These past few days I had this privilege to watch a National Geographic piece on Brugada Syndrome.
The discovery of this syndrome started in the 80s when people, at the prime of their life and health, dies on their sleep. The medical community was alerted with this because the mysterious deaths happened in Singapore. At a time when they were really on the verge of becoming a first world country.
On further investigation of the attending physician, he found out that all victims of this still unexplained deaths came from a specific region in Northern Thailand.
Now, that fact has a very significant weight on why the world knows about this now and why it is being shown in National Geographic = )
Back then, Thailand was a 3rd world country. These deaths in the region was simply explained, and was accepted by the people since time immemorial, as a visit from the Widow Ghost who invites men, in their sleep, to be with her. If the healthy man said yes, then he moves on the after life. And that's that.
Because of this accepted explanation, the medical community was never alerted. And the fact that this is a death happened in a 3rd world country does not help either.
So you may ask, how do people live with this situation all these time?
Simple, they wear women clothes to fool the Widow Ghost. Why? because this is what the Buddhist monks told those who said "no" to the invite of the Widow Ghost. Wear women clothes for the next three days. In the Philippines we call this mysterious deaths as nabangungot.
And these crossdressing solution was the embraced solution for this situation up until the medical community was alerted with this mysterious deaths in Singapore. And since these deaths happened now in a 1st world country, a scientific investigation ensued that culminated in a paper written by sibling doctors, The Brugada's, hence the name for the syndrome.
My point is simply this, it is painfully sad that when you have the means and resources, solutions abound. But when we lack the means and resources, fate is the most common way in moving forward.
How many more problems do we have that are laced with the weight of being in a 3rd world?
Can 1st world thinking thrive in a 3rd world? And if it does, can a 1st world mind enjoy the beauty of being in a 3rd world?
"... path to everlasting!"
Saturday
inward complexity 1.0
Can we see how we see?
Can you see how you see?
If we could, does that mean we have changed how we see?
Because now, we can see what we did not see before?
Can we see how we see?
Lord, help me see You...
Help me see You in me...
Can you see how you see?
If we could, does that mean we have changed how we see?
Because now, we can see what we did not see before?
Can we see how we see?
Lord, help me see You...
Help me see You in me...
Sunday
king james
King James did an Airness impersonation. What a shot with 1.0 second left on the clock. What grit. What courage. Yes, we are all witnesses = )
walking and dust
I love to walk.
Yes, it is an exercise but at this moment it has a more philosophical feel and spin on it.
I walk because I need to think. I walk because I need to make sense of things. I walk to talk to Him. I walk to unleash the heavy burdens and to lift my heartbeat to Him.
Pain. I am in pain again.
I am in pain because things were lost. I am in pain because right now there's seems nothing that can be done but to lift it up to Him. Give up. And wait.
The truth shall set us free. I really believe that. I am hoping it comes sooner. But for the mean time I walk with blurred vision in one eye and the other eye transfixed at the task at hand while murmuring the language of the heart of my heart to Him.
Lord, I should have lifted this part of my life to You in a more consistent basis. I forgot You own the WHOLE of me not just the majority of me. And this mistaken view have added pain in this world. It is my fault. Forgive me Lord for my pride of trying to be a portion, of trying to play Your role in this fallen world. I forgot my place is to show where the Light is. I forgot You are the Light while I am simply a humble, insignificant, tiny, undeserved and microscopic reflection.
You are God and I am dust.
"I will be still and know that You are God..."
Yes, it is an exercise but at this moment it has a more philosophical feel and spin on it.
I walk because I need to think. I walk because I need to make sense of things. I walk to talk to Him. I walk to unleash the heavy burdens and to lift my heartbeat to Him.
Pain. I am in pain again.
I am in pain because things were lost. I am in pain because right now there's seems nothing that can be done but to lift it up to Him. Give up. And wait.
