F.R.E.S=H - How to enjoy your love life.

 F.R.E.S=H
- How to enjoy your love life.
Freedom and Responsibility are inseparable.

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Freedom and responsibility are inseparable in the definition of sex. Here are simple guidelines that govern human sexual behavior.

Consenting adults, in privacy, without coercion or harm to anyone, can engage in any kind of sexual behavior they desire.

Be aware of the attendant responsibilities in sex such as the subjects of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Sex education gives emphasis to responsibility in sex and marriage, particularly among young people.

2. Food, Rest, Exercise, and Sunlight + Health (FRESH)

This formula is easy to remember. Watch out for the food you take. Eat heathy foods, and avoid those in the list of Don't Eat, which your family doctor gave you. A vegetarian is healthier and lives longer. Remember there is no substitute to adequate sleep. Maintain a healthy sleeping habit. Take a rest between heavy schedules, nd void build-up of tension. Relax. Exercise regularly within your natural capacity. Do not over exercise. You need sunlight, more so if you are and office worker. Sunlight perks you up, breaks monotony, takes out the blues in your life. It makes you closer to nature, and takes you to outdoor adventure. All these make a happy love life with your partner.

3. There are people who are highly sexual, while others have very little interest in sex. This is human nature and there is no norm in this regard.

However, good sexual attitudes can be developed. For example, proper advice can help a person overcome an experience that may be the cause of lack of interest in sex. Improvement in health leads to a more positive sex attitude. Recognize that lovemaking is teamwork; that the satisfaction of one can lead to the satisfaction of the other. Age is another factor to sexuality. Although younger people are generally more aggressive, there are people in their middle or late age who can maintain the same level of sexual activity. Others become more aggressive in their middle age.

4. Keep your body healthy and attractive. This is the key to natural sexuality. Grooming cultivates natural beauty, irrespective of the color of the skin, shape of nose or eyes, height and build, etc. Good health gives the gait in your movement, twinkle in your yes, shine and flow of your hair, firmness of your muscles. It contributes to good posture. It makes your skin glow and lovable to be touched. It helps develop your personality to become likeable and attractive. Magnetic personality, napapalingon, nakakapansin, pogi, sexy, are all related to body beautiful. Remember that natural beauty is a holistic expression of, not only external attributes, but of qualities that emanate from within - expressions of a healthy mind mind in a healthy body, plus good character and fine culture.

5. Condition your mind and body to enjoy good sex. Avoid stress and fatigue, and avoid smoking, alcohol, drugs and food additives as these accumulate toxic wastes in the body, thus interfering with the body physiology. Avoid exposure to pollutants and chemicals. Poor diet, lack of exercise, and nervousness, likewise, interfere with the proper functioning of our brain, which diminish sexual vitality. Condition your mind before lovemaking by affirming happy, loving and caring thoughts. Maintain trust and confidence with your partner. Be calm, patient and kind.

"If we use sex unwisely, we may develop emotional and psychological problems, diseases, or, what can be worse, we can become addicted to it in such a way that all other aspects of our lives - work, exercise, rest, recreation, creativity, relationships, family life - become distorted and out of balance." - Dr Bernard Jensen

Yes, you can be a poet! Start writing verses.

 Yes, you can be a poet!  Start writing verses.

Dr Abe V Rotor

What has this photo do with the verse, Creation?

Develop the verse into a poem. What is your

advocacy or message to your reader?

1.Creation

How wonderful is creation
when we realize in a minuscule
the universality of the simple
linked to the complex,
where every living thing is part
of life’s interrelating;
like a chain, its strength
shared by each link cooperating.

2. Old Man and Waterfall

He is old now and the cataract is but a spring,
He touches the spring. Where have all the waters gone?
Yes, he sighs with relief, his gaze takes him far away,
And there the last drops of his waterfall meet the sea;
And the sea roars in gladness, roars in a thousand cheers.

3. What makes a man?

What makes a man? Ask not someone who had gone to war,
Chores backbreaking he endured out of childhood sorrow,
Ever patient with the passing and coming of seasons;
Seasoned timber, mind steeled, only to time he yields,
To the young, to the ideal, to a beautiful world.

4. Wisdom comes with age

He who nods when old is wise and deep
Save he by the fireside asleep;
How can the sun reach the hadal depth,
Where the world is cold, where love is dearth?
Hasn’t someone a bit of sun long kept?
Come, come and save the hearth.

5. Freedom

Where the sky and the rivers flow
Under the rainbow by the sea.
Let me flow with thee;
A song I sing along with you
To where the world is free.

6. Learning outside school

Lessons you teach, they don’t find in school,
No words, nor chalk, no talking tall;
Patience, patience, who waits is not a fool,
For his fish whether big or small.
When the sun is up and down -
and up again another time.

7. Brotherhood

Now I know why there is a magic carpet that flies,
For I am witness to a basin with a child,
He made himself a boat, everything he supplied.
Then there are two, three boats, and more,
Filling the pond, the ocean, the world -
Happy children, who, remembering this tale,
Call each other brethren.

