Road to 35: Treasures Unfold

As the number of our years increased, number of people in our lives decreases...

I remember celebrating my birthday, full house... from friends, colleagues, high school and college classmates, friends of friends and friends of friends of friends. 

Those were the days when strangers come over not to celebrate but to drink with other friends. When you just walk with bottle beer, checking on each group of people if they were enjoying... Party normally ends the following day. 

As I think of it... yes, indeed those were the happy days.

And as I try to recall one or two of my "happy birthday celebration" and try remember the different faces who were there; it seems that most of them were just part of my past. Very few are still on my present...

People come and go. That is something that I learned from my mentor while I was still in broadcasting network. 

But through the years, I learned that: 

You can choose the people who will stay in your life and those that you will let go... 

Being friends is not about being together everyday; even if you talk to a certain people daily, it doesn't mean that you are friends... and not talking or chatting everyday doesn't means you were no longer friends. 

No time nor distance can separate real friends. 

Following Jesus is never easy

God didn't promise a day without pain, 
laughter without sorrow, sun without rain...

But He did promise strength for the day, 
comfort for tears and light for the way. 

How many times have you read that phrase?
It might be in your email inbox, FB friend's wall, twitter status...
I have seen it several times already... and every time I read these lines, it still gives me a great impact.

Following Jesus is never easy.
It's an struggle between yourself and your inner being...between knowledge and wisdom... between knowing and understanding... between life and living. A tug of war between past and future...

Travelling along this road is the bumpiest ride that you can experience. It's not always straight, smooth road to drive. There are stop lights that will show green to go, yellow to slow down and red to stop. There are radar for over speeding drivers. Others might have GPS for quick guide, while some hold maps for guidance. You might think that you know the way, but you missed the route.

You'll have stop overs. You'll see old and new faces; you'll be friends with strangers while you'll lose some of your so called friends.You'll have a family out of many families, and you'll have an obligation and responsibility to each of them... .

On the crossroads, you'll meet the person that you hate, the person that you love... someone that you thought you knew all along, but was a total stranger after all -- yourself. You'll learn to let go of who you were and start to become who you really are...

For Them

I lit this candle today for them...

Them, who was once with us in this journey

People who shared a portion of their life with us

They, who extended their love unconditionally

and touched our hearts wholeheartedly.

Bye Bye Love

I believed when u said that we'll see each other in the right time...
And that someday our path will cross again.

Summer ended and cool wind is here
Embracing me on this cold and lonely evening
Somehow I am wishing that you're here beside me
And we are praying together that God will bless us endlessly.

Period

A close friend of mine wants to end her relationship... not because there is a problem with her partner nor they fall out of love... there is no third party nor any career or business crisis... no family issues either.

The simple reason is because of the thought that "relationship don't lasts"... that FOREVER won't be achieved... worries that time will come that the relationship will end.

Indeed, there are basis... knowing that some people and relationships come and go.

That there is no permanent 'thing' nor secured future that we can grasp.

It applies to all. Whether you are in relationship or wanting to be in relationship, no one is secured. We cannot guarantee tomorrow... and as I have said, Forward March! What we only have is today.

My friend is so afraid for the coming days... guarding her heart to be broken on a thought that didn't happen yet... wants to end the beautiful relationship that she have because of her fears... Breaking her heart because she is frightened to be wrecked...

In our own situations, at some point, we all have felt the same...

We have made decisions not because we want to achieve something, but because we are avoiding somethings...

We assume. We expect and we tend to forget what we have TODAY.

Like life, everything ends... death comes like a thief in the night... we don't know when, but we know it will happen.

In the right time, periods will be punctuated in our own stories... but in the bottom... we still have the whole page, the whole chapters to fill up. We should not be threatened.

What readers read is not that small dot in the end, but the words written, the phrases, the paragraphs.

So while we can choose the letters to make a sentence on our own pages...  let's enjoy this blessing, our freedom to live each day, making the best stories of our lives, day by day.

Let us not rush towards the end because there is present that we still need to make...

---o0o---

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

Ecclesiastes 3:1

missing spark

i wonder why things change even if you dont want to.

why love seems to fade, even if you never wished to.

why good things turns out bad, and bad suddenly turns out good???

why can't we control this changes, when we are the ones who decide...

we are the one who chooses, yet we sometimes, we end up choosing something that we dont prefer.

why can't we handle our emotions, when in fact we are the one in charge with it.

we are conscious that its happening... yet we tend to ignore it.

how can we solve problems, if we dont want to face it?

why do we tend to let things passed, unresolved?

sometimes, its all right in front of you, yet you disregard the situation...

why is compromise seems so difficult to find these days?

why is it hard to apologize from the heart when its the only way?

is giving up the only answer to these questions?

what else can we do, if we dont want to find solution?

is it too much to ask for your attention?

what if im no longer longing for your affection?

when all that we can see is each others mistake

is it still worth it or we really need a break?

until when do we have to suffer?

what if this is too much to bear?

why do we need to sacrifice when it seems useless anymore?

how can we lit the light when there is no more spark?

maybe lets just leave all the shadow while its not too much dark.

love month

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love.

