aslagan!

"aslagan" is a kapampangan word for sunrise/sunshine. wonderful! i love sunrises and sunshine and sunsets...it's time for looking at the brighter side of life...i'm sure you'll agree...i am not from pampanga (a province of great cooks and writers and artists in central luzon) but my friend malu gueco is. she is my diabetic friend who survived without amputating her foot.




yes, i was relating to you her story in a previous blog (see my july blogs...). i really thought she lost her foot, but when i visited her 2 weekends ago, lo and behold! both legs greeted me at the door. it was really a miracle, seeing how pale to almost ashen her face and whole body was during that sorry time in the hospital.



it's just wonder-full accompanying her in her healing, in body, mind and spirit. that's what i like in malu, she's got a lot of soul in her...she continues to write in her column "aslagan" in their community paper in pampanga. and while recovering, (this is really great) she began drawing visual representations of her inner lifework...whatever gave her inspiration just moved her to creating and creating and creating...i wish i could post her artpieces here, hopefully i could get photos soon...

by the way, did you know the reason for malu's opting not to have her foot amputated (which is really a brave thing to do...such courage!)? she is on natural healing therapy which i really loved the moment i learned about it! i don't know if i can announce the therapy here. allow me first to get permission. i do believe in natural healing if at all possible. sometimes, integrative medicine is an option. it's a combination of western and eastern medicine. (i'll talk about this in another post...)



i grew up with women in the family who have been herbalists. my maternal grandmother was really good in mixing herbs, as with all other mothers of her time. she was also a natural botanist. she never learned the profession, but she had a natural skill to plant; and anything she planted, grew! she used to encourage my mom when they were kids, to bring viable seeds with them when on an out-of-town trip. and would ask to spread the seeds outdoors....i wonder...those seeds might be those great big trees along the highway going up north today...

oh well...the sun is bursting its beauty out on the horizon...another day is almost over...the sun sets only to rise again...yes, we know it will indeed rise again tomorrow...for the millions who suffered in the storm, the sun will rise tomorrow...there is hope...

embrace tomorrow with faith, hope, love, and peace...
(many thanks for photos from everywhere...)


w.w.

illness and the soul

i just came from visiting malu, my soul friend. she is confined in a government hospital in quezon city. entering the hospital visitors' entrance is not really very welcoming. it looks like the narrow gate mentioned in the Bible. only one person at a time can pass through and you have to surrender extra belongings at a baggage counter. how discouraging. is this how they discourage visitors? i thought (but this is another story). it is past visiting hours ma'm, but since you seem to bring something for eating, i'll let you through, the kind guard said. true enough, the path to life is not an easy and convenient way. the winding way through the diabetic ward is even more disappointing. i prepared myself for the worst. the medical extension wards were all in one area. pneumonia, TB, diabetes patients in different rooms in one tiny inconspicuous wing area of the hospital. i asked the nurse in the station for my friend. i held tightly to my pasalubong of bananas. the native latundan are good for diabetics. she asked for it in her text message. i'm in diabetic ward, she said. bring bananas please, her request. she looked as if she was lifeless, a companion beside her. all the other women patients were pictures of pain and suffering. they don't have to say anything. it was a painful life.

malu had diabetes 20 years ago. she's now 54. one of prolific women writers of pampanga, a writer for the local paper and contributing her talent to other papers including RCW's CARE magazine (tell you about this later), malu is a beautiful soul, and a great life coach! she says my visit is a blessing. that i am a gift. what with marilou galang visiting with me, (she came in a little after i arrived), there was a burst of energy in the room!

before i left, we prayed together, me a Catholic, marilou a certified meditator and future Tibet pilgrim, we felt so much healing power and energy flowing through our bodies...life, love, kindness, goodness, sincerity, light, care, nurture. malu felt like she wanted to get into a wheelchair and enjoy the space outside the hospital...no she can't do that. the doctor was firm. she might contract other illnesses from the ones confined in the area. i left the hospital with a light and heavy heart. light, because i gave my best light massage for my friend-a light touch of love she felt really good about. heavy, because suffering abounds. so much of it. of which i'll tell more about next time...see you later...go gently....