Where's the Box?

My box? Most times I prefer being alone and quiet, just staring afar, letting my mind run free. All this while being aware that Jesus is beside me, accompanying me in my spiritual strolling and wandering, and you never get lost while doing it with him. That's my comfort zone, my "box" as it were. I don't want to think outside of it.

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Sometimes, too, I snap out of that and busy myself with things, like doing my blogs, promoting my health and inspirational FB pages, or simply interacting on other pages and groups to improve my algorithm which requires a lot of mental stretches and research. That, too, is my "comfort zone" or my "box." I didn't get out of any box or comfort zone when I switched preferences. I remained in my relaxed zone. It's a big, limitless box.

Think Outside the Box?

Smart Alecks often talk about getting out of the box, or getting out of your comfort zones. You cannot. Because when you get out from one and get inside another, you're in another box. Your new box. Whatever activity you start doing for a change is your new comfort zone in-the-making. You became uncomfortable with a previous comfort zone and transferred to a new one. That change of zones is simply a change of comfort zone. All of us are in some comfort zone as long as we live.

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Whatever your preferences are--good or bad, happy or sad, lackadaisical or enthusiastic, action or inaction, hard work or easy work, stress or relaxation, neutrality or partiality, positive or negative, busyness or "chillaxing," activeness or idleness---they're all done to satisfy something within. For easement or relief.  A comfort zone. Whatever your preference is makes you happy and once deprived of it, you suffer. You lose your comfort. We all have our comfort zones. We all stay in our boxes.

What satisfies becomes a preference.

Those who like working the hard way, hating easy work and shortcuts, and are not content unless they do excruciating work. Once they start doing that and settle there, it becomes their comfort zone. They say a comfort zone is a station in life where you get stuck there and have no progress, but you just stay there anyway. They urge you to get out and try something that gives you better results. Problem is, who are they to decide what's "no progress," and what's "better results" for you? Progress and better results are often subjective. What's progress and better results for you (or for the majority) may mean the exact opposite for another (or for a few). 

De gustibus non disputandum est

The majority is not always right. Often, it just means all the idiots are on the same side. You may have all the progress you think you have and you think I don't, but we're all entitled to our own beliefs and perceptions. In matters of preferences there should be no dispute. Live and let live. Because often, I think all the progress lots of people brag about just stinks. I see them as garbage, and no offense meant. I'm just being honest. I keep it to myself and not urge people to take my views and make it their own. I don't think all my views are right for others. So the best thing here is, mind your own business. Because as far as I'm concerned, we're all just in some stupid box or comfort zones. Don't think yours is better than mine. It isn't. 

1 Corinthians 4.5: Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Even Jesus said that many take the broad way to destruction because they believe numbers determine correctness. When the idea demonizing comfort zones and thinking in boxes became trending, the majority took that route and condemned anyone who opted to remain in their old zones and boxes. So you often heard them say, "Think outside the box," or "get out of your comfort zones."

Sometimes, with the right discernment from the Holy Spirit, true wisdom is when you stay in the usual paths, the ancient mindsets, the old ways established by God and proven timelessly safe and effective---even if their good results are often invisible to the eyes. Right discernment will also tell you when to leave the old ways and transfer to the new. It must be based on right discernment, not trending, smart Aleck mentality.

Jeremiah 6.16: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.'

Those who cannot settle for the same things but move on to look for something new or better. They say they do that to get out of their comfort zones or get out of the box, not realizing the "something new or better" is just another box. It's nothing but another comfort zone. Nothing new under the sun. As long as you think you find something worth living for and fit yourself into it, you've boxed yourself into it. 

When you stay doing anything you like doing, you're boxed in.

All Boxes are Successes

No such thing as getting out of comfort zones or "the box." It's just your limited, narrow imagination that makes you think there is. But here's the good news. Truth is, all our opted boxes or zones afford us freedom and success. They all result to productivity, if you see life correctly. If you've been a sales clerk in a small shop all your life, for instance, and retired with a small retirement pay, you are successful if you're happy, healthy and intimate with the Lord. You stayed in your box or comfort zones and you finished with big succes, though many others may see otherwise. But so what?

If you're a minister and your ministry remained "small" all your life, it doesn't mean staying in your comfort zone was disobedience to God. Stay faithful where God puts you, and be comfortable about it. God is a God of all comfort and no one can tell you that your station in life and ministry is wrong just because you're comfortabe about it and they're not. Fact is, God wants us to be comfortable about where he puts us. To be rested. 

If you don't have peace of mind about where you are and what you're doing now, Jesus says you should "Come to me all who are tired and heavey laden, I will give you rest." What is that if it's not a comfort zone he was talking of? Remaining in Christ means remaining in the comfort zone he provides, for he gives us rest. Many church ministers today are tired and sickly, forfeited of real rest, because they choose what they believe is their "success" box or zone which requires them hard works and quotas, as Pharoah required them of his enslaved Jews. They never learn what Jesus told Martha, how there's only one thing needed, which Mary opted for. And that was simply resting at his feet and listening to him. 

We all have preferences, what we'd rather be doing, and actually keep doing, and these preferences become our chosen lot in life, keeping us settled and comfortable there. Boxed in. What they do in us provides our sense of contentment, giving us meaning, purpose and comfort. We don't want to get out of that box no matter if we claim we're "out of the box." Because as long as we keep doing what we prefer doing, we keep ourselves in a box. 

Reality is that, there's a variety of boxes in life (one for each of us), you have yours and I have mine, (no one is exempt), and "getting out of the box" is just a myth we imagine we do to make ourselves sound and look great and better than others. No wonder, because greatness is also a myth. It's all ego, and garbage, therefore.

Galatians 6.3: If anyone thinks he is important when he really is not, he is only fooling himself. 

You Will Remain in Your Comfort Zone

Now, if your box or comfort zone is relentless hard work or rushing to make things happen, doing new things and pursuing after more achievements, then being in an easy, cool, relaxed, and rested activity will be dormancy for you. Less action or taking shortcuts is going to be hard, and you're going to stay out of it and judge it as a comfort zone fitted for the lazy or unimaginative. You will opt to "get out," and start a "productive path," which is hard work, living life the hard way, tiring yourself until you get very sick. But this only means that hardship, tons of works and unending pursuit of greatness and excellence is really your "comfort zone," which to those who love rest and relaxation, is nothing but "discomfort zone."

