Day of the Resurrection: “Gaze at life in Me the second time”

        Easter Blessing from "Apo Resurreccion" 

Dr Abe V Rotor

We wish to ask in prayer the blessings of our Apo Resurreccion to all our visitors to the Living with Nature Center (San Vicente, Ilocos Sur), blog members, followers and viewers (avrotor.blogspot.com), radio listeners , and to all whose lives they touch in turn, and to the management of Google (Blog), and TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University 87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, and former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) 735AM Radyo ng Bayan.

 Apo Resurreccion has been with us, Rotor Family, in our ancestral home for five generations now. Life size to a typical Filipino, the icon is enclosed in a three-side glass housing for better viewing of visitors and pilgrims.

Nothing has changed in the Apo except his linen and some signs of getting old, so to speak. The icon is made of one-piece wood carved faithfully from head to foot. No one can tell in my generation and that of my dad's who the model was. No explanation can be offered on how the holy icon transformed beyond the limits of any mortal model.

San Vicente is traditionally famous for furniture and icon saints. It is the Paete of the north, as often compared; it is a local seat of Renaissance art. The town takes pride with a distinction of producing professionals, leading farmers, artisans, and leaders, notwithstanding, in practically all fields of human endeavor. The ratio of professionals per one thousand population is one of the highest in the country, and in fact, in the world. ~

Henry Knox Sherrill: “The joyful news that He is Risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline and make the sacrifice.”

“Gaze at life in Me the second time”

Dr Abe V Rotor

Prayer is a universal element of Human Nature. It comes in many ways irrespective of creed and culture. It is ingrained in the rationality of the human being, emanating from a deep source which we cannot fully grasp. It is by believing in something beyond our comprehension that undermines our ignorance, arguably but true, as a unifying factor of humanity.

"Gaze at life in Me the second time,

     whatever the past had been;

a new beginning is what matters now,

     most beautiful you’ve never seen."- avr

"Touch Me now that I am risen,

     with your mind, heart and soul,

for you have chosen the path

     of life with Heaven its goal."- avr

"Redeemer of our postmodern world,

     we come to You, our Recourse

to find peace and accord

     on life’s rugged course."- avr

 

“Few people seem to realize that the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone to a worldview that provides the perspective to all of life.” - Josh McDowell

 

Arthur Schopenhauer: “Every parting gives a foretaste of death; every coming together again a foretaste of the resurrection.”

“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.” - Robert Flatt.

Basil C. Hume:
“The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.”

Author's Note: Apo Resurreccion (Ilk) is a wooden icon of the resurrected Christ which has withstood the ravages of typhoons, earthquakes and the atrocities of the Second World War at the author's family residence.  Prayers are offered by quests who visit the place, which is gradually being developed into a Living with Nature Center cum Botanical Garden, in San Vicente Ilocos Sur.  Articles linked with the features of the Center can be sourced out in this Blog avrotor.blogspot.com

Cry of the Lawin in Driftwood and Backboard

                                              Cry of the Lawin

in Driftwood and Backboard 

Lawin symbolizes the young generations. It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generation.

                                                             Dr Abe V Rotor
We are blessed with having a rare bird called Philippine hawk or LAWIN in our language.  It is a close relative of the Philippine eagle, which is considered a symbol of our culture.

Country lass Angie Tobias 18, displays a driftwood version of the 

Lawin against a landscape mural, both artworks of the author, 2024

 

Painting of a lawin on a basketball backboard by the author 

On a clear day we may see the lawin* hovering over our subdivision, alone or with a partner in dalliance, simply gliding and circling up in the sky, in a spectacular kind of show that this bird now categorized as threatened is still around. Its home is the La Mesa watershed, just across our subdivision. It is in deference to this bird that our association has adopted it as our symbol and acronym - LAWIN. 

We thank our gazette editor Mr Fil Galimba who brought the idea of the organization, and Atty Riz Quiaoit for adopting Lawin as our symbol.

But what really does the lawin symbolize? 

One early morning my granddaughter pointed at the bird in the sky. I explained what I know about the bird.  Lawin symbolizes the young generations.  It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generations. It gives our children a break from iPads and TV. .  

One time children in the neighborhood in our place could not play their favorite game basketball. Somebody rebuilt their backboard, and games resumed. There's one difference: the other player on the back bard is a big lawin with outstretched wings seemingly playing with the kids. 

Nearby a garbage dump began to transform into a vegetable and herbal garden.  The children called it Lawin Garden. It is a local version of the Phoenix bird rising from the garbage ashes.

