On death...

I have been hearing so many deaths lately… of older relatives in the province… some acquaintances and now a whole village from the mudslide in Leyte.

The mudslide in Leyte happened in mid-morning when people are awake so death was not really instantaneous and I have been thinking what went on those people’s mind during their last moment. FEAR! Yeah… I am sure everybody felt it! But many probably knew that death was inevitable… there was no way of escaping it!

There will be different ways of death… you could all die together just like the recent event in Leyte or you could be alone with nobody on your side… you could die from a lingering illness or from an accident… it can be slow or instantaneous death… it can be expected or unexpected…

My father once wrote me on death. He said:

"Life is the greatest gift of all. We realize this only when the time has come at the point of death. When God calls a little child or an aging man or woman into heaven, there is no contradiction to God’s will for our health. Even if it should be the end of days for an individual, God’s word still does not indicate that it is his plan for that person to die in agony or disease, but rather that his servant should depart in Peace”

I pray that even if the people in Leyte felt FEAR… that in their final moments… even for just a few seconds they have reconciled their fate to their creator and have left us in peace!

May they all rest in Peace!

The mountain collapsed!

It is hard to imagine to imagine a mountain collapsing or a village suddenly being wiped out from a map but such recently happened in Southern Leyte. It is not only the structures or the farms that was lost but lives…hundreds of people gone in an instant!

Will it be a one time blow?

Definitely NOT…

Only the magnitude may differ but the way things are, our country may be hearing more landslides…mudslides!

But what is really to blame for the mudslide?

The continuous rain brought about by the La Nina phenomenon? The earthquake that shook the mountain? Illegal logging? Years of environmental abuse???

Most likely all.

We have no control over nature or the weather… but we can certainly control logging activities! We can do something to protect our forest and upland farms but we don’t! And the greed of man and the desire for instant result and profit would certainly hasten the death not just of our forest but ultimately our people… a really sad fate!

Day of Love!

On this day of love, I think of all the people that have touched my life and brought me joy and I utter a prayer of thanks for bringing them to my life. I also wish that they too be blessed with special people just like I am.

They have certainly made my life worth living!