the people of my 2011

This is the second year I will create this list of people who spiced up my year. As I got my pen and paper to draw see who these exceptional people are, I realized how blessed I am to have met, experienced, influenced, moved and be loved by as many. To start of...

Kathleen Madula

Kath and I have been friends for almost 10 years now. At the beginning of the year, however, we were given the chance to get to know each other better. Thanks to the proximity of our offices, we get to hang out more often this year. Kath or Bunso, as I would fondly call her, would be my constant chat mate at the beginning of the year. I admire Bunso for her love for life and adventure. She's ever dependable and independent also. :) I miss this girl a lot especially now that she'll be working in a different city already.


SCA Lawyers

I have always prayed to be part of  an excellent but fun law firm. Thank God I became part of SCA Law. These people are the ones who unquestioningly supported me during the time that I did not make it to the Bar. They are my inspiration. I hope this time, I make them proud. :) 

Cecille, Mia and Denise Rebollos

I am so inspired of how these three sisters have fostered good friendship, worked in synergy and just enjoyed each other's uniqueness. They are pictures of love, beauty and character--same yet different. 

Cecille is the eldest of them three--a carefree spirit who commands respect in a very cool and fun way. She is definitely an icon of power and passion. Her red hair is an understatement. Mia, the second, is a mother of three kids and a very loving and supportive wife to her husband. She must be described as gentleness, vulnerability and grace. She draws people to her effortlessly. Whenever you are with her, you just let your walls fall down and you'll enjoy yourself as much as she makes you feel how she enjoys your presence. Denise, the youngest of them three, is love in action. If love is service, that is her. Denise will not settle of anything less than "Pwede na!" but she'll work her way to excellence--whether it be work or relationships.  The moment, she considers you as her friend, bank on it! She'll love you till both of you shall live...or beyond. 

The common denominator: They just be. They live their persons and they inspire others to do just the same. ;)

Nancy Sia

She lives life with the mantra: My love creates miracles...and she does. Coach Nancy was more than a life coach to me. She like a mother who instead of carrying me in her womb, carried me in her big heart until the time of awakening. She cared, guided and supported me. Although I saw her as a tough lover, she let me experience her gentleness which in turn allowed me to open up and taught me to love once again. She was a very loyal friend who will always protect you from anything that might harm you. I am just to blessed to have met her and I am sure we'll carry on a very meaningful friendship in the years to come. 

Power Voice

These six people changed the way I loved. Our relationship was unconventional. For around seventy days,  we all journeyed together as we re-discover our persons. Fyne, Merce, Lit, Pam, Tito Bobet and Coach Nancy completed my council during my LEAP journey. It was a challenging council in the beginning since half of it were deaf-mutes. But at the end of it, I know I am so blessed to be part of this group.

They challenged, stretched and nurtured me. They served as my mirrors and reflected who I am, my relationships and my dreams. They all showed love in different faces. Fyne taught me gentleness and care; Merce taught me responsibility and fun; Lit showed me vulnerability and strength; Pam exuded passion and gratitude; Tito Bobet taught me how to trust and give second chances and of course, Coach Nancy sparked miracles through her love. For the six of you, I will forever be grateful. :)

Audee Villaraza and Kristel Tiangco

In their relationship, I am the third wheel! That's what I always tell them. My friendship with Audee and Kristel started from being mere acquaintances to movie-buddies. For several times this year, they have been my refuge to escape the tortures of work and review. :) Our favorite: Horror movies. Haha! More than that, I am so grateful to have shared a friendship with these two very loving people. To more movie dates, friends! :)

Time Of My Life (TOML) LEAP Team 49

53 students, 9 coaches, 1 head coach, 7 facilitators, 1 love. LEAP Team 49 surely lived the Time of Our Lives as we journeyed for 10 weeks realizing and owning our greatness. I am so grateful to each soul that I have met in this team. You have led me to love and trust myself and ultimately share that to others. Thank you for helping me see my blind spots and supporting me to correct them. Thank you for cheering me on as I went through every challenge for the past months. I am so grateful to have true and vulnerable friends in you. May we share a lifetime of greatness together. From the bottom of my lovingly bitchy heart, I am so grateful for each of you. ♥

Julian Lancelot Caius

Finally, a baby in our family! Juju is my brother's first born. I have always felt happy for my friends' kids, but I never knew that having a baby in your family brings much more joy. 

the people of my 2010

For the past two years I have wanted to make an entry such as this, but I fail. Magazines, blog entries, articles would feature the most popular figures of a particular year-- people who sometimes we do not even know but in one way or another affected or influenced us. I chose make one that is personal to me. This blog entry is for all of those whom I have met, made impact, inspired and I found very interesting for this year.

