The Art of Flying

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.” – Richard Bach

A friend said that this is one of my best shots.  And I thought the composition was not good, I was only trying to capture the clouds rapidly changing course  while passing through my lens. Then came this bird gliding rapidly, making itself framed inside the tie wires which we used as trellis  at the back of the house. This is a raw shot and it reminds me of  how it is to be free, unhampered by any extra baggage, reaching one’s destination by sheer determination and grace. It is the art of flying.

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Happy Pentecost Sunday

Today is Pentecost Sunday, it’s the birthday of our Church. I actually attended two morning masses. Early this morning I caught Fr. Fernando Suarez on his 6am mass on television. I always love listening to him every chance I get because I love how he shares his reflections in his wonderful homilies.  He emphasized that spiritual healing is more important than a physical one.  When you are spiritually healed, you find peace.  I also attended the 7:30 am mass at St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, a five-minute tricycle ride from our place.

I borrowed our profile picture from our apostolate page, Apostles Filipino Catholic Community where I am one of the admins.  It’s a public  page where we post reflections, Catholic news, daily gospel readings and inspirational quotes every day.  Updating it really makes my stay at FB worthwhile. And here’s my short spiritual reflection for the day:

God is love. God is joy. God is peace. Let love, joy and peace reign in our hearts forever.

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Heart’s Whispers

March is rapidly fading into oblivion but I still look forward to tomorrow. Easter brings that lovely feeling of being reborn – a new hope, a new beginning. Easter is one of the most important feasts  in the Catholic calendar.

It’s been a quiet week, highlighted by the celebration of the Last Supper mass and watching Siete Palabras on TV. I’ve cried my eyes out the past week.  Yes, tears are just a blink away but they’re really not tears of sadness because I am lonely, they’re more of that feeling of reaching out, taking a grasp at the beauty of life  and remembering the past and such.  I do appreciate these moments of silence that Holy Week brings but  my mind is still pregnant with thoughts that I somehow wanted to share but cannot translate  into words. I’ve missed our yearly Visita Iglesia, my son has to report to work  the past two days and I don’t know how to drive so I just visited the nearby church, a few minutes away from the house.

Why do I sometimes torture myself reading something that reminds me of those days when I was having treatments – endless hospital visits, blood tests, chemotherapy and doctor visits? It just happened that the book I recently read deals on how to survive and prepare one’s self for the inevitable. There’s no telling  that no matter how careful you are, at one time in your life, a loved one or a family member becomes a victim too.  But then, the glorious moment of knowing that you will get well and having that gargantuan faith in a loving Creator is more than enough to make you feel that you are truly, truly blessed.

I had a long chat with a friend last night  and we touched on so many issues and things dear to the heart. One such subject that we never get tired of sharing is about our respective families. She has an eight-month old baby girl and I have baby Nate to talk about.  I told her that when my two kids were growing up, I didn’t notice much of their everyday development because I was working. It’s quite different though when you’ve got so much time in your hands and appreciate everything you see and even blog about it. Who knows, if blogging was in vogue thirty years ago, I might have filled up all the empty spaces allowed. I still keep their “love letters”, those small notes that I got to receive every day  taped at our bedroom door, I regret though that we were not able to save most of the pictures of their younger years. Our photo albums were destroyed by typhoon Ondoy and even if those shots were painstakingly dried and restored by my son, some pictures were blurred at the edges.

Happy Easter everyone!

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A Blessed Holy Thursday To All

I love these quiet  moments when not even a sound of barking dogs could be heard outside – time to reflect, time to give thanks, time to just  appreciate everything.  God’s graces are overflowing!

 

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A Blessed Holy Week To All

With Christ, the heart never grows old! – Pope Francis

Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week!

(I don’t own this pic, it was just culled from the net).

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Life (My Own Quotes)

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Sede Vacante

I am sad, I would surely miss the smiling face of Pope Benedict XVI. He will no longer be seen in public starting today. Last night, I watched the live feature of the final  public Papal Audience on television and his message made me cry but it inspired me so much.

“I commend all of you, with great affection, to his loving care, asking him to strengthen you in the hope which opens our hearts to the fullness of life that he alone can give. To you and your families, I impart my blessing. Thank you!”

I am praying that he would be in good health and will continue to pray for the whole Catholic Church and the world. I also pray that the College of Cardinals who will be choosing the next Pope  will be guided by the Holy Spirit and that the conclave will be a success. News say that our very own Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is a strong contender. He is the second youngest cardinal among the  117 cardinals who are qualified to choose a new Pope.

Even his Pontifex at Twitter will no longer be updated unless the new elected Pope would continue posting inspirational messages and prayers.

Here is a stunning picture  of St.Peter’s Square shared by Vatican Radio -English Version taken last night by AP,  with less than 24 hours left in the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. And I thought, the moon shines in splendor just as much as in Rome, giving an uncanny feeling that I am closer to the place.

I am also sharing some of his  inspiring  messages on Twitter.

We can be certain that a believer is never alone. God is the solid rock upon which we build our lives and his love is always faithful.

Offer everything you do to the Lord, ask his help in all the circumstances of daily life and remember that he is always beside you.

Everyone’s life of faith has times of light, but also times of darkness. If you want to walk in the light, let the word of God be your guide.