If we're intent on getting out of the box, and we're the kind that's addicted to excruciating hard work and great achievements, then we need to change lifestyle and start doing easy work, relaxing most of the time, bothered by nothing, and just quietly doing a few things here and there--limiting yourself to the very basics, what's really needed. If we do this, then we're out of the box and out of our comfort zone.

The New Creation

Like the new creation in Christ. It's just a box, like the old life is a box. The bible says, anyone in Christ has the old life gone, but there's a new one. You get inside that new "box." You cannot say, now that you're in Christ you have no "box" or "zone" because you're free (quoting what Jesus said about whom the Son frees is free indeed). 

But you've got to be comfortable and settled in your new life in Christ (which, like it or not, is a new box or zone), governed by the "law of the Spirit of life." Those who think they can live without any box are the ones who continue enjoying sin, going in and out of it, thinking this to be the freedom in Christ, no limits, box or zone. However, the new life in Christ is a new box from God. It's still a box, but one that frees you totally from sin and the worldly box. 

Romans 6.22: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

You see the clear box transfer here? The "freedom in Christ" makes you a slave to God. You're boxed. That's the new box. Yes, you are set free indeed by the Son, but that freedom is now under the "LAW" of the Holy Spirit. Yes, there's a "law" that we're still under, not the law of the Old Covenant but the "law" of the Holy Spirit that "frees" us. That's our comfort zone now. 

Romans 8.2: For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Even Jesus was in a box

Jesus was genuinely out of the box, the box all of us love to be in. Because keeping ourselves in our preferred boxes is universal, we persecute and even murder those stay in theirs, especially if they refuse the box that we want for them. The box Jesus should be in was the greatest of all boxes--box for a King--but he opted out. He did everything opposite of what could be found in the comfort zone of a King. Instead of the box of greatness (which we all pursue after), he chose the box for the least, and declared that the least is the greatest, something that the church today still cannot grasp. 

People hated him for it. We all hate the "least" box (this is why we pursue titles and degrees and wealth---we hate being the least---though we claim we're not for the prosperity gospel). Just look at how church denominations outdo each other owning huge properties, facilities and properties. That's the denominational box. Being all sinners, we create our ideal box and want everybody to be in it because we believe it's the only correct box there is.

Jesus boxed himself in the box or zone that the Father boxed himself with: "The Son can do nothing exept what he sees the Father doing." 

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A Disciple's Pursuit

The Disciples’ Pursuit of Greatness in God’s Kingdom

When we look at the disciples of Jesus, one striking observation emerges: their ambition was not directed toward worldly success, wealth, or recognition, but toward greatness in the kingdom of God. They could've asked Jesus other questions most folks inquired of God, like material things and mundane success, but they zeroed in on only one---who was the greatest in the kingdom? 

This focus was shaped by what they saw in Jesus---their close observation of his life, his teachings, standards and his priorities. Though they had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and had instances when their immaturity got the better of them, their understanding of what truly mattered was already profound.

1. The Disciples’ Value System

The disciples lived in a world where success was often measured by power, possessions, and prestige. Yet, when they followed Jesus, they saw a radically different value system. Jesus Himself had no earthly wealth, no political power, and no social standing. Instead, he embodied humility, service, and obedience to the Father.

• Jesus’ example: He washed the feet of His disciples, healed the marginalized, and spent time with the poor and rejected.
• Jesus’ teaching: He consistently emphasized that the greatest in the kingdom is the one who serves (Matthew 23:11).

The disciples absorbed this. Their debates about who would be greatest in the kingdom (Luke 22:24) were not about who would be richest or most powerful in society, but about who would be closest to God’s favor.

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2. Rejecting Worldly Success

It is remarkable that the disciples did not concern themselves with worldly greatness. They did not ask Jesus how to gain influence in the Roman Empire, how to accumulate wealth, or how to secure positions of honor in society. Instead, their questions revolved around eternal matters.

This shows that they understood—even before Pentecost—that everything in this world is temporary. As Paul would later write, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). The disciples already lived with this perspective: worldly success was garbage compared to eternal greatness.

3. Depth of Their Understanding

Though they were still growing in faith and had not yet received the fullness of the Spirit, their priorities revealed a deep grasp of Jesus’ message. They recognized:

• The kingdom of God is eternal. Earthly kingdoms rise and fall, but God’s reign endures forever.
• True greatness is spiritual. It is measured not by status but by humility, obedience, and love that often only God can see. Good traits that are readily visible in the world are often nothing in the kingdom.
• Jesus Himself modeled this. His life was a living sermon that greatness comes through sacrifice and emptying the self, not self-promotion.

Their focus on kingdom greatness showed that they were beginning to see life through God’s lens, even if imperfectly.

4. Inspiration for Us Today

This perspective should profoundly inspire how we live today. In a world obsessed with success, fame, and material gain (even in ministry), the disciples remind us that these pursuits are ultimately empty.

• Redefining success: Success is not climbing the corporate ladder or gaining social media followers. True success is living faithfully before God.
• Living with eternal priorities: Just as the disciples sought greatness in the kingdom, we too should prioritize prayer, service, humility, and obedience over worldly recognition.
• Rejecting distractions: The disciples’ single-minded pursuit of kingdom greatness challenges us to let go of pursuits that do not align with God’s eternal purposes.

5. Practical Applications

How can we live inspired by the disciples’ example?

• Choose service over status. Look for ways to serve others, even in small acts of kindness, and keep it private.
• Value eternal rewards. Invest time in prayer, Scripture, and building others up spiritually.
• Resist worldly pressures. When society pushes us to chase wealth or fame, remember that these are fleeting. Even the lure to be recognized for greatness in church circles.
• Follow Jesus’ model. Just as the disciples watched Jesus closely, we too must keep our eyes fixed on Him.

6. Conclusion

The disciples remind us that greatness in God’s kingdom is the only pursuit worth our lives. They were not distracted by worldly ambitions, because they had seen in Jesus a life that redefined greatness. Their example calls us to live with eternal priorities, to reject the lure of worldly success, and to embrace the humble, servant-hearted path that leads to true greatness.

In the end, everything else is garbage compared to the surpassing worth of being counted great in the kingdom of God. Their focus should inspire us to live today with the same clarity: to seek first the kingdom, knowing that all else fades away.

