WE'RE NOT OVER YET.. NOPE

.

Oh I know, you get tired of this particular subject thrown at you by the government,  the health authorities, the police, family, and well-meaning friends. But I too will run the risk of taking your displeasure with this post. Because it has to be done.  We are up against a vicious, mean, heartless, and very real yet invisible enemy. INVISIBLE! 

How do we fight that..  or protect ourselves against it!??

We are being taught the mandatory health protocols. Now it's up to us to do them:   face mask... hand washing... social distancing. Both a responsibility and a task to save lives -- your own and of others. And ..of your country. 

👇

There is a proper way to wearing face masks. Sez the UNICEF.  So let's do it right. Do it wrong or do a slip-up on this...  and you may be costing somebody else's  life:  your family, your friends, or your own.  And on a bigger scale:   your country. 

👇

I see many mistakes out on the streets and even in my own neighborhood. Aminin! .. Some people keep forgetting that the covid threat is still very much around.

👇

Covid ...... It's like a crouching tiger ready to pounce on you soonest you let your guard down. Showing no mercy  leveling the ground .. rich or poor,  gorgeous creature or one wearing a screwed lopsided grin,  driving a Ferrari or a tricycle,  wearing an Armani or a  divisoria,  having steak for dinner or tuyo.

👇

 Yeah....it just loves humans whatever the size, age, shape, or gender. It just loves to mess up humans. Physically.. emotionally.. mentally..  intellectually.. socially.. AND in their wallets! Period.

👉So wear your mask.....properly!!!!!👈

👇

Also, know how to dispose of your mask properly, correctly. 

Hindi yung basta-basta lang itatapon sa basurahan o sa kalye! Remember... potential catcher ng virus yan. Kumbaga possibly contaminated na. Wag haya-ang kumalat sa daan at makahawa pa ng iba. Saka hilahin o bunutin ang earloop muna bago itapon.

👉Keep safe, friends. Care for self and...for each other. We can beat this together. And with tons of prayer..  God bless everyone. 👈

.

LUCKY AND ME

Hi, folks! Meet my Lucky. AJ's sis....lols! 🐶🐕🦮Both are the loves of our life. I think I've already told you this story in a post before. Lucky was a street dog who got hit by a vehicle out on the main street (this was in 2016). Eldest daughter, Amy, walking back home from an errand saw the incident..rushed to the rescue...carried Lucky home in her arms.. later we took her to the vet (Pendragon) who took care of her till recovery. Although the accident took its toll on her right hind leg but she's just fine with everything else. Since nobody came to claim her at all, we decided to bring her home. Her forever home. She's a joy....loving, fiercely loyal; don't be misled by that sweet face cos she's  a guard dog that could scare you out of your socks!😊

Here's something I'd like to say.... when you bring a dog into your home, that dog becomes family. You care for it like you care for the rest of the members of your family. You give it  love and care, food and shelter, medicine when it gets sick, play and exercise (they need it as humans do), comfort when anxious and scared.  Nope, you don't leave it chained to a dog house/cage. No!  So if this sounds like such a huge responsibility  ... I will tell you IT IS! 🙂

But all that becomes easy, is a joy.. when the heart does the loving. Somebody once said  .. " Dog spelled backwards is God."  Funny, but hasn't it been said that in all of creation... is God!?🤗

.

BE YOU.....AUTHENTIC GENUINELY...YOU

💐

My eldest daughter came home (from her errands) one day with this gorgeous beauty in her hands. This family loves..adores..flowers. all kinds. Yes, we also have our favorites too just like everybody. But our hearts particularly go pitter-patter everytime we see one at the countryside, or on the sidewalks, or in somebody's home or garden, or in flower shops at the mall. Include exquisite photos of them all as seen in magazines, too.

💐

Well, this one still stands so pretty even after several days in our living room. Holding its own beside a sparkling Christmas tree. Quite a feat,  if I should say so myself. 

