Saturday photo

A burst of vibrant colors all day... every day - these days!

These days, my source of daily joy has increased in number.  As I look out of my window at our little house's receiving area while waiting for the kettle to whistle its announcement that it's ready to make coffee, I cannot help but smile as I see our fabulous Melendres plant through the sheer curtains.  The Melendres plant is a shrub that is usually referred to as the 'cherry blossoms of the Philippines'.  The round cherry-like pods of the plant turn brown by the month of April or May before bursting into colorful little flowers.  The beautiful red and bright pink flowers lined with sharp white color around their velvety petals seem to give a cheerful greeting as the plant sways gracefully with the gentle morning breeze.  It's like a

Seeing beauty through the window.

scene from animated movies for kids where every living thing around speaks merrily with the main character.  I cannot help but breathe "good morning" to our Melendres plant... and all our other plants, which are, uhm, a lot!   

In the afternoon, when I return from work, a few meters from our house, the vibrant burst of colors dangling out of our fence, swaying prettily, seems to greet me some meters from our house.  Butterflies and singing birds seem to dance with the flowers amid the equally vibrant colors of sunset... and it is, indeed, a scene to behold.  It seems to remind me of God's blessings everyday, and this, while very beautiful and joyful that it fills the soul with much amazement, is just one of the 'smallest' of blessings in the grand scheme of things where God is at the center.  It gives the most organic reason to stay still for a few minutes and cherish the many blessings of the day, and thank God for it all, through the Angelus at dusk. No wonder that Angelus is my late father's favorite prayer, and praying it was a practice that, I observed, was handed to him by my grandparents, and their parents before that.  I remember growing up watching my paternal grandmother light the candles at our altar, and gathered us around the altar as she led in praying the Angelus... and then the Rosary. 

These days, I am beginning to believe that letting one's self to be lost in admiration of the beauty of nature and paying homage to its Creator is prayer in itself. And, these days, it's the kind of prayer that I most enjoy.  I thank God for this opportunity to be in this phase in my life, and in the place where I am, to experience this daily sustenance of the soul.  Life is, indeed, beautiful; and God is, indeed, good... all the time!

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Image credit:  The featured photos in this post belong to me.  I took all of them.

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Saturday Photo

 by PAM

A burst of sunshine inside the house!

A few weeks (or is it months already) ago, I was talking about 'decluttering'... and finding, uhm, no, not finding but experiencing joy in it.  I also talked about using pieces of home decor that are beyond just 'pretty' but also functional and blend in with everything else in that decluttered space.  

Later, a few months after positing that piece, and just as soon as springtime came, and the flowers started to appear in our surroundings, I had the reason I need to re-dress our throw pillows in the TV room as well as at the receiving room of 'Home #2'.  My inspiration?  Simple.  It's 'texture'... once again.  The color is

The cosmos flowers outside our TV room
peep in with their 'silent giggles'
echoing in the room.

simple - the color of sunshine.  It's cheerful, pretty, and quite stunning.  I see these pieces in the morning after I say my morning prayers with my eyes still closed, and as I grope my way to the kitchen with my eyes half closed.  The sunny color makes me feel that the day is promising me something good and happy... and that helps start my day right.  And even when the day falls short in fulfilling its promise, when I get home, these cheerful pieces restore good vibes.  They make me feel like I am basking in sunshine inside my home even when it's actually the moon that's shining outside. They remind me of the great blessings that I am so fortunate to enjoy, and that I am so privileged to share with others.  In fact, these pieces and the positive vibes that they invoke are part of those many blessings.  In the end, my determination to continue hoping for the best is renewed.  Indeed, the blessings of the Lord does not stop pouring in every single day.  We can continue enjoying them if we are only faithful enough to keep paying attention and to keep our hearts open to recognize and to be grateful for these blessing.  I know that for the skeptics, it's odd that I am talking elaborately about simple throw pillows... as manifestations of God's love and blessings.      