8. The man who slept for 20 years

Old Rip van Winkle I’m today,
And longer did I sleep than he;
For too long had I failed to pay
Respect to this land by the sea,
And the treaty of time and me.

9. Seed

Wake up sleeping one;
The soil is fertile, the rain has come,
The fields shall bloom To feed mankind.
Wake up, stir my life, All my intellect, my faith,
That they shall blossom for love as I serve mankind.

10. Ecology Prayer

When my days are done, let me lay down to sleep
on sweet breeze and earth in the shade of trees
I planted in youth and old; and if this were my last,
make, make others live that they carry on the torch,
while my dust falls to where new life begins –
even an atom let me be with you dear Moth. ~

Communion with Nature - Ten Ways

Communion with Nature - Ten Ways

Dr Abe V Rotor

Twin Jaira and Julia on a walk at People's Park, Tagaytay, August 21, 2015

Overlooking nature's majestic caldera*

this twin in a rare experience;

half-sky, half-water, half-land kingdom 

a fairytale of the eighth sense.

* A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land, following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters. Tagaytay was formed by this geologic phenomenon.

 Splendor on the Grass, Sky Ranch Park, Tagaytay,
August 21, 2015

Splendor on the grass at twilight
laughing with the stars;
who cares about rain and wind,
time like this is scarce.

   

 Tagaytay overlooking Taal Volcano,  August 21, 2015

Grand Dad and Marchus the only two in the world,

theirs the time, space and stillness;

let the world go round unceasingly to others,

save this ephemeral togetherness. 

   

Sunken Pier, Puerto, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur

Behold! a jellyfish as looking glass

unfolds a third world scene:

half terrestrial, half aquatic,

solid and liquid in between,

third matter in colloidal form -

strange the world is ever seen. 

 

Baby sitting: Fluppy, angora rabbit at home

Here is seeing the world in dreams;

half awake, half asleep,

on two planes -  fantasy and reality,

rather than counting sheep,

to unload life's burden at the end of day -

a heaven sent li'l rabbit.

  

Tamboili shells, former St. Paul Museum

I'm standing on the world's narrowest isthmus,

among archives and fossils of history,

where I can hold the Pacific and the Atlantic

oceans half the world apart and free;

I cross the time and distance barrier

with these chroniclers singing to me

the unending roars of the tides,

tides on the street, tides of the sea.  

Rare walking stick insects, Museum of Natural History, UPLB Laguna

Dragons in fairy tales and religious fictions -

they are fierce, they're enemies of mankind;

in fossils and movies they scare the children;

little do we think of them friendly and kind,

devouring pests, singing lullaby in dull air;

misjudged, they're harder and harder to find.

Baby orangutan, Avilon Zoo, San Mateo, Rizal

Monkey on my back, that's what people say

when what we say logic we lack;

genes may vary, yet the same to this day,

indeed, a monkey on our back.

Viewing telescope, Mall of Asia, Pasay Metro Manila

Yes, creatures but man, are getting fewer, farther apart;

changing the old game with art of glass and steel;

where you can't get near, when you can't touch and feel,

technology comes to fill, yet empty still. 

Parakeets,  Safari World, Thailand

Lovely, friendly -  kindest words ever be,

whereas their kin are wild and free;

lucky in man's judgment these pair  may be

if only we understand their plea

for freedom to the wild, to their ancestry

and away from the artificial tree.  ~

Sun in the Well

Sun in the Well

Dr Abe V Rotor

\

 Sun in the Well, two views, Photos taken by the author

at the San Vicente Botanical Garden

I dug for water
and looked up above,
clouds I found none
but heard a voice instead,
“Deeper”.

So I dug and dug,
without let up,
but to no avail.

This time I looked up to Heaven,
to ask, “How much deeper?”
And the voice came again.
“Until you see the sun, my son.”

I dug and dug and dug,
and a spring I soon struck,
reflected the sun above.~

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.~

Significant Influences of Foreign Countries on the Philippines

 Significant Influences of Foreign Countries on the Philippines

Dr Abe V Rotor

n

Don’t you know that …

• about 30 percent of the Tagalog words are derived from Sanskrit, India’s ancient language?

• the early Filipinos learned to use porcelain ware, umbrellas, manufacture of gunpowder, and certain mining methods from the Chinese?

• the wearing of white dresses and the use of a white background in mourning and burial ceremonies is another Chinese influence?

Binibining Carla Henry - a typical mestiza (a mélange of races and cultures)

• Philippine cuisine found in noodle dishes such as bihon, miki, mami, lomi, sotanghon, miswa, and pansit - is of Chinese origin?

• the use of brass, bronze, copper and tin in the decorative arts and metal work of the early Filipinos is an Indian influence?

• the sarong (skirt) and the putong (turban) worn by the early Filipinos (Pinoy) and the embroidered shawls still worn by today’s Muslim Filipino women are a Indian influence?

