Category Archives: Community

The Road to Diamond, Day 70: Truisms

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 6,2025, Manila- One of my Baha’i sisters in faith returned to Manila, this morning, after a lengthy stay in her home area. She has asked for my support in a matter involving an oversight on the part of her employer. My support, as a guest of the Philippine government, would have to be strictly of the moral kind. Filipinos themselves must fight their own battles-and they have, in times past.

Americans are now involved in a strenuous debate, on several fronts. There are questions being batted back and forth, such as: “Who was corrupt first?”; “Why should taxpayers fund subscriptions to periodicals and on-line publications?”; “What do we do, if it turns out that a DOGE technician has overstepped the group’s mission and has a hand in someone’s till?” “Who will determine what happens to Greenland? to Gaza? to a location to be mentioned later?” My stock answer, particularly to the first three questions, is: Be the integrity you want to see in the world, first. Other truisms I would employ include: “Two wrongs don’t make a right; Government agencies don’t need to spend six figures, or even five, on subscriptions; There needs to remain a system of checks and balances, with Congress and the Executive Branch deciding most matters together. (This means Congress has to DO something, systematically.) As for the affairs of a country outside the territorial limits of the United States-the people of that entity deserve the right to conduct free and fair elections, and chart their own course. That, of course, means that outside actors-regardless of ideology, need to butt out. (Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran come to mind-so do China, Russia and our own country.)

A line by line review of the budget process is not, inherently, a bad thing. People have talked, at times glibly, about it for decades now. It does, however, need to be conducted dispassionately, in a transparent manner and by professionals who do not stand to gain from cuts or add-ons. One last truism: Money and power tend to become more enticing, even when someone holds plenty of both. That’s why governance by fiat most often falls flat.

The Road to Diamond, Day 69: Being At Ease in Place

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 5, 2025, Manila- One of my nest eggs has been put into safe mode, by the investment company, until there is surety as to who has access to the account. This is one reaction to the news out of Washington. My own reaction is to be glad I am here in the Philippines, among friends whose only wish is to see me relax and be happy. To be clear, I would be staying relaxed in place if I were back at Home Base I, or in Grapevine, for that matter. Here, though, I have space to work out what I am going to decide, as to whether to return here for several months, in May or June, getting an extended visa; to settle into a Sheltering Lead with the Red Cross in northwest Arizona; or to hit the road in Europe and Africa, come autumn. These are Plans 1, 2 and 3, ordered by preference.

I am learning to be comfortable in place. Ironically, this is happening because I value the company and presence of someone, who herself is constantly in motion, and not really at ease with indecision. She has been good for me, in that I can let her know that the wheels are turning, whilst being in a situation where I am weighing multiple options. It’s been a while since that has been the case, and of course, there will be people who are disappointed by my choosing one option over the others-also a rarity in my life.

This year is going to be one of those, however. I would not entirely be surprised if my return flight to North America, on February 18, ends up being re-routed to Vancouver-or Monterrey. The Red Cross is likely to be intact, in the event I end up with Plan 2-or is it? A lot of water is going to be passing under several bridges, before we’re done.

I’m glad to have K in my life-and all of you, as well. Hope you can be at ease in place, wherever you might find yourselves.

The Road to Diamond, Day 67: Stay Brave

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 3, 2025, Manila- Over the weekend, people without security clearances gained access to sensitive information. So is the news coming our way from North America. People here in Manila have been, understandably, not overwhelmingly feeling bad about the internecine battles in Washington. This was, to them, and to many in struggling countries around the world, the mother of all First World problems-until the USAID closure.

It will take time for the President of the United States to sift through the programs of USAID and figure out which programs, if any, are “corrupt, and worthy of dismantling”. In the meantime, thousands, if not millions, of lives in countries across the world, will be at risk. This is not a simple matter of rooting out “crazy, ultraleft, socialist, wingnut policies”,as someone back in Prescott once characterized USAID. This is rule by swarming, done by individuals with little or not knowledge of the larger effects of their actions. It evokes the scene in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, where Randle McMurphy leads the gang in party night, getting even a hydro-cephalic patient intoxicated. We will see where the present state of affairs leads, in short order. It will not be as easily resolved as the scene in the movie.

To anyone, anywhere, who is being affected by the turmoil in Washington, DC, and elsewhere: Be brave, stay focused and live your truth. Some may lose much, if not all, of their nest eggs, but judging from the slow recoveries that those before us have seen, in crises past, the losses will not be permanent. Be watchful, be vocal and do not let yourselves get distracted by multiple crises seeming to occur at once. Be discerning, and do not let less than savoury actors rule the day. Above all, follow the law, even if it looks like those in the driver’s seat are not.

Justice will prevail.

