Chronicles of the Daily Grind

Here’s another excerpt
that really struck me.
It may not be true for all.
Others may deny.
Yet, others could admit.
This may be a matter of perspective…
or a matter of confronting oneself.
In my case, I could very much resonate.






"Hey guys, help me up!"

"How could you let me down when I trusted you so much?"
you say to someone.

Did you really trust them?
You never trusted anyone. Come off it!
That's part of society's brainwashing.
You never trust anyone.
You only trust your judgment about that person.
So what are you complaining about?

The fact is that you don't like to say,
"My judgment was lousy."

That's not very flattering to you, is it?
So you prefer to say, "How could you have let me down?"

So there it is: People don't really want to grow up,
people don't really want to change,
people don't really want to be happy.

As someone so wisely said to me,
"Don't try to make them happy,
you'll only get in trouble.
Don't try to teach a pig to sing;
it wastes your time and it irritates the pig."

Like the businessman who goes into a bar,
sits down, and sees this fellow
with a banana in his ear - a banana in his ear!
And he thinks, "I wonder if I should mention that to him.
No, it's none of my business."
But the thought nags at him.
So after having a drink or two, he says to the fellow,
"Excuse me, ah, you've got a banana in your ear."
The fellow says, "What?"
The businessman repeats, "You've got a banana in your ear. "
Again the fellow says, "What was that?"
"You've got a banana in your ear!" the businessman shouts.
"Talk louder," the fellow says,
"I've got a banana in my ear!"

So it's useless.
"Give up, give up, give up," I say to myself.
Say your thing and get out of here.
And if they profit, that's fine,
and if they don't, too bad!

Posted by brodiz at 3:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

This is an excerpt from Anthony de Mello’s “Awareness.”

His point: WAKE UP!

Last year on Spanish television I heard a story about this gentleman who knocks on his son's door.

"Jaime," he says, "wake up!"
Jaime answers, "I don't want to get up, Papa."
The father shouts, "Get up, you have to go to school."
Jaime says, "I don't want to go to school."
"Why not?" asks the father.
"Three reasons," says Jaime.
"First, because it's so dull;
second, the kids tease me;
and third, I hate school."
And the father says, "Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school.
First, because it is your duty;
second, because you are forty-five years old,
and third, because you are the headmaster."

Wake up, wake up! You've grown up.
You're too big to be asleep. Wake up!
Stop playing with your toys.

Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don't believe them.
Don't believe them!
All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys.

"Give me back my wife. Give me back my job.
Give me back my money. Give me back my reputation, my success."

This is what they want;
they want their toys replaced. That's all.
Even the best psychologist will tell you that,
that people don't really want to be cured.
What they want is relief; a cure is painful.

Waking up is unpleasant, you know.
You are nice and comfortable in bed.
It's irritating to be woken up.
That's the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up.
I hope I'm going to be wise here
and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep.
It is really none of my business,
even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!"

If you profit from it, fine; if you don't, too bad!
As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same,
but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens."

***

How someone could be so annoying to shout at you to wake you up,
yet knowing that you're awake, or at least believe so that you are.
This is the difficulty...
to embrace the fact of waking up from the comforts of our sleep.

Posted by brodiz at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Awareness
The Perils and Opportunities
of Reality
by: Anthony de Mello


I got hold of this book when I was in the novitiate. Bro. Itchan introduced me to this book. While and after reading it, we engage in deep sharings and conversations. It is a book that could really shake you to wake you up.

In my succeeding blog entry posts, I would be sharing some few thoughts of Anthony de Mello.

In the meantime, allow m to share to you the foreword of this book made by th Jesuit Francis Stroud. More than a teaser, it's a testimony on how this book could bring a tremendous impact to the reader.

FOREWORD

Tony de Mello on an occasion among friends was asked to say a few words about the nature of his work. He stood up, told a story which he repeated later in conferences, and which you will recognize from his book Song of the Bird. To my astonishment, he said this story applied to me.

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen.The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.