The truth shall set us free. I really believe that. I am hoping it comes sooner. But for the mean time I walk with blurred vision in one eye and the other eye transfixed at the task at hand while murmuring the language of the heart of my heart to Him.
Lord, I should have lifted this part of my life to You in a more consistent basis. I forgot You own the WHOLE of me not just the majority of me. And this mistaken view have added pain in this world. It is my fault. Forgive me Lord for my pride of trying to be a portion, of trying to play Your role in this fallen world. I forgot my place is to show where the Light is. I forgot You are the Light while I am simply a humble, insignificant, tiny, undeserved and microscopic reflection.
You are God and I am dust.
"I will be still and know that You are God..."
Wednesday
i love this game
I played ball. Street ball. Every summer we made the Game ours. I usually play 3 or 4. In a few tense moments, a 5. It was played on either cement or asphalt pavement. It did not matter. We played. Our hearts obvious to the roaring pala of cheerers.
Our team was called The Young Guns. Cheesy = )
We won a championship once. I think I was 12 or 13. I was tall for my age. My teamates and competition was a bunch of 16 year olds and above. I was this baby face totoy amidst the kalabaws of our community.
I still remember wearing a pair of Air Jordan 3. If looks wins championships, we probably had a dynasty back then = )
The most memorable situation I was in was on the free throw line.
We were down by one. With less than 20 seconds left. The star player of the opposing team drove. The ball rimmed out. I rebounded. Threw it to our number 1 and our coach shouted, "Baba!"
We fashioned our game to that of Showtime = )
I ran. Received the ball back and drove to the basket in a fastbreak sequence. I was grabbed. The ball did not even reach the rim. The opposing team was whistled for a foul.
With three seconds left, I was sent to the freethrow line. The last time I was here. I missed them both. But this time, I was given an opportunity.
You see, we were suppose to lose to this team. They were literally bigger than us. But here we are. We had a chance.
My mental state as I dribbled the ball to set myself in rhythm was I will make these two shots. I really felt it. You see in amateur basketball, you have to make one to have the chance to shoot the next freethrow. If the player missed the first, it will be the ballgame. In this present situation, we will lose.
But that thought never entered my mind.
I dribbled the ball five times, lifted it and shot it. It felt good as it left my hands. Swish! And our ever loyal pala roared! I still remember how our community basketball legend stood up and looked at me in disbelief. He smiled at me. He laughed in fact.
The refree threw the ball again at me. Swish.
Up by one. They were not able to overcome the deficit. The game was ours. I felt good. I can still feel that moment as I write these lines.
That moment, those two freethrows were the greatest sports moment of my life. We won the championship that summer and raised the golden trophy = )
I was placed in this nostalgic mood as the NBA nears the close of the season. I just watched Kobe made all his freethrows in the 4th quarter = )
With four teams left standing: LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. The NBA Playoffs has this effect on me and always bring me back to my two made freethrows. A life moment.
A life defining moment.
Lord, thank You for the lesson that particular summer. I know it is over two decades late but thank You for the privilege of being in that moment. And thank You for this ability to relive it now = )
Our team was called The Young Guns. Cheesy = )
We won a championship once. I think I was 12 or 13. I was tall for my age. My teamates and competition was a bunch of 16 year olds and above. I was this baby face totoy amidst the kalabaws of our community.
I still remember wearing a pair of Air Jordan 3. If looks wins championships, we probably had a dynasty back then = )
The most memorable situation I was in was on the free throw line.
We were down by one. With less than 20 seconds left. The star player of the opposing team drove. The ball rimmed out. I rebounded. Threw it to our number 1 and our coach shouted, "Baba!"
We fashioned our game to that of Showtime = )
I ran. Received the ball back and drove to the basket in a fastbreak sequence. I was grabbed. The ball did not even reach the rim. The opposing team was whistled for a foul.
With three seconds left, I was sent to the freethrow line. The last time I was here. I missed them both. But this time, I was given an opportunity.