The Road to Diamond, Day 66: Not The Same Old Stuff

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 2, 2025, Manila- It was hot here today. I am far from the cold hills of western Pennsylvania, so there is no anticipation about what Punxsutawney’s groundhog will “prognosticate” about the course of the winter. Ditto, with respect to the forecasting rattlesnake of the Sonoran Desert. I am in a place of never-winter.

February 2 is, at least for me, a day to wrestle with my own feelings of being “less than”. I don’t know where this subpar self-concept came from or who might have set it in motion. I know that some, on both sides of my family, struggled with their own self-worth. Growing up, and even through the course of my marriage, those closest to me were put off by my self-criticism, to the point where, on a few occasions, I was someone with whom they were “making do”, tolerating.

In time, I have learned that in order to counter such diatribes, I have to do more than tolerate, or make do, with myself. I am up front, with the person I love most now, about my struggles. Though we are far from sure as to which direction our friendship will go, she is far more understanding and supportive than many were in my past. Looking back, they had their own self-doubts and struggles; so, they could not be of much help.

On the bright side, our communication is much better than the channels I had with those I loved, in bygone years. So, despite my lingering misgivings about self, I know that those will not be fed from outside of me. K and I will be friends forever, and as with some others at Home Base I and across the globe, we will always have one another’s back. My self-concept will not get in the way of being here for others. I want what is best for those I love and that also goes way back.

Unlike Bill Murray’s hapless Phil Connors, in the film Groundhog Day (1993), I don’t have any need to loop counterproductive attitudes and behaviours, in order to achieve what I either think I desire or genuinely want. So, today’s sitting in on a group that was mostly speaking Tagalog was actually time well-spent, as hearing a language other than English, for an extended period of time, leads to internalizing the tongue. I found this to be true of Spanish, French, Korean-even Navajo, Hopi and Persian, to some extent. I can at least pronounce words in print, having heard them spoken for a time.

That is just one way in which my time here is proving to be helpful, on a personal level. I look forward to experiencing others.

The Road to Diamond, Day 65: Lipa

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Hiking and Nature, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 1, 2025, Manila- I have been hoping for a diversion from the turmoil back in the U.S. My friend here, who has her own priorities, gave me just such a diversion today: Six adults and a child piled into a van, and were chauffeured down to the mid-sized coffee-producing city of Lipa, which has Batangas Province’s main cathedral and is its largest city, by population.


Our first stop in town was in a gated community called Miracle Heights. There, we met our local host for the day, Marilyn, who also goes by the sobriquet Geen-Geen. After a light lunch and a visit to her son’s tattoo studio, Geen accompanied us to Casa de Segunda and to San Sabastian Cathedral. As it happened, there was a wedding just starting, but we were allowed to enter through the vast courtyard and and observed the proceedings on the sidelines. It was greatly comforting to see two people who love one another confirming that sentiment and starting their life together.

Here are scenes from Geen’s garden, from Casa de Segunda and from the Cathedral.

Dragonfruit tree, in Geen’s garden, Lipa, Batangas.

Casa de Segunda is the preserved home of the Luz-Katigbak family, having been built in the 1860’s. Segunda Solis-Katigbak was, in her youth, the first love of Dr. Jose Rizal. He went on to give his life for the cause of Philippine nationhood. She went on to marry Manuel Mitra de San Miguel-Luz, becoming with him, the parent of nine children and a patron of the arts.

The entrance to Casa de Segunda. The gate is of heavy oak.
Here is a view of the main dining room.
Here is the exterior, from the courtyard.
A local resident came along and greeted us.

At the cathedral, we noted the following views.

Porta Santa, Cathedral of San Sebastian, Lipa.
Chancery of cathedral, from courtyard
Exterior of main cathedral.

The wedding saw the cathedral at its finest.

The interior of San Sebastian’s dome.

Here is a long view of the wedding aisle.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

From the cathedral, we went to Cintai Coritos Garden, in nearby Balete. There, we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner of low mein, followed by a dessert of sticky rice dipped in chocolate. A relaxing walk in Coritos’ grounds, at dusk, finished the day.

Friends view the green lagoon at Coritos.
Here is a small pavilion shrine, which reminded some of the friends of Bali.
Here are more Bali-esque images.

The day was typically well-packed, and had the desired effect of getting me to lighten up.

The Road to Diamond, Day 64: Adoracion

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 31, 2025, Manila- She completed a veritable mountain of translations, of Baha’i scriptures and guidance, from English to Tagalog, over a 40-year career. This, without a college degree, relying on a high level of intuition and native linguistic intelligence. Some of the texts she translated are quite challenging to read and comprehend in English. Her husband said she worked on translating letters from our Supreme Body, the Universal House of Justice,as soon as they were distributed. She anticipated the letters and set aside time for the work. This was the way of Maria Adoracion Inowe Newman, who died today at age 64.

