Salutation #197

A forward thinking nation, that is who we must be;
a people endowed through their generations with well-informed thought -
living, loving, learning, grieving, working, and playing as a society of citizens
constantly empowered by the power of their own good thinking.

(Forward Thinking Nation)

All souls that seek are living souls.

It is in our seeking that maketh us to feel alive.
Led by a light that beckon each from outside of the self.

And thought is the light that enlivens the soul of a thinking nation -

Thought that is good 

maketh the love in the heart 

shine in the mind!

Information enlightened by thought is knowledge. 

And knowledge blessed by the soul of a thoughtful nation 

leadeth all its citizens to be gathered together in peace.

A thoughtful people possesses 

a mind of prayer and a heart of faith; 

theirs is a science pure and free.

Just as the faith of a man or a woman 

allow their souls to seek the truth,

the soul of a faithful nation 

allows for all living souls 

to become gathered together 

and know peace.

This is who we have always been...

- selah -

What we need to do is return -

to a common memory of the little things,

the steadfast littleness of good things - those fine, fine things

that maketh the infinite, infinite in us.

Little acts of kindness builds a compassionate community.

Like mighty, little stones these nameless motions are 

which fastened together by the cement of our good will

become the great and courageous walls that rise up 

as a common shelter to our families and friends 

against the malice of the enemy.

Great power does not hold the beast back. 

Great love does.

And great love is never great without these little things

that maketh the infinite, infinite in us.

Let us begin.

---<--@

Salutation #148

It is human to fight for love.
It is not human to fight for hate.

For when we fight for love, we defend.
When we fight for hate, we only fight.



(Nemesis)

Listen!

There are
two sources of nemesis
for any Country, republic or otherwise -
one is man-made, and the other one,
natural.

Of these two sources,
the military has a distinct role
in mitigating the damages wrought
by each their particular evils.

   (All our civilian first response teams
   integrated into police and public safety institutions
   also have a purpose and responsibility
   to carry out and fulfill
   in times of national duress
   but these purposes and responsibilities
   remain and have remained
   both clear and un-obscured hitherto.)

Now,

man-made sources
give rise to armed conflicts
but natural sources also does
give rise to armed conflicts.

Both
are of a paramount concern
to the Responsible State.

What is important
- is to remember -
which one is which.

For "peace-time roles", as such,
which are actions meant to intervene for the nation
in response to the Country's enemies of a natural source
   (i.e. floods, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.)
through seemingly diminished
in contrast to the war-time responsibilities of any military,
   (necessarily utilized and evolved through the last great age of war)
shall have a great emphasis
in this new age.

Mabuhay!
---<--@

Prayer to the King

Salutation #129

ALL SALUTATIONS are meant
to invoke into our collective memory
the reality of something good.

Evil
being devoid of that excellence
we tend in spirit to honor and admire
is not something we commonly salute
as human beings - and so -
as human nations together
we do not openly invoke evil
in our salutations.

   (Therefore,
   we may safely exclude
   from this particular reflection
   anything else but the good in things.)



(The National Salutation)

"Mabuhay"
is the salutation
associated with the Philippines.

   (As such,
   it is quite familiar
   to all of us Filipinos
   and even to other nations.)

It is not a salutation of individuals.

- selah -

Therefore,
it can never be
something meant to refer to
(1) any single individual - or -
(2) anything about the life of any single individual - or -
(3) anything about his or her personal virtues
no matter how excellent.

So what does it mean
when we Filipinos say "mabuhay"?

And
when we Filipinos do say "mabuhay"
what for or to whom in particular
do we tend to - consciously -
as well as - unconsciously -
address this to?

Mabuhay
simply means "to bring to life".

It is a salutation
that invokes "life" or the quality of it.

Now,
the life of any nation
is the product of the quality
of the communities that exists
wholly within itself.

It is therefore,
a measure of the sum
of all its relationships,
vertical and then horizontal.

   (This sum
   is always positive
   no matter how deteriorated
   any nation becomes.

   For
   there are no last peoples
   only disappeared cultures.

   Indeed,
   there will always be
   - remnant nations -
   for as long as there are
   nations upon our world.

   Because
   just as there are no such things
   as false hopes, only real ones;
   there are no such things
   as false relationships,
   only real ones.)

Now,
the quality
of these relationships
within the nation
is a product of
the quality
of the national remembrance.

For it is remembrance
that dictates the quality
of the national peace.

- selah -

My brother and sister Filipinos -

Mabuhay - is -
the salutation of our nation
in its entirely - and so -
must refer to the quality of the life
of the nationhood in each ourselves
- as well as -
the completeness of the sacred remembrances
we must together keep through all our generations
as a nation upon this earth.

It intends
to specifically invoke
- in the one Filipino heart -
a memory of itself.

It is a salutation
addressed directly and simultaneously
to all Filipinos from everywhere
and from every time
and is meant to return (again and again)
our every present generation
to the timeless memory
of our people.

It ever reminds
of the reality of our nationhood;
its duties and responsibilities,
its mission, vision, promise, and destiny.

