Losing Relationships

I empathize with anyone who is in pain and I truly understand what you are going through as of the moment. The best of us have undergone this situation one time or another in our lives. Just recently, I have been subjected to such an event. Not by my choice, mind you. Moreover, like all the others before it, it was not a pleasurable episode.

It is painful to put a strain on or even lose any kind of relationship especially when you have already invested considerable time, energy, and emotion into it. However, reality bites that sometimes, things just do not work the way we envisioned them to be. Nevertheless, should we wallow in sorrow and retreat ourselves into the darker recesses of our inner being when everything crumbles? My answer is an unequivocal, yes. In that particular time frame, one has all the right to be. For in our lonesome and in our darkness, we learn to look at ourselves from within and from another angle amidst the emptiness surrounding us.

At this stage, each of us has our own threshold of how long we stay on this level. The sooner we realize that we deserve something better than what we have in our temporary predicament, the sooner we emerge from the darkness like the mythical phoenix, reborn from the ashes of the past, and with the flames burning bright towards a better future.

"Move on", two words we commonly say, and hear people say when one chapter ends and another is on the wings. However, allow me to augment that, personally, "moving on" in itself is an inaccurate description of what we should do. For when we say move on, it simply illustrates the physical and mental state from one point to another. I say inaccurate, since saying "moving on" is an incomplete phrase. It simply says we move, but it does not say "where to." For we can say move on up, move on down, move on sideways, move on forward, or, even move on backwards.

I say my friend, make your move a more positive one, and state with conviction, "There is no other way for me to go but to move on forward. I am done being down, so along with that I will also move on up. Hello world, I am back!"

So keep on believing that there is someone out there we truly deserve to be with, and someone who deserves us. Also learn to say a silent prayer of thanks, that we live another day as the Creator intended for us. Thanking Him for the opportunity that we exist not because we need it, but we exist for the simple reason that someone out there needs us. We exist not just as an object of their affection, but also as their guiding light, and their angel on our short stay here on earth.

Note: Picture taken from the web.

Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife

When I get bored to my guts and really wanted to have some peace and quiet or just want a change of scene, I just step out of the house and trek anywhere within the OLD FORT BONIFACIO. I just grab a book and read away under almost century old acacia trees. Just me, my book, under a tree, sometimes atop its branches, while a cool and gentle zephyr blows. But ever since "development" of THE FORT and the coming of modern structures, the natural ambiance and serenity of the place vanished along with the trees and endemic wildlife. Gone is the peace and quiet, leaving only bits and patches of "untouched" land as you see in the picture below.

An almost century old acacia tree still left untouched in Fort Bonifacio today

But, now that tall edifices replaced the once tree laden FORT, I go back to Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife in Quezon City. It has been a while since I last visited this park. For those on a budget, both time and money, the park is a quick getaway for those who want to commune with nature or for those who just wants to sit back and relax, without ever leaving the city. I just hope cities in around the metro with patches of land to spare, can make parks like these for all to enjoy.

Details of Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife

Location: Quezon City
Entrance Price: PhP15/car; PhP8 per person

For first timers. Make sure you fully charge your Digital Cameras and Video Cameras. Bring extra batteries if you have to for there are lots of great vistas wherein you can have photo ops with friends in nature scenes, and with various flora and fauna as backdrops. Coming to the park is far more rewarding in my opinion, to relax by your lonesome, a special someone, or be with friends and/or family while communing with nature other than gallivanting in concrete jungles (READ: Malls).

For those who haven't been to Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife, check out the pictures below. These were all taken inside the park.

Other Write ups:

A refreshing experience of the woods and its wildlife in a safe environment. Quezon City harbors such a place. Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife was started in the mid Martial Law years (late 70s to early 80s). It’s an 80-hectare city forest reserve for woodland and animal life. It is along the Elliptical Road in Diliman, Quezon City, across the Quezon Memorial Circle.

From downtown Manila travel takes, via the España-Quezon Avenue route, some 45 minutes to an hour. Public transportation plying Quiapo to Philcoa or Fairview will never fail to drive past this Philippine tourist spot in Quezon City. It’s right at the very tip of Quezon Avenue right across Kidney Center and Lung Center of the Philippines.

Named “Philippine Parks and Wildlife” in the Marcos administration, it was changed to “Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife” in the reign of President Corazon Aquino. This Philippine tourist spot in Quezon City boasts of a number of caged wild animals and tree and plant species, plus a vast playground, deeply shaded promenades, a man-made lagoon, eatery, huts and cottages, among others.

Lots of school excursions, tourist trips, movie and commercial shooting, and casual visits are scheduled in this Philippine tourist spot in Quezon City. Even health buffs like joggers and volleyball and badminton aficionados frequent it, especially in early mornings. Picnic grooves and huts are best for outdoor meals and helpings are available at the eatery beside the lagoon.

The lagoon is littered with benches at its edges under big tree shades. A sunken amphitheater is at its bank. It is a favorite hang out of lovers, book readers, bonding families, idle visitors, and students rehearsing a drama or concert. Others celebrate religious fellowships there and display public communion with their Creator. The lagoon has an extended covered port where curious visitors can venture farther and nose around for what may be hiding in the lake.

Life activities of men, the wilds, and nature burst with vibrancy at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wild Life. This wooded haven standing right in the midst of business affords travelers with an accessible Philippine tourist spot in Quezon City.

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NOTE: All photos except THE ACACIA were taken from the Web.
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