Even the best of people will fail you. Don’t expect people to be like God.
Forgive yourself and get up quickly after each fall. Let not your mistake bring you to despair, but towards the path of humility.
Things will not always happen as planned, learn to be resilient. Do your best and let God’s beautiful plan for you unfold in His time.
Worry is useless. We can never know what will happen next. Even if your worry comes true, remember that your worry never helped you at all. It just took away your joy for the present and robbed you of the time you could have spent better. You spend time better when you do things out of love rather than out of fear.
It is useless trying to please people. Most people won’t be pleased anyway, and no one who has only lived for the approval of others has ever been pleased with oneself. Please God and you will discover also what will satisfy your soul.
Evil may seem to triumph for a while, but it is Light that will always triumph in the end.
Truth doesn’t have to be complicated. You will understand how simple truth is once you seek it with all your heart.
Evil may seem to have a good time. It gains wealth, fame and power. It laughs and pretends to have joy. But remember that there can be no true peace for the wicked.
You need two things to make the right decision?—?your conscience and your commonsense. You lose more and more of both once you lose your faith in God.
Pride is often the culprit that robs us of our happiness.
We can often blame God for many things, especially for the sufferings we experience in this life. In the end, however, God is our only hope, and the only answer to the deepest desires of our hearts.
I’ve always considered writing to be a gift. It’s a gift that allows me to connect to the world and to express myself. Being an introvert, I consider these things to be very important to me.
Later, I have also realized that although writing is part of my mission in life, I should not treat it as an obligation. Neither should regard it as a right I should be entitled to.
More than anything, I see it now as a God-given privilege. Even if I don’t earn much from it, and even if I don’t get famous for it, it is a wonderful privilege to write.
When I consider writing as a privilege, I remember its essence as a gift. A gift is something to be grateful for and and something to be taken care of with joy.
Almost fifteen years ago, I’ve started my blog “I Take off the Mask!”. Back then, I had no idea that the world would one day experience a pandemic that would require all of us to literally wear our masks for the protection of all those we hold dear. Back then, I merely wanted to put up a site where I could express “the real me”.
I even had the following tagline:
“I bare my nakedness to the world, that the world may see who I am; not the mask that hides my flaws, not the mask that hides my beauty. I bask in the light and I take off the mask!”
I wasn’t talking about physical nakedness, as I’m not referring to the masks we should now wear each day. Instead, it was about the masks we wore for fear of exposing our vulnerabilities. The masks that hide who we truly are.
The masks we wear
Today, when everyone is advised to wear masks, I’ve realized how my blog title has become both ironic and perplexing. I know that it refers to a different thing altogether, but does it?
Whenever I browse social media channels these days, I can’t help but wonder about the other kind of mask we still wear today. I don’t want to judge people who are truly content and happy where they are, but I can’t help but feel that many of us tend to wear this façade that we are smiling when we are crying deep within.
We try to somehow present a picture that we are positively adjusting to the “new normal”. We try to project an image of the fun things we can do here and there, and of how life goes on despite everything that’s happened.
The pain we hide
There is nothing wrong with an optimistic outlook, but somewhere along the way, it’s also not wrong to recognize the pain we all feel within.
The pain of the things we’ve lost. The pain of parting with the kind of life we’ve had. The pain of letting go of many of our dreams. The pain of suffering from all the evils and injustices of this world. The pain of saying goodbye to those we dearly loved.
We don’t always have to say that we’re okay when we’re not. We don’t have to convince ourselves that we’re superheroes who feel no fatigue or weariness in their struggles. We are human beings whose hearts can be broken, and whose spirits can get tired.
Safety for our vulnerabilities
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t lift up our eyes to better things. But I hope that we can provide each other with a safe environment where we can reach out when we need a helping hand, and where we won’t be judged when we finally expose our griefs.
Each day is indeed a gift, but life is still a battlefield where many are wounded along the way. How must we heal unless we first acknowledge how hurt we truly are?
Instead of pretending to be strong, may we open up our hearts to being strengthened. Instead of trying to hide our battles, may we remember that sometimes, there are people who can be encouraged by our very scars.
“We can disbelieve most people who claim they love us for our beauty. But how can we doubt them who love us despite all our scars?”
Why do we hide our tears from the world?
We hide our tears –
because we don’t want to appear weak
because when we appear weak, other people would avoid us
because they don’t want to be affected by our weaknesses
and when they leave us, we just become even lonelier than before.
We hide our tears –
because we don’t want to lose our credibility
with the people who trust us and depend on us
because when they see us crying, they’d think we’re crumbling
and when we crumble, they’d have no one to lean on to anymore.
