Ahuv Sheli

" LOVE takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without  and know we cannot live within ."  ~ James Arthur Baldwin Two months before, a friend asked if we could talk and we did for an hour.  It was such a riveting experience ~ i t changed my life forever... For five years, I've carried my story with me ~ and blogged about it  but only this person has asked me such profound questions that shook the comfortable world I have built for myself... I thank one of my inspirations for generously hosting my post for this week ~ Vishnu's Virtues Kindly visit www.vishnusvirtues.com    "Unveiled: My Life and Lessons as a nun" and leave your comments there or you could write me via my email. Thank you!

Of all the places she wanted to be,  it was right here on my chest  that she found rest... ------------ It was the little sage's turn to visit me this weekend. She wasn't used to be carried around but I did... I held her several minutes each day to understand her valuable lessons... My infant Jesus a gift from graziealcielo "As I see it,  we shall never succeed in knowing ourselves  unless  we seek to know God: let us think of His greatness and then come back to our own baseness; by looking at His purity we shall see our foulness; by meditating upon His humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble." ~ S. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle. Translated and edited by E. Allison Peers. (NY:Doubleday, 1989)38. As a young nun, we were taught to contemplate the Infant Jesus so often. I have only come to know how by holding a real infant in my arms... It just tells me to ' receive

"Don't you want to be a Laida Magtalas someday?" my brother 'seriously' asked me Laida Magtalas version 2.0 I woke up light headed ...    still giddy with thoughts from yesterday ... and the entire week... ---- I almost fainted in the Church yesterday, it's the first time it has ever happened to me as I already got used to my low blood pressure... and it's the first time I missed a family event in five years that I've been out of the 'walls'...  "I can't come with you," I wistfully told my mom.  My dad drove me home after mass and I slept for three straight hours.  Those hours were the most quiet and relaxing...  I saw how much I was loved by my dad that Sunday. I like those tender moments when I'd really feel 'genuine' caring. It's also the first time I didn't push that love away. I felt my stubbornness fading away... ---- smiling... The Spirit whispered so

" Brother ass does it again...," I called out to my mom as she frantically knocked on my door ...  I overslept... Dazed, I got up quickly, took a quick shower and went off... After deciding to have a month break from Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, most of my days were filled with assessment of articles for our next issue, completion of requirements for visa application, going to and fro hospitals, and media coordination in preparation for the Diabetes Awareness Week Celebration . As much as I enjoyed it, my blood pressure tells me to slow down a little... Hearing myself saying this, I sensed that I was going back to my old pattern of losing myself to work 24/7. My boss must have seen how 'alive' I was with my 'new assignment' ~ amazed that she placed me in that field when I don't even watch  television... There was no official invitation from the "Retreat Master" (my bro) but I knew I had to