There is nothing more invigorating than to experience the natural beauty of creation. The Creator, the Supreme Artist that He is speaks in the simplicity and spontaneity of his creation.
Whenever my eyes feast on the green and the unadulterated scenery (whatever has been left for our eyes to see) of the surroundings my soul feels like bursting with a song of praise to the One who made it all possible.
Years ago, I (with three companions) had the chance to spend a day hiking up the mountains of Banaue. It was an exhilarating experience indeed. Up there, it felt like I was on top of the world. We were one with Mother Nature. We drank from the spring we found along the way. After a long hike, we stretched our tired bodies by the roadside, told stories and swapped jokes with one another. One took out her harmonica and lulls us to nap with her music mingling with the sound of the birds and the rustle of the leaves.
Moments like this are like treasures for me. It awakens in me a deep sense of gratitude to God who has provided us such a wonderful world to live in; a world that is filled with beauty and goodness found not only in the environment but also in the people around us.
It gives me great concern that our environment is deteriorating; that we as a people do not seem to care. I mentioned in one of my previous column how this feeling of loss gnaws in me upon seeing the rivers in my home province dried up; the bamboo trees uprooted, the farmlands transformed into economic processing zones and subdivisions. This is becoming a reality in every part of the country. The pristine countryside is becoming modernized. And little by little the simplicity of the environment and its people will also be affected.
I have always wondered if I will experience again that joy I had in hiking up the mountains of Banaue. Would the clear spring be still flowing? Would it still be possible for us to stretch our tired bodies by the roadside just as we did before? Would the people be still as helpful as they were then?
Last weekend I had the chance to go with my community and some friends to the mountains for a day’s relaxation and fruit picking. It was a long uphill drive from the highway of Montevista. I had to park the vehicle about a kilometer away from the farm we were supposed to visit since the place can only be reached on foot. It was not an easy climb. The slope was muddy and slippery because it rained the day before.
We exchanged a few words with the local folks. They were so nice and helpful.
It rained in the afternoon before we were able to go back to our car. We had to walk gingerly because one false step can bring us down through the slope. The men helped us down the slippery pass one by one until we reach our car.
We were so grateful for their help. They in turn were so happy to be of service and genuinely appreciative of our presence in their barrio.
On our drive home I could not help thinking of the rolling hills and trees and the rain and the fruits and most of all the generous and helpful people in the farm. Everything that we experienced was an experience of the presence of the Creator in our life. I was also reflecting on how we really need one another to help us in our journey. We cannot journey all alone. Somehow along the way, we will experience some difficulties and we will need the guiding hand of others to help us overcome the obstacles and reach our destination.
Tuesday, September 29, 1998
Tuesday, September 22, 1998
Stranded in Paradise
Imagine yourself being stranded in an unknown island armed only with your wits in order to survive. There you have to contend with wild animals (the thought of poisonous snakes gives me the shivers) and the uncertainties of being rescued. My friend (an incurable romantic at heart) says, she would not mind at all being marooned in an island as long as Harrison Ford is with her.
In the romantic comedy Six days, Seven Nights, Harrison Ford strays from his typical all-American hero character that he usually portrays in his movies. In this film, he is Quinn Harris, a drunken charter pilot who flies vacationing tourists from Tahiti to the neighboring island of Makatea. Anne Heche is Robin Monroe, a top New York magazine editor, who is vacationing in the tropics with her boyfriend Frank Martin (David Schwimmer). Their vacation is supposed to last for six days, seven nights, hence the title.
No sooner as the two got engaged, Robin’s New York office called her up to go to the neighboring island of Tahiti to supervise a photo shoot. Robin charters a plane from Quinn Harris but airborne they encounter strong winds that crash land the tiny plane in a deserted island. There, the two have to contend with scorpion, wild pig, earthquake and nasty pirates as well as their growing animosity with each other.
Robin and Harris have to devise some plan to get themselves out of the island. They think of imaginable ways to get the plane going again.
The plot is very simple. This is the kind of story or film that has a predictable ending. You do not have to sit down through the film to see how it would end. Of course if you were an avid fan of Harrison Ford, you would do so. Besides you have to do justice with your money.
Anyhow, the film is entertaining enough to make you laugh in some instances. The location is beautiful. If the story were too banal for you at least you would sure enjoy the scenery.
