Category: A YBP LOVE POST

A YBP LOVE POST, YBP LOVE POSTS

BE-YOU-TIFUL! ❤️

YBP

Hey YOU. Yes YOU! That’s who I want to see. In unadulterated beauty. In unfiltered goodness.  In genuine purity. In elegant simplicity. In silent eloquence. In boisterous merriment. In reticent pensiveness. In raging boldness. In out-of-the-box madness. In irrepressible humor.  In unquenchable curiosity. In all-that-you-truly-are form.

I want to see YOU draped in nothing but your authenticity. Yes, the real you. Not the dolled up, heavily made up you. Not the multiple-diet, pound-shaven you. Not the embellished, propped-up brand you. Not the insatiably hungry-for-likes you. Not the superficial, insta-you. Not anyone else attempting to be you.

Why? It’s the only language that I know, in my head and in my heart. Authenticity. In my world, everything is just as it is. Real and deep to the core. Yes, wrinkles, spider veins, and more.  I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I do what I do because that’s my personal choice.  I carve out my day in a way that honors my soul and casts my light on whom I want to behold.

So, if you’d like for us to live happily in our shared world, this would be a great start. I’ll be myself and you’ll be yourself. It’s as simple as that. Be-YOU-tiful! That’s all you ever have to be! ❤️

This is my love message to my nieces and all the young girls in my life. And yes, this is also a sweet reminder for all gorgeous women out there who know that their real beauty and worth lie in who they are deep within. To all of you ladies, Stay Be-YOU-tiful! ❤️

A YBP LOVE POST, YBP LOVE POSTS

DEATH, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY? ❤️

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The strangest thing happened on my way home today. I saw a hearse. Yup, a hearse. Literally, in front of me. I just realized what it was when I needed to slow down due to the building traffic on the road.

And just like that, I went to my rich inner world and played a movie in my mind. Mind you though, I’m a very safe driver with an amazing clean record to boot! Not that I’m turning defensive here (although that’s exactly my driving style, haha!), but I want to assure you of my multi-tasking ability (that is, driving safely on “auto-pilot” and running free with my imagination) when I know the destination so well. And obviously, I’m an expert at locating my home. (Confession:  Ooops! with the help of Waze at times.) Otherwise, I’d be in deep trouble, haha!

Anyway, back to our regular programming (Excuse the side trip or mini digression.), where was I? …. Oh yes, the hearse. It got me thinking ….. Well, a lot of things get me thinking.

I actually saw myself lying there inside the coffin. Safely tucked inside the hearse. Then, after a split second, that scene segued to the funeral rites. People were standing still in deep reflection. Some shed a few tears. Others were sobbing. Melancholy filled the air ….. and it was further punctuated with the droplets of rain that started to fall. It’s as if the sky was crying too.

I snapped out of that odd dream sequence when the car behind me honked. (My thought bubble went, “Okay, okay! I heard you!”)  Then I zoomed to show the car behind me that I was very much alive, haha!

By the time I got home, I chilled and turned on the radio. KISS 102.7 played in full blast “One More Night” …. The lyrics? “So I cross my heart and I hope to die….” Oh c’mon now! Gimme a break! I mean, I adore you, Maroon 5 ….. but really?!?! Of all your awesome songs, you serenade me with this?!?! I would’ve danced immediately if you chose “Sugar” instead!

So that set off my mind to “Wanderland” again….and as you can easily predict, I landed in the same movie that was screening earlier on the road. Talk about perfect timing, I was in sync for the climactic portion ….. the Eulogy.

Ohhhh my heart! At that point, I needed tissue. Boxes and boxes of tissue. Why? I was touched beyond words …. with the outpouring of appreciation, the abundance of gratitude, the showcase of happy memories, the overflowing love. Deep, sweet love. And then the movie camera zoomed out gloriously to take a majestic top shot.

Next scene: Back at home, I smiled. A victorious smile.

So Death, what would they say? Well, I’m writing the script of the century ….. and I’m starting today! ❤️

Just for laughs, I prefer white! 🙂

A YBP LOVE POST, YBP LOVE POSTS

YOU HAD ME AT HAIKU! ❤️

YBP

haiku, oh, haiku

what would I do without you?

you open my world

As a little girl, I was mesmerized one day at elementary school. I still remember her name. Mrs. Hadarly. She opened my eyes. She opened my mind. She opened my heart. She opened my world. She introduced the haiku to me in class.

I was as giddy as one could get when I came up with my first “tiny poem”. That’s how my classmates coined it. All of a sudden, I felt immediately transformed. Wow, an “artist” is born, I thought to myself.

