MOVING ON

Watch the video first, and I hope you'd get surprised, somewhat by what you'd see. What I thought was most disturbing about this video is that portion when the protagonist had to resort to self-destructing activities after having been discriminated against with, directly and indirectly, for sustained periods of time by people who are supposed to be natural members of his support group, loved ones, and family. It's that disconnect, that sense that you're not being accepted and loved for who you are, and you start believing what they think or tell you about yourself. And of course, we can't help but believe such lies for so long. In the process of believing, we know deep in hearts who we really are as individuals who are deserving to receive love, understanding, care from those who matter to us.  It's in the process of realization, in the process of clarifying life's many complicated situations when we see that such values can't be given us and, consequ...

I first read this from a Facebook posting and recalled it today while figuring out tactics to use in doing results producing activities. Most probably, the original posting came from here ( Be Selfish, Seek Pleasure, Avoid Pain ). I've enthusiastically shared this admonishment to some close friends during a usual gathering for a hearty meal and an inspiring conversation among friends. They laughed aloud at the idea, which I made sure I shared with them as I wanted them to be always happy. Actually, in my mind, they're the perfect examples of how this admonition is best put into action. I see how they're leading their lives, generally, in this manner. Of course, they deny it, which is normal. Who likes to be told "you're selfish." Or that you only seek pleasure in life, more than anything else. Or you're being considered cowardly because you always avoid pain, even the mere mention of it. We were told to think of others as well as we were growing up, and t...

By taking time to read the many books of the Bible, you actually don't automatically gather tips that will help you in your endeavors to move on in the many phases happening in your life now. It actually takes time to be silent and be away from the humdrum of everyday life, and then to start reading pages of the Bible. I've been doing that for many years now, whereby I read at least a chapter or so each night before I go to bed. And I remain dumbfounded during many moments and ask myself the meaning and purpose of so many of those passages I have read.  Actually, some passages are very easy to read and understand, if you've been a book reader for some time before you started reading the Bible earnestly on your own. The Bible, admittedly, is not an easy read (mainly because it uses a classic style of writing that's not so familiar to most who would rather be doing something else rather than read the Bible, and you get a sense right away that its books were written by s...

Shop Indie Bookstores This only happened to me now, and got me wondering "what's happening?" I've used the same book in a writing seminar at least 4 years ago, which was held in the apartment of a good friend whom I've not seen since then. And I've used the book as a tool in moving on from all these heartaches, sad moments, fears, and terrible imaginations I've faced so that I'll be able to lead the kind of life I've envisioned for myself. Whenever I have the chance, I'll fill up pages in my morning pages, which idea comes from the book. I've told and recommended the same approach to people I know (at least, those who would have the patience to actually listen). But I noticed not too many people would have the courage, the discipline, and the focus to write down entries in a 'Morning Pages' notebook. People have a lot of reasons to keep them away from facing what is essentially themselves, deep within and shown full frontal in an...

Below is a posting of an article that underwent so many changes ever since I decided to write an article on a highly intriguing character I met in my daily readings. As such, I was inspired to share a deleted article that editors from another site where I keep a portfolio of articles have decided to be of poor quality. I've since then re-edited it again, but only to have it deleted one more time. And I had to ask someone in the same site to help me out, where in the process I also had to pour out my heart-felt pain from having a beloved ('you can only imagine how much effort I put into writing down these works you see all the time when I promote them for internet juice' LOL) article deleted. Yes, I can't help but take these things personally. My articles are my babies, in so many respects. And I've since then taken steps to move on from the horrendous experience. In the meantime, I discovered that the topic of the said article happens to be talking about some char...

When you're younger, you usually would receive strong suggestions from people around you on what you ought to do later when you grow older. They include parents, elders, and friends. Most of them don't really know what they're talking about except they just think they know you that well, mainly because they've taken part in rearing and taking care of you from childhood, one way or another. But their suggestions are most probably projections of their own dreams that they have missed out in pursuing most relentlessly; each one of us face so many, grueling distractions as we go through the many phases in life.  Even authors, including James Joyce (who's one of my favorites), experienced something similar. And he wrote a book about it, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," which is considered by critics and readers as among the top English-novels of the 20th century. With this note in mind, I ventured to read the book and have found out it's among...

