I tried to sleep. I felt all alone. darkness all around me. Just I checked my iPod today then I realized the world today is running away from what is known as loneliness. They are scared of being alone. They complain that no one’s listening. They put the good old words “Man came to this world alone, they go back alone” in banner. They contradict themselves many a times. Somehow I got a feel that many are confused about how they feel.

As the songs goes ..

Loneliness
Sung by: Laura Pausini

I don’t even know if he still thinks of me
Once he got on board that unforgiving train
I imagine that he whiled away the time
Through that cold grey morning and the city rain
Thinking of somebody else who’ll run to him
Who’ll ask him “did you miss me?”, “maybe now and then”
Laughing he’ll say well, he “met this funny girl”
But “just a summer think” he won’t see her again
Oh, God! I hope I’m wrong but I’m not feeling very strong
I’ve been so up and down, so sad, so happy, feeling good and bad
I’m young, I’m old, I laugh, I cry
I tell the truth, but that’s a lie
I’ve been so in and out, so wild, so well behaved, so pure defiled
Oh, solitudine! That word I hate to say
And no, I was not crazy to do what we did
I even wish I’d been a bit more crazy still
And kept a little more of him to see my through
He loved me all he could, I never had my fill
And then I’m back inside my room, he knows so well
I fell again the way he moved I take it slow
I talk to him and he becomes part of me
And then I know he’ll never let the summer go
Oh, God! I hope I’m right I won’t give in without a fight
And I can take the words they throw at me
For none of them could know that we had something
Very few will ever find their whole life through
I wouldn’t change a single day
Although the price I have to pay is solitudine
The loneliness is tearing me apart, it tears me up
It pulls me down and then it wraps around my heart
Does he remember all he said to me?

Before I start let me confess : many words stated below [or the idea] are taken from publications, reference journals, and philosophical or medical websites.

If you thought what’s the difference between Solitude and Loneliness, these words are for you. The two terms are often used interchangeably. Externally, solitude and loneliness look a lot alike. Both are characterized by solitariness. But all resemblance ends at the surface. Loneliness is a negative state, marked by a sense of isolation. Solitude is the state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. Solitude is something you choose. Loneliness is imposed on you by others. Solitude restores body and mind. Loneliness depletes them. Lets look at both the terms from a wider angle.

Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e. lack of contact with people or love. People may seek physical seclusion to remove distractions and make it easier to concentrate, reflect, or meditate. Emotional isolation is a term used to describe a state of isolation where the individual is emotionally isolated, but may have a well functioning social network.

Loneliness is a feeling where people experience a powerful surge of emptiness and Solitude. In their growth as individuals, humans start a separation process at birth, which continues with growing independence towards adulthood. To experience loneliness, however, can be to feel overwhelmed by an unbearable feeling of separateness at a profound level. This could give birth to feelings of abandonment, rejection, depression, insecurity, anxiety, hopelessness, unworthiness, meaninglessness, and resentment. If these feelings are prolonged they may prevent the affected individual from developing healthy relationships and lifestyles. Loneliness in many a times a temporary consequence of divorce or the breakup or loss of any important long-term relationship.

Loneliness can be summarized as falling into these categories:

Situational / circumstantial – loss of a relationship, move to a new city
Developmental – a need for intimacy balanced by a need for individualism
Internal – often including feelings of low self-esteem and vulnerability

Loneliness can evoke feelings of that ‘everyone else’ has friends, or that one is socially inadequate and socially unskilled. A lonely person may become convinced there is something wrong with him, or that no one understands his situation. Such a person may feel reluctant to attempt to change or to try new things. In extreme cases, a person may feel a sense of emptiness, which may become a state of clinical depression.

Now that you know the difference between Solitude and Loneliness, the cause of the emotion and the effect. Just realize the fact that your smile and your tears are a reflection of your strength and your fears! Know yourself and you would be happy.

Some traditions call this the Day of the Dead. In my tradition, it’s All Souls’ Day, a day to remember all who have died. Some say that on this day the space separating the living and the dead is thinner. Whatever a person thinks about life and death, this is a good day and a good time of year to reflect, and remember. In the northern hemisphere, all the world seems to be dying–leaves falling, wind picking up, clouds rolling in. A time to think about death, loss, absence.

Maybe it sounds depressing. But it is healthy to have a day or two like this on your calendar. And it’s not just about the death of persons we love. It’s also a good day to think about other “deaths” we’ve suffered–the loss of a relationship, or a way of living and being. The loss of a career, or a home. Even the loss of a worldview, or the loss of innocence.

We don’t do this to be morbid, or to have a “pity party.” When we honestly remember and acknowledge who and what has passed from our midst, then we see our present lives in a richer light. Today is a day to be grateful for those who once walked through life with us, and to recall the grief and sadness that follow in their absence. Today can be a day of silence and strength. Or just a day of silence.

Well, if you are busy, young, or a professional from the middle class, poverty comes to mind usually when a community activity has been conducted in the slums, or when it is reported on TV – along the squatters’ areas, or in a far off barrio in the province. It’s a social concern. And yes, it is indeed a problem that has to be resolved. But again, as a member of the middle-class, what can be done from our end?

A few years ago, we spent Christmas in one of the orphanage in Cebu city together with my generous colleagues. Just a few days before the day I was wrapping a few gifts for the children. Have you ever been bothered by Christmas? I don’t mean by the date most people have chosen to celebrate Jesus’ birth or remember a generous old Saint Nicholas. But have you ever been bothered by the hustle, commercialism, greed, staleness or opulence of what we commonly refer to as “Christmas” in the Philippines? I have. It’s overwhelmingly sad to go to the mall and hear the endless whining of children everywhere… “Can I have this? I want that!!! Please?” I have even been bothered by my nieces “when do we get to open presents???” on Christmas morning. I don’t want it to be all about that. Especially since compared to so many kids out there. What they need is a heart that cares for others. And gratefulness for the things they have. They need to understand James 1:27… “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans…”

Nowadays, people in the work force are usually concerned in climbing up the corporate ladder, in getting the benefits their companies promised them, and in living a stress-free life with all the comforts money can buy.

