Be part of excellence, not critical of it. (12 Tips)

12 Tips

Be part of excellence, not critical of it. 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog 

 
 Be always at your best whether you are with children or adults.  Workshop on Folk Wisdom for Children; Reach Out workshop for adult leaders and senior citizens. Barangay Greater Lagro, QC

1. Plan properly to improve your performance.

2. Pay attention to details; give your work the final touch, the fine taste.

3. Success at the expense of your faith and family is failure in any language.

4. Know the difference between priority and urgency. 

5. Plan your work, and work you plan. 

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

7. The customer's perception is reality, for which reason we say, "the customer is always right."

8. Have a daily updated  appointment calendar.  Be sure to keep your appointments faithfully.

9. Be mentally and physically present and alert at meetings. Be critical of yourself as you are of others.

10. Arrogance is deadly, you may be the first victim,

11. Get better each day, and never vice versa.

12. Be part of excellence, not critical of it. ~

It's Amihan Season: Fly on My Little Kite And Other Poems

It's Amihan Season: 
Fly on My Little Kite And Other Poems
A critique on the poems of Sister Macarius Lacuesta, SPC

“Fly on my little kite

Do not let fear daunt you,

For the hand that holds the strings

Knows best and watches over you.”

Dr Abe V Rotor

Detail of mural by AVRotor

If imagery is more vivid than vision, take it from Sr. Macarius – religious, scholar and poetess.

“Fly on my little kite
Ride on the wings of the wind…
Over plains and dales,
Reach on to the heights,
Hear the whispers of the treetops,
And the secrets of the clouds.”

- Fly on My Little Kite

She samples us with the timelessness, and the vastness of imagery that transcends to all ages – the young and the old, the past and present – and beyond. It unleashes the searching mind to freedom, liberating the soul with the confidence of a hand that holds the string of that kite.

For who would not like to fly on that kite in order to see the world, or at least to be taller from where he stands, or to turn the hands of time and be a child again even only for a while? That child in all of us, it must live forever. It lives in a dragonfly many years ago we captured for fun.

“Ah, you bring me back to my yesteryears
When I would run to catch you…
The sound your wings did make was music to me…
And then the childish whim satisfied, I set you free.”

- You Naughty Dragonfly

Adventure, simple as it may, carries us to the open field, and its pleasant memories make us feel reborn. Sister Macarius’ unique imagery comes at the heels of virtual reality as one reflects on her poems. Yet, on the other side of the poetess’ nature, she is real, she is here and now, “through open fields she walked… tired and weary, she slumped on the stump of an acacia tree.” From here she journeyed to the deep recesses of the roots of the sturdy tree. How forceful, how keen are her thoughts, true to being a devout religious.

“For their roots journey to the deep earth 
Was a determined search for water,
Unmindful of the encounter with darkness,
Where cold and heat would not reach.”

- Journey to the Deep.

Faith is as deep as the roots of a sturdy tree. Such analogy refines the moral of the poem. It is a parable in itself. The poetess paused. In prayer she said in the last part of the poem, poignant yet firm and believing in the fullness of thrust and confidence of a Supreme Being.

“Lord, sink my roots into the depths of unwavering faith in You;
Help me believe that in my encounter
With darkness, hope may be borne
And my life will manifest all
The goodness, the beauty that is You.”
- Journey to the Deep

While poems do not drive a lesson like hitting a nail on the head, so to speak, they provide a mellowing effect, especially to us adults, to accept lessons in life. Such is the commonality of the poems of Sister Macarius, Sister Mamerta Rocero and Sister Paat, who are respected literary figures of the local SPC congregation. Their poems have a deep message to the reader in the ways of respecting and loving God. They often begin with reverence for life.

“All you peoples, clap your hands and sing,
The God of Creation has done wonderful deeds
And the earth is full of His handiworks
All for you and me.”

We picture God as detached, way above the level of man. Great writers in the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Dumas and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow can attest to that. More so with Michaelangelo as shown in his mural, Creation. And yet we believe that man is the image of God. The anthropocentric view is that man was created in the likeness of God, and that he is the custodian of His creation. How lucky is man indeed to be the center of God’s attention! In Sr. Macarius Child of the Kingdom, she starts with a question, “Are you a child of the Kingdom? Then she proceeded to answer the question herself.

“Even with a sense of wonder
Holding a cup full of surprises,
Reading out to share with others
The joy of His abiding presence
Nurturing within your being 
The hope of eternal life.”

