Post Mortem (for Tito Jimmy)

It takes the absence of that which we take for granted in order for us to miss them; it takes a death in the family to appreciate a life. The recent demise of an uncle refreshed the lenses with which I view the world and reminded me of important lessons learned in ages past. Allow me to share some of them with you now:

1. A good life, in remembrance, overpowers death. My uncle, a very humble and kind-natured man, will always be fondly remembered not for what he had or what he gained during his stay in this world, but for what he made of what was given him. His generosity and his passion for helping even at the cost of making dire and great sacrifices at his expense will always be what will be remembered about him, and not the lifeless husk that was buried under the tombstone bearing his name.

2. The young and the old are blessed. The young, because their purity renders them unable to fully comprehend the loss of loved ones and death, the old because new memories often dim with age and the onset of diminished faculties. My lola, the mother of my tito Jimmy, was beaming and happily waving only moments after shedding last tears for her son, while her great-grandson aged two was happily running about and hiding behind the coffin of his grandfather. Senility and the haze of youth - I believe these are blessings granted to them by the powers that be, that the former may live the remainder of her time on earth in relative peace, and the latter's young mind may not be marred by so painful a memory at such an early age.

3. Love, when true, cannot be broken by death. My Tita Charing (Tito Jimmy's wife) cried heavily during the course of her husband's burial, only managing to cry, "Darling, sasama ako sa 'yo!" in between sobs. I can't quite explain the sentiment, but for her to express a willing denunciation of living in favor of the uncertainty of the afterlife that she may follow her husband is, for me, already a very great act.

4. The death of a loved one (or any other ordeal, for that matter) is always made easier by the presence of people we hold dear and share a closeness with. Never have I seen our family so tight again, and though I am quite aware that this closeness will diminish and things will most likely go back to the way they were, I am still appreciative of the fact that the moment of comforting amidst consolation was there. Maybe recollection will enliven the memory in the coming years.

5. Life is short. Too effing short, in my opinion, so live it to the fullest. 'Nough said.

To Tito Jimmy, may your soul rest in peace.

The Life Cycles of Religions, or Why I Find It Hard Not To Cram

Was cramming late last night (or really early this morning, depends on which way you see it) in order to meet multiple dreaded deadlines, when my mind started tciking and I had a lucid interval, or an epiphany of sorts. Anyhow this came up (it's the intro to my survey of European Lit requirement) , and I thought I'd post it here to get comments. Mukhang masaya kasi siyang i-pursue, if I were a socio major (not that I'm wishing to be), I'd probably use this as thesis material. Anyhow, what do you think?
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Religion, it would seem, has always been a topic of much pondering and controversy. Taking off from this notion, one is led to ask: why not, indeed? Religion, for one, has always been known to be a means (if not the SOLE means) of providing a refuge for man’s fatally inquisitive and curious nature from the questions that beset him; questions regarding his existence and his purpose here on earth. Religion placates this restlessness in man the way a piece of timber placed on a tub prevents the water from spilling even when agitated and churned: by allowing himself to voluntarily subscribe to the higher powers, purposes, and truths promulgated by a religion, and any religion, for that matter, man is able to find a suitable scapegoat and respite from the torment of the uncertainty of his origins, as well as his future. And, undoubtedly, man can be assured of this peace as long as he refuses to question the tenets of the religion he himself has subscribed to, and that he remains faithful to its rules and bylaws.

It is in this tradeoff, this covenant of sorts, that religion comes to a new light: it becomes invested not only with the means to control power, but, through the mechanisms by which it may devise and implement rules, also becomes itself a source of power.

But mixing spiritual enlightenment with such an outstandingly human affair, especially one as confined to the realm of the physical and the material like the manipulation of power, often serves to disadvantage religion, as men, with their perpetually questioning faculties, soon realize that a clear distinction has to be made between religion and politics, and a clear line has to be demarcated as regards the spiritual and the material. History, in fact, has not been very kind to those religions that have chosen to wield this double-edged sword: often religions have been replaced by lesser but “kinder” ones, or those that address spiritual concerns where involvement in contradictory but more profitable mortal affairs has made these difficult for their more prominent counterparts to address. Note, too, that those few religions that have thrived through the centuries have made large concessions on their part with relation to control over their constituents just so that they may continue to exist, albeit in a less authoritative and, dare I say it, shabbier state, and having seen better days in their past.

