Of Emeralds and Rubies

Some years ago there was this game called "bejeweled" I'm not sure if you guys remember this game where you just have to match as many jewels of the same color together to earn points. It was an addicting game and I admit I have been bejeweled, like most of my classmates were, back in med school. Whenever we'd have to wait for our next class we would open our laptops and play as if it was a tournament.

One time inside the student council office, one of my co-officer was playing and I, on the other hand was sitting beside her supposedly writing my patient-doctor report. But of course, I couldn't help myself glance at her game and what's worst? I couldn't help myself giving her instructions as to where she could make a move. Good thing she's not the type who would get pissed or annoyed easily even if I was ruining her game. 

After she finished, one great idea popped out of my cerebellum and I told her with conviction- "You know this game is pretty much like our life, we face problems/obstacles and sometimes all we have to do is to take one step back to see the solution or have a good friend beside you to help you through." Then she told me with amusement "How in this world can you think of that when we're just playing a simple game? Where did that come from?" At that point, there was a 3-second moment of silence then a burst of laughter filled the small office which lasted for more than 60 seconds.

On my way home, I continued to contemplate on that very ordinary experience. If you think about it deeply, somehow it speaks of truth. Truth that in life there are several paths to problem solving.

1. Timing- some are resolved right away and some just needs more time
2. Perspective- sometimes we can easily see the solution with our own eyes but some needs another person's point of view
3. Last but not the least, when it's game over, we can always start anew

So don't despair when obstacles come your way. Life is like a game thus, we must ENJOY IT!

Switch

I am a self-proclaimed light switch destroyer!

The light switch inside my bedroom got busted a few months ago and I didn’t have time to fix it until last weekend. I tried to fix it a couple of times before but ended up with nothing because first, I don’t know how and second, I broke the newly-bought switch for replacement into pieces (not just once but yeah, twice) which I think is a bigger problem than not knowing how.

So there, I gave up fixing it. I didn’t notice the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months without the main bedroom light. I just used the light in the bathroom to illuminate my path whenever I enter my room to sleep. I got used to it. In fact, I got used to it oh-so-much that 2 days after finally fixing the main light I still switch on the bathroom lights first!

The conclusion: Habits are formed and are difficult to break right away. Habits whether good or bad are stored in your procedural memory. Thus, it becomes automatic and needs no self-analysis of whatever sort. That is the danger of it. We sometimes don't notice our bad habits. If you have a bad habit, identify them today and make changes to form new and better ones.

Here's how in 2 easy steps:

The first step lies in the acknowledgment of the behavior. On the 3rd day, I was successful not to turn on the bathroom lights first because I knew and acknowledged the previous behavior. There was an effort to change what I usually do. However, the day after that... yes you guessed it right! I did it again! I ended up laughing out loud and realized the force of habit is really powerful. So I therefore conclude that I need more effort.

The final step is simple persistence and commitment. They say it takes about 21 days to form a habit. Only 21 days to change a certain behavior. So I commit to 21 days to change my habit. This story is quite simple but true. And I believe a lot of you have experienced this as well. There are a lot of things we do everyday that we wish we stop doing. Just like when you think you had stopped procrastination, overspending, nail biting, fidgeting and other mannerisms you developed over the years you sometimes catch yourself still doing it and feel guilty about it.

Why not start your 21 days of developing a new good habit today? Do it for success!

JUST QUIT!

Looking for something you lost or misplaced can sometimes get frustrating.

And it always happens to me.

I don’t know why but every time I organize my stuff I end up forgetting where I kept them. Sometimes it’s better put all my “daily” things on top of my desk to see them quickly.

But have you ever noticed that when you stop looking for a particular thing you lost or misplaced, it suddenly pops out from nowhere. And you wonder how come you didn’t see it when you were looking for it? Even if you already turned your room upside down. I haven’t found any article or scientific explanation on this extraordinary event, but I think it happens to most of us. Raise your hand if you agree! 

If the same principle applies to finding everything in this world, would you stop looking for love? According to Erickson's stages of development, at the age of 18-35 people naturally seek for  mutually satisfying relationships primarily through marriage and friends. To my aunts this is called the "marrying age" and you SHOULD get married. It is a must. Every reunion the first question they ask me is "when are you getting married?" If I answer, I have no plans yet. They will continue to probe and ask why. I'm sure some of you have experienced this once or many times now if you're still not building your own family. And because of this we sometimes feel pressured to find it.
 