1 John 2.17: "The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever"

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Why Hostile People Would Suddenly Want Talk to Us

To be sure, there are a lot of reasons why people would suddenly approach you when they very seldom did before--worse, who obviously hated you. But I thought of 5 which I think are foremost reasons, especially in these days when more people are growing too cagey about opening themselves up even to friends and acquaintances. 

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1. Ulterior motives. Being a little bit cagey myself 😂, the first idea I thought of was ulterior motives. I guess in general, we all find it suspicious that someone aloof would suddenly want to see and talk to us. The question that floats around in mind is, "WHY?" Ulterior motive is a dominant, secret and urgent need that necessitates a ceasefire on your part (you lay down your arms) so you could cross the boundary line and initiate peace talks with the enemy. Only, the "enemy" is often unaware that he or she is your enemy. 

Well, sometimes it's not about getting across enemy lines to get the enemy's favor temporarily. Sometimes it's about soliciting approval or benefit from someone you're not particularly close to. That's all. But the point remains that the person suddenly becomes amiable and there's a needed favor behind it. You're the link to their opportunity.

2. Confirming a gossip. A nosy person may not want any favor except to get some story. That's all. This is especially so if he thinks you know something about the matter but are usually too quiet about sensitive things. So the person, contrary to his usual nature, approaches you and acts like he really likes you and sneaks into your privacy to get the story straight from the horse's mouth. This is often done with a peace or flattering offering (or bribe), like a treat to Starbucks for Americana or cappuccino, or hot coffee or chocolate with blueberry Danish bread at French Baker. Obviously my favorites 😁.

3. You're a bridge. You're seen as a link or connection to their objective, like a person of value to them who happens to be your friend. You know someone who's the answer to their prayers. In high school and college, I was often the bridge to someone's crush or puppy love because most of my female friends then were pretty. Or, you know someone well positioned in a company or establishment and they need you as a conduit to connect with that person for employment purposes. 

4. No one else to talk to. When someone's in a party or gathering and knows no one there and feels awkward about it---and suddenly sees you and approaches (though he doesn't like you)---chances are, you will be some sort of good news, not because he likes you, but to save his face. Guys like this are most uncomfortable in places where's they're a stranger or not popular or the center of attraction. So they look for an audience, hoping you're one. They're not really interested about you but they hope you'd be interested about them. And when they have gathered enough people around them or seen others they know, you're quickly trashed aside as persona non grata.

5. A changed person. In few instances, someone not close to you would gladly approach when they see you and warmly talk with you, often genuinely interested about what's happened so far with your life. This is because they've changed significantly, learned a lot in life through the years, and matured. This is the "seed" that fell on the ground, died, popped up anew, sprouted, grew, blossomed, flourished and fruited. 

Very few people would treat you as the number 5 guy (the changed person) would, especially if they imagine they have become great and successful. 

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Using Your Weakness for Power

Failures, frustrations, disappointments, fall-shorts, bad looks and even illnesses. Why does God allow them? If I had a sick dog I'd lose no time to take it to the veterinary clinic for a quick remedy. You can't stand seeing your pet suffering there continuously, can you? So why do some "bad lucks" linger and keep you failing at what you do and seem to do so forever? There must be a reason.

Photo by Japhin John on Unsplash.

And it should be a valid reason. The good news is, there is. Everything has a purpose, even negative things. Or perhaps I should say, especially negative things. Good things served you on a silver platter is all the reward you'd get. Nothing more will follow. Adversities, however, have bonuses, perks, incentives and residual benefits if you know how to use them. You must learn how to use your weakness for power.

Take advantage of your helplessness, unfitness, powerlessness, indisposition or low station in life. They're put there because God wants you to have power. The bible says "power is made perfect in weakness," and this is why we should feel blessed to be weak, despised, rejected or all of the above. For the bible adds, "When I am weak, then I am strong." No wonder Jesus emphasized how "the least among you is the greatest."

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So much emphasis is on leadership today, so we see leadership seminars left and right and people eagerly grabbing seats. Everyone wants to be a leader because everyone wants position and power. I wonder why there are no followership seminars for leaders when the fact is good leaders should first be good followers.

Anyway, God is serious about his business of making the least the greatest through power in weakness. That's what true success is all about. It's not about advantages, positions, connections, money, possessions, titles or degrees. So if you think you're a loser or failure, you're blessed and favored if you see things as God sees them and act and live accordingly.

Through experience, I'm telling you there's nothing like using your weaknesses for power.

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Why Marriage Gets Sweeter in Old Age

It should get sweeter as you both age together. That's how marriage is designed. It should start very sweet and go on being sweeter each day. And I mean each day, through old age and all that, until death do you part. That doesn't mean love ends during death, because it continues in the hereafter. Nope, there's no marriage anymore in heaven, but love and sweetness go on there. Three things will stay after everything's gone, remember? Faith, hope and love.

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And anyway, who says you need to re-marry in heaven when you're already a couple?

When something grows, it's alive and it progresses to something better, by the day. Right? Anything that has life in it behaves that way. Even if a plant dies eventually, it's fruits have seeds to make it go on multiple times. Jesus said, "...but when (the seed) dies it produces many seeds." It continues. Yes, meroong forever. 😉

Dates Get Sweeter

Dates should increase and intensify in sweetness during marriage more than in courtship or engagement or in between. I'm speaking from experience. I and my wife still date at our age and get more excited each time. And I mean each time. It's not some theory or idea or wish, it's what we have each day since June of 1995.

And we don't need anything fancy to have a good time. Kahit Paotsin siomai or Yowell frozen yogurt with lots of blueberries (Php 50 per cup) plus a cup of gulaman lang yan, it's already a special date for us. Or enjoying food at Savory Classic restaurant now and then, pag me time and nasa budget. Sometimes we try street foods like toknene, fish, chicken or squid balls, kwek-kwek, isaw, kalamares and of course, balut and penoy. Sometimes we go for the giant Purefoods hotdog sandwich at the grocery area of Waltermart in Munoz. Yup, though health conscious, we try junks now and then, perhaps once a month or less. 

Minsan lang naman 😁.

