Taken from Dave Wampler-"Simple Living" network (www.simpleliving.net)
Know that where you are right now is exactly where you should be. Don't worry if you haven't accomplished what you think you should have or what others expect you to accomplish. Be okay with where you are and work forward from there.
You can't do them all. Cut out activities that aren't consistent with your core values. Take your most difficult or dreaded tasks and complete them first thing in the morning. Get them out of the way in order to allow yourself to concentrate on other tasks rather than worrying about the ones you really don't want to do.
Have a clear vision of where you want to go in life. You don't need to know how you will get there yet, just know where you want to go. Have a clear understanding of your values and what is important to you.
Write a list of goals you'd like to achieve. Focus on doing a few really well, rather than a lot in a mediocre way. You can't add hours to the day, but you can cut down on activities.
Say no instead of yes. People agree to requests from others because they like to please them. Instead, realize that you have a right to say no. Creating plans or policies makes saying no easier.
Do you have an answering machine, cell phone, voice mail at work, pager, email? You may want to cut some of these off so that you can accomplish your goals without constant disruption. At the very least, start turning off your cell phone and using it only when you need to call someone. Set aside a specific time each day to answer emails or messages to avoid changing course each time you return a phone call.
Cut back on television time. Only watch those shows you decide on beforehand. Circle them in the television-listing magazine. Then turn off the television when the program is over. Cancel extra cable television packages for channels you rarely watch. Go for broke.
Pierce recommends spending 15 minutes every day going through a closet, a shelf, a drawer, and getting rid of anything you don’t need or cherish. "What’s exciting is that once you start on these surface areas, weeding that out, the skills and mindset carry over to more complex areas like your work and relationships." If you're not using something, get rid of it. Put an expiry date on items when you can't decide to keep them or not. Get rid of them when the expiry date arrives.
Use automatic payments or bank online to have bills paid automatically each month. Automate repetitive, clerical, mechanical tasks. For instance, set up automatic bill payments. Include your automatic savings plan as part of your monthly spending.
Make a plan for the weekend that doesn't involve work. Stop spending time with people who are a drain on your energy or vitality.
Carry a smaller wallet or purse. Start by cleaning out the one you've got. Get rid of unnecessary credit cards and other clutter that you don't use regularly.
Make time for yourself. Set aside time each day to reflect quietly, go for a walk, plan for your future or meditate. Slow down: "Spend 30 minutes a day in silence and solitude," says Pierce. "It will help your mind to relax, so you can shift from the "work-and-spend treadmill," she says, "and focus on what’s most important to you." Find 10-20 minutes each day to sit and relax, do nothing, or meditate. This is a few minutes to reflect on your day, your vision and to clear your mind.
Cut back on debt. Consolidate your different debts into one and pay it off. Put your credit cards in a spot where you won't be able to use them until you're debt-free. Track your expenses for a month, then cut back your spending on items you don't need.
Plan time for a vacation every year.
Work where you live, or live where you work.
Be in bed by 9 p.m. one night a week.
Live on half of what you earn, and save the other half.
Keep asking, "Is this going to simplify my life?"
Rarely buy anything new. Think creatively. The answer doesn’t have to be "buy a new one."
Prolong the life of whatever you own. Use less. Don’t toss anything if it can be reused or recycled somehow.
Use a date book or PDA consistently. Write down everything you and your family need to do and make it a habit to check your schedule on a daily basis.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Making Pillows Part 1
details here: http://magazines.ivillage.com/redbook/print/0,,289455,00.html
I stumbled into an article in IVillage regarding simplifying life last month. I've written some thoughts on it previously but the diary-x site (my previous journal site) suffered a server mishap last week, damaging all diaries. Unfortunately I didn't keep copies of my entries.
I based my new year's resolutions on these articles. So no excuses.
This year's current theme is to simplify my life. To keep a record I'm keeping a rundown list of the things they mentioned in the article and, well, some plan on my end on how to fit each habit in my life...
1. Embrace your insignificance
No matter what I do, people will always have a single definition of who and what I am. It's due to an unconscious trait common to human, to put everything and everyone in a box. It's not everyday that I need to explain myself, or prove my own point. I need to choose my battles and accept myself first before anybody can accept me.
