FOREST IN THE METROPOLIS

For those who still do not know of this interesting information, I maybe unpunctual with this news, but as the old axiom goes it is better late the never at all. Last March 1 the family went for an eat al fresco. It was a birthday treat for my youngest daughter Jessreel who actually marked her 2nd natal day on the 24th of February. Bored of monotonous and jammed malls, fast food chains and cinemas I chose to bring the family at the La Mesa Ecopark. When we arrived at the place I thought we would just see the same typical blotch of green plants and open spaces but beyond all these anticipations it was more than foliage as we enter the park proper. It was a seventh heaven full of promises! As we trudge our way to look for a place to set our picnic mat, the park seemed even more persuasive as it paraded its rare varieties of plants, trees insects and animals. Though camping and picnic sites abound around it seemed it runs a spot for us. It was actually Sunday. As luck would have it, after an exhausting walk we were able to see a good picnic site at the amphitheater. My wife and kids wheezed for their breaths as they dropped off into the grass all the stuff and picnic bits and pieces they carried all the way from the main entrance to the amphitheater but even so it was all right since the air is pretty fresher here. I was in command of everything while cuddling Jessreel lol! The amphitheater was a lot cozier reminiscent of the Banawe Rice terraces of the Cordilleras but more distant than the other places so some park goers opt not to have their picnic and camping set up here and we took that opportunity. We laid out our picnic mat under the umbrella of big trees as we shared the foods and drinks I prepared in the evening. My family felt that we were in place where we can get closest to nature while in the city. After the meal my kids kick up their heels around the area while Eva and I just watch them as we relax under the shade of trees sensing the cool soothing breeze. Jesreel, her Ditche (Pau) , Sanse(Days) and me also went to hike at the butterfly trail and hatchery. Eva and Ate Caca were left at the picnic post for a nap. After the trekking Pau and Days went back to the picnic area while Jessreel and me proceeded to the two hectares flower terraces. This is actually the La Mesa dam wall and at the middle of it is a more than 100 steps stairway leading to the reservoir. I managed to challenge my self mount the stairway while cuddling Jessreel. It was a tiring climb but when we reached the summit I was amazed to see the splendid vastness of blue water of the La Mesa Watershed. It was wonderful! I was fascinated while Jessreel was unaware what we were looking at is actually the primary source of drinking water of about 12 million Metro Manilans. Above the reservoir, partially concealed by swaying tree tops I can see some of the parks attractions below such as the fishing pond, paintball field, super ferry lagoon, swimming pool, orchidarium, fitness center and pavilions, biking, jogging and horseback riding trails and a lot more. Going down the stairway was easier but you have to take extra care or may find yourself bouncing like ball downward. Jessreel was already asleep when we came down from the reservoir and we went back at the picnic post. Eva and the older daughters took their turns to defy the steps of the dam. They posed and took pictures amidst the extravagant flowers of the terrace. . When they went back they were all sweaty, gasping for air as their knees were wobbling. Laughter burst into air. It was past 5 pm when drizzles forced us to pack up and rushed to nearby Narra Pavilion. Caca and Days took more pictures. As we waited the precipitation to stop, I was in deep imagination how in this hurly-burly, all the smog, traffic, crowded streets and slum shanties a forest as its size left remaining in the Metropolis. I thought I will need a dejavu to be able to see again how Manila looks like a century ago. If there is one place that can offer with less preparation and budget the experience and joy of boating or horseback riding of Baguio, or the excitement of swimming pools of Laguna or the adventure of trekking of Mt. Banahaw or picnic bliss in Tagaytay rolled into one - its right here. The La Mesa Ecopark covers 33 hectares, 10 of which are already operational. It rests within the La Mesa Watershed which measures 2,700 hectares and is overlapped by Rizal Province, Caloocan, Marikina, and Quezon City. It is a natural ghetto that pews in the middle of a city.
When the rain stopped we left the park with smiles etched in our faces and a promise in my thought to be back. The family has a lot yet to discover. Check it out!

HOW HONEST SHOULD WE BE?

