THE MAGUINDANAO—THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED

If you do something for me that I cannot do for myself, I will do something for you that you cannot do for yourself. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. This mutual covenant between the President of the Philippines Gloria M. Arroyo and the Ampatuans had started what the Ampatuans have now become—the Maguindanao’s law of the jungle. And whosoever shall keep it may prosper, but whosoever that shall break shall die. For the strength of one is the other and vice versa.

President Arroyo needed somebody to control the votes in Mindanao, and Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr., with his four wives and over 30 children, and intermarriages with other political clans, the President instinctively knew he must be the right pick as the chosen one to make her political future in the entire Mindanao secure.

Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr., in long sleeve;
and ARMM Governor Andal 'Zaldy' Ampatuan beside him

The Ampatuans begun to rise from nobody to over everybody as soon as Madam Gloria M. Arroyo became President in 2001. Then and there, the family members and relatives started to hold over key government positions, elective and appointive, in the national and local level. This early, the Maguindanao residents know that only one family wields real power in Maguindanao: the Ampatuans, led by its acknowledged patriarch, Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr.

In 2005, one of the elder son Andal ‘Zaldy’ Ampatuan, at 38 years old, became the governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the youngest ever to head the regional government. He took more than 90 percent of the votes among several candidates. But nevertheless his election was subject to questions of impropriety as was believed to be less than credible and honest raising quizzical eyebrows.

With guns and the blessings of President Arroyo, the Ampatuans seem to be digging in for the long haul.

To tighten their grip on power, President Arroyo made it legal for the Ampatuans to have hundreds of armed men and women under their employ who as thralldoms, will ready to die for the Ampatuans.

But the 1987 Constitution bans private armed groups. No problem, in the Philippines Madam Arroyo is the law, thus, in July 2006, the Arroyo administration issued Executive Order 546, allowing local officials and the PNP to deputize barangay tanods as “force multipliers" in the fight against insurgents. In practice, the EO allows local officials to convert their private armed groups into legal entities with a fancy name: civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs).

And whenever the Ampatuans travels about a hundred bodyguards board the back of spiffy pickups that are staples of Ampatuan convoys; and these CVO members typically lug long automatic assault firearms. The convoys of 20 vehicles or more always begin and end with pickups mounted with big machine guns. With the Ampatuans chronic show of force, the residents would rather not do anything to stand in the way of the Ampatuans.

To return the favor President Arroyo has been extending to them, every election the Ampatuans became the forceful conduit in helping ensure Madam Arroyo’s victory over the whole of Mindanao, literally with all the votes going everything for the administration versus nothing but mere splatters for the opposing candidates.

THE Maguindanao capitol [photo by Jaileen Jimeno]

AMPATUAN house [photo by Jaileen Jimeno]

But inspite of their influence and money, inspite of their mansions that dot the landscape, inspite of their towering stature as the gods and the law, the Maguindanao sank into economic doldrums and poverty and is the third poorest province in the country. It has a collapsed educational system that only 39.7 percent of adults in Maguindanao have six years of basic education. The vast majority of those are impoverished, illiterate people who are battling with what to eat for the day.

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal suspect of the hideously gruesome massacre in Maguindanao Province where on November 23, 2009, fifty seven (57) people, including thirty six (36) journalists were killed instantly in one setting.

Photo from http://en-gb.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9874744&id=340049295593

With the Maguindanao massacre on November 23, 2009, the government could not believe how a single clan managed to build up that army, whose firepower is just now being exposed to public scrutiny. This clearly illustrates the failure of the national government to enforce the law in the autonomous region. Military forces now deployed throughout the ARMM following the declaration of a state of emergency have found armored vehicles, each mounted with two .50 caliber machine guns, that do not belong to either the military or police. Authorities said the vehicles appeared to have been locally assembled. How can an armored vehicle assembly plant operate under the radar of the government? If those vehicles were not locally manufactured, how were they brought in? Were the Ampatuans authorized to obtain armored vehicles from abroad?

Authorities reported disarming over 300 members of the Ampatuans’ private army, but the weapons confiscated were government-issued, most of them reportedly very old. How many unlicensed weapons, including machine guns and the M60 submachine guns reportedly used in the massacre, are in the Ampatuan arsenal?

