Your unfinished work could be your masterpiece!

Your unfinished work could be your masterpiece!

Remember those things you thought were "unfinished" could be your greatest treasures, and who knows - people some day will remember you because of them. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Photos by Anna Christina R Rotor and Leo Carlo R Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Lesson: Don't discard your unfinished work, say a painting, novel, sculpture. Try to get back to it. It could be your masterpiece. Maybe you were not able to complete it because you gave way to the priorities of living, or finding new interests, challenges, assignments, or simply you lost steam, so to speak. Or you say you've grown too old to complete it.

Take the case of the mysterious unfinished human figures at the University of the Philippines at Diliman, QC. Do they mean anything but abandonment? To me it's not. So with my daughter Anna and son Leo Carlo who took these photographs.

These unfinished life size human figures occupy the “less trodden” front yard of the UP College of Fine Arts in Diliman, QC. The artists may have in mind the portrayal of man more as a Homo faber - man the worker or maker rather than his attribute as the reasoning man (Homo sapiens) - and much less the playing man - Homo ludens. Here the figures appear to be workers of the land. In fact one resembles the Man with a Hoe by Markham. Another appears to be carrying an imaginary heavy load.

What is puzzling however, is the representation of peaceful death. While the living struggle, the dead lies in true rest, cradled by the earth. Which then changes the scenario if all the figures were to be directed to a solemn and sorrowful occasion of burying a departed member in thin ceremonious atmosphere. It now expresses the highest attribute of man - Homo spiritus - the praying man who places completely his fate to a Higher Being. The viewer now turns his thoughts to grief and compassion, and the scene is no longer the farm but a sacred ground. The imagined heavy load is a  burden of the heart, the figures are bent not by the burden of work but by the loss of a loved one.

Art is like that. It is like poetry, the meaning is hidden "between the lines." Like impressions in Impressionism; points in Pointillism. Or masked symbols in Pablo Picasso's plaza mural - Guernica. Unfinished works of masters often become their masterpieces like the Unfinished Symphony of Beethoven, and Mozart's Requiem, his last composition commissioned by a mysterious person. Mozart died before finishing it, and Requiem became his own. Claude Monet repeatedly painted his favorite Nymphaea Waterlilies until darkness took over his failing sight - so with the painting's clarity. Though half finished it is Monet's final signature.

Venus de Milo is more beautiful with her arms missing. And for this, the best artists in the world gave up their attempt to supply her arms.

The mystery of the human figures of UP Diliman emanates from the anonymity of their theme that stands at the crossroad of human imagination searching for the meaning of life, exacerbated by their unfinished, and apparent abandoned state.

So what have you discovered about yourself by going back to those unfinished works? Share with us your experience. Remember those things you abandoned could be your greatest treasures, and who knows - people some day will remember you because of them. ~

Yes, you can write. Tips on How to be an Effective Writer.

Yes, you can write. Tips on How to be an Effective Writer.
"Think first, then write, get to the point, and use familiar words."

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

   

 The late Senator Edgardo Angara with the author; author and wife, with Larry Henares (center) 

 

Great Filipino Writers: Sedfrey Ordoñez, Ofelia Dimalanta, Hortencia Santos Sankore,

Larry Francisco, Jose Garcia Villa; right, Nick Joaquin

400 Books of UST (1611-2011), International Book Fair, author and family with Bishop Bacani

  

Left: Authors of Humanities Today with Radyo ng Bayan hosts; veteran dramatist and author, Fr James Reuter, SJ

You can be a newspaperman, radio broadcaster, TV anchorman, feature writer, columnist. You can be an author, and that's not a far dream.

If you are a student you will get higher grades for your reports and theme work. You will get a good rating for your research. You will be better understood of what you wish to communicate.

If you follow the following tips:
1. Think first, then write
2. Get to the point
3. Use familiar words
4. Omit verbal deadwood
5. Keep your sentences short
6. Shorten your paragraph
7. Use specific, concrete language
8. Prefer the simple to the complex
9. Be positive
10.Use the active voice
11.Write as you talk
12.Use adjectives sparingly
13.Revise and sharpen
14.Write to express, not to impress
15.Odds and ends. Moderate use of words
16.Grammar, form and style
17.Respect culture and tradition
18.Morals and ethics
19.Read, read, read
20.Providence, the Unseen Hand

Good luck!

Reference: Journalism for Filipinos, Alito L Malinao

Enshrining Traditional Knowledge through Research

 Enshrining Traditional Knowledge through Research 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Here are some examples by which traditional  knowledge can be enshrined through research.

1. Corn silk tea is good for the kidney.

When boiling green corn, include the inner husk and the silk as old folks do. Add water than normally needed. Drink the decoction like tea. It is an effective diuretic. But how can we make it available when we need it?


