Time zone

Because feelings change from one minute to the other.

Finally, I have corrected the time stamp of my blog!

And then you called me

I forgot all about the promise you made when you said you'd call me to prove how noisy your floor could be, and how annoyed you could get around these rowdy co-inhabitants at the second floor. It's been a month, I think. I picked up and you said, "naririnig mo?" (can you hear it?) as if I knew what exactly you were talking about.

But we love to talk. Damn, we do!

Latins and Indians

While I am on the subject of quotes, particularly that of Coelho and his universe, let me share my favorite quote from Arundhati Roy:

“The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” - Arundhati Roy 

But I would like to clarify thus far that I am not a Coelho basher. Neither am I a Coelho fan. I actually have not read any of his novels. I just feel strongly about this quote, which is only a speck among his undeniably large body of literary work. So Choelho fans need not hate me. As a matter of fact, I find materials written by Latin authors engaging. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende come to mind first. With the millions inspired by Coelho's novels, I am sure to find something there to inspire me, too. Plus, the likes of Fidel Castro, Che Guevarra and the Cuban people have always been an inspiration. Finally, the fangirl in me find it necessary to mention Gael Garcia Bernal. Enough said.

Going back to Roy.

I love that it embodies 99.5% of what I believe in. It exudes both strength and gentleness. At the onset, it may have the air of an existentialist. But really it comes from a woman who have gone way past existentialism into being a woman of the world. One who is romantic but never illogical, and one who is unabashedly politicized but not to the point of alienating.

Because she is the living proof of this beautiful quote, her words doesn't come off as an empty string of words nicely put together. She is an Indian woman who broke free from the historical chain of oppression. And for many years now, she's been helping others do the same for themselves. It is only through this that her own freedom will be fully realized.

I truly have a huge respect for this woman.

Curse of Coelho

‎"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Naknamputcha eh kakasabi ko lang. Power of choice nga eh. Kung tao ang universe, jinombag na niya si Paolo Coelho at ang mga naniniwala sa kasabihan niya.

The power of choice

Just when I plan to sleep early, I always end up in high spirits at my favorite hour of the day: 2am. In the the last 5 hours, I watched "The Secret" endorsed by my Yoga instructors. It's a documentary about the "Law of Attraction". Our thoughts are so powerful that instead of the concept of the universe conspiring a grand plan for us, it should actually be the reverse. The power of our thoughts command the universe in order to attract whatever it is that we want to achieve. It talked a lot about positive thinking to attract positive events. I definitely believe in the power of the mind but not really in the context of the mystic. I'm all about logic. If you allow yourself to carry a positive and brave disposition, then you are able to communicate well, excel at work, nurture relationships and love and believe in yourself. Putting the universe in the equation is refusing to accept the full credit of everything you have worked so hard for. In the same manner, blaming the universe for bad things is also a refusal to take the full blame of making bad decisions, of a failed strategy which resulted to your own misery.

But the universe, fate and god are concepts that make life easier to swallow especially when things go awry. That's human nature. Good or bad, we don't want to admit that it is our own making. Well, more of the bad. We are either too shy to fully own an achievement, or too guilty to admit to fucking things up. And so we say the universe doesn't agree or fate has a different plan, that it's not the will of god, or simply blame other people or circumstances. What we don't realize is that every single choice, thought and action are the only factors that can make or break us as a person in this world. It is our CHOICE that is the most powerful.

Back from the dead

Wow. I almost forgot about this blog. For the past year, the 2 attempts to sign in was a failure. I realized I was using the wrong e-mail address. Now, I'm back!

Napaka-trying hard blogger ko talaga.