spring orchestra

iuj backyard, april 29, 2005

when the going gets tough, "desiderata" has it all to say: "with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world." (max ehrmann, desiderata, copyright 1952)

the pictures above express it all: it is still a beautiful world. "In His time, God makes all things beautiful."

the pictures were taken yesterday at past 3pm. when others were all nowhere to be found, i was in the middle of nowhere, a lone audience of this once in a lifetime spring orchestra: the mountain provided a natural backdrop, the melting snow served as the platform, the rain was singing, the fog was dancing, and all the trees and sakura were playing their own song. i was taking part of this wonderful moment that would never be shown again. and i was ecstatic. last weekend, i watched two concerts. one in muikamachi where all bands just provided added noise to the already troubled minds of those who attended; the other one was in ojiya where a woman who took a graceful bow sang lullabyes. the two concerts failed in comparison to the spring orchestra i listened to yesterday. it was such a perfect communion with the naturals.

it really was, and is, a beautiful world. how could the God of heaven create such majestic orchestration of things around? how could He be gracious enough to make me a part of it?

"He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses." (psalm 135:7, NIV)

"i think that i shall never see,
a poem lovely as a tree.
a tree whose mouth is prest
against the sweet earth's flowing breast...
poems are made by fools like me,
but only God can make a tree." (tree, joyce kilmer, 1886-1918)

indeed, "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." (ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV) my time is now, and my place is here. i'm savoring the moment. God is really good.

enjoy the world, it is beautiful outside. we only live once, live it to the full. word of caution though: "do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." (romans 12:2, NIV)

fallen

sakura just below my prison cel window, april 29, 2005

even the fallen has the right to be beautiful. who am i to cast judgment on you? who are they to condemn you?

when you fall, you strive to bloom. even in the most unlikely situation, you still give it your best shot. you comfort the wearied spirit, you slow down the hurried soul, even if we know you only have few days to stay, few days to live.

"God made the sun, it gives.
God made the moon, it gives.
God made the tree, it gives.
God made the flower, it gives.
God made man, he..."
(quoted from memory)

"teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." -psalm 90:12

looking out and beyond

kohei-kun, a 7-year old and still not losing the wonders (shiozawa, april 23, 2005)

it was a long travel. but did i mind? if one looks out and beyond, as if waiting for something to see, or for someone to pop up, or wonder if in the forest there are insects now when snow is melting, the travel won't seem to be long. in fact, no one minds even if it takes eternity to journey on the way back home. just don't lose the wonders.

this is a lesson learned from this 7-year old boy who never tires thinking out loud, in japanese at that.

sooner than later, i will be packing up my bag, and fly home. yes two years was a long journey. but when i learned to wonder, no, i didn't mind the long travel. as i journey my way back home, i will never lose the wonders.

the academic demands of iuj seemed to be insurmountable; however, i was unfazed. the piece of paper conferred as a degree is no feat for me. sad to say it is only a piece of paper. the process of looking out and beyond was more important to me as i believe the journey is too short if i wonder more; too long if i begged off under pressures. learning, and enjoying in the process, is my priority. passing, and accomplishing in the process, is only the tip of the iceberg. iuj was too much concerned of passing, more than learning; of quantity, more than quality. if i was fazed, i would have died from heart attack, what then?

just like kohei-kun, who didn't mind the long travel, i would look out, look beyond and ask: do you have beetles in the philippines as big as in brazil's? (i don't even know there are beetles in brazil.) how did the insects go to the mountains? then suddenly i would change the topics to gundam and sports cars. that was exactly what i did in my 2-year iuj life. i didn't mind the demands, i just went out, look out, look beyond and enjoyed. and things just fell into place.

five years from now, i wouldn't remember the OLS regression, but i would remember the insects in the mountains, the beetles, and yes, gundam and sports cars.

(i would like to believe that Jesus, in His 33-year journey on earth, did just like that: look out and look beyond. He was unfazed of the legalism of the pharisees; instead, He enjoyed the company of the lepros, ate with the outcasts, took time to draw a circle on the sand, and came out glorious.)

blossoms

sakura in a parking area, ojiya city, april 24, 2005 (there is always something beautiful even in a most unlikely place)


when something wilts away,
there is always a good chance
it will blossom again.

that's how God designs things to be
when He gives, He also takes away.
but when He takes, He also gives abundantly.

even in the most ordinary place
and even to the most tired passers by
there always blossoms something as beautiful as sakura.

if only the passer by would open his eyes wide
and pause for a while, nay, longer stand by
he can actually smell the fresh spring in the air.

___________________
(jerry scott's comics goes:
sluggo: nice ironing job!
nancy: AT LEAST I TRIED!

hahaha it's really difficult to make a poem. AT LEAST I TRIED! keep on gar, u got it best. i will just smell the spring in the air.)

when she bows

in ojiya city public hall, april 24, 2005

her name is yuri mori. she sings. she sings well. she sings well from the heart. she sings well from the heart in one hour and a half. then she bows. she bows gracefully. she bows gracefully after she sings well from the heart in one hour and a half.

that's all i have known of this beautiful woman from japan. only in one hour and a half. after her voice soars and penetrates even those most calloused of all calloused hearts, after hearing, like a tiny bell, the sound of her songs that wakes up the fallen and moves even the tired hearts, after contemplating the message of her songs, "Jesus loves me, this i know, for the bible tells me so," "fight the unbeatable foe, bear the unbearable sorrow," which moves me on, then she bows. when she bows, she becomes the epitome of everything i long admire. so graceful. so soft. so calm. i feel her fragility when she bows. she does it like a swan swaying in a pond.

but her bow, when she bows, leaves me in awe. it awes me of God's sufficient grace, that no matter how turbulent the world outside, there is always a gracious end of all the beginnings. no matter how good the experience might be, or how worst the show maybe, there is always one graceful bow at the end of it all. after all, when yuri mori bows, she bows at the end of her show.