The news came to me early this morning, about four hours after her passing, and so the day, which might otherwise have been rather quiet, became busy with messages back and forth, and a taxi ride across town to the high speed rail, which brought us to Antipolo, the Prescott of Luzon, and the city where Ador lived. After five of us took a motorcycle cab from the city center to the cemetery, we spent about an hour in reflection and some conversations, before the service was held, in gentle sunlight and a cool mountain breeze. Ador had chosen the prayers, a balance of English and Tagalog verses, reflecting her life’s work.

A life well-lived begets a personage well-loved, or perhaps the two are intertwined. Ador seems like a fitting name for the lady, judging from the quiet flow of sorrow this afternoon.

The Road to Diamond, Day 63: Plan by the Numbers

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 30, 2025, Manila- Undersea salvage expert Nico Vincent long ago gave up on “Plan A”, “Plan B”, etc., explaining that such a scheme limited one to “only 26 possibilities”. Even if one used the Greek alphabet afterwards, there would be “only 50”. So, he goes with plans that are numbered. Given his line of work, the allowance for multiple plans makes particular sense. It took several people a fair number of tries, over a century or so, before Dr. Vincent and his team were successful, in finding the ice-sundered ship, Endurance, which Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary polar explorer, and his crew were forced to abandon in 1916. Team Vincent probably needed to get to Plan 5, before their electronic devices helped them locate the wreck.

My need for a series of numbered plans is far less consequential, but here we are. There is an offer on the table for a responsible, if voluntary, position with my Red Cross department back at Home Base I and there is everything that is here in the Philippines. I have bought time on the former, yet the clock ticks. Plan 1 is to be present for the person who most has my heart. Plan 2 would be taking no for an answer and moving on, in which case the Red Cross offer would be a good balm. There would be other plans, as always, including a blend of the first two.

We are in uncharted territory, all over the place, in this “year of completion”. All that people have been working on, since 2017, is due to be wrapped up, according to astrology and cosmology. A new cycle, it’s said is to start in 2026. I look back at the 9-year cycles in which I’ve been involved, and can see some sense in that line of thought. The present cycle saw my recovery from the residue, both physical and emotional, of seeing Penny decline and pass on. The period will conclude with my having embarked on a worthwhile endeavour, regardless of how things work out.

We simply are in an age when flexibility is especially mandatory for preserving one’s mental and emotional well-being. Besides the political chaos that is prevalent in several parts of the world, there are too many factors in the lives of those dearest to me, for me to be stuck on a given course of action and only that course of action. Then, there is Mother Nature. Case in point: A group of us were considering going to Palawan, early next week. The sea in the beach areas under consideration is roiling. God willing, our plan will be realized at another time, but it’s best to not hold on too tightly to such things.

Plans unfold, by the numbers.

The Road to Diamond, Day 62: The Dinner Show

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Education, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 29, 2025, Manila- The six children gathered outside the small cafe, with two of them standing at the window, and all but demanding that those of us inside reach in our pockets and give to the cause. The owner sent a young lady out to tell them, nicely, to leave. That lasted for three minutes, and we all sensed they were merely hiding around the corner. The group came back, a second time, and were nearly as aggressive. This time, the owner sent a brusque male employee, whose message was that the police were on their way. The group left, going across the street to stand in front of a student dormitory.

Winter brings desperation, even in a relatively warm place like the Philippines. This is the dry season, though that will soon end. There have been reports of young men on motorcycles, harassing those going in and out of the U.S. Embassy and VA Clinic that is near the Embassy, though not the one I would use, were I to decide to move here. I am sure the police are responding, and besides, I have no plans to be anywhere near that area, this time around.

I take precautions with my belongings, when out on the street. Kids, and others, don’t see anything easily taken, because I don’t make it obvious, and thieves need to move quickly. I also don’t let myself be surrounded by any group of people, of any age. The kids yesterday, in San Gregorio, were respectful and had a documented, registered cause. The group outside the cafe, this evening, have done this before and when young adults pass them by, they don’t try anything foolish.

So, the dinner show was not all that entertaining. I was alone, and calmly had my rather modest meal. Food from street stalls, which is what the beggars themselves eat, is actually as plentiful as what was offered in the cafe, and I have eaten it myself, more than once. It is also a whole lot cheaper.

Why don’t I just put coins in cups? Multiply the group of six by the number of those watching from a distance, and you will have your answer. Baha’u’llah teaches that “the most despicable among men are those who sit idly and beg.” It is important to redirect children towards meaningful activity, and away from such idleness.