• the sarimanok design in Maranaw decorative art has an Arabic origin, that many stories in Maranaw and Tausug literature are derived from Arabian tales?

• Balituk, the tale of the Ifugao legendary hero, is similar to Arjuna’s exploits in the Mahabharata, the great Hindu epic? So with the Agusan legend of a man named Agnio, resembles the story of Ahalya in the Ramayana, another great Hindu epic?

• the marks one sees on the face of the newly risen moon are said to have been made by the teeth of the dragon that bites it every time it can, and the Hindu god that causes eclipses by biting the moon or the sun is Rahu?

• the Bicolanos which use a variety of spices are like the folks in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, the people in the Bicol region who use chili and coconut milk for a lot of their delicacies?

• women had minor roles in the society but were respected by men, is a influence of Spain on Filipina women?

• the Spanish culture was more enjoyed and welcomed by the Filipino-Spanish families and the wealthy Filipino families – the principalia and Ilustrado, rather than the masses?

• despite the oppressive control of the Spaniards, native Filipino Culture progressed and developed in legends, epics, folktales, riddles, country songs, among them "Darangan" of the Maranaos, “Hudhud at Alim" of the Ifugaos, "Biag-ni-Lam-ang" of the Ilocanos, and "Ibalon" of the Bicolanos?

• the Japanese caused tremendous fear, hardships and suffering among the Filipinos, which only embolden them to fight for their lost their freedom?

• American influences can still be seen in the country's system of education, literature, art, architecture, science, industry, home, food, clothes, religion, pastimes, music and dances?

• new technologies were introduced by the Americans to the country that helped the Philippines' industries and agriculture?

• the Americans influenced the Filipinos in terms of the way they eat, to love the American culture and most of all, to prioritize American products. The Americans also introduced fast food to the Philippines?

References:

Philippine Almanac (Internet)

A Short History of the Filipino People – By Teodoro Agoncillo

ETHNIC LITERATURE: Life of Lam-ang, an Epic of the Ilocos Region

Synopsis of “Life of Lam-ang,” an Epic of the Ilocos Region

Life Of Lam-ang (Biag ni Lam-ang)*

Historians believe that Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic drawn out from oral tradition handed down through countless generations in the same way the Greek’s Iliad and Odyssey were handed down through centuries to the modern world.

                              Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor

Lam-ang subdues a crocodile in bronze 

Kapurpurawan, Burgos, Ilocos Norte (Photo by the author)

The theme of the epic revolves around the bravery and courage of the main character portrayed by Lam-ang, who was gifted with speech as early as his day of birth, who embarked on a series of adventures which culminated in his heroic death and subsequent resurrection. 

This series of adventures started with his search for his lost father who was murdered by the head-hunting Igorots in the Igorot country. 

While on his way, he met a certain Sumarang, whose name connotes obstruction, who tried to dissuade him from proceeding and who taunted him into a fight. The fight that ensued proved fatal to Sumarang as he was blown "three kingdoms" away with a spear pierced through his stomach. This encounter led to another when he met a nine-headed serpent who, like Sumarang earlier, tried to dissuade him from going any further. The serpent having been ignored challenged him into a fight which cost the serpent its heads. 

Lam-ang went on until he found it necessary to rest and take a short nap. While asleep, he dreamed of his father's head being an object of festivities among the Igorots. He immediately arose and continued his journey until he found the Igorots indeed feasting over his father's head. He asked the Igorots why they killed his father, but the Igorots instead advised him to go home if he did not want to suffer the same fate which his father suffered. 

This was accompanied by a challenge to a fight, despite their obvious numerical superiority. But Lam-ang, armed with supernatural powers, handily defeated them, giving the last surviving Igorot a slow painful death by cutting his hands and his ears and finally carving out his eyes to show his anger for what they had done to his father.

Satisfied with his revenge, he went home. At home, he thought of taking a swim in the Cordan River with the company of Cannoyan and her lady-friends. So he proceeded to Cannoyan's place in the town of Calanutian, disregarding her mother's advice to the contrary. 

On his way, he met a woman named Saridandan, whose name suggests that she was a woman of ill repute. He resisted her blandishments, for his feeling for Cannoyan was far greater for anyone to take. When he reached Cannoyan's house, he found a multitude of suitors futilely vying for her hand. With the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - he was able to catch Cannoyan's attention. He asked her to go with him to the river along with her lady-friends. She acceded. While washing himself in the river, the river swelled, and the shrimps, fishes and other creatures in the river were agitated for the dirt washed from his body was too much. 

As they were about to leave the river, Lam-ang noticed a giant crocodile. He dove back into the water and engaged with the creature in a fierce fight until the creature was subdued. He brought it ashore and instructed the ladies to pull its teeth to serve as amulets against danger during journeys.

