Blog by Jedde

This situation with the COVID-19 may take a while. There is no clear answer when this will all end. Everyone is feeling something. It is not a matter of privilege to feel. Rather, it is part and parcel of being human. So, when you feel scared, I hope you find the courage to embrace it. When you feel happy, I hope you do not deny it to yourself. When you find something that makes you feel energized, I hope you do not feel guilty about it. Nurturing the good we cannot see takes a great deal of courage in these trying times. Suddenly, it has become difficult to appreciate a beautiful blooming flower, the cool breeze of the wind, the presence of whom we love. Self-care is not supposed to be a selfish act, isn't it? Now it's become a sign of privilege, no? Somehow, you feel obliged to grieve because the world is grieving. You find yourself feeling overwhelmed with ambiguity, of uncertainty. Should this be the kind of sustenance that we must feed ourselves with moving forw...

Photo from: Archie Binamira "Four Toddlers form Circle" My mind feels cluttered recently. Everywhere I look, all I see are news about the pandemic that has disturbed the entire world. How it turned into this massive crisis, I couldn’t really fathom nor could I clearly understand the intensity of its deep impact on us. I am hopeful that all these would subside soon. There are many people like me; those who hope, who believe, and who trust that there is an end to this terrible phenomenon. However, back in my head is a subtle whisper bearing an ugly truth that I try to shake away, what if there isn’t any hope at all? It seems to me that many of us are rowing in different directions. We all face the same concern, and yet somehow, as a system, we couldn’t agree on which priority to set as we face this unseen adversary in our midst. I may have missed it somewhere along the way, but I do not feel that we have truly understood what we are up against. Guidelines are bein...

I like listening to podcasts. When I'm at home during the weekend, I would listen to Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" or Joshua & Ryan's "The Minimalists". When I'm at work creating a program, I know I can find inspiration from Elise Blaha Cripe's podcast called "Elise Joy". When I'm feeling down and low energy, my go-to podcast to listen to is "Getting Naked with Happiness" by Stephen Lew. All these wonderful people, along with the guests they invite on their podcast channel have significantly inspired me because of the wisdom they share, brought about by their life experiences and expertise. If you are curious about what a podcast is, it is actually a recorded audio discussion that you can access online and download on a mobile phone or device. During a podcast interview, there is an interviewer that asks the questions usually about a theme and the invited guest shares his or her experience with that theme. Using S...

There are just days that have no magic in them. Sometimes, we do not have the energy to be our best and that is perfectly normal. With a toned-down zest for life, messy hair on the loose, and our face having no traces of society's standard for beauty, we are all set to nestle on the bed and put down our armors after a long day of battle. Every day, we work so hard to give our best in every aspect of our lives even when sometimes it doesn't make us happy. We do so because we have a greater goal - perhaps providing for our family, traveling to a new place or saving up for the future. We put in a strong effort in achieving our dreams one day at a time too, despite all the criticisms and rejections we receive along the way because we do not want to disappoint the people who believe in us, and sometimes the people who rely on us. We hustle for our loved ones - their happiness is our happiness and we want to give them the best by sharing what we have. That is why, when we ...

The waves of a sea are never the same the moment they crash to the shore. The sea, like human life, is constantly changing. But in spite of this, the sea does not worry about what it is meant to do, or why changes are happening to it, or what the meaning of its life is. Rather, it simply continues to be a sea; it moves, and it lives. Why couldn't we be more accepting of who we are, like the sea? Why then are we so hard on ourselves? Why do we find it as an almost impossible mission to make sense of the meaning of our lives, or find our own happiness, or be comfortable in our own voice? Why do we despise our existence so deeply sometimes just because we do not understand its mysteries? Our lives and the sea have similar characteristics. Both are unfathomable, deep, mysterious, and rich in motion and life. To illustrate, inside of us are trillions of live cells thriving; similarly, deep within the sea are trillions of live creatures - with each one being completely unique fr...

Do you recognize what this plant is? This is called a moringa oleifera , often known by many names like the drumstick tree, the miracle tree, or the horseradish. In my place, we call this kamunggay. In a moment, I'm going to take us through  three short stories from my childhood and with this lens, hopefully we will see the message behind how a simple plant is able to make us understand a very important lesson in life. Let's begin, shall we? -- A true test of patience when I was growing up involved a moringa plant or kamunggay. On weekends, my mama and papa would come home from the market with the grocery items. I remembered my sister and I would grumble heavily before we would move and rush to prepare a bowl to be placed on the table. Clearing anything unnecessary on top of it, we would take out the moringa from the grocery bag and start to pluck out its leaves. Carefully and ever so gently, as we didn't want to include the stalks, the leaves would be remove...

Blog by Jedde is a cozy home of woven words. It is filled with the freshness of the author's different life experiences; a safe haven that nurtures her raw thoughts and emotions where acceptance grows and it has a fun side to it too - for some of the author's exciting travels. It is a blog created for the old souls, the thinkers, the feelers, and the ordinary human beings who love to explore the beauty of spontaneity, uncertainty, and the depths of their thoughts. This blog is created by Ms. Mary Jedde . She enjoys collecting journals and paper stationery. She likes the smell of books. Her hobby is not limited only to writing but also includes playing the guitar and on rare occasions, the piano. Her favorite fruit is mango. She is currently living in Singapore working as a Facilitator, her dream job. On her free time, she reads books, watches Avatar: The Legend of Aang, calls her family in Cebu, and spends time with her fia nc é  Alexander, eating out an...