An alternative theory from Belarus states that the holiday originates from the story of Saint Valentine, who upon rejection by his mistress was so heartbroken that he took a knife to his chest and sent her his still-beating heart as a token of his undying love for her. Hence, heart-shaped cards are now sent as a tribute to his overwhelming passion and suffering.

at this time, Valentine's day has been popularized, or rather, commercialized. special discounts for couples in hotels, gift vouchers for lovers, different promotions on restaurants for two...

which somehow gives a connotation that this is really just for lovers.

but isnt it that Valentines are not just for lovers? how about those singles with so much love to give to other people? what about the young ones, who still dont understand what being inlove is all about yet needed to be loved?

what about those people whose partners have passed away? where they not allowed to celebrate?

love is an intense word. it has a meaning of his own. its reach is unreachable. hence, most people tend to minimize its value.

love month, same as Christmas, is mainly about love. but not just for couples... love is something that everybody is entitled to receive and should be distributed. it is something that should be celebrated, but again not just for lovers...

kids should be treated fairly, i believe they also should be thought the essence of commemorating this special occasion. this is not just for their parents... they should be given the priviledge to experience days like this, they should celebrate being loved.

singles usually panic! they were the least happy when February comes. no dates for valentines... but those singles are the ones always available in times their friend couple broke up. they are the ones who loves their family more. a date or treat for this unconditional love should also be given to them.

and ofcourse, our families... who does not get tired of loving us, more than anybody else.

well, its not that i belong to "smv" (samahang malalamig ang valentines) as we call it. i have a date... lol!

its just that i know some people who dont have and doesnt want to celebrate. people who think that this is just for lovers.

this is not...

valentine to me is worth celebrating. even not on the 14th, but set a date where you can share this day or night or weeks with your loved ones to make them feel that their love is as important and worth the celebration :)

how long is forever

can this word really means a lifetime?
or rather, is there really a word such forever?

you promised to be there, till the end of time...
yet you were not there at any time.

forever has been an abused word for broken promises...
people swore... telling that they will be together, forever.
that nothing can change... no one can keep them apart.
words that deceive others... but gives hope to some.

love and forever are partners.
they bind each other.
what if the bond was broken & forever fades?
how can love continues to journey without a trace?

never think someone will be there forever...
forever is a long time & time has a way of changing things.

sometimes, the littlest thing in life changes something...
& there will be times when you wish you can go back to how things used to be...
but you just cant because things have changed so much...

and this isnt good or bad... only the way of things.
nothing stays the same... and so thus forever wont remain.

differences that makes a difference

we are all unique.
made perfectly imperfect.

as an individual, each of us have our own identity...
a passion of its own!

our talents, skills, interest, strength & weaknesses are all part of who we are as a person. an individual. we gain all these through experiences... with the help of other people. we can never learn alone. whether with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, partners... each individual who possess distinctive characteristic. we grow through them.

discovering new things, learning new techniques... even realizing our own self.

sometimes, a big part of you came from somebody close to you. maybe, you grew up together or someone who played a significant role in your life. somebody you admire or somebody you loved.
as a couple, maybe... just maybe, you've both grown together, individually. and despite all the adjustments with your differences, it helped you... both of you, to discover out something new about yourself.

you were able to find your feet on her shoes... liked things that you once hated, or despised those you once find irresistable. as years went on, you became her & vice versa. comfortable with each other... being one.

but opposite attracts.

what will happen if there were no individuality anymore?

when boredom comes. what's next?

at some time, we can all reach this point...

maybe, no one should part with their individuality and become that of another.

maybe, we need to preserve something that is us so we cannot lose ourself.

Perhaps, only those people who are capable of real togetherness are those who recognize their individuality and value their differences...

When Love Isn’t All that Matter

It is in giving that we receive…it is in loving that we are loved.
How can you supposed to be loved, if there is nothing more to give?

Isn’t your all enough?
Is your best wasn’t good as you think it was?
How can you bring happiness when you weren’t happy?
How can you dream if your world is empty?

We all have different interpretations of what love really is…
Different styles of expressing that feeling…
Different ways to be satisfied…
Different meaning to understand…

Rick Warren spells love as T-I-M-E.
Because the essence of love is not what we think or do, or provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves.

In 1 Corinthians, it is written that love is patient & kind…
Not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish, or irritable;
Love does not keep record of wrongs…

You gave your T-I-M-E… your whole life.
You were patient… you were kind.
Yet this seemed didn’t matter… this was JUST not enough…
How can you still hold on to the promise of love?

Most of us tend to hold on…
Tries to bring back that little spark…
But how can love be justified, if there’s a pain that kills you inside?

When loving means believing, and believing means loving
How long can one stand suffering?
Of the love that was really hurting…

Until when can enough be stopped?
And letting go be on the positive track…
For it is not always in holding on or fighting for,
...love is not ours to command.(photo by ericson)