we do to our minds, what we do with our lives.
If you want more inspiration, more motivation, why not read the book for yourself. There are a lot that I definitely would not spoil here, for there is so much to learn from the book itself--so much that only Og can express vividly and only his words can inspire that much.
Bottomline is:
I AM THE GREATEST MIRACLE IN THE WORLD.
On a last note, I just thought I'd share with you a dream I've had a couple of nights ago. Again, the longer I try to remember them, the more blurry they seem.
Anyway, I simply dreamed of that former teacher of mine last year, in my first semester in UPLB. Well, she's young and beautiful and confident--and she's still single. Another character is another guy, which I suppose is her boyfriend. And the last character in that dream, besides me, I guess, is my sister.
Now, here's the twist: my sister and my teacher is in love with the same guy. Yeah, how odd was that? It's like, the guy is my sis' ex.
When I woke up, I didn't immediately remember that I had a dream. Only after a few minutes since I got up and opened my eyes did I realize that, "Hey, what was that dream about?" I even had a hard time remembering such--the situation in particular. I started remembering my teacher, and then my sister, and then the man between them, eventually coming up with such detail-less plot.
Anyhow, I don't see any reason for me to doubt my sister and think that something like that might actually happen. Instead, what I see is the possibility of a... novel.
God, is that what else you want me to write down?
I like that idea: writing down my dreams. I just hope I get to remember them all. And eventually stitch a really cool story out of blurry details.
read Og Mandino's The Greatest Miracle In The World
watch Rurouni Kenshin [courtesy of Youtube]
yahn @ 06:26 PM | Ice-peek! [2 comment/s]
June 13th, 2007
Playful Childhood Memoirs
If it isn't one thing, it's another. I keep on postponing my blogging sessions--keep on trading my computer play-time for many other things. Sometimes out of laziness, still there are times that I really am busy. And I do mean I've been doing stuffs and not just warming the seat in the sofa.Anyway, I choose to reminisce now over my younger years. Yeah, can you believe that? I'm 18 years old now. Time flew fast, didn't it?
Whoa. I am just 18, but already I feel like I am way too old. Or maybe not old physically, but I feel like I've been through a lot already [perhaps, except love XD]. Am I really only 18, or am I 18 already?
So, which sounds better. I am only 18. I'm 18 already. Which one sounds optimistic? Which one pessimistic?
In my opinion, both statements can be both optimistic and pessimistic. Watch how I use the first statement in two ways.
I am only 18; I am still that young to do everything this world needs!
I am only 18, and I am still too young to do anything for the world.
See the difference? Same first sentence. Same thought. But completely different perspectives. Paradigms sure affect the way we say things, and the way we do things.
And being a cheerful and optimistic person that I am, I choose both. I can make use of the two statements, using a single encouraging approach.
I am only 18. I am that young, thus many years are still ahead of me to maximize through exploring the endless possiblities.
I am already 18. It doesn't give me the right to do as I please just because I am old enough. Instead, I am old enough to know better, become better, and do so much more!
Anyhow, the idea of childhood memories popped in my mind almost two weeks ago. We saw these kids playing like crazy in that slimy, murky canal. Gross, I know. But then, didn't you do just that almost a decade ago? C'mon, aminin! Wasn't that fun back then, swimming all you want in the heat of the day in an ankle deep, cool waters? Of course, not knowing--rather how indifferent in knowing how dirty the place was! Man, kids love doing the darndest things.
Just a few years back, I would excitingly splash myself in the flood, thinking it was a swimming pool. Now? I so hate walking in the rain! Back then, I'd love to go out and play under that windy, thundering, rain-pouring clouds. Now, I just love watching them big raindrops fall.
Today, I can't help but laugh at how dirty I have become because of that. The grains and particles of all sorts of chemicals [both physical and biological] must have stuck in my delicate skin all these years!
OK, maybe you've come from a pretty rich family. Still there are times when you'd go down a notch from where you stand, and simply mingle with the same specie, but different class in life.
I remember how we often went to the beach back in Batangas because it was just a tricycle ride away from our house. And then by dawn, going back to our relatives' homes, we'd just take off our wet clothes without much hesitation. And continue playing with more water--much clearer and cooler! A pool-life experience that we love is wading in a little wash bin. Tapos pupunuin lang yun gamit ang poso. Libre, pero malinis at malakas! So, yeah, we were that small to fit in!
How I miss the good ol' times. I'm telling you: the dirtier, the FUNNER!
Updates:
I am currently using Opera web browser. Yay, I love it! It is so much better than IE and Mozilla FF. And it's free! XD
If you don't know yet, I am in the process of clearing my laptop of some Windows softwares, particularly those that required licensing. And you know why. Anyway, I've decided I'll use free softwares that I can download in the net, and right now I'm downloading OpenOffice.org. XD It's just the same, only different settings. It wouldn't matter as long as the features that I need are there, I'm alright with my free downloads!
Oh well, 'til then!
yahn @ 07:36 PM | Ice-peek!, Book Of The Yahn [1 comment/s]