Blue Guitar Strings

Book Title: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Summary:

The book tells the life story of Frankie Presto, a legend in the music industry. The book begins with his death. And from this first chapter of the book, the last chapter of his life, unfolds his story from the perspective of people he has worked with, people he inspired, people whose lives he touched. From a tragic birth, followed by numerous challenges throughout his life, there's only one thing that has kept him company ~ the one that his tiny hands clenched the moment he opened his eyes and saw the brilliant colors of talents ~ music.

It's music that narrates his life story the best. It's only music that knows what all the others who thought they knew him were not aware of. It's music that makes the revelations of his distant past, and the nearby past just before his death, all the twists in the story of the greatest guitar player's life.

From the moment his mother died in the church just minutes after he was born, to the time when he made his last performance on the stage, during all the in betweens ~ a nun trying to raise him as her own, a dog and its owner seeing him through his formative years, all the lessons in music and life with his blind music teacher, the hellos, the goodbyes, the reunions with the love of his life, reaching the peak of fame and then losing it all, all the other bands that he impacted, and that impacted his life, and the strings that turn blue when it's time to save someone's life, music has always been there.

But what nobody else knows and again, only music does, is that there's also someone who's been there through it all, just a shadow in the background that sees him through.

Reflections:

Everyone joins a band in this life. There are some bands that we don't get to choose, like the family that we are born with, or the next couple of people who takes care of us during our formative years. There are those we choose, like the friends we make at school, the colleagues we share free time with at work, and the partner we promise to love for life.

Just as a musical band creates music, so do all the other bands in our life ~ each creating a rhythm, a melody, notes, lyrics ~ something common that connects the band, a pace that we go through in life, a guide that we sometimes we follow and sometimes we miss, life stories that we tell.

And just like musical bands that disband sometime in the future, all bands do break. Sometimes, it would be a choice, like making a shift in career ~ like moving through another chapter in our lives and seeing less of our friends. Sometimes a partial choice, having different perspectives and standing by it, like a disagreement among band mates ~ a misunderstanding between partners. Sometimes though, it's not a choice we make, like death that eventually visits us all, but the timing is not the same.

The novel, like many other Mitch Albom's stories, would definitely touch your soul. The story seemed simple, like an ordinary story of an orphaned boy who became a famous music genius. But what sets the story apart are the life lessons that you'll bring with you even after reading the book. Though the twist at the end seemed to go beyond what's normally acceptable for a story to still be believable, this fictions still brings with it the stories that will break your heart, bring a tear or two, and forever change how you view the people around you.

Quotes:

"Everyone joins a band in this life. You are born into your first one. Your mother plays the lead. She shares the stage with your father and siblings...

As life goes on, you will join other bands, some through friendship, some through romance, some through neighborhoods, school, an army. Maybe you will all dress the same, or laugh at your own private vocabulary. Maybe you will flop on couches backstage, or share a boardroom table, or crowd around a galley inside a ship. But in each band you join, you will play a distinct part, and it will affect you as much as you affect it.

And, as is usually the fate with bands, most of them will break up-through distance, differences, divorce, or death."

"Do not cry over losing blood. Not for something you love."

"Talent is a piece of God's shadow. And under that shadow, human stories intersect."

""You cannot write if you do not read", the blind man said. "You cannot eat if you do not chew. And you cannot play if you do not listen.""

"Truth is light. Lies are shadows. Music is both."

"Being both means being neither."

"You humans are always locking each other away. Cells. Dungeons....No other creature has this arrogance---to confine its own."

"A song inside a cage is never a song. It is a plea."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. One way or another, the band breaks up."

"But being silent is not forgetting."

"Man suffers for his art. That is what you must remember."

"Every loss leaves a hole in your heart."

"The secret is not to make your music louder, but to make the world quieter."

"Man searches for courage in drink, but it is not courage that he finds, it is fear that he loses."

"When you listen, you learn. Remember that. In music and in life."

"You don't need much to remember someone. Even one thing will do."

"But all love stories are symphonies. And, like symphonies, they have four movements:
Allegro, a quick and spirited opening
Adagio, a slow turn
Minuet/Scherzo short steps in 3/4 time
Rondo, a repeating theme, interrupted by various passages."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. Sometimes, they are the wrong ones."

"This is life. Things get taken away. You will learn to start over many times - or you will be useless."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. Sometimes they reunite."

"Had many of you left places even one day earlier, the landscape of your lives would be rearranged. You cannot play your notes. Time, like music, is indelible that way."

"There are few things emptier than applause when you feel you don't deserve it."

"You cannot ask things to do what they are not meant to do. Eventually they will break."

"What you're thinking about can be what you become. Good and evil."

It's That Complicated

It's not that complicated (Bakit hindi pa sasakupin ng mga alien ang daigdig sa 2012)- Eros S. Atalia

BUOD:
Ito ang ikatlong aklat sa trilohiya ng may akda na si Eros S. Atalia na tumatalakay sa pang-araw-araw na buhay ni Karl Valadimir Lennon J. Villalobos a.k.a. Intoy. Huling libro, ika nga eh para mabigyan lang ng katapusan ang kwento, kahit na ang katapusan ay hindi talagang nagwawakas, bagkus simula ng panibagong kwento. Isang kwentong hindi alam kung saan ang simula, gitna, at wakas, ang It's not that complicated (Bakit hindi pa sasakupin ng mga alien ang daigdig sa 2012) ay istorya ng paghahanap ni Intoy sa iniibig ngunit ayaw magpahanap na si Jen. At sa panahong naghahanap siya ay nakilala rin niya nang mas maigi ang ka-opisinang si Tina, matalino, maganda, mayaman. Nagpasama ito sa kanya sa kanyang pananaliksik, at bilang pagpapasalamat ay sinama naman siya nito sa isang bakasyon sa Boracay. Ito na sana ang pagkakataon ni Intoy para makamove-on. Pero sabi nga nila pag hinahanap mo ang isang tao/bagay/pangyayari sa buhay, lalo itong mailap at hindi mahanap, ngunit sa puntong tigilan mo ang iyong paghahanap, kusa itong lilitaw.


PAGNINILAY:

Tulad sa normal na buhay, na sineseryoso ko ang mga 'di siniseryoso ng iba at pinagninilay-nilayan ang mga hindi pinagtutuunan ng pansin ng karamihan, wala akong pakialam kung ako lang ang nag-iisang sumeryoso sa manunulat na ayaw magpaseryoso.