The lawin has a peculiar cry while in flight - clear and loud whistle of two notes. But most often, it is a silent flyer with panoramic and telescopic vision.

It can see like a satellite monitor what is happening over its broad area of vision, yet able to focus on the slightest movement - a prey or an enemy. 

Writers and artists to a great degree are like the lawin. Like the lawin, true writers and artists are a vanishing breed, they are an endangered species victim of instant and unguided social media, and worst, assassination of journalists.  The Philippines is compared to worn-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan, (now Gaza and Ukraine) for having the highest number of killings in mass media.   

The lawin writers and artists have "eyes for news and the arts," Their aerial perspective is holistic and contiguous. They see the multiplicity and unity of space and time, people and events. And they never veer away from their community which they watch over. 

At the onset of organizing LAWIN, we did some research on our trust and functions, and on the long run - our projected goal. 

Our reference is the our own Gazette. Lawin is DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. DevCom recognizes the power of communication as a catalyst for social development. It utilizes the tools and principles applicable in the community they serve for the advancement of society.  

In an outline DevCom is

• Information disemination and education 
• Social Marketing - ideas, knowledge and wisdom
• Purposive communication - it sets targets
• Social mobilization - involvement and militancy 
• Community improvement mainly on felt needs
• Positive change  (social, political, economic, moral, environmental, etc) 
• Participatory development - bottom-up approach    
• Humanities development - applied aesthetics
• Sentinel and vanguard of code of media 
• Pathfinder - pioneering and visionary

Development Communication as the INTEGRATION OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, based on a clear understanding of real and down-to-earth situations, with people's participation and shared equitable benefits.
  
What then would be our guiding principle in our program?  It can be summarized as follows, for an anonymous source:

"If it is of high quality, people will respect you;
 If it is relevant, people ill need you;
 If it is measurable, people will trust you;
 If it is innovative, people will follow you."

If you were the lawin up in the sky over Greater Lagro, you are likely to see these -

• the need to train students in our schools in the field of mass media and applied art to run their school paper. 
• the need to take care of the trees, and plants more tree, to make Lagro an extension of the shrinking wildlife. 
• the need to expand outdoor activities, participate in wholesome games and sports, creative activities. 
• the need to guard Greater Lagro from the incursion of bad elements, vices, violations of human rights, peace and order.
• bringing in honors and prestige to the community through the talents of its citizens, particularly the young.
• unifying relationships of families, strengthening bonding, making the community senior citizen friendly, grandchildren friendly as well.

There are one-thousand-and-one other visions that challenge the organization LAWIN and its members giving meaning to their membership, above all leaving their legacy for the next generations.~ 

Neighborhood projects of LAWIN (Lagro Association of Writers and Artists, Inc

 

Sports development: Lawin Backboard; Green Revolution: Lawin Garden

About the Philippine Hawk - Lawin

by Naomi Millburn 

Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines. "Lawin" translates to "hawk" in the Tagalog tongue. Philippine hawk-eagles survive in very low numbers, so their population is considered vulnerable.
 Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines.

 Physical Appearance

Philippine hawk lawins are typically about 26 or 27 inches long. The top portions of their plumage are deep brown, and their lower portions are reddish-brown and adorned in black markings. Philippine hawk-eagles have pale throats, yellow limbs, deep gray beaks and dark crests. Their crests are made up of four to five feathers, some of which can reach 2.75 inches long. It takes about four years to develop their mature feathers. Fully grown Philippine hawk-eagles tend to have lithe physiques.

Living Environment

Philippine hawk lawins inhabit numerous islands throughout the Philippines, including Mindoro and Luzon. They haven't been confirmed as migratory, though they might occasionally travel between islands. They are prevalent around outer portions of forests, sometimes even in airy settings. Philippine hawk-eagles spend a lot of time hidden in the top layers of forests. They do a lot of high flying within their habitats.

Population

The number of Philippine hawk lawins in the wild is dropping swiftly. Their total population is thought to be 1,000 and 2,499 specimens, two-thirds of which are adults, according to BirdLife International. Key factors in their decline are the clearing of trees for logging, farm animals, and farming expansion in general. People also sometimes hunt Philippine hawk-eagles. Efforts to conserve this species include captive reproductive programs and protected locations such as Bataan National Park.

Vocalization

The signature call of the Philippine hawk lawin is a clear, loud whistle of two notes. These birds call out over and over again, sometimes in intervals of three seconds.~

---------------------

* Inaugural speech of the author upon assuming the position as first president of LAWIN (Lagro writers and artists) Association Inc, June 20 2016  Barangay Greater Lagro QC

Defining Moments of Great Men. Write down three of your own "defining moments" and reflect on them this Lenten Season.

