Blue Pill or Red Pill?

A stranger approaches you and asks you, "Blue Pill or Red Pill?"

A blue pill will give you a chance to go back in time and reset everything. You still retain all the memories and knowledge that you have accumulated until now. 

A red pill will make you an instant ultra-rich person. 

So, you were given a chance to choose. 

What is your choice?

My choice is to take the red pill.

Okay, first, why not the blue pill?

Because no matter how we reset our lives, how we go back in time, we are all still the same human beings capable of making mistakes. Over and over again. Because that's what we are. To err is human. As love and kindness make us human, too. 

Most people want to go back in time to undo those mistakes that they've done. They want to undo those regretful moments. 

But in our most difficult journey in life, there are good circumstances that come out of it.

The sweet serendipity. 

The good accidents. 

And undoing our mistakes will undo those good things, too. 

Owning your own failures, mistakes, and regrets make you a stronger person. It also prevents us from making the same mistakes all over again. 


Well, unless you are potato- head and cabbage-head. No offence to potatoes and cabbages.

Now, why red pill? They say that money is the root of all evil.

Yes, it is. If it's in the wrong hands. 

But then, if I'm financially independent, I can do anything good that I want to do. 

 I can help a lot of people because I love helping people. I love the act of giving so much that it warmths my entire soul.

I can also travel anywhere. Seeing all of the great places in the world will open up my eyes to what beauty this planet of ours have. Meeting and befriending strangers will make you see an entirely different perspective of humanity. That there may be cultural differences, we can still find a lot of similarities. 


So, how about you?  Blue Pill or Red Pill?

Of Being an Open Minded Idiot

     The emergence of technology and modernism requires everybody to be open-minded. If innately not, then you can just pretend to be one even though you are a hopeless cynic and a despondent doctrinaire. And if not again, then you will be left behind by all these changes for good. 

     Unlike centuries ago that open-mindedness was regarded as hypocrisy and heresy, and the government was ruled by religion and superstitions (although, scarily, nothing changed that much nowadays), this modern era is accompanied by open-mindedness, tolerance, and innovations. Change equals modernization. And vice versa. 

     It is because of technology that information is always within everybody's reach. We are all being feed by these fast-paced pieces of information second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, every day. So much information that it overwhelms us, that we don't know which news is correct, or is it just one of the sensationalized events manipulated by the media people who are continuously grasping and hounding for headlines that are unique and catchy, making them sound like they can change the world. If nothing, then they'll just settle down on some trashy news about the private (?) lives of celebrities. Everybody loves showbiz news anyway, seeing those glittery stars in the limelight that they are just humans like us (that errs) after all. 

     Being open-minded means you are an out-of-the-box thinker. You receive any information without any prejudice and judgments, without any bias and filter. 

     I pride myself to be one. Yeaah.

     And I think, am I kidding myself? I am a cynic, a skeptic. I receive information, I rant if it is out of the boundary of my knowledge or if it contrasts my ideals. As a very knowledgeable opinionated woman, any idiot with partial knowledge of the topic will believe me. Heck, I am a natural, believable liar. 

     How many people out there who are, like me, trying to be open-minded? There are a lot maybe, but there are also a lot of others who are unforgivingly sticking to their own narrow conducts. 

    Being not open-minded is an issue. How can you embrace changes if you are not? How can you adapt to the ever-changing environment if you are not? Remember that the Age of Industrial Revolution was led by those people who are not afraid of new ideas and of change. In fact, they wanted it. They wanted to change our world, the lives of the people, to make it better, more convenient. Until now, innovators relentlessly work for change. 

     Ideas advancing, religion and beliefs evolving, human values progressing (other saw it digressing because of lesser interpersonal contacts due to yes, technology).

     Atheism and Agnosticism are now a trend. There are even self-declared Satanists. How can we accept this fact of so-called heresy if we are left behind in those gaping holes of ancient beliefs? 

    I, myself is an Agnostic and it doesn't bother me other people's preferred belief. But there are things that are so different and new it shocks me despite the fact that I boast myself that there are very few things that can surprise me. 

 

 

 

 
P.S. This is just an article written in dragging ways by an open-minded idiot that is me. *peace*

 
PPS this is it as of now.

Update: I am now a pure atheist.

