The Coming of Spring - "The Garden of Eden is regained on earth in Spring."

The Coming of Spring

"Birds sing again in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

The Coming of Spring in acrylic by AV Rotor,

Brisbane, Australia, August 7, 2023

Frances Burnett's Secret Garden opens in Spring;

Birds sing again in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life's peaks in Spring;

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons opens with Spring.

The Garden of Gethsemane brings new life in Spring.

The Garden of Eden is regained on earth in Spring.

John Denver sings

"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry. Sunshine on the water looks so lovely. Sunshine almost always makes me high." 

 Composer-conductor Gustav Mahler says

"With the coming of spring, I am calm again. Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again." 

"A kind word is like a spring day." - Russian Proverb

Sweet Memories of Childhood with Nature in 4 Paintings with Verses

 Sweet Memories of Childhood with Nature

in 4 Paintings with Verses

"Oh, how we love the fields like farmers do,

But not our classmates in school though;

And Nature more than our teachers know

What the sun and rain in childhood sow." - avr 

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Bring Home the Waterfalls

            Art Workshop for Children before a wall mural by the author in his family

residence (Living with Nature Center) in San Vicente Ilocos Sur, 2017.

Bring home the waterfalls

to make it cool and green,

and grow ferns and mosses

on the wall like screen.

To deaden the roar of cars

with sweet hissing sound,

break away the stillness

where its water is bound.

Shower the scorched earth

but make the summer longer

for the kids to play around

until the season is over.

Lend beauty to the arts,

in painting, verse and song,

in solace and meditation

from the maddening throng. ~

                               Children Fishing after a Heavy Rain

           Painted from childhood memory by AVRotor, acrylic on canvas, 2002

Oh, how we love the fields like farmers do,

But not our classmates in school though;

And Nature more than our teachers know

What the sun and rain in childhood sow. 

                               Wish by the Sea

Details of Mural by AVRotor 2008

Wish the dawn comes early,

      the tides kind and low,

the bay calm and creaseless,

      and time moves slow.

Wish the wind to build up

     to a frightful rage,

the waves lap the shore

     to test courage.

Wish the picnic in another time

     and let the plans be gone;

too mean, or too naïve, the sea,

     it waits for no one.

Wish whichever mood the sea,

     lovers are blinded by ire,

ease and danger, in a drama

     close to water and fire. ~

Childhood Memories

Autumn in summer

Ambiance of Autumn in summer in the Philippines

in acrylic by the author c 2002

Childhood is when nobody misses

The morning before the sun rises,

Before the herons stake for fish,

And finches chirp in the trees.

War is fought with kites and fishing poles,

In hide-and-seek and barefoot races;

Faith grows with seasons the sky extols,

Virtues all that friendship embraces.

Summer is short, rainy days are long,

All these are but passing imagery,

For the young can’t wait, yet all along

The years, remains a lasting memory. ~

 

Composite Wall Mural of Nature - A Glimpse into Our Living World

                             Composite Wall Mural of Nature

A Glimpse into Our Living World

 Wall Mural Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

"Wonder how our world looks like when the sky, land and sea are combined into one piece like a jigsaw puzzle, the trees becoming part of the sky, the clouds merging with the sea, the mountains and hills flowing down the valley, and all things living and non-living are arranged into one peaceful network." - avr

 

The deep sea and the vast sky are but one, as fish and birds merge yet distinct and free in their own habitats, the sun and other elements of life keeping them in unity and harmony through homeostasis a biological phenomenon we may never fully understand.   

And when we find silence in its deepest expression, it is the breeze passing, birds chirping, crickets fiddling, gecko calling, mist turning into dewdrops, or the silence on the distant hills and meadows, that inspire man to create his greatest compositions in colors, music and literature, albeit a child drawing the clouds, or sailing  on a stream with a leaf adrift.   

\

The waterfall roars and settles down into a stream, joins a river, taking with it many a laughter, sweat and tear, yet it brings new life to fields and pastures, wakes up seeds and flowers, and down it continues its journey to the estuaries, shores and the sea like a returning child, only to be reborn into cloud and rain, onto the watershed where it begins as a waterfall again.  

Rocks may appear lifeless at first, yet they are the precursor of life itself, the birthplace of algae, fungi, and their special symbiotic kin the lichens, and soon they soften and exfoliate into soil.  The lowly moss settles down, followed by ferns and lianas forming a prototype forest, which through time, evolves into a true forest, a transformation in biodiversity and ecological evolution beyond our lifetime, yet  many generations in the future benefit out of the process and ultimately its final state as an ecosystem. 

More than knowledge and subsequently wisdom in some ways, lies the lighter side of human nature that takes us into a realm of happiness and joy, a state of the mind, which we have the capacity to share with others, thus earning for us the role as disciples of creation, and therefore protectors of Mother Earth.   