You see, we were suppose to lose to this team. They were literally bigger than us. But here we are. We had a chance.
My mental state as I dribbled the ball to set myself in rhythm was I will make these two shots. I really felt it. You see in amateur basketball, you have to make one to have the chance to shoot the next freethrow. If the player missed the first, it will be the ballgame. In this present situation, we will lose.
But that thought never entered my mind.
I dribbled the ball five times, lifted it and shot it. It felt good as it left my hands. Swish! And our ever loyal pala roared! I still remember how our community basketball legend stood up and looked at me in disbelief. He smiled at me. He laughed in fact.
The refree threw the ball again at me. Swish.
Up by one. They were not able to overcome the deficit. The game was ours. I felt good. I can still feel that moment as I write these lines.
That moment, those two freethrows were the greatest sports moment of my life. We won the championship that summer and raised the golden trophy = )
I was placed in this nostalgic mood as the NBA nears the close of the season. I just watched Kobe made all his freethrows in the 4th quarter = )
With four teams left standing: LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. The NBA Playoffs has this effect on me and always bring me back to my two made freethrows. A life moment.
A life defining moment.
Lord, thank You for the lesson that particular summer. I know it is over two decades late but thank You for the privilege of being in that moment. And thank You for this ability to relive it now = )
something on filipino rock and roll songwriters
I love rock and roll.
Though in playful times, I also dig R&B but it is still rock and roll for me = )
I love the angst. I love the forlorn thing. I love the attitude. Most of all, I like it's manly strength and it's hook.
U2 is on top of this list. The Beatles and the Doors are also there. And there have been exceptional Pinoy bands in the past decade. Eraserheads was the band of the 90s.
Rivermaya when Rico Blanco and Bamboo were still together was also very special. But when the original members went on their respective journeys, it was twice the fun = )
Rico Blanco can really write songs. He is a gifted songwriter. Try listening into Liwanag sa Dilim and the romantic You'll be Safe Here and the catchy Yugto and you know that this guy has a lot of fire and Pinoy pride.
Bamboo is also equal in terms of passion but he is in a different category. He, in my opinion, brought the Pinoy Pride, before Manny Pacquaio made it obvious for the world to see, in their song "Hoy, Pinoy ako!"
Well, that will be all for now... Yugto is playing on the backgorund now = )
Though in playful times, I also dig R&B but it is still rock and roll for me = )
I love the angst. I love the forlorn thing. I love the attitude. Most of all, I like it's manly strength and it's hook.
U2 is on top of this list. The Beatles and the Doors are also there. And there have been exceptional Pinoy bands in the past decade. Eraserheads was the band of the 90s.
Rivermaya when Rico Blanco and Bamboo were still together was also very special. But when the original members went on their respective journeys, it was twice the fun = )
Rico Blanco can really write songs. He is a gifted songwriter. Try listening into Liwanag sa Dilim and the romantic You'll be Safe Here and the catchy Yugto and you know that this guy has a lot of fire and Pinoy pride.
Bamboo is also equal in terms of passion but he is in a different category. He, in my opinion, brought the Pinoy Pride, before Manny Pacquaio made it obvious for the world to see, in their song "Hoy, Pinoy ako!"
Well, that will be all for now... Yugto is playing on the backgorund now = )
Thursday
on samuelson and mankiw
Economics was introduced to me during my junior year at Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Ms Rowena "Owie" Santos, our Economics teacher and a very unorthodox one at that, facilitated our class with the aide of a book written by Mr Bernardo Villegas.
I was thirteen then going on fourteen. Two years remove from the EDSA Revolution of 1986.
The texts and the principles came to life. Helped by a very unusual and unpredictable way to have a graded class recitation. I can still remember and hear how Ms. Santos randomly say, "Let us start with you!", a signal that recitation has begun. That call was fearfully etched in my mind. Made me really read the books and the newspaper regularly.