My grade school classmate Edwin. has his Friendster shoutout like this: “Honesty does not always bring a response of love, but it is absolutely essential to it”This is very true , but how could love be expressed through honesty if we neglect our obligation to spare someone’s feelings? How could honesty express concern if we only think of ourselves? How someone could have the faith if somebody has raw honesty? I have heard a story about a man who admits to his loved one how he had wronged her. The man has been deceiving his wife all his life and decided one day to change his ways. The man seemed sincerely moved about his judgment and began to confess his unfaithfulness. His wife was aghast with his revelation and they started not to speak. A week after revealing to his wife that he has often committed adultery over the years, his wife went under the care of a psychoanalyst at a mental hospital. As a result of this tactless honesty everything about his life collapsed. What can we take from this? Disclosing the truth may be healthy and most often will not harm anyone, but there are times a thoughtless honesty can be very devastating to a relationship. We must always remember that true honesty should not be delayed. It is just like an icicle; once it thaws that is the end of it. It becomes an old sin. Confession of old sins may free the burden of guilty conscience and may bring a self-upright feeling but it is comparable to throwing up on someone. It may make the confessor feels good but it does not do much for the recipient, it hurts to the bone. It is often times like a painkiller that gives a temporary sedation than a solution. Sometimes honesty can be very self-centered thing, some people use honesty as a way to thump people under the outfit of a good person. I believe one should have to confess to God before anyone else and makes recompenses to the hurt party. A person has all the rights to be honest about his belief and intentions but he must not disregard his responsibilities not to offend anyone .It is not reasonable to liberate ones self just to get the load off the chest. Hardly ever ,people would think that lying is the best for any situation but clearly I realized that both telling a lie, and the truth has what it takes of causing harm. I also realized that honesty is not the highest value in the Christian life. It is not the best policy either. People may argue me about this but the highest values for me are love, faith, concern and the best policy is integrity. On my personal interpretation honesty and integrity have key distinctions. Look what is happening to our politics now, everyone seems to have a piece of truth to say because of self interest and greed. This could happen to any sort of situation or relationship. How can honesty be admirable and commendable if we are not willing to gamble harm to ourselves? Sometimes the reason why people want to tell what they know is exactly to loosen their pain and shift onto somebody else or to attain their selfish motives. Integrity saves the feelings of others by counseling our secrets. It is conviction of a true honest man of what is right and wrong. Integrity is an unselfish virtue... There is evidently always a time to keep silent and say nothing. Even Jesus Christ at one point did not say to his 12 disciples the truths that were beyond their comprehensions. Jesus could have answered the truth to all the charges against him but he kept still and to Pilate’s astonishment He just said . . .”no more”
The effort to say the unembellished truth sometimes boomerang and may lead to a rocky path to a weakened or worst scenario - broken relationship. Though I believe that honesty does not glorify sin nor justify it, it is sometimes the cruelest game. You hurt someone as you seem to feel self righteous about at the same time. How honest should we be?


Confess your sins to the Lord and you will be forgiven, confess them to man and you will be laughed at.

THE PRIVILEGE OF A MIRROR

In the gloomy and tranquil night when I am unable to slumber, I grasped a mirror and looked myself from it. A light spread and bounced into my face. I closed my eyes, and with clearness stimulated by relaxation my disappointments and faults tend to emerge before me like apparition from the past. I opened up my eyes and even more I find myself mirrored in almost every people I met.

With a kind of unreasonable persistence the mirror reflected thoughts and showed it off corner to corner from the screen of my mind. I see the faults I have seen in others are but reflections of my own. Their flaws, shortcomings and weaknesses, to certain extents are mine too. Perchance, some of my failures have not been as unpleasant or as evident as theirs but there were times I acted the way I should not supposed to.

Even though my letdowns seem less deliberate and I am not the same in some degrees or explicit ways for people who have not acted in total integrity and complete morality I am guilty too of my own imperfection. If I can always hold on to my mistakes I can see my own glory in the mirror and the clear ongoing process of my growth, renewal and transformation. I see myself reflected in a mirror and without speaking confesses the secrets of my soul...the truth that I am.

“The mirror will reflects back to the thinker what he thinks into it.”