We may not know the places and boundaries of eternity and kingdom. They are too far out there for us to grasp and believe, much more to understand. Yet we have learned to accept them, grew up with them, abstract as they are, in the name of faith and doctrine. They are there laid upon the path we all travel. At its end lies our salvation, which is as abstract as eternity and kingdom.

Our modern world has become skeptical about abstract things. It is moving away from rituals of faith to rituals of entertainment. Action demands reason. Imagination cannot be left unquestioning. Even science remote from technology is theory. Religions too, continue to evolve, breaking away from the moorings of tradition and dogma. Mystery and faith are no longer the perfect partners as they did for centuries. And the world has become more vigilant against conquerors using religion for their greed, sharing the bounties of conquest with it. And religion that keeps the colonial master in power, sitting beside the throne.

Just like Christianity replaced the long revered Aztec sun god, and the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus that survived Roman rule but vanishing with its fall, we ask ourselves today, “Will Vatican finally lose its global power and vast wealth? Will cultism create an exodus away from the church?” And now come the cybergods, riding on satellites and the internet and entering our living rooms at any time without knocking on our doors. And here is a hydra of corporate cultures, a kind of religion itself.

Sr. Macarius’ poems do not deal with issues about faith, eternity, salvation, kingdom, and the like, endorsing them to debate. She does not act like a doctor of the church even if she carries a doctorate degree in philosophy. Yet in her own gentle way she invites the reader to the fold, riding on that little kite, running in the open field after a dragonfly.

For what is eternity but to be “a child forever,” (A thing of beauty is a joy forever – Joyce Kilmer). What is kingdom but the realm we once lived before we became grownups, in the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’ in The Little Prince? And salvation? Oh, it is in innocence when the conscience is not bothered. (The Brothers Grimm)

“Naughty dragonfly…I am born once again to a child –
alive and free.”

“Catch the sight of a tree… and rest for a while.”
- Under the Fig Tree

“Speak to me in the loveliness of a rose
Fresh and sparkling with the morning dew.”
- A World Full of You

“You sing to me in the chirping of love birds,
Greeting each other at the break of day.”
- A World Full of You

“Listen to the story of that grand mountain
Like a faithful sentinel standing there.”
- Fly on My Little Kite.”

“How blest and gifted I am to be one
With a beautiful world.”
- A World Full of You

“Lord, help me become the child of Your Kingdom.”
- Child of the Kingdom

It was a bright morning some two years ago when Sister Macarius visited me at the SPCQ Museum. She showed me these poems. “I have not written poems for a long, long time,” she said and that started a couple of hours of pleasant discussion about poetry today and its significance. She exuded a lovely smile as she recited her poems. “Beautiful,” I said, amazed at what a septuagenarian lady can make of poetry which usually blooms in youth. That was the last time I saw Sister Macarius.

The amihan wind had just arrived. I saw a tarat bird perched on the nearby caimito tree singing. Up in the sky a kite was flying. I remembered Sister Macarius.

“Fly on my little kite
Do not let fear daunt you,
For the hand that holds the strings
Knows best and watches over you.”

x x x

Life is Synergy

Life is Synergy

Dr Abe V Rotor

                                                      Jungle painting in acrylic by the author

Life ‘s more than the sum of its parts,
as each creature comes and departs;
synergy the key to unity,
diversity and harmony
and seat of a great mystery.~

The Drummer Boy

The Drummer Boy  

Dr Abe V Rotor 

The Drummer Boy (Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Internet)

He marched with the flag before him,

the Drummer Boy to his master’s will;

the flag drops, yet drumming still,

fell he, knowing only the battle hymn.~

Sea Cavern Mural

Sea Cavern Mural 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Wall Mural at SPUQC painted by the author, ca 2000

Visit a submarine cave of the tropical seas
through a mural of the imagination -
pristine, unspoiled, undiscovered eversince;
or one, the remnant of exploitation,
man’s endless pursuit of power and riches, 
and his concept of the art of creation. ~

Painting and Poetry: Fish Incognito

Painting and Poetry: 

Fish Incognito

Dr Abe V Rotor

A School of Grouper Fish (38" x 26"), AVR.

Fish, tell me where you live, your home;

The ocean is so huge to be your own;

Fish answers: I am a fugitive in pursuit,

Hunted or hunter whichever may suit.

Fish, tell me of your kin and your shoal;

How you live together as a school;

Fish answers: I live by the rules of the sea,

By number and luck, and by being free.