Astonished? At first I felt downright insulted! Was he publicly likening me to a barnyard chicken? In a sense, yes, and also, no. Insulting? Never. That wasn't Tony's way. But he was telling me and these people that in his eyes I was a "golden eagle," unaware of the heights to which I could soar. This story made me understand the measure of the man, his genuine love and respect for people while always telling the truth. That was what his work was all about, waking people up to the reality of their greatness. This was Tony de Mello at his best, proclaiming the message of "awareness," seeing the light we are to ourselves and to others, recognizing we are better than we know.

This book captures Tony in flight, doing just that-in live dialogue and interaction -- touching on all the themes that enliven the hearts of those who listen.

Maintaining the spirit of his live words, and sustaining his spontaneity with a responsive audience on the printed page was the task I faced after his death. Thanks to the wonderful support I enjoyed from George McCauley, S.J., Joan Brady, John Culkin, and others too numerous to single out, the exciting, entertaining, provocative hours Tony spent communicating with real people have been wonderfully captured in the pages that follow.

Enjoy the book. Let the words slip into your soul and listen, as Tony would suggest, with your heart. Hear his stories, and you'll hear your own. Let me leave you alone with Tony - a spiritual guide - a friend you will have for life.

J. Francis Stroud, S.J.
De Mello Spirituality Center
Fordham University
Bronx, New York

Posted by brodiz at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

i'm tired of playing the game
of which i couldn't recalled joining.
i just realized one day that i'm already part of it.
the rules are bizarre and favors no one.
yet, i had to play in order to survive.
but to play for survival consumes me.
and so i ask myself, "what's the point in all these?
i've cracked my head trying to figure out
what these could all mean.
and it doesn't make any sense.
why would i keep on playing?
the end is far off.
the risks are higher.
yet, everything seem to be pointless,
like one man running in circles.
where, then, would this lead to?
how would this end?
with these questions in mind,
i wouldn't dare ask for strategies,
for there are none.
useless.
pointless.
yet, i've go to play,
for reasons unclear to me.
for hope
that there would soon be.

Posted by brodiz at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

This is a re-post entry, and I'm amused with it. I got this from one particular joke site. It is very timely and relevant that Evan Almighty is about to be shown in the cinemas here in the Philippines. This article touches the same theme, however, satyrically. An awareness of the socio-political system snd status of the country allows one to better understand the meaning of this humor. Yet, we could get nuggets of wisdom from this.

Taong 2005 at isang ordinaryong middle class pinoy si Noah. Nagpakita sa kanya ang Diyos at sinabing, "Pagkatapos ng isang taon ay bubuhos ang ulan at babahain ang buong kapuluan ng Pilipinas. Gusto kong gumawa ka ng isang malaking arko at isakay mo
rito ang pares-pares na mga hayop at mga mag-asawang pilipino sa iba't-ibang kapuluan."

Ibinigay kay Noah ang specs ng Arko at taos puso nitong tinanggap ang responsibilidad na sagipin ang sambayanang Pilipino sa napipintong pagbaha.

Lumipas ang isang taon, muling nagpakita ang Diyos kay Noah. Walang arkong nagawa si Noah at galit na galit siyang tinanong ng Diyos, "Nasaan ang arko na ipinagawa ko sa iyo?"

Tumugon si Noah, "Patawarin po ninyo ako kung di po natupad ang utos ninyo! Nagkaroon po ng malaking problema sa plano po ninyo."

At inilahad ni Noah ang mga sagabal na nakaharap niya sa pag-gawa ng arko.

Humingi siya ng Mayor's permit pero papayag lang daw si Mayor kung ang gagawa ng arko ay ang construction firm ng kanyang pamangkin.

Tumungo siya sa Congressman pero papayag lang daw si Congressman kung may matatanggap siyang 30% commission.

Nagtayo ng unyon ang mga kinuha niyang Manggagawa at nag-strike.

Natunugan ng mga left-leaning groups ang kanyang balak at ang mga ito ay nag-rally dahil daw sa hindi makatarungang pagpili ng mga taong sasakay sa arko (mga taong naniniwala lang sa Diyos ang pwedeng sumakay).

