Nakausap ko si Hesus (Orasyon ng Pinabayaan)

photo courtesy of http://thevoiceofbreakthrough.com/

(para sa isang kaibigang lulong)

tanging ang kulisap lamang
ang nasisiyahan sa liwanag
na nagmumula sa lampara.
Habang ang bawat galaw
ng guhit ng relo
ay malakas na naririnig,
ang dilim naman ay nagbabanta
ng matinding kalungkutan.

Saglit kinuha ang isang kahon,
nangangapa man sa dilim
ay huling-huli pa rin.
Buti rin, tahimik na ang lampara,
wala na rin ang kanina’y
naglalarong insekto.
Binudbod ang puting bagay
mula sa supot
at sinimulan ang nakagawiang orasyon.

Lalong tumahimik ang silid,
iginala ang mga tirik na mata
tumigil na ang galaw ng orasan
namatay na rin ang liwanag
lumutang ang katawan
pataas nang pataas…

Saglit pa’y may napansing
mukhang nakaguhit sa may dingding,
nakahihilakbot ang hitsurang tumambad
na minsan sa panaginip ay hindi mawari,
ang bawat patak ng dugong umaagos mula
sa sugat ng kanyang mukha
ay nakatatakot.

Natagpuan ko ang aking
sariling umiiyak sa awa, sa takot, sa galit
Ikaw nga, Hesus!
ang simula, ang hangganan, ang katapusan
ilan pang tulad ko ang magiging ganito?
”Diyos ko, bakit mo ako pinabayaan?”

Published  Sunday, August 24th, 2008

SUNSTAR DAVAO

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Usapang BABOY!

     Cebu’s lechon is famous for its worldclass delicious taste. In fact,  TIME Magazine declared “lechon”, a Philippine pork delicacy, as the “Best Pig” on its  Best of Asia 2009 list.

You could call it the Platonic ideal of a pig, but it’s doubtful if Plato, or even an entire faculty of philosophers, could have imagined anything so exquisite,” said TIME writer Lara Day on the magazine’s write-up.

       The claim was even made more famous by celebrity TV chef Anthony Bourdain when he chose to feature Philippines during the episode of “No Reservations” (American travel and food show on the Travel Channel) - shot in different localities of the country including CEBU.

     On Bourdain’s blog entry titled “The Hierarchy of Pork”, he declared the pork he tried in the Philippines as the “best in the world” followed by Bali, Indonesia and Puerto Rico.

      But since the rise of scam called “Gi-laplapan” – the dishonest and deplorable practice of certain dealers of slicing off a considerable portion of the lechon that they deliver to clients, the delicous picture of the famous Lechon Cebu is at stake.

Here’s the Praxis:

      The newly roasted lechon may looks delish  and whole when delivered but actually with cracks in several portions of the lechon’s crunchy skin. The cracks in the skin are often thought of as resulting from the heat and fire while roasting. However, upon slicing beyond the crispy skin, you will notice that there are portions that appear to have already been skimmed off. The skin apparently has been sliced earlier before the lechon reached the client and the crispy skin “craftily” placed back together to appear whole.

    This Modus is not new to us. This is not only well practiced in CEBU but in some parts of the country as well.

     I can still vividly remember my father’s frustration when he ordered LECHON from a known neighbor nearby our house in Davao Oriental. Same treason had happened.

     The worst thing is he was overcharged unreasonably and unfairly.

      LECHONG BABOY may not be an original Filipino Cuisine as this special culinary masterpiece has been part of the long Filipino history brought by the Spanish Colonizers, hence the name Lechon which is a spanish word for suckling pig, BUT, the fact that it was made famous because of how Filipinos prepare it and made it on the map of world’s best cuisines must be a REASON enough that we should take care of that honor.

As what the essence of LIFE says: Its not WHAT it is. Its HOW it is.

A lechon is not a Lechon because it is a pig. But because how it was

roasted for hours over a fire of open coals, slowly rotated on a bamboo spit, lovingly basted and meticulously supervised until its flesh is so tender, moist and succulent that it can be sliced with the edge of a plate, and its skin so crisp it can be punctured with the tap of a finger. – Lara Day of TIME MAGAZINE

MEANWHILE,

      My Friends and I wanted to make sure that we can still taste the best of Lechon Cebu’s quality before  it’s extinction.

 

LOCATION: Talisay, CEBU CITY

Photo courtesy of: Marlou Talledo

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ESPASYO

Ang ESPASYO ay isang MISTERYO.

(Sa  saklaw pa lang ng tunay na kahulugan nito, ay nahihirapan na akong simulan ang sanaysay na ito.)

 

PATUNAY:

Isipin mo na nga lang kapag minamasdan mo ang kalaliman ng karagatan na para bang ika’y ay nilalamon nito,

O  di kaya’y tanawin ang kalawakan ng mundo sa tuwing ikaw ay sumusakay ng eroplano.

Nakakamangha.

Sabi ni Rudolf Otto, ang German Lutheran theologian na may akda ng “The Idea of the Holy”.  Ito ay isang elemento na kung tawagin ay OVERPOWERINGNESS. Ito ay isang pakiramdam ng pagpapakumbaba sa tuwing nahaharap sa napakalaking katotohanan. Balintuna, ang pagpapakumbabang ito, ay isang katunayan na ang pagkilala sa sarili sa kawalan ay ang pagtanggap na mayroon pang mas nakahihigit sa atin.

Kung nasagot man ni Otto sa kanyang teorya na may nakahihigit na nilalang ang responsable sa daloy ng mundo at ng espasyong ginagalawan nito, paano naman kaya ang personal na espasyo? Diyos rin ba ang may pakana nito o sarili lang natin?

Paano kaya maipapaliwanag ang mga personal na espasyo na lingid sa ating kamalayan, ay nagiging pang-araw araw na pala nating gawi.

Halimbawa na lang ay kapag sasakay ka ng dyip. Sa pagtanaw mo pa lang sa looban nito ay alam na alam mo na kung saan ang spot mo. Sa pagpili ng upuan sa tuwing unang araw ng klase. Sa pagpili kung saang cubicle ng CR ka papasok. Kung saang parte ng damit mo ilalagay ang cellphone mo. Kung anong pagkain ang una mong kukunin sa hapag: kanin muna bago ulam. Kung mas nuuna ba ang pagsasabon kay sa sa pagsa-shampoo.- LAHAT ng ito ay hindi natin namamalayan ay parang naka rehistro na sa ating utak. Kung Ano? Saan? Kailan? Plantsado na.

Marahil sa iba ang PERSONAL SPACE ay isang RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE.

Sagrado.

Sabi pa nga ni Edward T. Hall:

“Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs. Invasion of personal space often leads to discomfort, anger, or anxiety on the part of the victim.”
 Hall, Edward T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books.

Kaya ‘wag tayong magtaka kung kailangan nating mapag-isa minsan. Ito ay katulad ng SELF-DISCOVERY na aking naisulat  ( PAGHAHANAP)  sa nakaraang pahina.

Marahil ito rin siguro ang dahilan kung bakit ako nagpasyang bumukod at maghanap ng sariling matitirhan. Gusto kong maranasan kung papaano mamuhay ng mag-isa. Gusto kong patunayan na:

 

HINDI SA LAHAT ng PANAHON, MALUNGKOT ANG MAG-ISA.

 

Pilosopong Pepe

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