Silk is the composite pistil of corn which receives the pollen necessary in pollination. Internet photos

Sister Corazon C. Loquellano, RVM, in a masteral thesis at UST came up with corn tea in sachet. Just powder dried corn silk and pack it in sachet like ordinary tea. The indication of good quality is that, a six-percent infusion should have a clear amber color with the characteristic aroma of sweet corn. It has an acidity of about 6 pH. You may add sugar to suit your taste.

2. Succulent pod of radish is a local remedy for ulcer.
It is in a public market of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I found young pods of radish (Raphanus sativus) sold in bundles. We also relish young radish pods as salad or mixed in chopsuey. How true is it that it can cure of stomach ulcer?

Lourdes Jorge tested radish seeds for anti-ulcer properties on albino rats as her masteral thesis in medical technology at UST. Result: Radish seed extract is effective and is comparable to commercial Cimetidine or Tagamet in the treatment of gastric ulcer. ~
3. A simple remedy for diarrhea
Diarrhea claims the lives of 3 million people, with nearly 2 million of them children under five years old. Yet a simple and inexpensive treatment can prevent many of those deaths.

Here is a simple formula for oral rehydration therapy (ORT): a fistful of sugar + a pinch of salt + a jug of water. This old home remedy is now recognized by the WHO and UNICEF of the United Nations (UN-WHO) which recently reported that it has saved some 40 million lives. This home grown remedy hopes to further demote diarrhea from its present status as the second leading cause of death among children, to an ordinary ailment that can be readily prevented or treated.

According to WHO/UNICEF, ORT should begin at home with home fluids or home-prepared sugar and salt solution at the first sign of diarrhea to prevent dehydration (loss of body fluid). Feeding should be continued at all times.

However, once the patient is dehydrated, the regimen should be switched to official preparation usually in pre-measured sachets that are ready to be mixed with water. The formula is commercially sold or supplied by local government and relief agencies like WHO and UNICEF. In 1996 alone UNICEF distributed 500 million sachets to over 60 developing nations.

Everyone experiences at certain times symptoms that may be associated with diarrhea, such as too much drinking of alcohol, intolerance to wheat protein (gluten) or lactose (milk), or chronic symptom to food poisoning. It is also associated with anemic condition, pancreatic disorder, and radiation treatment (chemotherapy) ~

The Practice and Value of Gleaning

 The Practice and Value of Gleaning

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

To glean is to gather, as scattered grain from a reaped field.

The Gleaners 

This is a romantic painting of three old women gleaning in a wheat field at sunset by Jean-François Millet. A religious order - St Paul of Chartres - adopted the painting as symbol of its mission.

But it may mean differently. Markham looked at the painting as a symbol of social injustice, reinforced by Man with the Hoe, also by Millet. Markham wrote his message in forceful language.

Without reference to religious and ideological connotation, gleaning is a good practice. It reduces wastefulness and waste itself. It extends the use of a product, maximizing its value. It is "value added" in itself.

Here are examples of gleaning in our times.

1. Toothpaste. Cut spent tube with blade or scissor and glean. About a quarter of the content is ensconced in the tube. You can also use recovered paste as hand wash. Excellent to remove fishy and foul odor, grease and oil. It is refreshing, too. 

3. Pencil stub. Roll a piece of paper (preferably colorful) on butt end of pencil. Flatten and twist end three times at right angle each time. It is self-locking. There is no need of paste or type. Rolled paper extends length of pencil to make writing comfortable. It also serves as tip cover to prevent injury. It is an art, you can add to the crown a message, a cutout of a happy face - your own. The crown serves as clip in your pocket. Use paper that does not stain when wet. Collect those beautiful leaflets - they are indeed useful. Kids will simply love this project - paper caps for pencil and ball pens.

3. Lipstick. Don't throw away your spent lipstick. Dig out the content with lip brush, just as it is shown in the photo. Much of the stuff lies inside the tube. Many cosmetic products can be gleamed: pomade in bottle, face powder in disc canister, perfume in atomizer, and the like.


Remaining shampoo can be recovered by rinsing bottle, or cutting sachet and turning inside out.

 4. Coffee. Pour one-half cup water into empty bottle to loosen caked layer. Add hot water in the amount desired. (Don't pour hot water directly, otherwise bottle will break. If you do, be sure to put a spoon first, then pour hot water.) Stir or shake bottle gently. (Warning: don't shake bottle with tight cover. Hot water exerts pressure.)

5. Sugar. Follow the same procedure as in coffee, unless the container is plastic. For cocoa, fruit juice in powder, and salt, follow the same procedure.