Paano ko ba naman kasi maiiwasan?
Sa paraan ng paglalahad ni pareng Eros, na para bang nakikipagtagayan ka lang sa kanto, ay napakadaling makarelate sa mga karakter nina Intoy, Tina, at Jen. Mula sa pagtataray at pang-aakit, pilosopong pag-iisip at kakaibang mag-isip, ligaya at sakit, obssession at heartbreak, bawat paglalarawan, kilos at damdamin ay tiyak na tiyak na kung hindi man sarili ang makikilala ay ang mga taong nakapalibot sa atin sa araw-araw.

Bukod sa paglalahad ng kwento ni Intoy na akala mo'y sa MMK mo lang mapapanood ngunit totoong nangyayari sa buhay paminsan-minsan, nailahad din ni pareng Eros ang masakit na katotohanan sa nakatatawang paraan. Oo nga't hatid nya'y ngiti sa istilo ng kanyang pagkukwento, pero nasa likod ng tamis ng halakhak ang asim at pait ng kalagayan ng sangkatauhan.

Ang mga tsismosang kapitbahay ay mahilig pa rin magkalat ng kwentong kathang isip lamang. Kaliwa't kanan pa rin ang panloloko ng mga kapwa tao - sa mga di makatarungang patakaran ng mga kumpanya, mga ka-opisinang tuta ng mga bossing, sa panloloko ng mga advertisements, at ng mga pulitikong walang kaluluwa.

Tulad na lamang ng nga solusyong naisip ng pangunahing tauhan sa problema nito sa matilaok na manok, nag-isip rin ang tao ng samu't saring solusyon sa mga problemang hinaharap. Nariyan ang mga paggawa ng nga haka-haka, sariling mga signos ba na pinaniniwalaan, pagpapahula at kung anu-anong easy solution na makikita sa Quiapo, mga kulungang susugpo sana sa mga krimen. Kaya lang ang problema sa mga solusyong ito tulad ng mga solusyong naisip ni Intoy para tumahimik ang manok, ay maaaring panandalian lamang o kaya'y magdadala lamang ng panibagong problema tulad ng hindi maayos na estado ng kulungan sa Pilipinas.

Pera - tunay nga namang isa iyan sa pinakamagandang solusyong naimbento ng tao. Kapag may pera, madali ang buhay, madaling makalimot, madaling magmove-on. Pera ang kailangan ng tao para sya maka-angat mula sa pagpuno ng pangunahing pangangailangan papunta sa mga pangangailangan ng kanyang emosyon, kaluluwa at pagkatao. Pero dahil nga hindi pantay ang pagkakalaan ng kayamanan, may mga mahihirap pa ring di man mapunan ang tiyan samantalang may mayayamang naglulustay nito sa kanilang libangan upang makalimot sa problema.

Relihiyon ang isa pang bagay na dapat sana ay tugon sa mga problema ng katauhan. Ito dapat sana ang sasalba sa ating mga kaluluwa, pero hanggang ngayon ay labu-labo pa rin ito sa mga paniniwala. Binubuhay ng mga taong naniniwala sa kanila, pinupuno ng mga nananalig dahil sa pangangailangan nila, iba-iba ang ritwal pero ang bawat isa raw ay ang tunay na relihiyon, kaya nga kahit ang relihiyon ng mga di naniniwala sa diyos ay parehong problema rin ang dinaranas ng mga tunay raw na relihiyon. Dagdagan mo pa ito ng isyu sa pamemera at pamumulitika, aba may nanalo na!

Nakalulungkot isipin pero sang-ayon ako sa may akda na tao nga ang hayop na kulang pa sa ebolusyon. Marami na nga tayong nadiskubre, naimbento at naranasan, pero hindi nga ba't daig pa rin natin ang mga hayop sa kahayupan ng pag-uugali?

Quotes:
"Siguro, hindi pa sasakupin ng mga alien sa 2012 ang daigdig, o kung kelan pa man, ay dahil alam ng mga alien na ang mga tao sa mundo, hindi pa lubusang nakikilala ang daigdig."

"Nakaraan na ang lahat ng ito. Mahirap mamuhay sa lumipas. Ayoko naman na pangarapin nang husto ang darating na bukas. Tama siuguro ang sabi ng ilang matatanda na ang nabubuhay sa kahapon ay nabubuhay sa buntong hininga at ang nabubuhay sa kinabukasan ay nag-aaksaya ng hininga. Ngayon ako humihinga. Ngayon ako dapat mabuhay."

"Siguro, sa lansangan ng pag-ibig, sapat na yung minsan ay nakasabay o nakasalubong mo ang isang tao sa daan, pasalamat na lang at kahit minsan, nagtapat o nagpantay din ang inyong mga hakbang."

"Hindi ba't gusto ng tao bumalik ang mundo sa dati nityong malinis na anyo? Yubg mala-parasiso? Ngunit bago dumating dito, kailangang munang linisin ng mundo ang kanyang sarili. At para makinis nya ito, dapat nya munang alisin ang mga pasaway. Tao ang pasaway. Tao ang dapat mawalis para ang mundo'y muling luminis."

"Sila ang patunay na hindi pa handa ang mga alien na sakupin ang mundo. Baka mabigo lang sila sa madadatnan dito sa ating planeta. Inaasahan kasi nilang ganap nang tao ang mga tao."

"Sa tingin ko, mas madaling mahalin ang isang tao na maabutan mo siya sa kalagayang wala siya ng gusto mo, kesa meron sya ng ayaw mo."

"Siguro dahil hindi mo nanakawin ang isang bagay na sa akala mo ay nandyan lang palagi."

"Bugbog ang katawan sa byahe at polusyon ng Maynila, gulpe-sarado ang isip sa pagbubuo ng ideya kung paano lolokohin ang sambayanan, hahamunin ang pasensya sa kupal na bossing at kanyang mga tsuwariwariwap sampu ng mga katrabahong kinokombulsyon kapag hindi nagiging bida."

"Bakit hindi raw ako palasalita? Bakit daw ako walang kibo? Sa loob-loob ko lang, salita nga ako nang salita, 'yun nga lang, ako lang ang nakakarinig sa sarili ko."

"Sila ang patunay na hindi pa handa ang mga alien na sakupin ang mundo. Baka mabigo lang sila sa madadatnan dito sa ating planeta. Inaasahan kasi nilang ganap nang tao ang mga tao."

"History is educated gossip."

"Hindi naman kailangang laging lumaban para gapiin ang kalaban, ang pinakamagandang paraan ng pagkakagapi sa kalaban ay hindi magsimula ng labanan."

