My Personal Perception of the Normal Body

MY PERSONAL PERCEPTION OF THE NORMAL BODY

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

The reason why our head where the brains are encased, is located about our emotional heart which is inside our chest and protected by the rib cage, is for our reason to overcome our emotion which oftentimes is fickle, unless we are psychologically and brain-sick or clinically crazy.

 

The eyes are the silent reflectors of our emotion. It can be silently fiery when we are angry or become the outlet of our tears when we are sad.

 

The nose is the exhaust of our chest as we breathe out sighs of grief and relief from our heart.

 

The lips verbally manifests what are in our head, be they good or bad. Through them, our emotions are given substance, shapes, and color.

 

The arms that can be folded from the elbow are for embracing others to make them comfortable and give them a feeling of security in time of their lowest ebb in life. The length of the arms gives us the opportunity to extend them to others so that we can pull them up when they fell down.

 

Our groin gives us signals that can activate our tools that enliven our sexual driven, and as originally intended, must not be abused. It our tool to continue what God has initiated – to bring forth another life into this world.

 

The legs that can be folded from the knee give us mobility even without the modern contraptions, so that we can be wherever we are needed, especially by our fellowmen. If God did not intend them to function that way, He could have just created us without them so that we can just be on our own, selfish, and oblivious of what are happening around us, rolling around our home….practically, an “island”.

 

The reason why we can fold our knees is for us to supplicate or kneel as we give thanks to the Lord for all that He has given us!

 

Finally, since God is fair, He left the secret of life right inside our body – the DNA that flows in our blood which is life in itself, and with an expectation that discoveries shall not be abused. Unfortunately, it did not happen because of man’s greed and desire to be another God!

 

 

 

The Phenomenon called “growing old”…its benefits and disadvantages

The Phenomenon called “Growing Old”

…its benefits and disadvantages

By Apolinario Villalobos

Nobody should be afraid of growing old. It is among the many normal human processes that are part of existence. Simply put, growing old means, one continues to live, for if he does not…he is dead. Among Filipinos, there is a joke about unhealthy foods that make one not grow old which means that they will make him die at a young age.

The people of the Bible, especially, the Patriarchs were known to have lived beyond a century. Nowadays, if ever there are people who are still alive at the age of 100 or more, they are esteemed, treated with respect and showered with admiration. In some countries the centenarians are honored like heroes, subjected to interviews to extract information about the food that they eat and their daily habits. Those who belong to prominent families admit that they take “maintenance drugs” and their foods are strictly chosen. But for the poverty-stricken, they consider growing old as just some kind of luck, as they have no money for regular medical check-ups, supplemental drugs and healthy food…add to that their exposure to the elements, as some of them live on sidewalks and makeshift huts.

In the Philippines as in some other countries, the most cherished benefits of the senior citizens are the “discount” on basic necessities and privilege of not falling in the regular long line of customers in malls, supermarkets and banks. The government extends the much-deserved benefits in recognition of their contribution in propping up the stability of their nation.

Unfortunately, along with growing old is the degeneration of the ageing body parts. The rich try to remedy this unavoidable occurrence with the expensive stem cell therapy, aside from facial makeover that involves the traditional plastic surgery. Others take the risk of undergoing implant or transplant procedure. We then, see photos of celebrities with almost unreal faces – smooth like a plastic sheet without any tell-tale trace of a single wrinkle at an age when their faces are supposed to be furrowed with the dreaded lines.

There are some people who cannot accept the fact that everything on earth has its end. Boulders crumble, rivers and lakes go dry, forest gets denuded….how much more for the living? Aside from the reduction of population caused by natural death, there’s the so-called survival of the fittest among the lesser creatures with the strong consuming the weak, but in the case of man, just simply the killing of the weak by the strong during wars. Then, there’s the wrath of nature that devastates thousands of lives with a single stroke, and, of course, the plague of diseases.