How little do we understand the mystery of Creation no mortal could possibly share, even with the genius of man we extoll to be the apex of rationality.  Now and then we are reminded of our frailty, our folly and lofty dreams, to conquer darkness in the way we attempt to fill the emptiness of our lives, offer the fullest reverence to the One responsible of everything in our world and the whole universe, through the arts in its holistic expression, the Humanities. ~ 

10 NATURE Paintings with Verses:

 10 NATURE Paintings with Verses

              Ode to the Grass:

 "In summer you turn golden, and bow,
   and die sweetly to feed the world." - avr

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

GRASS
Painting in acrylic (18" x 21")

Sway with the breeze, dance with the wind;
Greet the sun with dewdrops clinging;
In summer turn golden, and bow,
And die sweetly to feed the world.

A LOVELY PAIR IN A BOWER
Painting in acrylic (11.5" X 16")

Let the world go by in their bower,
lovers blind to the busy world,
away from the maddening crowd;
fleeting moment is forever,
to this pair in their lair.

Wonder in our midst who we are,
blind to each other, but the world,
strange this crowd we are in;
where's this lovely pair,
where's their bower?


SYMBIOSIS
Pisces and Echinoderms
Painting in acrylic (8" X 10")

Distant in phylogeny, yet live they together
in one community we call ecology,
ever since the beginning of our living world,
millions of years ago before man was born
to rule, to reign supreme over all creation;
wonder what Homo sapiens means
to true peace and harmony
beyond his rationality.

TOO SOON THE BUD OPENS
Painting in acrylic (12" x 17")

You come in springtime and autumn,
too eager a bud ahead of your time;
what promise of life awaits tomorrow
from where you've broken through?

Whichever path you take from now,
you'll miss the adventure of youth
in summer, and stillness of winter,
Oh, how could you live to the full?

"For having lost but once your prime,
you'll always tarry," so says a poet;
"It's now or never," so sings a bard,
and I, I've neither a poem nor a song.

SEA URCHIN

Painting in acrylic ( 11" x 13.5")

You're all made of spikes,
I can't see the real you;
in your invincible armor
in any view.

Wonder how many of us
live like the urchin
in silent, unknown ways
and never seen.

SECRET OF THE HEART
Painting in Acrylic (13.5" x 13.5")


Hidden, the heart throbs
in deep silence;
two nails embedded,
unseen in pretense
of living, loving, caring,
the highest art,
filling the five chambers
of the heart.


INNOCENCE IN NATURE
Painting in acrylic (17.5" x 21.75")

Abstract over realism can you paint innocence,
move over classics, you are too pure
to be true, and impressionism too assuming,
with apologies to Monet's azure sky.

Oh! abstract indeed is a child's innocence,
buds in early spring, grains ripening;
heart of a true friend, pledge of real love,
growing in the passing of time.

Colors are mere symbols, wanting to behold,
the magnificence of mind and heart,
triumph of the human spirit over our frailty,
the most challenging of all art.~

ART OF THE CATERPILLAR
Painting in acrylic (11” x 14”)

Caterpillar, when you are gone
two things come to mind:
the butterfly you have become,
and the damage you have done
and left behind.

Art, art, whatever way defined,
the subject on the wall,
or dripping on the floor,
art, art you aren't hard to find
after all. ~

WEANING
Painting in acrylic (8” x 10”)

A trio in adventure weaned out
of their nest too soon;
to explore the world beyond,
like the Prodigal Son.

What lies in the deep and dark
cavern with many eyes,
but monsters real or imagined
lurking for a prize.

It’s inevitable stage of life,
all creatures undergo;
weaning - crossing the bridge
and cutting it, too.


FISH SWARMING
Painting in acrylic (9” x 17”)

I’ve seen jellyfish swarming,

plankton in coral reefs glowing;

a myriad fireflies mingling
with the stars, linking us all
to a Supreme Being. ~

How's my grooming? A self examination

How's my grooming? A self examination

"Simplicity, good taste and grooming are the three fundamentals of good dressing and these do not cost money." - Christian Dior

Grooming enhances dignity in the profession. Alumni meet after many years since high school. They are leaders in the fields of education, science, judiciary, law, legislation and military. Author is at the extreme left.

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog

Quite often on the road, I read on 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. Corollarily 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. 

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 "Practice makes perfect." 

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid 738 AM with Dr Abe V Rotor and Ms Melly C Tenorio 8 to 9 evening Monday to Friday.

Sail Boats Forever

Sail Boats Forever

“I wanted freedom, open air, and adventure. I found it on the sea.”