"Parang istorya sa panaginip na magulo, walang lohika, hindi mo alam kung saan nagsimula, paano tumakbo at paano nawakasan."

"Walang fate. Life is the choices we made."

"Pwede ka sa pelikula, ang galing mong magpaikot ng buhay ng ibang tao. Ikaw na sumulat, kaw pa nagdirect, ikaw na rin producer. Sana, ikaw lang ang manood."

"Maaari kasing mahalin ang isang bagay kahit hindi mo gusto, pero parang mahirap gustuhin ang isang bagay na hindi mo mahal."

"Kaya siguro naimbento ang nakaraan para lingunin at kalimutan, ang hinaharap ay para tanawin at pangarapin. Parehas hindi totoo."

"Kung tutuusin parang wala ring ngayon. Dahil hindi naman tumitigil ang ngayon. Pagtuntong sa ngayon, kisapmata, nakaraan na yun.  Parang patikim lang ang ngayon."

"Dahil ilusyon lang ang nakaraan at ang hinaharap; ang ngayon, kung totoo man, ay future ng past at past ng future."

"Nakakalibang kasi na alam mong binobola ka. Pero mas nakakalibang na kapwa nyo alam na nagbobolahan lang kayo pero kunwari'y hindi nyo alam na alam nyong nagbobolahan lang kayo."

"Pero ba't kinakailangang maging malungkot ako, para lang sumaya kayo?"

"Hindi nauubos ang gusto. Ang bawat isang gusto na nakakamit, isang trap sa paghahanap pa ng mas gugustuhin."

"Hindi ko alam kung politika ang nakasira sa relihiyon o relihiyon ang nakasira sa politika."

"Sino ba ako para hintayin ng kinabukasan? With or without me, tutuloy ang ikot ng mundo."

"Wala pa akong nakitang aso na nagpapakitang aso. Pero maraming taong nagkukunwaring tao."

"Kung nakamonitor ang aliens ngayon, pihadong umiiling lang sila. Kala nila, hindi pa rin nag-e-evolve ang tao."

"Siguro, kaya hindi pa sasakupin ng mga alien sa 2012 ang daigdig, o kung kelan pa man, ay dahil alam ng mga alien na ang mga tao sa mundo, hindi pa lubusang nakikilala ang daigdig."

Who's Keeping Time?

Summary: 

A fiction that cuts through the heart - like all the other novels by Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper is a simple and light story about time. It is about Dor, the first man to measure time; about Sarah Lemon, the teenage girl who wants to stop time; and about Victor Delamonte, the rich man who wants more time. The book tells each of their story, how they came about their own struggles against time, and how their fates became interrelated. More important was how Dor (a.k.a. Father Time) is about to change their fates, by saving the two earthly people's lives and eventually save himself too.

Reflection:

How do we keep our time? Do we treat it as if it's gonna last forever? Do we treat it like a limited resource? Do we take it for granted or do we treat it with care?

With today's demands, we are more pressured than ever to move fast, work efficient, and decide quick. There are so many deadlines we need to meet - hard ones set at work, or standard ones set by our society, or personal ones that we have set for our own selves. There are so many things we need to achieve. There are so many things we feel we need to do. But sometimes, we have to stop and ask ourselves, are we making the best use of our time with all these? If we die at the end of the day, will we have any regrets? What things would we wish we would have done? What things would we wish we have not done, so we might have made better use of our time?

Today's demands also open us to failures, unmet goals, and sadness that can sometimes lead to depression. But today's times also open us to the growing possibilities of sickness, accidents, and death, always reminding us that our time isn't in our own hands. The books uses the traditional way of looking at things: a young one with a long life ahead, and a young man about to die, but the truth is that life doesn't always work that way. Only God knows how much sand remains in our life's hourglass. Only He can extend it. Or decide to cut it short.

On a side note, as I was reading the book, I had the urge to count how many times the word "time" will be mentioned. But with each passage I read, I know that that will be totally ironic. I don't want to be consumed with counting the way Dor had been, and forget about the essence of the time I spent reading a wonderful book and learning so much from it.


And now, for my favorite quotes:

"Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out." 

"Once started, this desire does not end. It will grow beyond anything you have imagined." 

"Soon man will count all his days, and then smaller segments of the day, and then smaller still - until the counting consumes him, and the wonder of the world he has been given is lost."

"The length of your days does not belong to you."

"Holding on to things "will only break your heart."  

"As mankind grew obssessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life's moments had led, inevitably to counting them down."

"But man invents nothing God did not create first."

"Not aging is not the same as living, and without human contact, his soul dried up."

"Mankind is connected in ways it does not understand - even in dreams."

"It is never too late or too soon. It is when it is supposed to be."

"You marked the minutes, but did you use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted?"

"You were one person, and you changed the world."

"Only God can write the end of your story."

"Remember this always: There is a reason God limits man's days."

"But a desperate heart will seduce the mind."

"Sometimes, when you are not getting the love you want, giving makes you think you will."

"But a man who can take anything will find most things unsatisfying. And a man without memories is just a shell."

"We all yearn for what we have lost. But sometimes, we forget what we have."

"But you grab a moment, or you let it pass."

"A heart weighs more when it splits in two; it crashes in the chest like a broken plane."

"Knowing something and understanding it were not the same thing."

"But common sense has no place in first love and never has."

"And when hope is gone, time is punishment."

"Magic came from the gods. And when the gods touch something, the normal became the supernatural, the simple became the wondrous."

"When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness."

"But hurting ourselves to inflict pain on others is just another cry to be loved."

"Love does not make you a fool."

"Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future. --- Hope."

"Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows."

"With endless time, nothing is special. With no loss or sacrifice, we can't appreciate what we have."

"But fates are connected in ways we don't understand."

"We cannot stop what Heaven chooses."

Wishes on Faulty Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a sick love story so they say. In the literal sense.

The book tells the story of Augustus "Gus" Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster, both of whom had had experience with the Big C. They became friends, fell in love, went to Amsterdam and met with the author of An Imperial Affliction, a book that ended without an ending. It's a love story and more. 

The story I guess can be summed up in the last few lines of the book - "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say, in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers.." (*avoiding spoilers*)

I used to think that I can save someone from suffering the pain that I can cause. By staying away, I thought I was giving the person a favor by not experiencing the pain in loving someone like me, but I realized I'm robbing that same person of something else - the freedom to choose the person who provides that pain, that hurt.

Quotes:
"Apparently, the world is not a wish granting factory."

"Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed."

"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."

"I cannot tell you how thankful i am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and i'm grateful."

"Funerals, I have decided, are for the living."