If you rationalize carefully, President Arroyo with her government are just too careful in handling the case of the Ampatuan family. The saying “best friends can be worst enemy” is the sword of Damocles ready to fall on them at any time.

But for me, it is just a matter of time and the scenario will be a repeat to that of former President Joseph Estrada and Governor Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson. For the benefit of my friends in foreign countries who are following my blog, Governor Singson and former President Estrada were very close friends also. Governor Singson has become the man Friday of former President Estrada to whom the latter share even his most intimate and most kept secrets. As the normal course of events would have it, their closeness turned from harmonious to sour.

In October 2000, Governor Singson laid down everything he knew about former President Estrada for the two years of their closeness, particularly the fact that he gave the former President 400 million pesos as payoff from illegal gambling profits. In a matter of two (2) months after the expose’, the latter was ousted from the Presidency by the Filipinos through protest rallies.

THE MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE—COULD THIS BE THE LAST STRAW FOR THE ARROYO REGIME?

Photo from GMANews

This is the picture of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal suspect of the hideously gruesome massacre in Maguindanao Province where fifty seven (57) people, including thirty six (36) journalists, the wife and pregnant daughter, relatives, and supporters of Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu, a governatorial candidate in Maguindanao, were unconscionably and mercilessly riddled with automatic assault rifles by this man and his more than one hundred (100) thralldoms.

The Ampatuan family are the political warlords and considered as the gods and the law in Maguindanao Province because they are umbilically or literally very close to the Philippine President. The principal suspect is the incumbent Mayor of the Municipality of Datu Unsay; his brother Andal “Zaldy” Ampatuan, is the incumbent Governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); and their father Andal Ampatuan, Sr., is the incumbent Governor of Maguindanao Province. These people always delivered a landslide votes in favor of President Arroyo and her party every election in the Philippines, the reason she owes them immeasurable debt of gratitude then and now.

Proof to that, even the Ampatuan family had been cursedly denounced by the whole world on account of the massacre, the Philippine President through her spokesperson refused to distant herself but even shamelessly came out in radio and television that no matter how they are presently looked upon by the people in the world, they and the President of the Philippines remain as close friends and allies as ever. No wonder that the Ampatuans have been getting a kid glove treatment.

Here’s the kid glove treatment: The prime suspect was treated as VIP in the sense that the government spent millions of pesos just to show his kind of stature. Trucks and luxury cars loaded with high ranking government officials and soldiers came to the house of the Ampatuans to fetch the suspect. But he chose no other but a helicopter to ride, so, he was fetched by a helicopter yesterday, November 26, 2009 at 11:00 o’clock in the morning. He was not handcuffed, as what other suspects even in petty crimes are seen when apprehended.

Also, the weapons of the Amputuans military forces comprising eight hundred (800) were allegedly confiscated but the guns and rifles that were surrendered were old/antique weapons (Garand rifles used in WWII), rusty and dilapidated. Witnesses say they were not the kind of weapons used by the killers. Please see the photo. Photo from http://www.etaiwannews.com/gallery.php?highlight_id=3214834&category=34

The suspect’s brother Andal “Zaldy” Ampatuan, the incumbent Governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); and their father Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the incumbent Governor of Maguindanao Province, were not apprehended, or at least, just invited for questioning as they are also allegedly in conspiracy, directly or indirectly, to the suspect. Remember, it was incumbent Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. who threatened Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu not to file his candidacy for governor; and that the backhoe excavator used to dig and cover the cadavers of the victims and their vehicles was owned by the Maguindanao Province with the name of Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. scribbled in it. Likewise, the two high ranking Police Officials who were allegedly present at the scene of the crime and the militia forces who fired at the victims were under Andal “Zaldy” Ampatuan, the incumbent Governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

So, what is happening here, are we that fool enough to believe what the government is doing? The government’s handling of the Ampatuan case is too appalling that to take it sitting down will be perceived by the whole world how the Filipinos are so stupid and twat that we are. In that case, we deserve the kind of government we have, in that, our President is only such for those people whom she has mutual political interest. In fact, she has cultivated a culture of impunity among them.