I still have a big crush on her! I still see her as a wonderful lady who never fails to amaze me and keeps me in love like a silly teenager. It still gives me pleasure to make her laugh, appreciate all she does, and concoct for her the best mug of coffee in the world each morning. I often cook for her (she loves my cooking) and sometimes wash her clothes. All that as I make some money blogging, selling ebooks and now try my hands on real estate (I hope it works). 

Extreme Intimacy

Intimacy in marriage should get more extreme as you age together. It's bible truth--the two shall become one flesh. ONE FLESH! When God said this HE wasn't joking. I become my wife and she becomes me. Your unique personalities remain intact but you become one. Most importantly, you have one spirit and soul. You're one individual yet separate with your own personalities, preferences and tastes, and ideas and opinions which often also merge, agglutinate and amalgamate. Reminds me of the Trinity because I and my wife are one with Jesus.

When God looks at you, HE sees one person, one flesh. It won't do like what other married couples have when they try to avoid each other's company as they age. They have separate hangouts and companions and just see each other a short moment at home when they're already tired and sleepy. Sometimes, they don't even share the same room or bed. 

It's just like what Jesus and HIS true church have. They're one flesh. Jesus is in them and they're in Christ. It's no longer they who live but Christ lives in them. Intimacy and sweetness should increase as the church is one flesh with Jesus through the years--in ever-increasing glory or from glory to glory. Thus, church gets more excited and in love with Jesus like a silly teenager, younger and sillier in love as the teenager matures. 

It's not the programs or activities that will make people faithfully go to church---not the worship service or worship team or the top-of-the-line musical instruments or good sound system or good preaching. You can take them all away and true, genuine believers will still go to church ecstatic to worship Jesus together with gusto even over some cheap siomai or squid balls and gulaman to share with.

It's because they know they're married to Jesus in spirit and are one flesh with HIM.

So, what's the secret to getting sweeter with your spouse even in old age? Together as one flesh, nurture a sweeter and more intimate relationship with Jesus as you age. Get more in love with HIM like a silly teenager. And this is not of works or your own effort. It's by HIS grace and mercy, if you grab the grace and mercy with all excitement each moment of your lives. 

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Ebbing with Age: Why Some People Learn Nothing from Life

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Sadly, a lot of people ebb with age, or suffer stunted maturity. Tumatanda ng pa-urong, or old age in reverse. Yeah, I use "suffer" because anything good meant for you but which you don't enjoy makes you suffer. It confines you to a small corner of life and that's so much punishment, considering life's vast possibilities.

Photo by Pixabay: pexels.com

So, why do some people remain childish even through old age? Psychology has a lot to say about this, but I'm not a psychologist and I believe my expertise is the practical application of bible truth to real life. Nonetheless, lets see what Psychology has to say.

Emotions Gone Haywire

Immaturity, says the American Psychology Association, is when emotions get the better of good judgment. And its self-centered emotions at that. The self simply wants to boast and prove its worth. It cannot contain the urge and more often that not explodes into massive showing off. It's...

“...a tendency to express emotions without restraint or disproportionately to the situation.” 

Source 

There are times we need to explain a little bit about who we are to people, but when we just keep talking about ourselves or pushing our opinions on others--especially in a way that treats them as unimportant, lesser creatures--we self-express "disproportionately." Emotional maturity, on the other hand is:

“...a high and appropriate level of emotional control and expression.”

Notice that when talking of maturity, psychologists often refer to emotions, not so much the intellect, because it has little to do with it, though the mind and emotions are closely connected. If you got confused there, just ask a psychologist. Now let's see what the bible says.

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EGO

The bible also says a lot about immaturity, or why certain people remain childish, and on top of the list is EGO. In fact, you may say that everything about immaturity revolves around it, the solid center or foundation. The need to prove your worth and get things your way makes you cling to childishness. As you age your emotional and mental growth ebb. 

You want to be great, if not the greatest.

Ego has a lot to do with passion. Passion for self, specifically. In fact, passion, if it's not for godly reasons, is delicious food for the ego. You want nothing else, especially things that have nothing to do with your ego. You stop seeing reality and that keeps you from learning life lessons. Stunts your growth. You trust your own perception alone and rely on your own understanding. 

This is why, for instance, some seniors refuse to have medical checkups, believing that they're not sick of anything. Anyway, they feel strong and healthy. They feel that checkups are for the weak and sickly, which they are not. They can never be weak. Succumbing to checkups or seeing the doctor is a total failure to them. 

This is also why I've seen old people assert their rights as seniors and impose them on others. For instance, they feel they can lecture to anyone, anytime, anywhere, dictating what is right and wrong, arguing that life was much better in their time than now, etc. Yup, they have this need to argue about everything and assert themselves. Often, as well, arguments flare up due to rivalry or competition, proving who's better or smarter.

This should help us enrich our maturity and keep us wisely quiet most times:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. [Philippians 2.3]

Jesus modelled meekness by declaring the Father to be better than him, though they were equal. I wish I'd see this attitude among believers, especially pastors, particularly in casual conversations. Also in the corporate world. God's Word is the authority in all matters in life. If you want career development, you need career maturity. You need Jesus' meekness.

If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. [John 14.28]

I just wonder how pastors would feel if many of their members transferred to another local church or Christian denomination. Would they feel as Jesus did with the Father? Would they say, "Yup, you're better off there because that pastor is better than me. Their denomination is better than ours."

You see, because we're all one body in Christ, lifting up another church or denomination means lifting up yourself. If one part suffers, all suffer. If one part is promoted, we're all promoted. See? 

Desire

Closely connected to the ego is covetousness. You want more than enough--it's that simple. If you're like this, your emotions are deteriorating with age. Instead of wising up, you become more narrow-minded. You think the universe revolves around you. You end up like a spoiled brat instead of a wise, broad-minded, patient old man. 

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [James 4.1-3]

Remember, patience and maturity are close relatives.

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (mature), wanting nothing. [James 1.3-4]

Wanting nothing! That's maturity. 

Ego loathes patience and feeds on desire and self-passion. Ego feels that patience is just a waste of time. It needs to be glorified as soon as possible, if not right now. So there's "war within you," says James. "So you murder," and "you fight and quarrel." Desire births carnal urgency and argues a lot for its gratification till it wins and have its own way. That's self-passion. 

So What's the Right Way of Aging?

