Food for the soul.

If you want to live a mediocre life, live in fear"

- BobbyGuev

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Yes mister, that is the legendary Theology 141 professor speaking to us during our discussion about the Prodigal Son today. And yes, I am very honored (despite the struggles in getting a decent grade in his class) to have Sir BobbyGuev as my professor, considering that he is one of those "legends" at the Ateneo, of which is a must to take (for both the challenge and the life-changing lessons he teaches). In short, I simply want to tell you (yes, the person reading this) that this guy will definitely make an impact to your life. You can even ask his past students for some testimonies. and if you are 1) An undergrad, or 2) Haven't taken up Th141 yet, please please get him as your professor (and also hope that you get a decent random number during RegCom should you decide to get him). Yes, BobbyGuev has to be the best professor I have had during my whole college life!

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Going back to the context of the quote, that particular quote has struck me as it made me realize that after all, we cannot be pampered and all, spoiled with what we want and what we need in order to live. It is not a matter of "what I want, I get", but for one thing, the point of the quote is that we should not be fearful of the unknown, and essentially, that IS the point that we tackled today with regards to the story of the Prodigal Son.

I'm not saying that the story of the Prodigal Son IS wrong, BUT it does teach us something else that most of us may not know. When the son wanted to go back to his father and let his father treat him as a hired servant, one would think that the son lost his dignity that is why he said so. In fact, the term "hired servant" is essentially at the same social class as the regular people during that time, as these people actually have homes to live in, so essentially they are not slaves. The point? The son wanted to go back to his father not really because he is sorry for what he did, but he realized that he is dependent with his father, that is why he decides to go back to be a hired servant . . . so that he could "work for what he has wasted".

The point? The son wanted to go back to his father because of his fear for the unknown, the fear of what is new to him, of which almost all of us (the writer of this entry included) can all relate to. We have our tendencies to go back and ask help to our parents as we fear of the new and unknown things that we may soon confront. We fear for change. Hence, even if we confess our sins, the problem with ourselves is that we are having a hard time to change our whole selves for the better, which is the true point of the story of the Prodigal Son. God can easily forgive us, BUT we should be willing to expose ourselves to what is new and unknown to us in order to really cleanse ourselves of sin. I know it is a difficult process, but it is possible. BobbyGuev used the example of the parting of the Reed Sea (and no it's NOT the Red Sea) as an example, where the Israelites decided to face the unknown in the desire for freedom and salvation from the slavery of the Egyptians.

So far, this has to be the highlight class of BobbyGuev, and I'm excited for the second part this Thursday

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(CAVEAT: The content found here has been done spontaneously, so expect lots of errors into it)

Unisan, Quezon in photos

From the city, we arrive in a community residing by the bay,

where houses are mostly built on bamboo and kawayan,

where the kids love playing by the shore.

At times where they relax, the TV is their companion,

and also their hyperactive anaks and apos.

In the afternoon, the tide is low enough,

for us to explore parts of the sea,

and to appreciate the sunset.

At that night, we were having good times with good food,

and shots of alcohol to keep us company (and not to get drunk). And that was day 1.

We started day 2 with a cup of coffee,

and with my foster father busy building a new home,

and with the tide going high, emphasizing the purpose of mangroves.

We went on a hike in slippers,

while meeting the governor on the way,

and appreciating the wildlife in the area.

That day, the tides were strong,

while the captain is telling their story,

and exploring the shores after.

After a dose of a good lunch,

I waded by the waters and explore the vast sea,

and take notice of the mangrove sprouts at the same time,

and seeing the people at work and play.

The second night was a night of fun and laughter,

where the community appreciated our prepared numbers,

where our foster parents thank us for being their adopted anaks,

and where we thank our foster parents for being caring nanays, tatays, and ates to us. And that was day 2.

Day 3 started with a fishing trip together with my tatay Coy,

where the sunrise was amazing,

where we saw different kinds of fish,

where we understood the life of a fisherman,

and his livelihood.

Back home, our nanay Lolit was preparing our meal for later,

while we went by the hill to reflect,

and stike a pose on top of the hill.