...and the winners are:

Joanne Fajardo

I have known Joanne since college days. Since then she has ever been a fun-loving person, always finding things to laugh about. She has always been cheerful, bright and happy. This year Joanne and her family surely went through a very tough year because of an accident that her sister met. Joanne is the one personally attending to the needs of her only sister to the point of resigning from work. She gave up a big chunk of her personal life just to for her sister and her mom. Through all these, you will not hear any complain. This is love--selfless and never asking anything in return. 

Carlo Lorenzo and John Ben Rodriguez

John Ben and Carlo

If you would see Carlo and John Ben together, you will know immediately that they are opposites but inseparable. Carlo is snotty, John Ben is funny. Carlo can be very engaging while John Ben can be quite reserved at the start.  Individually, they have their own light to shine, but together they make each other's light shine better and brighter--a perfect team. I admire these two men for their faithfulness to each other as friends and co-ministers in God's vineyard. To date, they have raised two campus feasts, several caring groups and have definitely touched a lot of people's lives. I was super blessed to have counted them as my friends for this year. 

Tita Mina Ramirez

I have always wanted to meet a Proverbs wife (one who possesses the qualities described in Proverbs 31: 10-13) and I was blessed to have met Tita Mina Ramirez this year. Tita Mina is the mother of my friend and campus missionary, Miguel Ramirez. The first time I met her I already knew how beautiful a woman she is. She speaks of the blessings. She is generous with affirmations, truth and counsel. She is very gentle and loving. Her spirit is so calm that you just enjoy being yourself whenever you are with her because you know you are enjoyed as well. I thought, "I wanted to be like her when I reach her age." Thanks Tita Mina for the friendship. :)

Fr. Clarence Marquez, OP

Our friendship dated from long ago and it peculiarly started with slippers. Through the years we have evolved from acquaintances to trusted friends. Fr. Clarc has been one of the my faithful hope-givers, cheerleader, and prayer partner this year especially during my Bar Examinations. I would always borrow his words describing me during my bar season: "soaring in grace" and that kept me flying. :) He'd always assure me that he's taking the exam with me. I have found a new meaning of God's love in the friendship we share.

Rissa Singson-Kawpeng

I grew fond of Rissa 1) because she leads worship very effectively during Feasts and 2) she is the sister of my classmate in Fr. Jocis' class,  Ronna. This year, when I was blessed to serve the the Single's stream of KCon 2010, I got to listen to her talk: Waiting for the One and it ministered to me big time! I now wish to have the same resilience that Rissa had in waiting for God's will and choice for your life partner. :) I resolve not to be an impatient bride anymore. Hihi.

Obet and Joie Cabrillas

This couple took me as their spiritual daughter and their love brought in overflowing healing and love in my life. :) Thanks Mommy and Daddy. To more years of serving God! :)

Carlisle Marie 

2009 wasn't very good for me and Carlisle but 2010 brought us close and renewed our friendship. This year, I saw how tough she is, how she's grown and how you can just be yourself with her. I admired her perseverance in Faith and her desire to seek God and His goodness. Carlisle is one of the very few people who walked with me through the toughest exam I took in my life. Through this she has been my hope-giver and friend. :) Thank you Cai! To more years of friendship! :) 

Julius, Jon and Em

This year my siblings and I reached notches higher in closeness. And it is surely a great, great blessing for us. :) We've learned to share our stories and involve each other in the lives one another. I was happy to know that the love we shared healed us all. :) More years of healing and love, guys! :) And more photobooth tripping! :)

on choosing well

Amid my rambling and wondering about the Divorce bill, I remembered an article that I have read some years ago about marriage. It appeared to have been written by Eduardo Calasanz but in truth was an excerpt from the book  Letters to My Son, A Father’s Wisdom on Manhood, Women, Life, and Love written by Kent Nerburn. Whoever wrote it does not really matter, but learning from it does. This article deeply etched in my head the importance of choosing well. Here is the complete text:

_____________________

PARTNERS AND MARRIAGE

I have never met a man who didn’t want to be loved. But I have seldom met a man who didn’t fear marriage.Something about the closure seems constricting, not enabling. Marriage seems easier to understand for what it cuts out of our lives than for what it makes possible within our lives.

