LUTANG LEN-LEN

Kwentong Jollibee Valentine Series 2022: Dream Guy

Real love is loving someone

for who they really are.

Find the real meaning of love.

Prayers Help A Depressed Person

Prayers help a depressed person.  Saying a small prayer to get through a difficult time has a calming effect. A plea for help from a higher power offers more than just hope — it strengthens emotional health, too. That peace, that sense of meaning and connection that happens with prayer is what the depressed person needs.

Prayers lift the spirit and getting involved in church-based activities like joining a choir for instance reduces stress. Prayer meetings, and the singing and the music incorporated in these activities help you find your sense of purpose.

The spirit of heaviness is connected to depression, and the state we are in is our dysfunctional connection with God. When we feel downcast it tries to rob our hope. It brings a heavy, oppressive feeling. It tries to steal our faith. 

Depression tries to come over us like a dark, heavy cloud. When this cloud is hanging over us,  It can cause us to isolate, it wants to make us feel alone, and it tries to steal our relationship with God. 

When the pendulum of our emotional build-up is on an upward swing (and when the going gets tough, and the tough gets going), we start blaming God for not taking us out of the situation. We always see this situation happen to our family and friends.  Instead of asking for help from God, we blame Him. That makes the demon jump with joy, especially when our personal demons have succeeded in making us more distant from God.

When I am down and out, I usually go to a nearby church. Once when I was in Quiapo, and my problem seems unbearable, I walked on my knees, and the whole process was cathartic.  If you want to cry by all means do it.  It has a cleansing and releasing effect. I never have felt more relief ...

And when the problem comes, don't forget to thank Jesus.  It makes the demons (even your inner demons)  fuming mad when we thank the Lord even when the future looks grim and dim.

Hibiscus of the Day: Peach Lion Tailed Hibiscus

Hibiscus ID: Lion Tailed Hibiscus

Bought From Iloilo City

Can Be Seen at Main Street

 

The peach lion-tailed Hibiscus is not a hybrid cross but is instead a naturally occurring genetic mutation called a Sport. The unusual flower hanging from a flower form and vigorous growing plant make this one an excellent choice for gardeners of any skill level, as well as an excellent gift choice.

Commentaries: How About A Virtual Miss World 2021

 One well-meaning friend is suggesting if Miss World 2021 could be done virtually just to wind up this lingering and long-drawn-out drama that has already annoyed a lot of fans around the world.  This saga-epic has already been delayed and dragged for months now and it has tested our patience and from the looks of it some quarters have dried up their endurance and equanimity and with this lawsuit looming on the horizon ... it is just like a Damocles sword waiting to fall.

Did Miss World at least have Plan B just in case problems come to surprise them ... or when things did not happen as planned. Miss World crisis management should look for possible scenarios just like what happened in Nigeria when violent protestors disrupted the proceedings that turned out gory and bloody in the end that the candidates need to be enplaned and diverted in London to finally hold its finals.  They need to be one step ahead before the actual problem can paralyze the whole process.

The sad thought about this is, somebody concocted again another last-minute challenge to drumbeat the March 16 coronation, and candidates pour their hearts out to make good and this lawsuit news is another punch in the gut for them, making them wonder if there will be another postponement?  Take for instance Miss World Philippines

Tracy Maureen Perez made good in last December's challenges, and now she is duplicating the feat by being number 1 again in this February challenge. And the other candidates too like Vietnam or India? What chances would there be that they will forget all this added premium Tracy or the other candidates have amassed to advance their Miss World journey?

Miss World has to act now.  Its experience with Covid, and now the lawsuits making up a bitter icing on the cake is totally ruining its name as one of the major four pageants. If the candidates need to embark on the next plane to London like what they did in that Nigeria debacle, so be it.  I know it is easier than done, but if they have done it before, there is no reason why they can't do it now.

If they think it is expensive,  then virtual finals are the best option.  The candidates are agonizing and so are the pageant fans.  We can't afford another postponement, and the wait has been tedious and wearisome.

Ways To Help a Depressed Person

There are some ways to help a depressed person.

1. One of them is listening.   The rule of thumb here is if you are the person assigned to take care of her, you should be a good and active listener.

It’s better to be interested than interesting. To do this, be quick to listen and slow to speak, and not interrupt her. You seek first to understand instead of to be understood.  This will create a safe environment for the other person to feel heard and valued. By becoming genuinely interested in the other person’s perspective, you help the other person trust you and share honestly what they believe and why they believe it.

2. Another proven tip to make you a good and active listener is not to judge. Be empathetic as empathy is the ability to understand the feeling of others.

Listening is empathy in action as you try to see a situation through another person’s eyes. If you see or consider something through another person's eyes, you consider it in the way that she does and share it from her point of view.

You can’t do this when you’re judging them as they open up to you. Remember that people will open up more when you’re not judging them. Extend respect, compassion, and grace following the dictum of the Golden Rule. Extend respect the way that you want respect extended to you.

3. Encourage the person to vent or talk. Sadly, the Pinoy culture doesn’t teach people to verbalize their emotional wounds. Our culture encourages people to contain and quash unwanted feelings. You heard your mom telling you not to complain about problems or not to reside or“dwell” on them. How often have you heard friends telling you to “get over it” and to “be robust and tough,” meaning “don’t feel anything—and if you do, tell nobody.  Don’t even talk about it or show it.

For men especially, emotions like sadness, loneliness, anxiety disappointment, guilt, and shame are treated as inappropriate. In a macho world, I can't forget my dad telling me when blue spells come,  "Be strong ... little man."

As a result, many people end up trying to hide their tears and vulnerability, thus creating more alienation and isolation. 

Ironically, suppressing our feelings and being deprived of warm contact actually makes us more susceptible to depression.

4. And the most practical way ... be with your family or friends and watch your favorite TV show even if they don't know that

you are dying inside.  You can also have the option of confiding to them. 

5. And also don't go out and drown your misery with alcohol.  Alcohol is never the answer to all our problems.  And by the way, if you forget this bit of information: Everyone has a problem, I don't know of anyone who is exempted from it.

PAGOD LEN-LEN