Friends

by the psycho wanderer
http://urbanlife.mindanaogoldstardaily.com/friends/

There will always be those times when we’ll have to part ways with friends and compel ourselves to move forward with our lives; that time when we’ll secretly shed tears for a friend leaving the city, or migrating abroad, or permanently residing in the skies.

For grade school/high school students, it’s the change of class section or school. For college graduates, it’s leaving the school or city for good. For yuppies, it’s leaving for greener pastures. For everyone, it’s that never ending cycle of sad goodbyes and sweet hellos.

So I ask myself sometimes, what is friendship?

As I browse through my Facebook feeds the infinite number of despedida pictures and new work photos, I realize that distance doesn’t change friendships. It actually transcends from domestic to international level of relationship. It means extending into global reach. The local city crib turns into an international hangout place.

So for you, what is friendship?

Friendship is like a second home/family that gives you a sense of belongingness, where you can be yourself with no reservations. – Karen Dandasan, 27, Richmond-British Columbia

Friendship is having that same frequency and having an understanding with nonverbal communication. – Lyka Yutuc, 26, Muntinlupa-PH

Friendship is being with a friend not just in times of bliss, but also in times of sorrow. – Burt Aurelio, 30, Las Piñas-PH

Friendship is like a ship, you will know who will stay when things get bad. – Jane Daquita, 25, Makati-PH

Friendship is being able to have a conversation with just one look. – Caressa Cabrera Nala, 27, Dubai-UAE

Friendship is “busy ka?” – hindi – “tara.” – Kaye Jumangit, 27, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship is an expression of love that doesn’t turn bitter. – Shin Singson, 21, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship is an unchanged connection won over time and distance. – Mika Comique, 27, Architect, Cagayan De Oro-PH

Friendship means being there for that person when the rest of the world walks out. – Nikki Gue, 25, Proprietor-Nikki’s Treats

Friendship is that family bond I chose and Spirit of God has guided me towards. – Ricky John, 27, NGO Relations Philippines

Friendship is laughing at someone so hard when they are down, then you do all you can to pick them up, and then laugh again so hard. – Jheyz Saljob, 28, Bulacan-PH

Friendship is that intangible string that binds you with the people you want to be with along with life’s journey. – Macky Acorda, 27, Co-Founder, brewingabetteryou.com

Friendship is like having a mother who will scold you, a father who will defend you, an elder sibling who will bully you, and a younger sibling who will be clingy. – Mark Raphael Ferraris Justiniano, 27, Cebu-PH

For me, friendship is:

Photo taken years back. “Nice” travelled from Singapore to PH after she learned of an emergency back home. Friends met Nice at NAIA 3 to accompany her wait for her trip to Cagayan De Oro on the same day she travelled to PH. This happened on a weekday and one friend just messaged everyone to meet at NAIA 3.

The meaning of friendship differs from one person to another. It’s basically subjective. That’s why sometimes we wonder why some of our frenemies have real-life friends. It’s because they share the same interests and sometimes the same stories. We cannot ask someone to not be friends with a particular person, because a real friend sees right through. You may not see one person as a friend but others may have.

Friendship is a second home. It’s a second family. It’s that place where we want to be all day and night aside from our families and lifetime partners. Real friends inspire us. Real friends confront us. Real friends help us move forward with our lives. And when we’re too stubborn to move forward, they understand us and sometimes just let us be.

Some friends leave us. Some friends stay. But those that leave us are just always there. Sometimes, they’re with us like guardian angels. Sometimes they’re just going through something that’s why they’re at a distant. Sometimes they choose to be with themselves for a while and we just wait until when they’re ready. We communicate through our hearts and spirits. That’s why most of the answers I guess referred to comfortable silence and sense of belongingness.

It’s all about being friends with like-minded dreamers. It’s being comfortable with ourselves in their presence. It’s being able to speak without talking, cry without bawling, and love without saying. It’s being who we are without being judged. It’s being us without being questioned.

There will always be differences and petty fights. But at the end of the day, the friendship remains. So, the next time a friend goes somewhere, think of it as a new hangout place. When a friend says goodbye, you reply with: Yes! Roadtrips! New hangout!, or guardian angels.