— Alaine Gerbault, French Sailor

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sailboats in acrylic by AVRotor c. 2004

What a crude game, you may say,

Of my ancestors’ sailboats catching

The breeze, docking the gusts,

Edging the rocks, sans compass

Or sextant, map and telescope.

What prize is at stake? Not a trophy.

Yet the instinct craves for a prize

Like in The Old Man and the Sea;

A prize he found, mindless of people.

Who saw nothing of his adventure.

Let the sailboats play in the wind

And water, let alone an old boat

At rest, sitting on rock like an old man,

Standing guard over the young, who too,

Shall someday play the same old game. ~

National Heroes Day: A glimpse into the lives and deeds of 42 Filipino heroes

 Philippine National Heroes Day August 28, 2023

A glimpse into the lives and deeds of 42 Filipino heroes  

We are engaged in a continuing battle which challenges every Filipino to become a "hero" as teacher, doctor, environmentalist, public servant, law enforcer, farmer - in fact, in all walks of life. In most cases he is the Unknown Soldier the world shall always remember to honor on behalf of those who made a difference in making our world a better place to live in.

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Dr. Jose Rizal - The National Hero.
2. Andres Bonifacio - The Great Plebian and Father of the Katipunan.
3. General Gregorio del Pilar - Hero of the Battle of Tirad Pass.
4. General Emilio Aguinaldo - President of the First Philippine Republic.
5. Apolinario Mabini - Sublime Paralytic and Brains of the Revolution.

6. GOMBURZA - Martyred Priests of 1872.

7. Trece Martirez - 13 Martyrs from Cavite.
8. Emilio Jacinto - Brains of the Katipunan.
9. General Antonio Luna - Cofounder of La Independencia .
10. Melchora Aquino (Tandang Sora) - Mother of Balintawak.

11. Graciano Lopez-Jaena - Greatest Filipino Orator of the Propaganda Movement.
12. Panday Pira - First Filipino Cannon-maker.
13. Mariano Ponce - Propagandist, Historian, Diplomat And Managing Editor of La Solidaridad.
14. Gregoria de Jesus - Lakambini of Katipunan and Wife of Andres Bonifacio.
15. Fernando Ma. Guerrero - Poet of the Revolution.

16. Felipe Agoncillo - Outstanding Diplomat of the First Philippine Republic.
17. Rafael Palma - Cofounder of La Independencia and First UP president .
18. Juan Luna - Greatest Filipino Painter.
19. Marcelo H. Del Pilar - Greatest Journalist and Moving Spirit of the Propaganda .
20. Leona Florentino - First Filipino Poetess(from Ilocos Sur).

21. Pedro Paterno - Peacemaker of the Revolution.
22. Isabelo delos Reyes - Founder of Philippine Socialism.
23. Artemio Ricarte - Revolutionary General, known as Viborra.
24. Jose Palma - Wrote the Spanish Lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem.
25. Lakandola - Chief of Tondo, Friendly to the Spaniards.

26. Rajah Soliman - The Last Rajah of Manila.
27. Leonor Rivera - Cousin and Fiancee of Jose Rizal.
28. Marcela Mariño Agoncillo - Maker of the First Filipino Flag.
29. Galicano Apacible - One of the Founders of Katipunan.
30. Jose Ma. Panganiban - Bicolandia's Greatest Contribution to the Historic Campaign for Reforms.

31. Diego Silang - Leader of the Ilocano Revolt.
32. Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang - Continued the Fight After her Husband's Death.
33. Lapu-Lapu - Chieftain of Mactan Who Killed Magellan. First Filipino Hero.
34. Francisco Dagohoy - Leader of the Longest Revolt in Bohol.
35. Epifanio delos Santos - A Man of Many Talents; the Former Highway 54 is Now Named After him (EDSA).

36. Francisco Baltazar - Prince of Tagalog Poets.

37. Teresa Magbanua - First Woman Fighter in Panay. Visayan Joan of Arc.
38. Trinidad Tecson - Mother of Biak-na-Bato.
39. Agueda Esteban - Wife of Artemio Ricarte Who Carried Secret Messages About Spanish Troops.
40. Marina Dizon - Daughter of one of the Trece Martirez

41. General Francisco Makabulos - Leader of the Revolt in Tarlac.
42. Julian Felipe - Composer of the Philippine National Anthem.

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

"Heroes are those who made a difference in making our world a better place to live in." - avr

Excellence is next to Perfection

Excellence is next to Perfection 

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or at eighty.

Dr. Abe V Rotor

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

In response to several requests, I am writing down this third part of Excellence.  The first and second part are posted in this blog. 

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian man, circa 1490 is also called the Canon of Proportions or Proportions of Man. The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius who described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical Orders of architecture.

