Death is Not Always the Measurement Why do we acclaim a person’s achievements only after the time of their lives? Why is it that the public only opens its eyes to the greatness of a person and his/her achievements after the time of his/her brief existence? Well, I can guess that it is a part of the irony of life as it is evident not only in our nation but in the whole civilization itself. It has become, what it seems to be, a Custom. Whereas a custom based on the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a Habitual Action and a common practice among people. Late have we appreciated the importance of the person we have lost. And that is NOT however a good indication of a genuine condolence and appreciation of a man’s life. First of all, we are beginning to create a high standard in order for one to achieve recognition. Through these evident ironies of “reliving the lives of those who lost their lives” we are forming a new perspective among all, that for you to become someone we can pattern our lives with, you must first die and lose your life. That for us to be proud of having you in our same country, you must meet your final destination first. I have here a concrete example of what I am exactly talking about. The untimely death of our former DILG officer Jesse Manalastas Robredo indeed shook not only the Bicol region but the entire nation itself. No one expected that a man of honor would reach his demise in the harsh conditions of the shores of Albay. “I lost a Brother” a statement uttered by our Current Philippine President Benigno Aquino III pertaining to Robredo during his eulogy, a statement that will also apply to all of us Filipinos. That is, however, if we really recognize the valor of his works and we genuinely raise our heads as we consider him a hero. But what if some do not really intend to recognize him genuinely. Because minority may be, are just following the trend of the society. Some are just looking up to him just because its what he or she sees appropriate for the occasion. My point here is that we acclaimed Robredo and began to have notice of his account only after his death. Majority of these people who are just beginning to look up to Robredo now may not have even known that Robredo was actually the Youngest person to become a Mayor in the Philippines. Nor might have they known that Robredo actually received the Ramon Magsaysay award for Government Service in 2000. I myself concede to the fact that I was not aware of any of these credentials. They have only appeared now and it was made known only now as what we can see in all forms of media and publications here in our country. It is as if we find pleasure retelling and reliving their stories, their talents and their encounters at this point of time, a stranger to how we reacted to them before their final encounters. We never acted as appreciative as we appreciate and idolize them now. Faulty as it may appear but that’s what seems to be evident to our time. That’s somewhat the way the media is acting upon these untimely deaths, thus greatly influencing us the public in general to act the same.

The question now is, must we really wait for death itself to become our deciding factor in considering or rather appreciating one’s works? Must the worth of someone wait for his/her death only for it to be recognized? The answer is No. We must avoid on depending for time to take ones life just for appreciation. We must remember that through recognition of a person’s deeds, we are helping him or her to strive and work harder, for him to strive more to maintain the glory he or she was able to harvest. Whom are we pleasing then if the one we recognize are already watching over us with the other passed souls? Appreciation would be more fitting to be offered to the living, to the ones whose journey are not yet over, to the ones who have more to show among the others. I am not implying that idolizing the dead ones are unacceptable, nor do I despise those who devote themselves in appreciating the heroic acts of those who have passed away such as Jesse’s works. What I am only implying is that a person can also work grandeur deeds even if he/she is still alive. That a leader is already worth of applaud, if ever he or she deserves such, even without meeting death. Yes, death may be noble, yet it is final. Natural law dictates that you cannot do much more upon meeting demise. Jesse Robredo met his unexpected death in the coasts of Masbate city due to the engine failure of the “Piper Seneca” airplane they rode. After this, he was glorified, his name became known to all not only as a Secretary of the Interior and Local Government or as a Former Mayor of Naga City but some even thought that he could have been a good Philippine President if he wished to. He left a very good legacy for his people to remember. He gave us a very good example that everyone is invited to follow the way he led. Yet, despite these undisputable works, we must still remember that one can be recognized and appreciated without the cost of one’s life. That the irony of life wherein we only relive and rejoice the works of those who have already passed away will only create a false impression of to who must we indeed recognize. It will only raise the public’s standard of who is indeed worth of applaud and recognition. We must remember that because of the characteristics of death, it is not always the best measurement for heroism and applaud.
The question now is, must we really wait for death itself to become our deciding factor in considering or rather appreciating one’s works? Must the worth of someone wait for his/her death only for it to be recognized? The answer is No. We must avoid on depending for time to take ones life just for appreciation. We must remember that through recognition of a person’s deeds, we are helping him or her to strive and work harder, for him to strive more to maintain the glory he or she was able to harvest. Whom are we pleasing then if the one we recognize are already watching over us with the other passed souls? Appreciation would be more fitting to be offered to the living, to the ones whose journey are not yet over, to the ones who have more to show among the others. I am not implying that idolizing the dead ones are unacceptable, nor do I despise those who devote themselves in appreciating the heroic acts of those who have passed away such as Jesse’s works. What I am only implying is that a person can also work grandeur deeds even if he/she is still alive. That a leader is already worth of applaud, if ever he or she deserves such, even without meeting death. Yes, death may be noble, yet it is final. Natural law dictates that you cannot do much more upon meeting demise. Jesse Robredo met his unexpected death in the coasts of Masbate city due to the engine failure of the “Piper Seneca” airplane they rode. After this, he was glorified, his name became known to all not only as a Secretary of the Interior and Local Government or as a Former Mayor of Naga City but some even thought that he could have been a good Philippine President if he wished to. He left a very good legacy for his people to remember. He gave us a very good example that everyone is invited to follow the way he led. Yet, despite these undisputable works, we must still remember that one can be recognized and appreciated without the cost of one’s life. That the irony of life wherein we only relive and rejoice the works of those who have already passed away will only create a false impression of to who must we indeed recognize. It will only raise the public’s standard of who is indeed worth of applaud and recognition. We must remember that because of the characteristics of death, it is not always the best measurement for heroism and applaud.