In the romantic comedy Six days, Seven Nights, Harrison Ford strays from his typical all-American hero character that he usually portrays in his movies. In this film, he is Quinn Harris, a drunken charter pilot who flies vacationing tourists from Tahiti to the neighboring island of Makatea. Anne Heche is Robin Monroe, a top New York magazine editor, who is vacationing in the tropics with her boyfriend Frank Martin (David Schwimmer). Their vacation is supposed to last for six days, seven nights, hence the title.
No sooner as the two got engaged, Robin’s New York office called her up to go to the neighboring island of Tahiti to supervise a photo shoot. Robin charters a plane from Quinn Harris but airborne they encounter strong winds that crash land the tiny plane in a deserted island. There, the two have to contend with scorpion, wild pig, earthquake and nasty pirates as well as their growing animosity with each other.
Robin and Harris have to devise some plan to get themselves out of the island. They think of imaginable ways to get the plane going again.
The plot is very simple. This is the kind of story or film that has a predictable ending. You do not have to sit down through the film to see how it would end. Of course if you were an avid fan of Harrison Ford, you would do so. Besides you have to do justice with your money.
Anyhow, the film is entertaining enough to make you laugh in some instances. The location is beautiful. If the story were too banal for you at least you would sure enjoy the scenery.
Tuesday, September 15, 1998
More on MTV
MTV, which was (and still is) very popular among young people serves as a vehicle for singers and artists to launch and advertise their songs through visual imagery loosely based on the lyrics of the song. Madonna and Michael Jackson are well known for their multi-million productions of MTV.
Fr. James Reuter, SJ shared with us once how he worried so much about the kids who are vulnerably exposed to sexual undertones and violent images of many music videos shown on television. And they are shown everywhere – in the mall, in the airport lounge, in the privacy of one’s home, - where kids can view them unrestrictedly.
I guess the old man has really a point in worrying about the effects of these sexually suggestive music videos. I have seen just recently the music video of one of the latest releases of Billie Myers entitled “Tell Me.” The words are very suggestive and smack of sexual innuendoes. Equally offensive are the imageries that visualize the lyrics of the song. Even without the lyrics, the viewer can easily understand what the song is all about.
Such kind of music video can create unhealthy perceptions of human sexuality in the minds of some teenagers, especially among those who have not received positive education on sexual values but rather learned about human sexuality through their indiscriminate exposure to media.
Fr. James Reuter, SJ shared with us once how he worried so much about the kids who are vulnerably exposed to sexual undertones and violent images of many music videos shown on television. And they are shown everywhere – in the mall, in the airport lounge, in the privacy of one’s home, - where kids can view them unrestrictedly.
I guess the old man has really a point in worrying about the effects of these sexually suggestive music videos. I have seen just recently the music video of one of the latest releases of Billie Myers entitled “Tell Me.” The words are very suggestive and smack of sexual innuendoes. Equally offensive are the imageries that visualize the lyrics of the song. Even without the lyrics, the viewer can easily understand what the song is all about.
Such kind of music video can create unhealthy perceptions of human sexuality in the minds of some teenagers, especially among those who have not received positive education on sexual values but rather learned about human sexuality through their indiscriminate exposure to media.
Wednesday, September 9, 1998
Listen to the Beat
Music is a language of the soul. It communicates to us varied topics such as love, romance, history, care for the environment and many other things besides.
I have always been partial to classical music. This kind of music soothes me and lifts me up especially when I feel stressed out at times.
Nowadays, the kinds of music that fill the airwaves are fast and gyrating. Young people are also quick to go with the tempo. They dance, they swing, they stomp their feet to the beat of music. Call me biased if you must but I simply do not know if you can classify as one the rock music that we are being fed with through television and the airwaves. MTV’s are dime a dozen. They are all over cable television. And I am not only talking of Madonna and Michael Jackson.
Rock music is oftentimes the target of criticisms by media critics because of the negative values it communicates to young people. This kind of music speaks of lust and sex in view of love. It glorifies violence as a way of life. It regards women as sex objects.
It is easy to go with the tempo of the music and to sing the song without understanding what it means. And it is what is happening sometimes, especially with kids. They can easily memorize songs such as Barbie girl and sing it with all their heart with realizing what it means.
I have always been partial to classical music. This kind of music soothes me and lifts me up especially when I feel stressed out at times.