We hide our tears –
because we don’t want to appear hurt
because when our loved ones see how hurt we are, they’d get hurt as well
and we don’t want to see them hurt
because we’d only get hurt the more.
I’ve hidden my tears for quite a while, ’til there came a time when I surrendered, and I set them free — I let them flow, and I’ve realized, I don’t want to hide my tears anymore.
I don’t want to hide my tears anymore –
because I want to show others how much I understand their tears,
and in so doing, help them feel they’re not alone;
because I want to show one doesn’t have to be perfect all the time,
just so you can be strong;
because I want others to understand me too, in my hurts,
trusting they can also be strong,
and that they could also love me for who I am,
not for who I pretend to be.
“If you will love me I cannot promise you that I will not hurt you. I cannot promise you that I will not make you cry and that I’ll never break your heart. But if you will love me, I will bare my whole self naked before you, and I will reveal to you my soul. If you will love me, you can be certain that it is I that you will love, not a mask that fools you and gives you only what your eyes desire to see.
If you will love me, you can be certain that you will love the depths of me, all of me that is in me, and I in turn will love you with all of me, with all my soul, with all my mind, with all my spirit, with all my flaws and beauty, and with all my very heart.”
“Your lips cover me with kisses; your love is better than wine. There is a fragrance about you; the sound of your name recalls it. No woman could keep from loving you.” – Song of Solomon 1:2-3, GNT
More and more, I think that God is not only helping me to affirm my single vocation but also helping me see how it is possible to be His spouse and beloved even if I’m not a professed nun or religious.
Whom Do I Love?
I can’t help but wonder when people ask,
“Whom do you wish to love?”
For they cannot understand,
Why I’ve waited for too long.
They say time is running out,
They ask me why I’m still free.
But how do I even begin
To say who’s the one for me?
For though they think I am alone,
I know my heart has found a home.
And though they think I’ve failed to live,
I’ve spent my days as I believed.
O, if only they could see,
See the one who’s meant for me,
I’m sure they’d all agree,
I’m as happy as can be.
“Who is it that you love?”
They may ask of me.
“Perhaps he is someone who is rich
Or one as fair as can be.”
“Perhaps one who’s strong and tall,
Or one whose fame is wide.
Perhaps one whose power is sure,
Such a one who need not hide.”
To these, I can only smile,
For I know whom I hold so dear,
There is only one for me,
One whose face I’ve yet to see.
But I do know Him from His touch,
A touch so warm and true.
And I know Him from His scars
Scars He need not hide from me and you.
To Him alone I give my heart,
To the One whose love is sure.
To Him alone I give my life,
To the One whose hands are scarred.
“Celibacy is not the absence of a passion; it is rather the intensity of a passion.” – Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen
“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed.
For you will forget the shame of your youth. You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more. For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of Armies is his name. – Isaiah 54:4-5, WEB-BE
I just watched Studio Ghibli’s animated film “When Marnie Was There”. It was a very touching movie. I never thought I’d cry in the end with this one, but I did.
I’ve been a fan of Studio Ghibli’s films. The most recent one that I’ve watched was “The Wind Rises”. I liked its very detailed and realistic illustrations that allowed me to immerse myself in another world. Ghibli’s films are truly works of art. In addition to the technical expertise, this movie also has a lot of heart.
“When Marnie Was There” seems like a simple story, but it has transported me to another time and place. It has allowed me to explore again and to discover something new. It has also allowed me to meet mysterious characters I could relate to.
What I loved about the story was the friendship between the two girls. Anna and Marnie didn’t seem to have many things in common at first, but as the story progresses, one learns how these two are bound by something deeper. They are connected in a profound and mysterious way that excites not only curiosity but deep reflection. It enables the one watching to think about one’s own life and how our lives can have a tremendous impact upon other people.
Anna didn’t know what adventure awaited her when she first had to spend summer in a remote rural town. All she needed was some fresh air to aid her healing from asthma. But what she has found later on was healing on another level, that kind of healing that would take away that painful sadness she has always had within her heart.
All these things started when Anna saw a blonde and beautiful girl in a lonely mansion. Suddenly, Anna is no longer alone. She has found someone she could talk to and do fun things with. She has found a friend that she could meet whenever she feels bored or misunderstood by the world. As these two girls continued to meet in secret, they have found safety in each other’s company and shared things they couldn’t share with anyone else.
If you feel bored right now or even trapped, you may wish to watch this one. Somehow, it has helped me feel like visiting a friend’s home again. It has helped me envision beautiful sceneries I’ve been missing for a long time. Most of all, it has made me realize that everyone’s on a journey to healing and hope.
I’ve always considered writing to be a gift. It’s a gift that allows me to connect to the world and to express myself. Being an introvert, I consider these things to be very important to me.