We cannot stop ageing. Instead of dreading it, the process should prepare us for the day when we finally call it quits and bid goodbye to the world. It should instead, prepare us by making amends with our enemies, paying our debts, and of course, thank whoever gave us life. I found out that planning comes naturally for those who are positive about this ageing process, as they no longer regard with importance their amassed worldly gains, but instead find ways to dispose them, one of which is by distributing them among charitable institutions. Common sense dictates that “travel” is more pleasant if there is no “heavy baggage” to burden us. This realization comes only if we accept growing old as part of our life that cannot be shaken off by scientific interventions.

One of my friends told me that she gave instructions to her heirs that when she die, she wants a smiling face, not a serious one, for her friends to view inside the box of final solace, so they better find an embalmer who can do the best job. That is what I call the best preparation for the “day” which growing old cannot deter.

Ang Pagbaba ng Standards ng Moralidad at Values…dahil naging subjective o pangsarili na ang mga ito

Ang Pagbaba ng Standards ng Moralidad at Values
…dahil naging subjective, o pangsarili na ang mga ito
Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Malaki na talaga ang ipinagbago sa ugali ng mga tao dahil sa mga makabagong pangyayari sa kanyang paligid. Katulad na lamang ng pagbaba ng standards ng moralidad at values. Kung noon, ang umiiral ay todo-todong pagmamalasakit sa kapwa, ngayon ay kawalan ng pakialam ang madalas mangyari. Ang sabi ng iba, mas maganda na daw yong hindi nakikialam upang hindi masangkot sa problema kung sakali. Subalit kung sa mga taong ito naman mangyari ang hindi maganda at walang makialam, nagagalit naman sila. Kaya masasabing ang moralidad at values ngayon ay naging “one way”, kabaligtaran ng mga dating nangyayari na nagpapakialaman upang maipairal ang tulungan o bayanihan.

Ang isang halimbawa ay mga problema na dulot ng droga. Marami nang nababalitaan tungkol dito. Pero may isa akong kaibigan na kibit-balikat lamang dahil ang mga anak daw niya ay mababait kaya walang problema sa droga. Subalit minsan ay nabugbog ang anak niyang binatilyo ng mga nangingikil na kilala sa lugar nila na mga adik. Naospital ang kanyang anak. Dahil sa pangyayari, “naramdaman” ng kaibigan ko ang masamang epekto ng droga, na kahit hindi binibisyo ng kanyang anak ay nakakaapekto din pala sa kanilang pamilya. Dahil sa nangyari sa kanyang anak, ang kaibigan ko ay galit na sa mundo!

May isang pamilya naman na lahat ng miyembro ay kumpleto sa mga bisyo, tulad ng sugal, sigarilyo, at droga. Ang katwiran ng ina, basta hindi naman sila nananakit o nakikialam sa kanilang mga kapitbahay, okey lang. Nakakaraos sila sa pakikisama sa mga katulad nilang ganoon din ang mga bisyo. May pansarili silang standards ng moralidad na pinaiiral, hindi na yong sinusunod na dapat ay may dulot na kabutihan para sa lahat.

Ang pagbaba ng moralidad ay nakikita rin sa buhay ng mga pulitiko. Ang mga pulitikong pamilya na bistado namang may ginagawang hindi maganda ay walang pakialam kahit binabatikos na. Baka sa harap ng hapunan kung magkita sila ay nagpapalakihan pa ng nakurakot sa kaban ng bayan! Kaya sa panahon ngayon, ang kasabihan sa Ingles na “it runs in the family” ay hindi lang tumutukoy sa ganda, talino, sipag, atbp…kundi pati sa pagka-corrupt!

Sa isang banda, mayroon pa rin namang iilang pulitiko na nagpipilit na magpairal ng mataas at katanggap-tanggap na antas ng moralidad at values sa trabaho nila. Mahirap man, kailangan nilang gawin ito upang hindi tuluyang mawala ang batayan ng mga nararapat na gawin ng isang tao…saludo ako sa kanila!