Complete joy goes beyond pleasure and enables a surplus of meaning Imagine a basketball player running drills, performing “planting rice”, vomitting in between, then lifting weights, doing a hundred push-ups, then shooting a thousand shots. At that moment, it can feel like the world is ending. All that blood, sweat, and tears, for a mere […]
Growth pains Growth is not necessarily pleasurable. Sometimes, it is in losing, in experiencing dilemmas, and facing “dips” where we realize how weak we are, and how far we are from really “flourishing”. Sometimes it could also be that we’ve grown too far away from the vine, and thought that our branches are perfect already. […]
Sense of peace and sense of “flow” At that precise moment of “flow” or “being in the zone”, isn’t that also the precise moment we personally experience a sense of peace? Csikszentmihalyi wrote that flow can come to be when there is a balance of boredom and anxiety; where one’s skills can reasonably adapt to […]
To love is to seek the truth about the beloved If we dare claim that we are a loving person, then by necessity, we should be truth-seekers too. Ang tunay na nagmamahal, oo kinikilig sa umpisa, pero mas ginugustong kilalanin ang iniibig niya. This means that if we dare say that we are loving persons, […]
Is social media really for love and democracy? “… The alleged ‘openness’ and ‘freedom’ of social networks are, as a matter of fact, neither open nor free. Instead, they are used by corporate and political agents to collect data from users, manage and manipulate the flow of information and influence voters and consumers.” (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767430.2020.1805278?scroll=top&needAccess=true) Both […]
Radikal na pagmamahal o radikal na pananampal? I admit: medyo guilty pleasure na basahin ang subreddit na ito – https://www.reddit.com/r/LeopardsAteMyFacePH/ Dito natin makikita at mararamdaman na napakahirap ng utos ni Lord na “love one another as I have loved you.” Itong kautusan na ito ang pinakahalimbawa ng radikal na pagmamahal. Kapag tinatanong ko ang mga […]
“Pakiramdaman” versus “pakiramdam” Natutuwa po ako na may mga estudyante at mga kaibigan na nag-PM o nag-comment tungkol sa mga pagninilay ko. I feel fulfilled that my election and politics-related reflections helped others make sense or acquire more meaning in this “darkness” of confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety. Isa sa mga puna sa mga botanteng Pilipino […]
Who is the servant and who is the master? Ikatlong araw matapos ng eleksyon, sinusubukan ko na mas kilalanin si BBM bilang isang pinuno base sa mga interviews niya. Habang pinapanood ko ang CNN interview niya (https://youtu.be/dyqqx67rwAk), napakwento si BBM tungkol sa karanasan nilang pamilya nung bata pa siya. Sinabihan daw siya ng kanyang tatay […]
Liwanag sa dilim at “unity” Two days after the election, para bang mas nag-sink in sa akin na ito na talaga ang estado ng pulitika at ng Pilipinas. Mas emotional ako ngayon, at napaluha ako habang homily ng DLSU community online mass kanina. Swak na swak kasi ang ebanghelyo ngayon. Literal na nitong mga nakaraang […]
Kampihan at barahan Bigla kong naalala ang isa sa mga kalokohan namin nung high school. Pag may nagsalita o sumubok ng joke tapos tunog corny, sisigaw lahat, “Weeeeeeehhhhh!!!” Tapos, related dito, meron ding mga pa-joke na hiritan or barahan. Pa-witty-han ng hirit, talo ka kapag di ka nakabanat pabalik. Looking back, these could be harmless […]