IT'S TO NEVER GIVE UP

My neighborhood nestles on the slopes of a mountain.. the Sierra Madre this side of Rizal. So the paths I walk through are never level or straight. It goes up-down and winding round you'll find yourself ending up where you started.This morning as I leisurely walked up a long slope (one of several) I saw this tall slim middle aged guy several meters up ahead running down-and-then-running up again which looked like his own version of exercise. But before I could get to where he was he ended his exercise and went inside the house. Then perhaps would feast on a huge hearty breakfast his wife would have prepared for him! Which seemed unlikely though because when I went past his house it was so quiet and none of the usual aroma of food cooking up in the air (Kidding, of course!)

The neighborhood streets are named after birds. There's Robin, Swallow, Nightingale, Oriole, etc. Really not surprising as the area is a delightful haven for different sorts of birds. In fact, they keep me company on my early morning walks flitting here and there... from tree to tree... or hopping on down on the street pecking on crumbs. All amidst the chorus of tweets and chirps... a full choral ensemble when you get higher up the slopes to dense trees lining up the streets. I remember when I was a kid my father who loved hunting with his friends in the thick forests of Zambales would talk about the birds they saw and one was the Golden Oriole. He loved talking about this particular one; I guess he loved the color yellow. Funny that I would one day years after live on a street named after that bird!

On my way back to the house, I saw this woman brown-complexioned, sun-burned wiry hair, maybe in her forties who from the opposite direction walked hurriedly past me in her weather-beaten flip-flops. But it was not her which grabbed my attention.... it was her worn-out t-shirt and the words emblazoned on it .... Never Give Up.

Never give up! A thought which lingered on my mind as I saw an old man limping on a bad leg but still walking out to the main road..... and this frail young girl in a worn-out dress which saw better days standing in front of her old broken down house holding a new born baby in her arms (bathing in the morning sun) humming softly --- 'okay lang, anak, okay lang...' (It's okay, child, it's okay....) Can you imagine what those words could mean? It could mean a lot of things. But I felt the challenge of life in those words. When I heard it as I walked past them it almost brought a tear to my eye.

So many like them out there in the world battling a problem or some other huge serious concern. But they hold on with every strength or courage they could muster, maybe tired and weary - beaten and worn, but they never give up. No matter how many times they fall they get back up again and fight harder than before... even much harder. One courageous step at a time, one moment to another, one day to the next. I know ... because I had my share of battles too.

Never give up. It should be worth it. It is worth it.
Life is beautiful. Blessings where you allow yourself to see them.

Hope you're all having a good and blessed week. Blessings to you all.
(The Golden Oriole in the photo)