Looking back, now that I am also a learning facilitator, I think Ms Santos had an easier time than usual teaching Economics during my junior year. For one, all the news validated what was written in the book. The Philippines was opening up its industry to foreign investors. The dictator was long gone. The GDP that slumped was growing again. Somehow I understood and could form an educated opinion about the business pages. I felt more sure.
The second time Economics was formally "shown" to me was in 1998. It was in my Macroeconomics class. My first term in graduate school. A year removed from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Here I met Samuelson and read his take of Meynard Keynes' take on the Great Depression of 1920s.
Once more, the text and the principles were alive. Speaking in fact. Helped me understood what happened and why did the Thai Baht lost most its value and understood why Prime Minister Mahatir was in a gray area of being courageous and proud when he decided that way about the Malaysian currency. Ms Winnie Monsod's talk during a CEO-COO Convention, an annual event in a former employer's calendar, explaining why the Philippines will not be hit as hard as its Asian neighbours made more sense. Again, Economics made me understand the deeper meaning of the news.
And during my years in graduate school, I have had front row seats as Senator Mar Roxas, then a DTI Secretary, and former President Fidel V. Ramos explained why the Philippines became a tiger cub in 1990s.
Economics, it seems, always divinely pops up in my life when it is "easier" to understand its spirit = )
Now that I am given the privilege to manage a boutique talent agency and to facilitate both undergraduate and graduate classes, it seems only appropriate that I will also had the blessing that my former teachers had in explaining Economics. This time though, we talk about the current recession and I am being helped by a text written by Mankiw.
I was thirteen then going on fourteen. Two years remove from the EDSA Revolution of 1986.
The texts and the principles came to life. Helped by a very unusual and unpredictable way to have a graded class recitation. I can still remember and hear how Ms. Santos randomly say, "Let us start with you!", a signal that recitation has begun. That call was fearfully etched in my mind. Made me really read the books and the newspaper regularly.
Looking back, now that I am also a learning facilitator, I think Ms Santos had an easier time than usual teaching Economics during my junior year. For one, all the news validated what was written in the book. The Philippines was opening up its industry to foreign investors. The dictator was long gone. The GDP that slumped was growing again. Somehow I understood and could form an educated opinion about the business pages. I felt more sure.
The second time Economics was formally "shown" to me was in 1998. It was in my Macroeconomics class. My first term in graduate school. A year removed from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Here I met Samuelson and read his take of Meynard Keynes' take on the Great Depression of 1920s.
Once more, the text and the principles were alive. Speaking in fact. Helped me understood what happened and why did the Thai Baht lost most its value and understood why Prime Minister Mahatir was in a gray area of being courageous and proud when he decided that way about the Malaysian currency. Ms Winnie Monsod's talk during a CEO-COO Convention, an annual event in a former employer's calendar, explaining why the Philippines will not be hit as hard as its Asian neighbours made more sense. Again, Economics made me understand the deeper meaning of the news.
And during my years in graduate school, I have had front row seats as Senator Mar Roxas, then a DTI Secretary, and former President Fidel V. Ramos explained why the Philippines became a tiger cub in 1990s.
Economics, it seems, always divinely pops up in my life when it is "easier" to understand its spirit = )
Now that I am given the privilege to manage a boutique talent agency and to facilitate both undergraduate and graduate classes, it seems only appropriate that I will also had the blessing that my former teachers had in explaining Economics. This time though, we talk about the current recession and I am being helped by a text written by Mankiw.
Friday
what happens...?
what happens when one conquers the fear of death?
what happens when we finally realized that our existence is not an accident as the big bang theory suggests?
what happens when we fully embrace that there is a reason why we are here?
... and then it was made known to you? = )
... a path... to everlasting!
what happens when we finally realized that our existence is not an accident as the big bang theory suggests?
what happens when we fully embrace that there is a reason why we are here?
... and then it was made known to you? = )
... a path... to everlasting!
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