Here’s something to think about – the Philippines was once a rich country, second to Japan even. Gone were the days when the dollar is equivalent to 2 pesos. What happened? Well, changes in the government caused too many problems. Also, our sources of income which are our natural resources are now depleted, plus, our graduates prefer to serve other countries. Thus, instead of these young minds helping the economy, a lot would rather pursue their careers elsewhere. How sad.

Personally, I think we just have to deal with this problem, one small step at a time. It’s not enough that we feel for the poor. In this day and age when all are fast-paced and instant, we also need to step back, take time to reflect, and look at poverty in a different light. Join an organization, go and teach in public schools, visit prisons, help build barangay halls and do just about anything in your scope of power to at least make a difference. I will not live with the fact that Pinoys are poor. It’s not too late yet. So let’s act, NOW

Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Visit : http://nbcam.org

“Strengthening OFW Families, Stronger Homes for Stronger Nation”

We all understand, I think, that by any measure Philippines today is a very different country from what it was 20 years ago. It is, in fact, well on the way to becoming an economic superpower. What that means, in real terms of course, is that hundreds of millions of people are now very much better off than they used to be.

I’ve been away from Philippines now for a longer period than ever before. Yes, it was 2 years and 4 months ago that I left my family, friends, and my country behind to start up across the globe.

This is an ever-present problem for some OFW’s abroad. First of all, being nostalgia is entirely natural. You are surrounded by the unfamiliar. You are away from everything and everyone you know. It’s only right to miss those things you know and love

My history employment will show that it was always busy here and there. I was never cooped up in a big house where absence of work is stressful rather than relaxing. If I had to work with others and vice-versa, it was not to hover or literally wait upon what I am about to finish.

I am my mother’s son. And there is no greater proof to that than what just transpired. Without bidding, my tears come and go. Some fat, some small, at times in torrent, at times in trickles.

And I began to wonder, if my mother is still up. Odd and unbelievable, but my mother and I share an amazing telepathy. If I wake up from a bad family-related dream, I go check my phone right away. With heart beating with dread, I open to read it, and my fear is confirmed. If something accidental or incidental has happened to me, I almost always get a message from her asking where I am, in minutes, sometimes hours after.

Suddenly, there’s the message. She is up. And she has been crying. And she is just inconsolable. My heart twisted, ached, longed to hold her. Many times it is my mother who comforts me when I weep. But today, I wanted to give her everything I’ve got in my tightest hug so she’d stop shuddering from her pain.

But I am here, and she is there: I feel so helpless hearing her sadness. The ocean spanning thousands of kilometers a damnation. The consequences of my decision momentarily a curse. I had stopped crying when my mother started her own. But to hear her describe short of how I was doing, again opened my deluge. It hurts, to be loved by my mother like that and not feeling her physical comfort to it. It hurt to be away from her, and it hurt that nothing could be done as a temporary salve.

While I went on and on of how I am coping in here, she listened and wept with me. She never spoke, just listened like she always does, and allowed me to heal on my own voice. When it was my turn to settle, we prayed together. And moved on to discuss the immediate. Then we laughed. And laughed so hard at the state of our spirits. At how we are so emotionally wired to one another. Of how we always feel each one’s pain. of how we are able to be there for each other, whether in silence or in crying. I will always be emotional, with a flair for sentimentality, but that’s how we love each other, and that’s how I will continue to be… loving.

I am getting harder on the patience virtue. Even as I write this I recall the morning scene, and the one about two hours after that. This is my life today. I am a clerk. I simply cannot do what I want to do. I am stifled. I must succumb to waiting. So I promise myself, as soon as I can, I will work thrice as hard as I am doing now. I shall not wait. The everything and the everywhere shall be the ones waiting for me. I am full of life back in the Philippines. Yet in Riyadh, where others see as another land of promise, I am lifeless.

It seems like every day brings fresh news stories of economic gloom and financial difficulty. There is frequently an underlying cynicism with news coverage and comment citing the greed of businesses and individuals whose only motivation is personal gain. This one dimensional view however it is not the full story that we experience at this moment.

We are also joined by ties of family. More than one million of Filipinos OFW’s enrich the life of our country, in every important area of national endeavor. We must find ways to have our “ Bagong Bayani ” understand the importance that religion holds for many, many people, to celebrate the diversity of spiritual beliefs in the same way we celebrate other differences between us and to foster an understanding of the history of religion in human society in every Filipino.

Find people around you who share your interests. This doesn’t necessarily mean other foreigners. Befriending local people will help you to understand the culture that give you a head start of your life.

Keeping in touch with family and friends is very important. Of course, you are living miles away from them. It changes the relationship. But knowing that you still have that bond is comforting.

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Microsoft Dynamics AX kick off meeting at Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City.

On September 2010, Implementing ERP system at Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC) by alfanar IT has just started.The city managementteam main interest is emphasized onsatisyingthe business processesof the organization in order to be able to best serve the Saudi society.

One of the projects of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation is the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City.

The City is a 400-bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Medical Center which opened 30th October 2002 to provide care to both inpatients and outpatients.

Patients are provided with the highest quality of medical care by highly experienced physicians, therapists, nurses, and support staff. The facility covers more than 1,000,000 square meters, and is located just north of Riyadh in the Banban area.

The City provides therapeutic, supportive, and educational services which are designed to assist in restoring health and function following acute illness.

kick-off meeting attendees:

full stories click here