Wellness Wednesdays: Old Photos

Anchoring on happy moments is one good way to solidify your coping mechanism. On my Mom's 40th day and house blessing our parish priest shared a problem they've been encountering a lot. He said there are a lot of young ones (the youth) who are troubled. They encountered a number of them who tried to take their life. 

Kuya gave an overview on how to use NLP*. He demonstrated a technique where he processed the negative action/thought with a positive event. Happy thoughts certainly help overcome negative experiences. Our mind sometimes tricks us to dwell on the negative and it tends to immobilize us. It has happened to me and still happens every so often. 

The grandkids with their Papa Lolo. This was taken during one of our trips to Bali.
Our flight was delayed so Dad regaled the kids with war time stories. 

Old photos that elicit happy memories is one of my coping mechanisms. That's the reason why I file my photos properly. I have a ton of albums in my Google Photos and I can easily access it on any device. Every so often Google Photos highlights a happy memory. That's why it's been easy to do throwback Thursday posts.

Daddy covering his ear on New Year's Eve.

Sometimes I share the photos to loved ones to remind them of those happy memories. My titas also do this whenever they unearth something from their baul. My Tita Chu just sent me a photo of me and her daughter when we were just kids. It was my first time to see that photo and it immediately brought back that time when they visited from Australia.  

So the next time you're feeling blue, pull up some old photos. Better yet, frame them around your home so you can easily get a happy boost whenever you need it :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Create More Happy Memories

Happy Monday everyone! It took me awhile to get out of bed today. I had another night of restless sleep, probably because of the coffee I had with my dinner. Sweetie came in to check on me and told me we needed to order food. I still lay in bed long after he went out. I guess I wasn't trying to find a reason to get out of bed. It was one of those days. 

I used to jump out of bed to take a shower and then go straight to work. Things drastically changed in the past few months. I usually get up because I have to eat and drink meds. What got me out of bed today is a realization that I should get up and create more happy memories. 

Yestersday, 1SE* asked me, "How could you have made your day better?" I interpreted it as, "How could you have made it happier?" My immediate goal for now is to re-build my energy and stamina post-vaxx so I could serve my family better. That's my love language and I feel incomplete when I'm forced to rest**. 

At this point in my life I realized I just want to be able to create more happy memories with my family and friends. We can't do a lot of activities right now, but there are ways to make more happy  memories. Me and the boys have an ongoing daily chat that's been running for a decade already. It continues to evolve and one of the things we do everyday is out-do each other with funny gifs. We've also been trying to make each other envious of our daily meals. Simple things like that make us feel we're together. 

So, how could you have made your day better? What new happy memories have you created?

*1SE - one second everyday

**Really had to follow the rest period post-vaxx to avoid myocarditis.

CB////*Yr2/169 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/192 #NewG278 #Home37 #Xmas89 #StayHome #BeKind

The Secret to Being Happy

Whew! Things are going back to normal. The past few days have been a bit hairy when I had to stop taking blood thinners for the test that was postponed. I'm not sure why I felt unwell. I even had a fever. It must have been caused by stress. I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to be poked for another test. I had prayed really hard that it wouldn't have to be done again. Well it wasn't, but it's going to be rescheduled haha. I think I need to make my prayer request clearer! 

My doctor sent me a nice video this morning. It's the speech of Gaur Gopal about how to increase happiness. To sum it up he said you cannot get away from problems, but you can make your life happier by living a life of thankfulness.

Being grateful is key to being happy. I shared to a friend something I learned from Chade Meng Tan on how you can immediately bring joy back. In the class I attended he shared you can simply be grateful for others. It goes this way... Yesterday, I saw a friend post about a nurse who took care of her family when they got infected by the coronavirus. It was a post to show her appreciation and gratefulness for the help. I immediately felt grateful for the help her family got from the nurse. God really sends guardian angels to help us. 