 

 

 

 

 

The Side Effects of Bullying

I experienced bullying. A jolly lot during my elementary years when I was still receiving the honour of being the "Most Well Behaved" pupil.

Which is then pretty normal to become the main target of bullies. I frequently stutter during those years, making me very shy to talk a lot. My stutters can't escape the ears of those hounds. I am also not witty enough to make my classmates laugh over simple conversations. Wherein, I think, that all of them are natural talkers.

And I think weird. I don’t really like a lot of people. I almost hate them.

But what surprises me during those years is when a classmate of mine who stutters a lot like me is not being bullied. WHY?! I think it is very unfair not to received fair attention and acceptance in the community of small social circle inside our classroom.

Maybe that is the reason why I hate a lot of people back then.

It is quite a classic case. Almost every childhood experiences consist of the nightmares of bullying. I say almost because even the bully-iers are being bullied, too. And I think that they suffered more than we do. Having no outlets, they vent their pent-up emotions and frustrations and let downs on other people. Which is very pathetic.

I don't write to discuss human psychology on why people bully. I write because I want to talk about on what it does on people. On how it transforms people as well as on how it destroys them.

I, for one, acts like an extrovert around people. I seriously studied how to talk like a pro. I observed and I imitated all those who are popular in the group. I experimented. And I applied it to my day to day conversation. Until I perfected the art of talking. Hah!

That changed my whole persona. From a wallflower into the most talkative person in the room. I haven’t realized it earlier until my name was written in the “List of Noisy Students”. And when my best friend shared me this:

“Don't let the crowd pressure you,
Stand for something-
Or you'll fall for anything.!”

                     -Teen Creed 

Until then, I realized, I pushed too far. It wasn’t me anymore!

That's what bullying made me. An alien of my own self. A copycat. Lost in the sea of all the world’s mediocrity in order to fit in.

That is my story. Until now, I still can’t decide whether it’s a happy one or not.

Anyway, at least I didn’t end up depressed and killed myself, right?

Here’s another better story to cheer you up.

There was a girl who was ruthlessly bullied because of her extreme cystic acne and physical appearance. This made her emotionally distraught which made her leave public school and entered a private school in order to work directly with a teacher to prevent from being bullied. Her name is Cassandra Bankson.

Because of her experience of being teased due to her skin problems, she created a video tutorial on how to cover acne with makeup. Her daily videos gained millions of viewers and international attention. She’s into modelling, too. Not bad, eh?

Another girl, named Bethany Mota, was home-schooled as a child. She entered a public school in junior high but decided to leave after a devastating experience on cyber-bullying.

Looking for an outlet for all the boredom and loneliness, she decided to upload videos offering tips and advice to young girls like her on makeups and fashion among others.

Her videos garnered millions of viewers and earned thousands of dollars from it. She built her own empire on clothing and accessories.

Now, those stories are quite inspirational. I didn’t suggest that victims of bullying should also upload video tutorials and catch the attention of thousands of people.

I say it is all about coping up. We all have our own devastating experiences. But it is up to us on how to overcome those nightmares. We can’t just let ourselves curl in a dark corner and cry our hearts out; it will not make things better. It is all about on how we stand tall, with head held up high, and never let other people control you.

" When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless." -Unknown

FILIPINO-ISM: A Perspective of Philippines from an American Blogger

        

"Filipinos: Don't try to be more like us, try to be more like YOU. I believe what the world needs now is more of “you,” not more of “us".”

I think this is the best line from Nathan Allen’s open letter to the Filipino people posted on his blog A Foreign Blogger's Letter to the Philippines. Hearing a foreigner encouraging another nationality to be 'more' like themselves seems downright wrong but could be educating, like a parent to a child. Filipinos love to imitate western culture and all the 'dreams and luxury' it pertains. And it is refreshing to hear from a foreigner who must be very proud of his race and his big country but despite of that, he still persuades a small country with a 'colonial mentality' to think on their own, to stand on their own.

We Filipinos are cheerful and hospitable in nature, especially to foreigners, and I was not surprised to read a blog of an American falling in love with our country and our people.

I should have titled "FILIPINO-ISM: A Bright Perspective of Philippines from an American Blogger" but I removed the word bright because I really am not totally happy with his total perspective, despite the fact that many Filipinos who have read the article seems to like it very much. Though he expressed his love for the country and its people, he also stated that,

"Sadly, perhaps due to colonization and other factors (I'll get to these later), the Philippines may have established itself as a country full of "small minds" - people that were discouraged from being ambitious, and kept from their potential. Those in power wanted to keep it that way, and to some extent I believe it's still the same today."

