Friday, April 30, 2010

New Day

Every new day is a chance to correct the wrong, to forgive the enemy, to take the opportunity, to touch a life, to help, to reach out, to smile and to love, but most importantly to thank God you're given another day to do all these.

Tal Vez (Maybe)

"Tal vez sera que esa historia ya tiene final no se porque hoy te siento tan distante de mí que a pesar que lo intento de nuevo tal vez llegue tarde, ya no hay nada que hacer y no puedo creer que el tiempo que hemos tenido tal vez se nos gastó" - Tal Vez, Ricky Martin

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Good, Evil and Man


I just finished reading a book called The Devil And Miss Prym by one of my favorite author, Paulo Coelho. The story revolves around a very interesting question in which at the end the answer was quite surprising.

The question is COULD YOU BE TEMPTED INTO EVIL? The answer seemed to be so easy, and I believe your answer would be YES.
Since time immemorial, when the serpent tempted Eve to taste the forbidden fruit,which history tells us an apple (which is so available today that the old adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" sounds scary!), anyway, since Eve took a bite of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we can be easily persuaded to commit and do evil at a quick snap of a finger. It is so easy, men are so naive and gullible that the mere offer of wealth, fame and power overthrows their sense of divinity and compassion that pride, greed and envy comes and rules hearts and minds to a point men don't even think twice on deciding whether what they're doing will eventually lead them to despair.

Evil has many faces, but only one heart, which is despair. An evil person will succumb to despair when there is no more guilt left in his soul. He is like a rogue wolf running wild in the forest, will kill and devour any living thing that might cross his path without mercy.

The story is simple, a stranger with a sack of gold bars looking for salvation by offering his wealth to anyone who could commit the ultimate evil, a young and beautiful woman who longs to be free from cowardice and do whatever she wanted to do but keep putting it off for fear of failure, a tiny village where people are simple and onto one another, and an offer that even a priest would not resist, and all these characters will be put to the test, their faith and their goodness will be shaken and stirred (sounds like a drink?) to the brink of falling in the snares of temptation and evil.

They say each person has a guardian angel, and when there's an angel, of course there's the devil. We are told that angels reside on the right side of our personality and the devil on the left. They are in a constant battle as to whom will rule the mind and the heart of the person, the heart will be the battlefield and the mind is the vessel to which the idea would grow and will lead to action. Eventually one would rule over the other and whoever is victorius will merit the right to control the persons actions from the words the person would say to how the person would execute an act. In the story the two leads the Stranger and the Young Woman both have unseen devils and angels that argues and debates to which one of them would be heard and heeded by.

Confronted by temptation, men will always fall. "Given the right circumstances, every human being on this earth would be willing to commit evil," as the line goes from the book.

But no matter how far deep we fall into doing things that are bad, we are still, God's likeness and therefore I believe there will always be that spark of good in each and every one of us. Thus, the story is interestingly enough a good read, for I myself had questioned my own personal being, you see, whenever I am about to commit something that I know is bad, I would almost always think of choosing the "lesser evil" to which I justify everything. I keep believing that doing bad things "lightly" will spare me from guilt, but it did not, my conscience always reminds me that choosing to do evil, regardless, still is evil and there are consequences. More often evil presents itself as something that is logical, true, acknowledging, practical and safe, it cannot bring me peace.

Doing good, even in the smallest way, but done with heart and sincerity brings joy that is indescribable and real. In the end, the story tells me that in the midst of darkness the tiniest spark from even a lighted match can overcome that darkness. That deep inside every human being is the power to be good if we only choose to be.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Time Goes By, So Slowly

Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. Time goes by, so slowly. - Madonna, Hung Up

Sunday, April 4, 2010

50 Books Challenge - For A Year


I got this idea from a website of bibliophiles and told myself why not? Although these guys were pretty serious about their hobbies and took up 100 books, I would like to start a bit small, like half of it.

So starting this month until the next in 2011, I will challenge myself to read 50 books, regardless of topic (as long as they are in interesting and good read) and we'll see.

I am already in one and got a few, new more in my keeping.

One of the best hobby to do really is reading for a lot of reasons, actually, for me one is that it makes us look beyond ourselves, we get to see sometimes our character and personalities right in front of us looking back in a way we never see before, and these characteristics can do things we've never done and knowing that we may can is very inspiring. Reading broadens one's horizons in looking at things in a different way. Sometimes the use of imagination sparks a hidden desire or a certain act which compelled us to be better than what we are now or something that we have been keeping and cannot express. Books even let us know how other people think and dream about as you can see this in their writing. It inspires to a never ending degree.

And much more, much, much more. My father loves to read, a lot, he loves espionage, war, action and all those that has to do with conspiracies within the military and the government. A policeman that he was, what else should I expect? I remember he bought me this series of books called A WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY when I was young, it's an encyclopedia incorporated with Disney characters which is a fun read. That's where I started my fascination with books. I can't recall much all the books I read all these years, but I would know given some "memory shaking" , oh well, and that is why also my heart broke when a fire incident burned most of my book collections a few months ago. Each book in my collection speaks of a certain moment which reminds me of people, an act, a time, even a memory like how perfumes and scents sometimes trigger experiences. Thus am starting a new collection now.

Nevertheless, I am taking up this challenge in the hope that others would be inspired to read and find it very satisfying and interesting. So would you join me?

Saturday, April 3, 2010

And Now Am Back

Ok guys, am back in Riyadh, after a gruelling flight back that gave my ass a sore to remember, I am happily back for another year of adventures and misadventures.

How time flies so quickly it's like a blink of an eye. When I was younger, ok, waayy younger, time seemed to be so slow and I can't wait to grow up and be carefree. But now, at 3__, I wished I was younger. Oh well, people and our never ending wants and discontment. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Anyway, so here I am renewed in mind, body and spirit. Missing home and my family, and will be for the next few days, but it will pass and soon I will be lost in work and my life here.

So there, I'll just get over this jetlag and sleepless trip and I'll be fine.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Coming Back Expectations

Going back to Riyadh and what to expect? Aside from work, what more could I expect from staying another year? Hmmm..let's see...

1. I'd be more productive in terms of my idle time.
2. Connecting with old friends more.
3. Start a new relationship with someone new.
4. Spend less, save more.
5. Travel more and see more.
6. Read more and sleep more.
7. Exercise like never before.
8. Call home more often.
9. Be more positive.
10. Be a better person.

Reading the list sounds a bit corny to me. But what the heck. It's my list and whether I find it corny or not, still, something to expect, than none at all.