I never fail to read the papers on Sundays. For one, I have all the time to do so, unlike when I do read on a weekday, when I end up rushing for work. I still am late every time nevertheless.
Like I blogged before, I love Bum Tenorio, Lucy Torres (sometimes, I get jealous of her because she writes about food she tries most of the time, yet she stays slim in spite of all the sweets and fatty food she shoves down her throat) and Jim Paredes’ columns.
This Sunday, Jim Paredes talked about things money can’t buy. Since he teaches creative writing, he asked his class to list down things that make them happy yet come (for) free. My initial reaction: wala nang free ngayon! Or kaya, free man sya, meaning no monitary value, yet emotions are involved. Either way, there’s a price to pay for it.
In this time of soaring oil prices & inflation, I was surprised, as I read on, that the students were able to list down 10. And then, Jim even challenged them to list down 200 more! Wow, that was something! So meaning, marami talaga! He even added that when we are stripped of worldly wealth, we really get to come down and get to appreciate the basics.
Sige, sige, Mr. Paredes, I’m up for the challenge. I’ll think of something and come up with a list of my own, in no particular order:
- the sun, the moon and the stars that remind us that there are greater things in this universe
- the air we breathe
- the sound and music we hear
- gravity, that keeps us “grounded” (hehe, I was trying to be funny)
- our dreams that we strive to put into reality
- our parents, our friends, our extended families
- happiness in spite of our discontentment
- peace of mind that give us sound sleep every night
- our faith in God, that He has good plans for us
- our religion that helps us shape our value system
- our health that helps us carry out our tasks everyday
- prayer, our venue to be with the Almighty
- healing, and the hope of rising from the ashes
- love
- a kiss
- the power of holding hands with a friend or a partner
- ambition, our aspirations that we continually work hard for
- forgiveness
- our “humanness”, flaws and all
- our strength and courage to go on in spite of challenges
- relationships with people that make us realize that God is with us
- blessings and grace we receive from God
- patience in waiting for something without any timeline
- humility in accepting our weaknesses or faults
- compassion for the less fortunate
- our talents that set us apart from others
- our voice that helps us communicate and sing in the shower and speak the sweetest and sincerest prayers
- our sense of smell that makes us appreciate the flowers in the garden, our fresh bottle of perfume and even the smell of coffee in the morning
- our ears that make us hear the gushing wind or the angry waves
So far, here are my “free” happiness.
Sige nga, what’s yours?
Very good! There are a lot, lot more
ReplyDeleteI remember a student of mine doing this assignment over the weekend write something like, 'going through my mom's jewelry and feeling like I was 7 years old again.'
When we pay attention, the magic turns on!
It was an honor, Jim, to receive a comment from you. Hope I did your challenge justice. Thanks for reading my entry.
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