Another Probe to RH Let it be clarified to you, that there nothing existing in this world that aims to perform an evil act. In fact, it is in the nature of humans to avoid what is evil, hence, if a man performs a wrong doing, it is not because he/she wills to do that evil act, its because he/she believes that the aspect of good was applied to the act that he/she has done. This too applies to the House Bill 4244 or better known as The Reproductive Health bill, that the bill was not made for the purpose of immorality, but for the purpose of what they believe is practical, of what is useful or in general is of what they believe is right. Unfortunately, there is the existence of Moral Pluralism which dictates to us that there are a lot of different perceptions of whether a certain action is right or wrong. Therefore, just because the RH Bill is a practical (Pragmantism) counter measure for Overpopulation or it is useful (Utilitarianism) to solve certain problems of the society, does not mean that it is already the right thing to do, nor is it considered to be moral. Let me enumerate to you the various points I have gained from the book “In Light of Reason” by Prof. Marvin Julian L. Sambajon, Jr. which deals about the different matters in the controversial bill. The Bill is said to promote Reproductive Health, according to the bill, “Reproductive Health refers to the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system to its functions and processes”. By staying to the normal order of things, the reproductive system is already at the state of wellness. The well being of the reproductive system occurs when it stays on its functions and processes; it is already healthy by staying that way. Here is where inconsistencies from the bill begin. First of all, the bill promotes modern ways of Family planning, this then would involve all forms of artificial contraception that are permitted by the Department Of Health , Food and Drugs Administration and other agencies concerned with such matter. Contraception for everyone’s information aims to prevent, by any means, the union of the egg cell and the sperm cell. However, the “Order of the existence of things” already dictates that the sperm cells must meet the egg cell and as they proceed to fertilization. Through contraception then, these order of things are altered, thus, what we call normal does not apply anymore. How then can the RH Bill say that they are going to promote Reproductive health when they already involve methods contrary to the normalcy of the Human Reproductive Processes, methods that despoil the same reproductive health H.B 4244 is pertaining to. The promotion of Contraceptives by the Bill jointly promotes abortion. This is because contraceptives are said to have abortive effects at the earliest period of pregnancy thus, contraceptives evolve to a higher class as an abortificient. Now, is it considered abortion if we stop the fertilization of the egg? Is it considered immoral in doing so? The answers will depend on how we perceive the genesis of life, because in the fertilization approach, life begins at the very period when the egg unites with the sperm. At that little spark, life as we know it already begins from that cell. Because no matter how small or no matter how scientific we are basing this context, life already begins at fertilization, because it is life that will allow that cell to divide. It is through life that that tiny zygote could probably be the first Filipino to fly to the moon or the first person to discover the cure of Cancer. Thus, any attempt of putting an end to the fertilization process such as contraception is just too immoral in the context of fertilization. Just how can we say that abortion is immoral? It is as bad as killing a human person, however, in a sadder manner where innocent lives are being taken. “Thou Shall Not Kill”, the commandment of both Jews and Christians being transgressed by abortion. Even the Moslems condemn abortion. In general, life is very precious that all factions want to respect and protect its existence from its very beginning up to its very end. Even if we say that the Moral Pluralism will apply to the way the mother sees what is appropriate for her and for the child. It is not a reason to end a life of an innocent, as we again say, just because one is pragmatic for the situation does not mean it is morally upright. RH Bill also tackles “Sustainable Human Development” where it brings the poor and the vulnerable to the center of development process, the central purpose of which is to create an enabling environment in which all can enjoy along. The bill is said to achieve this sustainable development through guiding principles such as “Enabling couples, individuals and women to have the number and reproductive spacing they desire”, “Conduct studies to analyze demographic trends toward sustainable human development, “Reproductive Health and Information, care and supplies”. There are a lot of others not mentioned however they employ the same thought. And the irony is that the “Sustainable Human Development” the bill is pertaining to simply focuses about population control. The programs for the “Sustainable Human Development” desires to promote a lot of other relevant solutions, but their main thought simply revolves around population control which is going to be achieved through the Reproductive Health Care we have already called as inconsistent. Now, on to “Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education”, the bill states that this program will help in attaining “Reproductive Health” and an “Adequate Knowledge of Sexuality”. By including it to the Education curriculum, the proponents of the bill believes that the welfare and rights of the children are promoted. The program will involve knowledges on how to prevent sexually transmitted infections through the use of the same products being promoted by the Reproductive Health section. But is that what the students really need to learn? Is it the proper prevention of HIV/AIDS through synthetic products and such that the youth need to learn? Because the real solution does not really lie among those subjects, the real solution actually lies in the proper guidance and orientation of the parents to their children. Because if such education is taught among the students, then we are giving them the idea that “pre-marital intercourse” is not immoral. We are giving them the idea that because of the presence of these contraceptives and alike, then there is nothing to be afraid of, which is just wrong for it does not target the real problem of the youths of today.