6. Other food. Rice crust (tutong) from pot; mayonnaise, jelly, jam, butter, from their containers. Learn practical techniques to glean in the kitchen and refrigerator. You will save a lot. And get rid of the mess and vermin that thrive on wasteful living.

7. Wax. Gather candle stubs, spills, and broken ones, preferably of the same make and color. Remove impurities. Scrape and chop thinly, and melt in a suitable pan over low fire. Common molds are glass vase, bamboo or PVC tube Use pure cotton thread for wick.

8. Soap. Scrape and dissolve in water. Thoroughly mix, filter with cloth. Transfer filtrate into empty hand wash dispenser. You may adjust concentration according to use or preference. You may add freshener or perfume. You can reprocess remnants into "new soap".

9. Motor Oil. collect remaining oil after filling up your car's need. and place it in a clean container for future use. Do this everytime you change oil. Be sure new and used oil do not combine in one container. Label properly.

10. Other applications -
Make it a habit to get only what you eat, and don't leave morsels.on your plate. Don't waste food. Keep excess food in the ref and recycle it for the next meal into say, sinangag (fried rice). 

Use the other side of paper for less formal applications like keeping notes. Recycle paper into wrappers, fuel starter when using firewood. Or sell in junkshops.
In carpentry don't throw away wood wastes. Small pieces have many uses, so with sawdust, woodchips and planer's waste. These are alternative fuel materials.

List down at least ten (10) other applications of gleaning, which you can apply in the home and community.

*LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

How's my grooming? A self examination

How's my grooming? A self examination

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Quite often on the road I read from the rear of a bus or van, “How’s my grooming?” printed bold and clear. Below it is written a telephone number or two you can call. It is a discreet message. If the driver of the vehicle you are following is reckless, you may call the attention of the owner of the vehicle or the government regulatory office.

Anna, daughter of the author, poses with a prize orchid, symbol of grace and beauty.  

Corollary one may ask the same question, “How’s my grooming?” Here is a set of questions to find it out. (True or False)

1. We are judged the way we talked as much as they way we look.

2. It’s all right to cause embarrassment on another as long as it is not your real intention.

3. Pronounce words properly, use correct grammar, follow correct logic and syntax, and refrain from mumbling.

4. It’s all right to be talking about yourself after you have done a great job.

5. It’s all right to ask personal questions from a friend even without first asking permission.

6. There are times you have to ask “intrusive” questions as host of a program to add spice or give more light.

7. It is old fashion to say Please and Thank you. Smile is enough these days.

8. One can be clean and yet untidy, and vice versa. 

9. In fashion and cosmetics, “Excess can be a mess.”

10. Good teeth and fresh breath always go together.

11. Keep your mouth closed when chewing. Take small bites. Eat quickly.

12. Say excuse me when you have to go the restroom without telling you are going there, or to answer the call of nature.

13. Sit and walk straight. Maintain good posture always even at home.

14. Dressing appropriately means you have to be in fashion.

15. Try to make as little noise as possible in all situations – when eating, walking, talking, working, etc. – even in your home.

16. Mobile phone etiquette is chiefly not disturbing others with it.

17. Laugh, smile, giggle, cry with dignity. Do not make a scene.

18. Be interested with people and things around you but be discreet.

19. Grooming is applicable only in formal occasions and places, not in your leisure and privacy.
grooming caricature.

20. Grooming distinctly separates men and women. It’s gender distinction. It gives dignity to being a gentleman or a lady.

21. One may be fashionable but not well groomed.

22. When one is in his advanced senior years, grooming does not apply to him anymore.

23. People with gender problem find it difficult to adjust with proper grooming. Often grooming result to mere attraction.

24. Never touch another person’s belongings without asking permission.

25. Never assume anything about anyone. Caution, caution.

ANSWERS: 1t, 2f, 3t, 4f, 5f, 6f, 7f, 8t, 9t, 10f, 11t, 12f, 13t, 14f, 15t, 16t, 17t, 18t, 19f, 20t, 21t, 22f, 23t, 24t, 25t.

RATING:
24 - 25 You are a model
21 - 23 You are well groomed, no doubt.
18 - 20 More finesse, please.
17 and below  Learn more, and remember "Practice makes perfect."

LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid
People's School-on-Air, DZRB 738 KHz AM Band

Live Naturally: Take heed of your biological clock,and listen to Nature's call

Live Naturally: Take heed of your biological clock,and listen to Nature's call 
Take heed of your biological clock. Remember to attune it with that of Nature all the time. Nature is the best teacher, healer and guardian for a happy, healthy and fulfilled living.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

An emerging new generation before a wall mural of nature painted by the author at his residence in Barangay Greater Lagro in Metro Manila, 2015

Life is full of surprises and conflicts, which makes living a challenge, in fact a battle. We face this battle every day and everyone is engaged in it.  And who is the enemy? Pogo, the comic character said, “The enemy is us.” 

