PINOY!!!!

I've never been attached to labels. Why spend megabucks (enough to send kids to school, feed multiple families, or do other much needed,  life-giving work in the world) for anything that has someone else's name or trademark on it? I couldn't live with myself.  I guess my weaknesses lie elsewhere.  But for innovations like these, I do my share and spread the word. 

Say hi to the "Maria" collection--so proudly Pinoy. I own a Sili Labuyo, which I will be collecting soon, courtesy of my sister, Tam, who conceptualized and designed the bags! Brilliant! I know, nepotism and all that, but really it's a great product and I would have featured it here even if the genius behind it didn't share my blood. Just so happens we do.

There are other designs as well but for some reason I'm unable to post all of them at this time. This is merely the first blush.  As we speak, other products in the line are on the way.  For now, make sure you get yourself a bag that says something!  Why say LV (all over the bag!)when you can say something more interesting like Kalachuchi, Dalandan or Suha?? (Yup, the line has those, too). Check them out at the Global Pinoy Bazaar on Cuenca St., Ayala Alabang Village on October 18 & 19, the Urban Bazaar at the Rockwell tent on October 24 & 25 and at the Assumption Bazaar at the Intercon on November 23.  You can also email your orders to tamilabags@gmail.com.

AGING IS LIFE!

I was recently interviewed about aging in the October issue of Marie Claire. I declined at first because they said it was about defying age and I don't do that; I embrace it. I thought I would be left alone after that, but it turns out they wanted that perspective, too. It was just going to be a sidebar so the interview was edited.  I print it here in full:

Was there ever a time in your life when you became anxious about getting old?  If yes, how old were you when you started to feel that anxiety, and exactly what was it about getting old that had you worried?

No. The closest I would get to this kind of anxiety was related to my life's task: What if I never figure out what my life is about? What if I do not fulfill my task? Any anxiety I have now about the future has more to do with my security, or raising my children the right way, but I have never felt anxious about getting old. I am more worried about becoming irrelevant.

Why did you choose to let nature take its course instead of using products and treatments to fight the effects of aging on physical appearance?  Why do you think the natural way is the better way?

Because I believe in working on myself from the inside out and I also believe in honoring the physical body/face I was born with. That comes from nature, from God. I don't think it's meant to be fought. It's not like I'm not taking care of myself. I do,but I use organic and biodynamic products, body oils, etc.I have a cleansing and moisturizing routine, but I do this all for well-being rather than vanity and I definitely do not do it to "fight" aging. Our outer appearance has everything to do with our inner condition--what we eat (organic or not, the general quality of our food), the thoughts we think, the way we handle emotions, whether we live with joy or bitterness, how we move, how well we care for ourselves in general--and I think that is the more meaningful approach to life. If you work on being healthy in thought, word and deed, your physical body will follow. When people say I look younger than my age I figure they must be seeing something else because physically, it is clear to me that I have aged. It all boils down to what you think your life is about and how you choose to live your life in the world.  I choose to live in harmony with nature; anything that is not natural is costing the earth and those of us who live in it.

How did you develop this transcendent mindset that allowed you to wholeheartedly embrace the process of aging, and all the lines and wrinkles that come with it?  What do you tell yourself that maybe other women can also put in their own minds so they will be more at peace with getting older?

It's about asking the right questions about your life, I suppose. If one is terrified about aging, why?  If one has the need to look outwardly young, why?  Perhaps there was something one needed to go through in their youth but didn't, and there might be an inner yearning that, because it is unexamined, is manifesting itself in a different way? What needs to be healed -- made whole again--in your life, so that you can move forward and not cling to an ideal that is no longer you or for you? Aging is a wonderful thing if you have lived your life fully at every stage. I certainly do not want to go back to the pain and angst--though necessary--of the thirties, even if I was physically in better shape and was closer to that elusive ideal of society. That had to be. Today I'm noticing that though my looks are definitely changing and I definitely do not have as much energy as before, my thighs have that extra jiggle (which my boys love!!), and I'm seeing some white hair, something inside me and also in my thinking is opening up and awakening.  Sometimes I feel like my brain is actually changing because I am beginning to think differently and I am starting to have a relationship with the world that was not possible before and this necessitates a certain softening of the body. This means change in my whole being. I think it is exciting! Of course there are days when I look at my body and think I should exercise more, but it doesn't rule my life. I love what is happening to me on a different level. It is a welcoming of the passage of time and all the wonderful gifts they bring. I love seeing people who are aging gracefully. I've seen so many beautiful old people and I marvel at the many stories of life, pain, love and joy that are expressed in their physicality. Why edit that? To me, life is a conscious striving and moving forward--a journey towards the future--not the past. The task is too meet that with grace. Isn't that what it means to be human?

(photo of Ifugao woman by Dale Diaz)