SO THAT MANY WILL UNDERSTAND - Haiyan/Yolanda super storm aftermath

 

One more BRAVO to the person who wrote this fantastic post!! Thank you, Jerome Christopher Hernandez. Ah but there's many out there still writing something like this. Keep it all coming, brothers and sisters, because many need to understand. And those who get to read this, please share.

A post by Jerome Christopher Hernández 

To quote.

This calamity, this disaster, is the worst of its kind in the WORLD. It might just be the strongest, most destructive typhoon in the history of human civilization. Any country who would experience this would be dealt upon a great blow.

Now, please consider these:

1.) The Philippines is a third-world country. The country's entire Air Force owns only three working C130 (cargo) planes. Only three! And it's supposed to serve a country of 100-million citizens! So are they too slow in delivering relief goods, medical equipment, personnel, etc.? But of course! Let us understand that they are limited by the resources that they have. I could imagine how eager our military/government personnel are to help!

2.) In Tacloban, out of around 200-plus police officers, only twenty of them reported for duty the day after the storm. Yes, 20! The couple of hundred others cannot be reached or found. Most likely, they're attending to their own families who are themselves victims of this tragic calamity. Heck, they might even be dead as well! So are they too slow to respond? But of course! What is it that you cannot understand there?

3.) Most, if not all, commercial flights to and from Tacloban have been cancelled in the first few days after the storm. The airport isn't safe to land on due to the absence of radar, lights and other essential facilities. How can the replacement government personnel go to their assignments quickly? How can you go to Tacloban to volunteer and lend your own two hands? Even if you wanted to, you just cannot go to Tacloban. And that's the CAPITAL CITY of Leyte! What about the smaller towns in remote islands? How do you get all the help to these places instantly? Consider, too, that the roads are clogged with debris, carcasses and cadavers! It's a logistical nightmare! So, is help too slow to arrive? Unfortunately, yes! How is it humanly possible not to be slow? Enlighten me if you know how, please!

This is a very extraordinary situation. Hurricane Katrina knocked the US down, and it took a while before they stood up again. The super strong earthquake paralyzed Japan, and it took a while before everything normalized. These are the two wealthiest countries in the world. They have the most equipped, most advanced military in the planet.

We are the Philippines: a third-world country with a military who calls an old US Coast Guard patrol vessel as its biggest, strongest warship! So before any of us dares to blame the government, think hard. I'm not saying that we must stop criticizing. But if we are to criticize, may it be constructive, and having considered the entire picture. And most importantly, it must be criticism that's bundled with an alternative solution! If your mortal human brain cannot conceive of a better, doable way to address the problems at hand, your criticism, sadly, is worth manure.

Let us all pray to God almighty for the strength to endure this extraordinary tragedy.

There's no Batman. Just us. As one Filipino people.

Unquote. 

FOLLOW THE HELP HAPPENING -- On Haiyan/Yolanda

I am bringing this here from the other blog because this is something I feel strongly about and would like to share with those who would care to stop awhile and listen. :-)

WHAT'S ON THE NEWS TODAY? (Haiyan-Yolanda)

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WHAT'S ON THE NEWS TODAY?  (Haiyan-Yolanda)

Okay, somebody said on TV  that help is there. So then let's see the action.....

Show the help happening. Show the helpers.

- the clearing of roads
- the aid trucks, ships, and planes
- the medical teams and centers
- the power lines being restored
- the water supply
- the temporary shelters built
- the kitchen soups
- the transportation facilities
- the communication lines restored
- the security measures in place
- the dead buried
- the packing of relief goods
- the individuals and groups with their donations
- the priests and religious groups ministering to the flock
- the global community reaching out to help
- and much more....

You say it's just starting. That's right! So we follow the help happening from day one of help happening. We would like to see...  we would like to know... We would like to appreciate and thank the helpers and the help.  We would like to cry in great joy and applaud.

We already know about the 'why' of this horrible catastrophe. And it's very sad. We'll never be the same again as individuals, as a people, as a community, as a nation.  And I think we have learned our lessons, too.

