In-touch with Nature

   

Who would have thought that just a few kilometers away from my zone, we could find this wonderful creation right at our doorsteps. If you try to explore and look around, you will be amazed that there are a lot to be thankful and to appreciate to. You do't need to travel far and spend much to achieve and feel that tranquility and stress-relieving atmosphere that you are looking for.

When it comes to nature adventure, name whatever you like, Philippines has got a lot to offer. There are a lot of magnificent places around the archipelago which are not yet discovered, or if it is, are still unfamiliar to all.

And since summer vacation has finally arrived. It was such a great opportunity to experience to get in touch with nature the "hard-way". Yes, It was never easy climbing the hill. And of course because since it was located in the middle of the rainforest, there were lots of rocks, big rocks and little plants and muddy soils on the way. Added to that is the bright sunshine hitting unto our skin. 

However, the fulfillment after seeing the creations from the top and the breeze of the cold air touching your flesh just wipes out the tiresome from the journey you have had. It was mesmerizing and peaceful. 

After the long way, you can just realize that it was all worth it. It is not everyday that we got to experience this ride. We are not fortunate enough of time to afford to journey on this but, you know, once in a while is I think healthy enough. And what I like the most is that everything just feel so simple above. Like, you don't have to think about your normal day and stress out with work or school or your family. But the silence and the fresh air just gives you that humble feeling that we miss to feel during the usual times. You might be seeing tress around on your way to nowhere but I bet if you ever appreciate the green leaves on it, the trunk which stood so sturdy over time or even the wind splashing its leaves to  fall and everything of that.

And after that journey, I came to think and appreciate more about simplicity and its wisdom. Everything is now adorned with advancement, But if we come to think of it, we don't really need them much. At the end of the day, we still go back to nature and live life as simply as it should ought to be. 






xxmarbe 

Song1: The Weeknd - Earned it

And because music runs through my veins, it is just literally part of my being. I could not imagine my existence without MUSIC. In fact, according to studies, music is believed to have various advantages in human life ; Physically and Mentally.

But for now, since I listen to music during almost every chance that I could. I would like to share to you guys my Top Pick of the Week/Month. What? Month?? Yes, it takes me literally a month to get over a single song. Don't blame me. I normally play the song I mostly like at the moment for a zillion times for the entire month. It's insane but It's cool for me. 

Anyways, these are just my personal song picks, however, I would try to give a brief explanation on why I loved it and my little understanding about the song as well. If you haven't asked by the way, I like and I listen to almost any type of music genre like:

• Anime 
• Acoustic and Country blues
• Classical Jazz
• Wedding music
• Contemporary Country
• Techno/Club music
• Hip-hop/Rap
• Afro-beat
• RnB/Soul
• Local/Native songs

Whew! Thats quite a long list huh. Anyways, If we share the same interest. Feel free to give these songs a try. 

So without further adieu, let's have the first pick. 

This song is from the soundtrack of the highly grossed movie " Fifty Shades of Grey". Raise those of you who have watched it. Cool! I'll toast to that. I just loved it! Anyways, so Yes, this song is a soundtrack song from that movie. I actually love the other songs too but I just love this song as of the moment.

This was sung by a Canadian artist Abel "The Weeknd" Tisfaye. He is actually very young still, he is now 25 years old. And way back 2010, he anonymously uploaded several songs on YouTube and now, he has already released several albums too.  His song lyrics often expresses feelings of hurt or things on drugs, sex and partying.

The song is entitled, "Earned it". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe_iCkFsQKE

The beat of the song is just very sexy and really matches the movie, additionally, the artists voice is very calming too. I think this is just perfect for bedtime or during you are alone on bed. And as a soundtrack of a very sexy movie, the lyrics are also very meaningful.


He says, " So I love when you call unexpected because I hate when the moment is expected".


Of course listeners have the freedom to interpret this line in whichever they wanted to. I just find this line very sexy and catchy at the same time. But the whole song is just beautiful. I could not stop replaying the song all over and over and over again.

5 truths about Filipina beauty

Filipino women are among the most beautiful women in the world. There is no argue with that. But what highlights Filipina beauty is their personalities. Filipino women are generally loving, faithful and they stay true to their traditional traits. 

But a Filipina doesn't have to wear a crown to feel beautiful. Their beauty not only ends from physical appearance, it only strengthens the image portrayed from the outside because what highlights Filipina beauty is their personalities.


And here, I will try to demonstrate 5  traits and reasons behind the captivating beauties of Filipino women inside and out.


