Inner Soul.

"Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a great deal to love a leaf. It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary. " - Unknown

When I go around and stroll the malls, I see all these advertisements and marketing stuffs that seems to cover everything with fancy and beauty. I remember the quote above. We often forgot to see what  lies deep inside, we forgot to dig deeper and find each beautiful soul thriving deep inside each creature. We are blinded to see only what is outside and to judge things profoundly based on what our eyes see, what the advertisements call on as beautiful.

I thought about a fruit stand in a province and in an established malls as an example. Let's assume that the fruits in the province are fresh and sweet but only sold on a carton box and the fruit in the mall are sold on a well decorated fruit stand but are bland in taste. What fruit will you buy? Will you judge the fruits' quality based on the marketing strategy or are you wise enough to know the better?

The End.

"The greatest motivation of all is in knowing that everything is not permanent."

 Early morning, as I wrote this self-made quote on my diary (not even knowing whether someone breathing or stopped breathing has already formulated the same group of words), I wonder how Steve Jobs turned into motivation the awareness of his disease and the question "If this is the last day of your life...?"

Late in the evening, I deeply thought about the end - the end of the day, the end of my two year bond in the company, the end of my twenties, the end of my life. And I felt that surge of feeling of regretting what you have done instead of what you not ought to do; the potential I can harness if I remove away all the expectations from other, all the worries and all the fears I self-created. Knowing there is an end is like knowing that you have to fully live your life. YOLO. You only live once as what they say, so as Steve Jobs.

It was a practice: to think of the things you ought to regret if this was the end - of the day, of your youth, of your life. Yes, it was much easy to stay in that zone where you live comfortably, where you live with the norms and cultures of others, where you feel safe. Yes, exploring what is outside of that zone seems terrifying but try to listen to that inner self of yours that tells you to took a little step outside, that whispers to you ambitions that you burned deeply. Trying sometimes hurts, but never trying is like dying.

Keeping Strong.

It was real hard to find wisdom when it was too easy to stay juvenile.
Nor to be nice after all the hurts.
Nor not to remain blind to someone's suffering when we are too comfortable with our lives.
It was easy to give in, to remain blind, to close our hearts.
But we shouldn't.
We should keep strong for ourselves to find wisdom and understand things without any selfish prejudice.
We should keep strong to return kindness for the the hurt, neglect, or cold someone has given us, never knowing when their hearts return the warmth.
And we should keep strong to remain aware of those around us, offering a hand or lending an ear for their suffering, though it was much easy to only own our problem and neglect theirs.
Sometimes, we must keep strong for others to remain strong.

Competition.

 Prizes do not weigh the grandeur of a competition, it is the journey towards betterment. Being the defending champion, the one on the top holding the trophy, is a pride not because of the fame but because you become an aspiration for others to excel. You set an example, you set a standard that we can do more. And for those who are yet striving, do not be discouraged, in contrary, aim to be better than yourself before until the betterment let's you win. Strive not for the trophy but for the journey towards unleashing your potential. Losing only signifies that you have yet another challenge to accept wholeheartedly because passion is what drives you, not the prize nor the fame.

This is what I've learned upon watching UAAPP CDC season 77 last Sunday, the 14th of September. I was awe by how the teams cheer dance advance from last year and I think this is because of having a defending champion worth competing with. The National University deserves to win because of their technical skills and executions, while the University of the Philippines has shown me of thinking outside of the box (by girls lifting the boys, their bahaghari song) and that on many ways we can tackle/advocate issues in our country (by having the theme of equality). Kudos for both!

Towards Maturity.

Sometimes, it is much easier to step back and cry our childish whims, those selfish desires wanting attention as if we are the center of the universe. Yeah, hell much easier but time tells us we are not, the universe tells us we are not and hell yeah, sometimes it hurts. That's why it requires a tough soul, a try and try, an extended amount of time not to step back but to move forward towards maturity. Maturity differs from being a grown-up, as described in the Little Prince. Maturity is growing up while retaining the warmth and fun side of youth. Maturity embraces suffering and rejoices life's ups and downs. Do not falter when you are weak, do not be aloof when you are hurt, keep moving and keep smiling.

Rules.

I am currently staying at a condominium unit where the caretaker is the owner's sister. I remember talking to her the first time we are negotiating about the rent, and how at the same time, I seemed to love the place at first sight because of its cleanliness (which lacks on the other condominiums I visited). I remember how she honestly blurted out her strictness to house rules and cleanliness, asking me for any comments or complains. I quickly said no witnessing the neatness of the unit due to her strictness, maybe. As three months have already passed, I saw how she worked hard to keep her sister's unit in order, how she got frustrated when someone forgot the house rule for this and that, when my room mate left the unit with her bed linen and foam burnt due to ironing. I got confused why she's letting herself be that frustrated over such things. As I keep on staying there, I understood. I have understand that all us tenants only needs to pay and abide to the house rules but she - she is responsible for the condominium unit, she is the one who keeps it clean, who spends the weekend making sure everything is in the right place. And I understood and I became thankful for her. Thinking about rules in the scope of our community, I think that rules are there for its citizens' welfare. We obey rules not because we are afraid to be punished; we obey them because we fully know its use and understands as a citizen that its for the welfare of the community. Hence, before we obey a rule just for the sake that someone has slapped it to our face or has given the punishment for not abiding to it, we must first understand it, why was it made as a rule, we must inquire and criticize before we obey.

Warmth.

   Kudos to those who can keep their compassion and warmth radiate even though they experience disasters or cold treatment from other people. Day by day, we experience pressures from studies or work, frustrations from not having what we want, or a love reciprocated by neglect. We thought that being nonchalant vibrates an aura of toughness but for me,  it is the contrary. The easiest route, the quickest escape  from hurting is to close our doors, to detach ourselves and to let our attention slip away from things that cause us dismay.  Strong are those people who can give a beam, who can remain open, who can keep their enthusiasm and compassion despite the day's delivery of unwanted things. This story strongly describes what I mean:

Grandmother says... Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?"

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the point,grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

Excerpt from: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/haveamagnificentday/2012/02/carrots-eggs-or-coffee-what-are-you.html