STATE OF GRACE

Photo from SkyscraperCity

I'm walking fast through the traffic lights

busy streets and busy lives

and all we know, is touch and go

Touch and go. This could well be the theme for 2012. I've touched base with different faces and places in different lengths and circumstances. All of them changed my life in some grand or minute way. If I mattered to them is a whole different story, which doesn't matter anymore.

Because in the end, tears have been cried, hearts have been hurt, scars have dried and faded. Soon a fresh start, a clean slate is miraculously served in front of you and there’s no way you can refuse it. After all, nothing good ever escapes.

So here I am feasting on a heaping plate of changes, feeling full and happy with how I started the year. Despite the state of singularity I am in, I am in a state of grace with all the gifts God rained down even before the year began. This is what happens when you don’t bring an umbrella in the midst of an abundance of rain from the Divine.

WHAT'S ON MY PLATE ANYWAY?

1. NEW JOURNAL

As if I can’t get enough of blogging, I purchased a new leather-bound diary to jot down my most private of thoughts as well as my daily routines. When life seems like a crazy spiral, it pays to have routines.

2. NEW FITNESS ROUTINE

After being diagnosed as hypertensive and having hypertrophy back in October, I decided to start jogging in the mornings at a nearby cemetery. On some days, I would walk the big dogs of my friend Jonathan Samar and jog around my former school, Woodridge College. We normally end the routine with stretching and crunches in the school gym. On Saturdays, Jonathan and I, together with other friends Nolette Garcia and Ernie Sumayod, would play badminton (and I’m getting good at it!).

3. REAWAKENED SPIRITUALITY

Thanks to my good friend (and president/chairperson emeritus of my fans’ club) Bella Bardollas, I met a wonderful community of Catholic Christians who changed the way I looked at Catholicism. The Feast @ Bonifacio Global City, led by its builder Bro. George Gabriel, has worship services every Saturday from starting 4 p.m. at the Topshelf of Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street.

4. SORTED FINANCES

Since I ain’t spending my money anymore on laptop bags that get thrown out of a moving vehicle or trips that don’t even get recalled or valued, I decided to make the most out of it. I adopted a new budget policy and devoted myself in itemizing and reducing my expenses. I also joined a “paluwagan” with my badminton friends, the proceeds of which I plan to save in a bank account. I am now thinking on investing the money I will save in property or stocks.

5. IMPROVED FASHION SENSE

Hey, I’m single and ready to mingle. What better way to attract the next (and perhaps, last) great love of my life than by sporting some new, fashionable attire and hairstyle? And with some great advice from my lady friends at work, I got a lot of pointers in personality development that could perhaps reel in the type of lady I really want to be with at this stage (and coming stages) of my life.

All these are works in progress. Just as Maynilad caused a lot of painstakingly slow traffic for quite some time in the streets of Bacoor or Las Piñas City, the changes I am experiencing right now are an exercise in discipline, determination, endurance, and loyalty. I’m sure someone out there can’t wait for me to give up soon; but no: This is a state of grace. This is the worthwhile fight.

And so while I ain’t perfect, I’m in this fight with all I got. There’s no certainty even obscurity in it—just the invisible hand of change which we can look always look forward to with cautious optimism. As long I am in a state of grace, nourished by the constantly stocked warehouse of God, I live, I’ll grow, and I'll forever be grateful for each day of my life. TSS

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"Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still." - Chinese proverb