1. Among Asian women, Filipino women are best known for their exotic and oriental beauty. 

Filipina beauty is a well mixture of Spanish oriental, Japanese and Caucasian features with an even tan skin, brown eyes and Black to dark brown long hair complemented with their bright and charming smiles. One of the obvious manifestation is through their constant achievement on International beauty pageants.

Philippine ladies have always dominated International pageants. They are in fact one of the promising and most awaited candidates throughout the competition.


2. Filipinas have a very Bright Spirit.

Filipino women are able to balance class and pride with their humor. They are very fun to be with, with a lot of stories to share. They are happy chatters and are not afraid to be loud at times. They show their true emotions without ungripping femininity.




3. Filipina Values are Timeless

Filipina shine because they are very quick and flexible when it comes to adopting various kinds of situations and environments. But despite the modernity, Filipino women make it a point to hold unto their number one priority and that is -- Family.

They are nurturing and caring. For Filipinos as a whole, family is always the first when it comes to anything. And for Filipino women, as the light of the household, they make sure that their family is in good hands. they show it without mimicking what their mom and grandmas did but instead, they have their own recipe of love which they genuinely show towards their loved ones.


4. Filipino women are not afraid to speak up!

One of the most admired qualities of Filipinas all over the world is that, they are very vocal when it comes to their rights in the society. They are never afraid to shout their right and they never get settled until they achieve the best that they deserve. They have their principle in which they stood upon and beliefs which gives them the drive to pursue.

5. Filipinas Enjoy their beauty

Maintaining the beauty from the outside is what everyone pay attention with. Most women, if not all, are trying to look good for the pleasure of the opposite sex. However, Filipino women don't give a fuss on critiques, She knows for herself that she is attractive and she owned it already.

Filipino women are seen to be more empowered that any other in the neighboring regions. They have strong conviction and she knows that she controls her body. Filipino women are not only concerned with the outer beauty, they also maintain and enhance the beauty from the inside. As much as possible, they try to have a harmonious relationship with others and have the confidence and wit in facing other people.

They celebrate beauty not only for others but also for themselves.






xxmarbe

Innate Filipino Characteristics

Filipinos are known to be very resilient, optimistic and most especially very hospitable. This is why despite the odds, dilemmas and difficulties that our country faces, you can still notice an awe-inspiring smile and happy expression through the eyes of the lovely individuals from this country. And that is also why people from foreign countries would love to visit this beautiful country, because who wouldn't want to be surrounded by happy people?

Even if you are a half-blooded Filipino/Filipina, these characteristics and practices might still be visible on you. So take a look and review on these:



Action speaks louder than words. Yes, that would be literally true. Filipinos are pretty good at non-verbal communication. You might notice some filipinos hanging around and at some point they would pout their lips and nod. Looks weird right? What in the world does that mean? Well, they are not trying to copy Angelina Jolie, nor are they trying to ask a kiss from someone. They are just simply working on an agreement or probably having a discussion. It takes a lot of effort to utter words and explain at sometime, so filipinos do this simple lip pointing to lighten the work out.

Strong family ties. Filipinos are very family oriented. Friends are even considered as a part of the extended family. Once you became known with the family, you would then be considered a part of it. So get ready to be invited on  family gatherings and other special family occasion because you're one with them and that is fun! Anyways, having said that, because you are already part of the family, family members will then start to call you not by your name but with an endearment of a relative such as; Uncle/ Aunt, Tito/Tita. Welcome to the family! Hurray!

Color Madness. You heard it right, Filipinos are really fond of colors. Everything is just colorful, from buildings and houses to that tiny tiny decoration up in the wall or even on tables and rooms. Being a cheerful country, it has also been manifested on the things that most Filipinos own, so don't be too shocked about that. Though this might not apply to all, this may still be true on subtle things.


Bare hands. It's definitely strange from your country but I think this is just a way for Filipinos to express their flexibility and innovation. If you have some Filipino visitors coming over, don't worry if you ran out of utensils. They are equipped with innovation on how to handle themselves. This is common on simple and informal eating gatherings. where you are just with your friends, not really a formal one. And I think it's more satisfying to eat bare-handed than using those machines. But of course you need to make sure you are sterile before you touch any food. That is a MUST!


