An old beggar, and a curious boy

For months, I have always seen him squatting along the circular pathway in the outsckirt of a park where I used to pass by. His head bowed and rested on his slightly bent arm supported by his left knee. With palm partially open he stayed there for hours hoping for some good hearted ones to drop some alms into his partially open palm. He is not thin, only haggard looking, accentuated by deep wrinkles over his face and greying hair. Since I am too poor in reckoning ages by simply looking at the face, I just can't tell how old is he; so, I would just roughly say, more than 80 years old. If I were him, I wouldn't do what he was doing -- it was too tiresome for me; of course not for him, because he did it.

Once, I saw a young boy bending over to talk to him; and as I was nearing them, the boy was about to leave.

The next day, I was again threading the same way. By coincidence, the old man was still on that very spot where I saw him before talking to that same boy. The boy was now sitting with his bottocks directly on the bare ground and legs stretched out. His hands were strategically placed on both sides to give him support and balance. Every now and then, he bent his right knee so he could clasp it with his hands for comfort. The boy's attention to their conversation was so intense. Sometimes inclining very close to the old man in order to hear or make his point clear perhaps.

The boy's behavior is common to a lot of us. It even reminded me of my own curiosity with the stories of matured people that I really wished back then that days woud speed up so very soon I would already become like them. And now that I am -- I found that I am indeed right of what I believed it would be.

I Am Thankful

Like in the painting below, we should be thankful and give praise to the maker of this world rather than complain all the time, for He knows what’s good for us.

Give Praise Originally uploaded by anselmo B. malugao

(Dedicated to all peace loving people) 

There were times in my life wherein my sufferings was great that I once believed life wasn't good to me. This kind of sentiment, however, is a pretty normal reaction from someone caught unprepared to face Nature's unwelcomed forces. Indeed, it was a shock after finding out that I lost what I had been working on. But as my eyes began to open up, little by little, I saw the things I had not seen before. Seeing things this way has developed in me the art of appreciating things and circumstances that are happening everyday, whatever they are. For this reason, I am very thankful. Normally, it sounds silly for such concept of reality to be felt since it is known to be confined to the realm of fairy tales and the world of the saints. But wait! You have to remember that our behavior is caused by the mind; and by changing the way we think, we are also changing the way we behave. The mind is a fleeting thing, but it doesn't mean that we can't do anything about it. In times of hardships and loneliness, don't despair, because we have the comfort we ever need. If you only dare to see and understand the minute details of everyday affairs, then you are about to recognize the helping hand of Nature is just around you. Personally, I am always seeing it these days. And I am so glad that I do. In times of turbulence, there's a haven inside the mind: a place where you can run and take shelter. This environment in which I used to take refuge is refreshing and invigorating. For this, I am equally thankful. There are plenty of things to be thankful to and, in fact, you should be thankful every minute of the day; if you do, your heart will be filled with happiness, ushering in opportunities and abundance in life. Writing my first book had led me into a hermetic-like way of living. This experience created in me the desire to communicate. So, I proceeded to speak to things I would never have spoken to. The act sounds absurd; but, it turned out that a language creates a corresponding emotion understandable to all living things -- a universal language. And, without doubt, my voice went out not in vain, for I was understood -- this too, I am thankful. And most of all, I am thankful, for now, I can always find the peace of mind that eluded me for a long time; and, once again, my life has found new direction. This is very important, because knowing what to do in one's life is LIFE itself. The above composition is a revision to the one I had written somewhere on the month of May 2009, which I eagerly called a little book, that was typed using a manual typewriter. This was intended as display for my art exhibit. The drawing I sketched on the book's cover page (of which, if I find the means, I will post it here) shows a bird in flight casting rays of light to the field down below. This carries the same thought with the painting I have just posted entitled "Peace Around the World"; only, this time, the bird doesn't emit rays of light but appeared now in a white color instead, which means the same thing -- PEACE.

What I saw in Singapore

In my life, I have never been in a city so Clean and Green as Singapore. Everywhere you go, you can't almost see a litter even in the remotest corner of the city. In some parts, the drainage is visible and very impressive -- dug so deep into the ground and left uncovered; in this way, overflow of water is minimized, and the monitoring of any blockages is optimized.

Without doubt, what I had witnesed is a sign of harwork, good management and harmony of the people within the country, considering that Singapore is composed of diverse races of people. Infact, there are four official languages in Singapore: These are Chinese, Malay, Tami, and English.

I was transported through various places via a network of trains that connect the whole Singapore together. One guy who I met there thought that Filipino's language is English, which I said "no" and proceeded to explain it to him.

My stay in Singapore was brief but very imformative. How I hope, I can see the same thing in our country, The Philippines, in the future.

Flashes of Lightning

Rain was pouring gently on the early night of October 20, 2009 making a rasping noise on the corrugated iron roof of the little space where I was lying down waiting to be lulled to sleep. Unlike other nights, the old venetian-like blind that was secured on the topmost part of the door of my room was still on its place. I should have rolled it down had I not forgotten. In bed, I saw it well, only I didn’t feel like standing up to cover the door with it. Anyway, the gate is closed and locked, so it’s all right, I thought.

