An open letter from Mr. Right

My sentiments exactly! This post speaks for itself!

#UNFILTERED

Dear daughters of God,

Contrary to what you have heard, I do exist. I’m no fairytale hunk with big muscles and thing for chick flicks (although, I may or may not have a man bun). So, put your daydreams of love off to the side for a minute and let me tell you what makes me, “Mr. Right” and why people keep telling you to wait for me.

The first thing I really want for you to understand is that I was not born your Mr. Right. I promise we weren’t destined to cross paths and lock eyes from across a crowded room and fall hopelessly in love. God has been working in my heart for YEARS! Do you realize what was in my heart before Christ saved me?! Of course you don’t because we haven’t met yet, but I can promise you it is equally as crazy and sinful as…

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Why I don’t want to fall in Love

You see, for the past twenty four (24) years of my life, I have seen a lot of “INSTANCES OF LOVE”. 

Instance #1: People who were once so madly in love who later on become bitter exes in the end. 

Instance #2: People who have been together for a long time but ended up being with other people in the end. 

Instance #3: People getting so vulnerable because of love

Instance #4: People getting so STUPID because of love

Instance #5: People forgetting their friends because of love.

Instance #6: People crying for days because of love.

Instance #7: People getting fat because of love (true story)

Instance #8: People becoming UNREASONABLE because of love

Instance #9: People disregarding their family because of love

Instance #10: People committing suicide because of love (I know right?haha!but true story indeed!)

These are some of the things that I have discovered about being in LOVE.

I may seem negative for writing all of these things, but these things really do happen; they did happen! 

And how did I know?

Because these people came to me, asking for advice. Can you imagine?These people asked for an advice from someone who hasn’t even been in love in the first place!I guess instance #4 is correct.Haha!Kidding!

So anyway, being someone who has not experienced all the drama, I am not really sure if these people are giving me warnings or if they were terrorizing me or something. Hearing all these things really scares me! 

I have always been this person who is good in giving advices. I can make a person feel better by giving words of encouragement. But somehow, I cannot help but think that someday, these things can also happen to me; and that I will also be needing advices. This is my biggest fear! 

Okay, maybe at this point you may think that I am crazy or something; or that I am an anti-LOVE person. Actually, I really am not; I am scared, that’s true, but I also do believe that being in LOVE is the greatest thing in this world. Nothing can compare to that feeling of giving away a part of yourself to someone you really value the most. I also still think that this is something that I just cannot wait to experience in the near future.

But here’s the deal:

I am not against LOVE (like what I have said), but I am against LOVE AT THE WRONG TIME. 

One thing that I have noticed from all those people whom I have helped (naks!haha!), is that they always get hurt in the end because the love that they had was not mature enough; or that they fell in love too easily. Sure, it feels nice to be impulsive once in a while; but when it comes to love, i think IMPULSIVENESS DOES NOT REALLY WORK. They say that when love hits you, you would just know it. So the tendency is for people to act on in immediately, feel really good, and then eventually end up being hurt. And this brings me to formulate this saying in my mind:

“Nothing can explain how love happens; but there are lot of explanations about how it fades.”

Sounds unfair right? How love is unexplainable, but falling out of love has many reasons. Maybe that’s just it; being in love is complicated. Even the best-selling authors cannot give a precise and exact definition about what love is. And I guess it is also because not all people experience the same kind of love. Maybe what I consider as love may not be considered as love by other people, and it works both ways. 

See how complicated it is?

So I guess those people who were able to find their true love on their first try really are the lucky ones. They don’t have to suffer the agony of the process of breaking up, or the feeling of being a failure, and the feeling of being worthless in the end. I may sound ambitious, but this is the kind of love which I am dreaming to have. Maybe what I said before about being scared can be best explained by this:

I do not know yet how I will love someone or in what level will I fall. This scares me because I do not know if I will also end up hurting like the others; or if I will also get stupid, or unreasonable, or FAT! haha! 

These are the questions in my mind; these may also be the reasons that’s been holding me back. 

But I guess I am really just being careful; I do not want to rush into things because I know that if I am ready, it will happen. And I GUESS by that time, I will also be ready to be hurt, be stupid, and be unreasonable; but I am SURE that when that happens, I will be stronger. 

Preparing my heart for the battle is what I am doing right now. And those instances of love? Well, they are just my guide. Because when the time comes, I know I will also be able to write my own “LOVE INSTANCES”; and they will be the best!