Nicknames. Most of Filipinos names are repetition of their real names or nicknames itself, this might not be true to me but this is very common just to spice up a name. Especially if you have a very short name and there is just no way to create a nickname for you so that is where the "repetition" method comes in. It is just funny and cute to  hear repetitions of names, aside from it lengthens your name, it also makes it easier to remember. Ironic but true. And side from repetition. Filipinos are also fond of  borrowing names from others especially artist or products which are really famous and which sounds really alike from your real name. It's weird, I know.

So what do you think your nickname would be like?


Sour Please.  Some Filipinos if not all, really liked sour foods. This may not apply to all since there are variety of tastes that you can try with Filipino foods from sour to spicy to sweet to bitter and combinations of thereof. It is not that bad actually, you can give it a try!


HALO-HALO!  This is a must. If you ever plan to visit Philippines, the first thing that you should and never forget to do, is to try this sumptuous, sweet craving goddess Halo-halo. It is a  perfect balance of fruits, milk and sweetness. It is healthy and at the same time very satisfying. However, there have been also emerging versions on how to prepare Halo-halo but none the less, they all still share one in common and that is the sweetness and fruitiness of this serving.


Filipino Time. The dumbest of all. Yet, imperfections are always present in a country. We have to embrace it and of course, take some actions on improving and eradicating this notion and turning into a greater one.


Extra Large Family.  The growing population of the Philippines has become a problem recently and the government is currently doing some actions and advising recommendations on how to stabilize the number of population. But anyways, let me just give you quick back review. Way then, since Philippines is an agricultural country and farming has been one of the major livelihood of people on land, parents and couples back then designedly wanted to have a larger family so that, when the time comes, their children could be able to help them farm the land so they would never have to pay labor to other people instead. That has been the structure long time ago. Another thing is, as mentioned above, Filipinos has really great family ties, and that also means, having a greater family increases the practice of greater cooperation and love among siblings and they could be able to plan better for the family too since 2 heads are always better than 1 (does it apply? lol) Anyways, the point is, I think having greater family means greater fun, lively and most importantly,division of anything makes it a lot more easier for the family.









So I hope this gives you a bit information about Philippines and it's people.
For the most part, you might think it was weired or strange but I'll still raise a glass for that anyways!



xxMarbe

Once, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.  When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.” Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!” Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her. Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who Helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love.  “But why did Time help me?”  Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”

I can't think of a single word to start this off.
I mean, there are a lot of thoughts playing on my mind right now but I just can't seem to pick which one should come first.
Each of these thoughts are like starving for recognition, they all wanted to be heard.
But poor me, as much as I wanted to let it out. I feel paralyzed, like emotionally.



And so here's where Music plays a role.



When everything just seem to be blurry and muddy.
When everything are just scattered all  over the place.
I just hit on my playlist and press that play button on.
And emotions which were initially paralyzed, just started to explode on its most dramatic yet artistically stoke.
Words which were hard to acknowledge became relatively effortless to utter and reveal.
And while it's hitting on,  I just can't help myself to get drown with its tune and rhythm.
It becomes the sound of my voice,
The silence in my heart,
And the soul in my spirit.
It feels like perfection in its most subtle way. 




I wanted it to last.
I wanted it to keep playing and drag me to wherever place there could be.
Keep playing
Keep it play

Catching up!

It's been a while.
How are you?
Long holidays are over. How did you spent yours?


Well as for me, Nothing was so special except that I spent it with my family and friends.
I was always told by my family that, there's nothing more precious that being with the family close to your heart. And when I say family, it doesn't only refers to your biological family. It can be people whom you are not related by blood or genes but has influenced and made a significant  contribution to what you are now. So with whom did you spent your holidays with?


As I said, I was just staying and enjoying some time with my family at home. Because aside from the Filipino notion that Holidays are for families. Children are also not allowed to go somewhere else especially on the New Years Day. You can walk around your house but you are not allowed to go farther than 1 km from your house. I personally don't get it too but that's what old people believe in and you have to conform with that because "old people are wiser enough". But because of the advances of media and technology nowadays, we have learned to attune fiction and reality. And because I am a "New generation baby", I went out to hang with my friends on the New years day. Yes, I did. Call it whatever but I did had fun. 


More than the Holidays itself, the No-school and No-work days which made everyone jump off their feet. It is truly how you spent it and to whom did you spent it with which makes it extra special. Well, I hope you had a blast, little one!


And now, we're back in the game. Raise your glasses up, fellas! 
Back where you need to do everything you are supposed to do- work and school. 


But ain't gonna be sad though because that just means upcoming exciting events and experiences are waiting for y'all. Keep surviving and Keep that smile pasted on that beautiful face. Heads up! 










Love.
xxmarbe