What's maturity then? It's everything Jesus is. It's wanting nothing. If the Lord is your Shepherd, you shall not want. That's when he makes you lie down in green pastures. Wanting nothing keeps you quiet, peaceful and happy. You won't need to prove anything. You become patient, broad-minded and tolerant of others beliefs and opinions. You don't argue but you may discuss with folks genuinely interested about what you think or have, like Jesus was. 

Mostly Listen

One secret to aging well and maturity is listening. Jesus listened well to the Father. The disciples listened well to him. Initially, they were a bunch of immatures but later, when they learned about the Holy Spirit from Jesus and obeyed, they radically transformed into mature leaders. Listen to how Jesus put it:

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. [John 5.30]

When James listened well to Jesus, he got this wisdom:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, [James 1.19]

It's tragic when man has become so advanced in knowledge and technology and yet learns nothing in life, terribly lacking wisdom and maturity. Just look at wrecked marriages, broken families and so-called new thinking about how they see themselves. It's all due to immaturity, reverse aging.

...always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. [2 Timothy 3]

In other words, learning but not maturing. And worse, opposing those who are mature and wise, thinking they're smarter because they're loud, and the mature and wise are idiots because they're quiet and patient. You sometimes see this even in church. Leadership has become who's louder, more assertive and self-centered. 

Use Your Most Inner Power 
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What If You Get Pinned by Debris in an Earthquake?

After the earthquake last 27th of July, 2022 (Wednesday at 8.43 am), while holding tight to my fresh mug of coffee (I couldn't stand seeing the coffee spilling. I mean, I just finished making it) I immediately reflected about getting pinned amid debris. What if the entire floor pavement above collapsed on me? What if I were in a 30-story building and the tremor happened and the whole building started crumbling? No kidding.

Photo by Sarah Crego on Unsplash.

I have strong and picturesque imagination, so I tried to internalize the scene. A magnitude 7 jolts the ground and immediately the concrete roof caves in. I mean, a mere split second. Suddenly, I'm right in the middle of all the debris, pinned down in a tiny gaping hole among huge chunks of broken concrete and steal, narrowly sparing me from being crushed. What then?

At once I tried to recall safety measures I learned from street self defense and survival trainings I attended or saw on video. Yup, you heard right. Street self-defense shouldn't be all about fighting. It should be about street safety et al. How to keep yourself safe in emergencies like terrorism, street rumbles, fires, earthquakes, the like. Yeah, like an intelligence or special forces operative.

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ALWAYS Keep Alert

It can't be overemphasized. No matter how nice the day is or high ecstatic you are about God's goodness and mercy (and you feel so blessed), always keep alert and ready for deadly action nonetheless. I've made this my life rule. Never be caught off guard. Thus, wearing ear or headphones is a big no-no, anytime of the day. 

I always tell young folks how stupid disengaging themselves from the present is and getting mentally lost somewhere, especially when you're out in the streets. When danger like an earthquake starts, you need instant alertness. Every second counts. No room for lapses or excuses.

Triangle of Life

Rescuers reportedly often find wee spaces among rubbles where a safe refuge is available. If you fit yourself into that space and an entire concrete slab above you falls, there's a big chance you'd be untouched inside that triangular free space they call Triangle of Life. Curl yourself in there. They have discovered survivors in the triangle almost unscratched. It's located right beside a step or stair, or a firm, low furniture, or even the corner where the wall and floor meet.

So, when a big tremor hits and you have nowhere safe to go, dock at once and stay alert, then look for this triangle around you and go to it. Get something strong to cover your head with, like a hard-cover book, pillow, small board or your shoulder bag. Or use your hands if nothing else is available.

Keep Basics Handy

I always have my clutch bag with me when I'm out. I have my very basic stuff in it--emergency meds, alcohol, tissue or bandage, a penlight, my smartphone, a whistle and a small bottle of water. And I can use the bag as cushion to protect my head with. But I often hand-carry a bigger water bottle, 250 or 500 ml. I also have a sturdy, metal ball pen or anything strong and pointed (not a knife, and something small enough to fit my bag) for self defense and survival, in case I need to carve or dig on something for extrication. Keep things small, light, basic and simple. 

A whistle is crucial (actually all the above are) for two things: calling for help during street troubles and calling attention if you find yourself trapped in any way, like pinned by debris in an earthquake. Whistles also come handy for warning or shooing crooks away from their victims or foolishness. 

Know the Safest Places

Take time to learn on the spot the safest places to go during troubles. So, as much as you can, always be aware of your surroundings and study them a bit. You cannot do an exhaustive survey, of course, but give it your best shot. When entering any building, for instance, always pinpoint where the fire escapes are. How many guards at the entrance. Do they look alert or carefree?

If you have no choice but to go home late at night, opt to walk where guarded establishments are located. Some businesses and warehouses are guarded round the clock (they have night shift guards) as well as some subdivisions. The idea is to have people you can ask help from in times of trouble. 

One night some thugs in a truck tried to pursue our cab, intending harm. The driver asked me what to do, obviously in shock. I told him to calm down and directed him to a guard post of a subdivision nearby. I had always noted when I passed by that place how the guard  post was manned by 4 guards with shotguns. When we stopped, I told the guards the truck behind us had thugs that wanted to kill us--I was with my wife and small kid of 5 years. At once, the guards readied their guns. The truck driver saw this and became rattled, driving past as fast as he could.

In the same way, should an earthquake suddenly strike and you're caught between fallen debris, you can easily shout for help from people or guards you know are just close by. 

Stay Healthy and Fit

In any situation, it helps a lot to move ably, fast and accurately. This requires mind alertness and motor skills coordination which you both get from physical workouts and proper eating. A healthy lifestyle, in short. You just need to watch thriller-action disaster movies of Dwaine Johnson, Will Smith and Brad Pitt to understand this. It's hard to stay calm and alert if your BP shoots up or you have a heart attack--or you have big pot belly. 😄 How can you jump from one rooftop to another like Spiderman?

I practice intermittent fasting regularly as a lifestyle, not just for the superb health benefits (natural weight loss and detox with no side effects) but for training my body to eat less and not crave for food. It will work well for you in case of big-time disasters when famine results. And it's not far-fetched. Already we see this happening in areas where localities are isolated after major disasters and food and water become scarce. 

Know How to Fight for Yourself

I enjoy watching apocalypse movies, like those about zombies. Why? I love survival stuff. And a major part of it all is knowing how to defend yourself and your family against attackers and aggressors. It isn't hard to imagine how people will react adversely if extreme crises strike. They will attack unprovoked just to get what they need.

