Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pain, Love, Interwined

The thought of pain in risking to love becomes very powerful to such an emotional investment.
Who would want to feel love knowing that pain is just in the corner?
I am no gambler on romantic love.
I do not want to play unless I am certain that I will win.
Maybe that is the reason why at this age, I only have had a relationship but once. Short-lived.
And yes, I can only count on my fingers how many were my crushes, most of them, if not all, are gays.

The thought of loving and being loved in return, the way you expect it to be, is such an ideal scene.
Scripts of which will usually be ignored if not drastically trashed.
No one has the power to manipulate fully how events will unfold, simply because we all have the freewill.
I ought to feel and express what I want, everyone is entitled to do the same.
It's just a wish, a crazy one, to think that everything will fall into place the way we have planned it to be.

If you want to love and invest on it - you cannot have it until you learn to risk. Courage is crucial.
Allowing oneself to take the risk does not at all assure that success in the pursuit of love would come handy thereafter.
You risk in love. The next best thing is to act on it, and hope for the best.
But, before you even plunge, it pays to also engage thy self to calculated risks.
Know as much information as you could.

Control your heart if you must before leaving it all up to your emotions.
Pain is not a pre-requisite to bliss.
Joy need not have trade-offs at all times.
But reality bites. Where there is love, there is this constant threat of pain.
We may love just enough, much, or inadequately, there is always this pain that is part of the picture.
We may choose to avoid it, but we can never eliminate its existence in the scene.


Is it worth to love again after an emotional pierce?
Why not?
Who is immune to pain anyway?


Love.

Love until pain becomes foreign.
Love until you cannot distinguish passion from hurt.
Love as if pain is its seasoning, the defining flavor.
But love your own self more, much more than the extent of pain you allow yourself to endure for loving the one you have chosen.


To love and to be aware of the pain that clings to it is knowledge to aid us to be the best person we can be while loving;
it’s not an idea that will prepare us to be a slave to stupidity of pathological love.
May we always have the courage to get out from the arena of pain, the same courage that moved us to love in the first place. :)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Permanent Shelters ASAP

Not everyone might know the current situation of Sendong survivors, let me share with you only a little of what I have witnessed from the bigger picture. Camps, tents can be very exciting for us, especially when we talk about our boy-and-girl-scout-days, isn't it? Though we are enjoying the feel of the camp and camping in general, we always reach to a point where we want to go home for we miss the comforts of which. I know the feeling because I have been into several camps. I sure have an idea how difficult it is. And no doubt, you have an idea of such, too.

It's been five (5) months now since Typhoon Washi/Sendong hit the country, especially the cities of Iligan, CDO, Bukidnon and Dumaguete. And here in Iligan, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are still staying in the evacuation camps, in what they regard as tent cities.

Last Sunday, May 13, a sudden outpour of heavy rains and strong winds have triggered flashbacks of the tragic Sendong to many of the IDPs. Some lost their stuff again, while some others ironically evacuated, out from the deemed "evacuation camps". Some cried hard while others prayed hard. Waist-high waters rushed to some areas, thereby remark like "this is second Sendong minus logs", can be heard all over. Some tents got destroyed in an instant.

Five long months in the tents, enduring the scorching heat of the sun and the unpredictable,threatening rains. Tents are surely not durable after a while, not even conducive as shelter. But what can IDPs do? This is the best they got at the moment, they just have to bear everything not-so-good that goes with it.

It is my prayer, and is shared by other humanitarian actors and many others, that immediate actions will be taken by the authorities. The longer the IDPs stay on such situation, the more vulnerable they are to difficulties and other issues.

Violence, conflicts are increasing each day. We could only hope that everyone bounces back immediately. Few months ago, I have seen much resilience exhibited by people...but as the wait for permanent shelters keeps on getting longer and a bit uncertain to a number of people, some have shown unexpected deviations. While many moved on and are moving on, there are a number who have not and can not do such yet. And living in tents is not helping at all.

Whatever happened to the money donated for shelters? Who are stopping its immediate realization? If we claim that we have already taken actions, maybe it will also be nice to revisit the processes we have employed and the sense of urgency we have attached to it. As per assessment of many, it appears that you have not tried hard enough. You have allowed mediocrity to be your standards, you have not employed the best strategies yet. At times, we can get so comfortable with where we are that realities on the ground do not in any way alarm our senses.

If I am too passionate about this, forgive me. You see, going to the evacuation camps does not just allow me to see their situations, but it has been a venue for me to hear their stories firsthand. And believe me when I say, even stones will crack upon hearing their accounts.



It's very hard to wait with such difficult situation, and it's even painful to wait when you know there can be a way to hasten things. This is all about will. May we never lose that will at the expense of our brothers and sisters.

Much can be said about the difficulties experienced by the IDPs, but this will be after all words. One will never have that perfect understanding unless he brings himself off to the evacuation camps and spend even just a day or two with the IDPs. Only then, he will realize how is it feels like to be one.

Rainy season is starting and it crushes my heart thinking about those children who are crying every time it rains hard. Tsk!

Water got in the tents after heavy rains last May 13 :"(

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Blind Eyes

Who could have thought that after 50 years of seeing the world with his naked eyes, he will completely lose his sight. Being blind for nine years now, he is almost hopeless to submit himself to possible means to regain his sight. What surprised us, Doc Anisah and I, is his desire to at least own a BP Apparatus, to be able to check his BP constantly. He did not even insist on having an operation, BP app is what he's just asking.

If I had the means to produce one, I could have instantly given him. But what hit me hard is the realization that - NOTHING IS CERTAIN. What we will become in the next years IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE. We have to cherish what we have and what we own at present, take utmost care of our health and appreciate even the littlest of our encounters in this world.

This is but one of the stories we have heard and witnessed today. If my heart were a bomb, it surely have exploded. :"(

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Medicines for Delivery


Francis, an HOM teammate, was bringing a box of medicines to SSB, Luinab late this afternoon. There were a number of reported cases of colds and fever among children as a result to the unexpected heavy rains last Sunday night. Such cases were but a few of the ill results of last weekend's very bad weather, for others were forced to move out from the evacuation centers/camps to a higher ground. Some even lost again their stuff. While a number lost their tents if not partially damaged:"(

*The said medicines were the ones left from the medical mission last May 9.*

Monday, May 7, 2012

Convergence for a Cause

The convergence of local groups to affirm Sendong survivors that there are still many people rallying behind their back, pushing for the best of their welfare :) This is it! No turning back, we are pushing to reality the Medical/Dental/Legal Mission on May 9. God, we cannot thank you enough for your grace. Thank you for people's generosity of hearts. They very well reflect your love and compassion:)