Monthly Archives: June 2013

Choices

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Life is not a game of chance,

nor a lot of great circumstances.

Life is not even a bed of roses,

nor a bag of chocolates.

Life is indeed a matter of good choices

and how to make the best choices.

My choices in life may have not been really the best ones. I must honestly say I have had my own share of bad choices. But as my life progresses I was able to turn those bad choices into the best ones thus making me the best possible person I am.

My mother taught me the basics of discernment. It was with her that I realized that things don’t just happen, but it happens because we make it happen no matter how much we intellectualized or rationalized that it is beyond our capacity as human beings. But she said….that is why we were gifted with the power to discern. The dictionary defines discernment as to to the ability to reveal insights and understand.  Exactly why we need to empower ourselves with discernment. This will usher us to make the right choices.

As my eldest daughter entered college I want her to make the best choices.

1. I want her to choose FAITH

I am not a very religious person. I am not even the type you see in the church all the time. I am not the one who also memorizes every single prayer there is. I also am not the typical middle-age woman in a veil going to mass. But I say, I choose to believe in GOD. I choose to believe that HE is powerful and thus HE is responsible for all that I am. I want my daughter to have the same choice because if she does, she will always go to the basic fact that she chose to believe in GOD, and thus every choice she makes will be in accordance with what GOD wants her to be.

2. I want her to choose HAPPINESS

As I have mentioned, life is not a bed of roses. It can be bad, it can be sad, it can be lonely, it can be worst……but if we choose happiness no amount of bad, lonely, sad, worst situation can make us reject the fact that life is what we make it after all…

We all surely have gone through a lot of rough, bumpy roads…who didn’t? but if we only learn to see the good in even the worst situation…LIFE would be GREAT… remember, happiness is simply a choice; loneliness is simply optional.

3. I want her to choose THANKFULNESS

An ungrateful heart always leaves us feeling miserable. If we carry on with ungratefulness, no matter what we have, no matter what happens we would – it would never always be enough.

4. I want her to choose POSITIVENESS

Blessed Laura Vicuna said, “smile always and suffer silently”…Her life is a wonderful example of how someone could turn a negative situation into something positive; an example of cheerfulness amidst heartaches.

We don’t have to be saints to be positive. As they say, if we only see life “like a glass full rather than half empty” then we would have the power to change our lives for the better for good.

5. I want her to choose AWARENESS

Awareness in everything that we do, awareness in everything that we can’t do, awareness in every talent that we have, and awareness in the fact that we were all made unique.

We need to be aware of every situation we are in and what led us into it; it is by then that we see if we are leading towards sin…or towards a life anchored in GOD.

P.S.

Choosing FAITH, HAPPINESS, THANKFULNESS, POSITIVENESS, and AWARENESS…..your good to go…go and battle all the evils of life.

Related articles

Father’s Day After

Father’s day is over, but I want to dedicate this space to honor the father of my beautiful children.  It was with great disappointment that I had to face the fact that I married someone so different from my expectations.  How did I get over it? SIMPLE…DEAL WITH IT…..it isn’t so bad dealing with each other’s differences and laugh at the things that make us so different.

                                                 ME: I like peanut butter

                                                 HE: mayo is what I prefer

                                               ME: I eat everything but beef

                                               HE: A meal is perfect with beef

                                           ME: And I like quite a dinner together

                                           HE: conversation is what makes dinner lighter

                                           ME: I hate cracking jokes

                                           HE: Jokes is my life I guess

                                   ME: I’ll always ask for directions

                                   HE: finding my way is my choice

                                  ME: I like a walk in the mall

                                  HE: I would rather run and stroll              

                         ME: while I’m piling on the comforter

                         HE: I lay there bare and in comfort

                         ME: while I’m reading poetry

                        HE: I’d rather be watching tennis

 

TOGETHER: we’ve got differences wherever we turn, but still we stay together cause there’s a lesson to learn, that if we’re in every way the same, one of us would not be needed, and wouldn’t that be a waste?

 

 

It’s Always Fun in the Philippines

We were blessed to have spent the summer abroad. It’s an annual event that we always look forward to as a family.  It’s wonderful… it’s amazing…but I say…nothing beats HOME.

I’m counting down the reasons why I always love being back home.

1. THE FOOD

pork adobo is what we craved,

                   chicken inasal is what we fancied,

                   Filipino spag is what we desired,

                    early morning pandesal is what we missed.

 

I am a pizza, pasta type of girl. But when you’re out of the country for a little while you will surely miss Filipino foods..nothing beats our adobo. nothing even beats chicken inasal. nothing beats surely the sweet Filipino spaghetti- it is only in the Philippines where spaghetti is deliciously sweet…nothing beats the early morning walk to buy pandesal…

2. FRIENDS (and the way they make you smile)

people come, people go,

               but a friend will stay, they do.

               they make you smile,

              they make you crazy for a while.

 

I am not so sure if my there were people who miss me when I was away ..(sigh…..) but one thing I’m sure though.. I miss a lot when I was out…well, whether they are your good or not so good friends…you will miss the beautiful genuine smile you get even from a strangest Filipino stranger.. and when you’re out of the country…you try to look for that same genuine smile from every stranger you encounter but I guess nothing compares to the smile you see back home.

3. THE FAMILY

its crazy, but amazing;

                                 it’s irritating but loving.

                                a family dearest,

                               we always cherish.

I know we all despise the fact that at some point, our relatives can be so annoying and disturbing for always wanting to know every single detail of our own personal and private lives… and at some point, we all want them out of our lives..(i know you do..) but again, having been out for a while, it made me realized that one of the sweetest most magnificent gifts we have from God is the gift of the family….they complete us ..they make us safe… they love us…they adore us…no matter how irritating or annoying they may be.

4. THE “CHAOS”

children screaming,

                  people laughing,

                  neighbors fighting,

                  friends enjoying.

It is only in the Philippines when you walk around and hear people screaming as if wanting to kill each other and yet you see them at the end of the day enjoying an afternoon talk. it is only in the Philippines when neighbors scorn each other and yet you see them passing on a bowl of adobo at lunch. it is only in the Philippines when you can afford to sit down and basically do nothing all and manage to have a good meal. it is only in the Philippines when you get to hear your neighbor’s karaoke moments and never getting irritated for the unwanted noise.