💐

Reminds me of some people in life. These individuals standing a head above the crowd they hold their own in the midst of such huge diversity who are as equally interesting in their own, and are as flawed and imperfect as the other.  Yet there they are ... individuals standing quietly yet shining brightly with who they are happy, content, and feeling good about life and the world. Looking at life's flaws and imperfections with this quiet ease and understanding of how those things work (both good and bad)  in the general scheme of things. The tapestry of life, by divine design. 

I get it. As these lovely flowers stand quietly in my living room, they convey this simple message:

💐Be you. Authentic genuinely... You!💐

By DIVINE DESIGN. 

God bless you, friends! Have a great and blessed day.🤗🥰

.

NEVER FORGET HOW FAR YOU'VE COME

When things don't happen as you hoped it would,  this certainly puts you down so bad it changes everything. You have put in some expectations, some huge some small. But no matter its size it hits you real hard where it truly can hurt. You begin to wonder ..... is it worth all the heartbreak, the misery, disappointment, the broken dreams??

I don't have the answers to that. Except those of my own. And this isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of thing or answer. The struggles, heartaches, or the highs and lows are as diverse as the myriads of stars in the evening sky. One may or could be hugely overwhelming than the others  ...  or another could be so ordinary with nary a bat of an eyelash raised. And even a lot more diverse in between all that.

But this I know --- we don't forget  ... never forget  ... can't forget.  It gives us memories forever etched in the heart, both good and bad. It gives us our trophies or our scars. No....we can't forget all that. We won't. 

I know I never will in my own. Because... all of that, everything, was -- is me. It shaped, molded, grew me. Most importantly,  Someone up there had a hand in everything. I wouldn't be here at all if He didn't!

🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃

IT'S HOW WE SEE AGING WHICH TRULY DEFINES US

 

 

What I felt back then when I wrote this.... and still feel now at this moment😊 Nothing is perfect but life..... is a perfect gift from God. 

--- From two years ago.... 

 🌿Thoughts running through my mind one afternoon watching pretty blue skies turn into gray. Yup, might rain later. Here's what.... 

🌿There's no escaping growing older. We can't turn back time. Yet....It's how we see 'aging' which truly defines us. In fact, it's not what we see but how we see life in all its diversity and color which truly defines us. And that can be at any age. Though nobody says it's easy. 

 🌿Thankfully I can humbly and honestly say that God kept me quite busy with life and living that it didn't give me enough time to even contemplate the idea of 'growing older''. And before I knew it I was already at the threshold of 50. :-) and now I'm seventy. But am thinking. 

 🌿Maybe that's the secret (if there ever was one).... keeping busy. Or rather that it be said this way..... savor life as it comes to you day by day. Relish it.. treasure it..live it! Run yourself through the whole gamut of feelings, moments, emotions, experiences, mishaps, achievements. 

 🌿All these authentically put together, as we know it, create this wonderful package called human being. Being human means a lot of things, both the good and the bad. Yet..... 

 🌿Enjoy the good. Learn from the bad. Make friends with life. Accept that it is not perfect; it never is and never will be no matter what you do. Grow with it toward your highest potential. That can be difficult at times but try just the same. Which, incidentally, is by God's design. 

🌿And last but not least, after all is said and done.. or lived, know also that life is not all about you. It never is. Although sometimes it makes you feel that it is. Know that life .... It's all about God's love for you! . 

🌿My own journey is not over yet. Until it is over. Meantime, me and life; we get on. I've made a lot of mistakes... small ones, big ones. So what?! Everybody has his or her share. No excuses. But I've gathered some trophies, too, like everybody does in his own. We have a good thing going... Life and me --- we love each other. Though sometimes we fight and I often say how much I hate it.. abhor it.. despise it. But we will always be the best of friends 

🌿

COME TO DADDY - HEART OF A CHILD

 

😊Yeah.. whether you're 17, 47, or 70.... you're never too young nor too old to come to Daddy. And your troubles are never too big for Him. Bring them all to Him. Don't worry, even if all the inhabitants of this planet would come to Him with their burdens, significant or not, .... He still sees you, has time for you, will listen to you, cares for you, and loves you so dearly. 💞💕

GORGEOUS MORNING DEW

 

Up early this morning. Lo and behold .....morning dew on the plants at my patio! Isn't that simply gorgeous!? Do we remember the last time we saw something like this up close... or paid any attention ?? If at all?😍 

 Come to think of it, there are so many things in life we take for granted... like we do the pieces of furniture in our homes. Oh yes ... things and ... humans too. Both the good and the bad. The good.. for our blessings. The bad.. for our learning. Both have a purpose for being. Open your mind and heart to the Divine spirit and intent. Though oft'times that can be quite hard... but try even harder. Life isn't .. without that connection.

