Art.

It became a ritual for me to have a monthly art project so as not to let my creative mind left rusted. For the past month, I have decided to add touch of colours to my room by painting my favorite flower ( sunflower ) to my walls. Just last month, I am able to paint one (yey! Hoping to add a picture soon ). Yesterday, I have painted another one and I am quite excited to have again that quiet time to myself, deeply engaged into the splash of colours and the amour of paint.

What I love about art besides the tranquility you gain upon creating it is that it attracts creativity in the atmosphere. You can be yourself. You can express yourself. Failure is a gateway for another creation and the outcome will always be an art. It was quite amusing to find yourself painting forms that was not drafted to your mind before and the challenge of remembering the detail, the fusion of colour, the lines and the scent, of an image pictured to your mind. Art has thought me the adage 'Practice makes perfect' and the very essence of failure for creativity.

A Date with Nature.

It was about half a month ago when I spent my summer vacation in Calaguas Island. Of course, besides swimming, eating, and all that fun stuffs one ought to do, I did some meditation. The sun was up and was happily watering with sunlight things that hail him. The sea water is calm and the different forms of clouds above it invites you to stay silent and savour it. That was the time I knew my summer vacation was awesome. Nothing can replace Nature and if camera-captured images can be saved in the computer, that moment in time when I was seeing Nature on sail will be saved on my heart. 

One thought that I realized when I was having a date with Nature on that boat was that Nature sees you barely. It was as if you are nude. It doesn't care about what you wear, it strips off the jewelries, and money was worth nothing. Whatever you are, a president, a CEO or a simple fisherman, no status was given and in its eyes you are a mere human being, same as others. When it is joyous, it offers the relaxing breeze of the wind, the whistling of the trees and the warmth of the sun. When it is in rage, thunders may haul you and waves may crash things you built for years. And I'm grateful for that.

With a date with Nature, I was able to understand to give importance to being humane. To not live a life chasing money because Nature doesn't care. He cares how you appreciate it, how you survive it and how you mingle with it. When you have a date with Nature, He doesn't see the makeup, He sees you nude and sees the very person you are deep inside. I hope I'd be a person like Him, seeing beyond what ordinary eyes can see, and I also hope I'd meet people who are the same.

Omnis Cellula e Cellula

I just finished reading 'The Fault in our Stars' and came across this statement:

Omnis cellula e cellula, an epigram popularized by Rudolf Virchow, and is transalated as 'Every cell originates from another existing cell like it.'

Sometimes, people aspire to be something big, to do a greater deed, to live a mark as what Augustus Walters want (character from The Fault in our Stars). I'm not saying that we shouldn't dream too big but lately I have understood that we can't all be superstars, there always should be an audience; we can't be all leaders, there should always be a follower and so on. Being the audience or the follower doesn't make us inferior, or the less important one. We shouldn't think that way. As what religion has taught many, in the eyes of God we are all equal and I am supporting this not because I'm a pious person or whatsoever. Let's just say that I realized that all of us are worth something and that something cannot be measured. It is of false nature to think that you are worthless just because you are not like Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein or Pope John Paul II, they are worth something and you are too. Maybe you can't be like them but you could have been their mother who have took care of them, you could have been that person who smiled at them during their dark days, or you could have been their teacher's teacher who gave them a word of motivation. We are all connected and in relation to the title of this article of mine, a part of us has shared something to this world, a word, a smile, a hug, a behavior, a belief that we think is not big enough, but have been passed to someone/something, and that made a difference. As years roll by, you never knew that that something, that little difference will be a part of something big.

Summer Lemonade.

A year had already passed when I was in the dilemma of finishing my college or not. I remember clearly that during this time of the month last year I was asking myself, 'What was really college?' and I thought I cannot answer it.

I decided not to finish my college on time, and instead have graduated summer, at most two months late. Being the hardworking, sometimes on the top list, student that I am, it is considered out of my comfort zone, seems to lower my self-esteem, my worth; but still I stepped out of that freaking deadline girl-zone. Why, when nearly you are already at the end of a goal?, you may ask and that's exactly my question to myself last year, that I even drew a stick person of me climbing on a cliff, and nearly on top. Funny.

I'll be honest that I was afraid. I had the wrong thinking for the past four years in college. Graduating on time is not to be used as a measurement for your worth. Fast forward to these days, I cannot say that I had already found out the answer but I am able to collect bits of the puzzle pieces together. This decision of mine had taught me that we hold the power of reflecting who we are to others, it is not measured on the time of the graduation, but on our continuous actions in everyday life. It also made me  aware that I am in control of my life, not the expectation from others, nor the path they laid to you. Long as you strive, there are many paths out there to grab, to take advantage of and surprisingly sometimes, we have to make our own path.

 "Turn lemons (lemons) into lemonade (opportunities). But luck goes beyond this - it's turning lemonade (good things) into helicopters (amazing things). - What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20

Hold and Let Go.

“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.” 

-Stephen King

Staying on.

At some point in your life, you have to believe in yourself, in your guts,in what you are doing, even if it seems pointless in the present.

In times, I read these article to remind me of that:

"believing in what we do, about staying on—it does not have to be in UP—with kindred spirits sustaining us through courage and a generosity of spirit" ( Michael L. Tan, 2014)

 from http://opinion.inquirer.net/72230/why-we-stay

"You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever."(Steve Jobs, 2005)

from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Lesson #3: Fame fades away. Measure success according to the lives you touch and what matters most to you.

from http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/51959-mitch-albom-lessons-to-learn-meaning-work-life

Genuine Love.

“Does a leaf, when it falls from the tree in winter, feel defeated by the cold?

The tree says to the leaf:
"That’s the cycle of life. You may think you’re going to die, but you live on in me. It’s thanks to you that I’m alive, because I can breathe. It’s also thanks to you that I have felt loved, because I was able to give shade to the weary traveller. Your sap is in my sap; we are one thing.”
― Paulo Coelho, Manuscript Found in Accra

Having seen the green fields surrounding the high way towards Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and observing the people along the way, I felt the transition of urban city lifestyle towards the rural area. And then I asked myself, have these people felt low of themselves? How can they seem to feel happy living such simple lives? Haven't they compared themselves to the life of those staying in the city? Haven't they felt the inequality of work, them staying in the sun all morning while those in the city were staying in an air-conditioned office, plus the factor of earnings?

And I realized this principle of Paulo Coelho in his book 'Manuscript Found in Accra' and all these questions were left answered. Genuine Love. Long as we give genuine love, as long as the giver understands his/her role, expecting nothing in return, like the provinces that are filled with great workers and green fields for crops, offering what they have to the city though the wages are low in return, they will always feel satisfied, happy and equal. That is Genuine love, being happy when you give out love to others and you will never tell it's a sacrifice. In return, the receiver should always show the appreciation and gratitude, and it is up to them whether they felt the urge of showing this appreciation through rewards, but a simple 'Thank You' shall never be forgotten. In addition, they shall never think of themselves higher than those living hardly in the province, in contrary, shall realize that those living in such area are of great deeds and work and all will shall be made equal.