In between joy and pain.

Sabi nung isa, “Buti pa siya ang ganda ng trabaho sa abroad samantalang ako andito pa rin sa Pinas.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Buti pa siya magkakasama sila ng pamilya niya sa Pinas samantalang ako mag-isa lang dito sa abroad.”

—-

Sabi nung isa, “Buti pa siya may asawa at mga anak na.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Buti pa siya, ang sarap ng buhay pa-travel travel na lang. Single kasi.”

—

Sabi nung isa, “Buti pa siya may lovelife. Samantalang ako 29 na single pa din.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Buti pa siya single. May time pa rin magwalwal kasama ang tropa niya.”

—

Sabi nung isa, “Kainis. Ang bobo ko talaga. Isa na lang mapeperfect ko na yung exam.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Pakshet. Isang point na lang nakaabot sana ako sa passing score.” 

—

Sabi nung isa, “Buti pa siya busy sa negosyo. Siguro ang yaman na niya.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Buti pa siya may peace of mind, pa-Netflix Netflix na lang.samantalang ako stressed sa negosyo.”

—-

Sabi nung isa, “Buti pa siya masaya.”

Sabi naman nung isa, “Buti pa siya mas masaya.”

—-

Gets mo? Minsan, yung mga bagay na inirereklamo mo ngayon, hindi mo alam matagal na palang pinapangarap ng iba. 

Sa lahat ng sitwasyon palagi tayong may makikitang kulang. Palagi nating makikita kung ano ang wala tayo kaya pakiramdam natin hindi pa rin sapat. Kasi mali yung konsepto natin kung paano maging masaya. Ang ginagawa nating basehan ng kaligayahan ay ang kaligayahang nakikita natin sa iba. Kaya ang ending, instead of actually finding happiness, you find disappointment. 

Hindi masamang mangarap na “Sana, we could have the best of both worlds.” Wag nga daw tumigil mangarap di ba. “Don’t settle for something less than you deserve” nga daw. Pero minsan sa sobrang focused natin in “The Pursuit of Happiness” nakakalimutan na nating maging masaya right at the moment. 

Siguro, baka kelangan muna nating huminto saglit at namnamin pansamantala ang mga bagay na meron tayo para marealize nating wala yan sa taas o sa baba ng pangarap o sa layo ng narating mo. Dahil minsan, mas masaya pa yung simpleng mekaniko sa trabaho niya kesa dun sa Mechanical Engineer na naka-based sa Doha. Dahil minsan, mas masaya pa yung dalawang magjowang tambay lang sa tindahan na may inner peace habang humihigop ng milktea kesa dun sa magjowang nag 3days-2nights sa Bali.

At the end of the day, it’s about being grateful with what you have kahit nasaang sitwasyon ka pa; Unli-Samqyeopsal ma yan o bente pesos na kwek-kwek lang sa kanto, Tahitian Vanilla Macchiatto man yan o limang pisong palamig na puro sago. 

Malay mo, dun pa rin pala tayo sasaya sa mga simpleng bagay na meron na tayo dati pa. ‘Coz where we are depends on how we look at things.

i think sometimes we tend to think He just bounced from one miracle to another and everyday was a Bible story but His ministry lasted for three years and the Gospels don’t actually cover that much so

imagine all those ordinary days?? 

He probably had favorite foods and morning routines and sore dirty feet from walking while sweat ran in His eyes in the hot Judean sun and He got blisters and hiccups and colds and maybe He snored 

all the times He laughed till He cried and i bet He had inside jokes with His disciples. imagine having an inside joke with the person who gives you breath to laugh in the first place 

and He had human skills He knew how to build a house and cook and wash his clothes and read 

passing food at the dinner table and bumping hands with Jesus 

talking about silly inconsequential things like the weather 

maybe some nights John was sleepy and he leaned against Jesus and could hear His heartbeat 

maybe some nights a disciple had insomnia and he climbed out of his bedroll to find Jesus sitting against a rock, looking up at heaven, and they sat and watched the stars together 

(the God of the universe looking up through short-sighted eyes at His creation, and the disciple wants so badly to ask what it was like to shape each star, but he looks at those calloused human hands and something in him trembles) 

do you ever think that the ordinary days so far outnumbered the miraculous ones that the disciples, sometimes, almost forgot

and then He goes and turns water into wine and feeds five thousand people from a kid’s lunch and brings dead Lazarus walking alive out of the tomb and they just kind of lose their breath

not because they didn’t expect deity to accomplish the impossible but because this God has been living with them

Also, imagine his ordinary days with his family. Imagine Joseph telling him stories and he listening, paying attention. Imagine when Joseph and Mary put child Jesus in bed and could hear his breathing sounds. Or imagine the inside jokes he had with his mother about his father, or with his father about his mother. Imagine the God of the world not only looking at the stars but also watching the majesty of a sunset. Imagine child Jesus running around the house, singing beautiful and cute cultural songs that Mary might’ve taught him. Imagine his joy when he ate his favorite food or taking a bath after a hot day. 

For his photo project ‘3 Glasses,’ photographer Marcos Alberti took 4 portraits of his subjects: one before, and one after each of 3 successive glasses of wine. Source

There is a saying about wine that I really like and it’s something like this “The first glass of wine is all about the food, the second glass is about love, and the third glass is about mayhem.” I really wanted to see it for myself if that affirmation was in fact true.