But please Stop replaying the tears, the anguish, the misery...  we feel their pain. We do! But please do not try to overkill the images. It's like rubbing salt on an open wound. That truly hurts deep.

Now show us the --- what,  when,  where,  who,  and  how of its
solution... restoration... rebuilding... recovery... the efforts to rise from a very very horrible fate.

Show us the spirit of ---  hope,  faith,  prayer, compassion, brotherhood,  courage, unity, generosity, the national and global community separately and collectively towards a singular cause, the basic goodness of man ........... show us the spirit of life!  Show us GOD at work!

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

I'm bringing this here from the other  blog  for a dear friend. Maybe now you'll try checking out the other blog, too, lazy-fingers  :-) :-)

 BEHIND A NAME IS A HISTORY SO LEARN

 

 

 

This, when I found it, pushed me to thinking........

To quote:

"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird. So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something." -- Richard Feynman

Unquote.

Precious knowledge more often than not pass us by simply because all we know of them are their names and are content with that. Often we fail, at least, to try learning so much more about it. What's in a name? Plenty I must say. Behind a name is a history... the who, what, when, where, why, and how of its creation. That applies to both living and non-living things. How well do we know? And, if I may add, how well do we know our God, too?

Indeed, there is a ... "..difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."

Relish today and squeeze out all learning from it.
Learn... unlearn... relearn.
God bless you!

SHINE WITH YOUR GIFT - SHINE WITH YOUR LIGHT

How sad to see young people simply sit and long for the good life and bright chances enjoyed by the perceived lucky ones, some talented ones, the rich and famous, a few overnight sensations, and some bold freaks with their fifteen minutes of fame for some odd reason or another. That is not a far-away dream... it can be yours too. The good dream, I must say.

Nobody can be better than you when you decide to become better if not the best. But first you must want to be the best. Perhaps not always the best in the world but you can where you are in your own little corner of the world ..... the best to yourself.

The best homemaker who can cook up a scrumptious lasagna in the neighborhood anytime... the most giving person at the office -- giving of his time, expertise, kindness... the most dedicated teacher in the barrio... the most admired person who created the most beautiful flower garden this side of town... the most cheerful vendor of 'taho' rain or shine... a staunch believer and defender of animal rights... the most honest public servant... the best cop on the block... and so much more where one's light shines through and out with all of its brilliance. True value. And that, by any measure human or divine, is perfect. It fits God's perfect plan for yourself. You'll have God grinning from ear to ear!

Greatness - potential - happiness is all there inside of you. Haven't you heard that said and written about a million times over? All you have to do is peel off the unwanted layers of insecurity and fear which hold it down. Decide to take up your wings and fly... soar like an eagle because you are meant to soar. Bloom where God has planted you in whatever measure or capacity you have been equipped with. Use it. And that, I must say again, is the divine blueprint of our human lives.

And to a few still unsure or who think they are quite 'content'..... think about this quote

"What is terrible is to pretend that the second-rate is first rate, that you don't need love when you do or that you like your work when you know quite well you're capable of better."      - Doris Lessing (England)

Indeed, capable of BETTER!
So then soar! Shine brighter with your light!
Just do it where you are. Shine with your gift.
Make God smile.

KNOW YOURSELF

 

 

http://ellen-inretrospect.blogspot.com/2013/05/know-yourself.html

A good friend for some reason I don't know couldn't access the other blog, so am bringing this here with the hope that perhaps this time she will be able to. (Let me know, buddy.)

THE POWER OF E-COMMUNICATION

                             

Just here for a bit. I was reading this book in bed ... Well, you have to think of something to take your mind off your helpless self ... and there's nothing better than a good book to do that. Here is one I would like to share with you. Found good stuff in it but I was struck particularly by these lines which I quote. Maybe because I have written something about it months ago. The book is 'The Power of Kindness' (the same editors of Random Acts Of Kindness) ..... Chapter 5 - The Transformative Nature of Community ... an excerpt from page 158, to quote:

" ..... Maybe because of vast number people you can communicate with, most e-communications are just dabbling. A little chit-chat, back-and-forth questions and answers about incredibly superficial and meaningless things and then Poof!, people disappear.

