Monday, September 27, 2010

Open up



"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
- Anais Nin

Be not afraid to burst with life.
Be not afraid to shed some light.
Be not afraid to embrace the world.
Be not afraid to take flight!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mama! I love you.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Time and again



Live like there's no tomorrow...

I'm sure this statement has crossed your mind at one time or another or you might have heard it from someone or somewhere at some point in your life. I have been pondering on this statement for almost a week now and I am quite disturbed myself when I realized what it can mean if you really try to digest deeper into the words.

I have arrived at one conclusion that the earlier mentioned statement has probably been used and abused for the longest time that is why people who 'live like there's no tomorrow' literally never got to see the light of day again. I imagine that there's a pretty thin line between "seizing the day" and "living like there's no tomorrow" but still a line that one ought not to cross nevertheless. For me, carpe diem suggests making the most of your day while live like there's no tomorrow implies no boundaries, no limitations, no nothing whatsoever, which is a really dangerous hidden message.

We are already living in a world that's moving and changing quickly, I don't believe we need to add any more swiftness to the passing of time or to the loss of life. There's a practical and important reason why we only have 24 hours in a day. One day is not designed to capture in summary all of an individual's life events. What sense is there, then, in being given about a hundred-year lifespan if we only wanted to fit it all in one day?

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Clean FUN



Who knew cleaning and organizing can be so much fun!? Not to mention, artsy-fartsy, too!

I clean our city home as much as I can: fom the ceiling down to the floor, from air-conditioner filters to toilet seats, from replacing curtains to changing bedsheets, from scrubbing tiles to wiping furniture - you name it, I've probably done it.  I know I can be overbearingly organized sometimes (okay, maybe most of the time) but there's just a certain feeling, not of control, but of peace brought about by a settled environment. To quote Eckhart Tolle, a German-born writer, public speaker and spiritual teacher:

"Are you polluting the world or cleaning up the mess? You are responsible for your inner space; nobody else is, just as you are responsible for the planet. As within, so without: If humans clear inner pollution, then they will also cease to create outer pollution."

I couldn't agree more.

Going way back, there were several moments when I [out of stressful circumstances] thought of this need to be meticulously clean as possible as a sort-of tendency towards an obsessive-compulsive personality. Then, I had an epiphany. I realized that a perfect example of order is the universe, which was created by God in a deeply systematic fashion. Thus, it only makes sense to keep the world in harmony if we were brought into it that way.








Nevertheless, there is another line of caution. Peace and order does not begin and end only with objects or places. The Bible in 1 Peter 3:8 also tells us this: "[Suffering for Doing Good] Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."

With this, suddenly, every day feels more like HOME. :)

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