Tough. :).
2. Let go
eeerrr... see point 1.
3. Do nothing -- alone
I would always plan my whole day, weekday or not, from 7am to 7pm. I let go by nightfall but only because the rest of the time serves as my funnel for the other things I planned earlier that needed more time to accomplish.
And so now, there's going to be more spontaneity ...
on a weekend...
between friday night and saturday afternoon...
6pm to 12noon...
hehe.
4. Do nothing -- with your family
Watch eat bulaga over the net with the family back home every Saturday. A for Ai-ffort!
5. Follow the money trail
Install the Budget/Accounting software. Jot down expenses. And torture self for not buying that Charles & Keith sandals.
6. Keep an old quilt in the car trunk
My version of this is to take the bus rather than the subway. Take the seat in the front, play Cueshe or Hale in my mp3 player and watch the sun set on my way home.
Aaaah. Life's a box of chocolate.
7. Buy no colored socks
I bought Le chic jeans, all stretched and blue.
It's all about comfort.
8. Eat the feast in your refrigerator
Picture Jewel in the Palace... everything's quite nice except that it's inhumanly possible for me to resist the temptation of a delicious taho or Arnold's fried chicken once in a while. Life doesn't become simpler when all you can think about is food.
9. Practice gratitude
"I am my own." And I'm thankful to realize it now. Most of the times I share with my friends now are truly amazing. I never had so much fun in life. And just for that, I'm truly grateful to God everyday. When I grow old and grey, and all I have is the rest of the time in my life, just being able to remember these times will be enough to make me utter an almost eternal gratitude.
10. Grow things
I'll be growing my blog. And myself by learning arts, history and music. And asking music to love me too :).
11. Express beauty
One word. Bake.
12. Pretend you have just three friends
Toughest one. For now I have decided to narrow it down to the closest in my circle. I'm also tired of reaching out, expecting too much and then being frustrated in the end.
I love people. I've always believed that you can never truly experience everything in this world. The only other way is to know other people, experience what life brings through them.
Yet after all, I need to be sane.
13. Spoil your husband
eeerrr... how about spoiling myself?
14. Paint one room
I can't paint the room since I'm not allowed to ;P, but i started out by imagining myself one nice afternoon, having tea and watching the telly on one side of my room...
and then the rings started to move outwards....
15. Make pillows
Each day is a pillow. They're all so huggable. :)
I stumbled into an article in IVillage regarding simplifying life last month. I've written some thoughts on it previously but the diary-x site (my previous journal site) suffered a server mishap last week, damaging all diaries. Unfortunately I didn't keep copies of my entries.
I based my new year's resolutions on these articles. So no excuses.
This year's current theme is to simplify my life. To keep a record I'm keeping a rundown list of the things they mentioned in the article and, well, some plan on my end on how to fit each habit in my life...
1. Embrace your insignificance
No matter what I do, people will always have a single definition of who and what I am. It's due to an unconscious trait common to human, to put everything and everyone in a box. It's not everyday that I need to explain myself, or prove my own point. I need to choose my battles and accept myself first before anybody can accept me.
Tough. :).
2. Let go
eeerrr... see point 1.
3. Do nothing -- alone
I would always plan my whole day, weekday or not, from 7am to 7pm. I let go by nightfall but only because the rest of the time serves as my funnel for the other things I planned earlier that needed more time to accomplish.
And so now, there's going to be more spontaneity ...
on a weekend...
between friday night and saturday afternoon...
6pm to 12noon...
hehe.
4. Do nothing -- with your family
Watch eat bulaga over the net with the family back home every Saturday. A for Ai-ffort!
5. Follow the money trail
Install the Budget/Accounting software. Jot down expenses. And torture self for not buying that Charles & Keith sandals.
6. Keep an old quilt in the car trunk
My version of this is to take the bus rather than the subway. Take the seat in the front, play Cueshe or Hale in my mp3 player and watch the sun set on my way home.
Aaaah. Life's a box of chocolate.