In conclusion, the bill indeed has a lot of flaws and questionable ideas, thus, because of these questionable ideas, no wonder the Catholic Church courageously contradicts the passing of the bill for it to become a law. Therefore, the church is not irrational for its contradiction to bill. Its initiative to contend the bill is actually compelling to look at. Because of the flawed propositions that the bill provides, the Catholic Church is not being counter productive, in fact, it wants to administer prosperity to our nation just like what the proponents of the bill wants to. In addition to that, because of the numerous perceptions of morality, we come up with a lot of decisions or propositions that we might see as upright or moral. However, again, the usefulness or the practicality or even what we can consider as pleasurable is not a good measure of what we consider as moral. The real measure of morality is the way on how it abides by the natural law and the RH bill contravenes this law that is what makes it immoral.

DIY: Insect Repellant

My boys love the outdoors. In fact, my youngest doesn’t say many words but one of the words he does say is “outside, outside!” while banging on the glass of our sliding back door. Due to an incredibly high number of man-eating mosquitoes, it is not a good idea to go out there unprotected. I didn’t take much time to research commercial bug repellant sprays, but the fact that they leave me gagging and gasping for air makes me think they are not great for you — DEET or no DEET. There are probably some commercial natural-type repellants, but I can only imagine they’re expensive. We’re going to be slathering this stuff head to toe most days this summer, so I wanted it to be safe AND economical.
There are several essential oils that those nasty critters just hate, so I made up a cocktail that should prevent them from thinking our skin is an all-you-can-eat buffet. Enjoy!
Homemade Insect Repellant * 4 Tbs. coconut oil, melted * 10 drops citronella oil * 10 drops lemongrass oil * 10 drops eucalyptus oil * 10 drops lavender oil * 10 drops peppermint oil
How to do it:
I like to put my coconut oil in a glass dish (or whatever I’ll use for storing the final product) on top of an upside down cookie sheet or cooling rack, straddling a burner that was heated and turned off. This way the oil melts quickly, but I don’t have to worry about over heating or dirtying a pan.
Once the oil is liquid, stir in the essential oils. I use a metal skewer so I don’t have to waste any oil on a spoon. Let it sit and cool.
You can apply to skin as a liquid or semi-solid ( coconut oil should be solid below 76F). The essential oils can be adjusted depending on your preference and supply, the most important being the citronella and lemongrass oils. The ratio should remain 50 drops per 4 Tbs. carrier oil in order to prevent irritating sensitive skin.
I tried this on my two little boys and myself today and I have not found a bite on anyone yet!
While another carrier oil could be used (like olive oil), there is one significant benefit to making this with coconut oil.Coconut oil according to Jennifer of Hybrid Rasta Mama has an SPF of between 4-6. In combination with a diet rich in omega-3s (including coconut oil!), this bug repellant should help prevent sunburn as well. Our backyard is fairly shady so I feel completely comfortable sending my boys out there with this as their only sun protection.
Experiment; gradually building a longer exposure to help them develop a base tan that will further protect them. And if you aren’t aware of the many benefits and uses for coconut oil, you can check out Hybrid Rasta Mama’s extensive listhere. It is one of the most versatile products in my house, right up there with baking soda and vinegar!!