I just started a new blog, www.edpilapiljr.com.
The reason?
I plan to make it sort of a central site for all that I am doing around the web.
There are posts in www.edpilapiljr.com that will not be posted here.
If the search engines favor this move, I might start posting most, if not all, on that site.
The title of the blog is, “Live Your Adventure: Insights & Insinuations by Ed Pilapil Jr.”
Check it out.
“Hi Coach,” Freddie welcomed me as I went in. “Thank you for accepting our invitation.”
“My pleasure,” I said. “As I said, I would love to help you in your couples’ retreat.”
“We reviewed the outline you sent us,” Don said. “There are topics that we have never been exposed.”
“The group is very excited to listen to you,” Freddie said.
“I am glad to hear that,” I said. “Do you have any questions?”
“Would it be alright to add activities?” Freddie said.
“You are free to add activities, gimmicks and reflection questions,” I mentioned, “as long as they are aligned with my content.”
“Great,” Don said.
“Is it alright for you to brief us with the topics?” Freddie said. “So we can prepare activities that are aligned to it.”
“We will begin with Genesis 2:15-25,” I said. “The title as you can see is The First Story of Marriage.”
“What would be the emphasis here?” Don asked.
“There are several principles that we will cover,” I said, “but we will emphasize, identity with each other, leaving father and mother, joining your mate, and intimacy.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Yes?”
The door opened. A little lady peeked in, “Some of our fellow members would like to meet our guest speaker.”
“Coach, can we take a break?” Freddie said. “Some of them would like to meet you personally. They could not wait ’til next week.”
“I could use a cup,” I said.
“We’ll continue in 15mins,” Don said. “Okay with everyone?”
“Yes,” we said in unison.
“Can you be our speaker?”
“On what topic?” I asked.
“This is a retreat for the couples of our church,” Freddie said.
“I would love to help out,” I said.
“Our core group would like to meet you,” he said. “Where and when may we meet?”
“May I invite you to my office tomorrow,” I asked. “4PM.”
“We’ll be there. Bye,” he said and ended his call.
——————————
“Welcome to our office,” I said.
“Hi Ed.” They came in and there were five of them.
I asked one of my staff to bring them coffee and water.
After a bit of small talk, I started the ball to roll, “Let us discuss your invitation.”
“Yes,” one of them responded. “We have prepared a manual to be a guide to you.”
“Thank you,” I reached out and flipped through the pages.
“The retreat will be two days in Subic,” she said.
“Great,” I said to myself, “I can visit Swell Bar and Cafe. They have great food and drinks.”
“Are you fine with the schedule?” Don asked.
“Yes my third weekend this month is open,” I replied.
“Great!” Freddie said. “Just let us know what you need.”
After flipping through the material, “I’ll be honest, I do not think I can teach this.”
“Why?” she asked. “That has been used by marriage encounters before.”
“How are their marriages now?” I asked. “I assume they experienced some emotional high during the event then drifted after.”
“That seems to be true,” Don said.”How can you tell?”
“The content is not grounded on solid scripture,” I said. “They used verses improperly. It is not biblical.”
“What do you propose?” Freddie asked.
“I will send you my outline through email,” I said. “It will cover Genesis 2, 1Corinthians 13, 1 Peter 3, and Ephesians 5.”
“Has it been proven?” Don asked.
“Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes,” I said. “Marriages restored. Marriages brought to a new level of harmony. Marriages started well and continued well. I assure you friends, when we do this, there will be an impact.”
“I just want you to know that you have a freehand,” Freddie said. “You are the expert, please do as you see fit.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“We will wait for your email,” Don said. “Thank you for receiving us.
“You will also see it in my next post. Thank you for considering me to be your guest preacher,” I said. “Goodbye.”
“Good morning Coach,” she opened her chat.
“Good morning,” I chatted back.
“I tried writing as you said, but I am not so confident to write,” Helen said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“After I write, even if it is just a letter,” she said, “I feel that something is wrong.”
“You have to get back to your basics.”
“How do I do that?” Helen inquired.
“Buy an English grade 1 book on usage and grammar,” I said.
“What?”
“Is that a problem for you?” I asked.
“I am not sure…”
“Hey, I did that myself many years ago,” I said, “and I was already a college graduate then.”
No message.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of,” I continued. “English is our second language. We grew up speaking our dialect.”
“It won’t be a problem for me,” she wrote. “Aside from you, did anyone else you know do this?”
“My staff,” I said. “I required them to.”
“And?”
