Shalom!

I’ve just greeted you ‘Peace!’

The Hebrews greet each other with the word ‘Shalom’, that is corresponding to a hello and goodbye. It may also connote that you are greeting the other person and asking if all is okay with them. In English terms, we used to greet people with “Hello! How are you?”

‘Shalom’ is a biblical word meaning peace, completeness and welfare. It is equivalent to ‘Salaam’ in Arabic.

We greet people in a lot of ways.. and especially if we visit a new place or country, we have a tendency to adapt to their language and try to twist our tongues to use their native greetings. But how much do we mean of the word that’s coming out of our lips?

When we ask people the question, ‘How are you?’, are we really interested to know how they really are? Or has it just become the usual greeting that we use and being really concerned or not about the welfare of the other person is disregarded most of the time.

When we say ‘Shalom’ or ‘Salaam’, do we really mean peace to them?

I believe that no matter what language we use, we should be sincere in the greetings that we give to people. Let’s not ask how they are if we’re not really concerned or interested to know. Let’s not say ‘Shalom’ or ‘Salaam’ if we don’t intend to give them what the words really mean.

Just say ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ and it’s gonna be just fine.

So, how are you, my dear friends?

I am 'sincerely' interested to know.

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Shalom, in the liturgy and in the transcendent message of the Christian scriptures, means more than a state of mind, of being or of affairs. Derived from the Hebrew root shalam – meaning to be safe or complete, and by implication, to be friendly or to reciprocate. Shalom, as term and message, seems to encapsulate a reality and hope of wholeness for the individual, within societal relations, and for the whole world. To say joy and peace, meaning a state of affairs where there is no dispute or war, does not begin to describe the sense of the term. Completeness seems to be at the center of shalom as we will see in the meaning of the term itself, in some derivatives from its root, shalam, in some examples of its uses in Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and in some homophone terms from other Semitic languages.   

The noun shalom means safe, for example, well and happy. On a more abstract application, its use points to welfare, for example, health, prosperity, and, peace. In the verb form shalam, though, that provides a deeper understanding of this term in theology, doctrine, and liturgy. Literally translated, shalam signals to a state of safety, but figuratively it points to completeness. In its use in Scripture, shalom describes the actions that lead to a state of soundness, or better yet wholeness. So to say, shalom seems not to merely speak of a state of affairs, but describes a process, an activity, a movement towards fullness. Using the King James Version as reference, James Strong lists the rendering of shalom and shalam, among others, as: • To make amends • To make good • To be (or to make) peace • To restore • Peace • Prosperity • Wellness • Wholeness

-From Wikipedia

What's for Breakfast?

“Goodmorning Mr. Sun!”

I remember how the little kids would open up their eyes in the morning. The first thing they will notice is the brightness that surrounds them and they knew for sure that it is because Mr. Sun is already up that’s why they have to wake up. Oh, we all have to thank Barney for that!

But I would say, “Thank you, Dear God, for another day."

How often do we thank God for our ‘everyday’? For each morning that we open up our eyes to, for the foods that we eat, for the career that we have, for every friend that we got, for our family who loves us the most .. and for the many other things in our lives.

And now I just told him, “Thank you, Dear God, for giving me this time to be able to think and ponder what I want to pursue in my life but please lead my direction so I would not lose my way.”

There is this pressing force inside me for being out-of-job at the moment but I know that I am more at peace now with the world knowing that I have this ‘freedom’ to bring myself again to a new road towards self-fulfillment.

Well, I am hoping that I would soon find that road leading to my wishes.

I have to go back to my hula routines again. Been lazy about doing it for days now. Sometimes I intentionally try not to do things that must be done because it interrupts my ‘brain flow’ especially when I am in a state of calamity.

You might say that it’s an exaggeration. Maybe.

But I need to think and plan and act. Well, I think I’ve been doing this stuff for a month now.

Results? NIL.

I played my friends’ CD of hip Arabic music and took my hula hoop and tried my best to relax while I’m playing the hula, trying to keep it from falling to my feet. One, two, three songs.. I’m beginning to feel my sweat. Nothing beats the feeling of revving up.

After two more songs, I need to rest. And I need coffee now.

While making myself a hot cup, I thought about a good breakfast meal. Everyday, it’s all about oatmeals and cereals and sandwiches and omelets. How about a real breakfast for today?

Fried rice. Egg cooked sunny-side-up. Beef tapa. Tomatoes. Some soup to go. Yummy! I then rummaged through the fridge for the tapa (there should be!).

My mind was floating while I am working in the kitchen. I am trying to ‘locate that road’. The road to my self-fulfillment: career-wise. I need a break. I want something new.

As I let the beef simmer in it’s sauce, I dissolve some ready-mixed soup into the water and let it cook for 5 minutes. I started preparing the fried rice after.

The smell of garlic surrounds the kitchen as I placed it in butter, when it’s starting to brown, I dropped the carrots that I chopped into little cubes then the rice follows. I sprinkled a little salt and some chopped spring onions for a twist. Done. My sunny-side-up egg is next. Picked some tomatoes to slice (taking off everything inside).

I cannot believe that I am doing this on an ordinary day. When I have a full-time job, all I do after I wake up in the morning is run for bath and fix myself a cup of instant coffee. The 3-in-1 kind because it saves time. Then I would dress up and hit the road.

This day is a special day.

“Bless me, Oh Lord, and these Thy gifts which I’m about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

Good breakfast, indeed.

*Tapa is a way of marinating meat in soy sauce and a few spices and letting it simmer with its own sauce and a little oil.