Major earthquakes and pandemics have resulted to widespread looting and burglary, often violent ones. Knowing how to fight systematically and realistically (or streetfighting, which I teach) will come in handy in case you get in the middle of it all. The idea is to get out of it safely and run away, not confront every rabid Tom, Dick and Harry. Fight your way out, hack a route to safety, and run like hell. 

Pray

Last but not least is pray. Pray before, after and during dangers--and even when enjoying peace and safety, when life seems to be so easy and eventless. It pays to get a habit and lifestyle of always praying and worshipping, no matter what the circumstances, so that when dangerous times come, you pray and worship automatically. Talk to God continually everyday. Thank Him for everything and anything and be in constant awe. Even in sleep. Yup, it's possible. It doesn't have to be formal or religious. Just get in the habit of talking to and appreciating God. It's what the bible calls, "pray without ceasing." 

You can take care of yourself and fight your way out of danger with your martial arts expertise (or gun skills) but you cannot cover all angles at the same time all the time. You're bound to miss a line of attack. You're still human with only two front eyes and two hands and feet. This is why prayers count a lot. While God gives you grace to use your defending skills, he can also cover your back and sides, including attacks coming from long way off. He's got you covered at all angles and I can personally vouch for that with my street experiences with HIM.

Use Your Most Inner Power 

A well life is a prosperous life--spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and financially. Email at personaligyauto@gmail.com to get my e-book (free or with donation) "YOUR POWER WITHIN."

It Determines What Happens

Your best efforts are good, but results are determined by "it."

For everything that happens around you, "it" determines what happens and what doesn't. It's true. So you have to be familiar with this "it." Some folks call it "fate," some call it "destiny." But it's definitely more than these things. Fate depends on how things and events develop which are beyond our control, but this "it" has no regard for that. It doesn't care how things are unfolding. It decides on its own.

Photo by Kameron Kincade on Unsplash.

Only "It" is Real

Destiny, on the other hand, is something definite in the future. Problem is, it's more about major life events and their deeper meanings, not the nitty-gritty of mundane, ordinary details of the now. You don't often call having your coffee spilled on your shirt "destiny," or when you misplace your toothbrush or keys. Destiny is more on marriage, success, status, death, and the like. 

But with things of lesser consequences (at least that's how most people see them), we relegate to either our own doings or luck or accident, all of which are unreal, existing only in our minds. We think our efforts (especially hard efforts) decide what happens or change circumstances. Then we list them under our so-called achievements and congratulate ourselves---or expect others to do so. We still don't get it.

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Our Prayers Don't Change Anything

We also too often imagine that our prayers "change" things. They don't. But "it" does. Yup, everything depends on "it." It decides everything. In fact, most times our prayers seem only to "change" things when they coincide with what "it" wants. It wants everything conforming to its designs and purposes. Absolutely no exception. So a "prayerful" person will effect no change or result if he prays to the contrary. But if you conform to it, you don't need to be "prayerful" (as "prayerful" is understood today) because things just automatically fall into place if you live according to "it."

For both big and small things in life, it's solely responsible. Our best efforts and prayers don't mean a thing. This is why wrong things happen to us even if we don't ask for them in prayer. Who prayed for Covid-19 to happen? Nobody. But it happened anyway. Why? Because "it" allowed it. I suppose hundreds--even thousands--of prayers were said to stop Covid or protect the faithful from catching it. Still, Covid continued and many church ministers were infected. Some even died. Why? "It" allowed it. 

But Efforts and Prayers Have to Continue

And yet, our best efforts and prayers have to go on. Why? Because "it" says so. We cannot go against it. It prevails regardless. The Apostle Paul once said something to this effect:

"For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth."

We cannot do "anything." See that? We are that powerless. And yet this same powerlessness (or weakness) is the key to perfecting power. It has a lot to do with recognizing "its" authority over everything---the authority of God's Truth and Will in the bible---the "It." Get it? Unless we see this truth, we think we have some power to do things, and that deceives us big-time.  

Continued here...

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A well life is a prosperous life--spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social and financial. And it's hard to get this well-rounded health if you lack the money to sustain it. As the bible says, money is the answer for everything. It's a good servant if you let it serve you. Watch out for how to make money online.

Does Old Age Have to Make You Old?

Ageing does matter, but not growing old.

Just age, don't grow old. That's what my inner self (IS) once told me. And by "age" my IS meant this---stages of an individual's development---which I remember reading somewhere but where exactly escapes me now. The keyword there is "development." That's how we should age. Or getting to your best quality, like aged wine. I like what I saw on the Merriam-Webster site:

To acquire a desirable quality (such as mellowness or ripeness) by standing undisturbed for some time.

Photo by Ignacio Amenábar on Unsplash. 

Undisturbed

Methinks that's the keyword, undisturbed. Like wine kept in barrels and placed in cellars, away from light and the elements, we too should remain "undisturbed" as much as possible. We need to build a "cellar" of refuge and seek sanctuary there. It's not about secluding yourself from the world but keeping undisturbed even amid the hustle and bustle of it all. 

And no one's going to do this for you or give you space for it. You have to aim to be undisturbed in your mind while you go about daily life in the physical. This is the first and most important thing if you don't want to grow old. You achieve this, the other benefits of aging well will follow.

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How do you maintain being undisturbed? 

• God - a non-negotiable.
• wife - she's one flesh with me.
• family - immediate family.
• ministry - includes business. Business is part of my ministry.

I can get angry (why not), but most times I just ignore things that piss me off. I want emotional assets, not liabilities. This is why I manage to be unemotional even when I'm "angry," like being cold-blooded, able to attack without pity yet with zero emotions. The more I avoid being angry. I often opt to be undisturbed.

• Put limits. Limit how much you spend on people and things so you have more than enough for God and family. This includes time, privacy, emotions, care, involvement, listening, etc. I even put limits on distance--how close people can get to me. Anyway, it serves well with the Covid pandemic. More than enough privacy safeguards being undisturbed, although you can maintain your limits even in the midst of a noisy, pushy crowd. It takes practice.
  