1. "There is more to life than increasing speed." (Mahatma Gandhi)

"Haste makes waste,"  Stop-look-listen, has saved many lives. "He who runs fast cannot see the countryside." "Who walks fast gets a stabbing wound." "Stop before you reach deadend." These are some lessons I learned early from my dad.

I remember a story about a trader driving a cart loaded with coconuts for the market.
"How can I get there quickly?" he asked an old man on his way.

"Just go slow." quipped the old man.

"Foolish old man," he muttered and galloped on the dirt road.  The nuts spilled and rolled, he had to stop now and then to retrieve his nuts.  He reached the market late.

 2. We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Novelist Ernest Hemingway's favorite photo is one showing him kicking an empty can on the road, football style.

The lost pilot in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novelette, The Little Prince, found company with a  "little prince"  in the desert while trying to repair his plane.  The child turned out to the little child in oneself, the one who never grows old, who never loses hope and idealism. It is this child that enabled him to go back to civilization.

3. Whatever we possess becomes of double value when we share it with others. 

And if that possession is more than its material value such happiness or love or compassion, it does not only double but will multiply every time we share it with others.  Good deeds defy mathematical law. Kindness, in fact is the highest wisdom. (Talmud)

What makes Gone with the Wind an all-time top grosser is its superb portrayal of human frailties that continue to haunt us.

4. "Although the world is very full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." Helen Keller.

  
Helen Keller was blind since infancy.  She rose to fame to become one of the world's greatest women - author, teacher, philosopher - and proved that no infirmity in a person can prevent him or her to live fully and be of service to others. 

Many great men and women were able to overcome their own limitations.  Beethoven was totally deaf when he wrote his musical masterpieces. Claude Monet was losing his sight when his painted Water Lilies, his ultimate masterpiece in huge murals. We know of people around us who succeeded in life in spite of their sufferings.  Suffering to them  could be the compelling reason for success.  They took the least trodden path of life that is most challenging, yet the most rewarding. 

5. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or at eighty.
People struggle to learn to earn, to earn to learn, but the most difficult is to learn to learn.  If we do not open the door to knowledge, the world closes and leaves us behind. 

6. In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on. (Robert Frost) In fact it is Frost's theme in many of his poems such as Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, which ends with this stanza. 

                                          The woods are lovely dark and deep,
                                                  But I have promises to keep,
                                          And miles to go before I sleep, 
                                               and miles to go before I sleep. 

7.  "From the errors of others a wise man corrects his own." Publilus Syrus
This is not often the case.  Developing countries follow the path of industrialization of advanced country and commit the same mistakes. There are more broken families today than before, and in fact, increasing.  

8. When opportunity knocks, some people are in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers.
Many people take the four-lobed clover leaf as a symbol of good luck like marrying a rich guy, winning the Lotto's jackpot, stumbling on a gold mine. Mother luck is one-in-a-million chance, a castle in the sky, a wish come true in a falling star.

Luck is opportunity you take by the horn, so to speak. it is the fruit of labor.  Or one we read on a jeepney, "Katas ng pawis," a reward from perspiration.  Or "Katas ng Saudi" (Oversea's earning)  

 

Mimosa pudica (makahiya)

I pulled a joke on my students in a field lecture, "Whoever can pick an unfolded leaf of makahiya (Mimosa) will find his or her wish come true." Meantime I took a rest under a tree.                                                              

9. To some people truth is not only stranger than fiction, but it's a total stranger. 

A survey revealed that more and more Americans believe the Holy Bible as fiction. Others, to the extreme, detached themselves from organized religions.  They call themselves nones.  

I remember a story of two friends. One said, "I don't belief in a God." Evidently he is an atheist.

"Oh, I see!" quipped the other, as they continued walking on the golf range.

The sky was heavy.  Suddenly a bolt of lightning cracked nearby. The atheist automatically crossed himself and mentioned God.   

"I thought you don't believe in God." 

"Reflex action, lang yan."~

Ignorance is false reflection of truth. (UST Fountain of Knowledge) 

10. Nothing makes an argument more interesting than ignorance.

A debate may go on and on in the name of justice and honesty and love, ad infinitum. And quite often, ignorance hides under the skirt of Motherhood Statements where no one appears to be wrong. And truth becomes more difficult to find.

Argument for the sake of finding the truth tells us why Socrates, the father of philosophy and the most revered citizen of Athens in "the glory that was Greece"  was condemned to die.   Why Aesop, father of fables - moralism in animal stories - was pushed to his death from a cliff?    Ignorance is truly dangerous. the enemy of truth. It is not falsehood. 

In the list of the world's best political novels are Tolstoy's War and Peace and Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. Excellence has its own time and often accompanies a great idea whose time has yet to come.  

Lesson on former  Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday [www.pbs.gov.ph]