This dilemma of living is man’s oldest quest for a happy and contented life. Literature builds on this conflict. The plot in Shakespeare dramas is man pitted against himself. In Ernest Hemingway’s novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, “the bell toll for no one but thee.” The Little Prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s novel of the same title, tells us of a lost pilot in the desert visited by a young prince. The young visitor was no other than the pilot himself – the ideal, the faithful, the just, the courageous, the hopeful, forgotten by time and habit.

In our present world we face more and greater conflicts. Even with so-called progress and affluence, living has not been any better than that of our ancestor in health, peace, contentment, social bonding, and other basic parameters.

It is because they lived close to Nature, defined in many ways: Ceres, the goddess of bounty in Greek mythology, Venus the goddess of natural beauty, Maria Makiling guardian of a virgin mountain forest. Neptune guardian of the creatures of the sea.   Nature as defined in herbal medicine, organic farming, a weekend spent in outdoor camping, of breast-fed children. 

Experience nature with the cool wind of amihan, the first strong rain in May with lilting urchins braving the downpour, thunder and lightning.  Listen to Nature’s orchestra played by the cicada, crickets, frogs, pelting rain in treetops, hissing and rumbling streams, lapping of waves on the shore, lullaby at the crib, whining of a dog at his arriving master. And many other natural events we may lured away from too much TV viewing, computering  and malling.      

Why, the nipa hut has become an extension of expensive houses.  In this humble dwelling the residents would rather eat with fingers, enjoy a round of beer or brewed coffee.  Here they take life casually and simply without fear of soiling the rug, staining the furniture, accidentally knocking fragile souvenirs, dirtying the marble floor. The nipa hut offers a more friendly abode, it is Filipino; it is Oriental. There’s a feeling of being at home, so with guests.  And that relegates our palatial homes museums – museums within our lifetime.    

The idea of living naturally is not a new movement.  And now, it has blown globally as a  revolution – call it environmental revolution, economic revolution, moral recovery, return to basics, and other names. For the first time Change is being challenged since the Renaissance in the fifteenth century.  

Here are some ways to live naturally. This outline is a result of sessions, hands-on and on-site learning.    

1. Broil instead of fry. Prefer fresh to processed. Native to genetically modified (GMO). Homemade to purchased. 

2. Cook at home, eat less in restaurants and fast foods

3. Eat slowly (without TV), savor your food. You will eat less this way. Chances are, you don’t get fat easily. 

4. Use glass and china, instead of plastic and styro containers 

5. Take shower without heater – it is healthier. 

6. Wrap food with banana leaves, instead of aluminum foil or plastic.

7. Avoid cosmetics as much as possible, Many cosmetics contain mercury, lead and other harmful ingredients. 

8. Discourage atomized products and CFCs - they destroy the ozone layer.

9. Beware of promo and ad products. Don’t be guiinea pig of experimental products.

10. Don’t be fooled by attractive packaging. You are not getting the real worth of your money, and contribute to wastes as well. 

11. Strengthen your immune system, build good health. Avoid too much hygiene. Over protection is bad in the long run.

12. Bike. Camp. Walk. Take heed of your biological clock. Remember to attune it with Nature’s – all the time. Nature is the best teacher, healer and guardian.
   
Please continue this list and pass it to your family, friends, and community. 

LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

There’s no place like Home! Here is a checklist.

There’s no place like Home

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Living with Nature School on Blog

Brick farm house in acrylic, by AVR

                                                          

Home, Sweet Home

By John Howard Payne
Music by Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855)
(Arranged for the violin and piano by Henry Farmer)

‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.
Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;
O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singingly gaily, that came to my call –
Give me them – and the peace of mind, dearer than all.
Home, Home sweet, sweet Home.
There’s no place like Home! 
There’s no place like Home!
Home Sweet Home is one of my favorite pieces on the violin. My daughter would accompany me on the piano in my lectures, and on one occasion, in a concert. The arrangement made by Henry Farmer is made up of three variations revolving on the popular melody of the song. Home Sweet Home was popularized by the pioneers who left their homes in the Old World and settled in the New World - America.

One of the lessons I discussed lately on the school-on-air program - Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid - is about home and family. It was one of the liveliest lessons ever conducted on air with many enthusiastic callers who shared their concepts and views about a happy home. 

Here is a short list. Here is a self-administered evaluation.  Use a scale of 1-10 in increasing importance or value to you. (The use of Analogy is to enrich imagery.)