And that sustained me yesterday through my hospital stay. I was still feeling unwell last night, so I did a gratefulness exercise to feel better. I started by feeling grateful for the nurse who inserted the plot on my hand. When I ripped off the bandage I saw just a small dot from the needle, no bruising (that's rare!). Then I was grateful for the grumpy Gojek drive who still picked us up (he was insisting we put the wrong point lol). And best of all, I was grateful for Sweetie for staying with me the whole day. Sitting on a chair just waiting must've been very painful for him. My feet were still icy cold, but I felt much better when we went to sleep.

I realized that a lot of the life coaches are saying the same thing - be grateful to be happy. 

CB///*Yr2/146 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/169 #NewG301 #Home59 #Xmas112 #StayHome #BeKind

Rainbow Over Your Head

Last night my friend sent me this beautiful song, "Rainbow" by Kacey Musgraves. He sent me the version of Thingamajig and I absolutely loved it. The line, "That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head" is stuck in my head. 

Rainbows make me smile. I always look for them after a storm. I've been obsessed in making rainbow colored quilts. I have been making rainbow themed quilts for over two years now haha. The lively colors make me happy. 

My Kuya taught me a NLP technique many years ago. He explained that when you go through a bad experience you tend to play that scene again and again in full color. It becomes more important than it should be. To get rid of it you need to determine what you have learned from that bad experience. Then play it in your mind and minimize it's importance by turning it to black and white. That way it becomes unimportant until it just fades in the background. This technique has helped me a lot since I learned it. Don't keep dragging that baggage!

And that's what rainbows remind me of. Life should be colorful and happy. Rainbows don't always show up after the rain, but just believe it's somewhere over your head all the time. 

P.S. I have been doing this #9010Challenge for 7 days before I sleep (see here). I write down 9 blessings from the whole day and a prayer. I feel calm and happy after I do it. It's really great to identify the good things from your day before you sleep :)

CB///341 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/4 #StayHome #BeKind 

The Language of Happiness

As I slug through recovering each day has been a revelation for me. Aside from recovering physically I know my soul also needs healing. I understand now I cannot rush through this because it is an issue that I've been ignoring for many years now. I've run out of brownie points and the only way to move on is to address the issue point by point. 

Last night before I went to sleep I came across an IG post by a vlogger, Kulas of Becoming Filipino. He said that he's traveled across the Philippines with little knowledge of local dialects, but he's been able to connect to locals because of the way he communicates through happiness and positivity. It resonated so well with me because it reminded me of why I do things.

I started this blog 15 years ago because I wanted to inspire and spread positivity. This is the core of why I do things. This is the part of me that comes from my Dad. Inspire others by sharing happiness and the joy of helping others. I gave it my all and forgot to leave something for myself. As Bo Sanchez said, "You cannot give what you don't have." And right now my well is empty. 

I have been hibernating because of that. I've been going online sparingly to follow doctors orders (to avoid stress). I didn't realize it back then, but I think it's been the best thing for me for now. In time, with God's grace, I would heal and will be back. 

CB///306 #StuckAtHomeDay/336 #StayHome #BeKind

Do you have a Battle Song?

Two years ago I was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. I had a huge blood clot in my right lung and was the reason why I could barely breathe (full story here). I was shocked and I asked myself what did I do to deserve going through another illness that has a high mortality rate. I spiralled down into a black hole. Honestly, I just wanted Papa God to take me then. 

But I lived. And I think Papa God chose to let me live so I could share my stories.

Other pulmonary embolism patients usually get hospitalized until they stabilize. I didn't take a break and still went to work and my treatment was done through medications. A few days after I got diagnosed Sweetie pinged me and said he got free tickets for us to watch The Piano Guys. I wasn't really up to it, but I decided to go since they are one of my favorite musicians. 

The Piano Guys were amazing! I was so touched by their music especially when they played this song --

It's Gonna Be Okay

By end of the evening I felt the burden I was carrying lift. I truly felt everything was going to be okay. I was feeling tired today so I casted the song to the TV and immediately felt better. The song has that effect on me. 

What about you? Do you have a battle song? A song that immediately perks you up when you're feeling down? 

