I’m one of the many people who are allergic to needles. So obviously, I really don’t believe in the healing that acupuncture brings. But some of my friends, who are brave enough to try acupuncture, says that its effective. They say it’s a rehab at the tip of the needle. According to the Chinese, acupuncture seeks to restore the balance of our chi by stimulating points along the meridian with needles. The belief about the chi is I think the reason why Chinese stick to acupuncture rather than scientific medications.
According to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the person who works the easiest, does the most in the shortest time and is successful most of the time.
Whatever circumstances we are in, we should be assured that we can handle things just as long as we trust in the Lord and make Him our partner. Sometimes, things become too complicated for us because we forget that God is there. If the weight on our shoulders is too heavy for us to carry, we should drop the idea that we are an Atlas carrying the world. The world would even go even without us, but not without God.
There’s a story about a man who has been working hard in a construction firm. He told himself, “I have been working hard in this company and what do I get? I’m about to retire but all my life, I am only making mansions for rich people.”
One day, his employer said to him, “I want you to construct a large and lovely house. I don’t care about the budget. I just want it done well.” But since the engineer was filled with resentment, he built the house with sub-standard materials, rusty steel and roof, old wood and fixtures. The façade of course, was impressive.
When the time came for the engineer to retire, he was summoned by the employer who said to him, “As my gratitude to you for your services in my company, I am giving you this house that you built.”
A boy and his father were finally ready to walk home with their carabao in tow after a hard day’s work. The father got on the beast and they were off. In order to get home, they first had to pass through four towns. At the first town, people accused the father of not caring for his son. He got off, the son got on. At the second town, people berated the boy for not caring enough for his father to suggest that he ride the carabao. He got off, the father got on. At the third town, people laughed that they did not both get on the carabao, the beast of burden. So they both got on. At the fourth, people chided them for overloading the carabao. They got off. And carried the carabao.
If we were to take heart every single person’s opinion, we will never be able to come to a solid decision.
Sometimes I would go to my husband’s working place. Sometimes while waiting for him I would stay in their canteen and had my snacks. The cashier who receives my payment is a sad looking woman who doesn’t seem very pleasant.
One day, however, I had a snack at the canteen and someone sat in front of me. It was the sad looking cashier. Because she smiled to me, I started a conversation and she started pouring her heart out. I found out that she had just lost her 7-year old son. She still could not come to terms with the fact. Tears quietly fell from her eyes as she told me all this, and I knew now what she looked so sad.
I know I must have said a lot of things, things I thought would comfort her. But I think that it was more the times that I didn’t say anything but just listened that helped her most. At the end of our talked, she wiped her eyes, smiled and said thank you.
Lola Cacay has many hidden treasures.
They come all the way from her hometown in Bohol and from Bulacan, where my lolo Bernard hails from. We often talked and she would tell me why such and such article was priceless. She would show me pictures of each of her children, the jewelry my lolo had given her, the braid from the head of a child who had died, ribbons that she had won in contests, and a pair of glasses worn by a son who had died in the war. With each item, she had a long and loving story to tell.
My friend’s husband used to work in Saudi Arabia . On his way back to Saudi from a vacation, he very much wanted to bring with him his Bible. He knew that if got caught, the minimum punishment was deportation. Death penalty was a possibility.
What he did was to hide the Bible in the hood of his thick jacket. While going through body search upon his arrival there, all he could do was pray for God’s protection. By God’s grace, he was able to go through without any problem.
A distant cousin of mine on my mother’s side visited us a few months ago. He wanted to show us his life’s work – a comprehensive genealogy of my mother’s family, as far back as he could make it.
Fascinated, I skimmed through the volume and discovered that the family tree has roots in mainland China . It seems our ancestor was a mandarin. My mother’s countless first cousins stem from the fact that my great-grandfather was twice widowed and died before wife number three.
I can’t remember the exact circumstance I was in but I do know I was seething mad at the driver of the service shuttle I had just gotten off from. He deviated from the usual route the shuttles took so that some of the passengers, myself included, had to get out and walk some distance. Walking wasn’t so bad except that I was already running late and lugging around a heavy bag in my heels.
With every step I took, I was getting more and more angry until I realized nothing good would come out of it. Still mad, and still walking on the uneven pavement, I forced myself to calm down. It wasn’t easy but I was glad I overcome the anger.
In on of my readings, I came across with the famed psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger who once gave a lecture on mental health. After his lecture someone asked him what he would suggest that a person do in the event of suspected impending nervous breakdown. Naturally, everyone in the audience expected him to advise that as a preventive measure to visit a psychiatrist. Guess what his answer was. He said “Lock up your house, go to the other side of the railroad tracks, and find people in need. Then do something to help. Immerse yourself in the lives of others.”
