ABC STARS Inspires

In the world, the people I belong to, the ones that I, truly, identify with are the broken people. I am broken. There was one day, that I became sick and tired of it, that I threw away all the broken things. I threw away the broken chair, and everything broken. Nobody would listen to me. Hearing is different from listening. Listening with love is what broken people need. When I was a young boy. I was robbed of my sanity. Then, it became downhill from then on. You may know Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams and many others. I know how they felt like to have a broken spirit. Yes, they were successful. They had a family, a rewarding career.  However, it is an illness. Some want to live more after being diagnosed with Cancer or something else. With my people, we had it so bad that we just want to stop the anguish and the pain and the suffering. How do you fix a broken spirit? It is a jungle out there. There are wolves in sheep's...

It was a long queue at the arrival immigration area. The lady in front of me is British, she may be of Persian or Turkish descent, and the three other people behind me are British. A gentleman who is having a holiday and same with a senior couple who is also from Britain.  We talked about Brexit, BBC, New Zealand. Then, I told them I am from the Philippines. The wife said, "Oh! When we went on a cruise, your people were the ones who assisted us, but, we feel a bit forlorn because they are away from their children and they are guided by the grandmother". I nodded, and I replied, "Well, at least they have jobs, and it would pay for the bills". Then, the discussion became a little bit about Politics, so we decided to talk about the weather. They wanted to escape winter. I said the weather conditions are getting more bizarre than usual. I was alluding to Climate Change.  Then, I told them to enjoy their stay in Kuala Lumpur. They, actually, invited me to c...

It is all up to you. You do realise that don't you? If you look down you only see the ground. However, you feel grounded. You have a foothold. A foundation. If you look straight ahead, you could choose a plethora of horizons; a dawn, a dusk, a cityscape, a provincial vista, an endless ocean, a panoramic mountain view, a desert, an oasis, a field, and myriad perspectives. It is all up to you. But then, if you look up, you see no limits. When was the last time you saw the moon and the stars? When was the last time you saw the clouds and the sun? Forward thinking. You would always be asked where do you see yourself five years from now? or how about ten years from now? For me, that is the most absurd question in the whole world. Why? I am not a fortune teller. I am not a prophet. I am not a visionary. I would rather be asked, "What do you want to accomplish in your life?" With the aforementioned questio...

Ascension Press  and  Ascension Presents   in collaboration with  Inspires   give you this riveting magnum opus.‎.. Condensed Reflection by James Z. Carpio Literally, I stared at a wall clock for over an hour. I sat still during the entire experiment. Probably, I should have been indoors because the balcony of our home is nearby the busy road. However, the peripheral noises disappeared. Calmness, tranquility, and peace surfaced in my heart. I prayed that, practically, I am ready to see Him. After going through the stages of confronting the challenges of a lingering acute illness, any given day I would be blissfully grateful to, finally, see His eyes. To see my Creator, the Perfect Creator who can write sensible lines while I, as His creation could only write approximated lines. Yet, He guides me. He corrects my errors. Literally, with the advent of modern technology a misspelled word will have a red underline. That in itself is am...

I felt death in my body. The last domino has fallen. For over twenty years, I have been taking dangerous Psychiatric Drugs. The side effects are horrendous; Parkinsonism, obesity, swollen lymph nodes, a myriad of phobias, social anxiety, separation anxiety, panic attacks, stigma, discrimination, abuses and the whole nine yards. Then, my core has crumbled. My internal organs have become so weak. I never told anyone that I have been bleeding internally. My mother would say take a knife and end your life when she was alive. And, my father would say a good commander knows when the battle is lost. But of course, do not get worried, you are here to be inspired, right? I prayed to The Holy Spirit to guide you like He has done for me. Only God knows your thoughts, the lines on your palm, your fingerprints, your faults, your good deeds, your aspirations, your joys, your wishes, your pain, your suffering, your problems, and your everything. We are...

