malaking bagay rin na nagkaroon kami ng bahay dito dahil ito na ngayon ang sentro ng mundo namin. dito na umiikot ang trabaho, pasyal, kain at kung ano-ano pang ginagawa ng isang normal na mag-asawang pinoy sa amerika. masuwerte si jet dahil mayroon siyang simbahan na sinasambahan. nagbibigay ito sa kanya ng spiritual fulfillment. ako naman ay walang diyos, pero ok lang. nakikisaling ket na lang ako kay jet pag inaya niya akong magsimba.
mayroon akong natutunang importante sa dalawang taon naming pamumuhay dito. matagal ko na itong alam pero minsan ay nagiging talipandas ako’t lumilihis ng landas. ang sikreto para maging maligaya sa amerika: kailangan simple lang ang buhay mo. malayo pa ako sa gusto kong kasimplehan. siguro mga ilang taon pa. hopefully by then, mas alam ko na ang gagawin at wala na akong kailangang patunayan sa sarili ko.
Batang Kaning Lamig 
can’t believe you still exist without God man!!siguro tito batjay its the reason for your existence…to seek God.
hindi siguro.
Pareng batjay at jet, sabi ni Diane Ackerman sa book nyang The Natural History of Love, level of companionate love na ang nararanasan nyo. 🙂
companionate love? di ko naalala. may libro din ako ni ackerman. isa siya sa mga peborit female author ni carl sagan.
Papa… what is prompting all these? I can see you are very pleased and happy with your life right now and I admire you for finding ‘contentment’ amidst all our worries. Pag binabasa ko itong dalawang latest blog mo and I measure your words against what’s going on in our lives, naiisip ko, kung tutuusin, the bottom line is… yes, actually we’re fine.
When you cut through all the trimmings, and sieve through all the crap, we’re doing fine. Mahirap kung mahirap pero hindi naman talaga madali ang buhay, di ba? In spite of the difficulties, we still can laugh spontaneously and they still come hearty, our quiet moments are not restless, being together has become neither boring nor turbulent. there are still things that catch our wonder. Most of all, there is still the completeness we find in a hug.
Labyu!
oo mylab, that’s what i’m saying. we’re fine. in fact, we’re more than fine – we’re thriving. kahit maraming mga problemang umiikot sa paligid at maraming uncertainty sa kung ano ang darating, we’ve always done well.
labu2.
Glad to know you’re both thriving… I have friends in the US who are not as lucky… 🙂
mahirap nga ngayon dahil bagsak ang economy. sana y mag improve na ito agad.
hi unkyel, i can totally relate to what you are saying….totally
cool.
what does TALIPANDAS mean?
hindi gumagawa ng magaling – ie, walanghiya.
The hubby was watching 60 Minutes the other night about the quality of life in Denmark (AKA Happiest Place on Earth) vs here in the US (ranked 23rd). Danish researchers looked beyond the usual reasons of free access to healthcare and education, etc. and found that part of the key had to do with expectations — of having modest expectations.
Here are some memorable lessons from the show:
(Harvard Psychology lecturer Tal) Ben-Shahar says Americans could learn a lot about happiness from the Danes. “It is about having realistic expectations. It’s about not trying to fit in more than we can handle. We can’t handle it all. We can’t have it all. But we can have a lot,” he says.
And Morley Safer explains:
“That pressure (of doing well or of being successful) is a result of high expectations; wanting it all is a bacterium that stays with us from youth to old age – wanting a bigger house, fancier car, more stuff. And when we get more, there’s always someone with even more stuff, who’s just as unhappy. Some suggest that the unhappiest zip codes in the country are the wealthiest, like the Upper East Side of New York.”
And this is one valuable lesson that I’ve learned this past year, but that I still need to learn how to apply to my life. So, like you, my goal is to learn how to be happier with less. It’s not going to be easy, especially after a lifetime of always wanting more. 🙂
hey KB.
my former office room mate here is danish and we go out with them a lot. they are a happy bunch. very down to earth, practical, funny, smart and nice people to spend an evening of food with.
happier with less. it’s not about lowering expectations but just living a simpler life.
Batjay, katulad mo rin ako nung araw – buti ka lantaran; ako kasama ko mga pari pero hindi naman ako naniniwala sa Diyos. But He worked in me in His mysterious ways. Please read this Baka makatulong…
Salamat po.
walang anuman.
salamat sa “please read this” pero maligaya ako sa katayuan ko ngayon. wala akong guilt, walang mga tinatagong kademonyohan at sa tingin ko ay namumuhay ng marangal.
sana yung mysterious ways ay gamitin ni harold (ie, our father who art in heaven, harold be thy name) para gumanda ang pilipinas at kunin na niya yung mga makadiyos na corrupt.
ingat!
naihi ako sa tawa sa harold be thy name. good word, unkyel! amen!
hehehe. lumang joke na yang harold pero natatawa pa rin ako hanggang ngayon.
there is a book entitled “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. Marami siyang sinasabing well— rehash ng Zen and krishnamurti but very applicable. You have actually wrote/said and live some of his “teachings”. Well, it really is a book for those who are stuck to their pasts and futures…if you are interested enough, try to read it.
no self help books for me, thank you.
Pareng batjay, ingon bitaw sa mga bisaya: bahalag saging, basta labing. 🙂
Batjay, salamat sa mga postings mo. Hindi ko ma-imagine ang buhay na walang Dios. Parang walang kahulugan ang ating pag-papagal at pag-pupunyagi kung walang lumikha sa atin at walang buhay na walang hanggan.
buti naman at may diyos ka. more power to you.
may alam din akong binisayang kasabihan, pareng gilbert:
“gagmay nga bato, gagmay nga simento, munomento.”
Salamat sa iyong tugon, Batjay. Nawa’y makilala mo rin ang Panginoong Dios. Hindi kita kilala, pero may pagmamalasakit ako sa iyo. I care for you. I want to see you in heaven someday. I don’t want you to end up in the other place.
Lolo Huse,
Sinabi mo, “…hindi naman ako naniniwala sa Diyos. But He worked in me in His mysterious ways.”
How did God work in you? You are not alone, BTW. Longtime British atheist philosopher Antony Flew publicly announced (in 2004) that he now believed in God!
wala akong sinasabing “…hindi naman ako naniniwala sa Diyos. But He worked in me in His mysterious ways.”
oo nga pala, kung pwede lang, huwag na lang ninyo akong payuhan tungkol rito. religion is such a personal thing and i don’t want it shoved in my face. i don’t want anybody preaching to me in my blog.
Batjay, sorry na lang. Pero si Lolo Huse ang tinatanong ko.
On the other hand, you said, “…ako naman walang dios.”
Maaaring ang ibig mong sabihin ay “Hindi ako naniniwalang may Dios,” o kaya’y, “Wala akong kinikilalang Dios.”
ah ok. hehehehe. sorry din.