Declarations of a Healthy Adulthood

This post is a copy of my now defunct Friendster blog. Friendster blog just isn't good, so I migrated all my posts from there to here.
For few-months-rests and come-backs, I am sharing with you (whoever you are, lost reader) this Declaration which I find – uhm – good for reflection. Much as I want to tell you my source, the best I can tell you is that I took this from the kit HAIN gave us during the RGS workshop held at Bohol Plaza Resort & Restaurant last July 4-7. HAIN stands for Health Action Information Network and RGS for Religion, Gender, & Sexuality Workshop. This declaration was part of the readings prepared by Fr. Euginius Cañete.

1. I accept full responsibility for the shape my life has taken.
2. I need never fear for my own truth, powers, fantasies, wishes, thoughts, sexuality, dreams, or ghosts.
3. I trust that “darkness and upheaval” always precede an expansion of consciousness.
4. I let people go away or stay and am still okay.
5. I accept that I may never feel, I am receiving, or have received all the attention I seek.
6. I acknowledge that reality is not obligated to me; it remains unaffected by my wishes or rights.
7. One by one, I drop every expectation of people and things.
8. I reconcile myself to the limits on others’ giving to me and on my giving to them.
9. Until I see another’s behavior with compassion, I have not understood it.
10. I let go of blame, regret, vengeance, and the infantile desire to punish those who hurt or reject me.
11. When change and growth scare me, I still choose them. I may act with fear, but never because of it.
12. I am still safe when I cease following the rules my parents (or others) set for me.
13. I cherish my own integrity and do not use it as a yardstick for anyone else’s behavior.
14. I am free to have and entertain any thought. I do not have the right to do whatever I want. I respect the limits of freedom and still act freely.
15. I overcome the urge to retreat on the brink of discovery.
16. No one can and needs to bail me out. I am not entitled to be taken care of by anyone or anything.
17. I give without demanding appreciation though I may always ask for it.
18. I reject whining and complaining as baseless distractions from direct action on or withdrawal from unacceptable situations.
19. I let go of control without losing control.
20. Choices and perceptions in my life are flexible, nor rigid or absolute.
21. If people knew me as I really am, they would love me for being human like them.
22. I drop poses and let my every word and deed reveal what I am really like.
23. Changes and transitions are more graceful as I cooperate with them.
24. Every human power is accessible to me.
25. I live by personal standards and at the same time – self forgiveness – I make allowances for my occasional lapses.
26. I grant myself a margin of error in my work and relationships. I release myself from the pain of having to be right or competent all the time.
27. I accept that it is normal to feel that I do not always measure up.
28. I am ultimately adequate to meet any challenge that comes to me.
29. My self-acceptance is not complacency since it represents an enormous change.
30. I am happy as I do what I love and love what is.
31. Wholehearted engagement with the circumstances releases my irrepressible liveliness.
32. I live unconditionally and set same conditions on my self-giving.

My Life in This Planet Revolving Around the Sun Moving Across Endless Space

This post is a copy of my now defunct Friendster blog. Friendster blog just isn't good, so I migrated all my posts from there to here.

So my last post was on (insert date of last post here) May 17, 2007. That’s (insert number of months) 2 months and (insert number of days) 13 days ago. What have I done during all that time? Briefly, it’s all this (in no particular order):

1. Renewed my driver’s license that expired last year;
2. Went on trips to Vigan and Taal with my girlfriend and others. (The trip to Vigan was planned; the trip to Taal was not. Thanks to Fiona and her brother and to Ryan and Marlon);
3. Attended the CLARC-CAN Conference (Country-Level Action on the HIV/AIDS Report Card: Champions Against AIDS Neglect) at the Asian Institute of Management on June 5-7;
4. Attended the FPOP National Youth Leaders Assembly, FPOP National Council and General Membership Meetings on June 7, June 8-10, & June 11 respectively.
5. Attended the HAIN RGS Workshop in Bohol on July 4-7.
6. Had my research data statistically analyzed by different statisticians: Dr. Rogelio Borro of the University of Iloilo and Mr. Edwin Mosura of Iloilo National High School.
7. Went absent from my work at least twice a month either for consulting with my thesis adviser or for attending a workshop or a meeting;
8. Drank a few bottles of beer during: a) the Bohol RGS Workshop with Cristabel Parcon, Juvy Janeo, both of University of the Philippines in the Visayas, and Mr. Vicente “Bugoy” Molejona of the Commission on Population Region (POPCOM) VI, and b) after the Eagle Cross meeting at DENR with Dr. Borro, Dr. de Guzman of Iloilo Doctor’s College, and Atty. Misajon of DENR;
9. Must have drank at least (insert value here) gallons of water;
10. Must have defecated at least (insert value here) times;
11. Must have peed at least (insert value here) times;
12. Must have watched TV for at least (insert value here) hours; and
13. Must have talked on the phone with my girlfriend for about (insert value here) hours.

The list is in no way complete. But that’s about it for now. I welcome myself back to my blog.