At the age of seven I was thinking of what talent I do really have. Is it dancing, I thought. Perhaps singing, since I used to get up on stage and perform. Or cooking. As a pre-schooler, we were asked to bring eggs and hotdogs and pancake to fry and serve them for lunch. I enjoyed doing them. Well, those little things, as a kid, were things of enjoyment, of being in that moment without really worrying what will happen in the future. So it didn't occur to me that there is something more that I could really do.
At age eleven, I started reading a poem in Filipino. That poem ignited my deep interest on poetry, which was then the spark that has made me explore writing up to now. This newfound power compelled me to write my own story, create imaginative characters which I used to do while playing on my own, making humanoid toys converse with each other. Through writing I could create my own world of magic and possibility. I write stories on a yellow pad, a bond paper, or even on a flattened cigarette carton boxes. Inspired by children's fantasies on TV, I would write my own alamat (legends), fables, and fairy tales. I even create my own version of well known children's stories. During my grade school days, I would go to the library and devour on Filipino high school textbooks. After my stay, I would bring at least two textbooks with me, so I could read them the whole weekend. When my mom bought me a typewriter as a gift, I typed stories voraciously, spending my holy weeks madly banging the typewriter with endless ideas, stories and poems that spring from my imagination. These are my writing adventures, all of which are foundational for all the writings on Love you have read on this blog.
"Writing is my Soul. It is my being. It is my becoming."
This time, I am rediscovering writing. It is my great tool. No, it is more than a tool. Writing is my Soul. It is my being. It is my becoming. It is the best thing I want to do, to enliven and to achieve. It is not just a routine of scribbling sentences and paragraphs. Writing is my form of expression, a personal experience, a timeless adventure. In writing, I can write my own world, bring back my wonderful memories, chronicle my own history, describe my experiences, learn from my inner creativity, relieve my stressful days, talk to myself and to God, share others my heart, and explore my true self. My writing is as unique as me, as specific as my DNA, for it allows me to create my personal dimension manifested in words. Sooner I may die and be forgotten for years, yet the gift of my writing to the world will outlast centuries, just as many writers who have lived their lives and left their legacies. Writing becomes the fossil of their once living beings, a blueprint of their entity and a witness to the fulfillment of their souls. In truth, I am bringing these same effects in my life.
Writing from the Soul has led me to find that everything around me can be captured through unspoken words untainted by worldly meaning. There is suchness in each truth I see, and each can offer that power to become written experience. The sea can become an inkwell or the earth can become paper. Or the sky a blank screen and the stones a keyboard. Every movement in nature has a dynamic awakening of words, in which every heart can read Love.
I am now writing a book on Love. Of all my writing adventures, this one is the ultimate. As words spring forth from this book, each rings the wonder and magic of Love. My Soul writes its own enlightenment, as Love brings light as its message to the world.
My greatest fulfillment, and perhaps equally as my greatest success, is to write from the depth of my Soul. Yes, I could write in many ways, about many things, yet to write from the Soul is much more transformative. I have enabled myself to see things in the eyes of Love, and to account for those sights, hindsights, and insights. Bringing life to Love through words is a magnificent achievement. I feel that this goes the same for Souls who have chosen to express Love through music or arts or helping each other, and the expression of Love becomes their own radical unfolding. The same is true for my writing experience. Writing is the very key to the immense potentiality of my Soul. I have realized that if I'm going to seek first the kingdom of God, I have to find it through writing. Because this kingdom of God, which I call and experience as Love, remains formless until the time I weave words that would express it. Then Love becomes tangible and real. And from there, all forms of Love would flow incessantly, the blessings that come from my realization of Love.
How can we really see the world in a grain of sand? It seems that the English poet William Blake did it when he was alive. Rather than mastering poetry, he mastered how to see the miracles around him. And by seeing those miracles, he had written great poems that bespeak of these miracles. Perhaps that is the secret to witnessing a miracle. But for most of our lives, we have sought physical miracles. We are trying to wait for someone to descend from the sky, casting shimmering radiance. Or maybe be astounded by any object showing faces like miraculous inkblots. Yes, these can be miracles. They can demonstrate puzzling phenomena never before seen in daily encounters. Thus, a definition of a miracle is something that can shock anyone, usually in a very rare, extraordinary moment, preferably an attention-grabbing, mind-boggling experiencing that will bring out again that sense of faith buried beneath the consciousness.
Are we missing great miracles in our everyday lives? We have been living in a rapid pace of changing trends and technology, and still remain static in our sense of existence. Many of us still look for something grand and perfect that will somehow captivate our spirits hungry for magic and enchantment. If not a miracle of some supernatural event, maybe the thought of fulfilling our mundane desires could be equally miraculous, such as having a perfect partner, or winning in a lottery, or being promoted in our jobs. Those are miracles in their own ways. But all of them are miracles happening outside, making us flabbergasted. Nonetheless, within us are great miracles that are more than what our senses can witness; they are extraordinary that only the awakened soul can discern them. In the eyes of world, these miracles are mere ordinary occurrences, let alone a nonsense humdrum.
What are these miracles?
It is the miracle of the stuff you enjoy using, such as your phone or personal computer, assembled through the genius of their inventors, to make your life much easier. Haven't you wondered how it is miraculous to receive messages from your dear ones and friends in a blink of an eye? It amazes me how our technology has gone far just to make us more connected in the midst of long distances and time.
It is the miracle of the fragrant flowers blooming countlessly, the leaves growing from a broken branch of a big tree, the brook burbling continuously, the crickets chirping in chorus, and the small white butterfly gently flying from one leaf to another. It is the miracle of the changing sky, with its clouds fleeting like long, endless feathers; or its kaleidoscopic horizon in a sunrise or sunset, with a play of bright orange and yellow, or purple and red.
It is the miracle of the laughter and smiles from your loved ones and friends, kindling the fire of joy that gives warmth in your most intimate moments. It is the miracle of touching, hugging and kissing, ways that connect your soul to their souls, connections that even death can be defied.
It is the miracle of you as you see yourself in the mirror, feeling everything around you with your senses. The miracle of your sense of sight that sees every color and movement, your sense of hearing that hears every sound and music, and your sense of smell that enjoys every scent and aroma. It is the miracle of your hands holding anything and touching another, and your feet walking and dancing in various movements.
It is the miracle of an awakened heart, discerning the existence of your Soul in each and every thing you encounter. It is the miracle of Love that arises in your awareness. When you begin to recognize that whatever you see in this world and this life, sans your limited prejudice of beauty and ugliness, are all miracles, then you can begin to see the reality of Love. Love and all these miracles are the same. You can see Love as you see these miracles. Thus, the definition of Love is not just something that can shock but astonish anyone; not just in a rare, extraordinary moment, for every moment is extraordinary; it's not anymore attention-grabbing or mind-boggling, for these happen to those that are yet to see the nature of Love; and this Love renews this sense of faith into an enlarged consciousness.
The mastery of Love is the mastery of seeing miracles. And the magic is this: we are not just spectators of these miracles. We can begin to create them. A Course in Miraclesstates " Miracles occur as natural expressions of Love. The real miracle is the Love that inspires them. In this sense, every thing comes from Love is a miracle."
The vision of PATHFINDERS' COMMUNE(Latin: to be one with) is to bring back the awareness of Oneness through sharing, understanding, and experiencing our true human nature: LOVE. We are Communing, thus we are Loving.
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