The Daily Battle: Wakey Wakey

Sunrise at Caramoan Island, Philippines

Every single f*ng day of your life is a battle. You are constantly at war with yourself–from the very moment your alarm clock jars you awake to the very last text or email you send before you doze off at night. 

Wakey! Wakey! Talk about the first thing you do in the morning.  When you keep bargaining “five more minutes” before you actually pull yourself out of bed. Then end getting up an hour later. When you procrastinate first thing in the morning, this is already one battle lost out of the hundreds of battles you have to go through within a single day. It sounds ridiculous right? Why would snoozing your alarm three to five times before getting up, be a lost battle? A little procrastination wouldn’t hurt and besides, everybody does it! Point taken, especially because the Filipino culture has already wired into your system the infamous “Filipino time”. This feeds the idea that it’s okay to be late because everyone is. It’s okay to procrastinate because we are all procrastinators.

This manner of reasoning is a classic, ubiquitous example of sloth. What’s the big deal? Not much, at first. You’re just creating a habit that’s detrimental to your productivity. This habit somehow grows into a character that sticks to your system like a virus. You don’t really get the gravity of the mess you’re in until you end up  missing a plane ride or hurt your best friends big time.

The sad part is you’re too wired into this constant routine of “laziness”, you neglect the fact that it’s possible for you to change.  You allow yourself to be contented with the idea that “it’s just the way it is” and surrender your power to change by saying “I can’t do anything about it.” Most of the time, you don’t consider it a big deal. There is no urgency to change. Even though you know that the best time to change is NOW.

What’s even sadder is you don’t want to change. You think of it as an alien idea; a far-fetched concept; impossible. In other words, you’re just too lazy to change. It is a daily battle indeed. You fall into temptation over and over again.

There’s this concept called “three voices” which comprises of your voice, your conscience and the tempter’s voice. Imagine one of those cartoon shows where you (as the protagonist) would have to decide over something and suddenly, two mini-versions of you would appear on your shoulders. One is dressed up like an angel and the other as the devil. These two would argue and throw a wrangle at each other. You would then decide based on whose side gave a better argument. The real problem is  you have made yourself numb from identifying which mini-me-voice-version-of-yourself is speaking to you. That is why you follow the voice that  seems to be most comforting at the moment. You know you’ll regret it later but you choose the tempter anyway.

This post is the first of a series about a sleepy-head trying to convince you to get your a* off of bed on time. The day has just began.

se7en Blissful Blessings

Are you having a shitty week? Counter the flow of negativity by making a list of your blessings. Mine goes like this:

1. My home is in a flood-free area.

Tropical Storm Maring has brought non-stop rain in the Metropolis for the past four days. I’m grateful that my news feed is the only thing flooded with reports and photos about the storm.

2. I don’t live alone.

When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to move out and live independently. I recently realized how sad and lonely living alone can get. Imagine the scene in “The Wedding Planner” where J-Lo was going home to an empty apartment and eating microwavable food alone. I never want to go back to that.

3. I still have a considerable amount of pocket money a few days before payday.

Blame it to reckless days of youth when just two days after payday, you’re asking yourself “Where did my money go?” I don’t think I’m alone in this. Am I? Well, I’ve long bid my goodbyes to “puresa” weeks when you’re only counting the days before the next payday because the only money you have left is enough for fare to last the week. Been there, done that. No more, thank you.

4. Corruption is a foreign concept to my being.

In the midst of the Napoles scandal, I couldn’t help but ponder how Janet’s kids fathom living a luxurious lifestyle with the knowledge that they are using taxpayer’s money. The answer, they grew up with a corrupt mentality. It’s sad that their extreme greed has buried their conscience alive. I’m grateful that my parents raised me well and with their hard-earned money.

5. I’m privileged to have a roof over my head, clean water to drink, electricity to use, food to eat and unlimited Internet access.

I plead guilty. There are days when I’m just too preoccupied in my little world that I forget how blessed I am.  Back in the day, my mom would scold me for not finishing my food and say “at least you have food to eat, unlike other kids in Africa.” My sarcasm would strike and say “would they be fed if I finish my food?” Decades later, I now know that my mom simply meant I should be grateful for what I have.

6. I have a loving family.

Don’t get me wrong, every family has their own MMK story and mine is not exempted from the drama. What I am saying is, I may grow old, and totally capable of taking care of myself, but I know they will always have my back.  The “7th Heaven” opening song sums it up “Where can you go, when the world don’t treat you right? The answer is home. That’s the one place that you’ll find, 7th heaven.”

7. God loves me no matter how unworthy I am of His love.

2013 is truly a year of faith for me. With my renewed faith, it feels awesome to  bask in the goodness and unconditional love of God. It is truly a blessing that God gave me the grace of clarity and understanding. It is a daily decision to actively love Him and I am grateful that He still loves me even though I sin against Him at times.

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Purplebliss says: What’s your seven blissful blessings (7BBs)?

7 Reasons Why Long Distance Relationships are worth a Try

Disclaimer: Long Distance Relationships can be tough! Getting into one is not advisable for those faint at heart, paranoid and with extreme trust issues. Enough said.

However, for all the brave souls, here are seven reasons why you should go “long distance” at some point in the relationship:

1. It squeezes out all your creative juices.
Since you couldn’t hug, kiss, cuddle, share a shower or do any physical activity together, you tend to look for creative ways to show intimacy. Think in the lines of using technology “in its full potential”.

2. It lifts your trust level to a record high.
Paranoia attacks are normal but after the initial rush of doubt, or should I say consistent rush of doubt, you’ll realize that it’s easier to just trust your partner. In the mean time you’ll distract yourself with an LDR playlist full of hopeful songs like “Love is waiting” and “A thousand years”.

3. It keeps you on your toes.
Cheating can be done in whatever type of relationship but there is a bigger window of opportunity when you’re in an LDR so both parties tend to give extra effort to do things just to feel secure. No dull moments!

4. It’s like you’re filming a romantic comedy.
Yes, there are lonesome days and lonely nights but you comfort yourself with fantasizing about the day you’ll finally be wrapped around each other’s arms. It’s an overflowing combination of emotion just like the ending scene in “A very long Engagement” and hormones just like the surprise visit scene in “Going the Distance” almost all the time.

5. It provides a healthy dose of freedom and security at the same time.
LDRs present the best of both worlds. You get to live the social life of a single person without the hassle and frustration incorporated with the dating game because you already enjoy the emotional security of being in a relationship. This is a beautiful setup because you get a lot of extra time to juggle other aspects of your life like catching up with friends and family, doing volunteer work, and focusing on your career.

6. It stretches your patience. Patience you didn’t know you have.
It’s amazing how your system sets on auto-pilot mode once you go for a long distance relationship. You somehow manage to teach yourself to BE PATIENT. It suddenly becomes a mantra. Being optimistic also becomes imperative. Arguments or fights are highly avoided in LDRs because they are prolonged than usual. Distance poses more room for misunderstanding so being patient and positive saves you from epic drama fits.

7. You learn just how selfish you are and how selfless you can be.
It’s a learning process. You and your partner learn more about who you both are and your capacities to handle extra challenges. At the end of the day, it is about how much you want to make it work. The key to LDRs, or any relationship, is to love one another “unconditionally”. It’s a conscious effort between two people who decide to love each other despite the distance.

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Purplebliss asks: Are you in a long distance relationship? What other reasons can you add in the list?