So my haiku adventure began. I had loads of thoughts to share, although words didn’t come that easily. My classmates and I referred to dictionaries just to write our haikus in class. You see, terms weren’t “Googable” yet, haha! (Ooops that obviously reveals my age, so let’s not get into that! *wink, wink*)

Something magical happened when I completed my haiku project. My teacher said that my work was very good. And that was music to my ears. In fact, it played a lovely song in my head the whole day. Her positive feedback got me all fired up and I wished then that we could just focus on haikus the whole year. I loved the feeling of being great at something!

Fast forward to this day. I enjoy my romance with haikus. In fact, I tease myself that if the haiku were a fine gentleman, I would’ve married him, haha!

As I go through life, I find myself thinking in haikus. I love to be in the moment and view the world from different angles, with different glasses, considering different lifestyles, different stages, different backgrounds. My natural empathy draws me to others and inspires me to reflect on possible haikus for their lives too.

I love the haiku for its simplicity, its purity, its authenticity, its depth, its insightfulness.

Anyway, hmmm, I wonder how Mrs. Hadarly is doing these days. Would love to visit and thank her over a cup of coffee …..

dear mrs. hadarly

little yeka loves you so

you have sown your seed

HAPPY SUNDAY FRIENDS!

Thanks so much for joining me on this lovely day! Do drop me a haiku. That would make my heart smile! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

A YBP LOVE POST, YBP LOVE POSTS

MABUHAY! LIVE, LOVE! ❤️

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In the Philippines ….. beautiful land of my birth, we love to say MABUHAY!

It’s a greeting that encompasses all good grace and favor wished upon someone. It’s expressed in the imperative form of the word “life”, thus, “Mabuhay!” translates to “Live!”, from the root word “buhay” (life).

And LIVE. That’s exactly what we do as a nation. We are home to multifarious cultures and traditions that have captured international interest.

When you visit our lovely country, you should definitely visit our world-acclaimed beaches. And mind you, we have a plethora of them, what with our 7,107 islands.

I love how Conde’ Nast Traveler described one of our most popular beaches (The 24 Best Island Beaches in the World), El Nido, Palawan. “Palawan continues to rank highly in our Readers’ Choice Awards. El Nido alone is home to around 50 white sand beaches—it’s impossible to choose just one—all of which are set around dramatic limestone formations and have the finest and whitest sand you’ll ever see. The water is so blindingly blue it makes the Caribbean Sea look murky in comparison. And the sunsets? Well, they’ll ruin you for life. Consider yourself warned.” Haha, I can attest to that for I’ve experienced life at its finest in El Nido, Palawan. Breathtakingly beyond compare? Woah, major understatement!

Would love to share more of the Philippines with you in my future posts. For now, it’s a gorgeous, sunshiny day, and so my mind is on the beach …. Bring out the margarita, bellini, mojito, and piña colada! (Wow, someone’s getting real thirsty over here, haha!)…. How I wish! Just imagining and simply pining…. I terribly miss El Nido! Well, reality check? Yup! I’m safe here cozied up in my home sweet home.

Over and beyond our gloriously awesome tourist spots, though, you will fall in love with our people. We are naturally warm, friendly, hospitable, and nurturing.  We have the gift of ease. You’ll feel so comfortable, so at home in our presence, that you won’t even want to leave.

I took a pocket of time to share this lovely slice of my life since some of you asked me where I come from.

I know that ultimately, in our WP community, we live as one. We are family. And so, I send my happy hugs …. And yes, MABUHAY TO ALL OF YOU! ❤️

A YBP LOVE POST, YBP LOVE POSTS

CARDS: MY LOVE LETTER TO YOU ❤️

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Dearest WP Family,

Today marks my 1st month anniversary in our awesome community ….. in our loving family.

Yes, July 16 was the day when I clicked on our WP link and gave my “sweet yes” to start a blog.

Little did I know then that my life would change forever. You see, last 2018, I “died” when I could no longer train in the classroom (will be sharing my medical story in the future), for that is my life passion. Oh, my heart …..

And it’s only been recently that I felt so alive again. Ahhh! So free to write my thoughts and feelings, so free to express my artistry, so free to share my stories, so free to connect with such amazing writers, so free to be inspired by truly gifted artists, so free to blog, so free to live, so free to love.

And yes, as most of you may have noticed, LOVE is everything to me.

So, it’s with much love that I CELEBRATE ALL OF YOU. For your unbelievably refreshing warmth, support, and friendship. So blessed to call you all FAMILY.

THANK YOU!!! ❤️

CARDS: A special series on Love Letters and sweet expressions of love

Till our next run, let’s take time to remind others how much they mean to us!