These days, the 'sunny' throw pillows are accompanied by matching new curtains.  However, this is not the only one that makes the whole scene lovely.  There's the fact that the pretty cosmos flowers of similar colors as the throw pillows and curtains seem to peep inside the TV room from outside.  They simply lighten the mood everyday as I listen to terrible news after terrible news at breakfast time, and they bring sunshine in and the 'laughter of the grounds'.   

So, yes... our home can be designed in a way that reminds us of God's love and blessings every single day.

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Image credit:  All photos used in this post are all mine.  I took them all.

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Saturday Photo

 

Delicate... but resilient.  And it's good.

It's been 'raining cats and dogs'... again.  Big drops of rain are pouring out of the sky, escaping the swollen thickness of air like desperate prisoners unleashing that unquenchable thirst for dear freedom.  Thunderbolt and lightning echo the rains' desperation to drench the land left feverish by summertime.  

In all those waves of mother nature's emotion, what called my attention was this little sulfur cosmos (cosmos sulphureus) flower at our backyard that was gracefully braving all that deluge of nature's anguish.  One might think that after hours and hours of rain, the poor little flower would be falling apart from carrying the weight of all the raindrops on its petals... but it did not.  It stayed upright, it remained pretty.  It swayed with the wind, sometimes dodging a gigantic raindrop in the process, but it held on steadfastly.  Its color remained sunny and cheerful... all eight petals unruffled and the pretty orange disk floret remained intact, punctuating the cheery color of the petals in contrast of their own that was quite fiery.  And the flower is surrounded by the lush green leaves of the cosmos plant.  

This resilient little flower is a beautiful reminder that no matter what the situation is, no matter how harsh and challenging, one's natural goodness can remain intact.  And, when we focus on that goodness, we can remain good... no matter the relentless waves of emotional challenge around us.  This is because our goodness is from God... God who is the being of goodness.

And, as we embrace our goodness - God's goodness, we can be beautifully delicate and vulnerable... but beautifully resilient, too... amid harshness.

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Image credit:  The photo in this post belongs to me.  I took it using my old Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

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Saturday photo(s)

The dramatic skies and the lush vegetation

in my 'second home' and in my 'other' new workplace.

These days, I am getting used to waking up in the morning with the view of the skies about to let go of of the gray colors of dawn in anticipation of the arrival of sunrise.  It's such a beautiful scene... that sometimes, I stay transfixed on my bed staring at the scene in the window by my bed with nothing but the sound of my own breath and the happy chirping of the birds - so serene... until the sun finally burst in the horizon, slowly makes its way to the sky, brightening and intensifying the hues of the colorful surroundings, slowly spreading its fingers on the green, green grass visible in the opposite window until the last drop of mist disappears into the thinning air.  I cannot help but be filled with awe... and, everytime, it makes me wonder what magnificent luck life is about to reveal to me in the horizon of the day that just began.  Such wonderment puts a spring on my strides... and I go about my day with such excitement amid the serenity around me. 

The sky as it welcomes the sun
at sunrise - viewed from my bed
through my window

The trip from my new (second) home to my workplace is about 6km but I am, usually, able to cover the distance in only 10 minutes or so, regardless of the time of day... usually, it just takes two BTS songs.  From my new workplace, I am getting used to switching off my work gadgets as the air gently sways outside, making the branches of the seemingly countless trees and thick bushes around the building sway rhythmically as the chirping of the birds heightens, and the sound of crickets slowly blend in.  I make my way out of the building where I work while the skies make play of its fast-changing colors... from blue to various shades of orange as the sun makes its way into the depth of the horizon... or red, if the skies are generous enough to promise a beautiful day by the next sunrise.

My new workplace will be the seat of the 'highest' of high-technology to be developed by Thomasian scientists and innovators in the future.  It will be a buzzling place for interdisciplinary research for my University with its partners and stakeholders.  As we have a highly comprehensive University, just thinking about the extent of interdisciplinarity of our research and innovation activities in the future graces my imagination with a bonfire of ideas - very exhilarating!  But, of course, I make effort to rein in the excitement lest I resort to 'counting the chicks before the eggs hatch'.  So, I continue to work hard and persevere with my awesome Team in transforming that vast space that we have into what the future needs.

