By the Jal-o River

Psalm 91 You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shade of the Almighty Say to the Lord: "My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!" It is he who will free you from the snare of the fowler who seeks to destroy you; He will conceal you with His pinions and under his wings you will find refuge. You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, Nor the plague that prowls in the darkness nor the scourge that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand fall at your right, You, it will never approach; his faithfulness is buckler and shield. Your eyes have only to look to see how the wicked are repaid. You who have said: "Lord, my refuge!" and have made the Most High your dwelling. Upon you no evil shall fall, no plague approach where you dwell. For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you upon their hands lest you strike your

How one defines something which is in flux? Has anyone tried? What is the sound of the clap of one hand?, a disciple was asked by his master. He got slap when he failed to answer and that was it. He had an awakening. He just knew what is the sound of the clap of one hand. But what about becoming? Well, let me define it today--It is a motorcycle parking by the road. I am however afraid that it might be different tomorrow.

A philosopher opted to spend seven years by the Jal-o with a hook, a line and a sinker to contemplate on the meaning of life. On his seventh year, he chanced upon a beautiful lass doing laundry by the bank of the river who asked him what he's been doing all those years. "Oh, fishing." he answered, and added to keep the conversation going. "I wanted to know what life really is." "And have you got the answer?" "Yes," he answered. "Life is like the Jal-o." "That's nice," she responded. "But can you explain it to me more clearly how is that that life is like the Jal-o?" "Ah," he finally replied after some thought. "I really don't want to argue with you. And maybe you're right. Perhaps, life is not like the Jal-o after all."

I love books. I love books that delve on values most especially. Thirteen of my favorites, i.e., something that I've read more than three times and cared enough to hand out as gifts or lend to my friends are as follows: First You Have to Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life and Living by Richard Bode; Availability: The Problem and the Gift by Robert J. Wicks The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus The Alchemist  by Paolo Coelho Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E.F. Schumacher  Myth of Sisyphus, and Other Essays  by Albert Camus Jesus Before Christianity by Albert Nolan Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson  by Mitch Albom Voices of Silence: The Lives of Trappists Today by Frank Bianco All I Really Need