From my position, I kept on looking at the door, as if I was intrigued to find something out there, but there was really nothing there – just darkness, and the continuous sound of the rain.

Minutes passed, still, I kept on looking. Out from nowhere I then heard a deafening ramble of thunder seldom to occur. It seemed things where going to split into pieces. Almost simultaneously with it, I saw framed by the door, a splash of pure white light – really super white light – with no streaks of any kind, just entirely white all over. It was not a blinding light, because I was able to look at it intently. Outside, everything was covered with that light – no trees nor structures or whatever – just the light itself. It didn’t stay long, but just died away in a few seconds. The sight didn’t cause me to tremble; I remained calm – though I was wondering about it.

My short Bio

I am a Filipino. I was born in the island of Bohol, Philippines, but I grew up in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao. I sufferd a lot of failures in my life; then, I took it quite seriously; making me  a living-dead roaming around the streets of Manila for more than five years.

Now, it seemed that I understand why it happened to me when I found the much coveted Peace of Mind that I won't surely encounter had I succeeded with my plans before.

I studied Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering. While I was living as a tramp, I passed a college entrance examination and found myself pursuing music study.  Years later, at the same time, I would be learning how to write computer programs, being a student of International Correspondence School ( ICS), and doing baking -- rolling and shaping those delicious and nutritious French bread, under the roof of Virlanie Foundation, an orphanage. All of these endeavors I didn't succeed -- it didn't lead me anywhere. Even though that was the case, my experiences, however, gave me so much lessons to learn from.

Now, I am very happy that at last! I am able to start life anew equipped with my new knowledge, new insights, and vast experiences to help me push through life and succeed. But not only that, what is most rewarding is sharing my experiences and knowledge to the world, and that's exactly the reason why I have created this blogging site. I only hope that you too will find my blogs heart-warming and, hopefully, they will give you encouragement to pursue your own dreams too.

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Related topic: A quick look into my past

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Hey! What's up!

DEAR ERIC,

Hey, what's up!
It's, more or less, 11 years since I
last saw you. And in that length of time my view in life has changed
a lot, and I'm glad it's for the better and not the other way around.
My experiences and learning have something to do this. I have seen
people, though few, who seemed to be contented with their lot in
life, and I am wondering before why I was not; even in a situation
where others would have been happy with it. I could never have
explained the reason behind it, if I have not known the spirit of
happiness and contentment I have experienced nowadays. I am greatly
fascinated with my own life – a life that I can't steer towards my
own desired direction. Everyone of us have experiences in varying
degrees of Nature's interference with our plans. Their impact on our
lives will determine whether we will be encouraged or discouraged
with the unfolding of events.

Personally, with all the confusion in
my life, I learned the Art of not fighting – but to go with the
flow of circumstances in complete submission. This technique is not a
new one, I heard it many times; though, only by doing it that you
will know its effectiveness.

Looking back years ago, it is like a
dream that I was once baking European breads, and you are my teacher.
Baking is a good job, only that I was searching for something else
that I really didn't know what was it at that time. Well, then, I was
like a fool going after for this "I-don't-know-what-is-it" thing.
Anyway, acting by intuition I just went through the process, even
though I thought that perhaps I am just wasting my time. Talking
about time, I had already wasted so much of my seemingly precious
time just by living on the streets for more than 5 years – so why
hurry! I thought.

One day, it just happened that I
recognized and experienced something wonderful that I just couldn't
set it aside as nonsense, and I perceived it as my "calling."
Eventually, the experience had led me to write a book in the most
unlikely time. It was then followed with other projects. And I know,
there are still more to come.

Presently, I am now promoting my
projects to the public. For convenience, I set up blogs; you can view
them at http://mindsecrethaven.blogspot.com.
This email will also be posted under the blog "Here is a tale to
tell." The title is "Hey, what's up!"

I know that you too have very exciting
experiences, since you traveled a lot. Pascal told me, you are
currently living in Australia. It's not surprising that you are doing
great there, as Pascal told me, because you are a master baker.

I am always delighted with the idea of touring to some distant places. That's why, I was overwhelmed with joy when I thought I could go to France before -- many attempts had been made, but all failed. There's a heart-warming saying that says, "Everything has a purpose"; perhaps, it's true, and my failure could have been a scheme for me to do something else. Because I could never have discovered myself had I travelled to France long time ago. I trust that I found already what I have been searching for in my life. The next step is share -- I want to travel far and wide to let people know what I knew. With the success of my writings, paintings and lectures -- my projects -- my cravings to see new things and meet people to share my experiences with would be a wholly different experiences that I will treasure.

Two years ago, I have flown to
Singapore once. It was a-week visit, and my first time to be out of
my country (The Philippines) – too ignorant hah! The difference was
so striking. Their refined culture must have instilled in them the
value of self-discipline: in work and environmental issues like
cleanliness. And I just can't believe what I saw – full of greenery
and tress! Everywhere!

For me, life is always strange, a
living proof that SOMEONE is behind the motion of things.

WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST!
ANSELMO MALUGAO