"Pain is like fiber. The stronger it is, the more it's worth."

"Grief does not change you, it reveals you."

"It occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true,  because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again."

"The marks human leaves are too often scars."

"The real heroes anyway are not the people doing things; the real heroes are the people noticing things, paying attention."

"That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt."

"Sometimes people don'tunderstand the promise they're making when they make them.... Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway."

"To be with him was to hurt him - inevitably. And that's what I felt as he reached for me. I'd felt as though I were committing an act of violence against him, because I was."

"In freedom, most people find sin."

"It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you."

"She wishes to spare you pain, and you should let her. You may not find young Hazel's logic persuasive, but I have trod through this value of tears longer than you, and from where I'm sitting she's not the lunatic."

"No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can't go all the way around."

Words by Dumbledore and More

I'm a late bloomer for Harry Potter, I know. Well, I never thought I'd be engrossed in reading this series. But I was. Maybe because somehow I was brought into a magical world, away from all the stress of reality. (Though I'm still far from being a fanatic.) And yet, there are very nice quotes from the headmaster and others that are very much applicable to reality. Below are my top 10 favorites:

"The trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

"Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself." - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

"The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."
- Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." -Sirius, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Curiosity is not a sin, but we should exercise caution with our curiosity..." - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery." - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"We are only as strong as we are united, and as weak as we are divided." - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open." -Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


"No good sittin' worryin' about it, what's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does." - Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Summary & Reflection:
A story that begins with the end; A fiction that cuts through the heart - The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a story about Eddie's journey to heaven, as he meets the five people that will make him understand his life on earth.

Person 1 - Blue Man
Lesson 1 - "That there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."
The Blue Man, a sideshow worker at Ruby Pier, was unexpectedly connected to Eddie through one of life's most unfortunate moment - death. The first lesson, as the Blue Man tells, is that we are all connected, that one small act affects another in a totally unexpected manner, and that one story when seen in a different perspective may turn out to have a totally different ending. Reading this, I remember the series Touch, and how this thin red thread connects us all. We just don't realize it, and may never come to know how specifically, but we definitely are connected to each other, even though geographically apart, or even an era apart.

Person 2 - The Captain
Lesson 2 - "Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're only passing it on to someone else."
The Captain - Eddie's Captain when he once served in war, was that one person who saved Eddie's life, not once but twice. The first instance was from a burning hut, and with a bullet shot through his leg - an act with a lifetime effect and memory.  The second instance was from an explosion of a land mine that took the captain's life but saved his men's lives. Both of these remained unknown to Eddie until his death.
Having shared this so, the Captain had no regrets. He wasn't even sorry. The same goes with most sacrifices in life. The true sacrifices are the ones where something is given up for another's benefit without any second thought about what might be lost. Because as the Captain says so, it's not really lost but only passed on.

Person 3 - Ruby

Lesson 3  - "Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."

Unlike the other people Eddie meets in heaven, Ruby is a person who has not really met Eddie in person while on earth. In fact, she lived in a time before Eddie's own time. Ruby is to whom the Ruby Pier (the pier where Eddie worked) was once dedicated to. Though unknown to each other, they were related and affected by the mere existence of one times ago.  She was the one who teaches Eddie one of the most important lessons in life - letting go of anger, as she showed to him a story of his father that was again unknown to him.
Sometimes, it's easy to let our emotions take over. It's hard to simply contain it, and much harder to simply let go. But sometimes we also have to pause and take a look at how a certain emotion is ruling our life. And then maybe, that's when we'll realize how destructive some of them are, and how it will make life better if we can just let it slip away.

Person 4 - Marguerite

Lesson 4 - "Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that's all."
Marguerite is Eddie's love - his one and only love. And when Marguerite died, Eddie somehow died too. He simply survived but he forgot to live.
They say that 'it's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.' And this is true. A love may be lost to death, to an opportunity, or to someone else. But that's still love. And simply losing it doesn't change that fact.

Person 5 - Tala
Lesson 5 - "Is where you were supposed to be."

Tala was the shadow in the earlier chapters - a shadow that somehow caused Eddie the pain he's carried through life. A shadow, now a person, was just a child who died in the fire, that Eddie tried to save. Tala, a small girl was the one who assures Eddie that while he may have lived his life thinking that life would have been much better somewhere else, he is actually where he is supposed to be - to serve his purpose well - to protect small children and keep them safe, even if he may have missed one during the war.
Many times in our life, we wonder and ask if we are right where we are supposed to be. Sometimes there are regrets, and the question "what could have been" and "if only" surfaces. We may not realize it but sometimes I guess we just have to trust that we are planted right where we can serve our purpose on earth. It may not be the purpose we have in mind, but by simply being where we are and simply doing what we do, we are already serving our life's purpose.

It was actually my second time to read this book. But just the same, I can't help the tears from flowing chapter to chapter, lesson to lesson, as stories once unknown on earth get revealed in heaven.

Makes me think....who could be the five people we'll meet in heaven?

Other Favorite Quotes:

"But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time."

"No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river."

"But the running boy is inside every man, no matter how old he gets."

"People often belittle the place where they were born. But heaven can be found in the most unlikely corners."

"Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at that time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth."

"People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float in clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But a scenery without solace is meaningless."

"This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for."

"Take one story, viewed from two different angles. It is the same day, the same moment, but one angle ends happily, ..., and the other ends badly,..."

"Fairness does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young."

"It is because the human spirit knows deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed."

"Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know."

"No life is a waste, the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone."

"It's the thinking that gets you killed."

"War could bond men like a magnet, but like a magnet it could repel them too."

"In the middle of a big war, you go looking for a small idea to believe in. When you find one, you hold it the way a soldier holds his crucifix when he's praying in a foxhole."

"Time is not what you think. Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happened on earth is only the beginning."

"But our eyes are different, what you see ain't what I see."

"Things that happen before you are born still affect you.and people who come before your time affect you as well."

"Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge."

"Which was worse when left unexplained: a life, or a death?"

"People say they "find" love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love."

"Life has to end, Love doesn't."

The Devil and Miss Prym

Summary:
The story is set in the town of Viscos, a town so laid back it was almost forgotten by the world. The story began when evil visited Viscos in the person of Carlos, a stranger who himself seeks for answers about Good and Evil. He has experienced Evil himself, and now he has chosen this small town to make a conclusion about what happened in his past. His plan started to be realized when he came upon Miss Prym, a young lady, who has her whole life ahead of her - the only young person remaining in Viscos.