  
• Be less busy. People invent a lot of "urgencies" in their lives and end up addicts of busyness. They can't live life without being busy (or pretending to be one) and have lost all remembrance of how it is to be relaxed. Rest, relaxation and calm are all vital ingredients of nurturing an undisturbed disposition. And maintain your stress level to minimal. Opt for healthy stresses.
  
  
• Workout. I regularly workout and meditate to empower my focus, self-control, patience and other character-strengthening traits. Martial arts training helps a lot. For instance, I have developed being very keen on guarding my surroundings while relaxing and keeping calm. This ensures being undisturbed even in risky places.
  
  
• De Gustibus non Disputandum Est. Live and let live. Kanya-kanyang trip yan at walang basagan ng trip. If someone has a different opinion, or you think he's wrong and you're right, keep your mouth shut. Keep your intelligence to yourself, except if it's a matter of life or death, or if the guy asks you your opinion. Correctness is often subjective. Keep away from stupid arguments. Treasure your undisturbed spirit more.

Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. [2 Timothy 2.14]

Yup, the bible is very pro-calm. God has lots of passages on preserving your undisturbed mode intact at all times.

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A well life is a prosperous life--spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social and financial. And it's hard to get this well-rounded health if you lack the money to sustain it. As the bible says, money is the answer for everything. It's a good servant if you let it serve you. Thus, I invite you to watch this FREE video on my "Vention" blog about earning a living by making money work for you. Pls. click here.

Safe and "Immune" During GCQ

Picture from this site.

Now we're under General Community Quarantine or GCQ and some people think it's the end of the world. I'm not for GCQ either but I see how we'd be doomed if we remain locked down in our homes with no means of livelihood. Ayuda and SAP cannot go on forever. The economy has got to start rolling again. 

But there are risks, of course. Covid is still out there and it's no respecter of persons. So what we should do is stay "quarantined" while we go out--if we need to go out. We need a mindset and lifestyle that keeps us safe and "immune" during GCQ. I'd say, even "vaccinated."

Immune and Vaccinated

Even I see my need to go outdoors now and then for urgent reasons, like buying food and transacting my business. But I've got to stay immune and even "vaccinated." Is there a vaccine already? Nope. What I mean is supernaturally vaccinated by God. That's the first step to stay safe and immune during GCQ. 

Jesus said everything is possible to him who believes [Mark 9.23]. Secondly, he also said that if we believe what we say will happen, it will [Mark 11.23]. I love how he said it. And we know that Jesus never lied. All his words and promises are perfectly reliable.

"...and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them."

So ask God to "vaccinate" you through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Believe it and it will happen. But this doesn't mean you can go out anytime you want and be careless about it all because anyway God has vaccinated you. Nope, you maintain a mindset and lifestyle that makes you safe and immune during GCQ. Even Jesus avoided danger.

Prayer

This is the time to get doubly serious about prayer. I don't mean praying long, poetic and dramatic prayers. I mean getting serious with prayer--like Jesus did. He looked up to heaven and merely said thanks and bread and fish were multiplied supernaturally. He didn't even pray when he rebuked the wind and waves (and they obeyed him) because prayer to him was how he naturally and casually talked with his Father. Natural and casual but doubly serious. 

Immunity

Another thing on being immune. Natural health supplements are more important today than ever. Take them seriously every day. Invest on your health. I take sodium ascorbate Vitamin C, MX3, and now OrganiC which is a delicious but super healthy fruit and herbs drink sweetened with stevia alone and beefs up your immune system. All natural. It's best for digestive health (cleans the colon and gets rid of bloating and constipation) detox, and pumping you up with nutrients. If you're interested, tell me.

A Filipino medical scientist I know always says that strong immunity is really the best protection from Covid 19 while there is no medicine or vaccine for it. 

And I workout daily to also boost immune health. I do aerobics and resistance workouts, with minimum use of weights--aside from my regular martial arts training.

Street Protocols

Then I strictly adhere to my street protocols. As though I were paranoid or a spy with an extremely top secret, classified mission or clandestine operation. After much research, study and observation, I have formulated my own protocol when outdoors.

1. Pray before going out. In fact, pray everyday whether outdoors or indoors. God is your best protection and it's through prayer that this becomes possible. I don't mean religious prayer. No drama, please. I mean naturally talking with God with a pure heart.

2. Wear surgical and cloth masks. Take a small, handy spray bottle of 70 % alcohol. If you need a break from your mask and breathe in fresh air, do so in an isolated area. Don't catch someone's sneeze or cough 20 or 30 feet away. Even 50 feet away. Don't give the virus a chance.

3. NEVER touch your face outdoors. Keep your hands off your face at all times. Wearing face shields is best for this. But even with a shield on, never touch your face still. Don't get the bad habit. I practice not touching my face even at home. Be disciplined to tolerate facial or nose itches--it's just so weird that they happen as soon as you're outdoors. Don't be tempted.

3. Social distancing (and extra strictly at that!). Avoid people and crowds. Stay as isolated as possible. If you see someone approaching you or getting too close, get out of their range. Maintain 6 to 10 feet gap as often as possible. Never get 3 feet away from anyone.

4. Don't talk with anyone. Avoid conversations when outdoors as much as possible. You can say "Hello!" or "Thank you!" with hand gestures or your eye movements. It's possible with Filipino culture. Allow yourself conversation when extremely needed. Never stop to chat with a friend or when meeting or trying to be nice to strangers. So what if you're not too nice?

5. As much as possible, don't touch anything. Take along tissue paper to touch or hold things with, like using ATM touch keypads, elevator buttons, or door knobs. Use tissue paper and get rid of it properly.

6. Wear different slippers when outdoors and disinfect them (especially the soles) when you get home. Put it outside in the garage or somewhere else but inside your house. Disinfect you shoes (especially the soles) and never take them inside your house.  Take off your clothes and pants before entering your house and soak them immediately in laundry soap and water along with your cloth mask. Then go straight to the bathroom for a bath.

7. Throw away your surgical mask properly.

8. Always wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds. Always. Be paranoid with this. So what?

9. As much as possible, don't eat out. If you need to, buy safely wrapped food from a convenience store and eat it outside in an isolated place. Enclosed, air-conditioned places are best for viruses. Warm, open and wide areas with air freely flowing is best for you.

10. WALK as much as you can and choose safe paths where people are present but not crowded. Walking alone is very safe, but take an umbrella and small bottled water to prevent heat stroke. 