Fish, tell me if I am friend to you, or a foe;

I gave you a name, regard you with awe;

Fish answers: Neither, I'd rather be unseen,

Far from the dreadful fate in your cuisine. ~

Convergence in Nature - Meditation

Convergence in Nature  

Meditation

Painting and Verse by Abe V Rotor

                                    Convergence in Nature, (30" x 70") AVR 2012

One may find where land, water and sky meet:

• peace and turbulence,
• light and darkness,
• order and chaos,
• love and hate,
• joy and sorrow,
• hope and despair,
• life and death.

Another may find where land, water and heaven meet:

• turbulence and peace,
• darkness and light
• chaos and order,
• hate and love,
• sorrow and joy,
• despair and hope,
• death and new life. ~

Painting: Courtesy of Dr Rene and Marilyn Makilan, USA, on the occasion of their visit with Shekinah, and Ronnie Rotor, to the Philippines, 2012.

Common Filipino Folk Superstitious Beliefs

Common Filipino Folk Superstitious Beliefs 

Compiled by Dr Abe V Rotor

 Pick a leaf of the makahiya (Mimosa pudica) without drooping and your wish will come true.

1.  Don't seat on books, or you will be dumb. However if you sleep on your  book, you will have a good memory. There are those who believe that after studying at night, place the book you've been studying under your pillow, and you will retain what you have read. 

2. Don't comb your hair at night, lest you become bald, orphaned, or widowed. But if you must comb at night, bite the tip of the comb first.  

3. A cat wiping its face is a sign that a visitor is coming.  If dogs howl at night, it means that evil spirits are lurking around.

4.  Never give a pair of shoes away for free. Either throw the shoes up into he air and let the prospective owner pick them up, or let him or her buy it for a token. 

5. Don't whistle or sing in the forest, lest the enchanted spirits imitate you and cause to fall ill.  Whistling at night invites evil spirits.

6. If someone sneezes while you are about to leave your house, postpone your trip or something bad will happen to you. ~

Painting with the Color Red

Dr Abe V Rotor 

"Red, oh, the bleeding drops of red..."
Lord Alfred Tennyson's imprimatur;  
"O my Luve is like a red, red rose..."
Robert Burns signature.

Tragic and romantic, red the color 
of extremes - passionate love, seduction, 
violence, danger, anger, adventure. 
prize or loss in every action.

Our prehistoric ancestors saw red,
the color of fire and blood,
energy and primal life forces,
symbolism's good and bad. 

Red Fish and Brood in acrylic AVRotor 2015

El Niño Autumn in a Forest in acrylic AVRotor 2015

Sun and Red Ball of Fire in a Forest in acrylic, AVRotor 2015

 Fire Tree in Bloom, Mt Makiling, Laguna, on-the spot painting by Anna Rotor 1992

 Red Bird, Postmortem, a surreal painting, AVRotor

A Mural of Flowers

A Mural of Flowers

Mural and verse by Dr Abe V Rotor 

A mural of flowers (4.5 ft x 7 ft), AVR  

Flowers, flowers, each one with a message: 

 Claude Monet's Nymphaea, Van Gogh's sunflower,

Gertrude Stein's red rose -

and I, I am filled with awe by their masterpieces,

a paintbrush in hand and a barren wall.  ~

A Palette Board Tells the Fate of Our Earth

A Palette Board Tells
the Fate of Our Earth 

 Dr Abe V Rotor

 Our Earth in Upheaval  in acrylic (18"x19)  AVRotor 2017)

Palette board crust, forgotten in a corner,

of what use then but discard it for new;

And there it glowed pitifully one summer,

as sweltering heat relentlessly grew.

Canvas on hand to paint that summer day,

searching for subject rare and unique;

I saw the palette board, it wanted to say,

"Here, I am the subject that you seek."

Why, the earth is getting warmer and warmer!

but far from the comfort of the hearth,

 Like volcano shall burst and spill, if ever;

 the palette tells the fate of our earth. ~   

Faces of the Blue Cloud

Faces of the Blue Cloud 

Cirrus like feathers or dandelions in the air,

only then that we know the weather is fair.

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Scene on the way from Batangas to Manila  Circa 2009

It looks like a giant fowl about to roost 

on a tree, its home for the night;

Below is traffic virtually at a standstill,

the night's awake with neon light.

Cumulus cloud grows big with morning updraft, 

 It's a prelude to the coming of the monsoon season, 

Cumulus cloud, too big and tall,

like the Genie or the devil 

After Hiroshima's fatal fall,

Fukushima, Chernobyl.