1. Home is a roof for everyone, residents and guests.
2. Home is a wall with large windows that let the sun and the breeze in.
3. Home is where fish in the aquarium sparkle in the morning’s sun.
4. Home is a baby smiling, of children playing.
5. Home is a faithful husband and wife.
6. Home is a “place for everything and everything in its place,” but not always.
7. Home is dad and mom waiting for us from school.
8. Home is a workshop for hobbies and inventions.
9. Home is where our dog lies on the doormat waiting for its master.
10. Home is a litter of puppies and kittens.

11. Home is a rooster crowing, nature’s alarm clock.
12. Home is a house lizard’s crispy announcement of a guest coming.
13. Home is a frog croaking in the rain.
14. Home is a safari of wildlife – from insects to migratory birds.
15. Home is a warm embrace of a cat.
16. Home is a cup of coffee, a sip of wine, a newspaper.
17. Home is a warm bath, a cold shower, a bath tub.
18. Home is National Geographic, Time Magazine, Daily Inquirer.
19. Home is ripe tomato, succulent radish, dangling string beans,
20. Home is a brooding mother hen in her nest.

21. Home is fresh eggs everyday.
22. Home is the sound of birds and crickets.
23. Home is the sweet smell of flowers, falling leaves, swaying branches in the wind.
24. Home is the sweet smell of the earth after the first rain in May.
25. Home is a singing cicada in the tree.
26. Home is a swarming of gamugamo in the evening.
27. Home is a sala too small for so many friends.
28. Home is a cabinet of books, a study table, a computer.
29. Home is Beethoven, Mozart, Abelardo, Santiago.
30. Home is Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Sharon Cuneta.

31. Home is Amorsolo. Picasso, Van Gogh.
32. Home is potpourri of appetizing recipes, of the proverbial grandmother apple pie.
33. Home is pinakbet, lechon, karekare, suman, bibingka.
34. Home is a garden of roses, a grass lawn to lie on.
35. Home is an herbarium of plants, a gene bank.
36. Home is home for biodiversity, a living museum.
37. Home is doing repair that has no end.
38. Home is disposing old newspapers, bottles, metal scraps, used clothes.
39. Home is a midnight candle before an exam.
40. Home is a shoulder, a pillow, to cry on.

41. Home is Noche Buena.42. Home is fireworks on New Year.
43. Home is general cleaning on weekends.
44. Home is a soft bed that soothes tired nerves and muscles.
45. Home is a fire place, a hearth, which takes the cold out of the body and spirit.
46. Home is a Prodigal Son returning, Good Samaritan.
47. Home is a round table where thanksgiving prayer is said.
48. Home is laughter and music, prose and poetry.
49. Home is forgiving, rejoicing, celebrating.
50. Home is angelus and rosary hour.

To sum it all, Home is Home, Sweet Home.~

  Homeward Bound

                        There's one road you travel on down the bend:

going home every day in your life 'til its end.

when the sun is low, and when it's going down,
you have to leave, and home you're bound.

when the fowls roost in their favorite tree,
you too, shall cease in your work and spree.

when the leaves of the acacia tree start to fold,
start walking home, a wise advice of the old.

when the fields are empty, save the haystacks,
and some old gleaners bent on their backs.

when the prop roots of the balete appear ghostly,
even if you are afraid, don't show, act bravely.
when the bell tolls the Angelus, it's time to pray,
and every one pauses for a while on his way.

when approaching home the whole household
greets you - what a happy family to behold!

When the day is over, when life comes to an end,
finished or not your task, it's time to say Amen. ~

Stop Before You Reach Dead End!

Stop Before You Reach Dead End! 

Depression is today's biggest social dilemma especially the youth.  This article is addressed particularly to those who are potential victims of depression and its consequences, including suicide. 

Are you about to erupt like a volcano?

Dr Abe V Rotor

Are you about to erupt like a volcano? Painting in acrylic AVR 2016 

The road is fine all right and you are running fast because you want to reach your destination – or your goal. Then all of a sudden a signboard appears. Dead End.

Shocking. You are in your prime. You have a happy family, good breeding, good company, and bright future. Good life – oh, the malls, Internet, travel, medals, rubbing elbows with personalities, greetings everywhere you go.

What happened? Were you moving too fast in life because you want more? More money, honor, acquaintances, possessions, or just keeping up ahead? Or you are trying to escape? Escape from criticism, inadequacies? For not being able to cope up with the Joneses? Escape from tradition, because everything today must be modern? Escape from rural life because in the urban lies the golden city?

POM (Peace of Mind) Square

Of course you do not think of these while you are running. Then you start to walk, exhausted, and you look around. You are back to your senses. You realized you have not been a “square”. Your sense of dimension is lost and you did not care what shape you are in. Because you lost the integrated balance of the four pillars of a happy, fulfilled life.

