This was yesterday’s happenings - we went to Laguna for the Greenfield City Sunset Run.  We signed up for the 5k event but according to people it was almost 6 kilometers.

Anyway, that’s not even the point of this post here…

The point is this - last Friday I put in 3 kilometers for a last prep work for the Sunset Run.  Afterwards, while having dinner I almost forgot that I did a run.  There was nothing sore in my muscles. 

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The quality of your life will be, in part, dependent on the quality of the people you hang out with. So choose the very best specimens of humanity available.

That was my problem before.  Unknowingly I was hanging with the wrong crowd.  But of course asking for clarity from God gives you that - the truth.  I learned my lesson and now I think I’m with the right kind of crowd. Continue Reading »

I saw my former Supervisor at SM this evening.  The chance encounter led to about 30 or so minutes of catching up right in the middle of the mall until it closed.  I realized how much I missed my friends there.  Ms. Irene was really like a mother to us, for one.  We also talked about this manager there who I got into a tiff with back then.  We did patch it up though near the end of my stay, bonding over daily breakfast runs at a nearby food joint.

I kept thinking, on the way home afterwards, why I stopped corresponding with them in the first place.  I think at some point there, when I transferred to my next job, I got swept away by the excitement.  I looked forward and moved on.  I think now that I moved on too fast.  I realized that partially I also let myself get swept away by the new endeavors.  I realized that I just wanted to quickly pile over those bad memories with new ones.  I ran so fast until I reached Greenland, so to speak.

Same thing with my transition from high school to college.  I had a not-so-good four years in high school, in general.  But the last few months I guess I opened up to my classmates, lessened the geek that I am and just enjoyed life.  Even cried during farewells.  True to the tale, someone wrote as a dedication on my class picture: “Too bad it’s only now that we knew about the true Angelo.“  After graduating I moved on and (almost) never looked back.  Over the course of a few years, and much more recently, I have been hesitant and altogether decided not to go to high school reunions and such.  This thing also popped into my head when I headed home.

I find that the farther you are from the memories and the people associated with it, in terms of time and place, most of the time the good memories are masked by a pang of negative feelings.  Like an astronaut looking at the Earth from outer space, he only sees the most glaring details.  To me, the bad feelings become the glaring details of the past.  In my heart, they get defined by it.  I guess my subconscious decides to push back the memories, both the good and the bad altogether.  It’s a survival mechanism, I guess.

I was pondering about this until I got home.  Finally, when I checked my personal e-mails I  read this

Don’t let resentments block blessings from flowing freely into your life. Always forgive.

First of all, I love my life.  I realize something important and I get instant affirmation from my mailbox!  Who gets daily affirmation from their mail, on almost a daily basis?!?

Anyway, I know that what happened is nothing important now.  I guess I’ve forgiven them.  Heck, I even wish the best for them.  Right now, I am actually in that place where I wish the best for all my past enemies and frenemies.  But I guess I have neither forgiven myself nor the very memory of it.  That’s what I must confront now.

I guess what I learned from this evening is that yes, it’s good to move on and look toward a better tomorrow in the wake of bad things that happen.  That’s almost how we live to tell the tale.  But as soon as you are in a place of peace in your life, it’s good practice to go back and reflect on the bad stuff that’s happened.  Examine yourself if underneath that peace, the wounds have been truly cleansed and healed.  Remember as well, that only absolute forgiveness, of the other person, of oneself and the experience can one truly be free from resentment.

My heart is truly feeling lighter after writing this piece.  Praise God.

Saw this somewhere on the net.  Just thought I’d spread the word :-) 

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

• Throw out non-essential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
• Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
• Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 
• Enjoy the simple things. 
• Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
• The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 
• Surround yourself with what you love , whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 
• Cherish your health.  If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 
• Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, or to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
• Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. 

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER… Continue Reading »

We are all motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired to glory.
- Cicero

I guess these words hit me when I read it because professionally, a lot of the people I know have not felt like they are receiving enough praise and recognition… or acknowledgement.  You know, self-motivation can only get you very far.  From time to time, you will always need someone outside your circle of influence to recognize the good work that you do - in words or in the form of compensation.

There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way.
- Christopher Morley

This is a very serious thought to ponder.  Since I read this, it has lingered in my head.

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We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Well, basically the break-up was never official. So after the long talk last Monday we decided not to let go of this beautiful thing happening. It’s the first time I got an apology + explanation from a partner… ever. I have always been the first one to apologize.

I can never have a relationship that would be based on money, not anymore.

That is the line that I draw for the quest for love. This boundary is what prevents me now from moving forward with the relationship. At the end of the day, a man should draw the line and stand on it… whatever it takes.

Break-ups are hard, but survivable, especially for the learned heart.

I ended up meeting with The Meek that day, and we talked until late. To find substance under the silence, and more importantly… a possibility, is not an everyday occurence for me.

When no one is destined to come to your life, no one ever comes. But when they do, they usually come in 3s. I started to put myself out there…

To throw a net into the sea
But then I caught three
Souls that fates wove to my life’s strands
The meek, the kiss, and the hand

Let us just say that I am going out with The Kiss later for coffee.