A lot of people rant endlessly on why they couldn’t find their perfect match. They try to search for it, conform for it, and change for it and so on. But nothing really matters. Because there is a perfect time and place for everything as in everything! not just love. Your plans and your life will unfold and make sense. So don't be pressured but BE PREPARED.

So to all the single ladies & gentlemen out there put your hands up! And just quit finding it!

Let life surprise you.

BIG RED BALLOON

Here’s another unforgettable jeepney ride story.

I was on my home from duty way back in 2002, when I saw this cute little boy with his mother and baby sister riding the same jeep as I was in. The mom had a lot of groceries on hand while also carrying her baby girl about 3-4 months old. The boy was around 4-5 years of age and had a big red balloon that his mother secured by tying it around his wrists. After just few minutes, the boy fell asleep.

When it’s about time to go down the vehicle, the mother had a hard time waking up him up that we got stalled for several minutes. Almost everyone, including myself, got involved that we all tried to wake him up. Some called him by his name, some tapped his little arms and others even tried to bribe him with candy. But every single attempt failed.

"Red Balloon" Gouache Paint on Paper

Then, a witty young man shouted “Bata! Yung lobo mo lumipad!” (Kid, your balloon flew!). The boy immediately woke up and was ready to run after his balloon. A sudden burst of laughter filled the entire jeep. Some passengers continued to talk about the incident and shared a few more laughs after they went down.

What happened to the boy is known as “The cocktail party effect/phenomenon”. It is described as the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other conversations. There exists a type of audio filter in our brain that selects which among all the stimuli needs to be responded to. The selection depends on how important or relevant the information to the person is. In this case, we know that the balloon was really important to the kid. And that motivated him to pay attention.

So tell me, what is that one most important thing in your life now that you can never do without? If you know the answer then you are lucky enough to have that strong, compelling “why” to continue on with everything that is you’re doing. If not, I suggest you try to find out now.

What's your big red balloon?

TINY COFFEE BEAN

I love perfume shops! 

(I know the title for this entry is tiny coffee bean, don’t worry we’ll get to that in a while wag atat! Haha you can erase that confused expression on your face now =P)

As the door opens, you are welcomed by a fresh flowery and a bit of sweet fruity combination of scents; an experience that’s nice to have every time! Choosing a perfume to buy is a tough job. There are just too many choices to choose from. And the longer you stay inside the store the harder it gets for you to distinguish one fragrance from the other. You soon develop adaptability to the scent. And the scent eventually becomes ordinary or plain even if it’s actually good.

Day in and day out our activities become a cycle. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between days. (Or was there any difference at all?) We develop adaptability to our routine. We sometimes lose that pleasurable feeling of excitement to life, like the feeling when we first enter a perfume shop.

In perfume counters, they usually have a small container of coffee beans. Never underestimate its size. It might be small, but it is enough to induce “reset” to the olfactory fatigue we experience when adaptability ensues. As in life, there are tiny coffee beans ready to help us “reset”; it could be a person, an event or a feeling like love that can change the way we see ordinary things.

Find your tiny coffee bean and see every day as if anew. Do something different now!

JEEP

It is dubbed as the king of Philippine's major thoroughfares; the most accessible & widely-used mode of transportation. This piece of colorful and unique machinery has graced the pages of several travel books and magazines all over the world. It has gone beyond just a public transport system but an icon of culture, which brings a truly unique Philippine experience!

Every time I see one, I'm always reminded of a particular incident happened to me in the past. [insert melodramatic music here] It was 6:45 a.m. at the Central station of LRT. I was running late for my 7 am final exam on Microbiology. So I rushed towards the street where the jeeps were waiting. As soon as I sat down in an empty jeep, the driver immediately blazed through Lawton to Espana. Usually drivers wait for more passengers before going. But this time it was different.

True enough we made it just right on time. To show my appreciation to the driver, I intended to pay him more than the usual. But instead of accepting my payment, he insisted to give my change back. Since I was in a hurry I didn't bother to count them. Only to realize later in the afternoon that he even gave me student's discount.

For sure not all jeepney drivers would do the same but I was fortunate enough to have met at least one. This experience taught me that there are still a lot of people around us willing to help without expecting anything in return.

From merely an icon of culture made of metal to an icon of goodness made of people with a heart. That's how I feel whenever I see a jeep today. I know somehow, somewhere there are few more good people around waiting for that one opportunity to show it.

So tell me, when was the last time you helped someone in need?