I Miss Reading Rod McKuen

The stars are out tonight sending sinews of hope for a better tomorrow.  Just looking at the pictures of the victims of typhoon Sendong and listening to the news  of  how more than a thousand died  and many more missing makes me feel depressed somehow.  As I have always said before, you can never really empathize  unless you were a victim yourself and experienced the same thing they are experiencing right now.  Typhoon Ondoy made me wary of the things it brought and the lessons learned and until now, every time it rains, I still feel that uncertain fear.  But life has to go on despite everything right?

Yes, in times like these, I resort to  reading poems or sometimes just focus  on inspirational books to get by. One of  my early favorites (aeons ago, since I was still in college when I found him) is Rod McKuen.  It’s a little uncanny when you find an author who exactly echoes your thoughts and what you feel right at that moment that you need to reassure yourself that everything is well. I miss my only book I had of his works but at least I could google him up and still enjoy reading his thoughts.

There should be some silence in this place so thought can harvest things it’s lately caught. I hope that you will take this as a resting space. A bench provided just before the clearing up ahead.

Arms around me these past years have not been commonplace, your comfort passed to me from out there, somewhere – dare we call it outer space, has kept me safe. Your thought embraces better than the memory’s triumph over time. I have longed for you, thought up songs for you, missed and mourned you as the times passed past. Here you are. Brought back to me by your wish mixed with mine. Noise cannot touch us here. I will try and make for you the calmest place there is within this loud and getting louder world.

No map to help us find the tranquil flat lands, clearings calm, fields without mean fences. Rolling down the other side of life our compass is the sureness of ourselves. Time may make us rugged, ragged round the edges, but know and understand that love is still the safest place to land.

The journey back is always longer than the forward run.

Cats have it all – admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it.

Once I thought ideas were exceptions not the rule. That is not so. Ideas are so plentiful that they ride on air. You have only to reach out and snatch one.

Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.

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And I Mean It, It’s Like A Bird’s Nest

Gone are the days when you dream of  shiny and luscious locks. When you get older, you have really no option but to wear it shorter – easy to manage and easy to control.  Back when I was in college, I used to have long hair and the curls never showed. Was it only yesterday that Mom told me, rather, she asked me why my hair is so “kulot”?  That means curly and wavy to you guys out there. And it really looks like I got a permanent perm without the benefit of going to the beauty parlor  or a hair salon to have it maintained.

I guess it runs in the family, my younger brother has it too, that’s why he has his hair cut close to his scalp. Some cousins on  my father’s side  have curly and naturally wavy hear too. The last time I had it cut was two weeks before Nissa’s wedding last month and it’s getting unruly again – no, make that –  it is unruly. My hair has fine strands so you can just imagine how it looks grown a few inches from my usual hair trim every month.  It makes me laugh a little and smile  🙂 on the side why I am even blogging about this.

The best thing is, when I visit my hair stylist at David’s Salon, I always get a chance to exchange ideas with them.  There is that perpetual complaint and observation about how hard life is nowadays and the costs of necessary things for one’s survival are getting sky-high, no longer reached by the common tao or ordinary citizens.  We talk about anything under the sun, sometimes, they update me on what is happening to the movie and tv personalities that they admire. I smile at the thought. One should not always get serious about life itself, a friend is fond of saying ” watch the wrinkles”.  Problems will always be there but our attitude towards them counts a lot.  Little worries actually make us focused and determined to face everything that comes our way.  I learned long ago that letting go and letting God takes control is really the best way to have peace of mind.  Worrying won’t solve your problems but being positive about life  makes it easier to bear. When I think of the times that I’ve been through the past few years, I am just amazed that being resilient  helped me go on.  It’s time to give back and thank God for all the blessings because in the long run they far outweigh the problems we encounter.

It’s five days to go before Christmas and I wish for peace for all of us.  A blessed Christmas to all!

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