MIRACLE

According to the bible, Jesus made many miracles. He made the dead rise, the blind see, the cripple walk, etc.
But do you know that there are miracles happening around us? At present, many do not believe in miracles or if they do, such miracles take the form of a miracle drug, miracle surgery, miracle food––all made possible by science and technology. Well, these are probably miracles too. According to Webster’s English Dictionary (2005) a miracle is not only an extraordinary event attributed to the supernatural, it is also any event that is unusual or astounding; or a remarkable example of something.
I believe in miracles but do not strictly adhere to Webster’s definition. For me, miracles can be simple breaks in a world of pressure, panic and chaos – like finding time to relax, listen to music, read my favorite novels, or simply be able to appreciate God’s gift of nature. Miracles can be in the form of political reconciliation – such as the end of the cold war (USA vs. USSR), or simply the fact that no nuclear or biological missile has ever been released in the height of war in the Middle East. Let’s get closer to home. With all the threats of mass rallies, terrorist bombings, heavy traffic, uncooperative weather, etc., the peaceful and relatively successful staging of the ASEAN Summit here in Cebu was short of a miracle. Don’t you think so? Being able to do things your way is also miracle.
Miracles may also come as simple acts and as simple events. With a score of 49/100 in your Biology exam, a consideration of a wrongly spelled answer by your teacher is a miracle that would change an otherwise failing score to a passing one. With only P 5.00 left in your pocket, finding a 1-peso coin is a miracle since you are saved from walking home from school.
But the best miracles are those that are taken for granted. Do you think we can live another day without God’s gift of fresh air or fresh water or fertile soil? Definitely, being able to wake up the next morning is a miracle. What I feel about miracles, is reflected in this poem:

MIRACLE
(Watt Whitman)

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky.
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water.
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest.
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown,
Or of stars shinin so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles.
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle;
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle;
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To one the sea is a continual miracle.
The fishes that swim – the rocks –
the motion of the waves –
the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

So you see, in this beautiful world, a miracle can be witnessed everywhere and is not the exception. All of God’s creations are the miracles we need in life. We do not need miracle drugs to keep us alive, or miracle surgeries to keep us young and beautiful. All we need to do is to take care of God’s gifts to us so that these will continually give us the miracle we call Life.

TRIBUTE

These are poems I collected because of their special meanings. I dedicate these to the people who have affected my life in a way or another.

A TRIBUTE …for mothers far and wide…

HER WORDS
(Anna Hempstead Branch)

My mother has the prettiest tricks
Of words and words and words.
Her talk comes out as smooth and sleek
As breasts of singing birds.

She shapes her speech all silver fine
Because she loves it so;
And her own eyes begin to shine
To hear her story grow.

And if she goes to make a call
Or out to take a walk,
We leave our work when she returns
And run to her talk.

We had not dreamed these things were so
Of sorrow and of mirth.
Her speech is a thousand eyes
Through which we see the earth.

God wove a web of loveliness,
Of clouds and stars and birds,
But made not anything at all
So beautiful as words.

They shine around our simple earth
With golden shadowings,
And every common thing they touch
Is exquisite with wings.

There’s nothing poor and nothing small
But it is made for them.
They are the hands of living faith
That touch the garment’s hem.

They are as fair as bloom or air,
They shine like any star,
And I am rich who learned from her
How beautiful they are.



…for all the little children, listen!

BETWEEN TWO ANGELS
(Unknown)

There stood in a garden, a child sweet and fair,
Watching some fruit that hang ripening there.
Two anxious angels were watching above:
One gazing in hatred, the other in love;
One clothed in black, the other in white.

The child never dreamed that the angels were there.
He just longed for the fruit so rich and so rare.
How I should like the big apple so red,
But I cannot forget what my dear mother said
That doing the things I’m forbidden to do
Would make me unhappy and grieve her heart, too.

“ Take it,” the dark angel whispered, “ and eat it.
it is not very often you get such a treat.
There is no one to see you and no one to tell.”
So up went a hand, it could reach the fruit well.

But the child paused a moment and said as he smiled,
“I’ll not be a thief, I’ll be a good child.
The rustling sound stirred the soft summer air.
One angel was gone but the other was still there.

The angel of darkness had taken its flight.
The child was alone with the angel of light.
In this little story we plainly see,
An everyday lesson for you and me:
We can conquer temptations––the angel of night,
If we listen to conscience––the angel of light!


…for our energetic little brothers, big men in small packages…

A BOY’S DREAM
(R.M. Cayari)

When I grow up I’d like to be
A brave, strong rover out at sea,
A-sailing on the ocean tide
To see the big world far and wide.

But then I also wish to fly
A whizzing jet plane in the sky;
I’d make a loop and zoom and dash,
And come to land without a crash.