In GOOD-byes, we don’t really part ways, we just move into other places.

The Life of Richie

by: The Psycho Wanderer

http://urbanlife.mindanaogoldstardaily.com/the-life-of-richie/

No, I’m not that envious. But yes, I haven’t been to places in as much as other people have – in as much as (itago natin sa pangalang) “Richie”, a friend of mine had.

I could probably term him “Richie Rich” – that kid who could afford almost everything. He’s my age yet he’s travelled the world. Yes, not just the Philippines, but probably a significant percentage of the globe.

He used to be our job hopper high school classmate (he’s batch salutatorian by the way) until he settled with one manufacturing company. I guess he found his soul there, or at least tried to make things work (like in a relationship).

In any one’s life, one will have that one Richie friend – that person one will get envious of for all his achievements, travels, successes and even just plain gadgets; that person one will always look up to and ask during ‘me’ time, how does he do that? Or geez, why can I just not be like him?

Sometimes we dwell too much with the life of Richie – forgetting we have bountiful blessings in our lives to also be so much thankful for: family, friends, a simple yet happy career, a sometimes confusing yet going strong lovelife, a blissful home and a healthy body. We forget that behind our unattained dreams and yet aspirations are blessings bestowed upon us and

our families without us even asking. The life of Richie is just one in a million, so 999,999 of the population is going through the same things we do.

The life of Richie in tumbler, photobucket and instagram photos are everything we would have ever wanted for ourselves, but never got the chance (well at least, not yet). Richie has travelled almost every island in the Philippines. He has travelled A-Z places in the Philippines – some of which: Albay-Bicol, Bacolod, Baguio, Balesin Island, Basco-Batanes, Benguet, Boracay, Bukidnon, Cagayan De Oro, Calaguas, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Iligan, Ilocos, Iloilo, Masbate, Metro Manila, Misibis Bay, Negros Oriental, Oslob-Cebu, Pagudpod, Palawan, Pampanga, Sagada, Tagaytay, Vigan and Zambales. He is diverse in his travels: climbing mountains, swimming oceans, celebrating festivals, appreciating plays and musicals, loitering at small-time gigs, partying at posh bars, visiting art museums and a lot more. And there are also his international travels: Australia, California, Cambodia, Canada, China, Delaware, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, Korea, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Maryland, Myanmar, New York, Paris-France, Philadelphia, Scotland, Singapore, Venice, Vietnam and Washington, among others.

Nope, he isn’t a businessman nor a son of a business tycoon. He is a 27-year-old who is working in the Philippines and knows how to live life. He is our epitome of a YOLO, a forever young, a Carpe Diem, a make the best out of your life, a worklife balance – basically, it’s the life of Richie that we want for ourselves. Browsing through Richie’s photos and photos of airport pre-departure area, exotic beaches, unknown ruins and temples, legendary landmarks and famous tourist destinations make us dream for ourselves. Actually, we spend a lot of time contemplating more on Richie’s life than ours (well, I do. ü). We focus on what we don’t have rather than cherish what we have.

A presiding priest in one of the Sunday masses at Greenbelt Chapel, Makati once said “count your blessings, not what’s missing.” So today and forward, why don’t we start being grateful for the things and people in our lives? Why don’t we look deeply and realize that we may have more than what Richie has; that there’s more to our lives than what we think as seemingly boring and no-adventure kind of lives? Why don’t we start thanking Him for the everyday life, for the daily blessings, for the beautiful surprises, the enriching challenges, the victorious successes, the unexpected disappointments, the unwanted sorrows, the peaceful bliss, the wealthy health, the simple joys and the contagious laughters?

Let us treasure the now and move forward to the future – no more self-pity and inferiorities. And with our wholehearted appreciation of our lives, choose and begin to be Richie – living the dream; living the life. We must learn that everything in life is a choice. We can do everything Richie did. We can travel the world, buy fancy clothes, party until forever and seize everyday of our lives. What we need to do is earn and save – earn courage and confidence and save for the now and the future, wait for the seat sale – wait for the right time; gauge for the right season and plan for the future, book the tickets make use of that courage and confidence and start walking the talk, pack our pretty travel bags and travel the world experience the fun, excitement and adventure we’ve always wanted for ourselves. Let’s live and enjoy, the beauty of LIFE.