7. Buy no colored socks
I bought Le chic jeans, all stretched and blue.
It's all about comfort.
8. Eat the feast in your refrigerator
Picture Jewel in the Palace... everything's quite nice except that it's inhumanly possible for me to resist the temptation of a delicious taho or Arnold's fried chicken once in a while. Life doesn't become simpler when all you can think about is food.
9. Practice gratitude
"I am my own." And I'm thankful to realize it now. Most of the times I share with my friends now are truly amazing. I never had so much fun in life. And just for that, I'm truly grateful to God everyday. When I grow old and grey, and all I have is the rest of the time in my life, just being able to remember these times will be enough to make me utter an almost eternal gratitude.
10. Grow things
I'll be growing my blog. And myself by learning arts, history and music. And asking music to love me too :).
11. Express beauty
One word. Bake.
12. Pretend you have just three friends
Toughest one. For now I have decided to narrow it down to the closest in my circle. I'm also tired of reaching out, expecting too much and then being frustrated in the end.
I love people. I've always believed that you can never truly experience everything in this world. The only other way is to know other people, experience what life brings through them.
Yet after all, I need to be sane.
13. Spoil your husband
eeerrr... how about spoiling myself?
14. Paint one room
I can't paint the room since I'm not allowed to ;P, but i started out by imagining myself one nice afternoon, having tea and watching the telly on one side of my room...
and then the rings started to move outwards....
15. Make pillows
Each day is a pillow. They're all so huggable. :)
Fw:Lessons on Life
Forwarded by a friend...
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons
to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent
them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a
pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the
spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in
the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them
together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and
twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds
and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with
blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so
beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever
seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it
was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and
fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all
right, because they had each seen but only one season
in the tree's life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a
person, by only one season, and that the essence of
who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when
all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the
promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer,
fulfillment of your fall.
Moral lessons:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of
all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better
times are sure to come some time or later
Fw: Why do you go to Church?
Forwarded by a friend...
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!
"When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!
21 factors to be successful
Forwarded by a friend....
1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness and misery
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. By forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous
7. Have a grateful heart
8. Persistence. Persistence. Persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to qualify.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possession, power or prestige, but on relationship with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal
15. Be Honest
16. Be a self starter
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your parents proud
Wednesday
Look at him
just waiting
as she walks
with her eyes on his
She says
"I've always dreamed of this"
she never thought
he felt this way
Loving wasn't such an easy thing
two lives as one
one smile
as she looks at him
one vow
to make it true
this is the promise of forever
He promised a lifetime
It was forever for her
and now that this moment is here
a start of a new beginning,
something real
Love is here to stay
on this perfect day
love is here to stay
a start of a new beginning
Look at them just waiting
as he took her hand without waver
just waiting
as she walks
with her eyes on his
She says
"I've always dreamed of this"
she never thought
he felt this way
Loving wasn't such an easy thing
two lives as one
one smile
as she looks at him
one vow
to make it true
this is the promise of forever
He promised a lifetime
It was forever for her
and now that this moment is here
a start of a new beginning,
something real
Love is here to stay
on this perfect day
love is here to stay
a start of a new beginning
Look at them just waiting
as he took her hand without waver
On My Mind Tonight
how do i begin to forget
when thoughts of you
keep stumbling in my head
will you ever leave my mind
leave it all behind
now that you've become
a story i can never tell
how could i face tomorrow
when i'm living in our yesterday
as i dream of you holding my hand
your smile,
your touch,
the way you look in my eyes
i don't know what it means
but i never seem to hold back
memories of you
still remains in my heart
when thoughts of you
keep stumbling in my head
will you ever leave my mind
leave it all behind
now that you've become
a story i can never tell
how could i face tomorrow
when i'm living in our yesterday
as i dream of you holding my hand
your smile,
your touch,
the way you look in my eyes
i don't know what it means
but i never seem to hold back
memories of you
still remains in my heart
My Own
I am my own.
Now that I've finally realized
I am not just...
my father's daughter.
my mother's friend.
my brother's sister.
my friend's confidante.
I am my own.