Were we to take and hold the above statements as true (and there is much reason as evidenced in history to do just that), we can now more or less glean the stages by which a religion grows, prospers, diminishes in brilliance, and ultimately fades into oblivion: effectively, the life cycle of any and all religions. This life cycle can be summed up briefly as follows: first, a religion is created, either as a response to the inadequacies of another religion, or simply out of an impelling need to subscribe to a belief in a higher truth or power for the sake of comfort and convenience, as explained before. This religion then grows, initially carried over by the impetus of the catharsis it provides or the devotion it incites, whichever may be more suited to the case. As it grows, religion naturally acquires on a power-wielding aspect through its implementation of rules and policies by which it may govern its subjects, and also via the establishment of a hierarchy within its ranks for administrative or ceremonial purposes. This aspect allows religion to permeate normal day-to-day life, and thus ingrains it more deeply into society. This fusion with society may strengthen religion for a brief period, but what it actually does is that it weakens the former, as: 1) the members of a society may blame religion for any inadequacies they may perceive in society, especially if the centers of religious and political power are one and the same, and 2) the extinction of a particular society, either through natural causes or by being subsumed by more powerful societies, may also well constitute the demise of a religion itself. As a religion is weakened, it will have to face one of two choices: it either has to concede the veil of political power it has gained, or it can choose to cling to it and face the consequence, which, as history tells us, often takes the form of a gradual demise. Only by conceding and retreating into the shell of a less politically involved entity will religion manage to survive until the circumstances are ripe for it to, figuratively speaking, come into vogue again.

Note, however, that this life cycle is not at all uniformly linear: extraneous variables may interfere at any given point in the system. Natural causes, for example, may cause the demise of a religion even before it gains prominence, and so on and so forth.

For those who see beyond the realities of life...

Kanta tayo ng "Talk Shows on Mute" ng Incubus. Lyrics na lang ang iuupload ko, hindi na naman kasi gumagana ang download, unless may Orbit kayo. =)


Talk Shows on Mute- Incubus

Take a bow, pack on powder,
Wash 'em out with buzzing lights,
Pay an audience to care,
'Impress me' personality

Still and transfixed
The electric sheep are dreaming of your face
Enjoy you from the chemical
Comfort of America

Come one, come all
Into 1984
Yeah, three, two, one
Lights, Camera, Transaction

Quick, your time is almost up
Make 'em forget that they're the moth
Edging in, towards the flame,
Burn into obscurity

Still and transfixed
The electric sheep are dreaming up your fate
And judge you from the card castle
Comfort of America

Come one, come all
Into 1984
Yeah, three, two, one
Lights, camera...yeah
Come one, come all
Into 1984
Yeah, three, two one
Lights, Camera, Transaction

Lights, Camera, Transaction

Come one, come all
Into 1984
Yeah, three, two, one
Lights, Camera, Transaction

The foundation is canyoning
Fault lines should be worn with pride
I hate to say,
so much more
You're so much more,
so much more
endearing with the sound turned off.


~ naku hindi ko lang alam kung ito ang tamang yrics, ah...parang iba yung alam ko, eh. Anyhow, okay pa din! Tuloy ang ligaya.

If Dory of "Finding Nemo" has "Just keep swimming...",

I have "Just keep praying!" =)

Because, just like what my orgmate sent me via SMS, the shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between my knees and the floor - in short, kneeling down in prayer. (Note: Well, I've prayed and I am praying, but I really haven't gotten down on my knees just yet. The knobbiness of my kneecaps makes kneeling an absolutely torturous experience...but what the heck, I'll try it just the same).

Saints of note are Saints Jude and Philomena: the Patron and Patroness of desperate causes have never let me down so far, and with their aid and intercession, I'm gonna PUSH my luck - Pray Until Something Happens!

And I'm going to find YOU, yes, YOU! The answer to my question, the significant other to my insignificant humanity, the person I will dedicate my heart and life and spirit to. YOU! Maghintay-hintay ka lang, malapit na ako. =D

Song of the moment: Hoku's "You First Believed", albeit with altered lyrics

How many times did I pray I'd find you,
How many wishes on a star? =D

Well, this is it. ;-)

Well, my friend, this is it. This is ultimately where our paths diverge, and where moving on begins. Funny, isn't it, that for all the kindness and protectiveness of my world, I still chose to challenge it, whereas you have chosen to abide by yours despite the meaninglessness of it all. That is the fatal twist of things reflecting the fatal twists in our own personalities: whereas I have always been in the safe zone in terms of making choices, my passion drives me to temerity, while despite your recklessness fear drives you to reticence at the crucial moment.

It's sad, but there is not much either you and I can do.

And, yes, it is an act of excess that you expect things to remain the same, this when you and I both know that doing so will be an act of hypocrisy on both our ends. On my end, I accepted the fact that things would never be the same again when I accepted the fact that I liked you in spite of, and that was the price of my being true to myself. On your end, you know that you will never be able to look at me the same way again, simply because I was being true to myself.

Noon pa man, inamin ko nang may taning ang lahat: ang pagkakaibigan natin, ang pagtingin ko sa 'yo, ang bawat oras at sandali kasama ka na pilit kong isinulit. Ngunit ang kagustuhan ko ding isulit ang mga natitira pang sandali na ilalagi ko sa mundong ito ang siyang nag-uudyok sa akin na kalimutan ang lahat ng mga bagay sa nakaraan, dahil ayaw kong sirain ang kung ano mang mayroon ako sa kasalukuyan para lang sa isang bagay na matagal nang lumipas. At ang maganda nating pagsasamahan, ang mga sinulit na sandali - lahat iyon ay nakalaan sa nakaraan.

Time and history will be the judge of our actions, and whether or not we made the right choices. ;-)