• Intellectual/mental
• Spiritual
• Physical
• Psychological/Emotional

1. Physical – It's your health, body physiology, the machine and prime mover that keeps you going biologically. When was the last time you visited your doctor? Is your food balance? Maybe you are not getting enough exercise. Driving for hours does not constitute an exercise. Are you having difficulty to sleep, even only to rest? Imagine a machine breaking down because of strain.

2. Intellectual or mental – Your thoughts are assigned to two parts – the left for reasoning and the right for creativity. Either you have overtaxed the whole of your brain, or you failed to balance the two hemispheres. That's why it is important to attend to hobbies like painting and music (right brain) to balance the left which you use more often in office and home. As the body is subject to fatigue, so with the brain. A fatigued brain may lead to psychiatric condition that can not be relieved as easy as that of the body. Quite often extreme conditions are irreversible.

3. Psychological or emotional – Our psyche absorbs the impact of stress coming from the body and the mind – and from our spiritual being. Like a funnel the residues are accumulated here. Imagine a man staring at an artificial waterfall at a New York park. How many promising people are ruined by emotional problems? Jungian psychology explains that as we continue to repress our thoughts, our feelings, particularly those that are negative, the more we bury them deeper, storing them in our sub-conscious.

It means two things. First, we thought we have eliminated them. No, they come out in our dreams, they seep out into the unconscious in trickles that spoil many happy thoughts. Second, as we keep filling up the unconscious with more repressed thoughts, there comes a time that the tank so to speak, is likely to burst. There on a couch the potential victim, with the help of a psychiatrist, releases the pressure by withdrawing from the unconscious into the conscious chamber of the brain and flows out to his relief. Such rehabilitation requires rest and expurgation of the negative thoughts and experiences. It is only through this process that the psychiatric symptoms begin to cease.

4. Spiritual – The biblical Seventh Day is one for the spirit, a day of communication with our Creature, with Nature. It is a renewal of relationship between man and God, a re-invigoration of the soul. Emptiness can be easily felt, but quite often, it mingles with the kind of emptiness that is hard to fill. Our spiritual life suffers every time we act on something against our conscience. It becomes dull when we fail to do the things we should in accordance with our faith. I have heard of people complaining about the lack of “meaning in life.” For me, the answer lies not in our rationale thoughts, in our physical power or emotional or psychological makeup. In fact I believe that the lack of meaning is in the emptiness of the spirit. I recommend reading of A Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, founder of logotherapy - a field of psychology which helped prisoners in German prison camps in World War II to survive.

As I continue to write this article at Room 3031 at the UST hospital (September 20, 2001) I glimpse upon a Newsweek story about 30,000 Japanese a year have been killing themselves. The title of the article is “Death by Conformity.” It is about an epidemic of young Japanese pulling back from the world."

Take the case of a 29-year old salaryman. He described how he secluded himself for three years after resigning from his company. “I didn’t even know if it was day or night,” he confessed.

Another case is about a “corporate warrior” who became a victim of economic slump affecting his company in the late 1998. He became “spiritually” weakened by an anxiety he couldn’t comprehend. This is how the report pictured the fiftyish company executive.

“At first he couldn’t sleep. Then he grew physically weak each time the train neared the station nearest his office. On several occasions he rode to the end of the line. At one point, speaking on condition that he not be identified, he went to buy a rope, then put it in the trunk of his car to be prepared for the day when he would hang himself. Fortunately the day didn’t come. A doctor helped him from overcoming his depression.”

Hikikomori Syndrome

This malady is called in Japan hikikomori or social withdrawal, a debilitating syndrome, which affects as many as 1.2 million young people – 7 out of 10 of them are male. Symptoms include
• Agoraphobia
• Paranoia
• Aversion to sunlight
• Severe anxiety
• Antisocial
• Fear they are being watched
• Think they are ugly, they smell, etc.
• Loner
• Uncommunicative
• Sullen, sometimes even violent

Hope for the Flowers

Anyone who has read Paulas’ illustrated book, Hope for the Flowers, is certainly convinced that there is “nothing out there at the top.”

The story goes like this. Caterpillars scrambled up to the top, each outsmarting and climbing over one another, and forming a living pyramid. Each caterpillar wanted to be at the top.

Imagine a whole mass of living, dynamic bodies, writhing, shaking, in the like of the Tower of Babel. At the top each one thought must be beautiful. To be at the top is honor. The higher one goes the more the risk to slide and fall off to its death.