Photo Credit: landolakes.com

Lucky Coin

I was standing near a parking ticket machine beside the road to hail a cab when I saw a guy trying to get a ticket for his parking but his coin could not get through. I saw him tried over and over again and I have thought that the machine could be faulty. He glanced over my direction as if he was aware that I am watching him and smiled. He tried twice again his coin but the machine still keeps on giving it out, instead of a ticket.

He approached me for a coin. So I looked in my purse and at the best of his luck, I have there one single coin. I handed it over to him and he gave me the coin which the machine did not accept. When he inserted the coin I gave him, he got his parking ticket in a second. He smiled again at me and said, ‘Lucky Coin!’ and thanked me.

While am seated inside the cab, I wondered.. ‘How many lucky coins do we have in our lives?' They are those little things which practically save us from real troubles and unwanted incidents. We could be receiving our lucky coins everyday but maybe we’re just too passive to notice them.

It could be that unwanted call that brings good news, or an accidental acquaintance from nowhere who became a valuable contact eventually, or a friend calling you when you lost your way and you run out of credit on your phone.

And we, in some ways, could be a lucky coin, too – to others – just like my story in the beginning of this blog. When you will be reading between the lines, it’s not really the coin that got the guy lucky but it is my presence at the same place where he needs some luck.

Lucky coins, I believe, duplicates itself more often than usual. Be a lucky coin to others and you’ll attract more of them in your lives. Or do it the other way around – Pick ‘em up and give ‘em away.

Photo Credits: flicker.com, solidperfume.com

Umbrella

In Dubai, rain seemed to be unusual for everyone. This morning when I went down my building, the rain was pouring a little hard and one really needs an umbrella (if not a raincoat) so as not to be soaked wet by the rain. A few people are walking on the same street as I am and mostly ladies, of course, got their umbrellas to protect them from the rain. Some guys are there with their hooded jackets or caps and a few are just running around.

When I reached the bus stop, the shed was occupied by men without anything to protect them from the pouring rain. One lady was outside the shed plus me. I guess, we have to spare the slot for these guys. When the bus came, the guys all run towards it and again, we have to give way for them not to be soaked too much with the rain. We’ve got umbrellas, anyway.

When I got down the bus after a few stops, there was this two guys who in their decent office attires were chatting while waiting for their ride. Neat looking guys chatting under the rain but with their long-handled black umbrellas. I passed by them but after a few steps, I stopped and looked back. It is admirable to see these guys how they look so neat and composed in the rain. I can’t help smiling.

Then I thought about what’s wrong with the male specie and umbrellas (at least when it's raining). Only a few would want to carry one. It is not a question of masculinity, I guess, if guys would carry an umbrella. If it may not be the point, then the second possible reason on my mind is laziness. A lot of guys would rather put on their jackets and head on in the rain, running from building to building to find cover.

How I can appreciate people who knows how to take care of themselves. And it is evident in the umbrellas you carry… at least, when it is raining.

Again, I thought of the two guys and smiled.

Not Ordinary

I was trying to clean up my stuff the other day and found some old floppy discs stored in a shoe box. I rushed to the nearest internet cafe to check if the discs are still readable and to my luck, I have saved some archives of my thoughts and this is one of them.. expect more to come! :-)  -posted 02 June 2010

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Written:  09 April 2002

One of  those busy days while I’m in a bus on my way home, I witnessed love in it’s simplest sense. I am deeply touched and I suddenly realized how much simplicity is worth as long as there is love in our hearts.

It was the Annex stop-over at SM West, North EDSA when this certain couple got up the same bus I was riding on. They were not the usual commuter, I could say, and they’re not ordinary. They have with them, I think, their 2-year old boy.

They’re not ordinary. Why? Because they’re not in the usual jeans & shirts or the casual office attire, they don’t have bags or organizers or portfolio’s, they don’t have cellphones in their hands or in their pocket, the guy is not in his shoes & the girl is not in the common slip-ons most ladies wear these times and they don’t have plastic bags from the department store. All they have was each other and their little boy.

Why such curiosity that took my interest? Because they’re out of the ordinary. And it was a pleasure for me to watch them for a few minutes and out of luck, yes it’s luck, I think – that they settled near my seat in the aisle. They were standing at first because  the bus was already full and after a while, the girl got her seat on the opposite side on my row.

The girl could just be in her teens, maybe around 17  or 18. She’s got  a tan-complexion, maybe 5’1” or less, no make-ups, not even a powder or a lip gloss.  Her hair falls just below the ears and clipped at one side. She’s wearing an ordinary “pambahay dress” with thin straps and with a length one-inch above her knees and plain rubberized slippers, not sandals but slippers. There was innocence in her face and there wasn’t even a slight trace of any worry on her. She looks fragile but it was obvious that she’s taken care of by the boy she’s with. The way she looks at her little boy reflects her love & warmth. I could feel just by looking at her, that she is a good mother.

The boy was also too young to shoulder  such  responsibility.  He’s just on a plain white sando and a denim purontong and  also on his rubber slippers.   His built reflects hardwork. If  I will judge him with my bare sight – there is something that tells me this boy would do everything to raise his family and he’ll make a good provider.

Their simplicity moved me. They don’t rush like all the other passengers who’s faces are in a frown because of the traffic. There is no cellphone to divert their attention to. There is no wristwatch to tie them with time. There is peace within themselves which I can  see through by just looking at them.

The thought is really touching.  I wonder how our lives could be so complicated and all when we can slow down a bit, look inside our hearts and create love in its simplest form.

They’re not ordinary because there is something special within them. It is the love in their hearts that makes them out of the ordinary. It is simple love. Special love.

How sweet their sleep… how happy their hearts.

All because of  a simple, yet special love.