Xoxo,

@thecouchpatatas

Regina Rica Rosari: Rizal’s hidden sanctuary

Being a Rizaleño by birth, I can’t tell you just how much pride I have of my home province. You see, I live in Angono, Rizal; it is actually the third town that you will reach if you are coming from the pasig area. My friends would usually say that I live very far, and I would consistently answer: “hindi ah! 30 minutes away nga lang ako from ortigas”, which is true, actually! You see, Rizal is a very good location because in here, you get to have a laid-back-town-vibes without having to feel much away from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

There are many places that you can go to in Rizal. In my hometown, Angono (the Art Capital of the Philippines) for one, has its own attractions that draw tourist very often. But I’ll post about that soon. In this post, I will share with you a place that you can go to if you just want to meditate and clear your mind, without travelling that far: 

The Regina Rosarii Institute for Contemplation in Asia in Tanay, Rizal (better known as Regina RICA)

Not far from Angono is Tanay, Rizal. In just about an hour or less (if you have your own car), you can reach this town. You will just pass by the towns of: Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, and Baras..then voila! You’re in Tanay already. So if you’re coming from Ortigas you’ll have about 2 hours to get there. 

If you have your own car, you just have to take the manila east road,keep going straight ahead, pass by the towns that I’ve mentioned, and once you get to Tanay, there are many signs that are put up in there so you will definitely not get lost. 

Regina RICA is open everyday except Tuesdays. Visiting time is from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. You have to take note that there is a dress code inside the premises. Girls are not allowed to wear shorts; however,if you still wore shorts, they will provide you with skirts that you can wear on top of your shorts (I knew this because me and my friends were wearing shorts the first time that we went there since it’s summer hehe). Sleeveless clothes are also prohibited for both men and women. Upon arriving you will first be given a short orientation about the place, and then after that, you are free to roam around already.

I was lucky because for the two times that I’ve been here, the place was not too crowded. During holy week, the traffic is just unbelievable! Well, this is because of the fact that Regina RICA has its own set of devotees already. Also, it is also part of many religious pilgrimage in the country, and I believe even in Asia.

So let me now share you the pictures from my two trips combined! Hehe:

   

( The Mary’s Sacred Trail: this leads to the statue of Mama Mary on top of the hill. There’s only one way up and you cannot go down this path; you would have to go down on the other designated path)

  

(The view while going to the top)

( Mama Mary!)

This is the huge statue of Mama Mary on top of the hill. There is actually a prayer room inside her mantle; and you have to remove your shoes if you want to go inside.

  

(This view! Love!)

(My panoramic shot of the place) 

After praying inside the mantle, there is a candle offering area where you can buy candles in different colors; each color representing your different intentions. My friend bought all the colors, by the way. Hehe. Now, in the usual Filipino tradition, you have to say a prayer first before you light your candle.  You can also sign up your loved ones so that they will be prayed for for the rest of their lives. You would just give a donation, and then list down the names of the people you love in the prayer list. 

    

(The Mangrove trail. Each is sponsored by different people. Amazing right?)

  

(Our candles!)

(This is the church inside the Regina RICA. They also celebrate the Holy Mass in here. The Regina RICA Mass Schedules:

 

 ( from http://reginarica.org )

   

(The side view of the chapel)

So there you have it! I hope you got to experience Regina RICA in Tanay by just looking through my pictures! I would really suggest that you go here if you have the time in order to nourish your spirituality. It is indeed a beautiful place; and it is very well-maintained not just because it is new, but because you can feel the sincerity of the people who are working thereat. 

For more info visit their website:

http://reginarica.org

Someday

Someday, BELIEVE that there would be someone out there who would like you and your ENTIRETY. You would not need to guess, assume, and wonder if he’s the ONE; because he would like you so much that he would be willing to take the RISK to let you know just that. God may have led you to believe that certain people who came into your life were the one, but the truth is He was only letting you feel and realize that just because you like someone and that someone likes you back doesn’t mean that he would be the one that God has planned for you to be with. Have you been hurt? Have you felt pain? That’s only because God is telling you that the one he has prepared for you will NEVER EVER BREAK YOUR HEART. That person would understand how precious your heart is, and that he would be very lucky once you open it for him. He would appreciate your uniqueness, your individuality, and the fact that you are a bit crazy. He would appreciate the fact that you may not be the most beautiful girl in the world, but for him you are more than enough. He would be proud to have you in his life because he knows that you are one-of-a-kind. You would never be jealous, because he would never give you any reason to. You would never feel insecure, because he would assure you everyday just how amazing you are. He would love each and every person in your life, because he knows how much it would mean to you. Your love would NEVER be PERFECT, you would have shortcomings, and conflicts; but at the end of the day, you would both fight to make it work because you know that your LOVE is ONE-IN-A-MILLION.  So be patient, and just believe that your story would be so EPIC that it would be WORTH SHARING WITH THE WORLD AND would be WORTH WAITING FOR.

— I know that this kind of Love may be too Idealistic and Unreal; it may not even exist. But I do believe that someday it would happen for me. God is making me wait because he wants to be sure that I am whole and complete before I open my heart to someone. He knows that I cannot handle heartaches so He is also preparing my someone to be the best that he can possibly be so that he would never ever break my heart.  He is making me realize that I don’t need someone to complete me because the one He would give me is a better whole which would complement another better whole.