Spirit Moments | From minutes to moments . . . .

Let Go and Let God

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Spirit Moments

If I were to buy my life, what can I buy it with? I was born with nothing at all. So what currency can I use to buy me a life? I have had many joys and pleasures. But these are part of the life I want to buy for myself. Then it must be my pains, my disappointments, my struggles and my tears that are the currency I buy my life with. In the end, life – very much like love – is about letting go. If I pretty much learn to detach myself from the pleasures and joys of life, I make room for more of them to come into my life. In their absence, I can learn to live with pain and sorrows and gather for myself the currency to buy a fuller life. Then, it does make sense that it is in trying to cling to life that I lose it and it is in losing my life that I gain it.

One bump on the road should not stop me on my journey. One pothole may slow me down but I should keep on going. I may be alone in my uniqueness but I am never truly alone for I travel with others in my life. There is always someone to lend me a helping hand. Just as I try to help others along the way whenever I can. I have constant companions who may disappoint me at times but share in my journey every step of the way.

One thing is truly important and that is to keep sight of the final destination. Just follow the lead of the man in front. Do not be discouraged by the cross He carries. Instead, celebrate it with Him. glory in it and in its power to transform. Sometimes the road is narrow and difficult but there is a big throng waiting at the end of the line.

“Lord, let me let go of the things that would keep me from you as I travel this road called Life.”

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Mark 8:34-37

Posted in Discipleship, Faith | Tagged Choice, Fidelity, joy, Suffering | Comments Off

Uniqueness and Aloneness

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Who am I? – I often wonder. Is it possible to live for years with someone and still not fully know or understand that person? Is it even possible to truly know and understand another? Or will the other be always a mystery? How does one bear the pain of not knowing or understanding the other, specially those that one loves?

Each person is unique. And in that uniqueness lies my inability to fully know and understand another. Likewise, in spite of my desire to be known and understood by another, I will never be fully known nor understood by others. There is the root of my aloneness – my uniqueness.

Alone does not mean being lonely; although being alone can easily become loneliness. It causes pain when I fail to understand people around me, specially those I love. It is painful when people dear to me cannot understand me. In the final analysis, there is only one person who can truly understand me because He alone knows me. There are times I do not even understand myself. My prayer time is not only to know God but also to know myself better.

My heart is aching and I make this hymn my prayer for today:

“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.”

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Mark 8:27-30

Posted in Identity, Mystery | Tagged Suffering | Comments Off

New Senses For The Next Level

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Spirit Moments

One of my worries, in fact my greatest fear, as I grow older is that of my senses failing me. I have always been hard of hearing. But these days, I still hear words but it takes me awhile to fully grasp their meaning. My sight is still good but they strain too easily with all my readings and internet surfing. I always had a sharp sense of smell but I am starting to lose it, specially when it comes to my own body odors.

Yet, as I grow older I also have developed a deeper and fuller sense of what life is, what it is all about. I still have a lot to learn, to explore and to discover. But often I close my eyes and I see the beauty and the blessings that have come into my life. I see that people who have enriched me materially, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. I see the events in my life that have brought me where I am today and I begin to understand why and how they are important in my life. I realize they had to happen to bring me where I am now. I shut out my ears and I hear all the voices of friends and family affirming me through the years. I hear their laughter during the happy times we shared together. I hear their words of consolation during my darkest moments. Then, I can just be still and would remember the sweet smell of Ima with her lotions and naphthalene balls. I remember the smells of my childhood and that distinctive scent of sun-drenched sweat. I catch a whiff of a familiar smell and it transports me back to places, people and events in my life.

In my quiet and silent moments, I shut down my sense and I am alone with God. I see all the good He has wrought in my life. I hear the voices with which He has guided me along the way. And I smell the aroma of all the good things He has blessed me with. My physical sense may be fading away as I age. But I am developing new senses preparing me for the next level in my life. All of these things happen during my prayer moments.

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Mark 8:22-26

Posted in Faith, Identity, Life | Tagged Beauty, Blessings, Growing Older, Prayer | Comments Off

What Makes My Life Real

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Life is too precious to be frittered away sweating the small stuff. Material possessions are small stuff. I have had many shirts and shoes and each one was replaceable. In fact, I eventually had to get rid of all of them with the passing of time. Cars are small stuff. I have had many cars and I do not miss any of them now. In fact, I don’t even own one right now. Houses are small stuff. I have lived in several houses and I have had many happy and memorable moments in each one of them, even in the hovels I lived in in Negros or in Tondo.

What matter are the people I shared my life with, the friends I have invited and who have visited me at my house or invited me to theirs. What matter most is the family that have made my house a home. I have had many friends and each one is irreplaceable. Each one had brought something into my life no other person could give me. I cherish each one of them. I would keep each of them within arms reach if I could and would definitely keep them in my heart and my memory forever. I may have hurt many of them and some would rather not have anything to do with me anymore. But I am grateful for each one for, because of them, I have been changed for the better.

