20.10.09
28.9.09
on nature's wrath..
"Panginoon, bigyan Nyo po kami ng lakas at tibay ng paniniwala sa gitna ng mga trahedyang aming pinagdadaanan ngayon.Naway maintindihan namin at mapukaw ang aming mga isipan, anuman ang pahiwatig na hatid nito.Naway maging responsable pa kami sa biyaya ng buhay at kalikasan na sa ami'y Iyong pinagkaloob.Tulungan Mo po kami na lalong maging matatag sa gitna ng kawalan. Kami, na sa kabila ng aming mga kahinaan at pagkukulang, ay humuhugot ng lakas na nagmula lamang sa Iyo."Amen.24.9.09
giving..
“I had found a kind of serenity, a new maturity... I didn't feel better or stronger than anyone else but it seemed no longer important whether everyone loved you or not--more important now is for you to love them. Feeling that way turns your whole life around...living becomes the act of giving.” --Beverly Sills
..as i come across this quote, i remember quite well an old conversation i had with a very good friend telling me once that in her search for someone to love, it's not about thinking that someone will be resonsible of her in her old age but it's about thinking she will have someone to be responsible with as they two grow old together. and that there is actually a big difference from a selfish thought of having someone who will be responsible of you one day than you being unselfishly reponsible for someone else. she might have not realized that i still think of that conversation even up to this very moment. i think of it because that's how real intents should be. my friend had brought that simple conversation into a certain level of maturity letting me even realized how wonderful her thoughts and visions are... letting me visualize how genuine her heart's desires are.
..thinking of that quotation and that of a good friend's conversation, it brought me into a thought too that as we venture into the very things we hope to be... it's not about searching for one thing that will fill "my life "with purpose, but it's about searching for one thing that will fill "another else's life" with purpose. Well then that way..perhaps, life will have grand meaning.
20.8.09
The Mamanwa
In line with Davao's Kadayawan Festival celebration, I wish to share this short details about the lives of our indigenous brothers and sisters or the Lumads in one area in Mindanao.
The Mamanwa is a Negrito tribe often grouped together with the Lumad. They believe in a collection of spirits, which are governed by the supreme deity Magbabaya. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers. If the Manobos are considered as the first Cantilan gnons, the Mamanwas could also lay claim to the same title. The big difference, however, between the two cultural minorities is that the Mamanwas are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos. The Mamanwas are a different breed of people in their looks and physical features compared to the lowlanders and the upland living Manobos. Presently, there are still few Mamanwas who, on fiesta days, roam Cantilan streets and its barangays. In modern Cantilan, they are a vanishing tribe who could be traced only in the deep and distant mountains like the Mandajas who inter-marry with the Manobos.
Unlike the Manobos, the Mamanwas did not adopt the lowlanders’ way of living even if they were already Christianized. They had been rooted for centuries in the indigenous culture which is very difficult to understand. The speak their own dialect which noticeably has some phonetic similarities with that of Cantilan’s lowlanders. Unlike the Manobos and Mandayas, they do not go to schools to learn either Pilipino or English. Some old Mamanwas of today tell of their ancestors’ early habitats along river mouths, seashores, islets and islands. They cannot, however, pinpoint particular areas as their permanent settlements for they did not have any. They transfer from place to place and travel as far as their minds could imagine and their feet could carry them. The transfers usually happen in case of deaths for it was the old customs to pack up and leave the place when death occurs even if their plants are ready for harvest. (from wikipedia.com)
*** I wish we could do more to help the indigenous people in our community even in our own little ways.
The Mamanwa is a Negrito tribe often grouped together with the Lumad. They believe in a collection of spirits, which are governed by the supreme deity Magbabaya. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers. If the Manobos are considered as the first Cantilan gnons, the Mamanwas could also lay claim to the same title. The big difference, however, between the two cultural minorities is that the Mamanwas are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos. The Mamanwas are a different breed of people in their looks and physical features compared to the lowlanders and the upland living Manobos. Presently, there are still few Mamanwas who, on fiesta days, roam Cantilan streets and its barangays. In modern Cantilan, they are a vanishing tribe who could be traced only in the deep and distant mountains like the Mandajas who inter-marry with the Manobos.
Unlike the Manobos, the Mamanwas did not adopt the lowlanders’ way of living even if they were already Christianized. They had been rooted for centuries in the indigenous culture which is very difficult to understand. The speak their own dialect which noticeably has some phonetic similarities with that of Cantilan’s lowlanders. Unlike the Manobos and Mandayas, they do not go to schools to learn either Pilipino or English. Some old Mamanwas of today tell of their ancestors’ early habitats along river mouths, seashores, islets and islands. They cannot, however, pinpoint particular areas as their permanent settlements for they did not have any. They transfer from place to place and travel as far as their minds could imagine and their feet could carry them. The transfers usually happen in case of deaths for it was the old customs to pack up and leave the place when death occurs even if their plants are ready for harvest. (from wikipedia.com)
*** I wish we could do more to help the indigenous people in our community even in our own little ways.
Malipayong Kadayawan Festival sa Dabaw!:)
29.7.09
Lovers in the Island..
"Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." (from the movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin) 
"Love is the beauty of the soul." --St. Augustine***Our adventure here led me back to photography again and here's another try...hope my subjects here like these shots. :-)
17.7.09
On knowing..
Ten years had passed when I first heard a good friend affirming on the old cliche about "teaching as the noblest of all professions". I honestly did not grasp the thought that goes with it at that time. I have always believed that no profession is far greater than the other. All works require the hearts of us all. All being noble. As I hold true to what I believe, I thought I have fully understood what it means to be giving your heart in what you do. As I venture now into this new discovery about teaching as a profession, I then slowly realize that what my friend said ten years ago may have been explaining it all at present. It took me years to realize that there is more to being in the teaching career. IN teaching, one does not deal with paper works or gadgets...one deals with humans. All come from different cultures, values and attitudes. And this is happening everyday as part of a teacher's lifestyle. The greatest challenge lies on the truth that a teacher does not only hone the minds of these individuals. Teachers don't simply teach and facilitate learning--- they affect lives.
BUT the big question here, is that "how far can a teacher go?" Not all in the profession are actually happy with what they do. Some stay in the teaching career because they're already there and they're simply afraid to lose their job or income. This truth however, does not happen only to those in the teaching profession but even to all forms of professions. Sometimes, when things don't seem to fall in places at the height of our responsibility as a worker, a daughter or a son, a brother or a sister, a wife or a husband, a mother or a father and even as a friend or companion, we also come to ask ourselves "how far can I still go?".
It's been years already, since I last read Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Last night, as I scanned pages of it, I am once again reminded the essentials of things---and that all being performed for God through others and not for self-satisfaction.
Have a happy weekend everyone!Thanks for reading my thoughts. :)
BUT the big question here, is that "how far can a teacher go?" Not all in the profession are actually happy with what they do. Some stay in the teaching career because they're already there and they're simply afraid to lose their job or income. This truth however, does not happen only to those in the teaching profession but even to all forms of professions. Sometimes, when things don't seem to fall in places at the height of our responsibility as a worker, a daughter or a son, a brother or a sister, a wife or a husband, a mother or a father and even as a friend or companion, we also come to ask ourselves "how far can I still go?".
It's been years already, since I last read Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Last night, as I scanned pages of it, I am once again reminded the essentials of things---and that all being performed for God through others and not for self-satisfaction.
Have a happy weekend everyone!Thanks for reading my thoughts. :)
12.7.09
the son perceives
"One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from the trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yes," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
"Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants to serve us, but they serve others.
"We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
3.7.09
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