THE ART OF KEEPING STILL

It is a lost art in this fast-paced world but just like anything lost, it can be found. :)

After working very hard for something we badly want, we also need to learn to just wait. Things cannot always be given now. Some things are meant for later. And if in case things don't go the way we want them, we learn that we can't have everything we want. Sometimes we can't have some things yet. Sometimes we can't have them ever. It takes time to find out which is which. Not knowing the answer is a humbling experience.

We all have our own questions in life and we often search for answers outwardly. For some reason as human beings, we have the tendency to wander off to far and unknown places to gain new experiences with the assumption that answers could be found there. Then, after experiencing everything there is to experience, we declare when enough is enough. In the end, we realize that answers actually come from within us and answers come to us when we keep still.

This, however, must not be misconstrued as ignoring the importance of experience. There's a good point in having to go through experience. New experiences validate and strengthen our core values and beliefs. And they help form new values, new beliefs, giving us -- in a word -- learning. At times, as sad as it may be, it takes a certain form of absence and breaking away to find answers that have always been there. These answers were perhaps once taken for granted, ignored, or blinded by emotions. And it takes time for us to discover all these. And this is why the wise ones do not decide in a rush nor do they decide in the middle of heightened emotions. Rather, they give time time.

Time is constantly on the move, which ironically makes keeping still the key to perfect timing. After everything has been said and done, there comes a point wherein nothing else is left in our finite power. At that point, keeping still is one of the most beautiful and liberating decisions. It is allowing a Greater Hand to let things flow into where they should be.

If in case things do go the way we want them to, then we must have done our part well. More importantly, when this happens, we need to continuously appreciate what we have received.

Right now, I am waiting and I am humbled. It feels like correcting my own mistakes from being too hasty and hoping that all these would be enough. The real art of keeping still is about letting go of worries. It is about believing in the purpose of events in our lives. Yes, everything happens for a reason.

Since I’ve been waiting, I've learned to appreciate every little gesture of kindness. I've learned to appreciate the basic essentials in life. I’ve learned about personal priorities. I've learned about choices and decisions that are made not out of whim but out of discernment. I've witnessed goodness and small acts of miracles. And all these make me hopeful and faithful as I keep still.

Speechless

His movements defied gravity. His music moved people. His lyrics stirred spirits. And at one point or another, he left us at a loss for words.

While it is true that I barely knew the real him, he has been a big part of my growing years. I only realized this a few days after his death, when his songs awoken memories sleeping inside me. His old records, cassette tapes, and videos had their corresponding tugs at my heart.

We've seen the Icon through the years. The black shoes with white socks, tailored fit pants, that sequined glove, a little shape-shifting nose, and his fading from black to white were all under the spotlight for decades. If we look beyond all these, we would see a human being deeper and greater than the physical strangeness.

We've heard the Humanitarian embedded in melody. His lyrics asked us to move, to change, to begin with ourselves, and to heal. In between those distinct high cries of ooow and shamone, he asked us to stop wars and fend for ourselves. If we listen very well, we would hear him calling us to live with love, passion, and compassion with one another.

We've enjoyed the Entertainer who has always been one beyond his years. When men wrote songs of hurt, he sang them as a child. When music videos came out, his were like short films. When man first walked on the moon, he moonwalked on earth. When nobody flew in concerts, he flew over his audience and went back on stage. He gave us everything we wanted to see and entertained us with all he had.

He shared with us his incredible talent and taught us the most important thing we need to know in this lifetime. To LOVE and to GIVE unconditionally. And now that he's no longer physically with us, his songs and memories are kept eternal. He lives on forever. He will always be the King of Pop, the greatest entertainer.

While watching his memorial last night, I was touched by all the beautiful words and music dedicated to him. I felt like I knew parts of him from the stories of those who were close to him -- his family and friends. But it was when his daughter, Paris, spoke that I found myself in tears. Her quivering voice said it all in "...I love him so much."

Instead of posting his famous videos and photos here, I'd like to share some of his words from a song that isn't as popular as the rest but I find most fitting at this time. A good friend of mine told me this was about God's love, of which I agree. I guess the extraordinary man who made us all speechless with his talents and compassion was also that -- a man.

And the Greatest Love there ever is made him speechless like us.


Speechless by Michael Jackson



THANK YOU, MJJ.
Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009)

In between Cups of Coffee and Tea

I've been spending days in a particular coffee shop to finish work that I need to do. Luckily, I am surrounded by people who are working on their own goals, making this whole ordeal easier than it actually is. The baristas already know us by our names and we know them by theirs. It has turned into a sort of home.

In between my work and the failed attempts to keep myself off the internet, I find myself looking around me. I've memorized some of the posters and the artworks that envelope us. More than that, I've built relationships with these new friends who will soon become doctors and lawyers. We do share stories in between studying and working but more often than not, it's a quiet kind of camaraderie as every single one of us wants to hit a particular goal. Even if I sometimes feel all alone here, their mere presence calms me.

Yesterday, I spent time alone in a whole new area where I saw new sets of people. Some had their business meetings while others were spending time with family. But I remember two girls sitting right next to me, sharing stories in hushed voices while sipping their tea. I liked it.

It's good to just sit and talk with someone. I miss that the most. I know I'll go back to that kind of life soon. As of now, this is what I have -- quiet people buried in thick books or typing away on their laptops as screens glow on their serious faces. I'm one of them now.