Back at Cannoyan's house, he was confronted by her parents with an inquiry as to what his real intention was. He had to set aside his alibi that he went there to ask Cannoyan and her friends to accompany him to the river, and told them, through his spokesman - the cock - that he came to ask for Cannoyan's hand in marriage. He was told that if he desired to marry Cannoyan, he must first be able to match their wealth, for which he willingly complied. Having satisfied her parents, he went home to his mother and enjoined her and his townspeople to attend his wedding which was to take place in Cannoyan's town.

The wedding was elaborate, an event that involved practically everyone in town. There were fireworks, musical band, and display of attractive items like the glasses, the mirror, the slippers, clothes and nice food. 

After the wedding, Lam-ang's party plus his wife and her townmates went back to their town of Nalbuan, where festivities were resumed. The guests expressed a desire to taste a delicacy made of rarang fish. 

Lam-ang was obliged to go to the sea and catch the fish. Before going, however, his rooster warned that something unpleasant was bound to happen. This warning proved true, as Lam-ang was swallowed by a big bercacan, or shark-like fish. 

Cannoyan mourned and for a while she thought there was no way to retrieve her lost husband. But the rooster indicated that if only all the bones could be gathered back, Lam-ang could be brought to life again. 

She then enlisted the aid of a certain diver named Marcus, who was ready to come to her aid to look for the bones. When all of Lam-ang's bones were gathered, the rooster crowed and the bones moved. The dog barked, and Lam-ang arose and was finally resurrected. Cannoyan embraced him. For his deep appreciation for the help of his pets - the cock and the dog - and of Marcus the diver, he promised that each other would get his or its due reward. And they lived happily ever after.

* This synopsis is based on the transcription made by Jose Llanes from a recitation by memory of the poem by an old farmer, one Francisco Magana, from Bangui, Ilocos Norte, sometime in 1947. Of the six old versions of the epic which include a zarzuela (folk stage play) written by Eufemio L. Inofinada, the Llanes version ( 206 stanzas) and that of Leopoldo Yabes (305 stanzas) are the most popular. Many believe that the author of the epic is Pedro Bucaneg, a blind Ilocano poet who lived during the early part of Spanish colonization. On close examination the farmer’s (Magana) version pre-dates the Bucaneg’s “Hispanized” version, because the former clings more closely to ethnical culture, and is richer with indigenous and pagan influences. Historians believe that Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic drawn out from oral tradition handed down through countless generations in the same way the Greek’s Iliad and Odyssey were handed down through centuries to the modern world. Historians like H. Otley Beyer, Fox, Fay-Cooper Cole and Jose R. Calip believe in the pre-Hispanic origin of the poem. Calip in his doctoral dissertation, University of Santo Tomas, 1957, further stated that “it is not a product of any single mind but as a property of the people – a floating wisdom from the centuries into the generations.” Through a long, slow evolutionary process, it floated from one century to another, and grew into several versions retaining a lucid mirror of the people of the past, reflecting their own values, environment and culture. 

Reference: Lam-ang in Transition by Kenneth E. Bauzon, Philippine Social Sciences and Humanities Review, Vol XXXVIII, No. 3-4. Acknowledgement: Internet 

Lichen - Nature's Barometer of Healthy Environment

Lichen -

Nature's Barometer of Healthy Environment

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Norfolk Pine in Tagaytay bears on its trunk a carpet of Foliose and Squamous Lichens which are mistaken at first glance as a disease or parasite.  

The fact is, lichens play a symbiotic role with the host tree. 

To some scientists such relationship is called commensalism, a relationship whereby the lichens receive more benefits than the host tree owing to their foothold advantage that enable them to reach out for the sun and to occupy adequate space with least competition with other organisms. On the other hand, the tree is protected from pest and effects of environmental change like drought.   

The lichen in itself is an interesting specimen.  A lichen is actually a group of two distinct genera of different kingdoms in the phylogeny of living organisms - alga (Kingdom Protista) and fungus (Kingdom Mycophyta) - living inseparably, a relationship developed through the long and uncertain process of evolution.  

Instead of each member developing its own adaptation, the two joined forces so to speak, in order for both to survive.  It is a perfect example of evolution through cooperation, instead of competition as in most cases of evolutionary success. 

The alga being photosynthetic manufactures food which it shares with the fungus.  The fungus on the other hand, being saprophytic, converts organic matter back into elemental forms which the alga again uses. Such a relationship consists of an enduring cycle - season in season out, year in year out, covering a span of hundreds if not a thousand years. Such a feat is among the wonders of the living world. If the Redwood or Sequioa is the longest living individual which is estimated to be up to three thousands years, the lichen is the longest living union (mutualism). 

The key to such success through mutualism lies not only in highly efficient nutrient exchange, but gas exchange principally CO2 and O2, as well. More so, for their ability to transform rocks into living mass which they share with other living things in their own time and in the future. They are the precursors of succession in the living world. Which points out to another evolutionary tool - benevolence - the sharing of resources albeit destructive competition. 