The government official speaking in behalf of the President, when asked a question whether the Ampatuans are untouchable, said: “No, they are not, nobody is untouchable, and I mean nobody. With the highest heinous crime they have committed, I don’t see why there are people who could still say that they are untouchable.” Do you not jeer with such an answer?

Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and ARMM Governor Andal 'Zaldy' Ampatuan to the left and right of President Gloria M. Arroyo

THE ARROYO REGIME HAS CREATED A MONSTER AND IS NOW TERRIFIED OF IT

We all fully realize that crime exists in all countries of the world. No one country is exempt from, or above being afflicted by, criminals who behave in appalling fashion that all should consider to be unacceptable in the society in which we live.

But what happened in the Province of Maguindanao, Philippines on November 23, 2009, Monday, was extraordinarily evil, indecipherably outrageous, and the worst grotesque nightmare in the history of election related death-killing crimes in the Philippines, if not, in the whole world in time of peace not war. Undoubtedly, this incident will always be fresh in everyone’s mind, leaving us with a variety of emotions that cannot easily be shaken. Paranoia, uncertainties about the unknown and the future, and a number of other feelings will continue to persist forever and ever.

The news stated that Buluan vice mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu, a muslim, who has decided to run as Governor of Maguindanao got the ire of the incumbent Governor Andal ‘Zaldy’ Ampatuan, another muslim, and warned the former not to file his candidacy, or else.

To evade the threat, at about 9:00 o’clock in the morning of November 23, 2009, Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu asks his wife, Jenalyn, his sister, and some relatives and supporters, and accompanied by about thirty-five (35) men and women media people that would supposedly cover the most awaited event, and two lady lawyers. As they were on their way in a five convoy vehicles to file the certificate of candidacy in behalf of "Toto" Mangudadatu at the Office of the local Commission on Election (COMELEC) in Maguindanao Province, Philippines, when a group of about 100 fully armed men with high powered conventional automatic modern weapons abducted them at gunpoint.

The five convoy vehicles were stopped and led to a secluded area about a hundred meters away from the national highway. Then the occupants of the five vehicles were ordered to disembark/alight. But even some of them had barely begun to come out, a boo of staccato gunfire ensued…firing at the victims causing them scampering and rushing in all directions. As the victims were running everywhere, bullets of high powered automatic weapons were catching after them and sprawling their targets scattered to the grassy ground.

At least fifty two (52) people including thirty-six (36) media men and women were brutally fired upon point-blank range and killed in a single incident. This was the highest level of violence, brutal as it can be the worst in the annals of the crime history in the Philippines. Their heads were the ones that had been targeted, thus, exploded beyond recognition. They were shot in their faces. Some were buried still gasping to be alive into a shallow hole dug beforehand by a backhoe excavator owned by the Provincial government, indicating clearly who were the culprits; and that the massacre was premeditated.

It seems to me more than obvious that the Philippines, has a bigger problem than it seems.Think about that for a minute… imagine at least 50 innocent people unarmed and defenseless from your town/city being buried alive, and bashed to death--murdered in just a wink of an eye – what would you do about it?

How do you deal with that sort of hate? – with the mentality of a society where this is permitted to continue day after day virtually unabated?

If we can’t deal with this violence how then are we in any way qualified to tell others how they must live in a ‘democracy’ like ours?
Our government can and should be doing more to resolve this internal problems. Maybe then our country could start becoming a better place for all to live peacefully in.

“DO AS I SAY AND NOT DO AS I DO” has never been a good policy in this government.

The Arroyo government must go beyond declaring Maguindanao in a state of emergency and act swiftly and decisively in giving justice to the hapless victims of the massacre in Maguindanao.

Three (3) days have already passed after the gruesome incident but the government still hesitated to apprehend even a single individual despite the overwhelming evidence who they really are responsible as gathered by its own teams of investigators-- the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice.

Then I step back and wonder... is this ever going to get solved?

Pictures from http://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/maguindanao-massacre-photos-we-grieve-we-are-ashamed-we-must-not-let-this-pass/

WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?