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris My rating: 4 of 5 stars I realized before re-posting this here from my Goodreads.com account that David Sedaris must have been wanting to share his moving on experience on giving up smoking, which he did for at least 3 decades. This story dominates much of my reading memories of this book, which remains as humorous as ever and as what I expected prior to reading it. I'm sure he's still missing smoking, every once in a while. Smoking contributed a lot to killing my Father who smoked for at 45 years. I'm not advising anyone to stop smoking --- we're all given free choice and we know better what to do next with the remaining moments of our lives.  You'd feel weird right away when you read and try to make sense of the book's title, which is usually expressed as 'When you're on fire' or 'When you are getting burned' by most. The title apparently's a flaming reference to one of those weird...

I've read Carlos Bulosan's ' America Is In The Heart ' in the original English lately, after I picked up a copy from one of my favorite thrift stores in Brooklyn months ago. I actually read it first many years ago in Tagalog (Nasa Puso Ang Amerika), and I don't recall much about the book (it reads very polemical in Tagalog). I even thought of it as a novel by this venerable writer from the Philippines, which, obviously, was a wrong assumption. It's a memoir; actually one of the best and most touching books of the genre I've read written in English. He should have been a US Citizen but because there were dominant bigots in power and in influential circles then (from both the US and the Philippines), he and other Philippine-born nationals were denied the basic right (think of it: the Philippines was a commonwealth of the US then, just like Puerto Rico, or even like Massachusetts---and draw your own conclusion). You got to spare time to read this book, not be...

Unless you've been aware of businesses known for their leadership and creativity, you may not find this book much of help. Read it because you're ready to admit you're weird yourself. And you're not afraid of it being known, and would even want to highlight your weird traits, and get to attract others who share similarities with you. With this book, you may probably get ideas on how to gain some help in marketing what's unusual with you, your products or services. You build your business with those who have weird traits, too, and there's no need to seek out for customers who are on the lookout for the ordinary, the regular, and the usual. Leave these people to their own commonalities. Perhaps, before you know it, you'll find yourself in a profitable business situation for all regular business folks to learn from :-D We Are All Weird by Seth Godin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm weird myself, & that's why I enjoyed reading this book! And people...

Notes: This is also a moving on book mainly because it talks about a transitioning period that happens when one's grown up child gets murdered in the Lower East Side (LES) of Manhattan. You deal with it the best way you can, given the grim circumstances. And others are always involved, as nobody's death is considered a vacuum when it happens - each one of us is connected with others. We don't die in a void. Stylish characterizations, well-crafted descriptions, lots of good research ---these are all can be found in this book, which got me into thinking about a lot of happenings taking place in the LES when I used to live there. I think I met again a lot of the characters I met when as lived on East Broadway when I read this book.  Lush Life by Richard Price My rating: 4 of 5 stars I took some time thinking what to say about this book, which intrigued me because of the feedback I read from others. On the surface it's not exactly among the many books I'd be readi...

I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a wonderful 'moving on' book for readers who are forever in major transitions in their respective lives. Well, that's a pretty loaded line there but reading this book gives you ideas on how to go about moving on from one major situation in your life to another without totally damaging but actually creating your best self given resources on hand. Having gotten my copy from one of the brownstone stoops in Park Slope, Brooklyn, I thought the cover was funny looking with a goldfish pictured somewhere on the tattered page. Surely, the former owner must have wanted another reader to enjoy perusing this book. Finishing it in less than 3 days, I read how fabulously it was written as a memoir by someone who does advertisements these days and who was doing drag shows many years ago. I'm pretty familiar (which is an understatement) with such characters, having been involved myself w...

When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner My rating: 5 of 5 stars A very good friend remarked on my Facebook profile about this book: An extremely flawed book. It asks all the right questions, which is very thought provoking. But it comes up with all the wrong answers and conclusions. The author is unable to accept that idea of a God who is all powerful and all knowing and settles on some touchy/feely non-distinct spiritual essence within us. So disappointing. Read the book and share your thoughts, too, in the comments section of this posting. Below are my thoughts on the book after I finished reading it: I finished this book while on the background I could hear the reading of the names of those who perished in the 9/11 horrific events on TV during its 10th anniversary. I was also wondering why this book has remained to be among my bestsellers in my online bookstore via Amazon.com (I must have sold 3 copies of this book, which got me curious and made me sta...