There are extra special people in my life and these are my family. I began my life in their welcoming arms and bosoms and I will end my life in their loving arms and bosoms. My entire life journey has been with them, for them and about them. I cannot even start thinking how my life could have been without thinking of my family. I cannot think of my life gradually unfolding except in the company of my family.

I love these words from C.S. Lewis: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” Take away all that is needed for survival like food, clothing and shelter and I will still find ways to survive. Take away my friends and my family and I’d sooner die than live for another lonely moment.

“Lord teach me and show me the realities that make my live worth living. Let me not be blinded by the blandishments of false realities.”

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
Mark 8:14-21

Posted in Encounter, Family, Friendship, Relationships | Tagged Blessings, Grace, Growing Older | Comments Off

Awesome Signs in an Otherwise Ordinary Life

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Spirit Moments

We went on a leisurely hike at Point Isabel in Richmond yesterday afternoon, just before the sun set. I was once again touched by the ephemeral beauty of the sunset. Every sunset, fleeting and radiant, is the promise of yet another tomorrow. And every sunrise, bursting forth in glory, is the gift of yet another day and the dawn a celebration of life.

We came home to the lusty laughter of Jane and Jonathan at play. Their world for now is small. But it is all they need to let the person that they are to grow and bloom into what they are meant to be. They are literally works-in-progress. I sometimes imagine them as in a time-lapse video and see their gradual unfolding speeded up in a few minutes. But that would take away the joy and the thrill of living each unfolding moment with them.

When day was done, as I was waiting for sleep to come, I snuggle close to Anabelle and feel her warmth. It feels cozy and comfortable hugging her close on a cold and wintry evening, thankful for the gift of her love and presence in my life, which would not have been so much the happier had she not come into my life.

I have just lived another day, ordinary by most measures. And yet I have had to tread softly and carefully otherwise I would miss or break the signs that Gos has put all over the place to let me know that He is around.

“Lord, I see you and I touch you in the signs you have put in place for me. Let me not be blind nor deaf to them. Thank you for your Presence.”

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.
Mark 8:11-13

Posted in Encounter, Presence | Tagged Beauty, Blessings, Jane, Jonathan, Serendipity | Comments Off

Peace And Harmony In A Pond

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Peace. Quiet. Serenity. And harmony. There is nothing to change or to fix to make this scene even more perfect. The lotus follows the laws of nature and it blossoms in glorious beauty. The frog need not toil nor labor but is just there and it finds a perfect home. In God’s perfect time, everything unfolds and is fulfilled.

Man and his free will. He can choose to abide by the rules or not. There is observance of the law and there is fulfillment of the law. Observance of the law brings about justice and righteousness. It is the necessary condition for peace and harmony in a society. But it is love, forgiveness and compassion that brings about the fulfillment of the law.

Anger and hatred may often drive people to do harm to or even kill their fellowmen. The law is there to make sure that such harm or murder does not come to pass. But with love and forgiveness, the law is fulfilled in that no harm is done nor a murder happen to others because of anger and hatred.

Lust and covetousness may drive people to commit adultery. There are laws to deter people from engaging in such extra-marital sex. But with love and fidelity, the law is fulfilled that committed couples honor their vows and remain faithful to their pledge of love.

Envy, greed and pride may often drive people to bear false witness against others or to destroy their good name and reputation. There are laws against perjury and telling lies under oath. But with love and compassion, people will honor the value and worth of every person and protect their life and reputation.

“Lord, may I live my life so that your Word may be fulfilled in me.”

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Matthew 5:17-20

Posted in Discipleship, Human Rights, Nature, Photography, Relationships | Tagged Beauty, Fidelity, Forgiveness | Comments Off

It is now generally accepted that everything that there is in the universe started with one point of light exploding mightily in a big bang. And in that one cataclysmic moment, the entire universe came to be. Maybe Someone said, “Let there be light!” and that one point of light came to be and exploded to produce the big bang. Maybe He did not even to say but only think of the word “Light!” and it was so. Maybe we are just random thoughts in some infinite mind, gradually unfolding as He ruminates in His infinite intelligence.

Even up to now, we are going through the unfolding of all existence from that first big bang. We still hear echoes and see bits and pieces from that primordial moment. If we stop and be still, we can also catch echoes of those thoughts from that Infinite Intelligence. In silence and solitude, in the depths of my heart, I know that the darkness will eventually give way to light. I know that life will not be denied and will express itself in someway. I know that in there beginning there was no time nor space and in the end we come back to an eternity where there is no more time nor space.

