The love I lost

When I was fourteen, I remember falling in love.
I felt so alive that time, I was so in love with the God of the Bible.
I don’t know what happened to me after that… I just lost that love.
Wandering with no direction, just drifting.
Took me years to revert back to the faith;
I even joined the Marist Brothers.
It was like Saul’s encounter Jesus on his way to Damascus;
Have to see again with eyes anew what the Bible is all about.
Again, reading it once more, loving it book by book;
Now I fell in love again.
Once more, I get lost within the world of the Book;
There I find who I really am in losing myself.
Now I know I just got lost;
I never really lost that love.
It was there all along carved in my heart.

Truly, it is better to give than to receive

1. While checking the examination papers, I am surprised with the profoundness of one student. It seems that she is not fourteen years old; she is way ahead of her peers in terms of maturity.
2. Last Tuesday, accompanied by her sister, she was the only student who gave me a gift as her appreciation. I learned later that she also gave gifts to her other teachers as her Christmas presents. I got a tumbler from her.
3. This gesture, though it’s simple, warms the hearts of teachers. Truly, it is better to give than to receive. As a teacher, I realize that I am giving more than what I am supposed to offer to my students. It is more than the lessons and grades I give. What is it then? It is my presence.
4. I hope that more than anything else, my students will treasure my presence the most. I am priviledged to be able to share my life with them inside and outside the classroom. I am blessed to be able to witness their blossoming to adulthood.
5. Now, I am thinking of writing a draft of a goodbye letter to the NDC community: all personnel, parents, GIA scholars, and specially the students. Before the school year ends, I usually write a letter to the people who have touched me and made a difference my life.
6. I’m teary eyed right now. Yes, I am a such a sensitive man. Because the school year is almost finished, I have to leave people behind here in the school. Good byes are real and I am leaving next April.
7. I know I have my failings throughout this year. I admit that. Mea maxima culpa. And if ever I have offended people even if I did not mean it, I am sorry for that.
8. Today is my brother’s birthday today, it’s almost Christmas and 2017 is about to end. It’s a year of hellos and goodbyes.
9. I will attend a recollection on December 31 to thank God for all the blessings and ask pardon for my shortcomings.
10. Thanks for reading my streams of thought. Goodbye.

What am I blogging for?

Five years ago, I started blogging in WordPress because my friends and I are into blogging and they chose WordPress as their blogging platform. Now that my friends are inactive and transferred their writing energies in Twitter and Facebook, I’m left alone (well, not really). And because I was not regularly checking my E-mail, even my blog posts in Friendster and Multiply left me without a back up. That’s hard for me because I posted there some lyrics of self-composed songs, reflections on women and infatuation, hardships in studying and thesis writing, and other incoherent stuffs. But since I lost them when I entered consecrated life, it’s just a simple practice of detachment for me. I just have to let them go.

I started blogging in WordPress with a tagline: for blogging purposes only. I was just posting any topics like Social Media, Psychology, or Weird Al Yankovic’s parodies. And as I look back, there’s a deeper meaning into that. Blogging is a way for me to dig deeper into my inner self. Now, I blog to pause, reflect, and share. Yes, my journal writing does that but here in a blog, I can touch others (almost all strangers) by sharing in the open a glimpse in my life where I shared my struggles, joys, and inspirations. Maybe that’s why I unconsciously write in English.

And what do I share now? This blog now has a specific purpose of chronicling my life as a Marist Brother.

Just as this blog has re-invited itself a lot, as I grow up (I just turned 27), I’ll just keep on blogging here at least once a month. I’ve met a lot of strangers whom I haven’t met personally and I’m thankful to them because having a “voice” here made me motivated to write more and interact more.

To all of you who have been my companions in this blogging journey, thank you very much. I hope you’ll keep on coming back here in this humble space in the web.

Writing Prompt:
Raison D’être by Krista of The Daily Post