Live life agelessly, purposefully, mindfully, happily…
Joy, my yogini friend, sent me an email with a picture of this clock.
Click on the clock to follow the link to Susie’s site, read its message and see how your life can be transformed so that it matters. May its message bless you this Christmas and for the rest of your life.
Thanks to the author of “What Will Matter“, Michael Josephson.
Every home is likely to have a Christmas tree. Almost every home would have a ‘belen’ or Nativity set. I wonder — how many homes have an Advent wreath with candles similar to what you see lit in churches during the Sundays of Advent?
Ours does!
And mind you, this is not just for display!
From the 1st Sunday of Advent till Christmas Day — EVERY NIGHT to the extent possible — our family gathers around this table, lights the candles (purple, purple, pink, purple — in that order — from the 1st to the 4th weeks), join in the Advent prayers for the day from a prayer book, and sing the Advent songs.
C1 was still a toddler when we began this family tradition and it worked its way down the line to our youngest, M2. Each year as the kids grew older, we continued this Christmastime custom and witnessed how they grew with it. When they were toddlers, we lit the candles for them and they would argue over who got to blow out the candle/s that night.
When they learned to read, we assigned portions of prayers to them until they were old enough to read (and lead!) the prayers in its entirety. In fact, C1 insists that M1’s reading abilities improved a lot during the time he was made to read from the prayer book (can you imagine some of the Bible words and names he had to learn to read as an early grader?).
One by one, they learned to light the candles (M1 recalls his first time after he completed a scouting camp). And all of them can sing the 2 songs from memory. In their earlier school years, when ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ was first taught either in Music or CLE classes, it would surprise their teachers that they knew the lyrics and tune right off. More so would be the surprise of friends upon learning that we all could sing the lesser known song ‘O Come Divine Messiah’.
A personal part of the rite was the intercessory portion. To the chorus of “Lord, hear our prayer”, we made the rounds of everyone. Each kid was given time to offer up his/her intentions for the day. When they were younger, we would get prayer intentions like: “I hope I get a ________ for Christmas” (hint! hint!). Eventually we got more serious intentions: “I wish I could pass my test tomorrow…” and lately, some of the intentions have gone outward: “I want to lift up my classmate who is sick of ______.”
The climax, of course, is something we do as an extra. On Christmas Day, we light a WHITE candle which stands in the center of the other 4 candles, waiting just for this one day to be lit. The 2 songs are no longer needed as the Christ Child is already with us. So instead, we sing a Christmas song.
It warms my heart that despite their being in this so-called “rebellious, defiant” teen years, we could not go through a Christmas without setting up these candles on our table. They themselves look for it, as though our Christmas cannot be complete without it.
Years from now, when they begin to have their own families, I hope and pray that they carry on this timeless tradition — another family memory and treasure for their own children to have.
And I believe that for as long as these candles of hope continue to be lit, our problems and that of our country and the world will not seem too hopeless. There is a God who continues to come to us, to our country, and to our homes under all situations, good or bad.
I could sense something was amiss this morning on the way to work with hubby. Just as we got off the Mandaluyong-Makati bridge at the intersection of J. P. Rizal Ave. and Makati Ave., there were policemen preventing cars from proceeding to the stretch of Makati Ave. towards the Makati commercial district. So without knowing why, we detoured along J. P. Rizal, took some side streets, cut through Bel-Air Village and came out on Jupiter St.
We traveled through Jupiter St., again toward Makati Ave. to proceed towards Ayala. Again, at the corner of Makati Ave. and Paseo de Roxas, just across Mandarin Hotel, policemen stopped us from proceeding towards Ayala Ave. My hubby had to turn on Paseo, drop me as close to Ayala Ave., making me walk the rest of the way to my office building — in the rain.
Upon reaching my office, that was when I heard the news — about Trillanes walking out during his court hearing, that Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim had joined him, that they had walked along Makati Ave. towards Manila Peninsula Hotel (no wonder they closed it off!) and that the group and their supporters were holed up in a room of the hotel.
For the rest of the day, people in the office monitored the developments via the TV in our conference room or on the internet. I spoke with my balikbayan roommate Yoyo (with whom I had a lunch date) to cancel as she lived in the Bel-Air area and I was concerned for her safety.
As our office was very high up, one side of it faced Manila Peninsula and we had a ringside seat to what was going on. We could see the roads intersecting Ayala/Makati Ave. blocked off to traffic. Along Ayala, a motley group bearing red flags were stopped by a phalanx of policemen but they insisted on staying their ground.
Just before 3 PM, the deadline given by the police for Trillanes etal to surrender, police dressed all in black (the SWAT team, I guess) gathered at the Ayala/Makati Ave. intersection in formation. From way up, we also heard what some said were warning shots fired (by whom, we do not know).
Around 4:30 PM, our Human Resources head announced that those who could safely go home could do so but that those who could not would be provided with food (which I thought was a really thoughtful gesture). I called my hubby who was in his office along Paseo de Roxas. He told me that I had to try to find my way to him via the back side of his building as all entrances of buildings in front had been closed up.
I went down my building to find that our entrances too were locked up and I had to find a rear side exit to get out into the street.
It was still raining then and people were walking along the streets as the overhead walkway along Dela Rosa St. was closed and so were the pedestrian underpasses! Did they think these Magdalo soldiers would use the underpasses as bunkers?
Near the Ninoy Aquino statue at the corner of Ayala Ave. and Paseo, I stopped to take some shots (blurry at best as I had an umbrella, my purse, and a portfolio bag slung on my shoulder). Ayala was empty of the usual traffic. Some curious bystanders were gathered at the foot of the statue looking towards Manila Peninsula. Office workers were in a hurry to get home, hailing any buses that got through to Ayala.
