ON SILENCE

I respect silence, silence in all forms, in all shapes, in all situations. Silence can mean everything, doubt, assurance, shame, anger, peace, serenity..clarity

Whenever I am silent, I think and when I think, I understand and when I understand, I am at peace. Therefore, in silence, I am at peace.

But one thing silence is not, is ignorance. It can submit to all forms, all reasons but not ignorance. Being silent doesn't mean we ignore, on the contrary, it is the other way around. We human beings are accustomed to saying what we feel, what we want but neglect the things others want to hear. So in silence, something occupies a space in our soul that it needs further processing, further thinking and thus, technically, not ignoring, on the other hand, it is priority that is why we think about it.

I respect other people's silence, especially silence they so gladly give to me, I am not frustrated for I don't know the reason of being silent, or why someone is silent. I respect silence, for I respect the person. There is a reason for silence and oftentimes we really don't know the reason behind it. The only one who knows is the once who offers silence.

With this, I hope I can make you be silent for a while and think of the things that needs clarity.

You may not instantly have the answer to it but at least you got to think about it, awareness is the 1st step to understanding. With this I hope I had shed a new light on respecting and valuing silence.

--AWESOME

FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE

Filipinos are such devout Catholics.

I am a Filipino but I cannot say that I am a devout Catholic. Not until today.

Let me explain.  *(because it’s seemingly rude to say that I am only a devout catholic for a day.)  

Today. January 09, 2011. Feast day of the Black Nazarene.

Today is the day where millions of Filipinos flock to the streets of Manila to celebrate and revere  in one of, if not the greatest feast in the Philippines but is one of the biggest and grandest of them all.

9 million people. 9 million Filipino Catholics. 9 million sweat-drenched, barefooted people, 9 million people dressed exactly the same as the other 8 million. 9 million devotees. 9 million believers.

I am one of those 9 million.

Yes, people. I am proud to say, I am a Black Nazarene Devotee

But this blog post isn’t about me.  This is about why people are such hardcore devotees.

There is this one question that my uncle asked while we were hearing the early morning mass before the Black Nazarene parades off that got me thinking.. it goes like this:

Daddy Julius: “Ang daming tao. Ano kaya ang nagtutulak sa mga taong to’ para pumunta dito?”

Aaron: “…”

Sa totoo lang, napa-isip talaga ako. I mean, why? Why bother waking up early in the morning and go to a super-crowded place just to see a black statue carrying a big cross? Why bother risking your life just to get close to it, just to get a glimpse of it, just to get a hold of its ropes? Why bother? Why?

Up to know, wala parin akong substantial answer sa tanong na yan. But what I can derive is that we Filipinos are such resilient creatures, we get bombarded by problems, big and small. Some, we can handle, and there are some which we can’t.

I can see the importance of having someone whom we can resort our problems to, someone who will never desert us, someone whom we can completely rest our backs to. Its such a great feeling that after all the trials and hardships that we had passed through, we thank God for letting us through, after all, God wouldn’t let us face problems that he know we can’t handle.  

Hindi ko naman sinasabi na problema lang ang nagtutulak sa atin para maging deboto, we can also include our thanks. His never ending graces and blessing for us. That though we are creatures who are sinful, God never ends His showers of blessings for us.

For instance, we are alive.  Our lives and to those people who are around us. The people who makes us happy just because they simply exist.

Nothing in this world is far more greater blessing than the gift of life. J

So you see, if you are going to think of why people are such hardcore devotees. Make this thought as your standpoint. The devotees are there because they got where they are because of Him.

With this, I hope that everyone had a safe Feast of The Black Nazarene.

Just know that when you’re hitting rock bottom face first, there is someone who is willing to save you. Willing to be with you through it all.

So after all the rubble had passed, after the Black Nazarene had been carried off the streets of Manila, after the people, tired and exhausted had gone to their houses, remember this. In your darkest moments God will prevail, you just got to hold on to him.

I wish that this blog post had stirred something inside of you though I’m not really in the position to talk about religion. This is just my point of view, sharing of thoughts and insight is encouraged as well. Let’s make use of the comment box, people.  Thanks.

FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE..

--AWESOME!

Goodbye, 2011. Hello! 2012 !

It’s already 2:10 in the morning, and today is already December 31, 2011, and today, yes today, is the official last day of 2011. Think of all the things that had happened in the past months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. I’m sure there are some things that made you happy and there are things, of course, that made you sad. Surely, 2011 was a roller-coaster ride for all of us.

But wait, if this is the last day of 2011, then that means, tomorrow.. 2012 na? paki-ulit nga, 2-0-1-2? Twenty-twelve? Taon dos mil-dose? Gaaah!

 Hindi ko pa napapanuod ang movie na 2012, pero hindi rin ako tanga para hindi malaman ang mga haka-haka na ngayong taon DAW magugunaw ang mundo. But despite this, hindi ako naniniwala dyan, kung sino man ang scientist o historyador ang nagpa-uso niyan ay malamang malakas nga ang ebidensya niya or power-tripper lang talaga siya.