Countless of senseless killing incidents have occurred due to a road rage. These road-rage incidents are usually triggered by drivers who themselves are speeding and get into ego matches with other speeders.

One of the most sensationalized incidents of road rage was that involving Rolito Go who was convicted of shooting to death Eldon Maguan in 1991. Now, on November 19, 2009, another incident that has stunned the public where Renato Victor Ebarle, Jr., son of Usec. Renato Ebarle assigned in Malacanang Palace, was allegedly shot to death by Jason Ivler, the step son of British senior economist Stephen Pollard of the Asian Development Bank and a Filipina named Marlene Aguilar.

There is a Chinese proverb which says: “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”

Anger is an inherent feeling provided by nature to react in a given situation which needs correction. But at the same time it is also true that during such reaction, the reasoning power is marred. It is because of this, it is said that one should hold his reactions till he justifies them with reasons. If the person has got that ability to do so, then No Problem, if Not, Yes he may have to REGRET it for ever.

There is a line of a couplet which says "Centuries had to pay for the mistakes committed by a few Moments.” When you realize this, drastic change of your evil ways is in order before it is already too late.

Anger is like a double edged sword; if mishandled, it can cause great harm to yourself and others. One must learn to control anger and direct it for positive ends. It’s true that without anger, you can't fight the injustices and exploitation around you. Your personality will be highly subdued without anger. But a mix of all qualities is a must for right development of character and personality.

It is often said that Experience is the best teacher; but this is true only when we gain by the experience of others. In the case of the sufferer, Experience is not the best teacher; because experience charges more for its instruction than it is worth. Like for instance in the case of Jason Ivler, it does him no good anymore to learn and realize how he ought to have conducted and managed his anger after he had already shot somebody due to his uncontrolled rage.

Now, the lesson that Jason’s parents had taught him time and time again to hold his temper and stay away from trouble all the time even he has realized this as really true, would be of no use anymore after he has already gotten into such a big trouble.

I know the parents of the suspect Jason Ivler were not remised in their duties to discipline him. But Jason was just complacent and hard headed. Now, he has to face the consequences which he has only himself to blame.

The elders were the icons of dignity and respect. They exercise their authority in a meaningful way crafting healthy and cheerful environments. The child starts growing under the immense love and affection of parents, especially the mother.

It is also a fact that the nature of a human being is clean and on the right path since birth. However, the environments both external and internal influences have profound effects. The culmination of personality effectively reflects its influence, which categorized as 'good or bad'. The journey which begins with delight and happiness initially progressed on a rising tide. When environments are conducive, then the magnitude of wave length of the life cycle will be smooth. On the other hand, reverse will take its shape when negativity influences its personality. Then, it ends on a disastrous note leaving trails of misery and ill feelings. It breaks down families and deposits horrifying images on young and old and society as well.

Your parents’ warnings are the voice of God. It does not point out every danger, but it shows the safe path. Its wisdom reaches far into the future; for though it does not tell you what is wrong with your automobile--such engines then being unknown--it tells you how to drive in security.

MANNY PACQUIAO—THE WAY OF THE PACMAN

Manny `Pacman’ Pacquiao has defied all odds: the mystery of number 7; weight class; history; traditional wisdom; human nature, and the way of life here on earth.

1. In the mystery of number seven, it is said that you may have all kinds of luck in the world and win each and every big challenge that you face, but on the seventh encounter, expect that the trend must change into the opposite. But Pacquiao has defied the mystery of number 7 not only once but twice already.

The record says that he won all his eleven consecutive fights including the recent one against Miguel Cotto; and that the championship belt of Cotto was the seventh that Pacquiao was gunning to become the first and only boxer on earth to accomplish the great historical feat. He defied the change of trend of the mystery of number 7.

2. It is also the realities of life that no small fighter can beat a big opponent in the level of boxing. But in the case of Pacquiao, he rose from his natural weight four (4) times, if I am not mistaken, intentionally adding at least ten to fifteen pounds to his normal weight form of 130 lbs. in order to fight four champions in different weight divisions and won all of them successively and wrested four championship belts in the process.