CB//197 #StuckAtHomeDay/227 #WFH134 #StayHome #BeKind 

Acceptance

When my doctor discovered I had pulmonary embolism I joined a patient group on FB to understand what I was going through. Knowing what others with the same condition helps. I had ten years to prepare myself for my heart surgery and I prepared by reading a book written by a patient. It also helped prepare my family.

You always have the choice to make your life colorful.

The clot in my lungs was discovered after suffering from "severe asthma" for over a year. It was left undetected because I would feel okay after taking asthma meds. I didn't feel better after having "mild pneumonia" and it was then I realized something was terribly wrong. I insisted on getting a second opinion. It was my second opinion respiratory doctor who finally found what was wrong.

My seatmate who got sick last week told me that he wondered how I pull through whenever I get sick. He told me he got a bit depressed when he was sick. I admitted to him that I get sucked in the black hole too, but I always fight to get out of it. My secret? Acceptance.

Two weeks after I was diagnosed with PE I went to Rome (for work!).

I really wanted to go and commanded my body to cooperate!

Doctor grounded me from traveling after haha. 

My allergologist was the one who taught me that the first step is acceptance. I took that lesson to heart and whatever comes my way I accept it, learn from it and move on. By accepting what you have it is easier to learn how to take care of yourself. There's no use blaming yourself or questioning why you got sick. Sometimes there are no answers to that especially if you were born with it.

Majority of my medical conditions are largely due to mechanical issues in my body. It's been really hard to manage, but as I told my friend yesterday, "I cannot live in fear." I have to trust Him that I am where he wants me to be until I complete all my missions.

So if you have medical conditions, fear not. You were saved for a reason. Don't question it. Live your life happily and you can still do many things. Understand what your limitations are and accept that as an excuse to discover other new things about yourself. 

My Happy Thoughts Project

I've been working on my happy thoughts project this past week. I copied all the thoughts my friends threw my way when I asked for happy memories they had with me.

After pasting all the thoughts on a Google Doc I looked for photos that matched the memory. I've been having a great time looking through my photo baul and I probably need to add more pages to the photobook.

I know it's hard to be consistently happy. I fall into a rut every week. My Kuya taught me a technique how to remove a bad feeling. Imagine that the bad moment is on TV then turn it into black and white. Replace the screen with a happy memory. Switch back to the bad screen. Then move back to the happy screen. Switch between screens fast and you'll naturally anchor on the happy screen.

Kuya explained to me that our tendency when bad things happen the thought becomes important. It's like a flashing sign in our mind. So the way to get our of the rut is to diffuse that thought and make it unimportant.

I realized just now that I used to do this often before. I used to print photos and have a lot of photo albums at home (in Manila). And I haven't done this for many years now. Ahhh, I should have done this a long time ago!!! Hope to finish this project soon :)

Watch. Be Happy. And Weep.

Why is it we are moved to tears when we are happy?

Watch. Be happy. And weep.



Tears welled up in my eyes half-way through the video, which was a bummer since I was at work when I took a break to watch this video which has gone viral on G+, Twitter and Plurk. I hurriedly wiped away my tears when they started to trickle down and I had to pause the video so I could compose myself (my seatmate would've probably asked why I was crying!).

Anyway, I guess the video moved me to tears because I am now an OFW too. It's really hard to be far away from your family and all you can do is hope and pray everyday that everything is doing well back at home. I'm still lucky though coz I think I can manage to go home monthly (crossing my fingers) so I could be with my family. I could not help but cry for the others working abroad who could not visit their family as often.

Dear Coca-Cola, you made me cry with this video!

Kitkat Mint

I haven't blogged for eleven days now. I've just been extremely busy and been thinking about a lot of stuff (and my writing muse was scared out of her wits). Well... a friend managed to shift the cycle today and I thought I'd break my keyboard's silence with a Kitkat...

Well, not just any kind of Kitkat, but Kitkat Mint!

