Start of something new

I've been away from my cyber home from quite some time and since it's my day off, I thought it would be nice to start writing again before stress eats me up.

Anyway, it's been almost a month since I made my last entry. Some friends kept on asking me if I stopped blogging for good. I just told them that I was so busy that I don't have time to sit down and write. Good thing I had lunch with two of my best buddies a few weeks back and our conversation triggered the story teller in me to write again.

A lot of things happened during the past weeks. Everything seems new and exciting for me that I always have a hard time sleeping. Here are some of the things that keep me awake these days:

First, I said goodbye to my previous account. No, I did not resign from the company. I got transferred to a new account that handles only one LoB (line of business). What's good about the transfer (well, my boss told me it's not a transfer but a promotion) is that I got a raise. It's not that big, but it's worth something. Handling this new account meant being a trainee again and feeling like a newbie even though I've been taking in calls for the past nine months. Navigating my way through a new set of tools is a little confusing, but I told my self that I also started that way back in my previous account. I just need some time and guidance from some of the higher ups. My new team mates and I will start taking calls tomorrow, so please pray that everything would turn out fine.

(Working for a new account, signing up for a policy,
publishing a book and deciding to lose weight)

Second, I finally signed my policy. Ever since I started working the first thing that popped into my mind was to have my own house. Hopefully the policy would help me buy my own house a few years from now.

Third, 'Musings From The Seedbed' is finally out. No, it's not yet released to major bookstores but hey, I have to admit, the articles are good that the book is worth being published big time and placed on shelves reserved for best sellers. People tell me that I'm good at writing, but it's not as good as the articles in 'Musings'. Since you're reading this, thank the book's author since he's the one who encouraged me to write. If Bob Ong's 'ABNKKBSNPLako?!?' became a best seller and was turned into a movie, I bet 'Musings' would also be one once it gets published big time. If it would be adapted into the big screen, I'm sure it would be at par with JesCom's 'Be Mine Again' if we're speaking about vocation promotion.

Fourth, I've started my own program to lose weight. A lot of people at work told me that I'm getting big, and the people here at the house and most of my friends share the same sentiment. Aside from that, I noticed that I get tired too easily. Justin, my financial advisor, took me for an early futsal game a few weeks back. We were only playing for fifteen minutes and my body felt like I was playing for two hours non-stop. My lack of exercise and balanced diet (plus the stress at work) finally took its toll on me. Since I don't want to end up having a funeral of my own at a young age, I decided to come up with a program to stay healthy. And on top of the list, that would mean saying goodbye to junkies.

Ecclesiastes 3 says that there is a time for everything. Well, I guess this a time for some changes. Working for a new account, signing up for a policy, publishing a book and deciding to lose weight; these are some of the changes that happened within a span of two weeks. It just shows that, just like what my friend once told me, life is full of transitions. And believe me, these transitions are God's little ways of telling us that no matter what happens He is in charge.

I have learned not to fear change. It's always for the good.

"I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But whatever it is, I'm looking forward to it." - Daniel Harrington, SJ

Yes, He is everywhere

I have a severe bout of flu and for the past two days my aching body has been telling me to take some time off and rest. I feel a little better since I’ve been taking my meds. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after that I’ll be back to my normal self.

(The figurine my friend found in a pile of trash)

A friend mentioned in his Facebook account that he found a figurine of the child Jesus. He saw it in a pile of trash and even accidentally kicked it while he was walking home. He was so happy that he managed to salvage such a precious item. It reminded me of the wooden cross that I found floating while I was having an afternoon swim in Boracay about ten years ago. The wooden cross is now on our family altar.

Last night I was walking to the bus station when a boy walked up to me selling sampaguita. He kept on pestering me to buy the flowers but I told him that persuading me would not work. He walked away. Before walking down the bridge that leads to the bus station, I saw the boy again. He was tucking in his little brother. Then it hit me: this kid is already carrying the world in his shoulders. I wanted to approach the boy, but I felt so sorry for him that I simply continued to walk and rode a bus.

Going back to my friend, he took home the figurine. I don’t know if the original owner threw it away on purpose or by accident. Whatever the case may be, the figurine managed to find its way to have a new owner and it is now in my friend’s hands. In cases like this, some people would call it serendipity. Others would even go to the extent of calling it a miracle.

Everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason why my friend, of all the people who passed by that pile of garbage, was the one who found the figurine and only he can figure what that reason is. For me, I believe the reason why I saw my friend’s post concerning the salvaged figurine is this: to remind me that even in the lowliest of all places, even in a pile of garbage we all deem useless and done with, God is there. He is there in the beautifully decorated altar. He is there in the squatter’s area breaking bread with the poor.

Today is the feast of the Presentation. Barely a month old, Jesus was presented to the temple in accordance with the law that every male shall be consecrated to the Lord. Simeon, a righteous and devout man, took Jesus into his arms and uttered the Nunc Dimittis (Latin for “now you dismiss” or commonly known as “Simeon’s Canticle:). From Simeon’s song we can come to a conclusion that the Lord, as early as being a month old, is already carrying the world in his shoulders. His mission is to be “a light for revelation for the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

A friend asked me where could he find God. Obviously, my first answer was “In the Church.” But I realized that the Church is His first place of manifestation. Once we go out, we’ll see Him everywhere.

The little boy selling sampaguita, the baby Jesus presented to the temple and the salvaged figurine. They are all clear manifestations to me that He is present everywhere and in everyone. Just like good old Simeon, all we have to do is to patiently wait and open our eyes. For all you know, He is the little kid knocking on your car’s window.