Is it ever really Good-bye?

Categories: a woman's strength · angels in our midst · Existentialism · Family · Mourning · Nostalgia · Photography · Surviving loss · Through Frog EyesLeave a comment

It is almost inconceivable to me that today marks Daddy’s third death anniversary. Three years. Time has flown bye and I feel as though he is still very much around. Perhaps I can no longer pick up the phone and call home to find out what he is up to today, or listen to his stories of the people he visited as a lay minister. Sometimes it was hilarious just to let him ramble on about Mommy’s latest goof-ups. The more I think of death, the more I like the idea of not having a grave anywhere. Now that I…

Difficulties of Healing

Categories: a woman's strength · Battling depression · Existentialism · Photography · Social Condition · Surviving loss · Through Frog Eyes · women of substanceLeave a comment

I write this with great difficulty today, simply because my shoulder is absolutely killing me. The first batch of therapy sessions is over, and the healing process is well underway, albeit the excrutiating pain. The physiotherapist did warn me that the worst is yet to come, and that is a good sign. The trouble with broken bones is that it is pretty much like a broken spirit, there is no medicine that can speed up the healing, you just have to give it time. There is a beautiful quote I want to share with you today: You can’t heal where…

Hard Lessons of Frugality

Categories: a woman's strength · Adventures in my own home · Battling depression · Culture Vulture · Existentialism · Family · Food Adventures · Nostalgia · Social Condition · Surviving loss · Through Frog Eyes · women of substanceLeave a comment

Aside from building a brand new life alone after the divorce, one of the most difficult lessons (rather, on-going challenges) is frugality. This is such an alien concept to me because I grew up as a privileged expat child who never had to worry about the cost of things. I learned to indulge in the finer things in life from an early age, as most expat children do, because Daddy could always afford it or the company paid for it. Saving up for something was never in my cards, because if my parents wouldn’t get it for me, grandmother would,…

Celebrate, not Define!

Categories: a woman's strength · Battling depression · Berlin Through Frog Eyes · Culture Vulture · Existentialism · Midlife Crossroads · Nostalgia · Photography · Publication · Religion and Faith · Surviving loss · Through Frog Eyes · women of substanceLeave a comment

celebrate instead of define. One phrase stood out this morning during mass: We tend to waste far too much valuable time defining our roles, relationships, personalities, failures, achievements, goals instead of celebrating them. I stared at the Dominican priest as if he suddenly sprouted three purple dragon heads. Those three words hit me right where it needed to, as I have been in an emotional slump these past few days, battling some unwanted demons of my past. He was absolutely right – I have spent the last five decades listening to roles being defined for me, my life being defined…

Let Go of Two Things At A time

Categories: a woman's strength · Battling depression · Existentialism · Photography · prayer and photography · Social Condition · Surviving loss · Through Frog EyesLeave a comment

What it is about the number two? In the bible, Noah led the animals into the arc in twos, and somehow, everything in our lives is defined by the number two. I suppose it is the concept of establishing equilibrium in whatever it is we undertake in our lives – in order to achieve the perfect balance there have to be two poles. Similarly, there are two sides of the issue. Well, I discovered that letting go of things in twos is not a bad thing either. Last week I was asked what I have let go of recently that…

Are you working on your childhood dreams?

Categories: Culture Vulture · Existentialism · Midlife Crossroads · Social Condition · Surviving lossLeave a comment

In case you haven’t had the chance to watch this video in the last decade, The Last Lecture of Prof. Randy Pausch is something you need to listen to. There is no guarantee that it will change your life, although several hundred thousand people will attest that it has, but at the very least, it will make you stop and think about your purpose in life, and whether you are doing what you really want to be doing: achieving your childhood dreams. You will need time, and silence, which is why I am sharing this on a Sunday. So grab…