Curbside Stories

Photo from  here . "Learn to appreciate and world will appreciate your existence." It is funny why many people don't know how to appreciate.  If there is one important lesson that I have learned last year, it is to appreciate even the littlest of things. About a week ago, I had a conversation with a co-worker.  She was complaining about why she did not get the gift that she wants last Christmas and instead she got a coin purse worth 10 pesos.  She even said that even though she gets less salary, she gives expensive gifts.  I was shocked.  I don't know where her words are coming from.  I was supposed to give her a gift for doing little favors for me but when I heard her say those things, I thought she will probably not appreciate what I will give her.  I was offended. I was taken aback.  I got the same coin purse she was complaining about and I never thought that I would receive a gift from that person because I know that she has a ...

Photo from  here . Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. - Matthew 7:12 -------------------------------------- Sadly, judging other people based on their status in life, the clothes they wear, the way they speak, the food they eat, the company of friends they keep and all other criteria man has ever made, happens every time and everywhere.

"Never let a day pass by without telling the people around you that you genuinely care." After work, my son, sister, nieces and aunt went to a restaurant for dinner. It was our aunt's gesture of kindness to us.  We had buttered shrimps, calamari,  sinigang na tanigue  and sizzling  pusit ... it was a sumptuous dinner.  After eating, while my sister is singing her favorite sone in the karaoke, my son and I went out to catch the cold breeze.  We had a little running around, his laugh was contagious.  After a while, a vehicle slowly approached the parking lot.  I noticed it was coming but my son reminded me to stay on the curbs because I might be hit by the vehicle. My son is only two years old. It was really heart warming to hear from the mouth of a child those words of genuine care. I felt the sincerity of his words. Isn't it wonderful if we hear words of care from our loved ones, friends and co-workers? Caring people give us another reason to live...

Photo from here . The parable of the fish and loaves is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Its message is simple--sharing. I am from the Philippines and I am very much aware that ever since the government announced the stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people have become poorer and that majority worry about their daily living. I currently live in the US and I can see the contrast between the effects of the order between a third world country and the US. I didn't worry for my family here in as much as I worried about my family and friends back in the  Philippines because we still have our jobs and we still can provide for our family. For that I am grateful. It hurts me to watch in the news that food and resources that are supposed to be for the people, land in the hands of corrupt government officials. I feel angry about a lot of people's deliberate disregard for authority and guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease. How...

I had a  blog post two years about forgiveness. I honestly have forgotten about it and that maybe it was  Divine providence that I was able to read it again a few weeks ago and for me to contemplate about what happened since that post. A few days after re-reading it, my son's dad called asking if he could spend a day or two with him. I said yes because I want my son to feel that he has a father despite everything. While waiting for my son to come home from school, we had a little chat. It was awkward at first but our conversation went well. After almost ten years of separating, I finally heard him say sorry. He didn't elaborate but I knew in my heart what he was talking about. I just gave him a nod to confirm that he's forgiven. When that moment happened, it felt like a heavy yoke was lifted from my shoulders and I knew at that point, we have both moved on. I now fully believe that healing comes in time. If you allow yourself to be fully healed by that hurt, you must fir...

The first book that I bought this year is "What To Do Until Love Finds You" by Michelle McKinney Hammond. I bought it because it is my cousin's wish to have for Christmas but unfortunately I wasn't able to buy one for her because the bookstore ran out of copy. Luckily, I found it in a school supply store and swapped it with "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin that I gave her as a replacement. She obliged and now, we're both happy.  This book is all about creating and finding your own happiness in the simplest of ways. There's actually a guide on how to do it. I am excited because aside from taking the Reading Challenge , I am hoping to make people happy also through this journey.