 I mean come on! Ano ang basis nila? Mga Mayan shit? Mga Mayan na walang ibang ginawa kungdi sumamba sa araw at sa higanteneng templo na nalaman ko lang na pinapagulungan pala ng mga ulo base sa pelikulang Apocalypto? C’mon people, yes it’s scary as hell, the world ending at December 21, 2012? Concrete-cracking earthquake, 15-storeys high tsunamis, strong as fuck typhoons, hell-on-earth volcano eruptions and big-ass meteorites smacking the face of good ol’ earth. *(if I forgot to mention things related to apocalypse, my apologies.) whew! That sure is scary.. not to mention crazy too! HAHA.

Para sakin, sinasayang lang ng mga scientist ang oras at panahon nila sa mga bagay na ganito, instead of finding ways to cure cancer, or just simply how to live a better and greener life, why the end of the world?

IMAGINE THIS:
“people, it is very unfortunate to inform you but our world will end at December 21, 2011” –some scientist

“fuck you! If it will end in 2012, then I should stop living responsibly and start fucking up with everything, the world is near its end after all” –some guy who believed in the scientist

See? Prevention is not even a choice, wala na nga matitira e., what’s the point of preventing it?

So, to all hardworking scientist studying about the catastrophic demise of our earth, my middle finger is standing loud and proud for you.

Anyway, before this completely goes off track, I’m not writing this blog post to talk about the untimely demise of the earth; I’m not even slightly concerned about it. I wrote this post to talk about the coming year 2012. J

Every year, we hear about people talk about their so-called, New Year’s resolution. Every year, they think of ways on what to change about themselves, but alas, it always ends up that the following year, the same din yung New Year’s resolution nila. Let’s site an example; the all time favorite, “hindi na ako mag-iinom.”

2010: “guys, hinding hindi na ako mag-iinom”

2011: “bro, I swear, I’m not going to drink na this year”
2012: “pare, promise. Hindi na talaga ako mag-iinom..”

Told you. It goes on forever. So for me, I’m not going to list down things which I can change, because New Year’s resolution list is so mainstream. haha. Instead, I’m just going to list down things which will make me a better person, a better person that I am in the past year.

So, without further ado, this is my patented list of the things that will make you a better person list!

1.       Enjoy the little things.

Every day, we fail to notice the little things; we tend to miss out on the simple things because of the routine we have for everyday. We focus on our destination instead of the journey itself, when it should be the other way around. So for this year, I will enjoy the little things, the little joys that makes us smile; after all, a great smile is what we need for us to last thru the day.

2.       Learn to choose without regrets.

What I mean with this? I am sure that every choice we make, may isang bagay na mas matimbang aside dun sa isang choice, Because let’s face it, hindi ka mahihirapan pumili kung wala lang yung isa, tama?  Ano ang ibig ko sabihin na matuto pumili nang walang pagsisisi? Simple lang, maging kampante sa desisyon mo, pag gumawa nang desisyon, harap lang ang tingin, wag na lilingon pabalik. Sa ganitong paraan, matututo kang pangahalagahan ang kung ano ang meron ka at hindi ang bagay na iyong naiwan.

3.       Realize that life is really short.. I mean, really, really short not to mention, unpredictable:  

Last month, I lost someone who is very dear to me, my bestfriend, at the age of 21. Imagine, 21? Life really is short. No explanations needed.
With this, I want to live my life as if it were my last. Because, who knows, it may really be my last.

4.       If you start something, finish it:

The acomodador according to Paolo Coelho is a force that makes you stop what you are currently doing at the moment, no matter how interested you are in that something, when the acomodador strikes, you’ll just feel bored with it, and eventually, you’ll just stop. I will not let the acomodador take control, especially when I’m stoked to learn Muay Thai. HAHA.

5.       Continue to help/love without expecting nothing in return:

Should I still need to explain this? I think not.

6.       Leave all the bullcraps in 2011:

Pain, agony, sufferings, dilemmas, hopeless situations, daddy-issues, mommy-issues, at kung ano ano pang issues yan, try to leave it aside, you may not forget them but at least, you had moved on from them, I mean come on, this is a new year, it’s 2012, there are plenty of more where that came from, and it will not help if you are still going to carry it around with you. New year, new trials, new solutions, new challenges, new obstacles, new possibilities, new ways to become a better person. J

Ayan, my list. Kung mayroon man kayong nais baguhin o idagdag, feel free to do so. After all, this is not only my list, but yours, my readers as well; you freely can use it as your own.

With this list, you can never go wrong; I guarantee you, I am 99.9% sure that if you follow this list, you are off to an awesome 2012!

I hope you all enjoyed reading my first blog post and I also hope that you had learned something from it.

So, let’s kick the start of the year with a bang! Cheers! HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!
 

--AWESOME!