Throwback Thursday...

...because the time calls for it.
==================================================================
by PAM

Oh, boy!  February is about to be over, and March is about to settle in!  And yet, here I am, still working on January-February stuff... even when I sleep very little, and rest has been more scarce these days!  And yet, it's a case of "so, what's new", really! 

All the sleepless nights have been messing me up... I've been getting sick, I feel I'm getting uglier by the day, and looking so much older than my actual age - seriously.  And I've been losing my sense of humor, too... not that I have considerable sense of humor to actually lose though.  But that's the trouble, y'see, whatever little sense of humor I have is disappearing - fast.  It's been quite miserable, sad and funny all at the same time!  But, of course, I am capitalizing on the 'funny' part... and thriving on it - well, as much as possible... and focusing on the faces and voices of the people around who matter more.

To reverse whatever can be reversed, and convert misery back to happiness, I wish to remind myself of what I was like ten years or so ago... of how optimistic I was of life and its beautiful surprises, and how exciting every single day was - because that was how I chose to view it!  This set of photos from ten years and two months ago kind of mirror that indefatigable positive outlook...

...when life's curve balls can't throw you off.

     
There was always enough reason to smile happily about... regardless of the prevailing situation.  I bet there's plenty of reason still today to smile about.  I just need to use the right lenses, take the right perspective, and adopt a constantly positive attitude. And I need to pick out grains of wisdom from the sea of 'junks' around, especially in the social media... focus on the meaningful goal in front of me, be inspired by the joy that their attainment would bring to many people, and set out to conquer them - powered by prayers that are uttered sincerely and wholeheartedly, and propelled by sense of mission and the heartfelt desire to serve... and serve well!  

I think all of this is called love... and being hopeful and faithful to God.  I'm glad that I have kindred spirits among my family and close friends, and these kids whose goodness inspires this sweet inclination to the beauty of life.  


***
Photo credit:  Thanks to my sister, Beng Marcelo, for these photos. 

***

Joy...

...there is nothing but joy!
=========================================================================
by PAM

Sometimes, no matter how bad you feel - physically, because of sickness, when your heart

is happy and full, and your mind is filled with nothing but beautiful thoughts, despair has

'Love begets love'... or so they say.

no place in your being.  Your body fails, but your spirit keeps soaring... coaxing the mind to ignore the pain, and surge in fruitful activity instead, constantly willing the heart to beat in unison with the pulsing of the brain - happily, joyfully... alive and well!

Such is my experience over the past two days. The body is on its way to an unstoppable decline, suffering from unquenchable thirst - for rest, for respite no matter how brief.  And then, warm messages, so loving and thoughtful, fly in... they are a reflection of the exact same affection that I feel for those who sent them.  And, it feels real and true. 

I became certain then that sickness will be beaten... and that life goes on - for now.

*** 

Valentine's Day 2019...

...is a 'sunny' day! 
========================================================================
by PAM

Happy Valentine's Day to all! 💘😊🎉

The day is filled with the warmth of sunshine... and that beautiful feeling of loving, and more so... of being loved. Ah, Valentine's Day, you are, indeed, worthy of all the hype!

What makes the gift special are the people who give it, and...

...most especially the shape of their hearts. 

Sunflowers are rarely given on Valentine's Day. Well, at least, sunflower is not the 'classic' Valentine's Day flower gift... although, I must admit that, in my book, it is one very special flower - for all seasons... and reasons. But as a Valentine's flower... perhaps not. First of all, it is yellow, rather than red, which is the color of the

Thanks be to God for Happiness!

heart, passion... and love.  And yet, when there is so much optimism and good cheers in the love - of any kind and form - that binds people together then the sunflower is the most suitable one to symbolize heart's day. Scientifically speaking, sunflower seeds contain mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids that are good for the heart. 😜😅 In the same way that a 'sunny disposition' symbolized by sunflower sustains true happiness that makes the heart 'swell' and more capable of loving, and accepting love. As such, I feel absolutely blessed to receive sunflowers on Valentine's Day from the very same 'kids' whose love brings out the best in me; from whose love my days thrive over the past year-and-a-half or so... at least, they give me enough reason to keep going these days - no matter how difficult to put one foot  in front of the other to keep moving forward.  No, I have not been counting the days really, because when love is true, it knows no boundaries - real or imaginary... not even time nor place. It just is. And, it's sweet, and it's absolutely beautiful! 

***

Video of the day

Something educational - for a change, even when the headline of this blog reads, "just (almost) never about work", and I work in the education sector.

"...we're seeing large concentrations of carbon dioxide accumulate in the atmosphere
each year.  This is contributing to the long-term trend of rising global temperatures."

***

Video Credit:  NASA via National Geographic website - thank you.

***

Friday Night Music...

...because it's been a while.
====================================================================
by PAM

It's been an unbelievably challenging week.  Good old plain "grueling" doesn't cut it... it's too 'benign' a word to describe a physically toxic but spiritually fulfilling past seven days.  I don't think that a few hours of not-a-care-in-the-world lie down would do anything to get this poor old shell of mortality back to good-enough-to-go-on state, or to get my spirit that is still soaring up above from incredible state of bliss. Oh, boy!

I need music!  Some rockin' tunes that do not bust the eardrums... fast enough to get attuned to this spirit on cruise mode, with straightforward lyrics but coy enough to keep the imagination going but prevent the mind from overthinking; and soulful enough to soothe this aching shell of a body that's badly beaten and intensely in pain.  There is only one genre that matches my current need for soulful entertainment... and it's country music!  Nope, I am normally not a 'country girl', but lately, my music subconscious has been gravitating towards this storytelling tunes that are so easy to listen to.  And this song caught my attention a few months ago... and I find myself humming it to calm the nerves when the going gets tough.  It's "Play it again" by Luke Bryan... man, I didn't even know who Luke Bryan was until very recently!  I got interested in his songs because they sound like this...

 

🎶 "The next Friday night, we were sittin' out under the stars

You should have seen her smile when I brought out my guitar

She was like, 'oh my God, this is my song

I've been listening to the radio all night long

Sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on, and here it is'...

...and she said, 'play it again, play it again, play it again'..." 🎶

Isn't that fun?  You can totally imagine how this pretty little thing unknowingly lassoed this guy's heart, and the poor man was an instant captive by his own heart's fall... and willingly, too, in the end!  And it's beautiful that all that lassoing and falling are all within the duration of a song.  It's too good... you just want to fall in love, too!

Ahh... the muscles are untangling, and relaxing now, and it feels ohh, so good!

So, let's do another Luke Bryan, shall we?  How about this... a song that men should listen to... because if they're real, this is how they should be treating their girls, "Crash my party"....

🎶 "If you wanna call me, call me, call me, you don't have to worry 'bout it, baby
You can wake me up in the dead of the night; wreck my plans, baby that's alright.
This is drop everything kind of a thing.
Swing on by, I will pour you a drink.
The door's unlocked, I'll leave on the lights
Baby, you can crash my party anytime...." 🎶

Hmmm... that sounds good, too, isn't it?  But let's move on to something newer... and younger, shall we?  I pick this, "Hello Beautiful" by Noah Schnacky.

🎶 "Hello, beautiful, beautiful...

I got your name, and I got your number

We sat for hours, talkin' to each other

But one night, just wasn't enough

We were all in, fallin' in love...."🎶

And you thought kids should be singing pop songs... but here we are, a young fine man, singing country.  So, yeah, I'm a fan.

Alright, I think my mind, body and soul are all ready for some serious rest... I think the week's worth of work earned me some... and I'm gladly claiming every minute of it! 

***

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the loan of the music videos.

***