 Our hearts are put there..... to love, to care, to treasure, to adore, and to give thanks and praise to One Magnificent Creator! For everything!! 

God bless you. Have a great day.😊☺️ .

TODAY IS SPECIAL

 

😊💕I like those lines. No... I love it! We should be reminding ourselves often how precious TODAY is in our brief temporal lives. Because, honestly, we take so many things for granted. The day goes by just like the day before it and the days farther back. Ala lang! Ganun.

But if you stop awhile.. be in the moment, open your senses - mind and heart ... everything will come to you so awesomely it will make you cry! Parang nabuksan ang utak mo..nabuhay ang puso mo... Some divine presence hugs you with its light. Suddenly you hear yourself saying ..Thank You! For everything you are and everything you have. Thank you for blessings yesterday..today..and even tomorrow. You begin to appreciate that moment - the moment - your moment! Thank God for that special gift!⚘💕💞

Here's a quote so wonderful you'll want to read it again and again (Sorry, I don't know who wrote it):

 "...Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. And He will make your paths straight." (Anon.) Unquote. 💕😊

AN IMPERFECT LIFE BUT GOOD

 

-- My mom held expectations for me in her heart. Perhaps the same way her mom had hers for her daughter in their time. Mom, though poor, persevered and graduated, but I didn't know if teaching was her dream job, and she married before 30. 🌷 

 I think I've missed a few things in her list. Life had other plans for me and laid down challenges on the table which were stoically meant for me to hurdle. Not always easy; I had my share of hurt and pain but something was undoubtedly happening. I sensed my life moving... evolving. I can understand it now as I look back to it all. 🌷 

Yes, I better understand it now that a mother's expectations though with good intent and love isn't the only formula to life and living. 🌷

Because life is not all about what others may think is best for you. Rather it should be lived according to you in your own lived circumstances... in your own allotted time and space and moments... in your best of who you are and what you are, by God's design. God, by the way, always knows best.🌷

Happy in the heart. I hope wiser too. It's still an imperfect life --- but, Mom, it's a good one.💕🌷🤗

IMPATIENCE IS A FIERY CRAZED BULL

 

🌿 The dictionary defines impatience as ..... 'intolerance of anything that thwarts, delays, or hinders..'

🌿 Impatience can throw us off the track as we try to hasten processes or procedures innately designed or essential to something or someone. Failure to understand that everything in life involves a process easily paves the way for frustration or disappointment which eat us up or gnaw at our highly tensed nerves until eventually falls into pieces. Impatience is like a crazed bull loosed from the pen which gores anyone or anything that gets in its way.

🌿 While patience, on the other hand, is a revered cousin even considered a virtue by many. It keeps us steady and focused on whatever task we might throw ourselves into. In fact, it gains the favor of the gods thus aiding us further towards achievement or fulfillment.

🌿 But then it's impatience which gets the better of us most times. So how do we deal with this?

👇 

Try simple incremental changes to our approach. Take it slow. Small concerted efforts done or added to the heap will create a huge mound which later we may use to bulldoze our way to the top. Further, small is manageable and feedback -friendly. Seeing results early on enables us to make good adjustments to our stride. And importantly doesn't have to tax our patience or impatience needlessly as we would be with gigantic investment of time, effort, and emotion which results sometimes could take eternity to pull off.

☘ Small simple incremental changes ..... they matter where we would let them matter most. It may take longer... but worth the wait. And this undoubtedly takes the bull of impatience by its horn and leads it back into the pen where it belongs!

☘ Blessings to one and all!