It was a relief to finally meet up with hubby. We took the back route towards J. P. Rizal, and as hubby drove, I did calls to our kids in school to check how they were, called my BIL who was still in an emergency meeting at the call center he worked for, as well as my nephew who also worked in Makati. They were all safe. Phew!
Enroute home, we found out that Trillanes et al agreed to come out of the hotel. They were promptly arrested and put on vans bound for the NCRPO in Bicutan, Taguig together with supporters former VP Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Emeritus Julio Labayen and running priest Fr. Robert Reyes.
Strangely, the media were also herded into vans. I knew Ces Drilon and Pinky Webb were there. Were they and their teams under arrest too? Weren’t they just covering what was obviously breaking news? And just now, the TV flashes pictures of the gaping hole where an APC rammed right into the entrance of Manila Pen. Was that show of force really warranted?
I am at home now, safe and sound, with all the kids with us. We continue to watch the discussions on TV. Curfew from midnight to 5 AM has been announced. There are many questions still to be answered as to how this whole thing was handled. It is also a wake-up call about where our country is really at, at this time in our history.
I am now remembering a comment that hubby made as we drove home: “…the hazards of working in Makati!” Yes, to think that I just returned to work a few months ago and now this!
Think I will go to yoga classes tomorrow……and send out positive energy towards everyone.
I love surprises! And 2 wonderful blogger friends granted this by bestowing me with awards.
It all began with Julie who gave me the Nice Matters Award. Thanks, Julie!
It matters to be nice these days. There are so many things going on in this world that being nice to a person can truly make one’s day. I would like to pass this Nice Matters award on to …..
Also, I got a double surprise today from Lizzz who is herself a beautiful, sexy, mommy blogger.
To be beautiful and sexy, for many, connote the ramp model prototype. But I have seen many, many women who have clearly passed their prime and yet manage to exude a quiet, serene, or elegant aura that makes them beautiful in their own way. And there are even more Filipinas who I think are sexy not just because of how they look but because of causes they espouse, achievements they have garnered for themselves, and for how they think on different issues. So, am I proud of these two awards that say I am a Filipina beautiful and sexy woman? YOU BET I AM! And I am more than happy to pass on these 2 hand-in-hand awards to the following beautiful and sexy Filipina bloggers:
Their blogs say it all. Have a great day, everyone!
Back pain for many, not just athletes, is more than just discomfort. It can be debilitating and counterproductive. Athletes are the ones who come to mind when we talk of back pain but surprisingly, non-athletes who have desk jobs or who lead couch potato lives are just as vulnerable.
In a New York Times article, “Twist and Ouch”, Gretchen Reynolds writes:
To build a better back, most experts agree, you need a solid core. “The core” is one of those areas of the body that coaches and athletes refer to constantly but few people can accurately locate. “It’s not just the abdominal area, as many people think,” says Vijay Vad, a sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and a back-care adviser to the PGA Tour and the professional men’s tennis circuit. “To really include all of the elements that move and stabilize the spine, you have to go from your knees to your nipples. That’s the core.”
The muscles, ligaments and tendons that make up the elaborate core muscle system provide rigging for the spine. The rectus, transverse and oblique abdominals, for instance — the big muscles at the front and sides of the spine — are particularly important in stabilizing the back. So are the less familiar intertransversi, interspinalis and multifidus muscles, which link to the larger abdominal group but which rarely figure in magazine articles about washboard abs. Each of these muscles must be strong and supple if the spine is to remain stable.
In that article, Michael Higgins, the director of athletic-training education at Towson University in Maryland and the author of several prominent academic articles about back injuries in athletes was also quoted as stating how important endurance was. “Without endurance, what you often see is that near the end of a game, the muscles can’t quite control the movement of the spine adequately anymore.”
There are a few other things Higgins points out in this article:
* Sports involving power (football, boxing) and consistency (golf) can be the undoing of one’s back. Strength is not the answer.
He is all of 13 years old. He insists he is no longer a baby. He is away from us — all the way in China — for 6 weeks.
M2 is on a foreign study program — part of their school’s vision to bring their students into a keener awareness of their roots, appreciation for their ancestors’ mother tongue and culture, and a stronger sense of purpose. It is also a learning experience in more ways than one as these boys, many of whom are pampered with creature comforts at home, have to deal now with
– studying without a tutor;
– overcoming terrible homesickness;
– learning to communicate in the language of their ancestors in order to be understood;
– adjusting to living with other boys their age with different personalities and quirks;
– dealing with groceries, laundry and budgeting on top of coping with a demanding study schedule; and
– basically going through an accelerated “growing up” program.
We heard from him yesterday. He sounded OK, had no major concerns about food, accommodations or his studies. In fact, when he asked to speak to his older brother, we thought it was because he missed him….only to find out that their whole conversation was on the latest goings-on with the wrestling TV show they both loved to watch (he has no TV in his China dorm room). He also told me he had been doing his laundry by hand rather than use the pay-per-cycle washing machine so he could save up for pasalubong.
At the moment, my feelings are mixed. There is a part of me that terribly misses him but another part of me is happy that he is learning to fly using his own wings. A part of me wants to cry upon hearing about his method of scrimping to afford gifts to bring home; but the other part of me says this is a good experience so he will learn the value of money earned.
When our kids grow up, the process is not just an experience for the kids but probably more so for us, their parents, who have long cared and watched over them, and now have to slowly let go. In a sense, we are also “growing up”. The transition from a parent to confidante, adviser and friend is fraught with fear and pain; but when hurdled successfully, it can be very rewarding as a new kind of relationship develops.