repost: got milk?

Just a quote: “Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.” – Frank L. Visco as quoted by Bob Ong in “Stainless Longganisa”

Got Milk?

“In time, grass will become milk.” You heard it over the radio, from one of the more sensible disc jockeys on frequency modulation. A flamethrower of ideas was instantaneously set afire inside your head, and your definition of patience went through a minor makeover, making it a little more interesting.

Trying to humor yourself, you came up with your own versions of the dictum and went: “In time…

- pig feed will become pritson.”

- worms will become baticolon.”

- grapes will become wine.”

- barley will become whiskey”

- mice will become siopao.” (now that’s starting to sound obscenely distasteful)

People get the drift all right. (Something stopped you before you could even include: “In time, cemetery soil will become the sweetest mangoes,” and completely lose the drift. Haha.)

Setting aside all graphic telling, you got back to your brainwork (Oh yes, there is brainwork, hehe).You wondered, isn’t being Filipino the ultimate test of patience?

For someone who could not even grow her hair back to a length she can once more pull back, who are you to talk about patience? (Ahem, i have now grown my hair long, only because i do not went to spend too much for a haircut in sg, hehe, kuripot me :-p)

Let us just say, patience is not absolute. You can be patient in some situations and fretful on other occasions; patient with other people including yourself and complaining toward those whom you simply find difficult. In any case, patience is certainly something all people can find a very good use of. Something that could probably work wonders, more than turning mice into siopao (sorry about that). Who would refuse the power to endure something difficult without much complaint?

“Something difficult” could mean, knowing yourself, finding your direction and purpose It could also mean enduring people’s nuances (your wife’s nagging may just be her way of showing she cares, husbands must be laughing; your boss’s seemingly unreasonable demands; your best friend’s mood swings; your mom’s rigid discipline, etc.). Perhaps this “something difficult” could be persevering in your one true passion and continuously improving your craft with a good amount of steadfastness.

Then again, patience could simply be about living your life through all its complexities.

Even when you seem to run in circles, the idea remains encouraging: “In time, grass will become milk.” (april 2006)