The Long Way Up

Don’t think about it too much Just write your thoughts on the page as they come You know they’ve been piled up, scattered all over, and cooped up in your brain Let them out; let your mind breathe; give your thoughts more space Acknowledge everything that has been and release them Give your emotions exposure to the light of day Who knows what might come your way once you do You’ve thought about how much you’ve missed going to movies With friends like Archie, Mike, or one of the men you’ve mentored You’ve pondered about life perhaps not ever going back to what it used to be Certain that you do not want to revert to some of the old things Unsure of letting the others go You’ve thought about the utmost importance of times of solitude Especially when spent in the presence of God You’ve realized even more how valuable face-to-face interactions with people are The priceless moments you’ve invested into the lives of others way before all this happened And the future times you’ve yet to spend o...

The writing prompts I've discovered at thinkwritten.com are really doing wonders for my blog and my love for concocting word cocktails on a regular basis. Today's challenge was to go to my mp3 player and randomly find a song to write about. I ended up with The Used 's 'Blue and Yellow' , a song I've never heard before from a band I know nothing about. So, I googled the lyrics and played the song while sitting in the bus on the commute home. Now I have been a music lover for the past 35 years and have developed a welcoming ear for every genre from every era in this industry. I always seem to readily appreciate rhythm and rhyme, vocals and style, lyrics and delivery even from the most obscure song. But I must say I was quite unimpressed by Blue and Yellow on the melodic, technical and lyrical levels. Perhaps the years of poring over carefully crafted music and words from Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, and, most recently, OneRepublic contributed greatly to this ...

I have been really out of it for quite a while: writing! Another slump I guess. There seems to be no inspiration these days. Even when I sit in front of my computer and try to concoct something, nothing is expressed. Some great ideas do flutter by but I seem to have a hard time getting them to coalesce. However, I do have a thought I'd like to freely pour out here: waiting for something that you know is going to happen is really a challenge. Especially if it's something that you have been eagerly anticipating for years; something that you have been longing to embrace as a fresh start or a new leaf or another chapter; something that has been promised to you that will come to pass. Add to that the helpless feeling of being uncertain about timings and movement. I mean, sometimes I get the sense that things are accelerating toward fulfillment and completion. Other times I get the sense that things have come to a screeching halt or a complete stop (which is basically the ...

Yeah, so February 14, 2018 is just around the corner, and for sure many of my romance-rabid countrymen are going to go gaga for all things mushy -- flowers, chocolates, dates, cards, candle-lit dinners, proposals and whatnot's. I have no problem with that, really. Especially if the mushy stuff is actually backed by sincere sentiments and concrete commitments. What worries me are the "kids" that speed headlong in to "love" without any concept of what relationship are for (I used to be one of those). Here in the Philippines, one of the pervading cultural malady is the extraneous exigency of finding "forever" -- that special someone who will supposedly satiate all of one's emotional longings. Mr. or Ms. Forever is the one who is believed to never give you up, never let you down, never give you the run around, never desert you, never make you cry, never say goodbye, never tell a lie, and never hurt you . Many adhere to this mindset. ...

A few nights ago we had a health and fitness session during our young adults fellowship. One of the things I took away from that meeting was a quote that our guest speaker uttered: "Trust the process." The fitness coach used this statement in the context of allowing ample time for your body to show some progress in response to the efforts you put into it in terms of exercise, and what you keep out of it in terms of diet. But I want to use that statement to sound off about something that definitely needs the benefit of stages, seasons and phases: RELATIONSHIPS . When looking to get into one, we must trust the process. Many singers and songwriters have given stern warning about falling headlong into relationships. Elvis Presley, in his song "Can't Help Falling in Love" , says "only fools rush in" ; The Supremes sum it up in the title of their 1966 hit "You Can't Hurry Love" ;  and, appropriately, the paternal side of the Ca...