More than this general knowledge there is very little we know about lichens.  One thing ecologists are learning about lichens is the fact that they are a natural indicator, a sort of barometer, of environmental conditions.  They thrive best where the air is clean, temperature change is moderate, so with relative humidity, the vegetative cover undisturbed, the rivers and lakes full, etc.  And that lichens thrive best where man's intervention is least - if ever there is. 

Thus it leads us to the simple philosophy of a old man living near the summit of Mt Pulag in Benguet, reminiscent of the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau who lived by a pond (Walden Pond) deep in a woodland far away from town. 

Here on the country's second highest mountain, 'Tang Ben, when asked on how Nature is kept pristine - even without first explaining to him the scientific basis of diversity and balance - simply quipped with confidence and sparkle in his eyes.

"Just leave Nature alone."     

 Close up of fruticose lichen and crustose lichens (upper and lower photos, respectively). There are three general types, in increasing morphological complexity, the crustose being the simplest and the fruticose the most complex, which is often mistaken as moss and liverwort and even plant. Although governed by niches or boundaries, lichens of two kinds, or intermediate types as proposed by recent studies, are observed to be growing together in a state of dynamic balance heretofore barely understood. ~       

Folk music takes us back to the roots of our culture.

"Folk music takes us back to the roots of our culture."- Tulsi Kumar 

Original title: Ethnic music makes a wholesome life; it is therapy*

Music is closely associated with everyday life among village folks more than it is to us living in the city. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Lucrecia Kasilag and Lucio San Pedro, famous Filipino composers,

and ethnic musicologists

Have you ever noticed village folks singing or humming as th ey attend to their chores? They have songs when rowing the boat, songs when planting, songs of praise at sunrise, songs while walking up and down the trail, etc. Seldom is there an activity without music. Even the sounds of nature to them are music.

According to researcher Leonora Nacorda Collantes, of the UST graduate school, music influences the limbic system, called the “seat of emotions” and causes emotional response and mood change. Musical rhythms synchronize body rhythms, mediate within the sphere of the autonomous nervous and endocrine systems, and change the heart and respiratory rate. Music reduces anxiety and pain, induces relaxation, thus promoting the overall sense of well being of the individual.

Music is closely associated with everyday life among village folks more than it is to us living in the city. 

Philippine native songs are associated with rural life.  Countryside scene by national artist Fernando Amorsolo

The natives find content and relaxation beside a waterfall, on the riverbank, under the trees, in fact there is to them music in silence under the stars, on the meadow, at sunset, at dawn. Breeze, crickets, running water, make a repetitious melody that induces sleep. Humming indicates that one likes his or her work, and can go on for hours without getting tired at it. Boat songs make rowing synchronized. Planting songs make the deities of the field happy, so they believe; and songs at harvest are thanksgiving. Indeed the natives are a happy lot.

Philippine Ethnic Music

Filipinos already had a rich and unique musical tradition long before westerners set foot on our native land. Music was present in every stage of our ancestors’ lives — from birth to death, in blissful or tragic times.

Ethnic musical instruments 

Ethnic music continues to thrive in the Philippines, particularly among indigenous people who comprise 10 percent of the country’s population and represented by more than 100 language groups from the mountains of northern Luzon as well as from Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, and Mindoro in southern and western Philippines.

Such instruments as flat gongs, bamboo buzzers, clappers, quill-shaped percussion tubes, and brass Jew’s harps are often seen in the north. Meanwhile, bossed gongs, ring flutes, log drums, xylophones, single-stringed violins, and suspended beams are commonly used in the south.

These musical instruments are used in various rituals, festivities, and other activities. For instance, the paldong or kaldong, the lip-valley flute of the Kalinga, is a favorite instrument for serenading.

Vocal forms, performed either responsorial (viz., leader-chorus) or solo, are also used for different purposes. They follow the sequence of natural events and human activities, from the personal to social, from the economic to the political, from the spiritual to the cosmic. 

The Ibaloy ba-diw, an example of responsorial singing, is used in ceremonies for the dead called du-udyeng or ta-tamiya. In weddings, epic songs, which may be sung for one or more nights, may also be chanted to entertain guests or villagers themselves. Meanwhile songs, performed by a soloist may be accompanied by instruments and/or dancing.

Among indigenous Filipinos, one important function of music is to celebrate or commemorate important events in the human life cycle. Examples are the Kalinga dopdopit, which is sung the first time a child is bathed outside the family’s house; and the dinnayan, dawak, and paliwat, also of the Kalinga, which are sung during a ritual celebrating the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood.

The variety of musical forms, styles, repertoires, and traditions that exist mirror the rich diversity in Filipino culture. Fortunately, until today, these rich indigenous musical traditions live on. They serve as a reminder of the Filipinos’ long history of musical talent and ingenuity.

Rondalla - Philippine counterpart 

of the Western orchestra 

Sources:

• Hila, Antonio A. Musika: an Essay on Philippine Ethnic Music. Manila: Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, 1992.
• Santos, R.P. “The Ethnic Tradition,” CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, volume VI: Philippine Music. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1994.

* Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

ESSAY: Image of Nature in Mural

ESSAY

Image of Nature in Mural

Little did I realize that the order of Nature is not merely determined by natural laws applied as ecological tenets, but as a divine law which determines its arrangement, the subordination of the means to the end, and the assimilation of the parts to the whole.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Wall mural (8 ft x 16 ft) St Paul University Quezon City by the author, 2000

Nature represents the idea of the entire universe in a state of perfection. Nature is one: it unites heaven and earth, connecting human beings with the stars and bringing them all together into a single family. Nature is beautiful; it is ordered. A divine law determines its arrangement, namely the subordination of the means to the end, and the parts to the whole.

After putting down my brush, I took a view of the mural from a distance. The scene – unspoiled nature – one spared from the hands of man and typified by the tropical rainforest, flowed out from a wall that was previously white and empty.

In the course of painting the mural, which took all of seven days and in the days following its unveiling, I took notice of the reactions of viewers. It must be the stillness of the scene, freshness of its atmosphere, and its apparent eccentricity that attract passersby as if in search of something therapeutic. It seems to slow down busy feet, soothing tired nerves. There is something I thought was mysterious beyond the levels of aesthetics. For the huge scene is a drama of life completely different from city living. It is respite. It is transformation from concrete to greenery, from cityscape to landscape.

Yet, I found it difficult to give it a title and an explanation that captures both its essence and message. This time many ideas crowded my mind. At the start of my painting labors, the challenge was how and where to start painting. Now that it is completed, what else is there to say after one has “said” it all in colors and lines, hues and shadows, perspective and design? What more is there to declare for after the last page of a book? For a painting, it is the same.

Relaxation did not come easy for me after many hours of concentrating on my subject, dealing with a fast-drying medium of acrylic. What made it more challenging was the unending attempt to capture those fleeting impressions and recollections that pervaded my mind as I painted. I then took a pen and slowly wrote my thoughts. From the mural, I saw the scenery of my childhood on the farm, views of my travels here and abroad, imagery from my readings, and views drawn out like a thread from the mass of a golf ball. It was imagery and memory working jointly.

Tropical Rainforest Model

I chose the tropical rainforest scenery since it is the richest of all ecosystems in the world. The Philippines, being one of the countries endowed with this natural wealth is a treasure, indeed. For this reason, I believe that, the tropical rainforest closely resembles the description of the biblical paradise. It is not only a living bank of biological diversity; it is the most important sanctuary of living matters on earth.

To paint such a big wall is no easy task. It is not unusual to face a blank wall, literally speaking, and not knowing what to do first even with all the colors and tools on hand – and a predetermined topic in mind. Shall I start at the center and move outward, or from both sides slowly progressing inward? Or do I divide the wall into parts, working on them one by one, then unifying them at the end?

…and Heaven and Nature Sing

Christmas was already in the air and the Siberian winds were bringing in the chills. Carol music was now being played in malls, schools and homes. I was engrossed in my work when some students, watching me paint, sang a familiar song. On this particular occasion, something about the song chimed inside me, directing me towards the central theme of my mural.

“…and heaven and nature sing,

and heaven and nature sing,

and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.”

      - Joy to the World

What does this mean? Is it the idea of nature representing the entire universe in a state of perfection? Or is it nature as one? Does it unite heaven and earth? Does it connect human beings and the galaxies as one family?

Little did I know of my ecology. As a subject I teach in college and in the graduate school I depend much on formulas and equations, principles and case studies. My knowledge about the environment is structured and formal. I use module maps or course syllabi based on accepted teaching techniques and references. My approach was comparative analysis. I was a judge of the beautiful and ugly, the do’s and don’ts. At times I am a Utopian; at others, conformist.

Little did I realize that the order of Nature is not merely determined by natural laws applied as ecological tenets, but as a divine law which determines its arrangement, the subordination of the means to the end, and the assimilation of the parts to the whole. Many of us are ignorant of this law, or if we know it, seem to forget or disregard it as we relentlessly work to exploit the earth.

In our apparent failure to preserve nature, perhaps it is time to look at ecology with the essence of this popular Christmas song – a song that makes everyday of the year, Christmas. Ecology is “heaven and nature singing together.” Only then can we truly understand the term, balance of nature – a kind of dynamic equilibrium that leads to homeostasis where there is stability among interdependent groups that characterize natural processes, and the period in which they take place. The ultimate conclusion is always a balanced system. We have to look beyond books to understand biological diversity, and its application in nature, to find the common phrase: In diversity there is unity. The general rule is that the wider the diversity is in terms of number of living species, and in terms of the number of natural species and their habitats, the more closely knit the biosphere becomes, resulting in a richer, more stable environment. Undoubtedly, all this is part of a grand design inspired divinely.

