The Story Teller

Archive for April, 2011

Once upon a time, there was a king who wanted to be the greatest king ever. So, he selected the wisest men in the kingdom to be his advisers. When he was completely satisfied with his choices, he asked them 3 questions: (1) WHEN is the most important time?, (2) WHO is the most important person? and (3) WHAT is the most important thing to do? To these, they have various answers, for the first question they said: the past, the next decade, the next century, for the second, they answered: the king himself, the ministers, the priests, and for the third they answered: to build a new castle, to build bridges, to conquer other land..

The king was frustrated. It seems like no one among the wisest men in the kingdom could answer his questions. He was sad. Then, his cup bearer told him about an old wise man who lives alone in the woods. The cup bearer said that the old man knows the answers to ALL questions.

So, off the king went with his royal bodyguards into the woods in search of the old man. The king found him plowing his field. So, the king identified himself and told him what he wanted. But the old man didn’t answer and just kept on plowing. The king, anxious to get the answer to his questions, got himself a shovel and helped the old man finish what he was doing. But the old man kept quiet and kept on plowing. At last, the sun was nearly set. The king got excited that the old man was finally ready to answer his questions when a wounded man suddenly appeared in the field. He seems to be attacked by a wild animal and he was bleeding.

The king, together with the old man, carried the wounded man into the house. Anxious to leave the wounded man with the old man, the king chose to stay for the night. He took care of the wounded man, washed his wounds, put some medicine and fed him some broth. Luckily, the wounded man got better in the morning. The king was, then, ready to leave, but before he left, he asked the old man the 3 important questions.

The old man smiled and answered.. “But you already know the answer.”

The king was surprised “I do?”

“Yes”

“I’m so sorry, but I don’t understand.”

“You see,” explained the old man “when you were helping me in the field, that was the most important time, the most important person was me, and the most important thing to do was plowing the field.”

The king was astounded..

“And then..” the old man continued “when you were helping the wounded man, that was the most important time, he was the most important person and keeping him alive was the most important thing..”

Then the old man smiled, “The most important time is always the present, as you don’t know how long it will last, why think of the next day and the next year when you don’t know if you would live to see another day. The most important person is the one you are with, because you don’t know if you will be with anyone else, and the most important thing is the thing you are doing for him, because you don’t know if you will have a chance to do anything else.

“Go back to your kingdom and rule well. Now is your most important time, your people are the most important people and what you can do for them is the most important thing to do…”

The king thanked the old man and went back to his kingdom..

*Adapted

For as long as I can remember, I have this habit of taking a book wherever I go. Reading, for me,  is the best way to beat boredom when you are waiting, for someone, for a ride, for time to pass by..  But I don’t do it in absence of anything to do, I read to take advantage of the time I have at the moment.

But time has changed, and so do people. So instead of the traditional paperback that I carry around wherever I go, I would love to have an e-reader and download all the stories I have always wanted to read, from classics to suspense to sci-fi. Just thinking about it gets me excited, lol!

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Image Source: news.cnet.com

Just when my kids and I were ready to celebrate, we were totally disappointed. Yes, it’s so disappointing to learn that after two years, my husband, Ronel, won’t be coming home in June after all. For reasons I could no longer remember, or I was just too sad to remember, my husband must stay abroad until September and then decide whether he’s going home or not. It could be in September or maybe later than that. My kids are arguing when they want their father home, Christmas or Mika’s graduation from grade school. It seems like a tough decision to make. For the mean time, I am thinking of what to give him as a homecoming present, so I looked at Personal Creations Dad gifts for something suitable to his personality. Well, thinking helps the disappointment subside a little..

“We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.”

~Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

Photo taken by RAYMOND SILVA

Looking at our pictures during our recently held get together in the province, I was so dismayed to realize that out of all the attendees, I grew the fattest. All of us gained weight, all right, but I feel as if I am the biggest of us all. So, I asked them how they maintain their bodies and it was a relief to find out that they, too, are doing something to keep themselves from getting bigger and bigger. Some use slimming juice, some use slimming tea, even others use diet pills like lipozene. So, I kind of considered the last option. Maybe it’s not as scary as I thought. Maybe I should do some reading first about lipozene side effects and then decide whether I would like to use it or not. Well, I know it’s not easy to lose and maintain weight, but with determination and perseverance, I know I can lose weight and be happier about it..

“Love like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with soaking joy. But sometimes, under the angry heat of life, love dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive.”

~Mitch Albom (The Five People You Meet in Heaven)

Photo taken by RAYMOND SILVA

We just held our traditional get together last Saturday. As usual, it was held in the province. It took me 2 weeks to get in touch with my former High School classmates, and thanks to Facebook, some of them were able to commit and some of them were able to let us know that they won’t make it. I appreciate that, at least we won’t have to wait for them, right? But just as everything was all set, our venue, which has been our venue for the last 3 years, became unavailable, 2 days before the big day. So, I sent another message telling my friends that we have to change venues. Fortunately, one of them was kind enough to offer her house. Unfortunately, we didn’t know her place, lol!

So, last Saturday, at the hottest time of the day, I got off the jeep and started searching for my friend’s house. The bad thing about living in the province, most of the houses don’t have address signs. So, there I was, hot and lost. After a few minutes, which seems to me a very long time, I found the address and the fun began!

‘It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.’

Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft and is one of the richest and most influential man on the planet..

‘For God loved

the world so much

that he gave his only Son,

so that

everyone who believes in him

may not die

but have eternal life.’

~John 3:16

Image Source: jesuspictures-photos.blogspot.com

At work, I normally wear slacks and blazer. For me, it gives a sense of formality and dignity to the wearer. So, this is the type of clothing I go for..

Informally, however, I would love to wear a sun dress. I can’t remember wearing a sun dress, ever.. I don’t know why. Maybe I was into shirts and jeans when I was younger that when I got fascinated with sun dresses, I’ve grown too fat to wear one, lol! But who knows, maybe I could get to wear a sun dress one of these days, lol!

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