Jhayography

It was one ordinary Saturday when Capt. America was craving for sunset as I woke up after a midday nap. And there’s no better way to witness the twilight than in the sea line. With camera and Frisbee disc on my bag, my motorcar brought me to an abandoned port at Brgy. Ipil of Asgard.

Of course this is not me. This is another asgardian looking at the mountains upon my arrival.

I never thought I would be lucky to meet the neighborhood children playing around. Watching them made me realize some of life’s greatest lessons. You’re luckier that I’m willing to share this out to you.

So here are the 6 lessons we can learn from the children:

Confused what going on, he seemed to realized what’s up after this shot.

…so he smiled already.

Look at those familiar teeth. Hehe

When you’re shy and not shy at the same time.

“Kuya picturi mi kuya”. Fine.

1. BE GENUINELY HAPPY. Point the lens towards them and their eyes tell you how happy they are or otherwise. Kids are naturally happy. And that happiness doesn’t mean they don’t have problems like us. Most of them also don’t have their desired toys or needed clothes, and cannot always get to taste the food we are privileged to eat. But they don’t think of it as much as we do. They just live for the moment. They get sad for a while but go back to being happy again. Being genuinely happy is self-assuring. Kids don’t tell us they’re happy, they simply are.

2. REST IF YOU HAVE TO BUT DON’T QUIT. Life is tiring. But our tiredness doesn’t signify the end, it only means you need a break. As I would always tell myself: “The best time to take a break is when you don’t have time to”.

3. VALUE THE PEOPLE YOU MEET. People will hurt us, even our most trusted ones. But not ending up with them doesn’t disqualify their significance. Some people can love you more in a year than others could love you in sixty. Some people can teach you more within a single day than others could teach you over the entire course of a lifetime.
Some people come into our lives only for a particular period of time, but make an impact that no one else can ever quite match or replace. Who are we to downplay their significance, to rewrite their memories, to alter the ways in which they changed us for the better?

That’s where kids are good at, remembering their playmates and being grateful to them.

…BUT VALUE YOURSELF TOO. Some people lose themselves in the process of valuing someone. Learn to recognize signals when you need to stay or leave. In short, learn when to leave. And actually leave.

4. DON’T BE AFRAID TO FALL. Kids always fall down. And they are never afraid, sometimes even enjoy, falling. We all were once not afraid of falling. We just get up over and over again with the help of the people around us or our self. It taught us courage and persistence.

Look at this courageous jump I envy for not having tried my entire life. I am that coward kid standing on his left.

If there’s one thing I could tell my younger self, it would be: “I hope you stop fearing the fall, and that you finally just take a leap of faith and jump off. I hope your wings burst out of you, and your fall turns into the most beautiful flight of your life. I hope you fall in love with being alive.” *Background music: Fall by Justin Bieber*

5. HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR. One of the things that helped me get through life’s ball sheet, it is my sense of humor during shituations that I learned since I was a kid [who belongs to a fncked up family]. Problems don’t always have solutions and laughing about it is sometimes the only thing that there is for you.

…BUT DON’T OVERDO IT. There is a right place and time for everything. And laughing [alone] doesn’t always solve everything, but can even lead to another [mental] problem. Hehe

6. HAVE TIME ALONE TO REFLECT. It can calm us down and lower our stress levels. We gain perspective, and that’s a good thing.

If we don’t reflect on our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. However, if we reflect on those mistakes, figure out what went wrong, see how we can prevent them in the future, we can use our mistakes to get better.

On the other hand, if you reflect on the things you did right, on your successes, that allows you to celebrate every little success. It allows you to realize how much you’ve done right, the good things you’ve done in your life. Without reflection, it’s too easy to forget these things, and focus instead on our failures.

…AND REFLECT WITH LOVED ONES. This doesn’t refer only to boyfriends or girlfriends but also family, friends and strangers. Spend time in silence with them in this world full of unnecessary noise.

JJ is my fellow avenger that afternoon.

Bonus: BE ALWAYS AMAZED BY THE WORLD. Kids are always awed by almost everything they see. They find magic and excitement in everything. But they gradually lose interest in it as they grow old, forgetting to appreciate the beauty around. Drop your prejudices and take time to see things in the lens of the children, and regain a fresh perspective on the world.

No matter our age, there is always a kid inside us that keeps on kicking and learning. Not all of life’s greatest lessons come from the aged, some can come from young souls who are constantly making mistakes. Then again, our failures are our most important teacher.

Like the children who will eventually grow, nothing stays the same. The day must come to an end and our time here will soon ran out.

After all, some goodbyes, like the sunset, can be seen as the most beautiful. ~