Nakisali sa rally ang mga bakla at tomboy dahil bias daw na normal na mag-asawa lang ang pwedeng sumakay. Ang civil society group ay nakisali na rin sa gulo dahil napag-alaman daw nila na ang pondong gagamitin sa paggawa ng arko ay galing sa donasyon ng mga gambling lords at katas ng jueteng.

Sa kaguluhang ito ay napilitang magpatawag ng hearing ang senado "in aid of legislation".
Sinubukan ni Noah na gamitin ang EO 464 para makaiwas sa hearing pero dahil hindi sya executive official, napilitan siyang tumistigo.

Nang malaman ng senado na utos ng Diyos ang pagpapagawa ng arko, dineklara nila itong
unconstitutional dahil hindi raw nito iginalang ang separation ng church at state.

Nakialam na rin ang NBI at PNP at sinabi nilang meron silang impormasyon na ang arko raw na ito ay gagamitin ni Erap sa kanyang pagtakas.

Sinabi naman ng ISAFP at DOJ na ito raw ay gagamitin ng grupong Magdalo sa binabalak nilang coup laban kay Arroyo.

Nilapitan ni Noah si Mike Defensor para makipag-usap kay GMA. Payag daw si GMA na ituloy ang arko kung ipapaskil daw sa arko ang malaking mukha ni Arroyo na may slogan "Towards a Strong Republic".

"Hindi po ako pumayag kaya ha nggang ngayon po ay may TRO ang pag-gawa ng arko. Sa palagay ko po kailangan ko pa ng 10 taon para matapos ang inyong proyekto." Ang huling wika ni Noah.

Napa-iling ang Diyos at sinabing, "Di ko na kailangang wasakin pa ang bansang ito. Hayaan ko na lang kayong sumira nito.

Posted by brodiz at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've been listening to this song for days and I have been repeating this all over.
It sends me a message so hidden and yet so manifestive.
I seem to own the lyrics.
I tend to ask these questions.
I feel one with the song.

GARY VALENCIANO lyrics

The whole point is that I want to fall in love AGAIN with the Lord.
His love for me has never been lessened. Not even a bit.
Yet, I want to enkindle the passion in me to love Him,
that is why I find myself listening to songs such as these.

It is so consoling to feel God's unwavering love.
And I cannot but respond.

And I ask You, Lord... Please be Messiah... to Me.

Posted by brodiz at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

A week ago in our philosophy class, our professor let us watched the film, Inherit the Wind. I was moved to reflect:

When the defendant’s lawyer Henry Drummond was asked if he finds anything holy, he replied:

“Yes. The individual human mind. In a child's power to master the multiplication table, there is more sanctity than in all your shouted "amens" and "holy holies" and "hosannas." An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral. And the advance of man's knowledge is a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes or the parting of the waters.”

In this particular scene, Drummond strives to demonstrate the power of the human mind. For him, the human intellect has the power to advance humankind, while religion, as implied by the film, stifles human inquiries. This fact speaks of the main conflict of the film: Creationism as against Darwinism.

Yet, while and after watching the film, I felt a little disturbed on the whole packaging of the film. While presenting the tension between these two thoughts, I sensed certain biases or prejudices in the film. I’m not really sure whether the film has faithfully presented the factual, accurate and historical events on which it is based. Somehow I feel that there is a biased inclination for those who upheld creationism. Christians, particularly Matthew Brady, are lampooned and portrayed in parody, while skeptics and agnostics and those who upheld Darwinism are portrayed as intelligent, kind, and even heroic. This bias slant arrived to me so vividly as I evaluate the film in its entirety.

Nevertheless, the main point of the film is manifestively meritorious in the exaltation of the human intellect. It presents a clear message that human beings are special among other earthly creatures as they are endowed with the capacity to think. I was so struck with the following dialogue from the courtroom drama of the film:

Matthew Harrison Brady: We must not abandon faith! Faith is the most important thing!

Henry Drummond: Then why did God plague us with the capacity to think? Mr. Brady, why do you deny the one thing that sets above the other animals? What other merit have we? The elephant is larger, the horse stronger and swifter, the butterfly more beautiful, the mosquito more prolific, even the sponge is more durable. Or does a sponge think?

