Life Force

I've read somewhere that as one ages, his life force diminishes. The theory is that you start with a full bar just like a cell phone's or for video game enthusiasts the life indicator associated with a character. As we take this journey called life, the various trials, sicknesses and other events tend to decrease this life force. The more difficult trials and the more serious illnesses are supposed to take its toll on your life force. So I take it that if one plays safe enough, then you can conserve your life force and probably live a longer life.

What I haven't read about much in relation to the life force proposition is about how one can recharge his life force. In this case, I turn to my Catholic upbringing for an explanation. There are similar thoughts on this, actually reflections, that are not at all related to age but usually associated with sin. Now before I delve into lessons in Christian Living, I would like to clarify that I do embrace this concept but along more softer lines. I do believe that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. This is the foundation of my faith and it is the teachings about love that we have learned while I was in Lourdes that influenced my views regarding the life force.

I have this belief that I draw my strength, my energy from those around me whether these be people, places or pets. The concept is also similar to that adopted by believers of zen, nature lovers and perhaps even druids. I used to do my annual recharging in Iloilo where I have so many happy memories and where the air I breathed was enough to make me relaxed and strong enough to face another year of challenges. While there, I also draw energy from loved ones - their love, after all, has nurtured me since childhood especially my cousins Rebecca and Rhodora who took care of me during my formative years.

When I was in Japan, the recharging process was somewhat interrupted and I had to find a way to re-energize. That included finding a place where I can re-energize myself in a land far from home. I actually found two sanctuaries - the Yamate Cathedral and Kamakura. Yamate Catholic Church was where I heard Mass on Sundays. I made many friends there and the parish priest at the time, Fr. Alfred Burke, provide my spirit with the nourishment it needed during my three-year stint at YNU. I served in that parish and would like to believe I did pretty well in readings during the Mass. I even took it upon myself to be ready in cases when volunteer readers were no-shows or when that time of year comes when many of the foreign parishioners were on vacation in their home countries. I was happy being part of that community and looked forward to Sundays with friends and acquaintances at Yamate.

Kamakura is a different story. Though I could, I didn't really go there often except maybe at least once every two months when I felt like it or when I took friends on tour to appreciate "old" Japan without going to Kyoto. My first trip to Kamakura was with my batchmates at YNU and we went there at a time it was quite crowded with tourists. After learning how to get there and how to get around the place, I started visiting Kamakura during times I knew there weren't so many people. I came to appreciate the old capital with its temples and shrines where you can just sit or stroll quietly.

I found peace and tranquility of different forms in Yamate and Kamakura. The experience in a foreign land had taught me how to adapt. That learning I used when I returned to the Philippines and have applied it since. I have enjoyed traveling partly because the new places and the beautiful sights have partly contributed to my re-charging and it has kept me healthy as well as giving me a healthier perspective in life. I do reserve much of of the credit for re-energizing to loved ones especially the Clairvoyant, through whom I believe I derive God's love. Love being the best way to strengthening oneself, bracing against life's ups and downs.