3. The history of the boxing world has proven that no man could ever achieve seven titles in seven different weight divisions. But Pacquiao defied this odd to become the first man to accomplish the impossible—defeating opponents bigger than his size and weight. This was only heard very long time ago in the Bible story of David and Goliath.

4. Traditional wisdom, had taught all humans that “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.” But as to Pacquiao, even weeks before he fought the champion Miguel Cotto, he and his wife Jinky had been in disarray when the latter came to know that her husband had spent the fare and hotel accommodation to his rumored additional girlfriend-- a 20 year old, beautiful innocent looking, sexy actress and a writer in “ for men’s only ” magazine, a counterpart of playboy magazine in the US, and her entire family members to Las Vegas to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight; and more than that, Pacquiao had given Php1 million equivalent to 20,000$ for shopping.

The family trouble between him and his wife Jinky could have been a sufficient reason for Pacquiao to be worried and distracted as to lose focus for the fight which could cause his defeat. But in spite of it, Pacquiao still stood victorious.

5. The presence of Pacquiao’s recent girlfriend is likewise sufficient enough to weaken his strength and stamina and could result to his defeat against Cotto as he was in fact seen every now and then coming out of her room a number of times before the fight. Who wouldn’t be after spending millions of pesos on her? But all these odds had been defied by Pacquiao and came out still maintaining his speed and strength and won—wresting the championship belt of Cotto and became the only man on this planet to hold seven titles in seven different weight divisions in Boxing.

What it takes to be great? Research now shows that the lack of formal education and natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work.What makes Manny Pacquiao, the only man on planet earth to achieve and hold seven (7) titles in seven different weight divisions? We think we know: Each great men was born as ordinary and natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. You've got it - or you don't.

Well, it's not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don't exist. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful. Manny Pacquiao did nothing throughout his life except boxing and to win every fight he faces.

"Most human beings can access or sense inside of themselves their spirit. This is our true Self. It generates values and brings them into expression through our Body, Speech and Mind. When we encounter the world, we also encounter the resistance to our Divine Expression. Those that buckle under the weight of that resistance betray their spirit. Those that muscle up and work against the perceived resistance, develop not only physical muscle, they develop the spiritual muscles that make them UNBEATABLE. Sometimes, we can be assisted from enemies like doubt by inspirational stories of those that have met the challenge of life. Sometimes, this inspiration gives us a booster rocket to our own efforts or can awaken in us new efforts.” The feat Manny `Pacman’ Pacquiao in person is such an inspiration. Knowing his history can awaken that same inspiring energy within us and if that energy is already awake give the boost of it.

“During your existence on earth, exploit your potentials and all the resources around you as much as necessary, and before leaving this life, contribute as much as possible to the world, and its future generations. The most important fact is not what you will take when you will be gone, because you will take almost nothing, but what you will leave behind.”


I found the life of Manny `Pacman’ Pacquiao to be a road map to pursuing goals and dreams with the confidence, desire and focus that lead to victory. Manny `Pacman’ Pacquiao, the only kind in the world of boxing has shared his riveting personal story with such emotion, passion and mental images that all human beings can feel with him every moment-- facing each obstacle and challenge, internal and external. This is a profound and thought-provoking life where the end becomes the beginning, and where you discover the true identity of The Unbeatable Man.


atty. abeto a. salcedo, jr.

MANNY PACQUIAO-- SO IT SHALL BE WRITTEN, SO IT SHALL BE DONE

I cannot blame the boxing world in predicting that Manny Pacquiao will win the fight against Miguel Cotto on November 14, 2009 (November 15, in the Philippines). But in life, you don’t win all the time. On the contrary, we humans fail all the time and it is only seldom that we achieved tremendous financial success and popularity.

Manny Pacquiao is among the handful of people on earth who are showered with tremendous and extraordinary luck that the world can ever imagine. These people who have this unusual kind of consistent luck in their lives—like Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, President Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali, just to name a few, has no other explanation but because they are influenced by the mystery of number 7.

Pacquiao is sporting an insignia of “no fear”, which is a check sign. If you look at it very clearly, said check sign is actually a number 7 lying down. With it, Pacquiao cannot be hit because no one who is standing can hit any object which is lying down flat on the surface.

