It's something we all have one time or another. But probably it's something you won't realized as essential until you feel its absence. Forget the fancy cars that take you to places, the dazzling jewelries that make you shine in the night or the grand mansions serviced by handful of caretakers. The good things in life, as they say, don't come cheap and easy. It's unarguable. Some things are just so difficult to find no matter how hard you try to get it, no matter how much you're willing to sacrifice to obtain it. When you can't see it albeit it's abundance and there's no tag in it, that makes it even more expensive and at some point, p r i c e l e s s.
F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K
October 2007. I was in Makati for a job interview. I had just returned from Dubai after working for a couple of months in the desert city. I had been into some kind of prefessional crisis of where to work and what work to take. Idea of going back to Dubai likewise messed up my already battered psyche. I'd been getting and quitting jobs in one week's time. Same day I was in the walled city, the Glorietta bombing occurred. The blast claimed 11 lives and left hundred others injured. Innocent lives were not spared by negligence or some group's unfair and unjust advocacy. Mall scare followed-
May 2009. I was in Dubai, for eight months running, jobless, homeless and penniless. I was hugely inbedted and I had not called my family for half a year. I had not sent any money to them as I myself have needed it so badly. I had severely lost weight and everytime I got to sleep, thoughts of tomorrow haunted me down until my eyes got sore and fell into brief slumber. Every morning brought in new hope but the end of the day, when nothing good happened, the fear, the stress and desperation stroke without mercy. I had nothing else left at hand. Worst thing of all, my mind couldn't contained the anxiety and was a strand away from losing sanity-
F.O.R.W.A.R.D. T.O. P.R.E.S.E.N.T
February 2011. The people of Egypt have changed the course of history. On the 11th, millions of Egyptians gathered in the streets of Cairo and in every city in Egypt with great jubilation as President Mubarak stepped down of power. After decades of suffering, repression and savage voilence under a police state, Egyptians have risen up to bring down a dictator. They have shown the whole world what a determined and courageous mass mobilization can accomplish, even in the face of overwhelming odds. But it's not something that just happened in a snap, with the sacrifice of at least 300 lives, with thousands more injured and arrested - the press for genuine democracy in Egypt is a victory 30 years in the making-
The Egyptian Revolution, along with the events in Tunisia, have sparked a wave of major uprisings. Protests have spread across the Middle East and North Africa. To date Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Yemen have all seen major protests, and minor incidents have occurred in Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Syria. These ongoing demonstrations have been motivated by various reasons from dictatorship and human rights voilations, poverty, corruption, unemployment and repression of freedom.
Have you ever thought how long will it take and how much will it cost to stabilize all these impending social unrest? Maybe, it's beyond our imagination.
March 2011.A magnitude 9.o earthquake struck Japan on the 11th sending a surge of water into the mainland, smashing ships, cars and buildings and razing several towns. Confirmed deaths stood at more than 7,000 with thousand others missing. Cost of recovery is estimated to be hundred of billions of dollars. As thousands are left homeless, without food, water and electricity, the threat of nuclear leak is what giving Japanese residents a lot to worry about. Exposure to high level of radiations can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and fever while long term effects include damages to internal organs and cancers.
If you are in this situation, you think you'll be able to get a decent sleep knowing the nuclear reactors can explode anytime and put your life at great risk? Pray we never experience just to know.
F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K
October 2007. I was in Makati for a job interview. I had just returned from Dubai after working for a couple of months in the desert city. I had been into some kind of prefessional crisis of where to work and what work to take. Idea of going back to Dubai likewise messed up my already battered psyche. I'd been getting and quitting jobs in one week's time. Same day I was in the walled city, the Glorietta bombing occurred. The blast claimed 11 lives and left hundred others injured. Innocent lives were not spared by negligence or some group's unfair and unjust advocacy. Mall scare followed-
May 2009. I was in Dubai, for eight months running, jobless, homeless and penniless. I was hugely inbedted and I had not called my family for half a year. I had not sent any money to them as I myself have needed it so badly. I had severely lost weight and everytime I got to sleep, thoughts of tomorrow haunted me down until my eyes got sore and fell into brief slumber. Every morning brought in new hope but the end of the day, when nothing good happened, the fear, the stress and desperation stroke without mercy. I had nothing else left at hand. Worst thing of all, my mind couldn't contained the anxiety and was a strand away from losing sanity-
F.O.R.W.A.R.D. T.O. P.R.E.S.E.N.T
February 2011. The people of Egypt have changed the course of history. On the 11th, millions of Egyptians gathered in the streets of Cairo and in every city in Egypt with great jubilation as President Mubarak stepped down of power. After decades of suffering, repression and savage voilence under a police state, Egyptians have risen up to bring down a dictator. They have shown the whole world what a determined and courageous mass mobilization can accomplish, even in the face of overwhelming odds. But it's not something that just happened in a snap, with the sacrifice of at least 300 lives, with thousands more injured and arrested - the press for genuine democracy in Egypt is a victory 30 years in the making-
The Egyptian Revolution, along with the events in Tunisia, have sparked a wave of major uprisings. Protests have spread across the Middle East and North Africa. To date Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Yemen have all seen major protests, and minor incidents have occurred in Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Syria. These ongoing demonstrations have been motivated by various reasons from dictatorship and human rights voilations, poverty, corruption, unemployment and repression of freedom.
Have you ever thought how long will it take and how much will it cost to stabilize all these impending social unrest? Maybe, it's beyond our imagination.
March 2011.A magnitude 9.o earthquake struck Japan on the 11th sending a surge of water into the mainland, smashing ships, cars and buildings and razing several towns. Confirmed deaths stood at more than 7,000 with thousand others missing. Cost of recovery is estimated to be hundred of billions of dollars. As thousands are left homeless, without food, water and electricity, the threat of nuclear leak is what giving Japanese residents a lot to worry about. Exposure to high level of radiations can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and fever while long term effects include damages to internal organs and cancers.
If you are in this situation, you think you'll be able to get a decent sleep knowing the nuclear reactors can explode anytime and put your life at great risk? Pray we never experience just to know.
Having told and shared all these stories, what do you think now is the most expensive thing in the world? Forget the fancy cars that take you to places, the dazzling jewelries that make you shine in the night or the grand mansions serviced by handful of caretakers. The good things in life, as they say, don't come cheap and easy. PEACE is on top of them. It's something that doesnt' just happen overnight and no amount of wealth could afford you to have it. Peace is faith. It begins in one self and is founded on being happy for all that you are and being grateful for all that you have. Peace is freedom from worries, from confusions, anxiety and threats of bad things to come.
I seldom make wishes, not even on birthdays. Wishes are only for kids blowing their birthday cakes but today, I am making an exception. I wish for peace of mind for all those going through great fear and pressure of whatever forms. I wish for peace on earth, for freedom from oppression, from terrorism, from war, from violence and from misunderstanding. I know it would take a million years to achieve genuine peace but if we start within ourselves, we bring it less close to impossible.
PEACE BE WITH US ALL.
Volcanic eruptions, earthquake, tsunamis, storms -- these are natural phenomenon that no matter what we do come either expectedly or unannounced. Pero tingnan mo, we always rise above them.
ReplyDeleteWars, revolutions, civil unrest -- these are man-made events that emanate from people's greed, from people insatiable need for power, from pride.
Inner peace, in my personal op, can only be achieved if we have faith.
Things happen -- good and bad. We can either wallow in self-pity and remorse, or straight-face it. Our choice.
Madaling sabihin di ba? Hirap gawin.
Have faith. Everything will be alright as they always do. A year from now, everything will only be a memory.