January 30, 2006

Speechless

The great Dalai Lama once said, "Silence is sometimes the best answer." In a world with clutters of information, interests, and meanings, silence is one method to unclog the noise barrage.

During interpersonal conflicts, when at the peak of emotions, I believe that fire must not be met with fire but by water of silence.

When downtrodden as if the world heaved its weight on you, silence is a comfortable and immediate way of unburdening yourself.

Don't get me wrong. Being silent or speechless in certain circumstances does not entail apathy, cowardice nor defeat. No words or verbal cues to express self do not mean a lack in solution. In fact showing "calculated speechlessness" especially during crises indicates the communicators' ability to save the best for last.

He is not impulsive but very decisive. He may appear slow but the option to be speechless in order to evaluate self is a strategy to avoid the wastes of haste. For others he is unreliable because of lack of reply at the flick of a finger. But what is a short lull if in the long run the response is like the slogan, "You are in good hands."

For others, he seems to be an outcast. So what? There is nothing wrong with choosing to abandon the smorgasbord of information overload in favor of the fine dining of selective discernment of meanings.

It is okay to be speechless sometimes. It is okay to be silent sometimes especially when it is done to avoid hurting someone, to preserve a relationship or to reserve your energy for something more important. Remember, speechlessness in these contexts is a form of self-control. And self-control is power.

January 26, 2006

Touched by an Angel?



January 24. Tuesday. 11:45pm. An angel?

I was already waging the white flag to hint that I lost the battle against my bed. I was finalizing a report when my droopy eyes conjured up the closing of the lids. Then everything was black.

“Ugh…” I shouted according to my cousin who was still up. I asked him, “Did you touch me to wake me up?” Nay.

I forgot to pray. I thanked God for sending His soldier to guide or protect me during that night. I realized I ate like a glutton so the drowsiness was caused by my system that slowed down in digesting the football of food in my tummy.

My cousin said that I was stunned based on my facial expressions. I even jerked according to him. That’s why he was equally stunned.

This was not the first time. I almost fell asleep last year when my cellphone suddenly created noise which roused me. The text message was just an advisory from 2364. Then I realized I had not yet taken out from the stove the pot of rice. I rushed to it and as expected the pot of rice already had burnt crusts.

God loves me. He makes His presence felt at times you did not even call for Him. He finds a way. He interferes in events He believes are not meant for me. He is truly omniscient and omnipresent.

Perhaps, God does not want me to join Him yet because I still have a lot of unfinished duties with my family, community, and humanity.

Lord, I am willing to take the oath of responsibility for the grand plan you have intended for me.

But if that was my swansong on my bed, gosh, a pancreatic failure or third degree burn seems to be an unglamorous autopsy report… (grin)

January 12, 2006

All in the Name of Jang Geum


Last night at 9:45pm I had to cut my conversation with a very close female friend because I had to rush home. Nature was not calling me nor was there any emergency. But like an instinct I just knew that I have to be seated in front of the TV at exactly 10pm. Why?

(Sing) Sa isang sulok ng langit ko matatagpuan… Yes, my world stops as GMA-7’s “Jewel in the Palace”unravels on Philippine television. It features Jang-Geum, a servant from the kitchen of a Korean Palace of the Chosun Dynasty more than 500 years ago.

I am always amazed by their culinary expertise, the power struggle, and the historical locale of the series. I had my interests in it, as I love to cook, study power relations, and have an odyssey through time to see different cultures.

In fact when I spent my Christmas break with my family in Pangasinan, I tried some of her techniques. Aside from putting lemon grass I peeled a pear, removed its seeds and placed it on a beef dish and voila! – its soup, more than ever, tasted superbly. No MSG or other spices needed.

I think one selling point of the series used the famous cliché, “A way to a man’s heart is through the stomach.” Who would not be amazed by the preparation of the dishes – the steps and creative presentation using a number of plates and bowls, colors, and herbs?

The historical setting is also very enriching – the colorful hanbok (traditional costumes), elaborate hanok (traditional houses), and the huge urns used to store different condiments and dishes or to ferment kimchi.

I realized that there is so much to learn from the Koreans. As a broadcast major, I envy how they value their history by using it as the context to discuss universal themes on love, jealousy, greed, etc. I wonder if Philippine TV entertainment gurus already thought of doing a Filipino version, not Tagalized, which would tackle the struggle of the Capampangans to preserve their indigenous cuisines from becoming Hispanized or anything around this idea. Or how one Filipina endears a peninsulares by studying the culture of his tongue or the reverse - how she entices a handsome Spaniard through her indigenous dishes!

Lady Choi no matter how devilish her character is still lovable because of her outstanding facial expressions. She is Satan’s alter ego on Earth who makes the lives of Jang-Geum and Lady Han a living hell. This makes the series more interesting because aside from the delight of witnessing ancient chefs, one encounters the human nature to seek and cling on to power. The good-evil conflict as a pervasive theme and the subplot of rivalry in love for one man by two women spiced up what is already very spicy.

Whew! Charles Darwin is right. Evolution is survival of the fittest. But who determines what is fit? Until when can the King who is the epitome of ways of life in his kingdom be inspired by Jang-Geum’s intrinsic goodness? Or will he yield to the pressures from the heroine’s cunning rivals and become a self-centered leader?