Thunderstorm often ensues this scene. 

A human figure holding a thunder bolt 

like Thor in mythology;

Wonder who discovered electricity;

the Greeks or technology? 

Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur 

Cirrus like feathers or dandelions in the air,

Only then that we know the weather is fair.

San Vicente Ferrer church in changing colors through the years

San Vicente Ferrer church

 in changing colors through the years 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

The church and municipality were named after Saint Vincent Ferrer, whose winged statue was found inside a box entangled in fishing nets. The fishermen consulted this matter to the friars in Villa Fernandina (now Vigan), who identified the person depicted by the statue. The statue was carried to the town's center, where a church was built. From then on, the town formerly known as Tuanong (sometimes called Taonan) became San Vicente.

In 1795, it was the initiation of the seat of municipality and the church and Bo. Tuanong became San Vicente de Ferrer. Don Pedro de Leon was the first parish priest and he was believed as the initiator of the construction of the Church of San Vicente.

St Vincent Ferrer, patron saint of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

I've been away for almost a lifetime:
from childhood, the golden years down, 
to the diamond years - and now I'm back
to my birthplace, to my home town.

The old church, landmark of time past,
of events local, and far, far beyond; 
I've taken part in both - and in between,
my church changing colors I found.

Changing colors still like the rainbow,
Sad and happy, lonely yet solemn, 
the essence of faith true and abiding,      

way beyond the tomb without end. ~

Old photo of the 17th century church.  This is how the facade looked like when I was in the elementary, just after the war . WWII spared the church from serious damage. 

For many years the church assumed this color and color design 

Ash gray color of facade - formal but gloomy.  Photo on a clear day.  

Photo below shows contrast: color turns dark gray with bluish hue.   .  

 

 Yellow to orange towards sunset.  Photos below, aerial view showing spacious environs; view through the arch built across the facade obstructing panoramic view of the facade. Tunnel effect of vision through the arch is inevitable. 

 The church had a close similarity with the present color (below)

The present color of the facade, salmon pink and white. Trees along the church's periphery make a natural curtain  that offer shade to churchgoers and pilgrims, and moderate an otherwise barren surrounding. What could be the next color?

Acknowledgement: Internet 

The Haunting Tree

The Haunting Tree 

"I'm but a spirit now that haunts man

searching like Diogenes in the mid-day sun." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Tree skeleton, UST Manila (circa 1995) 

I am dead.

Won't you stop as you did when I was alive?

Where are the birds that perched on my arms, 

The gentle wind that caressed me and sang, 

Bees and butterflies that kissed my flowers, 

Dewdrops that bejeweled my crown, 

Children, many of them, after school would come 

To play and talk with, though they didn't understand. 

I'm but a spirit now that haunts man,

Searching like Diogenes in the mid-day sun. ~

Fish Incognito (Pointillism Art)

Dr Abe V Rotor

A School of Grouper Fish (38" x 26"), AVR. Pointillism is an art style of Impressionism in the later part of the 19th century in Europe, a distinct style that characterize in the paintings of French artist Georges Seurat, leader of this neo-impressionist movement. 

Fish, tell me where you live, your home;

    The ocean is so huge to be your own;

Fish answers: I am a fugitive in pursuit,

    Hunted or hunter whichever may suit.    

Fish, tell me of your kin and your shoal;

    How you live together as a school;

Fish answers: I live by the rules of the sea,

    By number and luck, and by being free.  

Fish, tell me if I am friend to you, or a foe;
    I gave you a name, regard you with awe;
Fish answers: Neither, I'd rather be unseen,
    Far from the dreadful fate of your cuisine. ~ 

Georges Seurat (1859-1891); painting of a dolphin, typical of his art style. 

ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A TREE (La Union Botanical Garden)

ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A TREE

"For he who truly loves Thee

Shall love others through a tree." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

On-the-spot acrylic painting by the author. 

Courtesy of Dr. Romualdo M Del Rosario, 

founder and project director of the La Union 

Botanical Garden, San Fernando LU

The fool who wrote this piece

Would ponder if he did miss

The essence of its message

Or time in its passage.

The trees are gone with the cloud.

Laying a desert on its path,

While the winds applaud 

An evil aftermath.

I think I shall finally see

A kind-hearted man plant a tree,

For he who truly loves Thee

Shall love others through a tree. "

From: LIGHT IN THE WOODS by AV Rotor Megabooks 1995

Title adapted from .Joyce Kilmer 's Only God can Make a Tree.