Oh! How many things I’d want to do!
Like building houses big and new;
How very happy I would feel,
If I could build a bridge of steel.

I’ll try to do these if I can
When I’ve become a full-grown man.


…and lastly, for our fathers, who toiled from dawn ‘til dusk or dusk ‘til dawn.

MY CREED
(Howard Arnold Walter)

I would be true,
for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure,
for there are those who care;
I would be strong,
for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave
for there is much to dare.

I would be friend
of all –– the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving
and forget the gift,
I would be humble
For I know my weaknesses;
I would look up ––
and laugh, and love, and lift.

THE LIBRARY OF MY LIFE

“Ma, what’s the meaning of Muntingia? What’s a fjord? How do you pronounce fjord?” I always seek my mother when I do not know the meaning of some of the words in a book I’m reading. She is my “walking” library – always around when I need her. Very convenient indeed, for instance, I don’t have to browse through the thick pages of a dictionary in trying to find the meaning of words. When making assignments that need to be computerized, she is always there on my side to help. I think she has a very high I.Q. – maybe near the genius level (ha ha, I’m sure that she will deny this!). Sometimes though, she thinks I’m just being lazy and tells me to look them up myself in the dictionary or the internet. She is a faculty member of U.P. Cebu College and I’m very proud of her. My father is another great inspiration in my life. Like my mother, he is always there to help me (i.e., teach me how to solve some of my Chemistry problems or how to organize my time). He’s the one I run to if I need to “build or create” something for a project (i.e., Home Technology or Physics project). He is my “working” library.
Friends – aahh . . . what great assets in the library of my life! Why? Well, for one, you don’t always have to pay for internet time or browse through the dusty pages of a book in a library if you are faced with a difficult assignment. You have intelligent friends whom you can run to (of course, there are times though that they may not know the answer too – then that’s the time you go to the library or the internet). When I was in Grade 6, I sometimes go to Jay Marc (he graduated class valedictorian) to help me solve some difficult Math exercises. My best friend, Leah Rose is my encyclopedia in the Visual Arts because she is really good at this. She knows who are the great painters in the country and abroad (she idolizes some of them). If you have problems in school, never hesitate to run to your friends for help. In return, never turn away a classmate or a friend who needs your help.
Teachers and books are my other important sources of knowledge. I consider them as treasures of the library of my life. They always come in handy whenever I am faced with difficult topics that need some extra explaining or research. Books for sure are great treasures because they are always with me in school and even at home. They help me a lot with my studies. Parents, friends, teachers, books have indeed helped shape my mind and me as a person. Having difficulty with your assignments, projects, or even your personal life? Don’t hesitate to tap first the “library” of your life. They’re always there, and never dusty! Of course, they may not be able to answer your every query, but at least they make your internet or library time shorter.

TRAGIC LOVE

You have probably heard of the saying “love conquers all”. You may see this famous saying in a different light after reading this poem by a famous poet who was able to weave beautiful masterpieces especially when drunk.

ANNABEL LEE
(Edgar Allan Poe)

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived, whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love, and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love,
I and my Annabel Lee,––
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came,
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher,
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me.
Yes! That was the reason (as all men know)
In this kingdom by the sea,
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.


But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we,
Of many far wiser than we;
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee,
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
And so, all the night-tide
I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
What a tragic love story indeed. In this poem, although the lovers can no longer be physically together, their love for each other had remained strong. Why do some love stories end this way? Here are some of the possible causes. A frequent cause is jealousy. In fact, the poem mentioned of jealousy in the following lines:

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me.
Yes! That was the reason (as all men know)
In this kingdom by the sea,
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But in my understanding, the jealousy of angels as the cause of the lovers’ separation is not true. The other common reason why love stories end tragically is because the family of one or the other disapproves of the relationship. This is the most likely reason why the lovers in this poem were separated, based on these lines,

So that her high-born kinsmen came,
And bore her away from me,

Whatever the reason for a lovers’ break-up, love could indeed conquer all so that some love stories even end up happily ever after. In this poem though, the love story ended in the death of the girl. However, even in death his love for Annabel Lee never waned:

But our love it was stronger by far than the love…
…And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

…And so, all the night-tide
I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

BEAUTY:THE BEST REVENGE

I read this from a local daily:

Hi guys:

Please work your magic on me. I need a major overhaul, new look from head to toe, so that my ex will be sorry he left me for someone really hideous-looking.
Thanks, happy new year!