The number of characters in this novel can be counted in your hands. There is the mayor, the mayor's wife, the priest, the hotel landlady, Berta (the old woman), the landowner, the stranger who goes by the name of Carlos (and the epitome of Evil), and Miss Chantal Prym. Each of them plays a significant role in depicting the different motives and desires a person may have, to which they might decide to go with the Devil.

To Chantal Prym was first given the choice, and she's torn between reaching her dreams by doing evil, or being the messenger of death and sin. Or also risking her own life by simply keeping quiet.

Reflection:
Another short novel from Paulo Coelho, this book is a story about the battle between Good and Evil. Starting from the story of St. Savin and Ahab, and going through the story of the man with his horse and dog who went to heaven and hell, Ahab's son buying salt, the story about the death of Berta's husband, the story of the priest, the brief background on firing squads, and the last supper's painting, to the whole plot of the Devil and Miss Prym, we clearly see how evil tries to battle against good in each of us. It may be about our desire for power, authority, wealth, a better future, or freedom.

More than being a book about the battle of good and evil, however, this is actually more about choices. True, each of us is visited by evil at a point in our lives, but it's the choice we make that will conclude how things will end. Most often than not, we neglect to see the ripple effect of that one decision we make to give in to evil.  We are overcome by our desires and we are blinded by what's shining in front of our eyes, that we sometimes decide and act without thinking.

This book is a must read because more than just being about the battle of good and evil, it's about fear, it's about choices, it's about freedom, it's about..... Each one of us.
As was told by the stranger, and Miss Prym thought in the end,
"The story of one person is the story of all humanity."

 My Favorite Quotes:
"In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant and look where we have ended up today."

"It was all a matter of control. And choice. Nothing more and nothing less."

"So you see, good and evil have the same face, it all depends on when they cross the path of each individual being."

"Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."

"It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. Each of us carries a gallows inside us."

"Perhaps the fight between good and evil is raging all the time in every individual's heart, which is the battleground for all angels and devils; they would fight inch by inch for thousands of millenia in order to gain ground, until one of them finally vanquished the other."

"Man needs what's worst in him in order to achieve what's best in him."

"Words don't matter in the end, let them talk, and life will see to it that they act differently."

"There are two kinds of idiots - those who don,t take action because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat."

"Because silence does not always mean consent - usually all it meant was that people were incapable of coming up with an immediate response."

"People want to change everything, and at the same time, want it all to remain the same."

"Water: it has no taste, no smell, no color, and yet it is the most important thing in the world."

"Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time."

"You were in paradise, but you didn't recognize it. It's the same with most people in this world, they seek suffering in the most joyous places because they think they are unworthy of happiness."

"She had just realized: there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expect it."

"Life can seem very long or very short, according to how you live it."

"Fear again, If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid."

"Death often frees us from a lot of senseless suffering."

"Evil would never bring Good, however much they wanted to believe that it would."

Too Dumb to be Happy?

Too dumb to be happy? This just might be the book for you: Happiness for Dummies, refreshed by Coca-Cola

Summary:
Happiness for Dummies is a very thin and small book, much more pocket-able than most pocket books. As the title suggests, it's a book that will teach dummies how to be happy. It gives tips, warnings, and key concepts about happiness.

Chapter 1 explains how Anyone can be Happy, how happiness is a universal emotion, and the resources that can be built by having a positive emotion.

Chapter 2 The Recipe for Happiness, lists the four basic  ingredients  (Safety, Satiation, Perspective and Quietude), and the add-ons (Satisfaction, different kinds of Pleasure, Gratitude, Serenity and Wellbeing).

Chapter 3 is about the Personality Attributes that Lead to Happiness, which are optimism, conscientiousness, engagement, and Being Hardy.

Chapter 4 Behaving your way toward happiness lists down various tips and tactics on how we can start to lead a life of day to day happiness.

Chapter 5 enumerates Ten Ways to be Happy as follows:
1.Live life in the present
2.Put your smile on
3.Choose to be optimistic
4.Laugh out loud
5.Focus on family and friends
6.Realize money doesn't buy happiness
7.Forgive and Forget
8.Help others be happy
9.Don't worry, Be Happy
10.Feed the soul

Reflection:
When I first got hold of the book, I wasn't too excited to read it. Who are they to teach anyone how to be happy anyway? Isn't happiness relative from person to person, situation to situation? It also seemed too light to contain anything worth poring over. But I decided to read it anyway being curious by this additional refreshment from Coca-Cola. And no regrets! You can actually read the whole thing in less than 30 minutes, but I decided to read one chapter a day, careful to digest every tip.

And here are some of my take-away(s):
I need to LINGER more. Currently, I usually have my To Do's laid out weeks or even months before. It doesn't matter how petty it is, like to read a chapter in a book, watch a telenovela , or finish a level in Candy Crush, it has to be done! And most of the time I HURRY, without any time to linger anymore. And this might just be one thing that I missed doing - to linger in a page of a book, to linger as I hang out with friends, to simply linger in the moment.

I also need to be more open to Surprises, Spontaneity  and Serendipity. As we grow and mature, we tend to move towards rituals, plans, and jam-packed schedules. There' s nothing wrong with the latter. It helps us be more organized and orderly. But sometimes we need to balance things. By being more open to the 3S, we open ourselves to more opportunities for happiness.

The ingredients to happiness are also insightful, though I think that Satisfaction and Serenity are more of the main ingredients than is Satiation and Quietude. A person who is not content will always feel that their glass is half empty, and thus will find it hard to be satiated. But if one feels satisfied, he or she is more easily satiated. Though Quietude might be important to gain serenity, it's not always the case. I've always wanted to go out of town to experience quietude, and thus serenity. But even with quietude, I sometimes find it hard to have a serene mind, with all the noise going on inside my head. It might be more efficient to have a serene mind before we go into quietude and be in an appreciative perspective.

How to become happy is actually plain simple common sense. One does not need to be a psychologist to be able to realize what makes them happy. But in the world today where people seem to be more busy on things that make them rich but lonely rather than happy (and where common sense is not so common), this book serves as a great reminder.

Five years ago, I was hapee. But I left as I decide to take on a path that will make me more mature and responsible though I know will surely make that happiness dwindle. Quoting my farewell letter almost 4 years ago, "Hindi naman kailangang lahat ng gagawin natin ay makapagpapasiya sa atin. Dahil ang buhay ay hindi naman tungkol lamang sa pagsasaya."And so I went on with my life with this firm belief. And boy, did I attract too much sadness and loneliness! But now I've realized that though happiness may not be one of life's main purpose, having Happiness in our life not only makes us more productive but makes life itself more worthwhile.

