Simply Living the Present Moment Well

Good Saturday, everyone! Do hope you have had a joyful, peaceful, and hopeful Christmas. In my case, I did try to celebrate it simply and serenely, but filled with Faith.

About an hour ago, I think, I prayed the Holy Rosary, meditating on the Joyful Mysteries. With my interest and/or commitment to renewing and relearning my Faith through the New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, I did invite everyone (via Facebook) to pray along with me the holy rosary, using one of the available videos on YouTube. I do hope somebody out there did.

Previous days, after Christmas, I've just been chilling out at home, resting and relaxing, just simply living the present moment well with the rest of my family. Glad and thankful that son Andrew and daughter Tintin are with us during the holidays. I can't ask for better holiday gift than to see all of us home together safe and healthy.

Living the present moment simply well is and will be on my mind every waking hour of my days. I'm so thankful to the Focolare Movement for this idea which I got when I participated in the GenFest 1980 in Rome, Italy. That experience has been on my mind, and I kinda think that that is one of the best moments that ever happened to me in life. There was that opportunity and I grabbed it. I can't believe that not even in my dream did I ever dare think I would be there in the Eternal City and the Vatican. But it happened to me unexpectedly. I won't ever forget this experience, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that has deepened my spirituality and Faith.

You see, my dear folks and friends, as we continue living or shall I say having lived this life for over five decades now, I have observed so many things happening in the world. I have come to realize that there are few things that matters most in life while there are many that don't matter. There are stuff that make no sense and life gets complicated because of societal issues that need to be addressed by all nations on Earth. I've come to realize that the world is not fair to the less fortunate in our midst, to the underserved the marginalized in our community. It's so unfair to those struggling to survive, to those people wanting to be free, to those who aspire to live/get better but with not much opportunities for them, and to those who were just starting to live and enjoy life only to be taken away by gun violence, senseless people, war, poverty, disease, human trafficking, etc.

I'm glad and thankful that we have tools and role models that we can look up to while living life. Education, which is one of the keys to understanding ourselves and our world, is an avenue that help us in realizing what matters in life. On the other hand, we have less prominent or famous people (religious and spiritual, government), decent personalities/entertainers that somehow help influence our lives and the way we live. And in spite of the materialistic world we live in, we come to realize what is important and that is Life. In order for the world to survive and for the Earth to continue spinning on its orbit, we have no choice but to value Life. Life is the essence of our existence as one human family. Without Life, there's nothing, no world, no eternity. But with Life, we exist and experience all that Life has to offer to the world.

Simply living the present moment well, with Faith, is what I intend to do for the rest of my life. As friends, folks, and years come and go, I have to acknowledge and accept and live the present moment simply well. If praying while living the present moment is all that I can do, then I have got to do it for my salvation and for others', too. Going against the current while living simply the present moment is somehow impossible but, I believe, it is achievable, if I put my mind to it. After all, He is with me, I believe. (He dwelt among us, gave us hope and joy, and life, and died for us so that we may live a new life with Him forever.)

Well, my dear folks and friends, this is all for now. Until next time around. Take care and have a wonderful weekend, everyone. As we wait for the arrival of a new year 2013, let's resolve to live a life of simplicity, in solidarity with the rest of our brothers and sisters who have been deprived of what we (luxuriously) have. Let's continue to pray for one another, to pray for all the deceased, and to pray for an end to (gun) violence and war. Peace be with us always! And may God our Almighty and Heavenly Father bless us always!-chris a. quilpa, 29Dec2012

P.S.
While I was about to sign off with this blog post, my wife Freny just handed me a couple of Dove candies. Three to be exact. Thanking her and having eaten the candies with a cup of oatmeal, I couldn't help myself but be amused at the wrappings and the messages, especially, of those candies. Here are the nuggets of wisdom from those chocolate candies: 1) Holiday mood starts within you. 2) Togetherness in itself is a holiday treat. 3) A smile is the perfect gift, personal and encouraging.

Hope and pray that you're all doing well. Again, take care, my dear folks and friends, and have a blessed day!-chris (aka Fernando)