Many Thanks (September 01, 2007)

Many years ago, I met someone who has inspired me to become a better teacher. She is a woman filled with energy. She is always up and about. She became my mentor and my motivator. She instilled faith in me, to believe in myself.

One early morning as I arrived school, I met so much frustrations explaining to my assistant how work should be done. After being frustrated, I left the building and walked outside the school compound. My friend saw me. She took her car and asked me to get in. While driving around the village, she was ready to listen and was giving pointers on how to handle the situation. She was there to support and not to ridicule. She was there to listen and not to criticize. She was there to offer help. Up to this time, I cannot forget her valuable support.

That was many years passed. The last time I got hold of her was when I was in Bologna and she asked me to visit her for a day or two. I can't make it that time so when I arrived home, I made it a point to make contacts again. I failed to reach her but deep inside my heart, she will always be my good and best friend.

This month is her birth month. I dedicate the first of September to my beautiful and great friend Carol, thank you so much.

Reflections (August 31, 2007)

I enjoy the simplicity of things. No complications whatsoever. It is just like living in the past. I remember being happy playing with stones and mud back in our backyard when I was very young. I enjoy the swings we put right up the pine tree we had. I appreciate nature from the small pond we filled with fish and turtles. I won't forget the time I hurt myself when I climbed a medium sized coconut tree. Those were the fun times. No expectations. No competitions. No complications.

Then the times we are having now is very much different. Everyone is busy. Even weekends are filled up. My students' schedules are filled to the brim. My friends' schedules are teeming with appointments and parties. My co-workers' are always on the go, go, go. My schedule is now like most of them. I rarely stay at home now. I am always out and teaching.

If I have to reflect on what is happening to me, then I have to say I am growing to be unhappy. The dictates of society and the affairs of the world had been engulfing me like fire. I had been busying myself with the ways of the world.

I need to stand still. Reflect. Be happy.

Picking Up the Pieces (August 29, 2007)

I am amazed at how some parents would give their young children something of an excess and think that it is good parenting. I am talking about learning academics. I have met a lot of people whose concern in their young child's growth is the learning of the ABC's and numbers.

I grew up in a very strict family whose main concern is not that of education. However, I have to say that I came from a very academic school where I have to learn four languages from my preschool up to high school. Then I entered a university where I have to do two other languages aside from the two languages used in class. I have to say that it was exhausting to be a student.

I always wish that young children be given a chance to feel like children. That they be given the freedom to play instead of attending tutorial classes. That they be given the chance to interact and socialize instead of sitting and writing compositions as homework. That they be given a chance to be with nature instead of being crammed in special classes in piano, math, and the like.

I do not like to be a child again. But I wanted to go back so that I can live my lost childhood to the fullest and be happy.

Alone (August 26, 2007)

This Sunday, I was invited for lunch by some of the most generous parents from my previous class. The lunch was sumptuous. The venue was appealing to the senses. But the one that moves me was the camaraderie the parents and my former students showed to me.

I always end up teaching students in the weekends when I am supposed to be resting and having fun in the garden or attending church as part of my Sunday life. I do work because I get to see people either out or in my house. I do long for friendship. I do long for some people to speak with or to listen or just to hang around. I am becoming lonely.

You might say that it is a choice I am making and I have to agree to that. I chose to be alone. I chose to live away from my family, relatives and close friends. It is also a choice not to make close relations with new people.

But still, I long for people to be around me. I long for the old times when I get to see friends every time I attend mass. I long for the times when we have get-togethers with my high school buddies once every month. I wish to meet good people like the ones I have in Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Rotorua and from the US. I miss them all.

Falling (August 25, 2007)

I will have to describe a certain plant in my house. I have these kind for many years now. They serve many purposes such as borders for the house, for shade, for beautifying ugly spots, and for the fragrant flowers they give. The flowers are pristine white, growing in clusters and gives off a lovely smell. When all of them are in bloom, the flowers look like snowflakes resting on the branches of these small trees.

It is not difficult to take care of them. All they need is plenty of sunshine, water and a healthy place to grow. They bloom even if they are planted in small containers.

What strikes me are the flowers when they are growing. A cluster would have individual flowers so small that once you separate them one by one, it wouldn't give a spectacular impression. And just like any other flowers, they also wither and die.

These flowers are like our life. We grow by achieving a lot of things, accomplishing tasks and showing to the world that we are a contributor to the society. We accumulate accolades and experiences that help us move and grow. We shine during high times.

But everyday is not a good day. So when we are experiencing the lows, we have to remember these flowers. They wither and die but the tree is still alive. We fall, we stand, we shine again.

Friend (August 22, 2007)

I had the chance to meet new people during the entire summer. They were all very nice people: educated, hard working, goal-oriented and friendly. They come from different backgrounds. They are from different places. They have their own goals and dreams. They are good people to keep. I have met new friends and became so full of life, living everyday vibrantly.

Then I went back to Thailand. Right now, I can feel that I am deteriorating because I had been missing them. I had been surrounded with warmth and sincere care that now I long for them. I am again on my own.

Friends are easy to find but the difficulty lies in finding the good ones. In my entire stay in Thailand, I cannot give you an answer if you ask me right now the million dollar question, "Who is your good friend in there?". I had, for some moments in time, a friend or two.

In my garden, I usually see a friend or some friends that hover around some of the flowers. I like the idea of them visiting my flowers every now and then. I like the idea that they make the flowers bloom better. I like the idea of making them part of the beauty that surrounds me.

Friends.....just like butterflies, come and go.

A Sight to Behold (August 20, 2007)

One of the favorite things I do during the weekends is to walk around the entire grounds of a weekend market famous for its many odd and interesting merchandise. I usually go around the Art Section of the market and marvel at the creativity and resourcefulness of the artists that gather around the area. The paintings and sculptures are just amazing. I enjoy my walk because I am surrounded by creative people and their beautiful creations.