So....after 28 pages, 5 chapters, and a bottle of coca-cola, here I am trying to stir my path back to happiness.

Quotes from Happiness for Dummies:
"The attitudes you have today largely determine how things turn out tomorrow."
"All people have something in their lives they can be thankful for."
"You'll always have the plan. The question is, will you ever have this opportunity again?"
'Helen Keller once wrote, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."'
"Learn from the past, hope for the future, but live in the present!"
'Bernard Meltzer said "Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it."'

Wag Kang Lalayo sa Amin, Bob Ong

Ang Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin ay ang ika-siyam na libro ni Bob Ong. Gumagamit ito ng script style ng pagsusulat at nahahati sa tatlong bahagi (para sa tatlong kategorya ng pelikula):
Bala sa bala, Kamao sa kamao, Satsat sa Satsat (Action)
Shake Shaker Shakest (Horror)
Asawa ni Marie (Romantic Drama)

Ang bawat isa ay  bumabatikos sa ating mga pelikula, social networking, komersyalismo, mga pambatang palabas, mga librong naililimbag at iba-iba pang klase at gamit ng media. Pinuna dito ang mga "reality show" (o bente kwatro oras na pagsubaybay sa araw-araw na pamumuhay ng mga taong ikinulong sa isang bahay), mga product placement sa tv at pelikula, mga paulit-ulit na eksena at katapusan mapa-horror, comedy, action, o drama (kaya minsan nauunahan pa nga natin ang writer mag-isip ng ending ng pelikula), pagkawala ng tunay na saysay ng sining sa media, star mentality, pag-ubos ng ating oras ng mga social networking sites, at marami pang iba.

Ngunit binigyang liwanag rin naman ng ating mahal na may-akda ang kabutihang maidudulot ng media kung gagamitin nga lang ito nang wasto....ng mga gumagawa nito, nagpupundar para maipalabas ito, at ng mga manonood at mga tumatangkilik dito.

Habang binabasa ko ang aklat na ito, hindi ko mapigilang maalala ang indie film na "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank". Maganda rin nga itong gawing isang pelikula balang-araw. Isang pelikulang kukutya sa kapwa Pilipinong pelikula.

Sana balang araw, tulad ng mga indie films ang sumikat sa ating bansa - yung may saysay, may sining, may kwenta. Sana balang araw, magbalik ang mga mas may dekalidad na pelikula, tv show, radyo, dyaryo, networking sites at iba pang mga uri ng media. Sana balang araw Lumayo Nga Sa Atin ang mga basura at mga negosyanteng nagpupundar sa mga basura. Sana balang araw lumapit naman ang mga tunay nating maipagmamalaki.

Bago matapos ang lahat, s'yempre kung may Bob Ong book, mawawala ba naman ang mga Bob Ong quotes?

"Walang pakialam ang tao sa katotohanan, sa tsismis lang sila interesado."

“Ako, ang hinahangaan kong tao na mahilig sa libro e yung may matututunan ka pag kausap mo, yung makikita mong naging marunong at mabuti siyang tao dahil sa pagbabasa niya ng mga libro.”

"Higit sa mga prestihiyosong pagkilala, mas kailangan ng libro ng mga mambabasa."

"May kapangyarihan na kayong kausapin ang mundo? Magaling! Ano ang sinabi ninyo? Bilis, ano ang sinabi ninyo?"

“Isa pa, pwede nga ring yung TV talaga ang may sumpa. Dahil ang TV, para ring drugs, pero ligal. Isipin mo, bakit isa ito sa mga unang-unang ipinupundar ng mga Pilipino kahit gaano sila kahirap? Kasi malaking tulong ang telebisyon para lumimot. Para tumakas sa realidad.”

“Kung ano ang nakikita at naririnig natin sa araw-araw, nagiging ‘yon tayo. Kinokondisyon tayo ng mga patalastas na hindi tayo masaya, na laging may kulang sa buhay natin. Tatlo ang magulang ng henerasyon natin. Ang tatay, ang nanay, at ang mga patalastas o media. Kaya kung mahina yung dalawang nauna, naaagawan sila nung pangatlo sa pagpapalaki sa bata.”

"Kuhang kuha natin ang mga katarantaduhan ng Hollywood, pero hindi ang kaunting pagiging responsable ng mga kanluraning bansa sa isyu ng pagtayo sa sariling paa."

"Lahat tayo may love triangle. Sa ganito lagi umiikot ang kwento. Pag ginawan mo ng diagram ang characters, makakabuo ka ng higanteng pyramid ng mga taong naghahabol, hinahabol, at mga magkakaribal."

"Kung gusto mong pang-award na palabas, lumipat ka doon sa kaisa-isang pelikula na may kwenta pero walang kita."

"Kung gusto mong matawa, dapat paminsan-minsan magpakababaw ka rin. Huwag nga lang sosobra"


"'Yon yung mali sa tinawatag na 'cool factor'. Paramaging 'in' ka, dapat magustuhan mo yung gusto ng iba. Pero pag sobrang dami na ng may gusto, dapat umayaw ka naman dahil magiging jologs ka na. Dapatkakaiba lagi ang gusto mo, para kunyari iba ka."


"Pero hindi lahat ng inaakala mong korni e korni. Minsan ikaw lang din talaga ang walang sense of humor at may diperensya, siguro dahil sa pagpipilit mong maging iba."


"Lahat tayo nami-miss ang mga paborito nating activity na panglustay lang sa oras natin sa mundo. Pero hindi tayo basta-basta makakaalis dito."

“Bata, kanya-kanya tayo ng paglalakbay. Huwag kang magpakarga, katamaran yan.”


At isang hamon??


"Mapapailing naman ang mga mambabasa sa buong kwento na kanilang nasaksihan, pero wala silang gagawin o babaguhin. Tatawa lang sila. Tatawa lang sila at sisisihin ang sistema...ang laging bida at walang kamatayang sistema."

Para Kanino ang Kwento Ko?

PARA KAY B ni Ricky Lee

BUOD:

Ang aklat ay tungkol sa limang kwento ng pag-ibig na isinakatauhan ng limang babae – si IRENE (ang babaeng umibig sa isang memorya), si SANDRA (ang babaeng umibig sa sariling laman at dugo), si ERICA(ang babaeng nagmula sa Maldiaga at hindi makaramdam ng pag-ibig), si ESTER (ang babaeng umibig sa kapwa kasarian), at si BESSIE (ang babaeng kung kani-kaninong lalake sumisiping na parang sex is all that matters, not love). Pero ang totoong bida ng kwento ay wala sa kanilang lima, kundi si Lucas na siyang pinakamakapangyarihang tauhan sa kwento. Sa teorya niya umiikot ang istorya. Ngunit mapatunayan kaya ang teorya niya? O mabago kaya ito sa takbo ng kwentong mismong siya ang may likha?