“But there is nothing up there.” The caterpillar, which had reached the top, said. But the others did not believe. A female caterpillar gave up and turned into a pupa hanging peacefully on a branch of a tree. Then one morning she metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly. Meantime her colleague continued on to struggle to the top of the pyramid.

She fluttered her wings in the morning sunshine and whispered something to someone she had met earlier. And the latter withdrew from the crowd, and followed the same thing she did. Then one morning he too, metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly, while his colleagues were still struggling in the pyramid.

And the two butterflies lived happily ever after.

People are like caterpillars. They are gregarious. They form columns and pyramids. They step on one another just to be at the top. Many are frustrated, many get injured or even killed. Irony is that there is nothing at the top but space far from heaven.~

Therapy through Drawing

COVID-19 Home Project 11: Therapy through Drawing
Dr Abe V Rotor

Drawing to calm you down and relax

Drawing to lull you to sleep.

When was the last time you found yourself overactive? Your pulse rate and blood pressure up?

Because you had a bad day in office. Maybe things did not turn out the way you expected. Overworked, or working non-stop. It's indeed a bad day. Or to start a day.

It's so quiet; everyone is asleep, except you. Just don't toss on bed. And don't reach for another shot or  bottle of beer. And don't down that sleeping pill. What you need is to relax until your eyelids become the heaviest thing, and the world closes before you.

How can you handle both? Actually the first and second make a continuum of what psychologists call rest. Rest is when the cares and worries of the world take a leave. A vacation. When fatigue and burden leave the body. Wear and tear stops and rehabilitation takes over. And it's your move to make all these happen. Our biological clock signals Nature call for us to stop, resign and forget things around. It tells us to recharge, to gain back that fresh feeling, that glow, that stride, that sharpness of mind, that disarming smile, that friendliness, that confidence - and all that makes us sing in our work and smile at people. Rest is the denominator of a beautiful life.

If you can't settle down to rest, get a piece of paper and pencil or pen.

"But I can't draw?"

Now, this is not drawing. It is drawing out. Draining out the toxins from your systems, nerves and muscles. Toxins are strayed neuro-electrical charges, unwanted adrenaline, substances from too much of the "good life." You need to take them out, and there's only one way - rest, good sleep, total relaxation, or simply, idleness. Let go off - everything.

Draw without effort. Start with the first model. You can modify it and come up with your own. Be original. Imagine the repetitious structures, their outlines, profiles, silhouettes. Don't copy, this is imagery drawing. Surrender. Let your body go limb progressively. Your pulse rate and heartbeat are now slowing down.

Go to the second model - rhythms. Draw the rhythms of the breeze. The rhythms of the waves. Winds blowing over a pasture or rice field, undulating like the sea. Beautiful music makes a harmonious motion of sound waves that is pleasing to hear. Follow the waves with lines.

Now you are completely relaxed. This is true surrender. Good night.

Yes, you can paint!

Yes, you can paint. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Author demonstrates use of pastel colors. Civil Service Commission, QC (circa 2002)

An arch of trees, watercolor

Red fish in acrylic; children's art workshop at the former St Paul Museum

Author conducts summer art workshop for children at National Food Authority, QC

Art is for both young and old. Art is not a matter of “right or wrong.” It is theory, and it is your own. This is what is known as expression. Art is expression. A holistic one because it takes many faculties to create one - from logic to imagination, from visual to touch, traditional to contemporary.

Group work takes away boredom, it is collectively inspiring and challenging. But work with your own thoughts, imagination, pace.

But first, how do you begin?

1. You need only three primary colors - yellow, red and blue. Plus a lot of white and a little black. You can create all the colors of the rainbow. And you can do more in various hues and shades.

2. Red and yellow make orange; yellow and blue, green; blue and red, brown or purple. If you combine the three primary colors in equal proportion, you’ll get black.

3. Secondary colors lead you to tertiary colors. If you get lost you can trace it back to secondary. And you will not deviate from your color scheme.

4. White makes any color lighter: red to pink, yellow to cream, navy blue to sky blue, black to gray, orange to tangerine.

5. Black darkens colors. It is used to make shades and shadows. Contrast. If too much, your painting become drab, even muddy.

6. You need simple tools. Hardware paintbrushes 1/2” to 3” wide are relatively cheap. For artist brushes, buy from bookstores and art supplies. Get flat brushes - smallest 1/16”, biggest 1”). Get one or two round brushes. Because latex is water based, you need only few brushes. You can wash them while paint is still fresh. 

Experiment, don’t be afraid. Take advantage of the natural characteristics of paints and other mediums, like cohesiveness, immiscibility, blending, slow or quick drying, etc.

