No Ordinary Earthquake

I was having a chat with two of my co-teachers when I received a text message. As I read: “Lumindol sa Japan ah, kamusta mga ate mo don?” I didn’t pay much attention to it thinking it’s just one another earthquake that hit Japan.

I’ve been to this country for a few times so I know firsthand how frequent this unpredictable tremor shakes the place. I won’t forget waking up one night by the noise of a chandelier swinging above me. I felt terrified; it was the strongest quake I have ever experienced. Shockingly, no one in the house got awakened by it other than me.

Hence, I continued to our after class hobby – chit chatting. A moment later, I received another text, almost the same message but from a different person. This time, I got already worried so I looked for a computer and verified it through online news. I got absorbed by what I saw.

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Stunning images appeared; dozens of dwellings, cars, boats and even buildings submerged under a layer of muddy water. I realized; this couldn’t be just an ordinary earthquake. Only to find out it was an aftermath of tsunami – caused by a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 struck off the northeastern coast of Japan.

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Thus, I hurriedly sent a message to my sisters. And seconds later I got their response: “We all got frightened but thank God we’re ok”. That caused me an instant relief. Indeed, thank God nothing bad had happened to them.

However, my worries remain because treats are still imminent in Japan; aftershocks, nuclear explosions, radiation leak, rising death toll and more. And that my loved ones are still there.

Having No Plan

Summer vacation is near..again. Weeks and even months earlier I already heard my friends & colleagues marking their diaries for some getaways.  Some will go to the beach while others will just visit their families at province.

And so I ask myself. What are my plans for the vacation? And the answer is: I have none. That is me. I don’t make plans. I like nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning with no definite plans and then just seeing what the day brings.

Yes, most of my gimmicks, engagements and undertakings were done unplanned. Some turned-out great, some went okay and others didn't.

Don’t get me wrong, I pretty much know the benefit of having plans. Planning is preparing and it’s like having directions. But come to think of it, sometimes we are so busy filling our diary that we forget to enjoy what’s around us. Remember we’re already living our life while we are busy making other plans. Just imagine how much you could miss while hectically preparing and thinking for your future ~ because it is already a real life going on there.

I am a human being and not a human doing. So I let my life surprise me by surprising myself first – I’ll never do advance and mass planning. Where others are ‘busy’ I am ‘free’ to do anything, go anywhere, meet anyone and spend anytime I want…I am unrestricted.

In that way I become a real simple person.