The Road to Diamond, Day 61: Return to (Maybe) Forever

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 28, 2025, Pasay– Three robust boys came to me with a request all too familiar, even back at Home Base I: Would I be so kind as to support their youth basketball league, with a small contribution? In a Metro Manila that is all too overrun with urchins thrusting out hands or paper cups, this was worth the small contribution that I gladly offered. Of course, the urchins were there, too, one hanging on my arm for a split second, but I am mindful of the futility that accompanies piecemeal rendering of small change. Like those who want millionaires and billionaires to pay off the national debt of the United States, the folks who scold others for not giving on demand to the people in the street are barking up a limbless tree. The Big Dogs don’t have enough, even collectively, to pay off the debt. The rest of us don’t have enough to keep paying the world’s destitute, ad infinitum. It’s simply best to support programs that can raise up the people; inspire and enlighten, educate and empower them.

I arrived at 10:30 a.m., in Apollo 11 Village, in the Barangay of San Gregorio, in the southeast corner of Pasay, and close enough to the gradually cleaner, but still rather fetid, Estero de Tripa de Gallina, to be a bit pestered by mosquitoes. Apollo 11 Village was in a festive mood,as many were gathered for the 75th birthday of a local matriarch. The scene even became a tourist attraction, with a few European visitors taking pictures of the birthday singing and cake cutting. I demurred on that front, out of respect for the lady and her family. My mission at that point was more quotidian: Walking to Mercury Drug, a mile to the west, to pick up spare razor blades. It was irksome to me, to have a day’s growth of beard, and my razor handle not fit into the blade. (For whatever reason, it would be more cooperative the next day).

My beloved contacted me and talked about all the things that had been going on in her life, over the past two weeks. She is always up front, so long as I give her the space that any person needs and deserves. We may well get closer, this time around. This visit may be a “return to forever” (with apologies to Chick Correa). It will, in any case, be memorable and nurturing, at least for me, and hopefully for both of us.

Here, for fans of the technojazz of the 1970s. is Return to Forever’s Majestic Dance, from their “Romantic Warrior” LP. Yes, it is an acquired taste for many, but I have grown to admire Chick Correa, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola and the rest, for their dedication to consciousness raising.

The Road to Diamond, Day 60: Floating and Weaving

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 27, 2025, Hong Kong– When I was a teen, boxers would speak of the technique of bobbing and weaving, as a means of dodging an opponent’s punches and getting in blows of their own. On a long-distance aircraft, the techniques for safely navigating an expanse of ocean, or of continent, or both, require knowing when to move aside an air current and when to “float” through it. The flight crew of our Cathay Pacific craft handled the turbulence over the mid-Pacific very well tonight.

It is the time of Lunar New Year, ringing in the Year of the (Wood) Snake. The holiday in general leads thousands upon thousands of East Asian people to travel to their ancestral homes, and there was quite a multitude in LAX, on our flight and others like it, and in the transit lines at Hong Kong International Airport. We moved, sometimes in flow and at other times haltingly, but there was only a minimal delay in take-offs and in deplaning upon landing. What issues arose were mostly because of scanning issues, with regard to passports and boarding passes, or because people did not understand the concept of facial scanning. It could be construed as a privacy issue, but to me, the government knows what I look like already and I have nothing to hide from any given national authority, so I look straight into the screening device and am waved on my way.

Wedged as I was between two Chinese men, both bigger than I, on the fifteen hour haul from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, it was nonetheless a stress free leg. The three of us had an unspoken agreement that when Window Seat passenger needed to answer nature’s call, we all found our way to the Comfort Room, Aisle Seat passenger going last. There is plenty of leg room and a fairly ergonomic seat construction. Even though we were at the very last row before the galley cabinets, room was still made for us to recline our seats. In fairness to everyone else, who had to bring their seats upright at meal times, we uprighted ours as well. The meals themselves, dinner and breakfast, were fully balanced and appetizing, by airline standards.

I slept for probably 6.4-7 hours, during the flight, availing myself of three films, during the waking portion. “The Wild Robot” explored the notion of adapting Artificial Intelligence to interpreting and communicating with non-human sentient beings. It also considered the adaptation of AI independence from possible future orthodoxy and repression. “Kingdom of Heaven” followed one man’s spiritual progress through the terrifying time of the Second Crusade, and the overarching climate of relative harmony between Christian, Jew and Muslim up until the time that a boorish claque of English and French nobles used the death of the Christian King of Jerusalem and Acre (Akko) as a pretext to seat one of their own on the throne and to wage war against the mighty Saladin. Various documented aspects of the actual Second Crusade, which ended with Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem were incorporated into the film’s narrative, but the story was greatly embellished. “High Noon”, a classic Western of the early 1950s, is a film I had not seen, though I was named for its lead actor, Gary Cooper, and its themes of the nobility of a true hero and the fecklessness of both politicians and the average “get-along” citizen are quite remarkably presented. The film is about 1 hour long,and its plot concerns itself with one hour in the life of a small southern New Mexico town of the 1880s.

So, my time crossing the Pacific was well-spent, and now I ready myself for the final 2-hour flight to Manila. Much will be decided, these next three weeks.