But in this fight Manny Pacquiao is gunning the seventh title in seven different divisions, and the fight is on November 14, 2009, which date is divisible by number 7. Manny Pacquiao is now fighting the mystery of number 7, something that he has no chance to win. Nobody wins against one which is considered a mystery. Thus, Pacquiao will succumb to defeat this time, and he will be knocked out in the seventh round with a time where number 7 is present.

Even God had showed us how He puts so much significance of the number 7. He finished His creation of the Universe in 6 days, so He can rest on the 7th day; He only placed seven colors in the rainbow; He saw to it there were only 7 days in a week; He only made 7 continents in the world; and so on, and so forth.

I feel very sorry to make this prediction because I am a Filipino, and I also want Pacquiao to win his 7th title. Pacquiao brings and has brought so many honors to the Philippines in a positive way. But this is just what life is all about. You just can’t win all the time, especially if the event is marked by the mystery of number 7.

To counter this phenomenon, I want Pacquiao to do what I say, and he must be informed immediately with only two (2) days to go. Whatever he wears inside the ring should be written the number 7 inside a circle and a check sign on center top of it. Some more, all in his team whose family name has 7 letters, and his father, Mr. Pacquiao, must not see the fight even in Television at all cost. They bring bad luck to this fight.

IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN, SO IT SHALL BE DONE.

THE PROVEN APPROACH AND TECHNIQUE

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. Socrates

When you're wanting to learn new things it is very important to surround yourself with successful people who are leading the life you desire to live. By standing in the shadow of successful people you are often able to learn the technique and secrets of what they are doing. They have already made the mistakes, learnt the tips and tricks so why re-invent the wheel when you don't need to. What’s better than learning from someone else’s experiences and replicating all the things that would benefit you?

I have a friend who worked as a store errand in hardware for building construction owned by a Chinese. After many years he is now an owner of the biggest hardware establishment in our place. Another friend of mine who worked in a big time cow-fattening business as caretaker of cows. After sometime, he was able to put up his own kind of business and is now richer than his former employer. When I was still in my grade school, I always go with my father who was a lawyer wherever he goes—at his office and in court hearings. Now, I am a lawyer.

Draw a sharp picture of your future and that vision will provide you with a clear sense of direction. Only consistent, rational ambitions sustain the long-term motivation that allows individuals to reach the highest levels of success.

Lacking a sense of direction is equivalent to trusting luck for raising your personal level of satisfaction. Clarity of purpose gives an individual a target to achieve and a path to follow. For however a person thinks is how they will eventually become. Your focus determines your reality. It's no use to have a favorable wind if you don't know which way to turn the steering oar.

"All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible". "Action to be effective must be directed to clearly conceived ends." “If you know what you’re aiming at, it greatly improves your odds of hitting your target.” Better still, “if you want to hit the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target”.

Whatever your present situation, achieving a better future is going to involve substantial work. Most people are able to motivate themselves for a short while, but they are quick to give up when they meet the first difficulties. “The self-seeking man who is looking after personal comforts and leading a lazy life, there is no room for him even in hell.” “One must raise oneself by one's own exertions.” “It is better to wear out than to rust out.”

Remember consistency is important. If plants are soaked in large amounts of water only once a week or once a month, they will soon die. They take in water consistently. “A person with half volition goes backwards and forwards, but makes no progress on even the smoothest of roads.” Steps taken with the right destination in mind are likely to improve the quality of your experiences, at least in the long term. You can't grow in every direction. You just can't become an expert in every field.

Life sometimes hands us thorns but we have the choice to park our mind on the thorn or on the lesson it can eventually produce in us if we learn from our experience. “The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through experience.” “Experience is the only source of knowledge.”

EVIL WAYS CAN CAUSE A THOUSAND YEARS OF REGRET

Proverb is a statement or phrase quoted from wise men who possessed intellectual virtues derived from personal experiences throughout their lives for a good span of time out of their encounters with different kinds of situations, things and people where they had been pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised by things they weren’t aware of, they had made mistakes, had time to reflect upon their mistakes and the mistakes of their friends, associates, and family, and they had come to learn and understand that they knew very little when they thought they knew a lot, and so they knew something about human limitations, understand something about human nature and human frailty, and they are able to give advice and teach values and principles on whom we ought to be careful of, whom we can trust, what to expect in the future.

