I have Written the Name Jenno

As we go along this odyssey of life, we will meet along different people in different strata of society within a given place in a specific continuum of time. Man as we are, we loved adventure, we love taking risks even life is at stake, we love to make friends to those who we knew and even to the strangers. This is life all about. There are a lot in store, which need to purchase and there is so much to give and to celebrate. As what Forrest Gump stated “Life is like a box of chocolates which you never knew what you gonna get”. Each of us meets anybody who will say that they are our friends, but we will make only few friends there the challenge lies. People will ask your hand and try to win your heart and offer a good menu of companionship and friendship, but when great storm arrives on time at your door they will leave you behind under the rain and strong wind soaked with your own tears. And there you will remain at the corner regretted the things which you have done to them. Only true friend remain standing in front of you and offer you a coat and that is your Best Friend.

I have chosen lots of friends but there is only one person who I can consider as my special friend. What makes him special? He is special to me because he is the one who really cares and ready to stand on me especially on the toughest moments of my life. And no matter what happens his companionship cannot be taken out nor decapitated from my life itself. When the day ends, we are still friends, who have each other no matter. Giving what we have in our pocket and trying to be with one another is a good command of loving and expressing the true friendship which is expressed also by Christ that those who are ready to love they must ready to give up their lives for the sake of their friends until death. But where is he now?

Personally, we desire to have a special friend. It is what makes us reach out and comes out from our shell and take chance of being hurt. Figuring it out is not an easy task, because though basically man is good by nature but he also clings to what is evil and because of this, friendly relationship will be clouded with selfish desire and for personal consumption, thus wind came across and carries it along with the sand which you will not see it nor cherish it anymore.

I have met a good person indeed during my stay in my hometown - Cebu. I consider him as a true friend. We stayed together, strolling around and being with one another especially when we need most our presence- he is there for me when I needed him. To have him is a remarkable experience indeed. Finding someone that shares similar interests, who cares about who you are and what you are doing. And he was there for me even in the saddest time came along my way. But I cannot avoid deciphering what I have seen and thought on what will become if things go wrong. Though I was thankful of his presence and through this observation also, our intention per se became strained and purified. I don’t know what was in his mind neither he. But we trusted each other – there were things which he needed to preserve only for himself though I am very much open to him but I have to respect that limitation. And we came along the way with freedom and true friendship... until now. Our communication was broken when i decided to leave my country, i never had the time to ask him if he wanted me to go nor see him prior to my departure. But good to say that we able to find ways in order to be reconnected.

True friendship comes along so rarely, and I am thankful to have met him and knew him once. Without our friendship, we both lost our way. Whatever happens, I always keep him close to my heart. Telling him how much he meant to me. I will not allow him to slip away. The bonds we make during these days will serve to keep us going in the months and years ahead. And we knew that our relationship is not implicitly written on the sand, but we both know and understand what we meant.

Notes on Holy Ramadan

Ramadan is an Islamic month of fasting in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from before the sun rises until the sun sets. Fasting is meant to teach the Moslem the value of patience, modesty and spirituality. It is somehow considered as the holiest month of the year according to Islamic religion, without a doubt described by many Moslems as the hardest month of the year and everybody is obliged to fast for thirty rigorous days for Allah (God). It is meant to teach the Moslem faithful on the value of patience, modesty and spirituality.

Considering fasting on the spiritual aspect we can somehow redefine fasting as an act of abstaining from eating and feeding the body in order to focus more on fully seeking God’s love and trust, in other words the compassion of God is there. As Jesus Christ fasted 30 days and 30 nights in the wilderness before He was thrown into His fate – to be a sole sacrifice for the remission of sins; Gandhi fasted also before he went to the public and teach peace not violence as a mean to arrive for an end of attaining a peaceful community throughout his mother land. We fast because we need to humble ourselves before God, letting Him know that we are willing to exchange physical comforts with spiritual contentment.

I asked one of my co-employees who is a faithful to his religion (Islam) and living like a “king” on his household about the idea on the Holy Ramadan. In furtherance, he claimed that throughout the season, he was reminded that he is not the only person living on this planet. There are also people aside from his family who is living in a dire poverty and who are suffering from hunger, from injustices and from thirst of love. And through this Ramadan he able to express his self to them and to put his feet on their own shoes. It is good to note that Ramadan is a way of remembering how God became more intimate to His people and how God became more personal that which our hearts became enamored to His untiring and ending Love.

We abstain and do fasting and praying because it is necessary and it is the law itself. We are not allowed to eat; we abstain from everything because of our faith to Allah or to God. But what if, if a friend of ours asked food because he is dying of hunger or a sick friend asked for a glass of cold water because he is dying of thirst. Are we going to say “NO” because we are still under the observance of Ramadan? Is giving food or water during the observance of Ramadan is considered as a sinful activity that which if one is caught he is to be punished by the authority vested by the people from God? Are we despising God because we violated the law of Ramadan by giving and helping a friend from sickness and hunger?

Ramadan teaches us to become prayerful and through fasting, we somehow make our prayer more meaningful to the ears of Allah. We pray because we believe that God is up there. We do fast because it helps us alleviating the burden of being away from God and making ourselves closer to Him. Thus, Ramadan is made for man and man is not made for this season. The challenge lies not on how every Moslem performs and observes the season of Ramadan but it lies on how they continue their lives as a holy person. There is only one law that God gave to man, which is to love our friends as we love God with all our hearts through words and actions. If we observe Ramadan according to what God wants we will go beyond the mere understanding of the observance of the law. It is our duty to observe this Holy Season but it is our obligation to continue what is being set by God – which is to love our friends even till death.