4 posts from 2007

She is a Czech immigrant ‘Girl’ who sees a ‘Guy’ singing with his guitar at night in the streets of Ireland. She says she really likes his music. He says he sings his own songs only at night because he fears no one will listen to anything other than familiar tunes in the daytime. She says, "I listen." He says, "But you only give me five cents." She curiously asks, “Do you do this for money then?” He shyly answers no.

They later go to a music store and she asks him to sing one of his songs. He hesitates at first but she offers to play along on a display piano. He teaches her the chords and starts singing one of his songs on his guitar. She quickly and precisely harmonizes with her voice and the piano.

The camera lovingly, visually guides its audience to the mutual connection that the guy and the girl share, as in their first, incredibly moving number together in that music store called, “Falling Slowly.” First, it focuses on him for a while, then on her, and then slowly brings the two together in the same frame and rotates from his perspective to hers.

The hurt they share in their singing involves their romantic pangs. She has a daughter and a distant husband back in her homeland, whom she married at a far too young age. His songs are all about his old girlfriend whom he resents for cheating on him but cannot get over.

The most tender moment in the movie is when she leans her head on his shoulder after she reveals a song she has written herself.

This is a type of movie that deserves to be seen more than ONCE.  A movie that provides a real heart and emotion that is rare to find.  It’s like we are listening to the musical we each carry inside us and that no one ever hears. ONCE hears it, though, and it rocks the soul.

"How often do you meet the right person?” 

Here's a story I came across recently:

"In the deep jungles of Africa, a traveler was making a long trek. Coolies had been engaged from a tribe to carry the loads. The first day they marched rapidly and went far. The traveler had high hopes of a speedy journey. But the second morning these jungle tribesmen refused to move. For some strange reason they just sat and rested. On inquiry as to the reason for this strange behavior, (they don't appear to be tired), the traveler was informed that fatigue was not the reason, they had gone too fast the first day, and that they were now waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies." 

Pausing for a moment here and there takes conscious effort, especially at first but it eventually become a habit, and the habit will turn into a way of life.  In fact, it will most probably become a foundation stone in one's value system, because we simply cannot live fully or wisely without slowing down, without putting brakes, without awareness of each moment.

A Mathematics teacher, tells how and why, when after conducting a monthly test to primary 4 students, she suddenly heard a voice from within telling her to give lesson about faith and life right there and then. 

She started talking back to the voice within" "They are not the right crowd.  They are too young for this," she said.  But something inside her insisted.  She refused and walked out of the room, to the corridor, to the school pantry and made herself a cup of coffee.  She sat there for a while trying to let it passed.  But the inner impulse insisted.  Then she recalled her daily reminder, her covenant -- "to live her life according to HIS purposes".  She prayed, got up, walked back to her class and began to talk like having conversations in front of adult crowd.  Astound, everyone listened in silence, all ears and eyes at her.  She looked at each child in turn.  She said everything that was in her heart.  They started raising questions, some shared their thoughts and others told stories of what they have observed from grown-ups.

She was moved by the realization that these children, at their young age, are not just living their lives by being a child whose daily activities is to wake-up, eat, go to school, learn, play and sleep.  But they are the one who really knows how to live life to it's fullest.  They have the ability to understand the essence of life.  They posses the eyes that no adults can see.

Still completely overcome by the unexpected responses from these innocent minds, she concluded her not-so-ordinary lesson by a confirming question: "So, do we all agree that fame and richness cannot determine a person's happiness nor future success  in life but how a person value every moment of life and how a person firght what he/she believes in?"  Unanimously, they affirmed with a genuine smile on their faces and she sat down to her chair with a face reflecting a smile of a child.

She still does not know what task she accomplished that afternoon, but one thing she is sure of -- that she did accomplish a task.

I can consider myself as a passionate reader, a good listener and a confident speaker but not a writer. I normally share my ideas, reflections from what i have heard and read through face-to-face conversations. I can spend up to 4 until 8 hours non-stop conversation with a person talking about anything from basic to it's profoundness. Some friends said that writing is better because you can come back to it and have fun reading it again. Well i cannot disagree to that. There are lots of nice conversations i had with different people that had contributed to who i became now and vice versa.  As i recall, most of my valuable conversations and precious moments are not recorded in paper nor digital. It's all stored in my memory bank which by the way depreciates as time goes by. I really need a blog that i can rely on, even at the edge of memory loss. But how can i blog when i am not confident enough to write? I am lousy one when grammar is concerned. Since i cannot rely in my memory, i have and i need to do this for myself. As someone said, "Focus unto my goals and not be bothered by the obstacles along the way." Thus, most of the writings here will definitely be written in Tag-lish (Tagalog-English) for my own ease and comfort. My apologies.

it is courage to the path that makes the path appear