TODAY'S MORNING WALK AND MORE...

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I almost missed my morning walk today because it felt good staying in bed... rather overstaying... just feeling cozy and comfy.... the temptation was so great to sleep on. But..... habits are indeed hard to break. So I pushed myself up and out of bed grudgingly and gathered my morning-walk-stuff and walked out the door. Oh yes, I remembered to bring some money for some fruits and to pay my one-day-old debt with Mang Obet, the fruit vendor at the talipapa (market).
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Once I was out on the street the feeling of exhilaration returned and kept me moving at my usual pace and gait.
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You know, I've been at this for so long already that maybe you would be thinking by now that I have become quite jaded or bored with the landscape... both human and natural. Well, it's a yes on some days when the mood isn't there... but a no on most days when a small whisper from within reminds me that it's a beautiful world and life and that there is always something new to see everyday.
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The streets I walk on are the same ... perhaps worn and beaten in some parts through the years... but still good. The people I meet down those same paths are the same people too.... oh perhaps grayer in the hair... have put on some weight or lost a few.... have lost someone or gained a new one.... but still the same normal people in my same normal neighborhood.
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The trees, plants, flowers, animals... the flora and fauna, so to speak... of my neighborhood also seem the same.
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So I reply to that tiny voice inside... 'There's nothing new.' Immediately it comes out right back at me with.... 'You're not paying attention.'
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I'm NOT paying attention. --- I'm not paying ATTENTION.
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Oh boy! Okay, Mr. Tiny-Voice-Inside, let's see what you want me to see.
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From the top of the slope and looking down the road up ahead... it was nice watching the play of light and shadows as the sun began its ascent into the waiting sky. It's the newness of day which warms the soul.
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While I was admiring the view, somebody whisked past me in his jogging shoes and flew down ahead nodding a greeting at the man sweeping the garage of his home, and farther on till he was lost from sight. It's a nice neighborhood when a smile is freely given away like that.
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As I resumed my walk, I saw this bush by the road .. so pretty in its graceful leafy arch stretching out towards the street. Pretty in green! It reminds me of people whose wonderful friendships stretch across or beyond barriers of color, race, or religion.
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Not far from it was this ball-shaped plant and its spiky leaves thrusting out from its center. It's pretty. In fact, so beautiful. So much like life. Sometimes beauty can come from unexpected places.
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And then I came to this ugly stump of a tree. What remains of a once glorious and magnificent tree. Maybe we fail to understand it that these trees in its wonderful way help to keep the soil together thereby giving us the solid ground we walk on everyday. There's more to learn if we would just stop awhile and try to understand.
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Oh yes, that sign there. Garbage! It says 'No throwing of garbage in this area'. Speaks for itself. What about the garbage we find inside our heads... and hearts -- what do we do with it?
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See the plants thriving down on the ground? Talbos ng kamote. .... SCIENTIFIC NAME : Ipomoea Batatas. DESCRIPTION : The leafy part of the Camote plant is familiarly known as the Camote tops or Talbos ng Kamote, Thanks to that sign.. it IS thriving beautifully. ------ It's health benefits ---- It contains protein, dietary fiber, lipid, and essential minerals and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, aluminum and boron.

► Lowers blood sugar and cholesterol.
► Regulates good bowel movements.
► Boost the immune system and thus helping to prevent infections and disease.
 
I have it with my meals almost everyday.
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And finally at the end of my walk, a quick trip to my favorite fruit vendor, Mang Obet. Bought a few mangoes, lansones, rambutan, chicos, oranges, bananas... and of course I paid my old debt of thirty pesos. We exchanged pleasantries spiced with his usual contagious smile. Gee, people are lovely!
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In your day there are many things to see.... the old becomes new, the new becomes more interesting, the interesting becomes much more amazing. Just pay attention. Life is beautiful! By God's design.
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Have a great and blessed day, folks! :-) God bless you!