Clothes, educational supplies, medicine, blankets, etc…would mean a lot to those who have lost their homes in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Please help. Friends in Singapore, you can drop your donations at LBC Air Cargo Singapore #04 – 077 Lucky Plaza, Orchard Rd. LBC will send the relief goods to the Philippines for free. For more info, please call 6595 – 4522.

For cash donations, please contact The Navigators, Philippines (www.philnavs.org). Please call +632-727-0255, +632726-4348 for more info.

I stood by the window with my cup of coffee this morning. I breathed in the cold wind and welcomed the rain’s kiss on my cheeks. I held on to the sight of the trees. Lush and green, they danced in the wind. And like me, they seem happy in the rain. Idyllic. On this cold, rainy morning, my heart flickered.

But as I drank the beauty of that moment, I closed my eyes and bowed my head as I thought of the more than 900 people missing and more than 600 deaths (as of today) in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. The storm Sendong left at least 100,000 residents in devastation – they have lost their homes, things, and worst of all – loved ones.

I am, once again, moved by the human spirit to survive, to help one another, and to hold on. I can only imagine the pain, the questions…My heart grieves.

“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not…it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” - J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling’s speech at Harvard’s Commencement touched two subjects that never fail to make me respond, wonder, and think…

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

“I had failed on an epic scale…I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended…Why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant stripping away of the inessential…I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena where I believed I truly belonged. I was set free…and so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you failed by default.”

“You will never truly know yourself or the strength of your relationships until both have been tested by adversity.”

“Imagination is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.”

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside us…We have the power to imagine better.”

She ended with a quote by Seneca: “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”

One Day. One Year. One Lifetime.

“Every now and then, when the world sits just right, a gentle breath of heaven fills my soul with delight…”

At different times the past three months, I had the privilege of touring and showing Singapore to my two visiting friends and sister from the Philippines. The wonder, the excitement, and the confusion they experienced refreshed me. Their countless “wow” and “really?” as they saw, tasted, heard, and smelled new things were contagious. With them, I felt like a beginner again. A tourist. A learner. An adventurer.

I co-facilitated a video production workshop this week with a group of accountants and other professionals in the corporate world. None of them have ever tried the basic software that we used – Audacity and Windows Movie Maker. Quite challenging, yet exciting at the same time.

Together with my team, I had to teach like it was my first time, too; mindful of each one’s weaknesses and strengths. I guess as a facilitator, I’m the one who benefit most. The more I teach, the more I learn. And yes, the more chances for me to have that beginner’s experience. As the participants learn new things, it’s priceless to see the light on their face. The relief. The “wow” and “aha” moments.

How their frowns turn to smiles and big grins and sighs to laughter and cheers after learning something – an eruption of wonder – ah, those are some of the best moments in the workshop that I hold dear in my heart.

For everyone, a new journey begins.

“Sometimes I see myself as a child in a rain storm, running around trying to catch all the drops in her mouth. I long for your adventures to be like the raindrops the child saves and not those which crash to the ground.”

A rainy day in Singapore. Standing by my window. Watching the rain. Letting it wash my heart, sing a lullaby to my soul…

I have been wrestling with some grief and loss in my personal life. A crisis, that is. Too deep and real I find myself so lost and failing. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Sorrow makes us all children again – destroys all differences of intellect. The wisest know nothing.”

Oh, how true!

I was in a digital storytelling workshop few days ago and one of the participants mentioned Steve Job’s speech. I never bothered to watch it before, but now I found myself watching it again and again. Obviously, it struck a chord with me.

“…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did…I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

“It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“

“I hope your dreams take you… to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.”

Finally, my younger sister made it! She graduated last 22 March 2011. It’s been quite a journey with her all these years. What a bonus to be able to make a trip to Cebu and actually see her march and go up the stage to receive her diploma. Every step she made brought so much joy to my heart. I always knew this day will come.  It made me think about my own journey, too. How I have taken some detours. How I have lost my way. How I have failed. But there were people who never gave up on me. And I, too, was stubborn – I pressed on despite all the dark days. And yes, I, too, made it!

Congrats, Gen! We love you and we are proud of you! All the best!

Got something special on my mail box yesterday. A small package from a dear friend in Fallon, Nevada – April “Noodles” Richardson. Made my heart happy! She wrote: “When I saw the title, it just screams “Au” to me. Miss yah!”

The word that reminded her of me was RAIN. Yes, a number of my friends know that’s one of the words that has a personal, intimate connection to my heart. A key word, it is! Noodles, thanks for remembering and for your thoughtfulness. You made my day!

How about you? What’s your word?