Courtship (1)

Good morning friends. Imspired by my favorite writer Bob Garon, all what he is telling to us were always in reality. So practical in life.

Courtship is supposed to be a time for investigation. It is a time when two people look into the possibility of marriage. It should be a time when both the guy and the girl are circling around and learning all about each other in order to decide whether or not to marry.

There are those who make the fatal mistake of deciding too soon that the courtship must end in marriage. They court as if they are already engaged. The possibility of ending the courtship is not an option. This does not mean that there will be a marriage. It just means that, for them, the decision is made: they will marry.

These people fail to understand that there are many traps when two persons get into courtship. There is always the risk of getting hurt emotionally and psychologically traumatized. The risk of being rejected after giving so much to the relationship is very real and can be utterly devastating. And for some, life changing.

All this should not surprise you. Just look at all the failed and mediocre marriages around you. If so many marriages don’t work out, should you be surprised if courtships are so fragile? The problem with love is that you are only half the equation. You can influence your partner, but, in the end, you cannot control him/her. -The Manila Times

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The Truth (2)

And there are times when you are going to get it if you don’t say anything at all. Like when there is a disaster in the making and they find out later that you stood by and simply let it happen.

Then there are those moments when you are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. I get into those situations all the time. Like when I counsel someone to separate because of an impossible situation and one of the partners insists on going on in spite of it all. He hates you with a fury because he is convinced you are breaking up his marriage. It doesn’t matter that he has mistresses galore and obviously doesn’t love his wife anymore. The truth isn’t the issue. His wishes are.

Or try telling an obsessed woman that the man she loves has no real interest in her anymore and that there is no future with him. She doesn’t want to hear it. Never mind if it’s an undeniable truth.
We often play fast and loose with the truth. We can go to great lengths to create our own truth. We mould it to suit our needs and desires. And sometimes we are so set in our ways that we simply don’t want to hear it. And we are ready to jump on anyone who insists that we listen. This is why messengers who carry the truth get shot so often. -Bob Garon

The Truth (1)

Good morning friends. Let me start to give you some thoughts of wisdom that I have read. “You may fool of the people some of the time; You can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

They say, “The truth will make you free.” That’s right in many ways, but it is also true that the truth can get you into a lot of trouble. And it might even get you killed.

If you are suffering from some illness, then knowing the ugly truth can save your life. Hiding from it might end up hurting you badly. Keeping the truth about an affair from your beloved could go either way. Admit it now and face the music that could mean lots of trouble. Hide it and get away with it might give you a measure of peace. If and when, however, it is discovered later on, the consequences could be very dire. “How could you lie to me all this time?” she might say. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” you reply.

“You’re adding insult to injury and I can’t trust you anymore. I’m out of here,” she replies indignantly and is gone.

Truth can be a tricky matter. Sometimes it becomes a situation where you’re “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” Either way, the truth will hurt and you are faced with deciding what kind of hurt you are ready to accept. -Bob Garon

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Good morning friends. I just like to share you something. When I was in the house of my niece, her daughter is close to me. When ever I go there, she stays with me and talk a lot of things. She is only 9 years old now. She gave me a poem which she said she read in the book. The thought of sharing me something means to me. Somewhat she knows how to face the future in a positive way. The title of the poem is ..”All Things Bright and Beautiful”. Let me share you the poem she gave me.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He also made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky

The cold wind in the winter
The pleasant summer sun
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them for everyone.

The tall trees in the greenwood
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather everyday.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all thins well.

Poison in the air (2)

Colorless, odorless, but…

Sulfur dioxide (SO) comes mostly from stationary – source coal and oil combustion, refineries, pulp/paper mills and smelters. Health hazards associated with SO: Impaired breathing, respiratory illness, lung and cardiovascular diseases.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is odorless, colorless and poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon in fuels. It enters the bloodstream and disrupts delivery of oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues.

Protect your lungs

Nitrogen oxides (NO) can irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory infections. Many urban areas violate the EPA standards on occasional hot summer days when the sun cooks hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, thus producing smog.

Ozone (O3) is a colorless gas that affects people with impaired respiratory systems, such as asthmatics and can significantly reduce lung function.

And your kidneys too.

Lead (Pb) can affect us via air, diet, and ingestion of lead in soil and dust. It accumulates in the body in blood, bone and soft tissue. It is not easily excreted and affects the kidneys, nervous system and blood – forming organs. It can cause seizures, mental retardation and/or behavioral disorders. At low doses it is harmful to infants. Today more than 99.8 percent of the lead once added to gasoline in the US has been removed.

Watch the numbers

To measure air quality in urban areas EPA has developed an indicator called Air Quality Index (AQI), formerly the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI). The AQI integrates into a single number emission levels of five major pollutants: Particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone and nitrogen oxide.