Now that I've finally realized
I am not just...
my father's daughter.
my mother's friend.
my brother's sister.
my friend's confidante.
I am my own.
El-Dee
got a smile from you today
seems like it never ends
same ol' cycle that i'm in
yet still hopin' you'll catch my drift
it seems like i'm in my longest dream
you'll never know so why pretend
there's no use in hidin'
or all i get is your smile
my lost desire
seems like it never ends
same ol' cycle that i'm in
yet still hopin' you'll catch my drift
it seems like i'm in my longest dream
you'll never know so why pretend
there's no use in hidin'
or all i get is your smile
my lost desire
Lipat Bahay
Ateng, bakit nasa blogspot ka na???
February 24, 2006 Dear Friends,
There is no easy way for me to say this.
Diary-X has suffered from an unrecoverable drive failure. Due to a combination of issues, the last backup (from December 2004) contained only configuration files and other non-essential files. We do not have any other backups for the site. All journals, user information, forum posts, templates, images, and everything else are all irrecoverably lost.
In the past several hours, I have had to decide whether or not I should put the site back online at all. Only those users who backed up their own journals (either using the journal download tool or otherwise saving each entry) would be able to reconstruct their journals. Everyone else would have to start over. Whatever developed as a result would still be called Diary-X, but it wouldn't be the same.
I believe it makes the most sense to close Diary-X permanently. Tentatively, the site will go dark on March 31st, 2006.
Thank you for being so generous with your donations during this crisis. Your generosity and kind words were the sole bright spots during this disaster. If you would like a refund, please send an e-mail to mdeken@gmail.com with your name and PayPal e-mail address, and we will process it as soon as we can, hopefully within 24 hours.
If you would like to discuss this matter further, you may contact me at the address below. I will do my best to answer your questions if they were not addressed here.
Regretfully,
Stephen Dekenstephen.deken@gmail.com
Q. What happened with the drive? I thought DriveSavers was the best.A. I had a long conversation with the engineer that worked on the drive. What happened was that the read heads slipped slightly out of alignment and began what is known as 'head skip,' which means that the heads skipped along the platters like a stone across water. Each time they hit the platters, they destroyed a little bit of data (somewhere around 256 bytes). Because they were skipping, they were reading bad data, so the drive attempted to compensate by moving the heads away and back again, which caused the heads to skip into more areas, which the drive then attempted to read from, which moved the head and caused more damage. Given that the drive spins at 7200 RPM, a few hours worth of this type of treatment just completely hosed the drive. DriveSavers was able to get 'fragments of files,' but they were not able to recover anything substantial at all. The physical damage was just too extensive.
"Hayuupp... journal entries ko mula '99 nawala lahat *singhot*... well, SSDD... saym syet diprent dei."
February 24, 2006 Dear Friends,
There is no easy way for me to say this.
Diary-X has suffered from an unrecoverable drive failure. Due to a combination of issues, the last backup (from December 2004) contained only configuration files and other non-essential files. We do not have any other backups for the site. All journals, user information, forum posts, templates, images, and everything else are all irrecoverably lost.
In the past several hours, I have had to decide whether or not I should put the site back online at all. Only those users who backed up their own journals (either using the journal download tool or otherwise saving each entry) would be able to reconstruct their journals. Everyone else would have to start over. Whatever developed as a result would still be called Diary-X, but it wouldn't be the same.
I believe it makes the most sense to close Diary-X permanently. Tentatively, the site will go dark on March 31st, 2006.
Thank you for being so generous with your donations during this crisis. Your generosity and kind words were the sole bright spots during this disaster. If you would like a refund, please send an e-mail to mdeken@gmail.com with your name and PayPal e-mail address, and we will process it as soon as we can, hopefully within 24 hours.
If you would like to discuss this matter further, you may contact me at the address below. I will do my best to answer your questions if they were not addressed here.