One day... nature and technology shall come together in a beautiful harmony that attempts to sketch God's generosity and wisdom.  The attempt shall fail, of course, as God's generosity and wisdom are boundless, and our attempt is merely to narrowly estimate... but the attempt shall be our way of expressing gratitude... and commitment to keep trying as we make ourselves worthy of, one day, seeing God's kingdom where the true beautiful harmony can be experienced... and not just estimated.  

Until then, we dream, we persevere... and we bask in the beauty of the experience.

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Image credit:  All the photos in the collage above and the individual photos belong to me.  I took them all.

Wednesday Happy Pill...

 ...and more!

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by PAM

Yesterday, I worked from home.  For the first time in many weeks, I let the sound of the chirping birds lure me away from my desk to wander around our little 'urban garden' at the front yard after my first cup of coffee.  It was good... it's like breathing fresh air for the first time after being in a 'processed oxygen chamber' (a.k.a. my room) for days and days... and days!

Beautiful morning... the sky was concealed by the canopy
that's the mango tree, fortune plant, and the overgrown yellow bells.

The brightness of the sky, partly concealed by the canopy of thick leaves above my head, put me in a beautiful mood.  I returned to my desk full of enthusiasm, ideas... and the determination to make the day good and productive.  I found my way back to the online library of Penn State University... and there, my enthused brain feasted on highly informative reading materials. I also visited the online reading resource of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was teeming with very good materials, I must say.  By the middle of the day, I have browsed about a dozen journal articles, two of which I read from Abstract to References.  A good day, indeed!

I spent almost the entire daytime in front of my laptop with just a small break to eat, and play block puzzle to decompress my brain muscles. I managed to climb to #2 in the leaderboard merely one week after I joined, starting at #128!  Hahaha... yep, even my playing was inspired yesterday!  By 5:00 pm, the birds started chirping merrily again outside.  I closed my eyes... and they stung so bad!  That was it, I was done for the day.  I walked out, and saw the beautiful colors of the late afternoon sun...

My phone camera refused to re-create what my eyes were seeing,

which was a beautiful late afternoon sky.

I automatically changed into my walking shoes... I just had to enjoy the beautiful moment!  I walked along our street towards the west.  Although I was unable to see the setting sun itself, I got to see the beautiful colors it left in its wake in the sky...

My phone camera was being the smarty a*%, refusing to bear witness

to the beauty of the sunset sky... but even it was unable to 

fully resist the loveliness.

I walked about a kilometer before turning back east towards our house.  The sky was turning quite dark in that direction but, as I turned to my left in the northern direction, it was lovely, too.

The lovely northern tropical sky, echoing the beauty

of the eastern sky at sunset.

So, yeah, it was a lovely day... reminiscent of the past days that were all very productive and exciting... albeit exhausting.  At least, we have little joyful moments to cheer us up... small mercies, small surprises... we just have to pay attention, and indulge ourselves a bit - nothing wrong about taking care of ourselves especially our mental health.

As I was walking, this BTS song put a spring in my steps, "Outro: Wings" from their album "You Never Walk Alone" released in 2017. 

"Take me to the sky
If I can fly, if I can run away forever

If my wings could fly

Piercing through the air that's getting heavier

Flying, flying

Higher than, higher than... the sky."

It didn't feel like I walked alone, indeed... I had, and will always have, this loyal 2nd (or, is it 'third'?) family, always making my day good and bright... even if they are not aware that they are doing so.  They make me fly, fly... fly... higher than the sky!

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Photo credit:  All photos in this post belong to me, and they were taken and processed for the sole use of this blog.

Video credit:  The owner of the video featured in this post is indicated in the video itself - Brilliant.  It is, indeed, a brilliant edit! Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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