Nowadays, the kinds of music that fill the airwaves are fast and gyrating. Young people are also quick to go with the tempo. They dance, they swing, they stomp their feet to the beat of music. Call me biased if you must but I simply do not know if you can classify as one the rock music that we are being fed with through television and the airwaves. MTV’s are dime a dozen. They are all over cable television. And I am not only talking of Madonna and Michael Jackson.
Rock music is oftentimes the target of criticisms by media critics because of the negative values it communicates to young people. This kind of music speaks of lust and sex in view of love. It glorifies violence as a way of life. It regards women as sex objects.
It is easy to go with the tempo of the music and to sing the song without understanding what it means. And it is what is happening sometimes, especially with kids. They can easily memorize songs such as Barbie girl and sing it with all their heart with realizing what it means.
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Vocation Story
Let me tell you a little story.
I know of a little girl who at an early age knew precisely what she wanted in life. Her dreams abound and she was determined to make them come true. She was a typical girl of her age, full of pranks and hard headed most of the times. This attitude put her in no less a number of times at odds with the Sisters at school. Her “not so edifying” experience with the Sisters at school led her to believe that she will never become a nun and never in her life will she aspire to become one.
Vocation stories fascinate me. I remember listening to a nun back in high school who shared with us her vocation story. How she could leave behind a promising career and a loving boyfriend as well as the prospect of a blissful married life was beyond me. I thought then that she was really incredible.
Now, several years after that audience with the sister, I knew better.
I have experienced being asked many times, (by young and old alike) the reason why I became a religious. Even if I try to answer as simply as I could, still the question persists. I guess it is so because to many of us religious vocation is still a mystery.
The call of God is really a mystery even to those whom he calls. When I experience some difficulties understanding my own vocation, I look up the different personages in the Bible like Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Blessed Mother, and draw inspiration and strength from their own experience of the call. I listen and reflect on the vocation stories of my own sisters in the community whose wealth of experience has become a fountain source for me.
The month of September (as vocation month) offers an opportunity for our young people to reflect on the direction their life is taking. Perhaps this is also a time for them to listen more intently to the stirrings deep within their heart and allow the Spirit to lead them where God wants them to.
A friend once asked me why I chose to enter my present congregation instead of another one. Was it clear to me from the beginning that it was the congregation I really wanted to become a part of? I said yes.
I guess it happens that sometimes we are assailed with doubts. We are not 100% sure whether this is the right community and the right apostolate for us. But then we have different experiences. God deals with us differently. One thing I am sure is that we really hit it right if we are happy and at peace with what we do, wherever we are.
Hey, you might wonder what happened to that girl in the story. Did she become a nun after all? What do you think?
I know of a little girl who at an early age knew precisely what she wanted in life. Her dreams abound and she was determined to make them come true. She was a typical girl of her age, full of pranks and hard headed most of the times. This attitude put her in no less a number of times at odds with the Sisters at school. Her “not so edifying” experience with the Sisters at school led her to believe that she will never become a nun and never in her life will she aspire to become one.
Vocation stories fascinate me. I remember listening to a nun back in high school who shared with us her vocation story. How she could leave behind a promising career and a loving boyfriend as well as the prospect of a blissful married life was beyond me. I thought then that she was really incredible.
Now, several years after that audience with the sister, I knew better.
I have experienced being asked many times, (by young and old alike) the reason why I became a religious. Even if I try to answer as simply as I could, still the question persists. I guess it is so because to many of us religious vocation is still a mystery.
The call of God is really a mystery even to those whom he calls. When I experience some difficulties understanding my own vocation, I look up the different personages in the Bible like Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Blessed Mother, and draw inspiration and strength from their own experience of the call. I listen and reflect on the vocation stories of my own sisters in the community whose wealth of experience has become a fountain source for me.
The month of September (as vocation month) offers an opportunity for our young people to reflect on the direction their life is taking. Perhaps this is also a time for them to listen more intently to the stirrings deep within their heart and allow the Spirit to lead them where God wants them to.
A friend once asked me why I chose to enter my present congregation instead of another one. Was it clear to me from the beginning that it was the congregation I really wanted to become a part of? I said yes.
I guess it happens that sometimes we are assailed with doubts. We are not 100% sure whether this is the right community and the right apostolate for us. But then we have different experiences. God deals with us differently. One thing I am sure is that we really hit it right if we are happy and at peace with what we do, wherever we are.
Hey, you might wonder what happened to that girl in the story. Did she become a nun after all? What do you think?
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