mirrors from polished bricks

To a disciple who was always at his prayers the Master said, "When will you stop leaning on God and stand on your own two feet?"

The disciple was astonished. "But you are the one who taught us to look on God as Father!"

"When will you learn that a father isn't someone you can lean on but someone who rids you of your tendency to lean?"

- One Minute Wisdom
Anthony De Mello

a hundred hearts

When I was still in high school and have never fallen in love,
I accepted that I have a hundred hearts of different sizes.

Each of them has a special role...

In my heart of hearts they stay,
waiting in silence for the right time.
As they keep watch they do not pale nor get tired.
They knew that the magic moment will come.

Thus I grew, and I learned to understand.
I learned to give a heart for each of the ones I love,
my family and those near and dear to me...
and I have learned to give even to strangers
who have become my friends.

I also learned that if I give a heart,
I will not feel a loss nor an emptiness inside.

And most of all...

I learned that if I pick one and give it out,
I may or may not receive one in return.

But the very act of giving is the gift itself for me.
And I was never afraid to give out my hearts.

So if the time will come when you decide
to give out one of those hearts... do.
Then watch it grow everyday.

Just remember this though..
once it is given away, it is not yours anymore.
And the one who holds it now can do anything with it.

For they can just leave it alone, and pretend it is not there at all.

I have a hundred hearts inside me.

Photo credit: Leanne_Eddie

what's with the failure to listen?

Everyone hears the class bell to announce recess, the car horn to signal the arrival of a date, or that saccharine song from the movie Enchanted. But with instructions, I think listening must take a further step. It is not only receiving the message, but paying attention and heeding the message too.

So what's with the failure to listen to instructions?

Annika and Angela turning a deaf ear on me when I call them to bath is inevitable. But what is most irritating is the apathy of a group of people who disregard caution for their very lives and safety.

The airline attendant's calm voice in the public address system prompts everyone to remain seated when the seatbelt sign is still on. At that reminder, almost twenty people would remove their seatbelts. The voice continues to say that cellular phones should remain switched off - and as if this is the cue, you could hear the Nokia melody as mobiles are switched on. And the voice finally reminds the flight to only remove their carry-on baggage from the overhead compartment when the plane has finally come to a complete stop. Five would stand up. And a burly man would actually nudge your shoulder as he reaches up to open the compartment directly above you.

I mean, what's with the instructions being read backwards?

I had the chance to travel six times by air for the past month, and I've seen that this is most evident among Filipinos. And I think it has nothing to do with economic status nor educational achievement. Because the offenders, in a quick profile, are well-dressed, educated, professionals or involved in business, and not first-time flyers.

Could it be that the very act of defiance is simply most attractive?

Flight attendants should be replaced by drill sergeants. Just my opinion.

autumn in japan

Trying to capture our joint experience in the ENCI-1 Training Program for Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Japan. Being the fourth in our team was one of the best times I ever had.

For Teri, Vic and Jake. Yours always, Heidi



Soundtrack:
Final Fantasy Tifa's Theme
Everything by Michael Buble

waiting for the next move

I love to blog. I really do. But I just cannot blog for these past days!

The characters and links of the edit feature are in Japanese! In my inspired pomposity to show off my very basic blah blogging skills to Vic, I opened this in Tokyo last month and look what happened.

I have emailed Blogger but I guess it never reached tech support. But do they really reply to calls for help? I am just so grateful that I've hit some buttons right tonight - hence, I've come this far. But I've deleted my links, and boy, will my friends wonder where I've dumped them!

I've actually waited for some time, thinking and hoping that my space in the blog universe will clear up and go back to English. Only to find out now that it's still in Japanese characters.

Oh the waiting. I should know.

The Christmas greens waiting for me to pluck them out of the box so I can set up the whole tree. The paper waiting for me to finish its last five pages. The big luggage I brought to Japan and the small luggage I brought to Davao both waiting to be cleaned out completely. The spare luggage waiting to be packed for Cebu. The visit to the doctor and the laboratory test waiting to be completed.

I wait for the girls to listen. I wait for the ride. I wait for a phone call. I wait for a higher pay. I wait for a kind warm gesture to tell me that I'm welcomed back.

I can imagine the raging emotion in a waiting line for a delayed plane. Where everyone, like my blog editor, speaks Japanese.

Now that's a classic.

thoughts in scraps of paper

When the moon smiles from the sky...
during one of those unnamed nights...
a miracle happens.

Silently
Softly...
without any parade.

And under the moon,
man lifts up his eyes
towards the dark expanse...

And tries his best
to give a part of himself...
so like the moon...
he may shine.

In his found light...
he calls on another
to put forth
her own brightness...

That together...
they shall burn...
like the sun.

- scribbled in Tokyo in the middle of a lecture,
on the 12th day of training