Uncharitable Talk

 No doubt modern man is not now only predisposed to making rash judgment against his neighbor, but this he does with relative ease and speed.

For this we need only take a peek at social media for confirmation.

Premise. This much we know.

We tend to believe everything we hear of our neighbor.  And then we make judgment, typically with prejudice, regardless how little we know of our targets.

In reality to judge others with prejudice is no easy task.  Only wise men or God could do that justly.

This difficulty is heightened by many factors we are saddled with. Our temperament.   Tastes.  Moods. Ambitions, and yes, even our own self-righteousness.

Thus best to leave judgments to others more capable and more invested.  

One may even know better than the one being criticized.  

But remember one can never discern the hidden motives of the doer.

The feeling of superiority when one harshly criticizes another is one very strong drive. And this feeling gets heightened even more when one willfully exaggerates the faults of others.

To Think About.

That our passion could work either for good or for something else.

The passion we exhibit for the people we love and hold dear is good. 

Limited in superlative expression only by our innate reservations.

But the passion we show for the people we abhor or dislike is something else.

Circumspection is the abiding rule, cognizant of that phrase in the Our Father that pleads for God's compassion, 

" forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..."

He who loves much, cannot be said to also hate much. 

The Lesson In Life

 As we approach life's impending end,

A question left to be posed and answered.

What is Jesus Christ to me?

If at that point we still have not realized this.

That the only saving grace in love is to suffer.

Then we sorely missed our fated end.

That life is nothing more than a yearning to give.

And to toil and to endure trials and tribulations.

Then we misunderstood the lessons strewn our way.

That life is not one serene and cozy love fest. 

Where  peace and harmony reign supreme.

 That we still cling to wordily delights that fade

Life is one messy hodgepodge of petty stuff.

That will blind one from our eternal destiny.

Be careful then lest we lose our way.

 

The Air We Breathe

 Those who study and gaze at the stars and heavens tell us that the one constant we can find in our firmament is the air we breathe.  The basic molecules in the air are the same they were for a very long time. Thus they dreamily opine that the very air we breathe could be the same one as breathed in or exhaled by those who came before us.  

Like an Einstein?  Why not.  After all, we air-breathing mammals use air like it is literally going out of business.  How many times do we breathe in and out each day?  In my advanced stage, I can only hold without breathing for under 2 minutes. 

Not knowing enough of the current pandemic scourge, what is to say that it is not in the very air we are now breathing?  That maybe the situation is that some of us simply are susceptible, or some are infective, or others resistant?

The last global pandemic (the Spanish flu in 1918) killed millions around the globe.  Is the virus that caused it gone?  No scientist is claiming that.  And it holds true for the other viruses that have plagued man in all of recorded history.

So?

If so, no amount of preparation, however detailed, minute or grand, could guarantee that each of us could not get it.

 Let us just all be sensible.  As sensible as we each individually understand and could prevent it.  As they say, only God knows.

 Or said differently, not to agonize too much over future ills or problems, sufficient are the problems of the present.

Lenten Week: How Things Have Changed.

 Lenten Week: How Things Have Changed.

Not too long ago drilled into our minds was this pious thought.

Holy Week of Lent was a season for fasting and sacrifice. 

An apt time for reverential solitude amidst the din of daily living.

  

Time to bear the burden of possible tribulations and vicissitudes 

we could all possibly  endure and should.

These we cramped in those few days of the Lenten season, 

in imitation of the examples set by Christ.

But now when Semana Santa rolls along, 

our harried mind wanders elsewhere.

It starts dreaming of possible hideaways and getaways 

we can hie to and sequester ourselves and families.

All  to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, 

the torrid tropic heat and deafening chaos of urban living.

 

In other words, with sacrifices bearing down on all, 

we seek to enjoy the few days in ease and comfort.

Yet He did counsel, take up my cross and follow me!  

For only this path leads to eternal life.

We have to empty our vessels with temporal pursuits 

and bow in humble prayer, so we can let Christ in.

Siargao On My Mind

 

The way I see it.

Call it the mystique or lure of places like Siargao.

It is simply a confluence of a couple of very strong drives.

First, the foreign young and impressionable tourists who are lured to the islands looking for thrill-heavy adventure in environment very different from their own, where they can feel and are treated like royalty by the locals.  

But unlike before, many of them are now coming not because they belong to the rich elites in their own countries but as regular folks able to travel because of mobility and overall affordability, helped by the lower costs of living in the islands.

Second, the local boys, whether as potential Lotharios, swains, or simply as indolent beach bums with not much else to do, who are quite beside themselves in friendliness and helpfulness.  This they show in their ready and easy patronizing ways with these Westerners, who we have to admit must appear very attractive and desirable to them. 

All this must conspire whether wittingly or unwittingly -  their very fair and smooth skin, well defined physical attributes, light-color hair, cute English accents, highlighted and accentuated by their very revealing beach wear.  All dovetailing to the typical Filipinos' standards of pulchritude. It must appear as like Eden for the locals.  Like surreal living in the movies. Or as dream experiences of a lifetime.

Put these two irresistible forces together, and who knows.  Anything goes?  The locals never had it so good.  So do the foreigners.

Brings me back to the memories of Pitcairn Island, as it figured in the book, Mutiny on the Bounty, which account was based on real-life events.

The all-male mutineers led by Fletcher Christian hid themselves in this remote island in the Pacific and intermarried with the natives.  Now Pitcairn Island is peopled by the descendants of those men and their native spouses.

Who knows in the near future Siargao could be peopled by a new strain of Filipinos, unique and distinct from the rest.