What a near-death experience gives

My friend and I had a near-death experience yesterday around 2:00am. It was a car accident and until now I still could not believe that we lived through that experience unscathed. I can still vividly remember what happened, which I find weird because I thought that my brain would just opt to forget the traumatic experience. And as I replay every scene before, during and after that accident --- I keep coming back to the following thoughts that appear like pop-ups in my head:

1. That acceptance was the last thing I felt or thought about just before impact. There was neither fear nor panic. I remember I was sitting there fully aware of everything that was happening and feeling nothing.
2. That I was concerned about my friend.
3. That miracles do happen everyday and that most times we fail to recognize them.
4. That I should never ignore my gut feeling again. My gut has served me well for so long already. It scares me most times because it is like having a psychic ability that I am not sure if I want. I realized that whatever gift we have, we should always accept and nurture because they are given for a reason. My gut kept telling me before the accident that I should not go but I ignored it.
5. That this is my second life and I fully intend to live it to the fullest, to treasure it like the gift that it truly is.

As Oogway of Kung Fu Panda said, "There are no accidents." I think that now, more than ever, I understand what that truly means. Things happen for a reason. Near-death experiences happen because there are lessons that are needed to be learned from them. I believe that anyone who lives through a near-death experience is still meant to live. And that it is the kind of living that embraces the gift of life to the fullest.

Where the Hell is Matt (2008)

"14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands. Thanks to everyone who danced with me." - Follow Matt here.

There's no such thing as limitless stupidity in love

because it isn't stupidity to do selfless deeds for that other person. eh ano naman kung bugbog na puso mo sa pagod? i guess at the end of the day, you just have to take a rest, take some precious time to recover and get up again and do what you think you need to do.

sabi nga, simple lang ang konsepto ng space-time ng physics. nothing ever exactly happens twice. kahit pa sabihin mong parang naulit lang ang mga pangyayari at mga bagay-bagay, hindi pa rin. kasi nga, you only get that one chance in that specific space and at that exact time. kaya nga bakit kailangan pang isipin kung tama o mali ang gumawa ng selfless act of kindless sa taong importante sa yo? gawin na lang ng gawin.

of course there's always that chance that the person doesn't even know you've been stretching yourself thin para sa kanya. eh posible talaga yun. baka dense lang talaga or sobrang self-absorbed wala nang nakikita or posibleng bina-block lang because kailangan. pero at least ikaw, alam mo.

yun lang naman talaga ang mahalaga, yung alam mong ginawa mo lahat dahil you care enough to do something while you have the chance. pag finally you decide that you've done everything you could na and you want to move on there'll be no question in your mind that you finally discovered what unconditional love truly means.

A time to flow

Lately I have found myself spending more time thinking than doing. Not that I do not enjoy thinking. In fact, I thrive on it. It seems to be the only thing that I can be good at. It does not take much skill or effort to do it anyway, which is why I find it infinitely relaxing.

It is just that sometimes, I find myself stuck. I find myself settling in whatever plane I have stumbled into. Exploring gazillion thoughts that fleet like butterflies is an interesting pursuit. But I do not live in my mind. I live in the here and now hence the effort to let go of the comfort that thinking brings and pull myself together to jump back on solid ground.

See, my thoughts are real to me. They mean something to me and I would like to think (see, that word again) that they could mean to others as well. Once in a while, I need to leave that place where I am alone with my thoughts because I feel the need to translate them to something real. I need to do something. My thoughts are a part of me and to celebrate my life while I am here means I need to do something to make these thoughts matter.

There is a time for thinking and a time for doing. I am constantly in a struggle to balance those two. But that is how most things in life go. It matters not if I succeed or fail in unfailingly balancing everything. Ultimately, what matters most is I keep trying.

Think Different

Of Summer Wind, Photography and Glazed Ceramics

Last Saturday was about culture and serendipity. Badette, Justine and I spent the afternoon visiting Mai and baby Fuka, watching Fuka's video and waiting at Shangri-la to watch one of the featured movies in the French Film Festival.

Mai gave birth to Fuka last June 14. Fuka means Summer Wind in Japanese. I think that there is just something quaint in Japanese names. I like the idea of names having meanings. Mai mentioned that they think of the Philippines as summer country hence the name. She said she also thought about naming the baby Tsuki, which means Moon or thrust but she opted for Fuka instead.

Fuka is such an adorable baby. She was sleeping when we arrived. I noticed that she did not seem to be bothered by the chatter. She woke up a little then slept again while her mom showed us pictures taken by the anesthesiologist. We were so amazed by the pictures that documented some of newborn baby Fuka's first minutes in the delivery room.

Mai said that the anesthesiologist said his main profession really is photography and anesthesiology is just a hobby. Apart from the nice pictures he took, he also gave Mai's family a Fuka Yoshida DVD that tells the story of a wonderfully-made baby girl entering this world. We were just so impressed by this person whose passion for photography touched others' lives in a very meaningful way.

We left Mai, Fuka and her lola filled with high spirits. We felt as if dark clouds were lifted and we left much happier than we were just before that visit.

Next stop was Shangri-la because Badette wanted us to watch a movie in the French Film Festival. I did not plan to go initially but I missed watching foreign films so I decided to join them. We watched Je crois que je l'aime (Could this be love?) which is a funny and moving love story about glazed ceramics, trust and how every creation is a victory over fear.

I remember asking myself why I stopped watching films like this. There are just so many nice, simple and special things that are shelved and almost forgotten. This is probably why I consider it a blessing to find things that I did not intend to find but end up finding anyway.

That fine line between pain and pleasure

URCC XII (Supremacy)

Eduard and Kevin are up against Elorde MMA fighters. There's no doubt in my mind that those two will definitely make their respective fights interesting and remarkable. Go Team Lakay!