Yum! I first encountered Kitkat Mint in Singapore last January. I bought one pack and stuffed it in my luggage. When I got home I just put it in a basket of goodies and completely forgot about it. A visitor took the liberty of opening the pack and before I knew it he was halfway through the pack! Good thing I noticed and saved some for myself and my boys. And I regretted buying just one pack.

I was sharing this story with a friend who works from Nestle and he said they actually have Kitkat Mint available locally -- it just gets sold out really fast!

Thanks Ricky, now I don't need to wait another week to get one (but I'm still going to buy in SG for safety haha) =)

Dear supermarkets, please, please have more Kitkat Mint in your shelves. It will also make my Mom happy.

Happiness is...

It took me a year to get over my allergy. But I can happily say that I can now drink Coca-Cola again! Weeee! Tuloy ang ligaya!

Are You Happy?

I am!

So, are YOU happy?

It was Fr. Hilarion who asked the question this morning during his homily. He asked it again and again until everyone answered back. The sermon was all about why you are happy and it made me realize a couple of things.

I've been through 5 weeks of hell. Well, hell for me is being unwell and not being able to do what I usually do. I've been feeling really sad about it too, but thank God my real doctors are back and I'm feeling so much better now. No thanks to the doctor who made a wrong diagnosis when I was in the hospital, I would've probably been in tip-top shape 3 weeks ago if I managed to take the right medication. But, I'm just glad now that I'm (almost) back to my cheery and perky self, I hope though that all the pain would be gone soon.

I'm also happy because I have a loving family, Sweetie and a bunch of really crazy friends who hovered around the past few weeks. And mind you I could get really cranky when I'm sick and I'm just really glad that they put up with me. And I believe that's what is really important in life coz you can do without all those material things, but you cannot do without your family and friends. That would be a really lonely life. Sniff, sniff, sniff.

And it also made me remember an old friend who said that in his province they have to show-off to show their status and wealth. We had an argument about that and it came to a point that he told me I had no ambition. He was then pushing me to buy a car and buy other stuff. I'm a very prudent person especially when it comes to buying things. I buy only when needed (a very important lesson I learned from my Kuya). 

Eventually I parted ways with this friend of mine because he had very different beliefs (and he betrayed me). I can only shake my head now because I got news about him selling his soul, just for money. Well, I hope eventually he'll realize that happiness and wealth is not about having all the latest gadgets or being able to buy material things. 

The gold of happiness is in relationships and not material things. That's what Fr. Hilarion said this morning and I hope you guys are happy too.

Bee happy!

The Secret Behind My Smile

I have a secret that only my community/parish knows.

Shhhh... quiet... baka may makarinig.

Only a handful of you probably know or have read my Homegrown blog. It's actually my column for our Parish' newsletter. Yeah, I'm its editor and that's something that I just normally keep within the realms of my neighborhood, that's because my neighbors, my Titas and Titos, my childhood friends, my co-parishioners don't actually know what I do for a living. All they know is I've been really busy the past year and I haven't done my job to produce (at least quarterly) our newsletter and I'm being hunted down already by our parish priest the past few months to do another issue. Heh.

So, that's my secret and the reason behind my Homegrown blog. I fancy doing inspirational writing. I'm no expert in it mind you. I just like writing. Period. And if it inspired people, well, that's fine too! I remember writing something a few months ago for a friend who was in a really huge rut, she was so touched, she cried and was soon back to normal. Well, I hope I'll manage to budget my time more properly so I can do that again.

I remain cheerful despite everything I've been through. I guess I've finally managed to shove out all my baggage that's why I can safely say I can glow like a star without any apprehensions (uyyy favorite ko ang Stardust!). It takes time mind you. It took me more than a decade and what's important is to always be positive, try to keep yourself out of a rut, huwag mapipikon, avoid ranting and have a lot of sense of humor. Life is just really funny sometimes and as Bugs Bunny (daw) said, "Do not take life seriously. After all, no one has ever come out of it alive."

I'm finally devoid of all that teenage and quarter life crisis angst! How I love being in my 30s! LOL.

Be happy! And be inspired!