I Take Off the Mask

I think one of the most difficult burdens a single person can have is the feeling that one has never been called or chosen.  Do I even have a vocation? When you try to search over the internet, you’d find various answers to this question.  Some would say that being single is a vocation just like being married or being a religious. But many sites I have visited bluntly say that being single should never be considered as such and there is no such thing. No matter what reason may have been given by those who say that being single is not a vocation, the effect is the same.  It is painful to hear and to be told again and again. If God did not call me to be single, where did I go wrong? Should I have been a married person or a religious had I only obeyed God’s calling? And if I have not been called that way, why wasn’t I called by God?  What does He want me to do with my life? It is this feeling that I am in a wrong state in life, somewhere I shouldn’t be.  That feeling that while all the ot...

After a last-minute decision, with no spare clothes or any other preparation, Esther, Elsa and I went to Alubijod, Guimaras Island. The timing of our arrival at Pulupandan Pier was God-given in our opinion. Good people guided us and served as angels in our journey – Bert, Ray, Kyle and Danny. On our way to our destination, we went “back riding” (on motorcycles) for the first time. It was only after the trip that we realized the risks we took, especially in riding that way (riding at the back of motorcycles, on roads that were rarely paved and were most often sloping). But the risks were worth it! And given the second chance, I’m almost sure we’d do it again. At Himala, Barangay Sibunag, we witnessed a spectacular sunset. (I was glad we captured it on film). I was glad I didn’t miss the silhouette of the tree set apart from the rest, somewhat bowing to the left with branches surrendering to the glaring orange sky. Indeed, the peace of the place, especially upon arriving at Barangay S...

“ The Boogies and the Woogies” by Marianne Reed is just so cute, so colorful and so adorable that I enjoyed it immensely even though I’m no longer a little child. It just felt good to be young again and to see a world where everything is new and wonderful. This book has a certain way of conveying positivity and warmth to its readers through its vivid illustrations and smart narrative. In a simple but very effective way, it delivers a strong message to readers young and old, a message that the world badly needs today. Sometimes it’s hard to see a solution without seeing our situation from another perspective. And that’s where this book comes in. It enables its readers to visualize through its magical pages how we sometimes behave and why we often can’t find the answers to our problems. Haven’t we seen children fight over something they can’t seem to settle by themselves? (Well, it seems even adults also, but let’s talk about that later on). Many times, a fight can go on because neit...