Peace, and the Sound of the Sea

The sound of the sea was the first sound I heard today, the first of 2011.

We live about 150 meters from the shoreline. I grew up liking the sea but I never polished my swimming strokes. I thought, I naturally float so why bother. *insertlaugh*

Our community is interesting. We pay a premium for the land our house stands on so technically, we are not squatters. BUT, all around us, its almost like that. Houses are all over you couldn’t sketch a decent map. Streets are not named (which usually causes delays when waiting for some delivery) Some houses are wall-to-wall close, open sewer, animal dung sunbathe on the pavement. It’s a melting pot of people from different walks of life, with different cultures. Some houses have tall fences and iron gates with elaborate details. Some don’t have fences. People spend more time talking on the nameless streets than inside their houses. It has been known too as the refuge of wanted criminals. It cannot be described as anything else but VILLA BARBAS.

On normal days, we would hear the neighbor’s TV, radio and their amplified blabber. It is also ordinary to hear motor engines, hammer sounds and well, occasionally, gunshots ( as with the case of our neighbour committing suicide).  But today, it was not a normal day. The moment I was conscious, I ONLY heard the humming of the sea.Yes, ONLY the humming of the sea.

I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. It is not everyday that it gets to be this silent.

Silence is golden. It doesn’t imply peace. But I believe silence highlights the presence or the absence of it.And today, in that solitary moment, I am glad I found PEACE:

I don’t have a bank account that would last me for the next ten years, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a job that would guarantee that I’d get a paycheck twice a month, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a car nor the mileage that would take me places, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a jaw-dropping resume that I could flash at anyone to get a job, and I’m fine with that.

And here’s why.

I knew what it was like to have money (that would make me last for about a few years.hehehe)  but it didn’t make me feel worry-free.

I knew what it was like to get paychecks every 15 days but it did not give me any guarantee of the next bite on my plate.

I knew what it was like to go places (no, I don’t know yet how it feels to drive my own car. Hehe!) but it only made me feel like a stranger.

I knew what it was like to get a fine job without having the need to apply for it, but it did not make me feel like I was at my best.

Peace is knowing that Someone feeds you, even if He has to send it through a raven.

Peace is knowing that Someone has already given you what you need, even if its not exactly what you want.

Peace is knowing that Someone will bring you to the right destination, even if you don’t see where you are headed.

Peace is knowing that Someone wants you to DO what He had created you to for, even if it means quitting what you think you are best at.

Peace is knowing that Someone has a perfect plan for everything, even if means ruining yours.

In 2010, there were days when ‘ravens’ fed me.  I didn’t get the ‘things’ I wanted. I boarded buses and planes to some unheard places. I lessened my ‘stage’ time and ‘parked my pen’ for some needful service. I saw precious people walk away. I watched my dreams dissolve into thin air.

But, unlike the chaos of my environment that has now gone back to normal as I write, the chaos of 2010 is never to return. Peace is knowing that 2010 didn’t go well as I wanted it, BUT being fine with it.

I have a fascination with the sea. Some say the sea divides the islands. As I listened to it hum today, I’m reminded of what I believe about the sea: It connects them.

There are days I want the sea water to turn to glass so people don’t have to live very far apart. But, in Genesis, God said 

“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.”

 And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.” 


So, I'm totally fine with that. :D

May you all have a PEACEFUL 2011!!!!