                            Defining Moments of Great Men

Write down three of your own "defining moments" 

and reflect on them this Lenten Season

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog 

 
1. "No part is more important than the whole." Auguste Rodin

The famous statue of Honore de Balzac carved by Auguste Rodin, has no hands.  But when Rodin carved it, it had hands.  

This is how the statue lost its hands. After completing his work, the scilptor called in his students and friends to see it. "What hands!" gasped one.

"Master, I have never seen such hands.  Only  a god could carve hands like that." said another, "they are alive!"

  Honore de Balzac without arms; bust details.  

"Those hands! Those hands!" exclaimed a third student. "If you had never produced anything else, master, these hands would make you immortal."

Rodin was not pleased in the least.  He seized an axe and rushed to the statue.

His students ried to hold him back but with unbelievable strength, he chopped off the hands that had forth such a praise. "Fools!" he shouted. "I have to destroy those hands because they had a life of their own.  They did not belong to the life of the entire statue.  Remember this and remember it well!  No part is more important than the whole."   

2. Newton lay dying

When Isaac Newton lay dying, a friend said to him: "It must be a source of pride and gratification to know that you penetrated so deeply into a knowledge of nature's laws." 

"Far from feeling proud," spoke Newton, "I feel like a little child who has found a few bright colored shells and pebbles while the vast ocean of truth stretches unknown and unexplored before my eager fingers."  

3. Captain Scott's last word: COURAGE - a message

Captain Scott died in a blinding blizzard while on his way to the South Pole.  Years later they found his frozen body.  In his hand was an unfinished letter to his friend, Sir Barrie, the eminent British writer.  In that letter Scott had tried to tell of the cold and dispiriting conditions they were in, adding however, a cheerful note: "I would do you good to hear our songs and our cheery conversations."  Then there stood out a final word in wide characters.  It spelled: "COURAGE."

When Sir Barrie received the letter, he kept it in a casket with great care.  Shortly after, the writer lost the use of his right hand.  Now he could not write even a line. Helpless and unhappy, one day he took out his friend's letter and read it through again and again.

He looked at the last word "COURAGE" and then told himself: "If Scott could write about courage when things were at their worst, why cannot I have the courage to learn to write with my left hand?"

And he did learn to write with his left hand, though afterwards he recovered the use of his right hand.

(Author's Note: Captain Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912. In a small tent, flying the Norwegian flag, he found a letter from Captain Amundsen wishing him a safe return. It was on his journey back that he and the members of his team met their tragic end.)  

4. "That makes no difference." - Pope Pius IX 

Pope Pius IX was one day walking along through the galleries of the Vatican.  He saw at a distance a young Englishman who was gazing ecstatically at one of Raphael's paintings.  The Pope went up to him and asked, "I presume you are an artist, my son."

The young man confessed that he had come to Rome to study painting.  But he informed the Pontiff that he had not enough money to pay the fees for instruction at the Academy. Whereupon Pope Pius IX promised to provide for his fees.

"But, your Holiness," blurted the young man, "I am a Protestant!"

"That makes no difference," smiled the Holy Father.  "Admission to the studios will not deny you of that score."  

5. The moth dying for his country's freedom

It was Jose Rizal's Mother who told him about the story of the moth. One night, her mother noticed that Rizal was not paying anymore attention to what she is saying. As she was staring at Rizal, he then was staring at the moth flying around the lamp. She then told Rizal about the story related to it.

There was a Mother and son Moth flying around the light of a candle. The Mother moth told her son not to go near the light because that was a fire and it could kill him easily. The son agreed. But he thought to himself that his mother was selfish because she doesn't want him to experience the kind of warmth that the light had given her. Then the son moth flew nearer. Soon, the wind blew the light of the candle and it reached the wings of the son moth and he died.

Rizal's mother told him that if the son moth only listened to what his Mother said, then he wouldn't be killed by that fire. 

Rizal must have remembered his mother's anecdote that night a moth visited him in Fort Santiago where he awaited his execution the following morning. He must have thought of the moth dying for his country's freedom. It died for a cause. It is the way martyrs die.  

6. "One piece for the young lady." - Albert Schweitzer

When Albert Schweitzer visited America in 1949, a former Strasbourg Sunday-school pupil of his met him at the Cleveland railway station and took him to a restaurant for breakfast.  An Alsatian coffee cake, especially prepared for the occasion, was produced, thus giving the table a festive look. (Dr Schweitzer is a native of Alsace, a French Region at the border of Germany.)