Matthew Harrison Brady: I don't know. I'm a man, not a sponge!

Henry Drummond: Do you think a sponge thinks?

Matthew Harrison Brady: If the Lord wishes a sponge to think, it thinks!

Henry Drummond: Does a man have the same privilege as a sponge?

Matthew Harrison Brady: Of course!

Henry Drummond: [Gesturing towards the defendant, Bertram

Cates] Then this man wishes to have the

privilege of a sponge, he wishes to think!

The film thus evidently suggests that faith and science are in constant struggle with each other. And this has never been a unique case. It has always been a blown-up issue at which the Church as an institution is presented as a narrow-minded authority. But this is because the line of demarcation is not well-defined. There are responses which advocate that faith and reason are of different realm, thus saying that it will never meet. Others would point out that the progress of the human knowledge and sciences is in the service of faith. St. Anselm in the Medieval Times have synthesized the seeming conflict of the two: Faith seeking understanding. Our late Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter Fides et Ratio presented these two in harmonious relationship and service to one another. Even during the contemporary times, some priests sought to see the connection and harmonious meeting of faith and science with the likes of Teilhard de Chardin. On the other hand, our scientists today, employing the most sophisticated technology and advancement of sciences, even admit the limitations of the human mind in so saying that there is still something beyond out there.

We are endowed with the capacity to think, to reflect, to seek answers. Progress of the human knowledge and sciences, in the end, will eventually lead us to the Ultimate. God granted us this gift. It is the best gift He could ever think of for his greatest creature. Such a gift cannot be a threat. No gift from God could ever be used against Him. There is no tension actually. The human intellect will all the more confirm the greatness and the goodness of God.

What is that greater monument than a cathedral? It is the human person, endowed with the gift to think. It is, in fact, the thinking human persons that make up the Church.

Posted by brodiz at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

In coming up with a system of thought, a philosopher establishing it must be consistent with his principle. As a result, this leads him to the extreme.

We have just taken up Baruch Spinoza from our History of Modern Philosophy. It is to his glory and shame that he brought the Cartesian Rationalism into the horrible terror of pantheism -- a philosophical doctrine which holds that God is in all things -- and determinsim.

Yet despite all these, I was so struck with some aspects of his philosophy. His ethics, in fact, resembles that of the Stoics. And these, though may held to be debatable, hold tremendous impact in how i view my life. These ideas are worth considering:

• "We cannot control events, we can control our attitudes."
• "The mind has greater power over the emotions."
• "Spiritual unhealthiness can always be traced to our excessive love for something."

Even his very doctrine contains a grain of truth as he upholds the immanence of God:

Posted by brodiz at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

I could not understand this experience:

Unexpectedly, I was given a gift which I gladly received. And I treasured it so much. I took care of it. I made sure it won't get destroyed nor broken nor scratched. For a long time I have enjoyed this gift. Then one day, this person who offered me that gift demanded it back. We argued. Tried holding on, grasping firmly on that gift. But the person insisted on taking it back. And I felt disturbed. He wants it back. Although I may have full "rights" of that gift, something tells me to let it go. How could I enjoy such a gift, if the giver refuses me to have it? After much haggling and bargaining, I returned the gift. It's so difficult to accept such a loss. I really want it back. I still tried compromising. I felt like a pauper begging. But still, the person refuses.

If only I could not have possessed that gift. If only that person should not have given me this object of discord in the first place, only to take it back afterwards. If only I would have refused it, be suspicious of it. And a lot more "if only..."

What's there left for me? To just simply accept?
What do this experience want to teach me?
What is the meaning of this?

I could not make sense of this experience.

Is it that I should not have gotten myself to be attached to that thing?
But, it was given to me. For all I know, it was mine. Now I find it so hard to let it go.

I still want it back. But I wont force anyone just to have it.
I'm still praying that he may generously give it back and consider offering it as a gift, freely given, fully offered. "No return, no exchange."

But this wish leads me farther from the fact that "I should let go."
It is so damned difficult.

Lord, just help me to free my head, my hands and my heart. +

Posted by brodiz at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments