There was something profoundly moving in old friends saying prayers in a misty morning, their lives squarely in the hands of a mild-mannered man expertly steering the vehicle. The voices coming together in a steady hum, the familiar cadence of the words, doubtless stirred many memories. But for the intervening decades, they could have been...
Tag: life
Post
Finding the quiet
Many movies today, perhaps as a reflection of the world around us, are unbelievably loud, relying on explosions and special effects and outré visuals to stimulate and, at the same time, mesmerize the viewer. Thus, among all the scenes of chaos, devastation and conflict that may be either or both external and internal to the...
Post
The collectors (aka ‘anik-anik’ lovers)
Jerika Ordonio, 26, is a child again as she recalls visiting Manila Ocean Park for the first time. The decade-old ticket to the theme park remains a keepsake, testament to how her two aunts worked hard to give her what she calls a fulfilling childhood. “I was raised by my two aunts, both unmarried,” she...
Post
Watch your step
I learned to walk when I was 2, and almost instinctively, I made it my life’s motto to “always watch my step.” Now that I am 30, and having lived most of my days walking and randomly stepping on dog poop, I can now say with adultlike conviction that sh*t happens. It happens without warning...
Post
Tackling mental health at the community level
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article includes mention of suicide and self-harm. September is Suicide Prevention Month. BAGUIO CITY—Last year, my friend died by suicide. It took us all by surprise and the grief that those of us who were left behind felt was unfathomable. According to the University of the Philippines Population Institute’s Young Adult Fertility...
Post
So you wish to win the lotto
No, I haven’t won the lotto—or not yet. But is it possible to really pray hard and manifest winning the lotto? How? My friend DM, almost 80, boasts that in his younger years he won five of the six-digit lotto combination at least thrice. He claims that he did it through the prayer and meditative...
Post
We need mental health care in times of calamity
During extreme events that upend our collective life, we should also be concerned about each other’s mental, spiritual and psychological health aside from the urgent need for food, clothing and shelter. After all, emergencies require attention to both the corporeal and the psychological. The intensity of the southwest monsoon rains exacerbated by Supertyphoon “Carina” (Gaemi)...
Post
Freedom of choice and no-choice
“Managing the power of choice, with all its creative and spiritual implications, is the essence of human experience. All spiritual teachings are directed toward inspiring us to recognize that the power to make choices is the dynamic that converts our spirits into matter, our words into flesh. Choice is the process of creation itself.” —Caroline...
Post
Over a hot stove: ‘Ube halaya’ and love’s labors
I was born into a transnational extended family. My father, the eldest among his siblings, married before his brother (younger by only a year), was drafted into the US Navy. As a consequence, slowly, the brother and his parents and seven other siblings eventually came to live in the United States. We, the family of...
Post
When I was an OFW, I got detained in Saudi
Thirty-six years ago, I left my wife Malou and our two young sons to take a job in Saudi Arabia. Back then I was called an “overseas contract worker” or OCW, a term that has since morphed into “overseas Filipino worker” or OFW. From a college teaching job in the Philippines, I became a supervisor...