It's just me, my laptop, my orange highlighter, and copies of my interviews with 45 women. They're all I have right now. And I'm making the most out of what I have.

"When you realize there's nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." - Lao Tzu

Soul Mix - Move Your Soul

SOUL MIX is a one-hour show featuring inspiring music and issues relevant to the youth of today. Alternating hosts are Rizza Diaz, Lala Jara, PJ Lanot, and Mikee Lee. Catch Soul Mix every Saturday at 8am on TV 5. :)

Tick, Tock. Sweet 26 will Rock

Tomorrow means a lot to me.

It's bidding farewell to my 25th year which has been the most colorful year of my life by far. It had hues seemingly darker than black and colors of the most vivid rainbows put together. In the rush of things, I caught a sliding door to ride a train and it has been one fast roller coaster ride since then.

While work and visions of my career may be falling into place, a major change has occurred in my life and the very observant ones were able to take note of it. I have not written about it because I decided to take in the pleasure of privacy, enjoying my right to keep certain things to myself. I have not spoken much of it either because of the same reason that I want it quiet and peaceful just as how it was when it happened. Since the start of the year, there have been good days and there have been bad ones. But it's a choice already made and everything else just follows. I take in both the good and bad because that is what life is about. Having said that, the rest of the world has been generally good and wonderful, of which I am very much thankful for.

On a lighter note, I find it funny how people annually ask me about my age a few days before my birthday, as if I have this birthday radar flashing before me. Knowing me, maybe I do have that twinkling excitement in my eyes whenever my birthday is about to come up. Let's blame it on my fantastic family and friends who have pampered me with surprises since adolescence.

Last week, it was an adorable Grade 2 student who approached me in the middle of Spanish class. I sensed her presence as she stood beside me to whisper:
"How old are you, Ms. Lala?"
I whispered back, "Today I'm 25. Next week, I'll be 26."
Her beautiful eyes opened wide, "It's your birthday next week?"
I laughed and said, "Yes."
She replied with even more glee, "Happy birthday! Are you excited to be 26?"

"Are you excited to be 26?" was a question that I never really expected from a seven-year old. It was a very pleasant surprise. I answered her with all honesty, absorbing her excitement and mixing it with mine, "Oh yes, I am!"

And to myself, I say it again. Yes, I am.

If I were to write about this in the way one of my favorite authors would, I'd say:

Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock.
There goes the alarm clock.
It's time to rock in my own sweet way.
As tomorrow becomes today.

And if I have any birthday wish, it's just to receive heartfelt written words. Make me laugh or make me cry as long as you move me with sincerity. :)

Planet Zips on Inquirer.net

Lawrence Casiraya of Inquirer.net interviewed members of Planet Zips Philippines: Regie Tongol, Doran Sordo, Lala Jara, Jamie Jarabejo, & Ramir Recinto

Fire Performance by Planet Zips Team at Bel Air 3!

At the start of the video is Desiree Uy's HOT fire performance whose birthday happens to be TODAY! :)

Kate: Not Single and More Fabulous

There are particular individuals in high school who simply stand out from the batch because while most are in awkward transition from girlhood to womanhood, they effortlessly glide through it all. They're just cool like that.

One of them is a dear friend named Kate.



She not only has that X-factor but she has it with an extra UMPH. Others may attribute her incredible hotness of being to her flair for fashion but she simply is hot even when she's wearing a shirt, a pair of jogging pants, and rubber shoes. With that, I think that if you got it, you got it.



But more than all these first impressions, she's a much deeper person who makes life lighter for many. She listens intently and understands completely. Her positive vibes draw people toward her. She also has the ability to adapt to any situation. Whether she finds herself in a very important occasion or just hanging out in a laid back place, she holds herself well.

And then once you think you already know her at first glance, you'd get surprised if not shocked at how funny she can be, which seems to be one of the trademarks of the women she hangs out with. Hers is a kind of humor that's unexpected.

All by herself, she has her very own Katie antics. Once those eyes begin to twinkle, unpredictable mischief looms around the corner and others are no longer sure what to expect a second after.



It's like watching a Queen sit on her throne, then suddenly jump up and say a joke out loud to the court, and sit on her throne again as if nothing happened. She's regal with a hint of play. And if poise could be likened to a baton, Kate would be the master baton twirler. She would hold it in her hands, tip it a bit with a little tease, throw it in the air, then catch it and take a bow.

If she believes in something, she works hard for it and gives it ample time. This includes her love, family, friends, career, and her crowning glory -- her hairstyle. If there's anything that is expected to constantly change in her life, it would be this last aspect. And because of her, I could attest that a beautiful woman remains as such whether her hair is short, long, with bangs, without bangs, layered, straight, curly, semi-curly, and the list goes on.

As a friend, what makes her even more endearing is her ability to listen to woes without prying. Rather, she allows you to share only as much as you'd want. But then you end up sharing more anyway because you'd feel her strong empathy and open-mindedness about life. She has her own takes on particular matters but allows you to be who you are.

Now that we're already young adults, with most of us living through the so-called crisis of quarter life, she has once again already gone past through all that. In fact, she has answered one of the major questions women of our age usually think about.


She took the jump to the ultimate commitment of forever, which may be sad news for other men but the best news for her and the man of her life.

And that's Kate. She may not be posted on a billboard (just yet) but she walks, breathes, and reminds us that being married is as fabulous as being single. :)