Taste for the Controversial

I don't know if its significant and people are doing it intentionally but according to the web stats I get in my blog, one of my post popular posts is the one entitled "The Salesian Secret". Could it be that people are googling secrets in the internet, trying to find the controversial, darker side of things or am I plain paranoid?

Either way, we all know how much we like the taste of controversy. It is more palatable than good news on today's paper's front page so no wonder media is also fond of serving us all the heavy and burdening bad news in print, TV, radio, and web. The endless humming of gossip continues to ring in the atmosphere, and that's what I call gossip pollution.

I suggest we would rather build a culture of positive criticism and appreciate more the good things in life. Can't the media at least set aside a page for good news for everyone to relish and believe that world is still worth living in? There are so many beautiful things that happen everyday we simply miss them out of pre-occupation with the mounting worries of tomorrow. Have we seen how beautiful sunrise was this morning, or the newly bloomed flower by the roadside, or the smile of a child, or the puffs clouds dotting the bright blue sky? God is never wanting in generosity and goodness.

Just to share an anecdote from our Philosophy class, it is said:

When you ask 'when', it is History.

When you ask 'how', it is Science.

When you ask 'who', that's Showbiz.

But when you ask 'why', that's Wisdom.

Let us start asking the right and better questions.

Little Things Sometimes Mean Big

I was busily cleaning out my study desk when a paper fell out from my notebook. It was a little drawing someone gave me as a token of appreciation for what I did for him. I had long planned to paste it to my journal and thanks to that miraculous find I was finally able to do it this time.

Little things sometimes mean big for us. Little notes and little acts of kindness are enough to change a world view, to shift a paradigm, to brighten a world. So many people complain that the world is violent. Perhaps it is time once again we millions could inject it with little good things to make it better.

Little by Little (with a Mop)

I am feeling sleepy and tired this morning as I dragged myself to the dorm to do my chores. The mop seemed a ton heavier than usual. The will to clean is as dry as the late-summer June air enveloping me. This is one of those days when you feel the "drag". Cleaning the whole floor area seemed like an impossible task. It would take forever.

I racked up my brains to find some inspiration to fight the dull air. I remembered that in moments where facing a great challenge seems impossible, in this case mopping the dorm floor, it takes little by little to finish the job. Heavy as it seems, I took the mop by the handle and painstakingly mopped the floor. It took forever it seems but as I went on and on, I saw how much progress I have made.

Sweat fell like torrent in the humid dorm room. Back and forth, back and forth, I went on and on and on. I began slow but as looked at how much I have done already I picked up the pace and five minutes before the bell rang, I finally did the impossible. Whew! It was a tough job to begin with, a challenge to keep on, and self-fulfilling to accomplish.

Life is just like that. There are things that seems impossible to start but we have to start doing it anyway. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begin with a simple step. Experiencing the "drag" may discourage us but keeping the will to go on will begin a positive cycle that will build on the previous step how little it might be. Sooner we will be shocked to find ourselves flying through life in swift and bounding leaps.

Maybe when we feel a little discouraged, we should pick up a mop and start cleaning.