IN THE movie “Julie & Julia”, Julie said, “Cooking saved me; Julia saved me.”
This is quite relatable. When one goes through a dark hole, there is always something – a passion, an advocacy, a commitment or anything existential that will pull you out of that dark hole. The latter could be dire circumstances, brokenness, a heartache, a loss.
Like writing. For me it is an articulation of my joy, anger, sadness, contempt, indifference, ad infinitum about life and its mercilessness or mirth. It is both helpful and cathartic.
Back to the movie, Julie, a wannabe writer/novelist who finds herself in a rut creatively and professionally, found joy in cooking, and thus immersed herself in the process for 365 days and guess what, blogged about it! Hence, “Cooking saved me.”
So, if you find yourself in a damn hole, revisit your passion, execute it with gusto, live it, breathe it, and you may just find yourself crawling out of that black hole eventually. Never mind the pace; it’s not a race after all. Find your own pace, the universe be damned.
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There’s no perfect family. Just like any organization with its own culture of gossip, families have their share of gossips, too. Some families even thrive in it. It’s funny how we think that families aren’t politicized. You are dead wrong if you think that way. Every family has its own share of politicking, its portion of gossip apart from its strengths and weaknesses.
Family members also play the “Game of Thrones” by making alliances especially if a ticklish issue is concerned. Those who obtain the greatest number of allies will perceive there is strength in number, making the weak feel disconnected, isolated, and worst, an outcast. They think themselves having the upper hand. But the trouble with perceiving that you are winning is you become arrogant, holier-than-thou, and self-righteous.
Simply put, just steer away from family gossips, do not feed on them; do not propagate them. And more importantly, try to be a wise ass by not believing everything that you hear until you sift through the information. “Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves” is an astute biblical counsel.
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I am truly riveted in this couple’s story. I understand that he celebrated his birthday most recently, but young wife didn’t greet him any in her posts. That just sucks especially if the man didn’t want the woman to leave the abode.
To his credit or probably because he is a politician and doesn’t want to invite more attention to himself – he probably surmised the wife can have it – he is keeping mum about the whole thing and is probably working the back channels, to use diplomatic lingo, to win her back. Or he might just be giving her the space and place she wanted at this time.
Whatever it is, I am still following this story. It’s so real to me that it piques my interest. There is really no relationship made in heaven. At some point, you are hit by a challenge, it blows you so hard, you stagger and lose your bearing.
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So back to reality, haha, as if we’re in Neptune, I have been asked questions about my “thinness” (In Cebuano, niwang) by so many people the past two and a half months. Other questions include “Are you still eating?”; “Do you eat rice?”; “How do you keep yourself trim and fit?”; “What’s your secret?”; “Why are you still young-looking?”; etc.
There’s really no secret. I minimize rice. I do away with sugar as much as possible and use sugar substitute. I drink my vitamins and food supplements to stay healthy although I also have my share of health challenges. They suck, I tell you.
I used to exercise regularly but over the past several months with all the major life changes, I got lazy, I hardly exercise. But I have returned to inclined pushups lately. It’s the best I can do. Read: I’m just darn lazy.
Hopefully when all these changes have come around, I can go back to exercising. But of course, any opportunity to dance, I dance like there’s no tomorrow. I make up for the missed exercise regimen by dancing with panache, haha!
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Writer can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
