A Beautiful Dream

I had a beautiful dream last night. 

In my dream, I was thinking of God and how He would look like.

First, I saw wisps of bright white clouds slowly passing above the clear blue sky.

Then,  I saw a swirling pinkish light moving away from my sight.

As the swirling pink light grew smaller in the distance, gradually another figure, on the left appeared. I saw an eye colored brownish green.

The last thing I saw was a white duck swimming in calm waters.

A couple of hours ago, the weather here looked gloomy, dark rain clouds hovered over grey skies.  Then we had a big downpour, rained like cats and dogs.   I saw some lightning on the horizon, and claps of thunder made Yuki jump on the couch beside Tin.  Then the rain stopped.

Now, as I look up the bright clear blue sky with the beautiful white clouds passing by,  I think about God, who is the source of everything beautiful, everything good in this world. My sun kissed flowers in full bloom and plants sway as the gentle breeze and bright sunlight caress them.  My brown wooden deck complement the healthy green leaves of my plants. I see deep pink, white, red, light pink, red/orange flowers swaying in the wind, most petals upward as if praising and adoring Him who created them.

I savor this beautiful day.  Although my body aches from two games of pick up basketball yesterday, I feel good, healthy and strong for my age. 

The ducks in our nearby ponds must be having the time of their lives in this time of plenty - sunshine, water, food.  God provides.

God is good.

Remembering Mother

Where are you Mom?

 I miss you.

My heart aches.

I long for you.

I love you.

Tears fall down my cheeks as I go back in time - you looking at me affectionately, patting my head for a good deed.

Mother, do you still smile now,like the way you smiled at me before? 

Do you even know how much soothing it is just remembering you?

Happy Mother's Day Mom,

Love,

from me to you.

In Solitude

All alone sitting on a chair; the room is dark;
Looking out the window; wet deck reflecting the vast gray sky; light rain from the sky falling; still and quiet inside.  I open the glass door ever so slightly- cold breeze brushes my cheeks.

And then a symphony of little beautiful sounds I hear - the wind howling, the pitter patter of raindrops hitting the wooden deck, and is that the chirping sound of a wet little robin I hear?

I close the door, sat on my chair, close my eyes, pray in this moment of complete silence; nothingness; but me;  and then You are with me; feel You; just the two of us; nothing else.

Love, peace, perfection, truth and oneness with You, for a fleeting moment.  Was it a minute or two or more?  I do not know.

All I know is You are true. 
In solitude,
 now,
in perpetuity,
 tomorrow.

Why?

Why am I awake this late, looking up, wondering ,
why hours before dawn this cloudy sky has a reddish hue?
Is it the moon, the stars, the backyard light reflected by the snow?

I do not know.

Three days from now I will be sixty,
 much happier than when I turned fifty, more in love
than when I was twenty.

My heart is light, burdens unloaded,
filled with You, love, peace and joy.
Sharing to the wounded,
 to You and everyone , even to Yuki,  more so with Loy.

Is it You within me,
or me within You?

Why am I here?
You alone knows,
am happy to know.

To be with You,
to be loved forever,
when I am no more.

Flowers of Assisi

 

The small town of Assisi in central Italy, best known as the birthplace of St. Francis, with a population of only about 3,000 is visited by millions of tourists yearly for its churches, sacred shrines,  castles and narrow winding medieval streets.  I had a chance to visit Assisi and enjoyed visiting all its important sites but occasionally I would  stray away from our tour group to snap pictures of its beautiful flowers.  I was impressed at how clean the old medieval town is. I wish we could learn from Assisi and make our own towns and cities in the Philippines not only clean but made beautiful by parks, gardens, trees and flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers of the Holyland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel despite its arid climate is a land of  beautiful flowers much to my surprise.  During our tours of historical/biblical sites in the Holyland,  I took a respite from listening to our tour guide, taking group pictures, listening to bible readings by intentionally straying away from the group for a few minutes to take pictures of flowers and plants in the sites. I always see the  hand of God in every beautiful plant and flower which each in its separate self looks like a perfect masterpiece of art. Even though my camera shots were rushed, the pictures turned out alright, and just looking at them gives me so much joy and peace.  Blessings.

Riding A Camel In Judea

Just returned from an exciting, enjoyable but tiring pilgrimage to Israel and Italy.  Being a history major and a history teacher in high school in my twenties, I finally was able to cross out some must see places in my bucket list. Was amazed at how structures (palaces, temples, roads, houses, aqueducts, churches) and works of artisanship and art created by man  from as long as 3,000 years ago are still preserved/restored to be seen and appreciated by us in the present.

I joined other Christian pilgrims visit biblical sites in Israel, mainly retracing Jesus life, from his birth in Bethlehem, his ministry of preaching and miracles in Galilee, Judea, Capernaum and Jerusalem, his crusifixion, death and resurrection. The Wailing Wall (which is a part of the old Temple of Jerusalem where Jesus also preached) in particular made quite an impression on me as Jews and Christians together touched the wall and prayed as one people.

It was quite an emotional experience , walking on the same grounds that were trodden by the feet of Jesus and his disciples, or ride a boat similar to the one during Jesus time in the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water.

The exclamation point was when I had a chance to ride a camel (with one hump, in Saudi Arabia camels have 2 humps I was told)  at the Judean Desert.  Nobody else among the 11 other pilgrims I was with dared to ride the camel, maybe because we were beside a cliff, and one wrong move could be the end of the pilgrimage for the rider and the camel. The thing is, it was just like riding a water buffalo, which I experienced doing when I was young with my cousins Amang and Abel in the farming village of Sto. Cristo,San Antonio, Nueva Ecija.

We flew safely to Rome just in time, because a day after,  rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas towards Israel rained the very places we toured.  Rome mesmerized me. I had goosebumps viewing the Coloseum, asking in wonderment how ancient Romans were able to build such massive structures mainly thru manual labor.  Like a child, I looked in awe at the great sculptures, paintings and architecture of Rome.  Also had a once in a lifetime experience of seeing Pope Benedict in person at the Vatican where he blessed us and all religious articles we brought to the papal audience.

Our last stop was more a more leisurely tour of Venice, where, we had an enjoyable time riding it's famous gondola, feasted on a seafood lunch with a glass of white wine outdoors by St. Mark's Square, and an afternoon of sightseeing, shopping and walking the streets of the  only car-less big city in the world. 

When things get more peaceful in Egypt, I would like to visit the country too and see the Great Pyramid.  Athen's Parthenon, India's Taj Mahal and China's Great Wall are also in my bucket list, the only reason preventing me from seeing these places - money.  So, have to save more.

Peace and love.