I've heard that right now there are 2 typhoons wreaking havoc upon the Philippines; whether these tropical depressions chose to do damage to the same place or not is beyond me. I could definitely say that some of it is hitting us here in Manila though. It usually isn't this cool around in general.
It doesn't really help, though, if you're in the open area of a gymnasium transformed into a dormitory. The humidity still makes its way in here, and nobody here could escape that familiar sticky feeling.
Of course, I could always type this in our room with air-conditioning, but cranking it up adds up to our 'excess electrical bill', and my body has learned over the course of a few weeks that staying in air-conditioned areas frequently can take a toll on your health.
So here I am, with that familiar sticky feeling I mentioned earlier, trying to feel better by saying that I'm breathing real air as opposed to recycled air. I could be back at work at the behest of a colleague asking me to take pictures around the office for an activity I'm not very enthusiastic about, with a theme or design that I'm not very thrilled with either. Instead, I choose to explore this observation I just made regarding the relation of eloquence to relaxation.
I mean, I've mentioned more than one time that Poe was known to write his articles while under the influence of alcohol. I'm pretty sure Bob Marley had his pot slash song-writing sessions too. I'm not doing drugs, I'm not drinking, but I am away from the office. Time I spend away from the office is actually made more constructive in this way, in my opinion.
Now I'm thinking of how this week went, and quite frankly, I think that Brent/JB could have done a whole lot better.
Then again I think of that song I posted a few days back; It's 'In Christ Alone' by Brian Litrell, a beautiful song. The song has this line in its lyrics:
"I've been blessed beyond measure
and by His strength alone I overcome."
Beautiful stuff. The part of me that says I could have done better is actually the same one that pushes me into thinking that I can have control over all the situations I have. As I walk away from God's strength by sinning, I find myself walking into the pride that kept me down and disabled for the most of my 25 years. It is a struggle that leaves me jovial when consistent, and crippled in feelings of condemnation and separation when sin shows its ugly face.
And true to what's sung, I have also been blessed beyond measure. I keep saying that the only thing we can control in this world is our attitude and how we react to other people. That pretty much defines a whole lot of other things happening around you. If a single word can have effects with magnitudes far greater than imagined if only given conventional thought, and oftentimes our reactions comprise of more than just a single word - you can also throw in an action here and there that could just cause greater ripples.
That being said, though we have lesser control, we still have great responsibilities. Our choice to recognize this responsibility is a huge step to going beyond living for yourself, but acting on it is a different thing.
It doesn't really help, though, if you're in the open area of a gymnasium transformed into a dormitory. The humidity still makes its way in here, and nobody here could escape that familiar sticky feeling.
Of course, I could always type this in our room with air-conditioning, but cranking it up adds up to our 'excess electrical bill', and my body has learned over the course of a few weeks that staying in air-conditioned areas frequently can take a toll on your health.
So here I am, with that familiar sticky feeling I mentioned earlier, trying to feel better by saying that I'm breathing real air as opposed to recycled air. I could be back at work at the behest of a colleague asking me to take pictures around the office for an activity I'm not very enthusiastic about, with a theme or design that I'm not very thrilled with either. Instead, I choose to explore this observation I just made regarding the relation of eloquence to relaxation.
I mean, I've mentioned more than one time that Poe was known to write his articles while under the influence of alcohol. I'm pretty sure Bob Marley had his pot slash song-writing sessions too. I'm not doing drugs, I'm not drinking, but I am away from the office. Time I spend away from the office is actually made more constructive in this way, in my opinion.
Now I'm thinking of how this week went, and quite frankly, I think that Brent/JB could have done a whole lot better.
Then again I think of that song I posted a few days back; It's 'In Christ Alone' by Brian Litrell, a beautiful song. The song has this line in its lyrics:
"I've been blessed beyond measure
and by His strength alone I overcome."
Beautiful stuff. The part of me that says I could have done better is actually the same one that pushes me into thinking that I can have control over all the situations I have. As I walk away from God's strength by sinning, I find myself walking into the pride that kept me down and disabled for the most of my 25 years. It is a struggle that leaves me jovial when consistent, and crippled in feelings of condemnation and separation when sin shows its ugly face.
And true to what's sung, I have also been blessed beyond measure. I keep saying that the only thing we can control in this world is our attitude and how we react to other people. That pretty much defines a whole lot of other things happening around you. If a single word can have effects with magnitudes far greater than imagined if only given conventional thought, and oftentimes our reactions comprise of more than just a single word - you can also throw in an action here and there that could just cause greater ripples.
That being said, though we have lesser control, we still have great responsibilities. Our choice to recognize this responsibility is a huge step to going beyond living for yourself, but acting on it is a different thing.