Regretfully,
Stephen Dekenstephen.deken@gmail.com
Q. What happened with the drive? I thought DriveSavers was the best.A. I had a long conversation with the engineer that worked on the drive. What happened was that the read heads slipped slightly out of alignment and began what is known as 'head skip,' which means that the heads skipped along the platters like a stone across water. Each time they hit the platters, they destroyed a little bit of data (somewhere around 256 bytes). Because they were skipping, they were reading bad data, so the drive attempted to compensate by moving the heads away and back again, which caused the heads to skip into more areas, which the drive then attempted to read from, which moved the head and caused more damage. Given that the drive spins at 7200 RPM, a few hours worth of this type of treatment just completely hosed the drive. DriveSavers was able to get 'fragments of files,' but they were not able to recover anything substantial at all. The physical damage was just too extensive.
"Hayuupp... journal entries ko mula '99 nawala lahat *singhot*... well, SSDD... saym syet diprent dei."
Thursday, February 23, 2006
si pepe...
I first heard of ambeth ocampo in Jessica Zafra's Twisted Klite Show. That was a few years back. Later on, sa pagiging tambay ko sa favorite bookshop ko (powerbooks megamall), nagtrip tripan na naman ako and went to browse on the coffee table books about national heroes. There were books about Rizal, I opened some and saw his pictures; he’s posing differently. Ndi posing na pang-dalawang piso. There were pictures pa with Hidalgo and Luna. Ay may barkada pala si Pepe.
That's when I stumbled on “Rizal Without the Overcoat”. What made me notice it was the cover that shows Rizal with the superman logo sa dibdib. When I saw the name of the author, I knew then that this book would be interesting. I was so curious, but like Rizal, medyo nagkukuripot ako. That's what I love about Powerbooks, I can browse the book freely, without being guilty of being caught by manong guardia. If Rizal had the same access, I would have bumped on him siguro :) (wishing..).
I treasure books though I have to read/browse on them first or know the author's works before I collect them. At that time, I had some other “treasures” in mind, so I had to contend with browsing it muna. There were a lot of anecdotes that I didn’t know Rizal did. It was such a contrast for me to see a different side of the hero, like writing about the boisterous americano he encountered in one of his trips. (I do believe Rizal did get the wrong impression about the man, talaga mang nakakainis maybe the comments the americano had made came from the feeling of missing his homeland, and this is his way of coping with it. Kulang siguro sa tulog si Rizal kaya ndi nakuhang mag-emphatize?) My interest peaked though when I came across Mr. Ocampo’s question on whether Rizal was a leftist, rightist or central-ist? And that hilarious scene in Noli where the girls and boys have to share one banca because “may limang butas ang bangka na kelangan din ng limang pangpasak”. I recalled in high school how the boys in our class would laugh about this.
But I'm getting ahead with my story.
I wasn't fortunate enough to continue perusing the book, scatterbrained as I was (still am!). Naalala ko na lang ang book na to later, when I found Jessica Zafra's twisted blog in the net.
Pag nagkukuripot ka talaga, you find ways to support your needs and wants. At pag wala, you rationalize your spendings. :) This is how I stumbled on a copy of the book in a Singapore library. For $1.55 (almost 50 pesos), I was able to reserve a copy. Okay na yun, tulong ko na lang yung singkwenta pesos sa SG library, which still stand as my favorite place in this part of the world. I was so proud to find a filipino author here. Much more was to get something about my country's national hero.
Naging tao sa kin si Rizal after I finished reading the book. Kasi naman, we're trained to know Rizal as a super-enigma person, a great genius. But we were not taught to question the facts presented in our textbooks, much better to memorize everything and get the course done and over it. I'm sure this is not what the great Recto had in mind. But I would like to raise my hat to him as he did make us not forget this great man. I was not even aware that Rizal had been a great topic for debate as my classmates are also, I suppose. All I remember from my Rizal class was that we just needed to participate in a field trip to Subic to complete our requirements. At least yun lang, sa iba, they needed to memorize poems of Rizal.
The book is a collection of articles the author wrote about Pepe. What I loved about it is Mr. Ocampo’s style in conveying the facts about Rizal's life, one that will interest people like me coming from the masa crowd. Ndi textbook ang dating. His innate passion about Rizal shows in this compilation, he doesn't deny it, which makes his stories more colorful. Ang sarap nya sigurong maging professor, tiyak pila ang course nya sa enrolment.