Without embracing certain basic ideas and values, it is impossible to correctly understand the unevenness, inequality, and diversity that exist among mankind. These inequalities among human beings cannot and could not be attributed to blind chance or pure accident.

According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture", but also to Karma. In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.

There is a proverb which says: “One step in the wrong direction will cause you a thousand years of regret.”

You may not believe what I am saying here and “No iron chain, or outward force of any kind, can ever compel the soul of a person to believe or to disbelieve.”

Consider this: the normal life span for men is only seventy-five years old; and for women is seven-eight years old. But why is it that the proverb says, it will cause you a thousand years of regret if you misstep in the wrong direction? There can be no other interpretation but that, if you knew that what you are doing was wrong and you still continue to do it, you are already flaunting the laws of nature, and because of this, you are not the only one who will pay for the wrong you have flagrantly committed but also your family, your grandchildren, and the children of your grandchildren.

Yes, those people caught in the grip of avarice to the extent of ignoring the inner moral compass in favor of amassing more and more wealth will find themselves paying their worse than they ever thought, as their family, grandchildren, and the children of their grandchildren will continue to pay for them.

You sow not only for your exclusive benefit but for your family as well, right? Your family knows what you are doing because they can see sense and observe. Whatever you harvest from what you planted, either evil or good, will always redound to the detriment or benefit of your family.

The law of Sowing and Reaping suggests not only we will all reap what we've sown; it also suggests that we'll reap multifold. Therefore, if you sow evil, you and your family will reap much more evil, up to one thousand years. As Alex Haley puts it, “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.” Therefore, you and your descendants at large will unavoidably mourn the worst form of wallowing pain to an unimaginable extent even after your exit from earth.

If you are still stubborn and hardheaded that you will insist to continue to refuse and give up your evil ways, even if it warrants your own misfortunes as well as your descendants, then, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming to all of you. How foolish humans are, hopelessly beckoned into destruction like a firefly being seduced by the burning light of fire.

ONLY YOU WILL MAKE YOU WHO YOU WANT TO BE

In this era of discovery and conquest with all the inventions of high technology at an ever-accelerating pace, things, situations and circumstances are transformed like magic consistent with the common cliché-- now you see it, now you don’t. With the present technology, the long process became short; the slow became fast; the span of waiting was shortened; the natural look of things and appearance can become attractive and sophisticated; etcetera, etcetera. That is why; the prestidigitation going on around the globe has been on a distinct rise. Resultantly, everybody and everyone are jockeying to grasp everything in a hurry for a piece from the big chunk but end up a failure.

New things have to be learned, have to be introduced and worked out, but is not to be done by sweeping away all that is old, just because it is old. The best way for you to achieve anything that will give you fulfillment and ensure your daily bread is that, just stick to one thing that you are passionate about and put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.

I remember when I was still eleven (11) years old and in grade seven at the time, I had a classmate at the Ateneo de Cagayan (now Xavier University), in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. His family had a trucking business for building construction and hauling of logs. So, both he and his elder brother were trained by their father to repair their trucks and heavy equipments. He had not finished college and he spent most of his life a mechanic for their family’s business. Since he became a master in the repairs of trucks and heavy equipments, now, he has his own hauling business using trucks and pay loaders to haul sand and gravel for developers of subdivisions.

Efren `Bata’ Reyes, the Filipino Billiard Legend, had spent most of his time playing billiard. He knows nothing except billiard, now, he is a billiard sensation throughout the world.

I also knew somebody who took a course which is foreign to everyone at the time- -Botany major in plant disease. We laugh at him for choosing such course which we thought was never heard and lucrative. Now, he is a millionaire because his clients are not individuals but government of countries. Being a doctor of plants-botanist is rare in the world, and with this climate change phenomenon, he is always hired by other countries to lecture and conduct experiments for them.

If you want to be rich and famous, do not believe on what people call `Jack of all trades’. Specialize in only one area and become one of the few masters and the best at it.

