rain...ulan

it is still the rainy season. no, it's not over yet. it will probably go on forever. hope not. the kablogs journal has just released its double issue (sept-oct 2011) with the theme 'rain/ulan' plus the peba special. come and visit the page to read about special and inspiring articles.

The Rain as a Diversion

Ang Dala ng Ulan

Instant realization lives on ...

Check out more about Life Realization at The Kablogs Journal. 

Life … there is so much we can learn just by living it. So many questions in our minds since we were small, and so many answers we have found living day by day. Some answers are great, some are confusing, while some are just so incomprehensible. There are times when we just let life pass us by … times when we thought that whatever we do makes no difference at all. To our own little world, as well as to the big world out there. But indeed there are also times when we find ourselves dancing to the tune of life’s diverse orchestras – featuring music genres that uplift our spirits and make life more interesting and colourful and musical. You just couldn’t help but dance or jive with the tune.

Sometimes though life punches you right where it hurts the most. One such time I have experienced was two years ago, one day in late April, at my Dad’s side while he was in ICU. Thinking about it always makes me breathe faster … it still affects me, 2 years hence. There were just so many things I could have done or talked to him about during those last moments … so many ‘if onlys’ … I could only keep assuring him of our love, reciting assuring bible verses to keep him thinking of God, and singing Amazing Grace softly.

One realization that dawned on me at that time was this: that at the moment when a person is between life and death, it is just between him/her and God. It goes beyond the physical. It is spiritual. And the only consolation one could have during those moments is that the person knows God personally. What goes on in a person’s mind and heart only he/she and God can know. The only prayer and hope we could have is that the person on the throes of leaving this physical world has made the right decision even to the last breath – to believe and receive the gift of salvation offered by the Saviour. At that last moment, nothing matters except this fact. And this realization is still with me even at this time, making me always think to not just let life pass me by, but to keep going, and praying that I can share this realization to those whom I need to share to.

Sometimes when life is full of noise and gaiety, we tend to focus only on that, the glamour and the glitter of this world. But what happens when all these are gone, all these fade away, just to remain as memories of a glittery past? Because time will come when, in just one instant, in a blink of an eye, these things will be gone. Think of the triple disaster in Japan that has just happened. And in so many other places and lives, similar things although at different levels, happen day by day, unnoticed by the world. So what is left of our lives when these happen? Let us focus then on things that will remain true forever and eternally, and not on what can be destroyed.

So if you're serious about living

this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.

Pursue the things over which Christ presides.

Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground,

absorbed with the things right in front of you.

Look up, and be alert

to what is going on around Christ—

that's where the action is.

See things from his perspective.

-Colossians 3:1-2

The Message

A tambayan with a cause

A new virtual tambayan has been set-up called the Kablogs Station. A tambayan is a place where people can hang around and relax, meet new and old friends, discuss various topics, share snacks, and do various activities.

Tambayan comes from the word tambay, which can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to somebody who hangs around the corner or some place, without doing anything (yet) or hanging out with others, doing some fun stuff or just talking. It may refer to somebody who has no direction in life (negative connotation and elders would tell us to be careful of them). It can be positive as well, if it refers to somebody who is in between doing something. Like taking a break. As a verb, it means “to hang around”, whether you have nothing to do so try to be somewhere to while away your time, or to wait for something to come.

A tambayan then provides a place for those who need a break, a rest, a diversion or a change from routine. You'll never know what will happen each time you go there. With different people coming and going, you also get different types of stories, dramas, fun, etc. A tambayan provides some excitement, and going to one can give somebody something to look forward to every day. It may also mean something different to others, depending on their experiences while in the tambayan.

The Kablogs Station is a tambayan with a cause, because one of its aims is to have a venue for people to showcase the beauty and goodness of being a Pinoy, in the Philippines and abroad. Another is to create awareness and advocacy on relevant issues affecting our country so we can make informed decisions when necessary. These, and many more.

So why not try for yourself and see what the new Pinoy tambayan, the Kablogs Station has got for us, and what we, Pinoys in 'Pinas and abroad, can do for our kababayans and for others through it.

Truly a tambayan with a cause.