In my garden, I enjoy looking at flowers and then take photographs of them. It is only in taking their photos that the images stay forever in my memory. Those flowers bloom to give me a feeling of peace when I visit the garden. And when they wither, I do not associate it to their death but to a new beginning. I count the flowers that bloom and not the leaves that fall.

So in enjoying nature and taking images of them, just as a painter paints or a sculptor creates a three-dimensional piece, I for one, take moments to savour the beauty of flowers through photographs, a marvelous sight to behold.

Stand Tall (August 11, 2007)

I had a short conversation with a new acquaintance. Our conversation centered on being teachers and being a true person. Honesty, integrity and faith were mentioned. He told me how as a teacher I can be gentle and caring. He mentioned that at my present age, I had accumulated wisdom and good manners. I wasn’t looking for compliments but his way of talking was so intense that it had made me realize that I should be proud of who I am.

One book called Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon reminds me of how great we are as people and as individuals. That we need to believe in ourselves. That we need to think positively. That we need to believe we can do anything.

I needed encouragement and a little push and this acquaintance of mine came knocking at the right time. I appreciate living because I am surrounded by people, who believe in the greatness of others. God bless people like Stephen.

Small But Powerful (August 5, 2007)

Once when I was strolling in my garden while bathing in the light of the moon, I cannot help but smell a wonderful fragrance that permeates the back of my house. It was a smell so enticing that I immediately looked for its source. Wonderfully surprising, it was my Orange Jasmin, the dwarf ones that bears white flowers but gives such strong scent. It was a delightful find.

I am just but a teacher in my school but had been a great contributor to the education and progress of the school. I am just one of the many teachers whose goal in life is to create wonderful individuals and contributors to this world. What I wanted to show here is that we, as individuals, maybe nothing but a miniscule to a large part of the society. But our presence gives the society a plurality. Our small identities give our workplace a name. We might be like a speck of dust to this world but our contributions can move mountains.

Ingenuity (August 3, 2007)

I marvel at the immensity of each and every structures and edifice I visited in Mainland China. I was wondering, questioning, being awed by each and every place I visited. The Hanging Temples, the magnificent monasteries, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and others.

I am talking about years past, century old, unparalled ingenuity. These are borne from great minds and spirits. These are products of determination and maybe of great dreams.

I cannot help but be amazed by China’s contribution to the world. I wanted to believe that they are great thinkers and excellent doers. These are two qualities I wanted to hone in me. Great is the thinker who uses actions instead of just words.

Distributing Strength (August 1, 2007)

I was at a silk making factory when we were introduced how silk was made into fine garments. One demonstration was to show us how a ball of silk is pulled to make silk blankets. After the demonstration, we were encouraged to have actual hands on where I was one of the participants.

On all four sides of the table, there was a person each and we were asked to pull the ball of silk to distribute it evenly as we try to lay the silk on the table. One of the participants was pulling the ball harder than the rest of us. He was being told to gently pull it so that the distribution of silk would be equal to all sides. Unfortunately, he didn’t listen. He got most of the silk on his side and less for all three sides. The process needs to be repeated again. What a waste!

In working together, one must not be in control of others because it is in cooperating with one another that we get the best results. Pulling the silk to show one’s strength or power proved nothing but mere foolishness.

Calmness (July 30, 2007)

Times of trouble are always abound. We are living in a world where people are constantly bombarded with great and depressing news or faced with the most difficult of all trials. Some have witnessed giving up while others had practiced perseverance.

I have yet to meet a person whose demeanour towards life's intricacies can compare to the calmness of a lake I visited. I might compare the tranquility with God whose ever strong presence in our lives is felt. He is always busy, the most busy of them all I suppose yet I know that He is always calm and persevering.

As humans, we are always perturbed when surprises come our way. Some of us are not ready, I am not, when I hear news of death, of conflicts, and of misgivings. I will react in a way that is not proper. I tend to over react. I tend to complain.

Our Lord has given us trials that we can carry. It would be great if we can face the load like the calmness of the water, stirred but not shakened.

My Friends (July 28, 2007)

There is a certain similarity in the quality of an old tree I saw in one of the botanical gardens I visited. Because of its old age, the caretakers have to put poles as support to the many branches that unfolds as it reaches its maturity.

I remembered my friends from way back high school days. We are still together despite our ups and downs for more than twenty years now. We fought, stayed, loved, argued, and challenged each other from time to time. We made our own paths but we are still together in moments of sickness, in despair, in times of troubles and in celebrating lives.

I am the tree, growing old, becoming weary and weak at times. My friends, though far away from where I am, are always there to encourage, to support, to listen and to love. They are the poles that support me, the poles that makes me stronger, the poles that make me stay living in a world full of surprises.

One By One (July 26, 2007)

After an exhausting but fruitful trip to Beijing, I realized that I am not getting any younger. My walk at the Summer Palace was the culmination of a realization that I am no longer in my best form. I went in the North Gate and traversed the entire ground going up and down numerous steps and walkways to admire the beauty of the Palace. It was a beautiful work of art showcasing the marvelous ingenuity of the Chinese people. I was drawn by the immensity of the ground. It was spectacular in scope and in its entity. It has a character of its own.

As I was standing admiring the man made lake at the Southern gate, I remembered that I made an appointment for lunch so I hurriedly went back where I entered. This was the biggest challenge. It was painfully tiring for my weak knees. While on the bus going back, I told myself that I have to do most of my travelling now that I am still strong. I will, one by one, explore the many places within these coming years so as to make myself a much fulfilled person.