It amazes me how often and suddenly people just drop out of sight. You think there is something real going on and then complete silence, like it never even existed. No explanations, no goodbyes, just silence. The more I checked in with friends, the more I had to conclude this was the main mode of e-communications ----- a brief flurry of e-mails and I-mails going back and forth, the illusion of connection, and the trickling away. "     -- Unquote.

I am sure that many of us have thought about this 'disappearance' ... have observed it on your fb or blog page, respectively. As much as the article above is true, one cannot simply brush off this explanation that people (that's you and me and others more) have lives to live and that life more often than not does take them in other directions too. Sometimes too fast-too soon leaving no room for goodbyes or simple courtesies. Life I think behaves often in that seemingly heartless manner -- you may want to do the right thing but it won't let you thus affecting your life and the people around you in some great or greater manner.

If some people perceive the online community lacks depth, I'll say maybe yes and maybe not. The realities of e-communication are there for one to understand both personally and impersonally. The thing is you can make a difference with your online community in a way which reflects you as a person in real life, in real time. The idea is be yourself.... your best good self the one which God meant you to be by Divine Design. Whatever it is that you do, you can't be anything less than that Divine Plan. The blueprint of our earthly lives, with or without e-communication.

Gosh, I hope this wasn't very long for you. :-)
By the way, see this photo above? So pretty and refreshing to the eyes and soul. Enjoy it as I did. Take care now and blessings to you and your families. God loves you... you know HE does!

THE HEART RULES BY GOD'S DESIGN

Let's see this.....

From -- Freaky Facts (Hinkler Books Pty Ltd 2009) --

"It was widely believed in the Middle Ages that the heart was the center of human intelligence."

Psychology-wise or anatomy-wise we know where it is, by design. But curiosity now dictates me to ask what if you believed just like them in the Middle Ages that it is indeed in the heart, how would you rate your past decisions or experiences or encounters or deeds? We have always regarded the heart as the core of our feelings or emotions. But many people consider the heart as dumb with regards to problem solving. Yet if it was the intelligent heart which moved you, how would you have fared with it?

Just a playful thought as I flipped through this small book and stopped at page 136 for this freaky fact.

Oh! one more thing before I go on with the rest of my God-blessed day, God looks to the heart........ HE doesn't care about how brilliant or intelligent or witty we think ourselves to be in our minds or puny brains. But if we respond to HIM intelligently with our hearts, don't you think that would make GOD smile lots? We may have been missing this all along -----  The key to HIS HEART is right there in our hearts.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. Tons of blessings await you. Just open your eyes. Think with the heart  :-)

MAYBE IT'S JUST ONE-FOURTH OF A RAINBOW BUT.....

(I'm bringing this here from the other blog.. for a special friend. God bless you.)

Today is January 4, 2013, Friday...........

The overcast skies above failed to dampen my resolve to get on with my usual early morning walk. Glad that I did because just about a few minutes into my walk I saw this lovely rainbow.... not a full one, not even half of it, but just one-fourth of a rainbow! But it was enough to bring a song to my heart. Because that's what a rainbow does, at least to me. It tells you so much what life is all about.... colorful, vibrant, diverse... it reminds me of newness, potential, possibilities, hope, dreams, and of God's promise that the best is yet to come.

No, it doesn't say that troubles are over or no more. What it says is that troubles will come as it always will in life but it will pass as surely as the night turns into day. And that we can breeze through the transition armed with courage, determination, perseverance, confidence in self, and a steadfast belief and faith in GOD. Rainbows come to seal that glorious promise of rebirth... of hope... of a fresh new beginning.

We should learn from the past and learn well that always at some point or other in our lives we go through --- change, transition, progress, creation and recreation. And always the movement should be forward. FORWARD. No turning back, no dwelling in the past, no looking back except to pluck out the lessons essential to our present journey.

Well, the rainbow disappeared with the rising of the glorious sun. But it succeeded what it had set out to do.... bring the song back to my heart.

I hope the first week of 2013 gave you a glimpse of the best waiting for you up ahead. If there's none yet, create it. Or just wait a wee bit more. God is definitely working on it. Believe.

Blessings to you all!