A Hole in the Sky

Looking at the mural from a distance one notices a darkened part of the sky, apparently a hole (though this is not the ozone layer pierced by CFC pollution). It gives one a feeling that it is a tunnel to infinity as if to link both earth and heaven. Through this hole, one envisions a Higher Principle. From the foreground, which is the placid stream of a downward meandering river, its tributaries and banks lined with trees and thickets, the eye soon reaches the forested hills and mountains shrouded by clouds.

But it does not end there. Here the cloud is a curtain laden with the radiance of the sun, and the life-giving provenance of rain, useless each without the other for life on earth to exist. This is the crossroad. The cloud opens with a backdrop of infinity. The universe, whose limit is unknown, bursts open a foreground that reveals a whole drama of life on earth. After that, the eye repeats the journey. In the process, the viewer becomes sensitive to the details of the painting. He searches for things familiar, or situations that later become a new experience.

Creatures in the Forest

Creatures in general are not as visible as they appear in books and on the screen. They blend with their surroundings mainly for predatory anticipation and protective camouflage. But there are other reasons too, that are not well understood. Take the case of the butterflies. Their beauty is extravagant for their basic function as pollinators. Fish jump for mere pleasure, dragonflies have wings that split light into prisms. Birds stay in the sky longer for the sheer joy of flying, and not just to cruise in search of a prey.

Among the animals suggested to me while painting the mural are flying lemur, Philippine monkey, heron, monitor lizard, boa constrictor and hornbill. I painted these - and many more, the way I imagined them in their natural habitat. I put a touch of Noah’s Ark, painting them in pairs. For the rodents, ducks and doves I made them in amiable groupings that exude a familial atmosphere.

Whenever I see viewers seriously searching for these creatures with walking fingers, I am tempted to add to the collection of creatures, making them even more difficult to find. But that might change the ambiance to fun and puzzle solving, rather than of meditation and recollection.

People in the Mural

The trees and the massiveness of the scenery dwarf the characters in the mural. They appear mindless of events and time. They care not for the chores of the day. Those who are engrossed fishing with a simple hook-and-line do not show excitement even as they land their catch. Others patiently wait for a bite. There is a sense of tranquility and peace to all characters, whether they are promenading or just passing the time away. Their faces show only the slightest hint of anger or sadness.

I noticed viewers trying to identify themselves with the characters of the mural. Some construction workers envision themselves fishing. High school students are drawn by the promenades. But there are those who simply imagine themselves part of the scene. “This place is familiar to me,” one would say, apparently recalling provincial life. “We have flying lemurs in Davao,” says another.

Where does the water flow, and what does the mural mean to us? Water is everywhere. It is free to flow. Tributaries abound as if there were no limit. Trees are everywhere and far into the backdrop is a vast virgin forest. There is no sign of man’s destructive hand. At the foreground is a placid pond where Nymphaea and lotus grow. It is in contrast to the lively pulse of the river. This is a corner where life is peaceful and serene. It is here that we draw strength in facing the river and beyond.

What really is the message of the mural?

Quite often, images of nature enrapture us. These are reminiscences of childhood, a re-creation of a favorite spot we may have visited or seen, or products of the imagination greatly influenced by the society we live in.

These images reflect a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. They are a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.

But these images do not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature’s signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world.

The warning is clear. The painting challenges everyone to do his part to save Mother Earth so that her beauty is not only kept in the form of images, but a scenery of real life enjoyed by us and future generations. ~

SHORT STORY: The White Cross

SHORT STORY

The White Cross

Dr Abe V. Rotor

Mysterious white cross beside an old bangar tree (Sterculia foetida), San Mariano, Isabela

He graduated from the famous Philippine Military Academy on top of his class. On the day of graduation his father, a general from the Philippine Air Force, and mother, a dean of the University of the Philippines, proudly pinned the Medal of Excellence on their only son and child. Nobody could be happier. God smiled at them. The world loved them. And they loved the world. What more did they wish?

There was none, although his mother said in prayerful whisper, looking up to heaven, “How I wish we are like this forever – happy and united.”

Secretly his father wished his son to become famous. He knew that a military career awaits many opportunities of greatness to one who adheres to his pledge to defend his country and countrymen. His thoughts gleamed with his medals he received for participating in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He treasured most a medal given by the President of the Philippines for serving as a military adviser during Martial Law.

Those were troubled times, he thought, and put away his fears that his son would be placed in a similar test.

The young Lieutenant was looked up with pride and praise. How many young men in the world are endowed with caring parents, good school, intelligence, good looks and excellent health? Heads turned as he walked. Young women saw him a knight in shining armor. Children looked up to him a model, a hero of sort. Would they grow up just like him? Dreams! Air castles!

But he was real. He dressed up simply. He was friendly. There was no air of arrogance in his actions and words. He liked people. And people liked him. Many times he would go to the village of his birth in Pangasinan – Bigbiga, near Anda. He talked to farmers and fisher folks for hours. At harvest time his presence alone was enough to draw people from their homes and other work just to help harvest the golden grains. How the field beamed with laughter and music and joyous company! It's reminiscent of Fernando Amorsolo's masterpiece, "Harvesttime."

