A POLITICIAN'S FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

         The debates among the Republican candidates for Presidential
 nomination reveal the different views, temperaments, personalities,
 character, individual idiosyncracies, perspectives,their religious
beliefs, educational backgrounds, even their respective intuitive and
 combative faculties (if any), as the TV audience may have noted.
Heated controversies usually give rise to diverse aggrupations of
 followers who become more and more inflexible,
 unless the contenders come to realize their goal is the election
of the nation's next President, not merely the Republican nomination
 for that post.
         I recall an old politician's formula for his success as Senator
 for successive terms in the Philippine Senate:- Per Amang Rodriguez,
 "Politics is addition, not subtraction nor division."  The clever
 politician never denigrates, deprecates. nor scoffs at those who
 disagree with him. True, without near fisticuffs, insults or censorable
 verbiage, debates and campaigns would be very uninteresting,
 boring indeed. Here in the United States, dissent among the political
 contenders and their followers is also rife and quite heated. However,
 he who can bring under his wing the greatest number of voters
 (no matter from what camp, religious, racial, or age group a voter
 may have come from) will win the elections.

AUSTERITY (Memo for Uncle Sam)

               Another 'stimulus' is being planned for you;
               Upcoming deficits may soon be due,
               So money, money must be printed now,
               Tons of  'dead presidents' you'll need, and how!
               Except that future generations may
               Rue our extravagance displayed today.
               Is it not wiser that we tighten belts?
              The nation's rating, like an iceberg, melts...
              You've just been downgraded to double A!

ARTISTRY

                  A spare man brought out his new ipod with a smile,
                  Revealing all the functions his device could do...
                  The gadget outdistanced its rivals by a mile;
                  Innovation by Steve Jobs has again come thru!
                  So young lads and ladies, be not afraid nor cowed,
                  Think 'outside the box' and dare to try something new.
                  Roll up your sleeves like Steve;  see what God has bestowed.
                  You, too, can make our Creator/Programmer proud!     


 
           

SURMISE I & II

      Some tragic events inspire people to surmise,
      Unduly expatiating occurrences,
      Recklessly retelling some person's demise
     More palatable to the media's audiences.
      I have read conflicting reports on Gadhafi,
     Supposedly like a dog begging for mercy--
     Except that there are stories of conspiracy...!    



   (Query:  His captors could have easily killed him with
      their weapons; why did they go to the trouble of shooting
      him with his own 'golden' gun,,.or was it Gadhafi's 
      bodyguard who shot him?)



       Some government leaders may have information--
       Unanticipated global devastation
       Really could occur by December, 2012.
      Mayhap that prophesied event would also solve,
       Indeed all nations' huge debts- totally absolve.
       So sorry if our Earth becomes a burnt hors d'oeuvre;
       Extirpation may be what many fools deserve.
      

     (''...many fools"--like us, of course.  And perhaps, that Mayan
       doomsday event would make Uncle Sam's
       15 trillion USD debt uncollectible.)  
 

No Saint

                  Delving again into the subatomic world where a mere drop of human blood contains trillions of various kinds of quanta, it would seem that our skin cannot totally prevent these subatomic particles from  escaping out of our bodies. Furthermore, some people have the ability to sense or perceive the energy of these quanta. Healers feel or detect the difference between an ailing person and one who is hale and untroubled, The aura of the sick person is faint, hardly detectable, while the latter has a brightly shining, radiating, maybe even corruscating or oscillating bursts of energy around him. Halos on or around the heads of saints might be because the keener 'sight' of the painters do see (or did see) these luminescent phenomena crowning these holy personages' heads.
                 I just looked at the mirrror to check. No halo there that I could see. But then, I am no saint...

Various 'Centric' Perceptions

         Cosmic perceptions vary, as note:-
The Early Church was geocentric,
Copernicus and Galileo heliocentric,
Most infants 'matercentric',
Modern man usually anthropocentric,
Some scientists imagine the multiverse
       like onion rings--concentric,
Poets & philosophers are eccentric,
Then as we age, we become 'Deicentric'...

     (And God be with you, too.)

Hone Your Skills

                Have you a special skill that few can do,
                Or a unique talent that God gave you?
                No need to waste the gifts He has given;
                Endeavor to use them to enliven
                Your family and friends, your neighbors, too;
                Out from its hiding place the secret brew,
                Uncork that bottle of wine within you!
                Rare treasures bestowed to the gifted few
                Should be shown and shared, not hidden from view.
                Know that capacities rust, if unused;
                Immobile limbs and joints soon become fused.
                Let patient practice reach dexterity,
                Love your labor and rise to artistry;
                Share God's gifts gladly--with humility.
              

INTERFAITH

                It is now time for differing faiths to agree
             ( No matter by what name we call the Almighty)
                That there is but One First Cause, One God for us all.
                Earth, man's home in God's vast cosmos, is indeed small;
                Reason, therefore, should among all nations govern.
                For mere land strips, shall we let the whole planet burn?
                Allah, Jehovah, Bathala, Our Creator
                Is no race or religion Discriminator...
               Then why has not the Dove of Peace our world adorned?
              "Heav'n hath no greater sorrow than Tolerance scorned!"

A Human Soul

                              A gnostic claims his soul will never die,
                              He says he is immortal; he does not lie.
                              Using science-fact, it can't be denied
                              Man as matter-energy has defied
                              A total dissolution of being.
                              Non-local quanta cannot be 'nothing'.
                              So even if we cannot find or measure
                              Our vaunted soul, our invisible treasure
                              Undisputably links us to God's dimension...
                              Let us act with care lest there be link malfunction.
                           

