Letting go 2016

With all the calamity survivors and refugees, Father 2016 could be St. Basil the Great. He said: The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry. The cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked. The shoes you allow to rot belong to the barefoot. The money in your vaults belong to the destitute. You do injustice to every man whom you could help but do not.

Mediators' suggested reflection for disputants.

Awards

It's MMFF time again, which was initially proven not to be anti-septic.

In the US, they have the Critics' Choice. But mediators prefer the Golden (Rule) Globe.

This Closure

For all his brashness, Vice Ganda can be sensibly funny at times I call his Desiderata moments. He suggested to those without closure to carol the home of the ex and wait for the latter's "patawad po." He has also revealed that his father was killed with impunity on a Palm Sunday. Their family was rewarded for their forgiving nature when his siblings finally had their US visas granted around Palm Sunday, too!

A mediation lesson.

Condom nio

No typo, just what DOH wants to give out to schoolchildren. Are they now into sex education overlap with DEPED?

With a confused and confusing con-doctor, what did we expect from his interns?

Duty before Arte

That's how the name of the President should read. Instead, there is a mad scramble for change- in logos before attending to the issues. DOH now sports a half-pineapple- looking stylized flag and map, while Zika virus came to town. PNP has the same White House-inspired portrait, though not bullet-riddled. The tongue twister of a disasater relief agency borrowed the Universal Healthcare umbrella logo in a literal representation.

Full disclosure- we did the UHC logo.

Ire of the Tiger

Nobody wants a monkey on their back, which role PH seems to relish. From the US,

it has hopped to Black China. And we all know what happened to the Lady of Niger who rode on the tiger.

After DU30 sucked up to China, they returned the disfavor by increasing military installations on our EEZ.

The Chosen Family

We don't chose our family, today's birthday boy included. Bishop Robert Baron describes Jesus Christ 's lineage as dysfunctional, with descendants like a Moabite foreigner, Ruth and a prostitute, Rahab. Going further back, Cain killed his brother Abel, Jacob stole his elder brother Esau's birthright, Joseph was sold to slavery by his brothers, and David killed the husband of the woman he fancied. Even his cousin of priestly parentage, chose to go to the desert and there preach the evils of their day.

We see all shades of these in mediation.

So much time, so little to do

Talking like a retiree, that's my fave cat, Garfield.  Like his taste in food and tough love for Jon. Deep inside tho, he is a softie. He co-exists with their resident rat, Louis, who was blamed by Jon one time Garfield ate the lasagna. So outside their house, Garfield told Louis, "I'm supposed to eat you," and put Louis into his mouth till just its tail dangled out. Of course, Jon was delighted and after he left, Garfield promptly spat out Louis.

Win-win! 

Burned Heart

FYI featured this dog which kept throwing up its food. The vet found out it had a growth near the esophagus that was impeding digestion.

Heartburn, this time in relationships, is one issue tackled in mediation.

Sitting on it

Another take on empowering a person to fish instead of handing him a fish, Eckhart Tolle in "The Power of Now" narrates:

"Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap.
"I have nothing to give you," said the stranger, then asked "What's that you are sitting on?"
"Nothing, just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember," replied the beggar.
"Ever looked inside?" asked the stranger.
"No, what's the point. There's nothing in there," said the beggar.
"Have a look inside," insisted the stranger...
With astonishment, disbelief and elation, he saw that the box was filled wth gold.

Mediation opens the minds and hearts of disputants they have long been ignoring to solve their conflicts.