The day was our last day in the area, where after going to the beach,

we had a sumptuous lunch,

having a photo-op with our foster parents (and their friends),

with our stay concluding with a pep talk from the governor.

On the way home, we read what is happening in Manila,

playing and bonding with our Immersion groupmates,

and reflecting on our 3-day experience with the community.

To infinity and beyond?

Story 1:

There is this story about a boy who fell in love with a girl. However, the girl, despite being happy with her relationship with her current boyfriend, she still visits her ex-boyfriend and still have sex with the ex. One time, when she had sex with her current boyfriend, she told the current boyfriend that the day before, she had sex with her ex-boyfriend. and the situation is still the same, with the guy still loving his girlfriend, who apparently, has not gone over with her ex-boyfriend.

Story 2:

There is this girl who was involved with a certain scandal back in high school, where she and her then-boyfriend was caught having sex in a public place. A couple of years later, the scandal was long forgotten, as she is happy now with her current boyfriend. Yet despite her changed personality, her past has the potential to haunt her.

Story 3:

This girl has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for 2 years already. What seems to be a steady relationship happens to be a relationship that is starting to crumble, as the boyfriend is "riding on" with another girl who is flirting with him, even if the girlfriend is against it. The boyfriend has started to be unfaithful, yet the girlfriend is trying to find ways to fix the relationship, until she is determined to call it quits.

Story 4:

This girl is normally quiet, and tends to act like she does not have any boyfriend. Ironically, she does have a boyfriend (of 5 years and counting), and happily manages to maintain the relationship well. Sure they may have gone through a couple of petty arguments, but hey, their relationship has to be one of the most stable relationships I've known so far.

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Four stories. Different situations. Same theme.

For the past few days, I have been hearing a lot of stories involving about relationships from friends. Although I admit, I feel a bit jealous that most of my friends right now are already in a relationship (and the writer of this entry still remains a single-since-birth person with a dirty mind), I am a bit disturbed with these stories that my friends have told me. The idea of being in a relationship has been puzzling me, especially with these stories involving infidelity, sex, and risks.

The thing about relationship these days is that, unlike the "traditional" form of relationships, the modern view of relationships has significantly deteriorated, such that concepts of integrity, commitment, responsibility, and loyalty are not taken seriously by the youth today. The thing that really disturb me is the notion of sex being "done when the urge is felt". Sure this writer has a dirty mind when it comes to such, but when it happens in real life, you'll eventually feel really disturbed about it. Imagine: infidel couples, unwanted pregnancies, fuck buddies, single parenthood . . . things you see in the movies, actually happening in real life. And to think that we do know that such acts are indeed evil, yet we succumb to doing them.

While on the car and listening to my favorite station, the DJs said one interesting quote that caught me. And it goes: "There are two ways to deal with temptation: it's either you succumb to it or you don't even try doing it." Simply perfect. It is actually a quote that is very applicable to the nature of relationships. Once someone tries to fuck up the relationship, the problem gets worse, but if they make things stable and not fuck things up, then the problem is not encountered. Seems to be an easy-to-understand logical argument, yet people fail to apply it in real life.

Honestly speaking, the problem on why a lot of relationships tend to get fucked up is that we often fall into temptations; by falling into them (even just once) can mean trouble for the relationship. Also, another problem as well is that we lack discipline AND control of ourselves when temptation is lying around the corner. Yes, even the writer has occasionally experiencing such issues, and boy, it is really hard to deal with.

Relationships may be as easy as it would seem to be, but given these temptations and complicated situations, maintaining a relationship can be a real pain in the ass. I still remember those lessons that I have had during my Theology 131 class, with the most memorable quote "Love is not a feeling; Love is a choice". The problem I think with modern relationships is that they re often dictated based on what we feel, which should not be the case.

With all these stories that I've been hearing, I guess placing on your social networks that your relationship status is "single" or "in a relationship" is wrong and misleading. The more proper status should be "It's complicated", because whether you are single or taken, the concept of love is a complicated and complex idea.