“They are beginning to realize their grammar mistakes,” I said. “It increased their confidence.”
“I’ll buy one today.”
“Good,” I said.
“Thanks Coach, I gotta go.”
“Bye Helen. Let us chat after you finish book 1.”
“Okay.”
There are several reasons why those who write continue to do so even though writing can be agonizing. Here are some:
Keep writing. Add more reasons why you write. It will fuel your output.
“I used to write when I was a kid,” she said.
“Why did you stop?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she paused. “Maybe requirements, responsibilities, you know… work.”
“What did you write?” I asked.
“I used to write poetry,” she said. “I tried some short stories. One in English and one in Filipino.”
“Did you like writing?” I pursued with my query.
“Oh yes, very much,” she said. “It gave me a sense of freedom and what do you call that, satisfaction.”
“Satisfaction is what way?”
“You know, satisfaction that you were able to accomplish something or make something,” she replied.
“Would you like to write again?” I asked.
“What for?” she asked. “And besides, I am busy with work.”
“For freedom. For satisfaction. For the love of it,” I said. “A few minutes a day will do.”
“I do know where to start,” she said.
“Do you have a journal?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then begin there,” I said. “Write your thoughts. Do not think of structure, style or technique.”
“I can do that,” she said,
“Start today.”
“I will.”
Why do you write? If you want to learn to write or if you wish to be a writer, you must establish your reasons.
There are several reasons why people right. Here are some:
So why do you write?
We waited three hours before our van could enter the Ro-Ro boat. It was 11:30PM. “I would probably get back to Ortigas Center by 4:00AM,” I thought. There was no point in feeling frustrated since that would be a waste of emotion so I decided to enjoy every moment that prolonged the trip. Yup, right there at the port, waiting, trying not to get bored. Instead of feeling bad, I thanked God for the sea breeze.
Frankly, I was not excited get back to the Metro Manila where birds wake up coughing. Every moment that delayed us was counted a blessing.
It has been more than 10 years since I last visited Calapan, Mindoro. A decade ago, the purpose was to visit a farm. This time it was to deliver a lecture on Products, Services and Marketing organized by DTI-Region IV and by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, more popularly known as GoNegosyo.
Calapan has better roads now. But it can be improved as a tourist stopover ‘coz those going to Puerto Galera generally pass by Calapan. Anyway, that deserves another blog.
I walked around the cargo vessel after we parked. Two of my companions, both named Jun (my parents also call me Jun) discovered the top deck, the pilot’s deck. In front of it, was space enough for 30 people to walk around in. Only five other people were there, including myself. I stayed for three hours until we got to the port of Batangas.
Again, the breeze. My lungs felt it took a bath. The full moon looking down on us. No, I did not transform into anything. The stars, partially hidden by the night clouds. The rhythmic sound of the sea. The islands, lighted by small communities. I paced back and forth at the spacious deck then I closed my eyes and meditated on the goodness of the Creator.
The best things in life are truly free.
Singapore. Anyone who visits this former third world country that was never given a chance to survive, would be amazed. But the real amazement is not the infrastructure, not the banking nor the tax system, nor the disciplined populace, but the history.
I believe that none can appreciate a nation, a city, a man or woman, an event, or breakthrough discovery without understanding the history.
The amazing thing was how Singapore moved from very poor to world class. Knowing the obstacles and the solutions of this small city-state is the real treat. Most of the victories would be due to the leadership of their decisive, and sometimes controversial leader, Lee Kwan Yew.
I truly enjoyed reading the Memoirs of Lee Kwan Yew where he narrated history from his perspective.
Last Saturday, he resigned as Minister Mentor from the Cabinet in order to give way to the younger leaders. Eventually, every leader must step aside and pass the baton.
Lee will forever be loved by his followers and respected by his opponents.
Writers are often readers. The love to write usually comes form the love to read. Not all readers become writers though. But all writers are readers. There are times that writers deliberately take a reading pause, for the sake of cleansing, or removing influences.
The hope is to write something original. And there lies the irony. Each writer, because he has read much, and has studied the styles of others, can never be totally free. The writing styles or content of others can be deeply rooted in the subconscious. So the theory might be true that nothing is truly original. What we believe to be original was built on the works of others.
But that also makes writing possible for the writer. He is not empty, unlike the ignorant or the simpleton. He can write because he knows something. And if he insists on writing more works, he must know more. He is forced to read the works of others, read the newspapers, read the signs of the times, read the trends, read himself.
Oh yes, to write, one must know, and continue doing so. Or else, there is nothing to write.
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