See you around the globe Richies!

Earth Day Everyday

The first Earth Day movement by earthday.org happened in 1970. Forty six years later, it announced April 22, 2016 as this year’s Earth Day. But as they say, this is more than just a single day.

Earth Day Everyday was the message conveyed by the Archdiocese of Cagayan De Oro City (ACDO) - Ecology Ministry last April 17, 2016 (Sunday) at Centrio Ayala Garden. The event was named “HARANA para kay INA”, an acoustic jam for Mother Earth.

This was graced by numerous indie bands: Grupong Laya, Memoronnie, Cookies and Cream, Estilo, Escapo, But Karma Kills, Bloodflowers, Northern Sparks, Bombo Radyo Jasaan Rondalla, 4^th ID Band, Rage of Laura and Glennfalse & Thony. It also featured CDO Archidocese’s Ecology Musicians: Zee, The Right Stop, Dodu Abrio and Ding Cabreira.

Harana Para Kay Ina was a fusion of original compositions by several indie bands and unique renditions of popular songs like Lion King’s Circle of Life and Pocahontas’ Colors of the Wind. The event also included a performance of Malvina Reynolds’ song, “What Have They Done To The Rain?” by St. Francis Xavier Church Social Action Committee Head, Mr. Natz Jumangit and ACDO Ecology Musician, Mr. Ding Cabrera. The acoustic jam was concluded with all the bands singing the song, “Kapayapaan” by Tropical Depression.

To remind the people of our role in our environment, Mr. Ding Cabreira asked the audience to pick up the trash seen at the event area. He even left us with the words, “Basura ko, Ibulsa Ko.”, a movement inviting people to be mindful of their trash even candy wrappers that certainly go a long way destroying sea animals.

On April 21-24, 2016, tribute to Mother Earth continued as the Luna Musikalawaig Full Moon Festival was held at the Ki Bathala Gardens in Talakag, Bukidnon. It was graced by various musicians and artists: Joe D’ Farmer, Lost Tribe, Kamaggong, SinoSiKat, Emann Vibration, Jericho Vamenta, Spy, among others, with Rafael Kiefer, President of Professional Models Association of the Philippines, as one of the organizers. The tribal gathering was on its 5^th year since it started 2011.

The Summer Peace Festival was not just one night, but three nights of expression of love for art and music dedicated to Mother Earth. It was a way to commune with nature whilst being away from the convenience of technology and the internet world, to be specific.

To get to the venue, shuttles were provided and a camping site at the gardens was made available to those attending the gathering. It was nights of soulful music and speaking with the gardens and the river.

Meanwhile, in the north, a beach cleanup activity in partnership with Gawad Kalinga was hosted by O’Tara at Baler, Aurora. O’Tara is a non-profit organization with numerous advocacies like arts and nature. Last February 2016, O’Tara brought scholars of Smokey Mountain to an art tour at Angono, Rizal. Its latest advocacy is coined #advocaSEA for cleaning up Baler.

To sum it up, we can all take part in being stewards of Mother Earth. We can do simple acts of saving nature by throwing our garbage in the assigned waste cans and yes, cigarette butts in their supposed places. Human population is growing fast while trees and rivers continue to deteriorate as a consequence of our actions. We are so much into industrialization and constructing commercial buildings, we forget that every tree we cut, or every mountain we flatten is a pollution we impart with Mother Earth.

Let the passion for Mother Earth of the Archdiocese of Cagayan De Oro-Ecology Ministry, Musikalawaig Organizers and O’Tara be our guide to our personal advocacy in saving our world. There will be no use getting all the money we can from stock market or our rising business if the world we live in will just vanish. We will vanish along with the extinction of Mother Earth – no more food to eat, no more water to drink.

We make the world with our actions of negligence and self-centeredness. Let us try to be selfless and think of all the people living in this world, the future of the next generations, the cute pandas, the beautiful flowers, the relaxing rivers, and the innocent infants.

Indeed, everyday should be earth day.

(Photo credits to David Roa, Kim Alcantara and Yam Otarra.)