PAGNINILAY:

"Me quota ang pag-ibig. Sa bawat limang umiibig, isa lang ang magiging maligaya. Ang iba, iibig sa di sila iniibig. O iibig nang di natututo. O iibig sa wala. O di iibig kailanman."

May ngiting naglaro sa aking mga labi. Halos parehong-pareho ito sa ideolohiya ko noong nasa hayskul at kolehiyo pa lamang ako. Isang teorya na napagbago na ng panahon, naliha at napakinis. Kaya ngayon natatawa na lamang ako tuwing maaalala ko kung gaano ako nagmatigas noon sa haka-haka ko at pinanindigang isa ako sa apat sa lima. Isa sa hindi magiging maligaya.

1. PAG-IBIG vs. PAGMAMAHAL

Sa limang kwento, mahigit isa ay may kahawig sa buhay ko. May sobra, may kulang, pero umiikot sa halos katulad na sitwasyon. Pero mas marami pang kwento bukod sa limang ito. Mula sa mga kaibigan, kamag-anak, at callers ni Papa Jack. Mga sawi, NBSB, NGSB, bigo, SMP. Mga successful, masaya at matagal nang nagsasama. Iba’t ibang kwento para sa bawat isa. At minsan ang isa ay may iba’t ibang kwento pa. Kaya para sabihing 1 out of 5 lang ang magiging masaya, ay parang hindi tama. Di ko masasagot kung 3 out of 10, 7 out of 20, o 1 out of 100 pero siguro kailangan muna ng statistics para sa mga numero.

May kung anong sarap na dala ang pag-ibig. Minsan (o kadalasan) ay mayroon ding pait na parang aftertaste ba. Pero hindi ang pagmamahal. Hindi ko alam kung tama na ang teorya ko pero ito ang produkto ng pagliliha noon...na ang pag-ibig at pagmamahal ay magkaiba at kung papipiliin ako, mas pipiliin ko ang pagmamahal. Ilan sa tauhan sa kwento ay umibig, ang ilan ay nagmahal. Kung alam mo ang pagkakaiba, alam mo kung sino-sino sila.

2. HINDI PAGKAKATULUYAN ≠DINEVASTATE NG PAG-IBIG

"God may have allowed him to be your first boyfriend but it doesn’t mean he is supposed to be your last.” ~quote mula sa vypress ng isang kaibigan matapos ng aking first break-up.

May mga tao tayong mamahalin para lang mabago ang ating pagkatao. Meron namang para buksan ang isipan natin sa ilang mga posibilidad. Posibleng para magbigay sa atin ng unang halik, unang mainit na yakap, at kung anu-ano pang perstaym. Meron din tayong mamahalin na mag-iinspire sa ating magsulat o kaya magsumikap. Merong para turuan tayo kumain ng isaw, adidas, at dinuguan. Merong para samahan tayong magkomyut papuntang Quiapo, 168, at Divisoria. Merong para lang matuto tayong magdrive ng tsikot. Merong ang purpose ay baguhin hindi lang ang pagpapatakbo natin ng sasakyan kundi maging ang takbo ng buhay natin. Meron ding para magbigay sa atin ng lakas ng loob na magpatakbo nito.

Kaya hindi ako naniniwalang dahil lamang hindi nagkatuluyan ang ilan sa mga tauhan sa istorya ay dinevastate na sila ng pag-ibig. After all, sino ba naman ang makakapagsabi na happy ending na ang lahat, nang hindi dumarating sa tunay na ending ng buhay.

Para sa akin, para masabing bigo ka, sawi, hindi maligaya, o devastated, ay nasa sa iyo rin naman. Dahil it’sa fact na pag umibig ka, kasama roon ang possibility na masugatan, madapa, at masaktan. Pero nasa iyo ang kapangyarihan kung hihilata ka na lang basta o tatayo at muling lalaban, dahil walang iba kundi ikaw ang writer ng kwento ng buhay pag-ibig mo.

Ang Munting Prinsipe

BUOD:
Ang aklat na ito ay tungkol sa isang batang prinsipe na naninirahan sa isang napakaliit na planeta kasama ang tatlong bulkan, mga umuusbong na baobab, at isang bulaklak. Siya ay naglakbay sa iba’t ibang asteroid, kung saan nakilala niya ang hari na wala namang pinaghaharian, ang hambog na wala naman talagang tumitingala, isang lasengero, isang negosyante, isang taga-sindi ng ilaw, at isang heograpo, hanggang mapadpad siya sa Lupa, ang planetang pinaninirahan ng hindi mabilang na hari, hambog, lasenggo, negosyante at heograpo. Ito ang planeta kung saan abalang abala ang mga matatanda sa mga bagay na para sa munting prinsipe ay wala namang importansya. Ito rin ang planeta kung saan siya tumira nang matagal-tagal, at nakakilala ng ahas na magbabalik sa kanya sa planetang kanyang pinanggalingan, daan-daang mga rosas na hindi pumapantay sa ganda ng rosas na nagpaamo sa kanya, at alamid na kanyang pinaamo. Dito niya rin nakilala ang may-akda.

PAGNINILAY:
The Little Prince. Iyan ang unang aklat na aming naging book report sa paaralan. Hindi ko na maalala kung nasa anong baitang ako noon, basta ang alam ko, hindi pa ako tulad ng munting prinsipe nang mga panahong iyon. Sabik sa laro, hindi ko binuklat man lamang ang librong ito. Hinayaan ko na lamang na maikwento ito sa akin ng aking ina. Naikwento man niya, hindi nakuha nito ang aking interes katulad ng mga kwento sa Funny Komiks.

Lumipas ang panahon at dahil sa ilang munting prinsipeng nagdaan sa aking buhay, nahiligan ko ang magtanong at alamin ang kasagutan sa ilan sa mga ito sa pamamagitan ng pagbabasa ng mga libro. Nagdaan ang ilang aklat sa aking mga kamay at ni hindi ko man lamang binalikan ang The Little Prince upang muling mapagnilayan ang siyang nilalaman nito. Ngunit sa munting pakikipag-usap sa isa sa mga Assistant Manager sa aking pinagtatrabahuhan ay nabanggit niya ang librong ito, kaya naman naalala ko ang tungkol dito at siyang hinanap sa pinakamalapit na book store. Laking tuwa ko nang makita ang librong hinahanap sa sariling wika.

