The present moment is inevitable

We all make plans for the future. Plans for our personal lives, families and work. In my job, plans are the foundation of our business.


But what if, after meticulous deliberation, things do not go as planned?


What I learned from the Happiness Workshop that I recently attended is probably the most true and incontestable lesson of life: The present moment is inevitable.


Some of you might argue, especially when confronted with unexpected and unwanted problems: Oh, but we could have done something to prevent that from happening; if you didn't do this, this could not have happened; I knew this could happen and that's why I planned carefully so nothing like this will ever happen to me.


Well, guess what? After doing everything you could to keep it from happening, it still happened. No matter what you think or how much planning you've done, what is currently happening is inevitable.
This is not to discourage you from making plans. Instead, it's to encourage you to give your 100% whenever you make plans. So that when it doesn't turn out the way you want it to, it's so much easier to let go and move forward. I gave it my best shot but still, it didn't turn out that way.


So just accept it and move on. A bigger hand is running the show. And it will all turn out for the better or if not, the way it should.

Doing nothing

"Sometimes, the best way to complete a task is to take a break."

I do agree but, even better, let me just say that the best thing to do after completing a challenging task is to do nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And that, my friends, is what I did the whole day today. After an exhausting month preparing for an event, I am taking a short break to do nothing. To get my bearings back and recover.

People are always after doing something. When you say you're going on a break, they often ask: "What are you planning to do? Where are you going?" Most of the time, they are bewildered when I reply, "Nothing. Staying at home. Tutunganga."

Not sure about you guys,  but going on a vacation or a trip where I am usually in charge of organizing activities, making reservations simply stresses me.. I don't consider them a vacation.

But today, I am on vacation. I spent the whole day, well, almost the whole day doing nothing. And it feels good.

Disowning negative feelings

For the past four nights, I've been attending a workshop called Happiness Program.

One of the things that I learned was a different way of dealing with negative emotions. Entanglement, greed, lust, envy, anger and anxiety.

The idea is that when we were born, we did not have any of these feelings. And so each time we experience any of these negative emotions, all we have to do is submit to it.  By submitting to it, I don't mean we give in to the emotion but acknowledge it and, with all humility, give it back to the angel who played upon us that negative emotion. It is not mine, so I am giving it back. 

It is, for me, a new perspective in looking at these emotions which, I have to admit, I experience and nurture often. 

Next time, I feel anxious or angry, I will try to hold on a bit to that feeling, feel its solid weight in my heart and give it back to the heavens. It is not mine.

The P-Blues

I am having perimenopausal blues.

At least, that's what the doctor said. I missed my period for two straight months and because I already have four kids, was so afraid I could be pregnant. It was like a dark cloud hovering above me everywhere I go for all of my waking hours. I couldn't shake it off.

The sonologist swore she doesn't see any sign of pregnancy. My left ovary was polycystic but, she emphasized, it could be physiologic. Then my kindly ob-gyne this morning gave me a prescription for Provera which she said will bring back my menses. I hope.

I checked online and the side effects include dizziness, nausea and confusion. But I haven't got any choice.  The sonologist said I shouldn't wish for menopause to come soon. You're too still too young, she insisted. Considering the anxiety and stress my missed period has caused, I couldn't help but wish it will just totally go away. Maybe I shouldn't.