Believe me, your humdrum everyday experiences, combined with the wisdom of immortals, can help you appreciate and maybe even learn the nitty-grity of going slowly but surely masterly discovery.

Do not believe what other people say on how things are to be done. Nobody who became successful in any field of endeavor has been so helpful to hold an open sesame to his secret. There is ample opportunity to use wealth in this world but no one is too frank to admit he has so much of it that he is interested in putting himself at a disadvantage by sharing his secret. This would only cast his 'edge' into oblivion and return him to being mere mortal who struggle for his daily bread. Man cannot live by bread alone, but it helps, if others don't bake it using your recipe".

WHILE WE ARE HERE DO IT HERE

This story has set me on fire about what I always wanted to do.

One day, the pig complained to the cow that people always talk about the latter’s friendliness even what it can give is only milk. “But people get much more from me, like ham, bacon and lard, and they even cook my feet”. “Yet, no one likes me, why is that?”

The cow thought it over a bit and then said: 'Perhaps it's because I give while I am still alive!'"

God wants us to always be thankful, be kind, be loving, and show our appreciation to people who have done nice things for us or showed us that they care. While we are still on earth, let’s do it now. Let us do good unto all men. Let our hearts be opened first, and all else will follow of itself. Even the least work done for others awakens the power within.

They say, when you truly love, you should care. And when you care, you should share. "Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible”.

"There is an especially good feeling about giving. Helping others makes them and us all feel great”. But there is an underlying principle to all this ‘giving out’ that we need not worry about or consider at all as any concern. What we give out will come back in some form or other, maybe not from the same place and not immediately. But it will come back when we need it most.

We could regard ‘giving’ as not reducing our wealth, but relocating it for a while. It will be returned as “what you give is what you received”. We don’t need to worry about this. It’s the law of attraction. So smile and give, and think not of return, but how great it is to share. Our turn will come when we most need it and how great that will be”. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”. “They who gave have all things; they who withhold have nothing”.

Show some gratitude to everyone. Gratitude is going that extra mile to help all people who needed help whether they had helped you during your time of need or not because it is the support of the general public directly or indirectly that will make you achieve your success. You can start small and eventually; those small stones will create a rock-slide!

TIME IS EVERYTHING

Time passes quickly. Time that passes can never return, nor can it be compensated for, for time is irretrievable. Time is the most precious thing that man possesses. In fact, wasting time is much more dangerous than squandering property, because unlike property, time cannot be compensated. Man has not yet invented a device for setting back time. If we waste time, if we abuse it, then we waste and abuse our lives.

Accepting that your days are limited is a precondition for making the best use of your time. Gaining understanding of the fact that each passing day is irrecoverable, that the fundamental truth is that time moves in only one direction, therefore, do one thing at a time and while doing it put your whole soul into it with integrity and honesty to the exclusion of all else.

Learn how to organize your time, and make a realistic plan for your worldly needs without any of them overlapping the other. One should always bear in mind that every time has its own task that suits it. Doing tasks in their due times brings about peace of mind and comfort. That is to say that one should know how to arrange his priorities: the most important and the most urgent comes first, and carried out according to schedule. Organizing time also includes leaving a place for relaxation and entertainment, for 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy.' Free time is a blessing that is overlooked, and not wholly appreciated by many people.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time ... and remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present!

The law of cause and effect governs the world. Nothing escapes its reach; no one can circumvent its application. What you do today determines the level of tomorrow's pay.

Wise are the words of the one who said ... "I expect to pass through this world but once; any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Life will be always fraught with distress and difficulties. Don't you ever let them bring you down because you still have the time to turn your life around. Look at the world with a fresh spirit, choose your path, and move on.
Another year has passed; minutes move into hours, into days, into weeks, into months, into years - seemingly faster than ever; yet every moment is a precious component of life and every moment counts.

Opportunity is something which like a shooting star, is quick to vanish and late to return. With this, when you are the anvil, Bear, when you are the hammer, Strike.

If you're ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky when the stars are strung across the velvety night, and when a shooting star streaks through the blackness turning night into day, make a wish and think of me. Make your life spectacular. (Jack film)