AQI measure in numbers: 0-50, good air; 51 to 100, moderate air and over 100 is classified as unhealthy; 201 – 300, very unhealthy, and 301 – 500, hazardous. (Summary from the US Environmental Protection Agency)

Poison in the air (1)

Good morning everybody. We all know that clean air is very important in our body. It gives us healthy body when we inhale a clean air. By the information given by Atty. Romeo Pefianco, there are particles in the air that causes respiratory ailments. We should be all aware of that specially to all children.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the worst air pollution is undoubtedly in Asia. More than 1.5 million Asians die each year for the effects of air pollution alone, and another half million die from water pollution.

High levels in China and India

Anything over 100 micrograms of particles per cubic meter of air is considered dangerous. But in cities like Taiyuan, China and Delhi, India the levels routinely top 500 micrograms.

The danger is compounded by the fact that so many people in these areas cook indoors with coal briquettes. Particles in the air are a major cause of respiratory ailments in Asia; such ailments are a leading cause of death in China.

Not local but widespread

Although we tend to think of air pollution as a local problem, studies reported in 1995 demonstrate that there are widespread effects. It is reported that air pollution is so pervasive in industrial regions of northeastern North America, Central Europe and eastern Asia that it partly blocks sunlight, counteracting global warming with regional cooling.

Deadly pollutants

The basic law dealing with air pollution is the Clean air Act of 1990, which orders the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set standards for air quality. EPA monitors air quality at about 3,000 sites for six air pollutants: (1) particular matter — soot and dust (2) sulfur dioxide (3) carbon monoxide (mostly from automobiles (4) nitrogen oxides (5)lead and 6) ozone.

Particulate matter (PM) is measured with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 micrometers down to 2.5 micrometers. This includes dust, dirt, soot, smoke and liquid droplets directly emitted into the air from factories, power plant, cars, construction sites, fires, and natural erosion, as well as particles formed in the atmosphere by condensation or transformation of emitted gases such as sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds.

PM is responsible for most health problems like COPD, influenza, asthma and adverse effects in the lower regions of the respiratory tract.

Time for Introspection

Good morning everybody. It’s seldom to know the person who is specially on a high position in the government can speak or share about his thought to many of us. It’s good to know the words that he shared us all.

The Holy Week is a time to look inward.

It is a time to review how close we are to living the Christian paradigm of caring, giving, sharing and forgiving.

And it is also a time to reflect on where we have failed, and to find the resolve to pick up the broken pieces and move on as renewed individuals and as a nation.

What shared tasks have we missed? What challenges persist?

Is it not in the high incidence of poverty, in so many Filipinos who are jobless, homeless, and countless others who are clinging desperately to the remaining ray of hope?

Is it not in the many faces of social injustice?

Is it not in the growing sense of cynicism and despair?

Is it not in so many walls of division and mistrust?

Where then do we go from here? What does it take to move forward?

We can think of every imaginable economic development program. Growth statistics can be presented through impressive computer graphics.

At the end of the day, however, the hard question remains. Has the quality of life improved for the larger majority of our people who strive to survive on the periphery of society?

Perhaps what is missing is a God-centered national vision and mission.

This is a challenge where every Filipino, regardless of status and creed, is a stakeholder. It is a call not only to Christians, but also to all who profess faith in God.

A God-centered governance is essentially accountable and service-driven. It is guided by an unerring moral and spiritual compass. It is empowered by the strongest force in the entire universe to defy the gravity of its imperfections. It enables the nation to become a community of caring brothers and sisters. It is inspired to aim always for the total human development of every Filipino.
This is an ideal well worth aspiring for.

But such an ideal will remain a dream forever unless we strive with courage to make it real. And with the grace of God we shall have the wings to get there.

We hope and pray that God will be with us always. – Senator Manny Villar
(You may send your comments/feedback to mbvillar_comments@yahoo.com)

THE Peace of Christ (2)

Formula for Peace
The world would be better off, if people tried to become better. And people would become better, if they stopped trying to be better off. For when everybody tries to become better off, nobody is better off. But when everybody tries to become better, everybody is better off. Everybody would be rich if nobody tried to become richer. And nobody would be poor, if everybody tried to be the poorest. And everybody would be what he ought to be, if everybody tried to be what he wants the other fellow to be.

Prayer of the Man of Peace

The following beautiful prayer was recorded in a collection of noble sayings compiled by Eusebius, bishop of Caesaria, about 325 A.D. Its author is unknown.
May I be no man’s enemy, and may I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides.

May I love, seek and attain only that which is good.

May I wish for all men’s happiness and envy none.

May I never rejoice in the ill fortune of one who has wronged me. When I have said or done that which is wrong, may I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends.

May I win no victory that harms either me or my opponent.

May I, to the extent of my power, give all needful help to my friends and to all who are in want.

May I be able by gentle and healing words, when visiting those in grief, to soften their pain.

May I respect myself.

May I always keep tame that which rages within me.

May I accustom myself to be gentle, and never angry with people because of circumstances.

May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done, but know good men and follow in their footsteps.