Life, Day by Day

Change comes in many forms. There are the big ones that can give me a lot of stress and anxiety and can take a lot of time...but mostly change happens without us realizing it until it becomes quite apparent. But whether big or small, change always brings out some kind of emotional reaction from people. I have been through enough life-changing experiences to know how hard it is to deal with change...there were times I did not even know that what I was feeling was due to some kind of change happening in my life! It's a good thing that I had adequate coping skills, a resilient nature and a great support system to face these events in life. Then in 2008, I bought this little book that talks about change...and subsequently wrote about it in one of my early posts although I did not really elaborate about how this book helped me better manage the continuing changes in my life. The book is " Who Moved My Cheese " by Dr. Spencer Johnson, and I want to share how the lessons has h

When I was in my 20's, the concept of change was something abstract in my mind and in a way it still is, because more often than not, it is something that does not always happen in one go.  More commonly, it often occurs in stages and is intangible and you only feel that something is changing but the impact of the change can only be seen much later. There are many people, things, standards or even concepts of the world , that are important to us and some of these, we feel like we cannot live without.  When something happens and we are forced to let go of what is important to us, we all go into crisis mode.  I have yet to meet someone who doesn't do that. So how do we avoid all the stress of life changing experiences?  I realized that the easiest way to let go of things is detachment ...but that is only as far as "things or objects"  are concerned, because when talking about detachment, I do not want to put people in the same category as thin

Life continues to be a rollercoaster ride for me and my family. We make plans but change happens, and for life to go on, we must know how to cope and deal with it.  A long time ago someone told me that change isn't bad...it just means that we grow up.  I did not understand then what exactly he meant by that, but as I grew older...and wiser, I finally did.  That somehow there is always been something good that comes out of change and important life lessons learned.  I will have another birthday tomorrow and with it, I celebrate the changes in my life.

I just got home from a dinner date with high school classmates, one of whom is visiting from abroad.  Although there were just the three of us, we had a lot of fun reminiscing about our younger days and sharing stories about our lives now.  It dawned on me as I was driving home that although we have long been living separate lives, there will always be ties that bind us together, just as some of these also bring up ghosts of our past.

Today, August 18 is the first death anniversary of Secretary Jesus "Jesse" Manalastas Robredo, one of the Philippines' promising leaders. A few days after that fatal accident last year, I wrote about how the death of a good leader can set a country back, especially when that leader is someone like Jesse. There are only a few good men in politics today, the type that can lead, manage and carry out good governance. We just had elections last May and once again, the results were a big disappointment to people like me who had hoped that there would be new faces in the Senate, Congress and local government who would bring about dynamic changes for the country.

Ever since the news of the crash of the airplane carrying DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo just off the shores of Masbate flashed on TV, a lot of mixed feelings arose in me. I do not know the man, nor am I familiar with what he has accomplished, but somehow his death became a personal loss. More so when all the stories about his exemplary life as a public servant started to be told. This country and people need men like Secretary Robredo to bring us out of the rut that we are in.  And what made this so sad was the fact that just as the light at the end of the tunnel seems to grow brighter for the Philippines, one candle was abruptly snuffed out, thus dimming the way once more.  I think I am really grieving for this country's loss.

I've been busy...that's why I haven't had any entry since the end of January.  That plus the fact that the world seems to be out of sync...weather continues to be bad and it's March now but there are no signs of summer.  All these has added to my somewhat out of focus and disorganized days which I conveniently point out as a main reason for my busyness.  The restlessness I have felt since late last year, I attributed to another mid-life occurrence but now with all these events happening around the world, I am beginning to think like some people that there is some form of re-birth or a shift going on in the world.  There is this post by Anne Thomas that talks about an enormous cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world.  But for me it is more than that. I agree with the idea that there is a "wave of birthing" but I also strongly believe that God has a hand in all these.  The world has changed so much...everything is relative now-a-days. The

By now, I should have learned that phrase by heart...God knows I have said it to myself a hundred...no, a thousand times for years now. But somehow I never quite got it. So many things still disappoint me...People most especially. I don't know if it's me...or them. Maybe I expect too much, hope too much or I'm just a person who is very hard to please. I know that to a lot of people I may come across as a "difficult" person...because I follow certain standards that are different from theirs. I used to wonder if my standards were too high or hard to do...and someone told me, not really...it's just that they are different. Through the years, I believe I have mellowed. This does not mean I have lowered my standards, on the contrary I think my standards of behavior, ethics, my idealism etc...have even grown higher and stronger. I still get exasperated and frustrated everyday of my life...I still have the propensity to try to solve every problem that comes to

After Dr. Seuss, there's Spencer Johnson . I first read...well, scanned actually his book Who Moved My Cheese approximately 2 years ago when this was given as a reading assignment in a seminar where I was one of the facilitators. At that time, I thought it was a cute little story but did not really impress me. Last month I bought a copy and this time gave it a good read and suddenly, what I was reading was making a lot of sense. I guess that what was written in the book was something I needed to hear at this point in my life when I feel that I am at a dead-end, and therefore I need to get moving or else! Not everyone who reads this book the first time will appreciate the message...like me, for example...unless it relates to one's life experience. I finally understood the wisdom of it's message because for the past few years my life's direction has not been going anywhere. I feel like I have been going around in circles day in and day out. This year I had a light