But don't get me wrong. I won't go out unless it's urgent. Even if they lift GCQ and say it's now perfectly safe to go out. No way Jose. I won't go to malls or anywhere else just to window shop or idle or look around. I prefer home anytime. 

Make these protocols your lifestyle--daily. Your new normal. It entails strict, military discipline (like a CIA operative) which opens up a lot of good things for you, actually. Discipline is what we badly need in this country. Here's our chance.

When Fishballs Were Called Bola-Bola And How It Relates to Life

It was summer vacation of 1974 and I just graduated from grade 7 when I had my first encounter with it. I spent a week's vacation in La Loma, Quezon City with my cousins in Malaya Street for our scheduled circumcision with Kap, the old guy who lived inside the Manila North Cemetery where he also held his makeshift or make-do herbal circumcision. He just cut the foreskin with his crude blade while he made you chew on fresh guava leaves which he made you spit on the wound after the circumcision. That was it.

Photo by hitesh choudhary: pexels.com

I Couldn't Believe It

Anyway, one afternoon while on vacation there, I spotted this small wooden streetfood cart pushed by a vendor passing in front of my cousin's house. It had a mini gas stove (pump type) and a large, bowl-like frying pan on top with a stainless cover. The sight tickled my imagination and gave me images of some delicious streetfood being cooked but I didn't know what exactly it was since the term "streetfood" was not yet in use then. More so "fishballs." Banana and camote cues, peanuts, balot and cheap local ice cream sold in the streets then were called "dirty foods."

The wooden streetfood cart made rounds each afternoon on the street and stopped some 50 yards away (in front of the fire station), and people in the neighborhood would excitedly come out and crowd around it, each holding a stick. They were piercing something with it. "What's that?" I asked my cousin that afternoon. "Fishballs,"he said. "Want to try some?" We made our way there and joined the crowd. There I saw small white, puffy delicious-looking shiny balls floating on cooking oil in the bowl deep fryer. 

Bruce Lee Dim Sum

My appetite started getting active. I was sure it tasted something like Chinese dim sum. The stuff looked just like what Bruce Lee ate in the movie, "Way of the Dragon," prepared for him by Nora Miao. So I figured it must be rich in protein because Bruce was lean and muscular. The neighborhood folks punctured 4 to 5 balls with one stick and dipped them in three sauce selections--one was a mix of vinegar and soy with spices, another with thick sweet sour, and the last was sweet and sour. Some of them chose one sauce but several dipped their fishballs in all sauces. That looked more inviting.

Back then, everybody dipped their fishballs in common sauce containers. It was unhealthy, especially when some folks re-dipped their sticks in them more than once, later the concoction becoming a mix of saliva in addition to the original sauces. But it didn't seem to bother anybody then because we just enjoyed dipping our fishballs. Thank God cases of hepatitis were unheard of at the time until the 80s. But it was not until around year 2000 when street vendors decided to strictly enforce a plastic-cup policy where each customer was given a plastic cup for his own sauce to dip in.

It was a healthy idea but it spoiled the fun in using common sauce jars.

My First Bite

When my cousin noted my wide-eyed excitement in fishballs, he asked: "You mean you haven't eaten fishballs before? It's a common afternoon snack here. You want more?" So he bought me more--costing P0.25 a piece then---and he taught me where to dip them. To enhance the experience he told me to dip them first in hot and spicy vinegar and then in sweet and sour sauce. It tasted great! You could actually eat them with rice and have it as a meal, I thought. So I bought some more and tried them with rice. I was right.

Fishballs, or bola-bola in the vernacular (literally "ball-like"), is dried fish finely shredded until in powder form and mixed with spiced up flour and some water. They're mashed and formed into balls and deep-fried in boiling oil. So in a way it has protein and carbohydrates. The only downside is its oiliness. It's cooked either well done for a crispy, crunchy option tasting like fish skin fried brown, or medium rare for a soft, puffy, chewy and marshmallow-like option tasting like fish fillet. I love both.

The flavor was doubly enhanced if the sauces were made perfectly right.

First Time in Town

So how come we didn't have it in Project 8? I asked myself. When I went back home from vacation, I told about it to my neighbor-friend, Arturo, and he liked the idea--especially the possibility of looking like Bruce Lee. "Yeah, I can imagine how delicious it is!" he said. And then one day, that same vacation, one vendor (miraculously) ventured on selling it in Project 8. I was delighted to see it available in our area! He was an angel sent from heaven! I was elated to see a bola-bola cart in the vicinity of our community plaza and basketball court and I dragged Arturo to it immediately. "That's what I've been talking about!" His eyes shone.

We had a fine bola-bola snack then, and the vendor couldn't be happier.

Each afternoon we waited for the bola-bola cart to pass by. And then one time, I tried it with rice again. I bought some and took them home to eat later. But I was disappointed. I found that you had to eat bola-bola as soon as you bought them fresh from the pan. If you have to walk home and eat them later, the fun and flavor would have evaporated and the bola-bola shrunk to a pressed, smaller size like used cotton balls.

Well, you can still eat them and enjoy some of the flavor somewhat, but it wouldn't be as fun as when you eat them right at the bola-bola cart. You'd also get some of the undesirable fishy taste if you'd eat them later. Bola-bola is delicious as long as it's eaten fresh from deep-frying. Dipping it in sauce reduces the heat from cooking and saves your tongue from searing. So the mobile cart is a big factor in enjoying fishballs.

How It relates to Life

I pondered and saw how opportunity was like streetfood---once it knocks you better grab it while it's "hot." If you dilly-dally and act on it later, you may still get something from the opportunity but it would get a "fishy" taste---not as fun as when it was fresh and hot.

And when it was yet called "bola-bola," there was a touch of native appeal, a local flavor that reminds you of how Filipino ancient food dish culture is mixed with some shades of Chinese culinary influence and sometimes that takes me back to yesteryear when life was simple and people were kind and the air was fresh and sweet and a large bowl of taho (soy gelatin) with fresh cow's milk cost less than 1 cent, according to my grandma. Today, the term "fishballs" gives you nothing but a mental picture of junky streetfood.

Anyway, back to how eating fishballs hot and fresh is like rare life opportunities. So, the next time you plan on having a bola-bola meal, bring rice with you and eat the thing right at the cart. That is, if you really like streetfood that much.