When I was younger this fear immobilized me. I did not want to make a mistake. I saw my friends get married for reasons of social acceptability, or sexual fever, or just because they thought it was the logical thing to do. Then I watched, as they and their partners became embittered and petty in their dealings with each other. I looked at older couples and saw, at best, mutual toleration of each other. I imagined a lifetime of loveless nights and bickering days and could not imagine subjecting myself or someone else to such a fate. And yet, on rare occasions, I would see old couples who somehow seemed to glow in each other’s presence. They seemed really in love, not just dependent upon each other and tolerant of each other’s foibles. It was an astounding sight, and it seemed impossible. How, I asked myself, can they have survived so many years of sameness, so much irritation at the others habits? What keeps love alive in them, when most of us seem unable to even stay together, much less love each other?

The central secret seems to be in choosing well. There is something to the claim of fundamental compatibility. Good people can create a bad relationship, even though they both dearly want the relationship to succeed. It is important to find someone with whom you can create a good relationship from the outset.

Unfortunately, it is hard to see clearly in the early stages.

Sexual hunger draws you to each other and colors the way you see yourselves together. It blinds you to the thousands of little things by which relationships eventually survive or fail. You need to find a way to see beyond this initial overwhelming sexual fascination. Some people choose to involve themselves sexually and ride out the most heated period of sexual attraction in order to see what is on the other side. This can work, but it can also leave a trail of wounded hearts. Others deny the sexual side altogether in an attempt to get to know each other apart from their sexuality. But they cannot see clearly, because the presence of unfulfilled sexual desire looms so large that it keeps them from having any normal perception of what life would be like together.

The truly lucky people are the ones who manage to become long-time friends before they realize they are attracted to each other. They get to know each other’s laughs, passions, sadness, and fears. They see each other at their worst and at their best. They share time together before they get swept up into the entangling intimacy of their sexuality. This is the ideal, but not often possible. If you fall under the spell of your sexual attraction immediately, you need to look beyond it for other keys to compatibility.

One of these is laughter. Laughter tells you how much you will enjoy each others company over the long term. If your laughter together is good and healthy, and not at the expense of others, then you have a healthy relationship to the world. Laughter is the child of surprise. If you can make each other laugh, you can always surprise each other. And if you can always surprise each other, you can always keep the world around you new.

Beware of a relationship in which there is no laughter. Even the most intimate relationships based only on seriousness have a tendency to turn sour. Over time, sharing a common serious viewpoint on the world tends to turn you against those who do not share the same viewpoint, and your relationship can become based on being critical together.

After laughter, look for a partner who deals with the world in a way you respect. When two people first get together, they tend to see their relationship as existing only in the space between the two of them. They find each other endlessly fascinating, and the overwhelming power of the emotions they are sharing obscures the outside world. As the relationship ages and grows, the outside world becomes important again. If your partner treats people or circumstances in a way you can’t accept, you will inevitably come to grief. Look at the way he/she cares for others and deals with the daily affairs of life. If that makes you love her more, your love will grow. If it does not, be careful. If you do not respect the way you each deal with the world around you, eventually the two of you will not respect each other.

Look also at how your partner confronts the mysteries of life. We live on the cusp of poetry and practicality, and the real life of the heart resides in the poetic. If one of you is deeply affected by the mystery of the unseen in life and relationships, while the other is drawn only to the literal and the practical, you must take care that the distance does not become an unbridgeable gap that leaves you each feeling isolated and misunderstood. There are many other keys, but you must find them by yourself. We all have unchangeable parts of our hearts that we will not betray and private commitments to a vision of life that we will not deny. If you fall in love with someone who cannot nourish those inviolable parts of you, or if you cannot nourish them in her, you will find yourselves growing further apart until you live in separate worlds where you share the business of life, but never touch each other where the heart lives and dreams. From there it is only a small leap to the cataloging of petty hurts and daily failures that leaves so many couples bitter and unsatisfied with their mates.

So choose carefully and well. If you do, you will have chosen a partner with whom you can grow, and then the real miracle of marriage can take place in your hearts. I pick my words carefully when I speak of a miracle. But I think it is not too strong a word.

There is a miracle in marriage. It is called transformation. Transformation is one of the most common events of nature. The seed becomes the flower. The cocoon becomes the butterfly. Winter becomes spring and love becomes a child. We never question these, because we see them around us every day. To us they are not miracles, though if we did not know them they would be impossible to believe.