We do not possess the truth, the truth possesses us. Christ, who is the truth, takes us by the hand.

In this Year of Faith, may every Christian rediscover the beauty of being reborn in the love of God and living as his true children.

If we have love for our neighbor, we will find the face of Christ in the poor, the weak, the sick and the suffering.

I like this best,  he said that he is “not stepping down to travel or go to receptions. I will continue to be dedicated to the Lord.”  We will miss you Pope Benedict!

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Monday Blues (Or Is It?)

I must really be getting old. No, let me amend that, I am definitely growing older. And I always think that growing older is always getting wiser with age. Got this throbbing headache  that won’t go away or maybe it is just a sign of normal wear and tear. I was exchanging texts with a friend  yesterday  (we are both cancer survivors) and I told her, I easily get tired nowadays  and I need to catch up on my siesta every day. Make that an hour or more instead of the usual thirty minutes shuteye that I used to have. She told me she underwent Zometa infusion just last week.   Her doctor advised her to have it when she had a recent bone scan. And I thought, I am not going back to the hospital just to learn that you need more series of tests despite the fact that you are now living a normal life being a survivor. The last time I found out that everything was back to normal, including my CEA marker, I left everything to God. He will take care of me because He gave me a second chance. Living in faith and believing in God’s will.

I spent  part of the morning reading articles by Barbara Gonzales. For the past years, I’ve followed her writings under her byline called Second  Wind every Sunday. I like how she touches on her hobbies, writing and how she get on with life despite living alone. She said that one of her favorite books is Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy written by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  I can’t help but smile at the thought that it is one of my favorite books too. When I am feeling so low, this book always gives me a lift. She always put her contact number at the end of her posts so I tried getting in touch and wrote:

Read your article with interest Ms. Barbara. Re: Simple Abundance. I have that book  too for several years now. It’s like a daily bible  for women like us. I even blog about it from time to time. I am a cancer survivor. It’s the reason why I keep a blog because I have this dream of inspiring people through my journey, that life is even more meaningful when God gives you a second chance. Thank you for your nice articles, I am a fan.

She texted back and said thank you. One other writer that I admire is Lucy  Torres. I don’t care much about her political career but I love how she shares her thoughts and family life  in Love Lucy at Philippine Star. Somehow, every time I read her posts, I always get the feeling that she is a close friend, the way she talks about anything under the sun.  Reading her posts also makes me feel that she is writing about my own experiences in life, they’re closer to home, so to speak.

Having no internet connection for the past several days gave me the chance to watch a little TV and catch up on my reading. I watched Maid in Manhattan a few days ago  (for the nth time). I am in the middle of reading Exile by Richard North Patterson, a thick book on Israel’s history as background.  Now I understand why the Jews and Palestinians don’t see eye to eye.

How was your day?

 

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Whispers

Even the wind

sometimes whisper a sad song

And my heart grows quiet

listening ….

remembering….

And loving the silence.

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Beyond

We stand here encompassed by winter; the barren trees with their fallen leaves, the silent riverbed. Nothing is more certain in life or nature than death. We accept it as the way of things. Perhaps we are able because we have faith in spring. Yet somehow it seems different to us when death comes early. Much as we might bemoan an early winter, we feel robbed of something due. We feel cheated. Sometimes we rage. And sometimes we blame. And in doing so, we say to God, “My will be done, not Thine,” and we forget about the promise of spring. In the cold of our soul’s winter, we bury our hearts. And when we wonder why it is dark and why we feel alone. and we risk spending so much of our lives occupied with our loss and what we have not, that we forget the beauty of what is and what we still have. And this is sometimes, the greater loss. – richard paul evans

A week ago, I cried at the loss of an online friend who has been a part of my life for the past five years or so. We have known each other exchanging comments and views at our Multiply sites  learning life’s angst and lovely dreams of tomorrow.  Bella was so supportive of me when I underwent chemotherapy around the time we were so active at Multiply. We formed a close group, some of whom I eventually met personally.  Even then, she always said that she had a delicate health, she came home from a teaching job in Thailand  and enjoyed gardening and writing about her thoughts on family life, gardening, love of music and anything that we could touch under the sun. You might wonder, is an online friendship possible?  YES, it is. My only regret is that, I only talked to her once, over the phone, a surprise call which she appreciated very much.  Reading the outpouring of grief and offer of prayers on her wall at Facebook, I realized that when you are not afraid to reach out to people, those same friends would remember you with fondness and love.

Life is short. We always say  that and it is more felt when we lose someone dear to us, the feeling of loneliness is so acute that you recall your own pain and you cry silent tears of goodbye.  Then you begin to see at some inspired moment that you are lucky you’re still alive, well and kicking as they say. You begin to see that life is a life of second chances. You begin to appreciate the things that you somehow take for granted because they are always there at an easy reach.

What makes one happy?  Friends give us that feeling of being special,  more so when they appreciate what we do and what we share. And no matter what mundane things we do, there is always that feeling of joy because our friends accept us as we are and  give us words of encouragement to go on. Happiness depends on our outlook in life. We could choose to be in misery or always to be happy, because in the end, happiness is a choice.

Life is short, value it. Happiness is sometimes fleeting, grab it. Trite as it may sound, the blue sky is just behind the clouds.

 

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