Jen

This Jen wants to have a new look so that her ex-boyfriend would regret his leaving her. Well, is beauty really the best revenge? Many would think yes. Some may say no. What do you think? Now imagine this – your boyfriend left you. Then one day you see him with his new girlfriend. When you pass by them, very sexy from the dress you are wearing to your hairstyle and make-up, you see him stare at you with a gaping mouth. How would that feel, huh? Jen would surely feel, “Oh, sweet revenge!” The ex-boyfriend though, may feel some regret.
Is beauty now the major necessity for a relationship to last or even to begin? Are boys really “visual” in nature that they would go into a relationship only with a pretty girl? He sees a very pretty girl, he courts her, she says yes. But then, after a month or two, boy splits up with girl and girl weeps. Boy finds another pretty girl. Girl is done with weeping and makes herself more beautiful. Just to show her ex, girl attracts a more handsome boy. Familiar story? Yeah, you witness a lot of stories like this not just in the world of entertainment, but also in the neighborhood.
Maybe, beauty is a boy’s measure for a relationship to begin but it is not an insurance that a relationship will last. If making yourself beautiful could still lead to heartaches, why bother? So, is beauty really the best revenge? Why don’t you just go to the boy who dumped you, shoot him with a shotgun and be done with it? Here are other ways to get back at him: you can strangle him, poison him, or kick him in the nuts! I would definitely go for the latter. But beautify yourself? I don’t know if I will get the desired result. What if my ex, despite all the trouble I went through making myself look beautiful, would look at me and tell his new girlfriend, “I dumped her.” I may end up embarrassed or worse, still weeping.
I understand Jen and the result she desires after a beauty overhaul. She wants her ex to suffer slowly, always seeing her more gorgeous than before until he succumbs. Then goes to her on bended knees asking for forgiveness and for a second chance. Since Jen wants revenge, she must really be very angry by what her ex had done to her. If she’s so angry with her ex as to want revenge, I don’t think she would want reconciliation. So why go through all the trouble – just to show off? If you are really angry, okay fine, you beautify yourself, but I think you would get immediate revenge if you beat your ex to death, or just burn him (just joking)!
Revenge is not a very pretty word. You’re not even sure if it will not backfire on you. Using beauty as the tool for revenge could be the most harmless of all the choices I presented earlier. However, results are not immediate.
Jen is a single mother of a five-year old boy. She’s a businesswoman who trades in birds’ nests. Yes, those swallow’s nests that are considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. She does her business in busy Divisoria, Macau and Hongkong. She flew in to Manila to be glammed. She can definitely afford to be beautiful. So if I were Jen, I’d make myself beautiful because I want to and not because I want some good-for-nothing guy suffer. No way! Life is beautiful. I’m beautiful and I don’t want any one (guy or girl) spoil it! I hope Jen can read this BLOG to cool her off.

A Love Story

Have you ever fallen in love? If so, listen to this… well…not so extraordinary story. This is for all those who are in love, those who are broken-hearted, and those who haven’t experienced love yet. So I guess, this is applicable to all. For all those reading my blog right now…enjoy!

There was a girl who looked at love with scorn. She thought that love is a feeling that has to be shared only with the family. She never wanted to fall in love or have a boyfriend. She thought holding hands, hugging, kissing, or looking in the eyes of a lover is yucky. No, she vowed never to fall in love. Her love was solely for the family and her books.
However, fate had a different plan. One day a new boy was introduced in class. At first, she didn’t show much interest on the boy. She treated him just like the way he treated her other classmates. The boy however, constantly caught her attention. He was funny, but in an arrogant way, always wearing a smug–snob expression on his face. She avoided talking to the boy because his expression always irritated her. Then she learned he is quite a playboy.
This boy loved to play the piano. He made girls fall for him by playing to them beautiful pieces. He always played with feelings so that any girl listening to him could fall in love with him.
That was exactly how the girl noticed the boy. She heard him play the piano at the school’s music room and it fascinated her. From then on, she would sneak up to the music room to listen to the boy play the piano, seeing to it that the boy would never see her. She felt strange because she never had this feeling before. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?
Her crush for the boy came at its peak when their class went on a field trip. The boy was sweet and kind to her throughout the trip. He always smiled at her and she found herself smiling back. The boy always held her hand whenever he got the chance. Sometimes he even placed his hands over her shoulders and held her close. All this attention really brought the girl into seventh heaven in happiness. Her inner self kept asking, “What does this mean? Does he like me?” Another part of her is saying, “How about you? What do you feel for him?” The answer came as a shock – I really like him.
But in love (even in puppy love), there will always be heartaches and pain. One time while watching a concert, she saw the boy of her dreams with a girl and they were acting… um…sweet. With tears in her eyes, the girl went outside the auditorium and promised not to fall in love again. Maybe he was just flirting with her and never really liked her.
Well that was in her elementary years. Now she is in high school in another school. She transferred because she wanted to forget the boy. She was not surprised when the boy never sought her when she transferred.
Many years had passed and she has already forgotten the pain the boy had caused her. However, she never forgot about the boy. She still remembers his birthday. For his birthday this year, she decided to write a letter greeting him and wishing him good health. Without warning, writing the letter brought painful memories but she still went on. She thinks that writing this letter will bring closure to everything in the past.
Surprisingly, he answered the letter and it goes like this:

Dear Hi! How are you? What’s keeping you busy nowadays? You may not believe me but I really miss you. If ever I remember the days we were still classmates and how we got close to each other, I cannot help but feel sad. I’m now fifteen years old. Yeah, I’ve grown older but have not grown less handsome (he he)! I have always remembered you, your mannerisms, and your face… As I play the piano, I remember you – how you loved to listen to me play. I keep saying, I’ll practice more so that whenever we see each other again, I can play a lot of beautiful pieces for you! Thanks for not forgetting… I love you friend! Lovingly yours, John

After reading the letter, there were tears in her eyes. Oh how stupid of her for loving him! How stupid of her for thinking that he cheated her. Even though it hurts, now she knows that he just considered them as friends. Well, it is not yet too late to mend their friendship. Who knows what will happen in the future…

Did you like the story? Oh well, it is only a story about a girl who fell in love with a boy named John and thought that he loves her too. Ultimately finding out that she was just a friend to him. Well, that’s life. Time heals everything and can make life easier for everyone in the future. Oki? Moral lesson of the story: When it comes to love, never assume! Ask and be sure before it spoils your friendship. Time may be not on your side always…

Experiences in the Country

Have you ever gone to the countryside for a vacation? The country – with its green fields, trees, colorful flowers, chirping birds, cows and carabaos in the pasture, flowing creeks and rivers, simple folks, and FRESH AIR, is very enticing during the hot, summer months. Imagine yourself living in a place having only the bare essentials – meaning there’s only a radio and a television set for entertainment, no telephone lines (therefore no internet), no malls, and no cinemas. Having a cellphone is useless because there is no signal. It’s not so bad. In fact I always look forward to summer when I can go to the country for a vacation. Here’s one of my country experiences.
Last summer, I was beginning to get bored because I had nothing to do at home. I was jealous with my brothers because they have summer art classes, while I was left at home. There I was, watching television, eating and sleeping, doing a little household chore, reading and rereading my pocketbooks. I was beginning to die with boredom.
Fortunately (or maybe it was destiny), my uncle from the province visited us. When it was time for him to leave the next day, he asked me if I would like to go back with him to the province. I never hesitated to say yes. Of course I asked the permission of my parents and surprisingly they agreed. I think they also wanted to show me that they trust me (a little). I cannot recall much about the trip because I was asleep most of the time. When we arrived, I went right away to my grandparents’ house where I was welcomed by my Lolo and Lola (my father’s parents). My cousins from Cagayan de Oro who were there on vacation, also welcomed me. They came to the province right after the end of classes. I was so excited to see all of them.
One of the things I could not forget was the food – no hotdogs or hamburgers or pizza! Instead, there’s always native chicken cooked in many different ways (tinola, fried, with sauce). For merienda, there’s banana cue, suman, bibingka and the very famous Argao “torta”. All of these with matching hot chocolate (from real “tabliya”). My cousins and I were also fascinated with Lolo’s carabao and its balsa. We watched Lolo feed the carabao with napier grass and noticed the funny way the carabao chewed. We also saw Lolo’s scythe (“sanggot”) and how different it looked from his bolo (“sundang”). It was quite an experience for us watching Lola cook food, not using a stove with LPG but instead, using firewood in the dirty kitchen. I cannot forget how we enjoyed watching Lolo and Lola “harvest” bananas and corn from their farm.
In the country (or province), you feel like everyone is a relative and that everyone knows everybody else. You have to acknowledge every person you meet lest they get offended. I was surprised how news about Nemesio’s and Asuncion’s grandchildren was easily passed on by word of mouth. I felt I became part of a very close-knit community.
My cousins and I sometimes help in the household chores. We helped fetch water from a nearby well (“tabay”). We noticed how people help each other during important occasions. We had the chance to help in the food preparation during the fiesta (during the month of May). There were always people to turn to in times of crisis as I had noticed while attending a wake of a relative. I never thought attending a wake could be enjoyable. People stayed overnight, playing “mahjong” or cards while younger people tell scary stories. However, gatherings like these caused a little embarrassment for my cousins and I because people tend to treat us differently – like we’re very important people. Yaiks! I was never used to this kind of treatment. We were also invited to every occasion or celebration in the homes of our relatives (close or distant).
Everything felt really nice in the country – the hospitality of the people, the beauty of nature. We thought we have everything in the city. After my experiences in the country, I felt like what we really need are just the bare necessities – the rest are just decorations and trimmings. Why don’t you try the country once in a while? It will surely be a good place for a city guy or gal to unwind.