Marriage is a transformation we choose to make. Our love is planted like a seed, and in time it begins to flower. We cannot know the flower that will blossom, but we can be sure that a bloom will come. If you have chosen carefully and wisely, the bloom will be good. If you have chosen poorly or for the wrong reason, the bloom will be flawed.

We are quite willing to accept the reality of negative transformation in a marriage. It was negative transformation that always had me terrified of the bitter marriages that I feared when I was younger. It never occurred to me to question the dark miracle that transformed love into harshness and bitterness. Yet I was unable to accept the possibility that the first heat of love could be transformed into something positive that was actually deeper and more meaningful than the heat of fresh passion. All I could believe in was the power of this passion and the fear that when it cooled I would be left with something lesser and bitter. But there is positive transformation as well. Like negative transformation, it results from a slow accretion of little things. But instead of death by a thousand blows, it is growth by a thousand touches of love. Two histories intermingle. Two separate beings, two separate presences, two separate consciousness come together and share a view of life that passes before them. They remain separate, but they also become one. There is an expansion of awareness, not a closure and a constriction, as I had once feared. This is not to say that there is not tension and there are not traps. Tension and traps are part of every choice of life, from celibate to monogamous to having multiple lovers. Each choice contains within it the lingering doubt that the road not taken somehow more fruitful and exciting, and each becomes dulled to the richness that it alone contains.But only marriage allows life to deepen and expand and be leavened by the knowledge that two have chosen, against all odds, to become one. Those who live together without marriage can know the pleasure of shared company, but there is a specific gravity in the marriage commitment that deepens that experience into something richer and more complex.

So do not fear marriage, just as you should not rush into it for the wrong reasons. It is an act of faith and it contains within it the power of transformation. If you believe in your heart that you have found someone with whom you are able to grow, if you have sufficient faith that you can resist the endless attraction of the road not taken and the partner not chosen, if you have the strength of heart to embrace the cycles and seasons that your love will experience, then you may be ready to seek the miracle that marriage offers. If not, then wait. The easy grace of a marriage well made is worth your patience. When the time comes, a thousand flowers will bloom…endlessly. 

Current Song: Oo by UP Dharma Down

live life like eating sashimi

In this entry I will tell you a glimpse of my love affair with sashimi is...and how living life should be likened to it. :)

You see, one of my favorite foods in this world is Shake Sashimi (Raw Salmon).  Eating this Japanese delicacy gives me that exhilarating feeling that no other food can ever give me...and the experience is always, always incomparable.

In a Japanese restaurant, my mouth will start to water as I tell the waiter my order of salmon sashimi. After which, my thoughts will begin longing about it. The moment it's served, my eyes widen with excitement and much joy seeing how orange it is. Then, as soon as my chopsticks holds on my salmon, I will begin to feel fuzzy and giddy inside. The moment I put it in my mouth, there is a stillness that would envelope me and suddenly my whole being explodes in excitement and extreme happiness. I would always, always chew my salmon slowly and reflectively. All my senses are directed to it that is why I savor every little bit of it even if I always catch myself close my eyes as I do this. In that short period of time, I have nothing else in mind nor was there anything else that matters, except my sashimi.

Today, in the fourth installment of the series A Life of No Regrets, Bro. Bo speaks about NO RUSH. He said that life should be lived enjoying the present moment without being haunted by the past nor anxious of the future. Because your now is a gift from God--He has blessed you with now and all you have to do is enjoy every bit of it. Whether it may be a prize or a pain which is in front of you, it is God's blessing. Hence, we should not hurry on letting it just go by unnoticed. Deliberate living. Deliberate appreciation of life. :)

I savor my sashimi. Perhaps, I now know how I should be savoring my life. :)

Current Songs: I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing by Aerosmith and Simple Things by Jim Brickman and Rebecca Lynn Howard

note to self: say this more often

a letter from daddy

As if our tribute for our dear President Cory is not enough, I would like to share this letter which Ninoy wrote for Ballsy--the eldest of the Aquino siblings. Among all the five siblings, Ballsy was the one who certainly captured my admiration during the telecasts of the wake and burial of the last President. I remember telling my sister that she resembles Cory very much, from her demeanor even to the way she dresses. The following letter was sent to me through email by a friend and it certain filled my eyes with tears.

