Posts tagged Family

That red-letter holiday

December 9, 2009 · Filed under Life, Reality · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Christmas is not about giving people what they want.  It’s about forcing what you want on people.

I’m not being evil or whatever.  I just realized this as I was out Christmas shopping with friends this afternoon until the evening.  Most of the time, we were arguing on whether or not the gift fits the person it will be given to, if it is somehow of his/her interest or if at all he/she would take it out of the box once he/she sees it.  I thought however that if the gift is what the person least expected, wouldn’t change be nice that way?  For all we know, we could be tools for them to discover a passion or interest that they never thought of before.

Forcing something on someone is not basically just to spite them.  It could be the extra push they need to take the risk and see what’s on the other side.  If it doesn’t work, then just charge it to experience.  At least we know better now.

Christmas as we’ve known since childhood is the season of love, forgiveness, peace and all the good things this world can offer.  So maybe we can take this to mean that this season, we can force out every bit of the good things we can offer and drown the rest of the world in it.

There’s just something about the season that makes people less grumpy, less bitter, less sad.  No matter how much we say that Christmas cheer is overrated, it still does have that effect on people.   Maybe it’s the cake, the gifts or the pretty decorations.  Maybe it’s the fact that a lot more people are gathered in the living room.  Maybe it’s because someone’s home for the holidays.  Christmas is Christmas no matter what and the very fact that people all over the world are celebrating tugs at the corner of your lips until you smile at all those silly people rushing about in the malls but enjoying the sight or the thought nevertheless.

Now I guess, this is the opportunity for everyone to just do what they can to make others happy whether it is welcomed or not.  Christmas gives us all the reason to go out of our way, to be extra sweet and caring and maybe even to profess our undying love.  Christmas is overrated as it is.  For sure, we couldn’t make much of a difference.  But then again, the people we love will always appreciate what we have to give.

If they don’t, then they’d just have to watch out.

They might not get a gift from Santa. :D

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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heARTISTry

November 30, 2009 · Filed under Imagination, Life, Reality · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

I’m not an artist. I’m a heARTIST.



My best friend Kiko wants to change the world. He has this vision that through advocating the value of artistic expression, he can make the world a friendlier place for others. With that in mind, the UPV Marketing Society’s heART campaign was born. (http://www.wix.com/heartcampaign)

As the ever supportive best friend of the campaign’s founder, I took the time to watch over the exhibit in SM City Iloilo. There, I met Marius. He was there for most of my two-three hour shift. He was there just lying down on the mall floor and doodling stuff. I wondered why no one looked for him as he’s just a boy of about nine. It turned out that his mom owns a store inside Salad Dressing, that’s why he can spend most of the time in the exhibit.


I thought to myself that Marius was lucky because he seemed to have all the time in the world. I couldn’t imagine me spending the whole afternoon doodling on the mall floor and not worrying about other meetings to attend to, friends to see and family gatherings to go to. I couldn’t quite remember a time when I was just hanging around and not thinking about school or extra-curricular work. A child’s life is a mystery. One I’ve lived but have suddenly forgotten in the blur of “teen” issues and activities.

I want to be that child again but how about the things I’ve learned and experienced as I grew up? Is it worth sacrificing? If I go back in time, could I actually make things better? Or will I just have to face different choices leading to different consequences? I don’t think there is what we call a “better” life, just a “different” one. And the limitations in my mind are merely products of different priorities.

I could lie all day on the mall floor and doodle. I could spend my time just doing nothing. But the problem is, I choose not to. Because in my 18 years in this world, I’ve realized there are a lot of things I could do that I wouldn’t have been able to if I was a child. Marius taught me life is just child’s play. You can do what you want to do if you just allow yourself to imagine more and worry less. His “heart” for art changed the way I look at the life I thought I enjoyed. He reminded me of what we have in common: the freedom to choose which way to go.


Anyone can be an artist, even me who doesn’t know how to draw or whatever.

But Marius—he’s not just an ordinary artist.

He’s the real heARTIST.

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