The Long Way Up

Forty days. From the time our government announced that the country would be placed under a community quarantine to stave off the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, people have been experiencing different kinds of challenges and dilemmas brought about by the confinement of body and mind within the four walls of our homes. Forty days. Every week we would see statistics go up, go down, and go back up again. The number of deaths would be determined by the condition of the immune system of the infected. The number of the infected would be determined by the compliance and common sense of the healthy. The healthy would most probably determine the number of days the pandemic will last: if either or both compliance and common sense were readily found in the citizenry. Forty days.  A lot can happen in six weeks. Even in quarantine. A lot. Something good. Something bad. Maybe a bit of both. With this unprecedented global pandemic somewhat shutting down most of the wo...

It is so easy to criticize what people do and who they are from the sidelines of life, and from the safety and comfort of our own conceptions of the world. Many of us — peering into other people’s lives through rose-colored glasses or whatever filter of preference we use — vehemently transform ourselves from couch potatoes into armchair critics the moment we see a headline printed on the newspaper, hear a report blasted on the nightly news, or scroll into a post on social media that affects and offends our sensibilities. We then go up in arms, and sound off on how this guy should have done this, or this person shouldn’t have said that, or so-and-so could have made this decision instead. We analyze, conjecture, and postulate until we are satisfied that we have said our piece on the matter.  Oh, if only we were privy to the internal workings of each person’s mind and the behind-the-scenes progression of events in their lives, then perhaps, to some degree, we might actually be ...

Writing this blog entry about the epistle to the Philippians has been a very long and arduous process that began early this year, in the month of January. The last three months have been anything but ordinary — just about everything in life around the world as we know it has apparently come to a grinding halt because of the corona virus pandemic. On top of that, a personal tribulation in my life has shoved any desire for the creative to the back burner, as thoughts of worry and anxiety took the driver seat for a huge chunk of said three months. With the pandemic’s impact becoming more evident in my country in mid-February and sort of leveling off in early April, life here has taken a much slower pace, and the initial pangs of fear and discouragement have been gradually — and thankfully — replaced by faith and hope. This is due mainly to the abiding and comforting presence of God, and His assurance that not only does He have complete control of what is going on globally, but that ...

knit one overrated glow middle lamp lay boiling lick, paste unwritten existence contradict unhealthy sparkle conquer real chairs, tremble give nutritious rush, soar endorse puffy turkey stick withdraw abrupt scream This poem was composed using the words shown above, from a random word generator.

Art, in and of itself, already has an alluring appeal to the human senses if we give it time to penetrate and permeate our sight, hearing, sentiments, and sensibilities. Words written on several pages of paper captivate a reader’s imagination; paints splattered and combined on canvas pique an onlooker’s curiosity; a musical instrument utilized by a vivacious virtuoso ignites the passion of a listener’s heart. Something else entirely different happens when two art forms are combined: the impact on the human senses are exponentially increased. We see this in the amalgamation of photography (the art of taking pictures) and the performing arts (dancing, singing, acting), which together have given us the magic of movies and filmmaking. The concepts that one art form conveys seem to be made more crystal clear when expressed in concert with another artistic expression. To be specific, when the art of writing is mixed with the art of music, it creates a means for a songwriter to exp...