7. Use disposable palette board such as cardboard and plywood. You can make your own canvas. Canvas is sold by yard from upholstery stores. You can make several paint canvases from a yard of 60” wide canvas. You can use illustration board. For murals I use marine plywood 1/2” to 3/4” thick, 4 ft by 8 feet.

8. Do not be afraid to experiment. Try finger painting. Palette painting. Paint as you imagine and feel. Don’t be exacting, unless your subject requires it.

9. Foundation or primer is the same white latex you will be using. I prefer gloss white latex. Get more white than any of the colors. Allow the primer to dry, sandpaper it before you start to paint. Latex dries fast, so you have to work fast, too - unlike oil, it takes hours or days.

10. As much as possible mix colors first on the palette board before you apply. Of course, you can experiment by mixing colors now and then on the canvas itself. You will discover new techniques and develop your style. Never use oil and latex at the same time, latex and lacquer. But you can use permanent ink markers for lines and margins, and to enhance details.

11. Work on the light areas first, like sky, then proceed to the dark areas, like group of trees, bottom of rocks, shades and shadows, last. Work spontaneously. You know when to stop, then prepare for a second or third - or nth sitting. One sitting normally lasts 30 to 60 minutes. Pause and study your work every after sitting.

Paint a harvest time scenery in your province or country. Do it on-the-spot with your family or friends, picnic style.

12. Never abandon your work. Every painting is a masterpiece in your own right, as long as you did your best with honestly and lovingly. Treasure it.

Express your fear, anger, and other negative thoughts and feelings. Make the canvas a battle field, like this mural I saw in the Reunification Palace in HoChiMinh City, formerly Saigon. Painting is therapy.

And remember, painting is not just a hobby. It is therapy. It is prayer. It is universal language. It is timeless. Art is a bridge of the known and the unknown, the Creator and His creation. ~

On-the -spot painting contest, UST 2012.  

Part 2 - Pleasance in Art:  LET'S PAINT TOGETHER 

Art is joy, art's therapy;
art's a happy story
on canvas or on the wall,
a divine gift to all.

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Murals painted by the artist in his residence in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

ASSIGNMENT:   Paint, yes you can. Join the group of old and young, beginners and enthusiasts, irrespective of faith, belief, personal condition, organization, and community. Get into action:

Get water-based latex paints, brush, plywood or canvas, from your nearest hardware and general store.

• Primary colors: Hansa yellow, Toluidine red, Thalo blue (pint size) to begin with.
• Gloss or flat white latex (liter size) for primer (first coat) and medium.  
• Brushes: 1 piece each size: 1", 2";  round and flat brushes: fine, medium, large, (or get a set).
• Hand spray canister (empty hair sprayer) to keep your painting fresh while painting.   
• Canvas: Illustration board, plywood, mounted canvas cloth (do-it-yourself). Apply white primer first, let it dry.
• Easel or stand. Improvise one; use as necessary. 

NOTE: Professional artists' tools and materials are expensive. Oil paints, watercolors, pastel colors have their own applications and preferences.  For now, use latex water-based paints (also called acrylic).

         

Underground river in Palawan painted on concrete wall with latex paint, with three dimensional effect from relief made of paint crust applied as paste to emphasize rocks. .   

Teachers, entrepreneurs - take time out

from school and whatever trade;

transients, residents, family, friends, 

leisure is life also made. 

An empty wall comes alive with freshness and joy and a message to the old world.

Young hands at work before an empty wall to make a mirror
of themselves for others to see now and in the years to come;
Innocence is preserved and revered, captured for posterity,
when childhood shall have passed its time, and life has began.  

Wonder how brief and natural, how swift the strokes to capture this 

catastrophe, an experience rare and daring, realistic and spontaneous.   

Youth expressed on canvas like an avalanche -

cascading river, and rocks falling;

ephemeral - then everything's suddenly calm,

life's passage for every human being.   

Loss of natural sense of belonging to one's birthplace is a crisis predisposing the young to move to the city in exchange of a simple and beautiful life..   

Take these kids into the blue sky and into their dreams,

vernacular and exotic said, real and fantasy;
bring down the mountains and valleys from their realms,
to where these kids long for the golden city.   

A grand dad, a retired university professor, by his side; 

this boy shall, all the world of beauty through the arts, abide. 

Two generations apart before a mural,

wonder which one lasts the longer;

Unless the artist himself's the maker,

whose will and thought last forever. 

One problem in comparative perspective  in this painting is solved by adding a small red sailboat in the distance, thus creating an illusion of prominence of  the islands. (Hundred Islands at Lingayen Gulf.).  

An artist is likened to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver, 

either in Lilliput where everything's small, 

or in Brobdingnag where everything's big;

at one time he's a midget, at another a giant,

his imagination soaring to the loftiest height. ~