Surely there were many stories to tell, many pleasant memories to recall. Housewives on errand bringing baon to the workers would make up all sorts of excuses for returning late. Passersby who were not from the place, when they heard the name Lieutenant Carding Lopez, took off their hats in greeting - and always, they got their reward of recognition. Children playing nearby would caution each other not to be rowdy, and they would display their best to impress their special guest.

And months passed. The monsoon came and the young lieutenant joined the planters in the field as he did at harvest time. Came fishing season, and he would join the fisher folks pull in the daklis (seine) net to shore. And when they gave him his share of the catch, he would politely decline or give it to the old people in the village.

One time he stopped to greet a crew draining a nearby swamp, the lowest part of the village. While relating how the Panama Canal was built, people the next day came by groups armed with shovels, crowbars and all. The swamp was drained in a short time. Incidence of malaria and dengue drastically fell. Farmers planted melons and watermelons on the reclaimed mudflat and made a lot of money.

But it was the marketplace he was fond of visiting on Sundays. The barangay chairman saw to it that everything and around appeared clean and orderly. More vendors came to sell their wares and products. And more people came to buy them.

Once strolling on a dirt road, he paused to put some stones to fill up a rut. The next day a gravel truck came. With it were workers. What took an hour to reach the market, could now be reached in half an hour.

General Lopez and Dean Lopez who were living in a push subdivision in Manila began to wonder at the kind of life their son was leading in the province. Surely it is very strange to know of one who is full of dreams and raring to seek a bright future. Not for a young and ambitious man, and a Pemeyer. No, not their son and only child, Carlito.

“No, no, let’s talk to him,” the mother rose from her lounging chair. “Hush, hush, let him be,” replied her husband soothingly.

One day the young Lieutenant received a call to report for duty. In the next few days he was flying over Sierra Madre on a mission. But alas! His plane disappeared in the sky and crashed on a misty slope covered by forest, far, far away from civilization. No one witnessed the accident, but guesses are not rare for such news. The plane plunged into the sea where three islands make a triangle, ventured one mystic who knew about the Bermuda Triangle that mysteriously “swallow up” airplanes and ships.

Maybe it crashed on one of the Philippines’ tallest mountains - Mt. Apo or Mt. Pulag. That’s how high jets fly, said an elderly native who knew too well about the flight of the Philippine eagle. Oh, exclaimed an activist, who said the young Lopez was an idealist, who must have sought refuge maybe in Indonesia, or New Guinea - or somewhere else.

Guess turned into hoax, rumors died down, only the enigma on how a promising young man suddenly disappeared without trace persisted. General Lopez shook his head in disbelief. Even in times of peace, he realized, danger hangs like a Damocles Sword. You can’t rely on technology, he muttered. Those planes – yes, those planes he remembered, they were very old. He knew it; they were donated by the US soon after the Vietnam war ended. Mrs. Lopez had retired from the university, but how could you enjoy retirement if you were in her place?

It had been five years since the young pilot mysteriously disappeared. The village people of his birth put up a cross in his memory at the center of the village cemetery. At all times they kept it white, and not a single weed grew around it.

Tourists today come to Bigbiga, now a progressive community. It boosts of a model cooperative. It is a persistent winner of cleanliness in the whole province. A church has been built, around it is a park and playground. Not far is the cemetery. Classes are no longer conducted under the big mango tree. Floods that accompany the monsoon are a thing of the past. The market is a village mall of sort, attracting people from nearby towns. An institute of science and technology was recently inaugurated. Young men and women are returning and changing the concept of balikbayan, at least in Bigbiga. They call it brain gain, whereas before we called it brain drain. The fields are green and at harvest time under the moonlight, some people would swear, they would see a young handsome man inaudibly talking and laughing – men and women and children huddled around him.

The general and his wife did not live long in their grief. A new leadership had taken over the reins of command in the military. A new president has been installed in Malacañang. He is young and handsome, and there’s something they like in him - the way he talked, his actions, his friendliness and warmth. They trust him. Those who knew the late Lieutenant Lopez liken him to the new president.

One day there was a flash report that a community was discovered somewhere between Nueva Ecija and Aurora. It is ensconced in a valley shrouded by forests and clouds, accessible only on the Pacific coast. That is why it remained obscure for a long time. "There must be some mistake," a Manila-based government official commented. So a survey team was formed.

It is like searching a lost city in the Andes, or in the Himalayas. But it is true. There in the very eyes of the team unfurled a local Shangrila - the former Dakdakel, a remote barangay of San Mariano, Isabela, now transformed into a model community.

The people in that community are peace loving, self reliant, and respectable. They are farmers, craftsmen, many are professionals. They have children studying in Manila, and relatives working abroad. There is a cooperative and a progressive market. A chapel stands near a cemetery. In the middle of the cemetery rises an immaculate white cross, and no weed grows around it.

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