       
      I beg to disagree. No one has the right to call the Philippines as a country full of 'small minds'. The Philippines have produced a lot of ‘small people’ with ‘great minds’. Statesmen, diplomats, scientists, authors, etc. The best example is Gen. Carlos P. Romulo and Sen. Miriam Defensor- Santiago. If Mr Allen failed to recognize that, then he should have done more research about Filipinos before screaming to the whole world that Filipinos have small minds just because a Filipino friend of his told him that he thinks too much. That is a blatant hasty generalization.

            Our thinkers, unlike Americans, are not always in the limelight. That is the reason why we have very few known intellectuals. And we don’t always over-sensationalize things.

I would like to correct him with this when Filipinos ruminate or pondering over things, they do it privately. Filipinos are highly sociable people, and they don’t like to ruin a moment shared with a friend just because he wants to contemplate over an idea that was boiling inside his mind.

Being a colonized country before is never an excuse for us not to be proud. Printed in our exported products is "Proudly made in the Philippines." Slogans everywhere in the country are "Proud to be Pinoy", "Proudly Filipino", It's more fun in the Philippines." Surely, nobody can't say that it is not enough? Purely breed of Filipino musicians? We have Lea Salonga and Charice Pempengco. And yes, no one could miss mentioning our beauty queen delegates (the list is too long to mention).

And yes, we do take problems and tragedies and injuries lightly (well, of course except for the serious ones). And that is the reason why we don’t need therapists. But if he thinks that just because we took it lightly doesn’t mean that we don’t really care. That we don’t worry. I would like to say this: we think, but we do not overthink. We worry, but we do not overworry. It is all about bravado and trust. We believe that he/she can overcome any pain and sufferings alone. And all the jokes and unmindingness are supports in disguise, to lift somebody's spirits up. It is an encouragement, to smile despite all  the miseries and tragedies. Reminding somebody of his/her miseries is a completely bad idea.

 That is the reason why you can still see the smiles both in the children's and adults' faces after largely suffering from wrath of typhoons and flash floods.

Bayanihan

Re: Consumers and copycats. I might agree that media has a lot to do with this. It happens anywhere in the world, in any culture. The emergence of pop culture. Clearly, Mr Allen really failed to recognize that. And if I'm going to use his tact (hasty generalization) I would really love to say that Americans are hypocrites. So you mean consumers? Copycats? Arent’ you one of the biggest consumers of the world? And yes, where is your originality? Hmm. That made me wonder.

I really appreciated the fact that he made a tremendous effort of writing an article about my people, but I would appreciate more if he won’t write and give an opinion on something that he does not completely understand.

Euphemism is customary to us. It is very polite to keep rude things to ourselves. Despite the fact that we are family oriented, we usually do not share what we always have in mind, especially if it is something unpleasant. What we Filipinos love to share are love, kindness, happiness and joviality. I am pretty sure that every culture and race in the world share the same values, but maybe it is how we show and express it that is totally eccentric to foreigners. It is already inculcated in our culture. That is Filipino-ism.

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

On Understanding the Concepts of Free Will

     Free will is so complex that it is not what we thought it is. When we think and act differently from our society and norms, we thought it is  free will.  We thought that keeping away from the mainstream and be a maverick makes an autonomy from any clout and leverages. We thought that we have complete control over our actions and thoughts. As we think more about it, we realize that this control is simply an illusion. A delusion that we have this ultimate power over our lives.

       Sam Harris showed eloquence over this elusive idea.  He lectured how anything can have subtle influence over a man's mind but have tremendous effects.

                         Here are some of my favorite quotes from the video: 

"A puppet is free as long as he loves his strings."

 “A moment or two of serious self-scrutiny, and you might observe that you no more decide the next thought you think than the next thought I write.” 

“What evidence could possibly be put forward to show that one could have acted differently in the past?”

“You are not controlling the storm, and you are not lost in it. You are the storm.”

“You can do what you decide to do — but you cannot decide what you will decide to do.”

On making mistakes over and over again

I have this toiletry bag that has a broken zipper. I like these bag so much that even though I already have a new one, I tried to fix its zipper several times. Although I have a very little skill on sewing, I am confident that I could fix it.