Kids are truly lucky these days; they have so much access to information. Haay.
That's when I stumbled on “Rizal Without the Overcoat”. What made me notice it was the cover that shows Rizal with the superman logo sa dibdib. When I saw the name of the author, I knew then that this book would be interesting. I was so curious, but like Rizal, medyo nagkukuripot ako. That's what I love about Powerbooks, I can browse the book freely, without being guilty of being caught by manong guardia. If Rizal had the same access, I would have bumped on him siguro :) (wishing..).
I treasure books though I have to read/browse on them first or know the author's works before I collect them. At that time, I had some other “treasures” in mind, so I had to contend with browsing it muna. There were a lot of anecdotes that I didn’t know Rizal did. It was such a contrast for me to see a different side of the hero, like writing about the boisterous americano he encountered in one of his trips. (I do believe Rizal did get the wrong impression about the man, talaga mang nakakainis maybe the comments the americano had made came from the feeling of missing his homeland, and this is his way of coping with it. Kulang siguro sa tulog si Rizal kaya ndi nakuhang mag-emphatize?) My interest peaked though when I came across Mr. Ocampo’s question on whether Rizal was a leftist, rightist or central-ist? And that hilarious scene in Noli where the girls and boys have to share one banca because “may limang butas ang bangka na kelangan din ng limang pangpasak”. I recalled in high school how the boys in our class would laugh about this.
But I'm getting ahead with my story.
I wasn't fortunate enough to continue perusing the book, scatterbrained as I was (still am!). Naalala ko na lang ang book na to later, when I found Jessica Zafra's twisted blog in the net.
Pag nagkukuripot ka talaga, you find ways to support your needs and wants. At pag wala, you rationalize your spendings. :) This is how I stumbled on a copy of the book in a Singapore library. For $1.55 (almost 50 pesos), I was able to reserve a copy. Okay na yun, tulong ko na lang yung singkwenta pesos sa SG library, which still stand as my favorite place in this part of the world. I was so proud to find a filipino author here. Much more was to get something about my country's national hero.
Naging tao sa kin si Rizal after I finished reading the book. Kasi naman, we're trained to know Rizal as a super-enigma person, a great genius. But we were not taught to question the facts presented in our textbooks, much better to memorize everything and get the course done and over it. I'm sure this is not what the great Recto had in mind. But I would like to raise my hat to him as he did make us not forget this great man. I was not even aware that Rizal had been a great topic for debate as my classmates are also, I suppose. All I remember from my Rizal class was that we just needed to participate in a field trip to Subic to complete our requirements. At least yun lang, sa iba, they needed to memorize poems of Rizal.
The book is a collection of articles the author wrote about Pepe. What I loved about it is Mr. Ocampo’s style in conveying the facts about Rizal's life, one that will interest people like me coming from the masa crowd. Ndi textbook ang dating. His innate passion about Rizal shows in this compilation, he doesn't deny it, which makes his stories more colorful. Ang sarap nya sigurong maging professor, tiyak pila ang course nya sa enrolment.
Kids are truly lucky these days; they have so much access to information. Haay.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
God's loving silence
Again, from Streams in the Desert, I came across a lovely story. This is about a woman who dreamt of three women praying and Jesus amidst them.
As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.
Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.
The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.
"I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.
"The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.
"The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.
"She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.
"I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth."
This devotion has touched me because I'm now living in the silence of God. After all these years, I find myself comforted in this silence. I am like the second woman. Sometimes I do falter and become the first, and I'm longing to be the third someday.
God has given me the Grace to know this now. To become the "incredible absorbing man".
As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music.
Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval.
The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance. The woman in her dream said to herself, "How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.
"I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?" As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: "O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.
"The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do.
"The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.
"She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;--because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.
"I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth."
This devotion has touched me because I'm now living in the silence of God. After all these years, I find myself comforted in this silence. I am like the second woman. Sometimes I do falter and become the first, and I'm longing to be the third someday.
God has given me the Grace to know this now. To become the "incredible absorbing man".
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