August 18, 1973
Fort Bonifacio
Makati, Rizal

Ms. Maria Elena C. Aquino
25 Times St. Quezon City

My dearest Ballsy,

I write you this letter with tears in my eyes and as if steel fingers are crushing my heart because I wanted so much to be with you as you celebrate your legal emancipation. Now that you have come of age, my love, a voice tells me that I am no longer young and suddenly, I feel old.

An old poet gave this advice very long ago “when you are sad, remember the roses will bloom in December.” I want to send you bouquet of roses, big red roses from my dreamland garden. Unfortunately for the present, my roses are not in bloom, in fact they have dropped all their petals and only the thorns are left to keep me company. I do think it is fitting to send you a thicket of thorns on this memorable day!

I am very proud of you because you have inherited all the best traits of your mother. You are sensible, responsible, even-tempered and sincere with the least pretenses and affection which vehemently detest in a woman. I am sure like your mother, you will possess that rare brand of silent courage and that combination of fidelity and fortitude that will be the life vest of your man in the tragic moments of his life.

During my lonely hours of solitary confinement in Fort Magsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija last March and April with nothing else to do but pray and daydream, with only my fond memories to keep me company, I planned a weekend barrio fiesta for you in Tarlac for your 18th birthday. I fooled myself into believing that my ordeal would end with the fiscal year. I planned to invite all your classmates and friends and their families for the weekends.

The schedule called for an early departure by bus from Manila and the first stop will be Concepcion, where lunch will be served by the pool. And after lunch, you were to visit the Santa Rita Elementary School to distribute cookies and ice cream to the children of that public school where you were first enrolled.

I guess sheer nostalgia prompted me to include Santa Rita. We were only three then: Mommie, you and I. Those were the days of happy memories little responsibilities, tremendous freedom, a great future ahead and capped by a fulfillment of love. You are the first fruit of our union, the first proof of our love and the first seal of our affections

From Concepcion we were to proceed to Luisita for the barrio fiesta. I intended to invite a friend who could roast an entire cow succulently. Swimming, pelota, dancing and eating would have been the order of the day.

Sunday morning was reserved for a trip around the Hacienda and the mill and maybe golf for some of the parents and later a picnic-lunch on Uncle Tony’s Island. Return to Manila after lunch. I am afraid this will have to remain as one of the many dreams I had in Laur.

Our future has suddenly become uncertain and our fate unknown. I am even now beginning to doubt whether I’ll ever be able to return to you and the family. Hence, I would like to ask you these special favors. Love your mother, whose love for you, you will never be able to match. She is not the greatest mother in the world, she is your sincerest friend.

Take care of your younger sisters and brother and lavish them with the love and care I would like to continue giving them but am unable to do so. Help Noy-noy along and pray hard that he will grow to be a real, responsible man who in later years will protect you all. You are the model for your three younger sisters. Your responsibility is therefore great. Please endeavor to live up to our highest expectations. Be more tolerant to Pinky, more accessible to Viel, our little genius-princess, and more charitable to Krissy, our baby doll, and make up for my neglect.

Finally, forgive me, my love, for not having been an ideal, good and thoughtful father to you all as I pursued public office. I had hopes and high resolve of making up, but I am afraid my destiny will not oblige.

I seal this letter with a drop of tear and a prayer in my heart, that somehow, somewhere we shall meet again and I will finally be able to make up for all my lapses, in the kingdom where justice reigns supreme and love is eternal.

I love you,
Dad

If You Love Someone, Ask Them For Nothing

If you love someone, ask them for nothing. Don't hold them back from their destiny. Don't keep them from going off in search of their own answers. Don't ask them for commitment. You will know commitment is real when it is something given willingly, and not as something obligatory. Don't ask them for promises. If you are patient, if you have faith, you will know in your heart when the right time for promises has come.

And when that time arrives, then you will see that you have both lost nothing by setting each other free, and have instead gained a richer, fuller life, a wealth of experiences, and a stronger certainty of your desires.

But should they not return to you, then life hasn't cheated you because no promises were broken. Your bitterness will not last long, and you will feel thankful and blessed that at the very least, this beautiful soul has colored your life, that knowing them has already made life infinitely more meaningful.

By setting a person free, you run a risk of them not returning. But always remember that you found them beautiful precisely because they were free. People are like sunlight. You can feel their warmth, and their glow, but you can't hold them in your hand and keep them with you forever. People CHOOSE to stay. But a choice is made more meaningful when it is made despite so many other options. Love has no restrictions and it is through mistakes that sometimes we see the right answer. Because if you love someone, you ask them for nothing and they will come back to you.
----------

Got this from Sari. Nice, eh? It did warmed my heart.

lying is not an option.