Hindi ako nagsisi na muling pag-aksayahan ng panahon ang manipis na aklat na may siyamnaput apat na pahina lamang ngunit maraming leksyon.

Ang aklat ay isang kwento tungkol sa mga bagay na tunay ngang mahalaga, mga kahalagahang malinaw naman sa atin nang mga bata pa tayo ngunit tila ay ating nalilimutan sa ating pagtanda. Isang kwento ito tungkol sa mga iba’t ibang uri ng matatanda at ang mga walang importansyang bagay na kanilang pinahahalagahan tulad ng pansariling kayabangan, kapangyarihan at materyal na kayamanan. Totoo ngang napakalaki sa oras nating matatanda ang naaaksaya sa ganitong mga bagay. At tila yata’y wala na talaga tayong mailaang panahon sa pagtuklas at muling pagtanaw sa tunay na mahahalagang bagay tulad na lamang ng disiplina at tunay na pagmamahal sa iyong ginagawa. Muli rin tayong pinaalalahanan nito tungkol sa pagmamahal at pakikipagkaibigan.

Pinakapaborito ko nga sa aklat na ito ang pag-uusap ng alamid at ng munting prinsipe. Ilan sa mga naibigan kong kataga ay ang mga sumusunod:

“Ang mga pinaamo mo lamang ang kilala mo,…Wala nang panahon ang mga tao para makipagkilala. Bumibili sila ng mga bagay na yari nang lahat sa mga nagtitinda. Pero dahil walang nagtitinda ng mga kaibigan, wala nang kaibigan ang mga tao.”

“Balikan mo at tingnang muli ang mga rosas. Maiintindihan mo ngayon na bukod tangi ang sa ‘yo.”

“Narito ang lihim ko. Napakasimple nito: sa pamamagitan lamang ng puso makakakitang mabuti. Hindi kita ng mata ang pinakapuso ng mga bagay.”

“May panganib na umiyak ang sinuman kung hahayaan niyang paamuin siya…”

N K K B S K N B T L G?

Nice Read

A B N K K B S N P L A k o?!
By Bob Ong

Ang aklat ay tungkol sa paglalakbay ni Bob Ong sa mundo ng paaralan. Inilalahad niya ang kanyang mga naging karanasan mula unang baiting hanggang makatuntong siya sa kolehiyo.
Sariwain ang ating karanasan sa paaralan noon ayon sa bawat yugto. Tiyak na makaka-ugnay ka sa ilan sa mga ito kung hindi man lahat. Mga bagong kagamitan tuwing Hunyo, mga gurong namamalo at nambabato, mga bansag natin sa kanila, ang “favorite subject” ng karamihan na Math, mga teacher’s pet, teacher’s enemy, clowns at geeks sa klase, ang School Rules and Regulations, pagbibinata at pagdadalaga, ang SOS at FLAMES.

Ang libro ay isang komedya na nagtatalakay rin ng relihiyon at prinsipyo, edukasyon at maledukasyon, pagtaya, politika at mga politiko, mga tuwid at balikong sistema, ang “national disaster in slow motion”, caste system, trabaho at bokasyon, batayan ng totoong katalinuhan, at ang paborito kong “Mundo na nababalot ng pagmamahalan kung kapaskuhan”
Sa pagbabalik tanaw na ito, marahil ay hindi mo na kukwestiyunin kung bakit tayo nagkakaganito…bakit ganito ang takbo ng buhay nating mga Pilipino.

PAGNINILAY
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” - Mark Twain

Isang diploma nga ba ang magpapatunay ng lahat ng ating natutunan?

Ako’y isa sa mga hindi naniniwalang ang edukasyon ay nalilimita sa loob ng apat na sulok ng paaralan. Kung iisipin ko nga, higit yatang marami pa akong natutunan sa labas kaysa sa loob ng paaralan. Napakaraming mahahalagang bagay sa buhay ang tila yata nalimutan maisama sa kurikulum ng mga paaralan.
Sa totoo lang, hindi ko na maalala kung paano gumamit ng sangkatutak na functions ng scientific calculator. Hindi na ako marunong magfactor ng quadratic trinomial. Parang hindi naipakilala sa akin sina Whitman at Naismith. At hindi ko na kaya isa-isahin ang life stages of a butterfly at parts of a cell.
Kung bibigyan mo ako ngayon ng isang academic exam, baka mapahiya ang aking mga guro dahil tila yata’y kaunti lang (kung hindi man wala) ang maisasagot ko. Pero, sa isang banda, dapat din nilang ikarangal ang pagkakaturo sa akin dahil kung sino man ako at kung ano man ang naabot ko ay dahil din naman iyon sa kanila, sa bawat isa sa kanila - mga gurong naging paborito ako, kalaban ko, kaibigan, o kaaway.
Sa paaralan ng buhay ko nalaman na sa bawat sitwasyon, maging sa loob man o labas ng silid aralan, nasa sa atin nakadepende kung ano ang ating matututunan.
Tulad na lang kung ikaw ay madadapa, maari mong matutunang tanggapin na may mga bagay talagang hindi nakalaan para sa iyo, o maaari mong matutunang tumayo at muling sumubok na lumaban.
Sa loob ng eskwelahan, maaari mong piliing matutunan ang mga nakasulat na sa libro at mga naisulat mo pa sa iyong kwaderno, o maaari mong piliing matutunan ang mga bagay na tanging sa puso’t isipan mo lang mailalathala.
Sabi nga ni Bob Ong, “para sa lahat ng magaganda at pangit na lesson na wala sa lesson plan at hindi kasama sa binayaran kong tuition fee”. Kung ating babalikan ang bawat hakbang natin sa paaralan, marahil ay hindi naman ang Battle of Tirad Pass, computation of a parabola, o ang kwento ng Ibong Adarna ang ating masusulyapan, kundi ang daan-daang karanasan natin dito– Mabubuti, masasama, magaganda at pangit. Mga memorya ng pagpaparangal at kahihiyan, pagsunod at pagsuway, pagkadapa at pagbangon, pagtalikod at paglaban. Pag-iibigan at pakikipagkaibigan, pakikipag-away at paninidigan, iyakan at tampuhan. Syempre kasama rin ang libo-libong kalokohan…at ang mga di nasusulat na leksyong natutunan at humubog sa atin.
Dahil hindi lang ating isipan ang hinuhubog sa paaralan kundi maging ang pagkatao natin.