When time came to cut the cake, Dr Schweitzer was handed the knife.  He stood up, poised the blade and counted the people.  There were nine of them, but Dr. Schweitzer cut the cake into ten pieces.

"One piece for the young lady who so graciously served us," he explained, hnding the tenth piece to the waitress. 

7. "I would read some poetry and listen to some music..." - Charles Darwin

These words come from Charles Darwin: "If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once  week; for perhaps that part of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use.

"The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by weakening the emotional part of our nature."  

8. Seventy-five drafts of Thomas Gray's "Elegy"

Seventy-five drafts of Thomas Gray's poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" may be seen in the British Museum.  The poet did not like the way he wrote the first time nor the second nor the third.  He was satisficed only when he had written the poem over and over 75 times. 

Author's Note: The poem is an elegy in name but not in form; it employs a style similar to that of contemporary odes.  It embodies a meditation on death, and remembrance after death, and in pondering on the lives of the obscure and unknown buried in the churchyard. It could be for this depth of reflection that drove Gray into "perfecting" this poem, so to speak, which became his masterpiece, and one of the most loved and enduring poems in English, and world, literature. 

(Author's Note: The final copy of  Gray's Elegy is printed in a separate topic and lesson in this Blog.)  

9. Voltaire surrounded by a mob 

Feeling ran high against the French when Voltaire visited England in 1727.  The life of the Frenchman was in danger on the streets.  One day a crowd of angry Englishmen surrounded Voltaire on his walk, shouting, "Kill him! Hang the Frenchman!"

Raising his voice above the shouts of the crowd , Voltaire cried, "Englishmen!  You want to kill me because I am a Frenchman!  Am I not punished enough in not being an Englishman?"

The crowd hurrahed and led him safely back to his residence. 

10. Conversion of Saul to Saint Paul, the Apostle

On the road to Damascus, Saul was struck by a brilliant light, fell to the ground, heard a voice from heaven identified as the voice of Jesus asking, “Why are you using violence against me?” From here on Saul became one of the greatest defenders of the Church.

Conversion of Saint Paul on Damascus Road, mural painting (8'x8') by Dr AV Rotor, SPUQC

1995  

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* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid  (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 KHz DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday;

** Assignment,  University of Santo Tomas, Faculty of Arts and Letters on Development Communication

Karamay (Ilk), Karmai or Iba - The "Acid" Fruit. The "Summer Season" fruit in the Tropics.

                                                                 PUL-OY (Breeze)

San Vicente Ilocos Sur RP to the World Series

Karamay (Ilk), Karmai or Iba

- The "Acid" Fruit

  Phyllanthus acidus {Cicca acida (Linn.) Merr. Family Oxylidaceae}

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

A bountiful harvest of Karmai (Karamay Ilk), San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

  

You don't have to climb the tree, just shake a branch - or the small tree -  and pronto, you have a shirt- or skirtful of this  fruit curiously known by its scientific name Phyllanthus acidus - Cicca acida, which means in Latin, acidic seed membrane. It got a stone hard core surrounded with thick cartilaginous flesh that is very sour. In botany they call this kind of fruit, drupe. And would you think you can have your fill even with the ripest pick? 

Kids we were in our time, would simply relish the fruit, fresh or pickled. Our folks would join cautioning us not to eat too much especially with empty stomach. But in the process, they compete for the choice sizes leaving the small and immature ones. You see, when you harvest, ripe and young fruits fall at the same time to a waiting inverted umbrella, or a stretched blanket, unless you handpick only the ripe ones - which is tedious. When pickled with sukang Iloko (native Ilocos vinegar) and salt, all sizes, mature and immature, become grossly inviting.  

What do you get from karmai?  It may be poor in food value but it contains appreciable amounts of minerals and vitamins the body may need.  Per 100 g of edible portion examined, 92 percent is water.  It is low in protein (0.155 g), fat (0,52 g), fiber (0.8 g).  It got some calcium (5.4 mg), phosphorus (17.9 mg). iron (3.25 mg), ascorbic acid (4.6 mg), and traces of carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. 

Other than pickled, karmai is made into sweets, either sweetened and dried, or as jelly or jam sans the seeds. Preparation is not easy though because of the high acid content which is first neutralized with salted water for a day or two, before it is drained and dried, then candied or jellied. 

But have you tasted sinigang with karmai instead of kamias (Averrhoa)  or tamarind (sampalok)?  Try it with the unripe fruits and savor the pleasant sourness and mild acrid taste. Then after meal have a dessert of pickled karmai to remove the aftertaste of fish or meat. And for a change, try the young leaves cooked as green, like malunggay and kangkong.  