I hear echoes and see reflections of this reality even in everyday life. The big bang has spawned endless other explosions as new and more stars are born. And we are but dust from past star-explosions. Dust did not remain dust but became the material from which life has emerged. And even when life decays, the rot and the decay of death gives birth to new and more life. Trees become homes and plants become food. Rivers are harnessed to serve life and the air is conquered to spread life. Man, catching whiffs of the creative mind that made the universe happen, creates wonders and technology and gadgets from what he finds around him.

The gradual unfolding of life in the universe has taken billions of years to get to where we are now. Man has learned and discovered a lot. But there is still a lot to learn and discover. How did something that started with a point of light give rise to a consciousness that can think and reason? How did that consciousness come around to asking who he is and why he is here at all? And how can consciousness and imagination and free will and conscience even come from inanimate star dust? Why would these conscious beings feel love and compassion and care for one another? And how can one man feed thousands from but seven loaves of bread?

That it took billions of years to get to where we are, it would seem man is but the logical outcome of a long series of random events. But if I but listen to the echoes and try to see glimpses from that primordial moment, I know that there is a loving God who called me out by name.

“Lord, let me hear your call and may I always respond to it in love.”

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat,
Jesus summoned the disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”
His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread
to satisfy them here in this deserted place?”
Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They replied, “Seven.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them,
and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.
Mark 8:1-10

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Spirit Moments | Comments Off

Traveling Light

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I have been on many trips and journeys and I do enjoy traveling. But I hate the hustle of packing and unpacking. My most enjoyable trips have been those when I traveled light.

And so it is in life. The hustle of packing and unpacking often bogs me down on my life journey. I pack my life with good intentions and some regrets and some what-might-have-beens. I unpack festering hurts that I refuse to let go off and unfulfilled dreams that refuse to die.

To travel light on life’s journey, love is really all I need. I cannot eat love but loving keeps me full and satisfied. Love keeps me warm on cold and lonely nights. Love lightens my burden like no other. And love lights my way specially when I am at a loss.

“Lord, I will carry no purse, no bag, no sandals but your love on my life journey. Be with me until my journey is done.”

Jesus said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!”
Luke 10:1-9

Posted in Life, Love | Tagged Fidelity, Serendipity | Comments Off

How I See Myself In All This Awesome Vastness

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Spirit Moments

In the Vastness of the Universe, I Am

In a distant corner of the universe, some 13.5 billion light years away,
there is this seemingly empty space.
On closer look and deeper focus,
it is filled with a billion galaxies,
each with a trillion stars
which probably have several planets revolving around them.
In some of those several trillions planets,
there must exist some sentient beings,
perhaps more intelligent, more civilized and more loving then we.
This piece of the universe is so big that
theoretically, it cannot exist.
But it is out there.

I am one of the billion humans on Earth,
Earth that is but a pale blue dot in the vastness of space.
Move back some billion light years away
and earth disappears into insignificance.
And yet, against all the evidence before me,
I believe in my heart or hearts and in the depths of my being
that I matter
that I am not insignificant
that I am not but dust from the stars
that I have been made in a special and awesome way.
I have sung since the beginning of time:
When I consider your heavens,
          the work of your fingers,
     the moon and the stars,
          which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
          human beings that you care for them

Like the Syro-Phoenician, I dare believe.
I may be insignificant in the vastness of the universe.
But I have moments of significance in my life
when I mattered in the lives of some people,
when I surprised even myself by what I was able to accomplish,
when I brought people joy and happiness,
and sometimes even heartaches and disappointments.
In those moments, I felt that He who made all the stars and galaxies
was moving mightily in my life
that He who made all this vast reality also had me in mind
as He was churning out all the wonders I see.
And in the midst of all this wonders,
He tells me I am the most wonderful of all His creations.

“Lord, you created in me a heart that longs for You. Affirm me in faith and in my hope.”

Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.
Mark 7:24-30

Posted in Identity, Mystery, Nature | Tagged Grace, Miracles, Poetry | Comments Off

A Heart of Flesh

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I listen to little children and they put me in touch with what is real.
They speak the truth even when it is awkward and painful.
They see beauty even in the the face of the clutter and even paucity.
They appreciate goodness specially that which adults cannot or will not see.

All too soon in our lives we lose that innocence of childhood
that sees the truth and live by it
that sees beauty and celebrate it
that see goodness in the face of life’s sordid mess.

The innocence is all too soon is replaced by cynicism
and anger and fear and hatred.
The young and tender heart experiences hurts
and the heart of flesh becomes a heart of stone.
Then, “from within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

“Lord, recreate my heart and make it a heart of flesh once more.”

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
Mark 7:14-15

Posted in Character, Identity | Tagged Change, Grace, Poetry | Comments Off