So one Sunday afternoon, when I have enough time than any other afternoons, I found the bag while cleaning the room. I let my clothes to be folded to wait while I wrestle over the zipper and listening over Sam Harris ranting about free will. I absentmindedly fiddle over the poor zipper. And yes, I was able to put successfully the zipper back on its set of teeth. So the last challenge is to straighten both sides of teeth carefully not to over pull the zippers. I repeated it so many, many times to perfect both sides. I did this over Harris’ ideologies, agreeing with his ideas while trying to be skeptical too. After all, what I am listening to is about free will.

Until I did what I feared to do- I over pulled the zippers.

I was so surprised how that stupid zipper easily pulled away. How I hate myself for not concentrating on my work. It is not an easy feat after all!

And in that moment, a holy dove descended upon me, a beam of hallowed light in my head.

And a light bulb.

That was a great moment of reflection. Over the broken zipper and Harris’s blasphemous words in the background.

I began to see myself. Didn't I do it in my daily personal life, did I? Thinking that I’m on the right track I absentmindedly over pulled myself?

That when I thought I am careful enough not to commit the same mistakes I end up doing it over and over again.

Why? Is it because I am not paying much attention to what I am doing? Or is it because I let myself to be distracted?

How could I ever correct myself? Or how could I ever keep myself from doing it again?

After several tries, after the backbreaking concentration, hunching myself over the zipper but ending up over pulling it, I decided that enough is enough. I’m tired of it all. I decided to give it up.

Until a human angel come to my rescue in the form of a friend who knows a lot about sewing and zippers. When she saw my trouble, she immediately picked it up and amazingly repaired it for just a minute. She did it while I rant about how I painstakingly tried to fix it up.

Well, that made my jaw drop, shutting me up.

It made me think that we are just humans, no matter how we tried to sensationalize ourselves. And humans are bound to commit mistakes, no matter how we tried to be careful. No matter how we tried to follow the right track.

I'm on the right track!

Yes, we knew of some things. 

Like for instance, for me, I am great on breaking things.

When we wanted to be on our own, we are bound to commit mistakes. The time will come that we are going to see our mistakes and try to correct it. Some of us may do it successfully, some may not. But those who did it effectively may end up making the same mistakes over again. 

All of us have the same story. Committing mistakes over and over again. That is in every tries of fixing ourselves up.

And we end getting tired of it. That we let ourselves to be pulled by the ebbs of society, never minding where it will lead us.

That is the time when we need other people to help fix ourselves up.We can't do it alone. Never. We are too tired to straighten up after those terrible times of hunching down. 

It is also the time of finding the right and true friend. Those who would understands you and would really help you.

Life could be tiring. Indeed. But it is only for those who pursue can see its elusive beauty. 

Road to Awesomeness

Staring at the screen while squeezing the dried material of what makes my brain makes my head felt voider than ever. I am still battling this never ending war against this so-called writer’s block.

But in the first place, am I a writer, or just someone who pretends to love playing with words? 

Or am I just a great procrastinator?

When inspiration hits me, I always find excuses to delay in writing down those beautiful ideas that was juggling inside my head. 

There are also times when I am full of energy to write but I have nothing to bleed. 

I may even bleed to death without writing anything fruitful.

Like now.

This led me to believe that writer’s block and procrastinating are relatives if not the same whole damn thing.

How can I overcome this? Join workshop for writers? Or attend counselings for procrastinators?

Either ways, I believe that it is still not the answer. It requires a whole lot of creativity and discipline. 

It needs a whole lot of craziness, loneliness and whole lot of other emotions that should well and burst inside you. 

Yes, somebody should burst first before ever going to start writing. 

It will cost your sanity.

And your normal life.

Because procrastinating is so normal. So is lack of discipline. 

Lacking of those means you are terribly awesome.

And I am still toiling in the road of awesomeness.

Someday, I will be awesome. An awesome somebody. Isn’t that awesome?

Right now, I am just a crazy lunatic, writing horrible writings.

(It is better to be redundant to clear the point rather than confuse everyone with a terrible oxymoron) 

And turn them into morons by letting them read this awful writing.

Anyway, nobody’s sane in here, because we’re all mad here.

'Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know.' (Oscar Wilde)