One of my professors commented that honesty does not have premium under the law. Partly true. See, in criminal law, admission of guilt can mitigate the penalty you will suffer. Nevertheless, it does not remove your liability.

But come to think of it, isn't that what nature dictates upon? Are we really not supposed to suffer/enjoy the consequences of our choices?

Are we really thinking that lying can leave us unscathed?

________________

I am not perfect, nor have I always told the truth. But I am always wary of people who lie--worse to your face.

Oh well, this happens all the time, but hopefully not to people you share special relationships with. For me, it's the highest form of insincerity and disrespect. It mars trust.

As I always say: "Even if it's gonna hurt me, let me know the truth. That way it won't be doubly painful."

In relationships, lying is not an option. It isn't a brave thing to do.

________________

I can't help it. I have taken a step back...make that two.

do the gods envy lawyers too?

The problem with the profession that I am treading is that, it frowns upon display of emotions. It expects every lawyer to bracket himself from feeling any untoward emotion for the cause of the client. Oftentimes, the lawyer needs to deny himself of whatever feelings he may have at a certain point in time, concerning personal stuff, in order to see things in a more logical and rational perspective. Heavy, powerful me-emotions are not allowed to get in the way.

Emotions blur reason.

Maybe.

However, reason dictates also that humanity requires emotion. Does that mean, lawyers aren’t allowed to be human?

Stop.

I have always believed I am a cerebral person.

Stubborn.

How come at this point it is my heart which is stubborn? Is that possible? Or better yet, maybe it is really my head which is stubborn to dictate to my heart to stop that crap.

Stop.

Earlier this morning, I woke up seeing my brother watching Troy on DVD. I sat for a while, and joined him. That scene when Achilles “rescued” Briseis from the Myrmidons caught me. The conversation inside the tent was suddenly heard at a different tone. Achilles’ words pierced me. He said: " The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful becuase we're doomed."

Is this my rhema for today?

Stop.

I should be reading my CTA cases in the library. Damn.

I better get ready for school.

There is a welling emotion in my chest. It's a familiar feeling but I do not want to name it. It feels like fear mixed with terror.

Oh, yes. I am terrified.

I do not want to let go of my sunny and bright attitude. But every time, I touch the core of me, I freak out!

Am scared. So scared.

Maybe it's just a ghost I have created. Or maybe it is a ghost of the past. I do not know. Still I am scared.

keeping in touch

Many research have shown the importance of touch in the emotional health of a person. Touch is used to relieve pain, depression, and anxiety. That is why most new moms are encouraged to frequently touch their new borns. Touch is a basic necessity for human beings since this is the only means to get in touch with other human beings. Unfortunately, because of the indifference and lack of time to bond with others, we have less and less of this.

Now, there is a touching revolution--Hug Therapy.

Hugging is one of the intimate forms of touch. Most psychologists say that every person needs an average of four (4) hugs a day to survive, six (6) maintain emotional well-being, 21 for those who have emotional and mental problems (those who are neurotic).

According to Dolores Krieger, R.N., Ph.D., professor of nursing at New York University and expert in the field of touch therapy, when one person hugs or touches another, it actually invigorates the body by stimulating the level of hemoglobin which carries oxygen to tissues. When these tissues receive oxygen, they have a new energy that continues to rejuvenate the body.

Other research in the hugging field has shown that hugging helps lessen the chances of senility in people age 70+, increases liveliness, curiosity, problem-solving abilities and overall physical well-being, and substantially improves a newborn's developmental progress.

Isn't that amazing?

_________________

TIME Magazine had chosen the best inventions for 2006 and one of the more fascinating inventions is the Hug Shirt. This touchy innovation is invented by Cute Circuit.

Hug Shirt is a high-tech garment that simulates the experience of being embraced by a loved one. When a friend sends you a virtual hug, your cell phone notifies the shirt wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The shirt then re-creates that person's distinctive cuddle, replicating his or her warmth, pressure, duration and even heartbeat. And, yes, the Hug Shirt is fully washable. (TIme Magazine)

I guess is this one proof that there is indeed a scarcity of touching among human beings. A clear attempt to meet the physical and emotional needs of the human person. Isn't it funny how we content ourselves with what is created in our heads, well in fact we can have the real thing?