We may not have a Statue of Liberty, however, we do have that, an Angel and statues of angels abound in the country. Like Brazil, we have a gigantic Statue of The Lord Jesus Christ and, of course, we have a gargantuan Statue of The Our Lady of Edsa. Perhaps, The Philippines is the most religiously decorated nation of all nations. Churches are filled with saints, angels, God, and Mary. Homes are filled with everything Christian. Cars have rosaries hanging from the rear view mirror. Here East meets West. It has the third largest English-Speaking population in the whole world.  It is a combination of Spanish and American architectural landscape. In the U.S.A. there are few gated villages. Most houses are western-style but with fences, because of the Spanish influence. Most tourists would have a wonderful time here.  When I was at the Departure Area of a Philippine Airport I was able to speak with two tourists. I was buying snacks and I jo...

I was looking at my shoes and the floor. The office was bright; all walls were painted white, there are a few paintings and some furnitures. It was a Catholic Recovery Center. There were only about a few people there and my older brother accompanied me. I was twenty-two I think. It was a long time ago. My Life Coach is a certified specialist. She is soft-spoken and attentive. She had requested for me to take some tests. That was the initial part of the recovery program. Then, she told me that I will be alright. She smiled, she said, the mere fact that you came here shows enough that you have the bravery to recover and I will teach you skills to encourage you when times will be difficult. She, told me that upon assessment I had bottled-up anger issues that would also manifest as trust-issues. Then, she told me, don't worry that's normal for people like you. After what happened to you which is inhumane, somehow, I'm glad that you survived. Then, she smile...

It was late afternoon, as I was walking I saw the house of friends of the family. So, I decided to take the chance to know if the owners of the sprawling bungalow were present. One of the staff members said that the elderly lady was having afternoon refreshments and I was invited to join her for a conversation. She told me about her life. She has contributed myriad ways to The Roman Catholic Church. An architect, she made the altars of churches and chapels more beautiful and funded those projects. Furthermore, other structures and bits and pieces in order to make the parishioners have an enjoyable and serene experience when going to God's Sacred Places. And, she told me about her pilgrimages abroad. I paid attention, hanging on to each and every word. She said their generation are dwindling. What is there to do but pray and watch religious soap operas she told me. That was literally the same contemplative life my late father did during his last few y...

That's the most similar photo of what happened that led to my Saudade . I was not walking my dog. I was carrying him. People would always tell me that he looks so thin. But, as I was carrying him, I said to myself, he is a heavyweight. I had to halt for sort of like a pitstop to rest on our way to the animal hospital. I was ruminating on the sentiments of people who saw me during that day. One elderly man, actually, asked, 'Is he sick?" And, I said, 'Yeah". It was the last day I saw him. He's a good dog. Here people eat dogs and cats. I got a lot of flak because I had a cat and three dogs. I do understand where they are coming from but they protected the property. They were a deterrent. Now, I don't own any pets. People looking from the outside would feel a sense of curiosity of what my life was like. Maybe, if they had only known that I spent in a place where there were iron bars made with the window frames they would have be...

The Team of Inspires gives the freedom of speech to a child's own perspective on the current situation of our world. It may be colorful but everyone is entitled to one's own opinion. And, The Team of Inspires respects that whether you agree or not that is also your own right which in gratitude we respect in return. Our Beloved President, Sr. Lucy Mendez; Vice-President, Sr. Elona I. Cueba; Sister-in-charge, Sr. Zennia Guerra; School Principal, Mrs. Teresita C. Cuaresma; Assistant School Principal, Mrs. Teresa Gina Ranan.  Our distinguished guest, Mrs. Josephine D. Eronico; Our dear teachers, school staff, beloved parents, relatives, guardians, friends, fellow students and historic first batch of elementary graduates, Good Morning! About a hundred and twenty years ago, in 1898, our modern world came to know of the “Story of a Soul”. This story of the “little flower” inspired many to go forth on a mission to bring heaven on earth, scattering flowers all ov...