Friendships

          I've been here in Manila  for  a couple of days already.  Been running to and fro — meeting  old friends  here and there, trying to reconnect    old ties.  It always makes me happy    seeing  them,  catching  up    just like the old times,   updating  with news  of what  we've been   doing  since  we separated ways.

          I admit  that    if there is  one  thing to    cherish  having  worked  in the metro     right after  I graduated back then,  it  would be the    friendship  that I   have built   with everyone  in the office. How can I forget our  night out   gimmicks, the  one week  straight  at starbucks  and the many  dinner during  overtime.  And Yup, the escapades   in the remote areas    of  Batanggas, Tagaytay, Laguna    up  to the  North reaching as far as  Sagada, Banaue, Baguio and Vigan.  I've reached as far  as  Mindanao  and   was blessed     to have  stepped into the  shores  of Cebu  because I  have  friends  who wre   equally  adventurous in journeying with me. I loved   the thrill   of  island hopping  in  Anilao  and  the   taste of  victory of conquering  Taal  by stepping into its very crater.

           I loved camping  with them  on mountains  or   sharing  poses  inside caves  whenever we go spelunking.  I  wouldn't   forget   the   mummies  of Ifugao or the hanging  coffins, or the night    just watching the sky while we were on a hill under the stars.   I  would always  cherish waking  up  in  the morning     hearing   the   rush  of   flowing water at the many  falls  we've visited.  I  loved the smell   of grass while   lying  atop  them  or the  sight of    sunrise  while clouds  were   just  at eye  level.  Those were    the  wonderful times  I  would never dare trade.   Those were happiest  moments   I  am just  grateful  to have  been part of.

          However, as all journeys  end, my friends and I  had to separte ways  to discover  new thrills, to venture  into      different   fields,  to meet  new    friends,  to  trust  again, to be cared for  by   others  and  make  memories  with them, too.    Friends are    life's   best  gifts…  If  we have   found  the best  kind, life becomes    bearable despite  its oddities.  There    is security in knowing  we have   the kind of people   who   will    stick with us  through and through.    

          In life,  to  find two or three  people   whose friendships  have been tested  by time  and    streghtened  by     shared   experiences  is worth a smile. This is always  a good reason to come   together for a while   and  sustain  that  beautiful  relationship.

Kindness

    True kindness   does not end in  good thoughts about people alone. Any   good    thought  should  manifest  in a  good     act.   It  should     show in  open hands ready  to grab  another  one   helplessly  needing  a  pull from the pit  of his own misfortunes. True enough  that good deed   is not merely praying  for   people  but of  doing  something to people.  It is the deed  which is the culmination of a good thought and noble desire.  A  good heart   does  not  rest  on good intentions alone, but is the foundation  of  a rightful act   of  touching people’s lives   by   example.

      You  touch   not   merely  by the person  that you are,  but  who they are or   what they become    because of you. Did they realize   the need  to respond  to   others  more sensitively,   did  you  inspire  them  to   do  an act of service that improved the situation of  others,   where  by  your   example  they    likewise desire    to share  their  blessings? Touching   lives is planting in them  the same  seed   that grew  in you,  the  seed   of  humble  and noble  desire to  love others, even in the littlest  way  you know.

    Kindness is seeing    people  — seeing their need to be loved and to feel belonged. And upon seeing    comes responding…That is  my  idea.  That is the seed that keeps growing in me.  Exactly, I do not know if  it’s  a sprout  or  a growing tree, I am just  thankful it was planted there.