Think about it?

footprints

In our lives there are people who just pass by and some choose to stay. But whether they simply walked through or they decided to journey with us, they definitely leave indelible footprints which will forever remain.

To you: Hope this isn’t too much to say: Thank you for coming into my life. I am not sure if you are simply passing by or you’re going to stay, but real thanks for helping me decide to be fearless again lest be happy for I deserve it. Holding this happiness inside will keep me moving forward. Thank you. With all that had transpired I just want you to know that I was able to see the heart. May not have been perfect...but little as it is, you’ve done a lot.

this heart is ready to love again

Dear You,

It's been more than 18 months since you walked away and left me all messed up. I knew you would have wanted to escape unscathed but you were left with no other choice but to explain with those empty, silly words when I decided we need to have a face off. You knew I will never let you run away without it hearing from the horse's mouth. You crushed my heart and you tried to take away my faith. I just have to say you failed.

I have let you go. I have learned to love you less. In fact, I do not love you anymore. I have moved on. I have soared and the view from up here is fantastic--the skies, the trees, the flowers are all in a different hue; the birds are chirping and the wind is blowing cold. The people I've met are warm and caring. Yes, am happy with where I am right now. I think I did a good job of rebuilding my life without you.

Although sometimes the clouds still hover me and the temporary darkness illuminates your shadow. I hate it. You've really conquered my soul and I hate it. Your shadow reminds me of how much I've trusted and was betrayed; how I loved and was hurt. Your shadow can be crippling but I strived. And I have strived badly enough, I realize that I am now shining and I am shining bright to dispel your creeping darkness. Yes, I again possess this light you once put off. Yes, the same light that attracted you--even brighter.

Am completely free and I'm ready to love again.

two friends

Sometimes you'll just get to wonder why there are relationships that just can't move from one kind to another.

Sometimes, it's more than incompatibility.

And sometimes, it's not a matter of not telling the person how much you've felt or your intention of transforming it from friendship to something else.

It just feels like there something is holding you from taking that step to cross the line. Or atleast entertain the thought of crossing that line. Fear maybe--that you simply content yourselves with what is available instead of taking the risk of losing it altogether. Fear to later find out that you weren't really meant to share a love relationship and simply end up breaking the heart of a friend.

Or perhaps it's the familiarity that two good friends share throughout almost a decade of friendship and care.

We connect too much on the gut level that we both know we can't force it.

Perhaps, we're really better off like this.

from meredith grey

"At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, it's usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them. The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need."

- Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

I agree. =)

heart matters

I am still elated from spending a night out with a special friend. I know that the feeling will later subside, but I will definitely keep it in my heart.

Sometimes, the things wish for does not seem to come. However, life can surprise us with little things that we have not really asked for. Those little things that are sweet and mean a lot.

I think I have learned the importance of living a moment. I think bit by bit I am learning to appreciate things simply as they come. Besides, life never gave guarantees. We are only left to hope that life will be good to us. Hope, yet do not expect.

one lingering question

am i trying too hard?

when i finally speak about love

Making the decision to love is only for those who are courageous.

I came from a traumatic boy-girl relationship which actually took its toll on me. I was stupid about love once in my lifetime and I vowed to be wiser after that. It's been more than a year and in a long while, filled with fear, I hid myself from the world with the hope of protecting my bruised self. My fences became my refuge believing that I am safe within them. But I did not realize that clamming up also denies me of the opportunities to love and be loved again.

I again took the leap. I freed myself as I allowed the walls to crumble. It took a while, but nonetheless, I took it conscientiously. I started to open myself up, bit by bit, to one person I felt is worthy enough to entrust my recovering heart. I knew in my heart and my mind that it was the right thing to do. However, the right thing at the wrong time isn’t the right thing after all.

Love is indeed only for the brave—those who are fearless enough to try over and over—knowing that one can never be prepared for anything; knowing that opening yourself to love means opening yourself to hurt as well. And I give myself a pat on the back for having done it again, even if things seem not to work as I expected them to. I woke up from my fantasy that things have to be perfect for me to try love once more. It’s simply about just taking one’s chances and letting love work for you. Besides, everything in life is half chance.

Love dispelled my fears, and love is now giving me consolation. Wherever this leads me, I do not know, but I am hopeful it’s going to be a happy place. I am not closing my doors, but I have to keep on opening more as I move on. Hopefully, I’ll be surprised to find you in one of them.