The Graces of 2013
Spending the last week of the year out of town, I missed my annual ritual of writing to close family and friends to share the highlights and blessings of the year as it comes to a close. This is a belated attempt then to share the graces and grits of 2013. Much of what I am about to share here is a product of several moments of contemplation while I was away from home and from work.
Here are some snapshots of blessings and blessings-in-disguise of 2013.
It started as a wishful thought: "I hope I can find a job that will allow me to work from home while using my gifts and continuing to contribute to a cause bigger than myself but also pay well and on a regular basis." The wish came to pass on 5 August 2013 and life and I were never the same again.
Opportunities to travel with and be involved in volunteering activities with my son always give me joy. And so, when a friend brought up the idea of joining a voluntour to Banaue's famous rice terraces, it felt like hitting not just two but three birds with one stone - ticking Banaue in my bucket list, travelling with Enzo and with friends, and helping resuscitate Banaue's rice terraces.
2013 is the year my son officially turned into an adolescent (teen-ager), graduated sixth grade and was recognized as an ideal student during the commencement exercise, and left the comfort and safety of a private school to explore the big world out there in a public science high school. He now knows how to commute by public transport on his owns, goes out with friends, decides what to eat for lunch, manages acute asthma attacks by himself. Lots of milestones. So much to be grateful for, and to a mother for whom hospital confinement is a regular part of mothering experience, spending a hospital-free year was a real blessing.
Two trips to the UK, first winter and snow, first autumn (almost), turning 45 in London, and fulfilling a dream to tour the entirety of Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral. . . all in a year. . . and all subsidized by the organisation I work with. What more could one ask for?
Three years ago, I made a pact with myself that, every year, I would go to at least one place I've never been to. This year, I visited not just one but three - London and Birmingham in the UK and El Nido in Palawan.
The joy of intimate friendships deepened by challenges of distance, commitments, and other individual circumstances is another priceless gift of 2013. Just like an oyster-turned-into-pearl, there were some painful moments, but it is with deep inner peace and joy that I look at my most significant relationships and relish the growth and depth. Indeed, these are few pearls of great price.
And finally, the simple joys of some personal space and time for sacred idleness, of being in deep connection with nature in everyday life, of being safe and having a relatively comfortable life, of knowing that I am the object of affection of a God who is madly in love with me.
It was not easy to dispose myself into this count-my-blessings ritual because of the series of unfortunate events that our country went through, the most glaring of which was super typhoon Haiyan. Yet, in the quiet spaces of my heart, I also find a well of gratitude seeking recognition. For, indeed, on a personal level, 2013 was filled with blessings way beyond what I could imagine back in 2012.
Here are some snapshots of blessings and blessings-in-disguise of 2013.
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| My home-office |
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| Voluntouring at the Banaue Rice Terraces |
2013 is the year my son officially turned into an adolescent (teen-ager), graduated sixth grade and was recognized as an ideal student during the commencement exercise, and left the comfort and safety of a private school to explore the big world out there in a public science high school. He now knows how to commute by public transport on his owns, goes out with friends, decides what to eat for lunch, manages acute asthma attacks by himself. Lots of milestones. So much to be grateful for, and to a mother for whom hospital confinement is a regular part of mothering experience, spending a hospital-free year was a real blessing.
Two trips to the UK, first winter and snow, first autumn (almost), turning 45 in London, and fulfilling a dream to tour the entirety of Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral. . . all in a year. . . and all subsidized by the organisation I work with. What more could one ask for?
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| The twin beaches of Nacpan and Calitang on a rainy day |
Three years ago, I made a pact with myself that, every year, I would go to at least one place I've never been to. This year, I visited not just one but three - London and Birmingham in the UK and El Nido in Palawan.
The joy of intimate friendships deepened by challenges of distance, commitments, and other individual circumstances is another priceless gift of 2013. Just like an oyster-turned-into-pearl, there were some painful moments, but it is with deep inner peace and joy that I look at my most significant relationships and relish the growth and depth. Indeed, these are few pearls of great price.
The generosity, kindness, and thoughtfulness of family and dear friends sometimes go unnoticed but these are things that delight me and allow me to grow in terms of learning to find joy in receiving. Giving is quite easy for me but the art of receiving is something I still need to hone. It's not how much or how big I have received. Everything was gift - winter clothes lent by two wonderful friends, my son's birthday gift of fresh water pearl bracelet, an iPad from a friend, books given and lent, a friend's Mabuhay miles for my El Nido trip, the supply of special tea from my sister, the big and small things that my family would do for me (Nanay's and my elder brother's all-around support at home are invaluable!), food cooked and given with love, techie support from my son, the company of friends. What a delight to realize as I do this now that I can actually go on and on with this list. There is so much to be grateful for and I should probably keep this list handy for those ugly moments when pessimism tries to get the better of me.
And finally, the simple joys of some personal space and time for sacred idleness, of being in deep connection with nature in everyday life, of being safe and having a relatively comfortable life, of knowing that I am the object of affection of a God who is madly in love with me.
Indeed, it is only when we pay attention to those countless little/small and simple blessings we received that we find ourselves so lucky and blessed. It gives us joy and makes us feel loved coz no matter how little, small and simple but when you count it is too many. Often these are not seen that is why we find an emptiness in ourselves. Thanks La for sharing your blessings...you are indeed a blessing. Cheers.
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