MYSTERY

            Mind over matter seems improbable;
            Yet I myself have had experiences
            Somehow proving the unbelievable,
            Though some would maintain odd occurrences
            Explainable as coincidences.
            Recall how I just 'thought' I'd pass the Bar..?
            You, too, can move the Rock of Gibraltar!

Arran aka Orion

My Uncle Zaling's* version of the Orion myth is as follows: Arran was a giant or titan whose obsession was chasing after beautiful maidens. One moonlit night he chanced upon a nymph taking a bath by the river. Arran attempted to serenade the maiden but he was not a good singer. The nymph instead took flight, and Arran promptly chased after her. It seems both had magical powers for the nymph flew up to the firmament where you can still see her with her sisters in constellation Pleiades. Arran also got stuck in the sky, and he is now known as Orion. The imprint of Orion's feet can be seen in the map of South East Asia. Before he jumped to the sky, his right foot struck La Union in the northern province of Luzon while his left the island of Formosa. Perhaps, the young stalwarts of northern Luzon owe their main pre-occupation (chasing lovely ladies) to the footprint left by Arran aka Orion.

*Uncle Zaling is Rizalino de Peralta, USAFFE veteran, a survivor of the Death March. He was awarded the Purple Heart for the wounds he suffered from a grenade thrown after him as he rolled down a steep slope in making his escape from the Death March to Capas.

(Below was my adieu to To Uncle Zaling in acrostic):-
Return, Uncle, to our Maker's Heavenly Place;
It has been, for you, a rather long pilgrimage.
Zones of war and bomb blasts shall have no more menace.
At last you are free from you shrapnel-tortured cage...
Leave all frightful mem'ries of bloody battles fought.
In our Lord God have trust - for better or for worse.
Note that you may now travel with the speed of thought.
Off to Orion--Explore God's vast universe!

Deign to whisper in our dreams your timely advice;
Excuse us mortals but we'll miss you now and then.

Pray that we'll be safe, healthy, and a bit more wise...
Eventually, altho' we know not how nor when,
Rivulets will reach the Ocean, so we shall meet
Again! There amongst an angelic gathering
Loved ones with and you and I shall one another greet,
Thanking as well our Lord God with much rejoicing
As we live on in bliss with His Love unceasing!

Note to a Poker Player

            There are all kinds of players in a poker game.  Some have very few chips, while others have a lot. Nations involved in the game of international affairs are like poker players.  It would seem that those holding high cards (like aces/exotic weaponry) are still playing politesse. But there are moments  when being overly cautious is no longer timely nor the right thing to do. You know you have a strong hand. Uncle Sam, call the bluffer's bluff.  Show your winning hand!

VOX POPULI ( A Prophetic Acrostic)

                  Voicing their protests in anger,
                  Old pensioners could not believe
                 'Xanado' is gone forever.
                  Previously pampered, they now grieve
                  Outside government offices
                  Pleading and screaming in tumult;
                  Unfulfilled pension promises
                  Push the elderly to revolt.
                 "In hoc (vox populi), vinces."

            (Injustice to the old and dying is an incurable injury.!)

STRAY SHEEP

              Sometimes I stray to see if yonder fields
              Truly offer greener, tastier yields;
              Regretfully, up close I find them bare,
              A locust swarm has already been there.
              You, too, from the beaten path may wander--
              So many conflicting views to ponder...
              How self-centered was your first perspective?
              Expand your vision, be world sensitive;
              Explore the whole Cosmos and you will find
              Pure Spirit, God Himself, inside your mind!

(There are varying levels of perspectives:- infantile,
  parental, familial, tribal, national, global, cosmic, etc.
  One who has sensed that he is indeed part of God's Cosmos
  can not for long be a 'stray sheep'.)

Propensity vs. Potentiality

          The word 'propensity'is often associated with something bad, while 'potentiality' more with what is good. In fact, that which triggers or activates either of these two capabilities is our 'will'. We choose to do it.
        Unfortunately, human will is also influenced by other factors, i.e., our survival instinct, hunger, envy, peer pride, lack of faith in a Just and Merciful God, sometimes pure bias, hate, superstition or ignorance There are many forks or branches that we could survey on Life's road. The path that offers the least resistance oftentimes is what we select to follow. We have propensities that, if given free rein, could make us worse than the Devil. Let us rather choose to explore the full extent of our potentialities, for human nature imbued with a firm, unsullied will can make us even "higher than angels."
         Incidentally, eaglets trying to learn to fly fall to the ground several times. But they try and try again.  And soon, they can with ease soar to the skies. (Some blue eagles I know have gone through the same routine.)

We Need You, God

                When the going gets tough
                 Every crossing is rough;
                 No calm weather in sight,
                 Each week a typhoon's might
                 Enters our country's isles,
                 Drowning lowlands for miles.
                 Young crops unharvested,
                 Old dikes devastated.
                 Unscathed, only a lucky few...
                 Grieve not, Pinoys will start anew.
                 Overdue halcyon days, please come soon;
                 Drive away storm clouds and our wet monsoon!


           (This acrostic was blown in by the recent typhoons in the Philippines.)
           

BATHALA

                        By whatever name God, our Lord Almighty,  is called,
                        A pilgrim would know, and yet he may soon be appalled
                        To find that so many of our brethren are still blind.
                        How can our Creator be supposed to have driven
                        Apart rivalling faiths or religions of mankind?
                        Lost from the host of names that to God man has given -
                        A true Reverence for Him...  May we be forgiven!



              (One who worships Allah should not invoke his God to justify killing
                one who worships Jehovah. God by any name is Father of all.)