HOW TO HELP

Yesterday was surreal. Those of us who were safe, dry and in homes -- ours or someone else's--felt mostly impotent: what could we do for friends who were texting from their rooftops? We did what we could with the technology available to us, knowing it couldn't be enough. Today we begin the task of rebuilding, restoring and healing. Want to help? Click here for some guidelines, or here if you want to go through the Red Cross.

Those in the south can send relief goods via Operation Rainbow, starting tomorrow, Monday, September 28. Please contact Zac Faelnar- Camara at 4687991. Further south, please send your donations--relief goods only--to Cabalen at the Paseo de Sta. Rosa mall, Sta. Rosa, along the Tagaytay road. Look for Gomer and Apaul.

For Filipinos in the U.S., you can help through NAFCON's "typhoon Ondoy"- BAYANIHAN disaster relief and rehabilitation program. Call the center at 718-5658862 or Anne Beryl at 516-9011642 in the East Coast and Ryan at 626-5344971 in the West Coast. Or email Sandiwa.national@gmail.com. You can also make donations online through the Flower Depot. The owners will send them to the Red Cross and to the ABS-CBN FOUNDATION.

Let's use our blogs, Facebook, Plurk, Twitter, etc., to keep each other posted and to keep the thread of support strong and stable.

THIS IS GOING TO BE SUPER!

CLICK HERE.

DON'T MISS THIS

Harmut Borries is a very special individual who literally helped me change my life when I felt stuck in darkness. Please click on the poster to get the best view. I hope to meet you there.

A GOOD READ

I stumbled upon this book last week, on a day when I needed it most. I was struggling over a violent attack to my soul and spirit.

I found this book right across the check out counter shortly after the attack and I felt redeemed and strong again, knowing I behaved in an upright fashion.

Go to the bookstore and get a copy. It was grace finding it that day. I thought I'd share it with you.

HONOR HER LIFE

Cory Aquino had such an amazing biography. Everyone had their eyes on Ninoy; they thought he was the main guy in the story. To me, it is clear that he was merely her preparation. She was a remarkable human being with a very special task.

Today, everywhere we look, people are emotional. We realize what we have lost in her, in our country and, perhaps, even in ourselves. Our last symbol of integrity is gone. Our security blanket is gone. We are all alone.

Will we let our emotions stay where they are, stuck in our tears, encased in melancholy, only to dissipate into senseless nostalgia in years to come, or will we honor Cory's life by embodying what she stood for, all her life?

So many of us are watching that speech she gave before the U.S. Congress. It made my hair stand when they gave her a standing ovation. I was so proud of her and what we were able to achieve in our country then. But look where we took that. Look at us today. Democracy was not just in her hands; it was--and has always been--in ours.

But we have forgotten that. We tell ourselves that lying, cheating and stealing are par for the course in politics. We simply accept it. Even as we say we want to be bearers of new politics, we say that buying and spending for votes, giving journalists money so they can tell our story, sell our business, promote our message--that's reality. We say we will vote for someone who is "winnable"; we settle for the lesser evil, even if our gut tells us something else.

I wish we could harness our emotions today and let that illumine us through the 2010 elections. May it propel us towards intelligent choices in 2010. May we choose a candidate who represents true change--not one who promises it, but thinks nothing of employing good old dirty tricks, spending gazillions on glossy ads full of empty drama, buying votes, buying endorsements, because well, that's how politics is won in this country.

Let's not let our emotions today for what was or what could have been, congeal into mere nostalgia or drama. Let's make Cory Aquino's passing mean something for our future--for the emergence of the Philippines we deserve.

I was looking for a symbol of integrity to accompany this piece. Here she is. She is the one president in our history that was truly chosen--pushed, even--by the people. She didn't spend to win. She didn't buy endorsements. She didn't lie, cheat or steal. She had integrity and moral clarity.

This is why I write this today. I feel that the country has lost its last symbol of integrity and we are now completely on our own. In the past, we always had Cory Aquino. If she endorsed someone or something, we knew it must be good. We could always count on her to speak out against injustice. We relied on her so much to show us the way. Now that she's gone, I feel that we are being forced to embody everything we depended on her for.

It's not lost on me that she passed on during this time in our history, when we are all again being moved by the energy--good and bad--of change. The presidential elections are upon us. We are asked to discern, to make our choice not because someone is our relative, or because he has charisma or has been in politics forever. We are asked to choose out of our highest aspirations and dreams for our country and our children. We need to choose people who are not just qualified, but who have moral integrity, because in the end, as we see in the outpouring of love and respect for Cory, it is what endures. It is what brings change--true and good change.

I've long been wanting to holler out to actors, celebrities, writers, journalists--anyone in media who wants to be a bearer of true change---DO NOT RENT YOURSELF OUT IN 2010!! DO NOT ACCEPT MONEY FROM ANY CANDIDATE. Use the power of your profession responsibly and with integrity. You are not a hired gun; you are not for sale. Show the Filipinos that votes are sacred; you begin this change by not accepting money from anyone for your endorsement. Get to know all the candidates and, if there is someone out there whom you believe has the integrity and qualifications, by all means support them--in freedom--without accepting a single centavo. In this way, you become part of creating the new politics, the new Philippines of integrity.

Cory Aquino's life and legacy will be honored, not by platitudes, but by active and conscious action towards creating the Philippines of integrity she gave her life and privacy for. This work is no longer hers alone. As she leaves this realm, we honor her by consciously doing our share.

CORAZON COJUANGCO AQUINO (1933-2009)

COMFORT

Last week, I resolved to cook a full recipe of Chicken Marbella. The original recipe is for four chickens, which I rightly thought would be too much for my family of four. Part of me felt it was a little extreme, but then it's a dish that keeps well, so I decided to go whole hog. I cook with free-range spring chicken, so I settled for five, all the while feeling I was cooking for a village.

The day I was all set to put the two-and-a-half pyrexes into the oven, I had an encounter with a bully which left me feeling quite sorrowful, deflated, disappointed and angry. I didn't even know if I could--or should--eat. But motherhood means keeping the space together for everyone and not indulging in your emotions--if you can help it--in front of the children. So that's what I did.

When we finally sat down to dinner, I looked at the festive dish in front of me and suddenly felt truly comforted. Bullies try to make you feel bad about yourself, but the yummy spread in front of me, the joy of my little boys (not to mention their gratitude for the meal before them), put everything back in perspective. I was so happy I decided to cook a big meal, that I decided to cook it that day, and that I had a friend who shared the recipe a few months back. I was suddenly so grateful for all the things that matter. I felt all that even before I took my first bite!

Just google "Chicken Marbella" and the recipe will show up somewhere. It's a lovely comfort food. May it serve you as well as it served me!