Karmai may not be popular in times of plenty, when imported fruits - apples, oranges, grapes - dominate the fruit stand, when in our life of haste we would rather pick from the shelf packed fruit juices, when schools and communities seldom promote the "lesser" fruits native to our country.   

The revival of ethnobotany - the study of plants and man on a historical and evolutionary perspective - has started in schools and research institutions. It can be a significant approach in providing indigenous food, medicine, and curbing environmental degradation, including global warming in a broad sense. Karmai grows best in Ilocos and other regions on uplands and hillsides, favored by a long dry season. It blooms in the peak of summer, and may have more fruits than leaves to our delight in childhood days.    

Remembering the author of Alternative Medicine,responsible in its passing into law, Senator Juan Flavier, I did a little research on the medicinal properties of karmai.  Here is a short list among many potentials which pose a challenge to the scientific mind. These may be folkloric and therefore tested in certain societies.           

- Decoction of leaves is used externally for urticaria, the fruit given at the same time to eat.
- Decoction of the bark used for bronchial catarrh.
- Some believe the roots to be poisonous, but the Malays boil it for steam inhalation in use for coughs.
- In Java, root infusion used for asthma.
- In Borneo, used with pepper
- Poultice of leaves for lumbago and sciatica.
- Root used for psoriasis.
- Used in chronic liver diseases.
- Decoction of leaves is diaphoretic.
- Leaves used for gonorrhea.
- In Burma, fruits are eaten to promote appetite; sap swallowed to induce vomiting and relieve constipation.

- In Indonesia, leaves are used as counter irritant in sciatica and lumbago. 

- In Malaysia, vapors from boiling of roots inhaled for coughs and headache.
- In Bangladesh used for skin diseases - eczema, abscesses, acne, etc.
- In India, fruits are taken as liver tonic. Leaves, with pepper, are poulticed for sciatica, lumbago or rheumatism. Leaves taken as demulcent for gonorrhea.
- In Maharashtra, India, decoction of seeds used twice daily for asthma and bronchitis.
- In Malaya, root infusion, in small doses, taken for asthma. The root is used for foot psoriasis.
 NOTE: For more details about the medicinal uses of karmai, medical advice is recommended.   

Next time you see a karmai tree, take time to study and appreciate it.  It is not really a handsome tree. In the first place it is small and may not provide a good shade. But truly karmai deserves a place in the orchard and in the wildlife.   

Reference and acknowledgement: Internet, Living with Nature AVR

Red, Hot Summer 2024

Red, Hot Summer 2024

Original Title: Red, Hot Summer 2023

“When all else fails, take a vacation.” – Betty Williams ~

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

 

Fire red gummamela (Hibiscus rosa sinensis)

San Vicente Botanical Garden (SV Ilocos Sur)

Achoite or annatto (Bixa orellana) flower, Silang, Cavite

Cadena de Amor ) Antigonon leptosus), UPLB Laguna

Umbrella Tree or Talisay  (Terminalia catappa) loses  

leaves (deciduous) for new ones to grow in place

San Vicente Botanical Garden (SV Ilocos Sur) 

Bangar or kalumpang (Sterculia foetida) tree in bloom

Leaning fire tree (Delonix regia), Fairview QC

 

Lobster's claw plant (Heliconia rostrata), SPU-QC 

 

Medinilla (Medinilla magnifica), UPLB Laguna

 

Dr. Anselmo S Cabigan shows the unique flower of 

pongapung (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), SPQC

 

Author's youngest son Leo delights in examining and slicing 

red dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) from Vietnam.

Ornamental pineapple (Ananas sp.)

San Vicente Botanical Garden

A composite bouquet of flowers

Art of flower arrangement in a flower shop, QC

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...”

― susan polis schutz

Doña Trining (Mussaenda erythrophylla)

Institute of Plant Breeding, UPLB Laguna 

A basketful of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa)

La Trinidad, Benguet

Macopa (Syzygium samarangense)

San Vicente Botanical Garden

 Fire tree (Delonix regia) in full bloom

UST Botanical Garden, Manila 

Colorful balloon in a glass dome, Fernbrook, Parañaque MM

 

 Fireworks celebration at UST Manila

A dish of upo (Lagenaria leucantha) with achiote (Bixa orellana)

 at home.  San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

Author's son, Marlo takes a siesta with the mythical dragon, 

after a sumptuous meal at Manila Hotel 

Author's wife, Cecille in red, poses under a fruit laden nangka 

tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), at her brother's residence 

in Agoo, La Union ~