And says to every Filipino heart,
"long may our remembrances serve us".

So when we Filipinos say -

"mabuhay"

it should mean
that we do love the Philippines
as citizens to each other,
and that we do understand this love
as truth in our hearts.

- selah -

When we invoke
our national salutation
- with substance -
this truth empowers us.

It must elicit in our hearts
a love that is not distant or abstract!

It must ever remind us
of everything real to our national hopes
as a nation distinct among nations;
that particular something
we can all meaningfully understand.

It must continuously rekindle
in each ourselves (again and again)
- as citizens to each other -
that sovereign kind of mutual ownership
proper to our national trust
and empower us with a love of Country
that reaches right down to the ground
of our national communities
enabling every Filipino
to freely bring the blessings of our peace
into the lives of the very least
of our brothers and sisters,
our littlest Filipinos.

- selah -

The life of every nation
is derived from its particular sense of unity
and this particular sense of unity
is derived from the strength of its peace.

Upon this peace
(and the abundance or the lack of it)
is established the order and the cohesion
of all its national communities.

A nation's life - therefore,
is measured by the quality
of the sum of all the relationships
dwelling forever within itself.

- selah -

Mabuhay 
is meant to recall us
to a memory of all of these relationships
in particular with the poor and needy in our midst
not to remind us of what we lack
but to return us to what we all must be - together this time -
to the one labor that our nation is purposed for by God,
the one trust that binds together all our generations,
and that constant remembrance of the peace
that must forever and ever live
- in each of us -
as citizens, one to another,
- equally engaged -
in our one Republic undertaking of Country -


---<--@

(original produced 20110821)

Salutation #119

In the Ages of Country,
that necessary and vital transition
from emerging to developing
(as well as from developed to mature)
- is a purely internal shift -
'tis a definitive change of spirit;
a repentance of the heart.

---<--@

(Growing Great)

IT IS EASY
to flaunt strength
when a nation is blessed
and outwardly strong
but this outward strength,
my brothers and sisters of the Promise,
however awesome it may seem,
must soon be surrendered
to an inward awareness
of what is truly forever abiding
in the life of our nations.

It must gain the profit of its grace.

Else it is all vanity.

- selah -

It is said,
precious Starshine -

"Half the victory is knowledge of self."

For one who desires
to obtain the victory (of God)
must first understand the self, 

master the self, overcome the self -
before one truly learns
- how it is -
to live and fight
and die for others.

The other half then,
is just enduring.

(This is true 

for individual human beings

and for individual human nations.)
---<--@


The Ages of Country

Salutation #103

(Maritime Nation)

If you want to strengthen the land
then strengthen everything
connected to the land.

If you want to strengthen
everything connected to the land
then strengthen the land.

- selah -

If you want to strengthen the sea,
if you want to strengthen the air,
if you want to strengthen space and time,
- you may only do so -
from the strength of the land.

If you want to strengthen spirit,
- you may only do so -
out of thy love for thy land.

Therefore,
if you want to build
both spirit and strength
and need to know
where to begin
- then understand this -
you must build from the land
and must grow only from out of it.

So let thy connections to the land,
give thee strength of will and purpose!

For without the land,
everything loses meaning...

And land that can not be held
- in the heart -
can not be held at all.
---<--@


Out from unity, all things we may build.

Go Team AFP. Go Navy!

Naval Jack of the Philippines

Real Weakness

Salutation #99

The things of division are ephemeral

- difficult and painful they may be -

these evils serve a necessary purpose

and this purpose is always

- greater and nobler -

than these hurts.

For unity and the fruits of unity,

- these are the things that matter -

these are eternal!

(Emergence)

Listen!

When I was a child,

I demanded perfection from my parents.

As I grew,

I came to accept not only their imperfection

but my own.

Now that I am all grown up,

I work with my parents

to make our family more perfect...

My brothers and sisters of the Promise -

That child is our nation,

those parents are our government

(under the LORD as our one Sovereign),

and that family is our one Republic.

---<--@

To everything there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under heaven.

Salutation #87

Judgment is the faculty of our soul - that -

deals with separating truth from untruth;

Light from Darkness.

(Decide)

To remove or to acquit?

Let me tell you this - decide.

Let us decide - and -

let us defend our decision together.

No nation is ruled by random chance.

There will be consequences

for every decision

we take* as a Country - good or bad.

(*Individual citizens make decisions,

our Congress takes them - in the context of this trial,

this means our incumbent citizen-servants

in the Senate, our Senator-Judges.

This is very important to understand.)

But if our immutable will - is -

to be true to the purpose

our God has established us, a nation

- imperfect though we may be -

all these imperfect choices

the LORD shall deign to bless.

And these shall ultimately lead our nation

- from generation to generation -

unto the Dawn!

For it is not we

who leads unto the Dawn, my people,

it is the LORD!

Personally speaking,
as your fellow citizen equally engaged
in this one Republic undertaking of Country,

I am ultimately inclined
to support our President Noy

for it is my conviction - that -
I must always defer to the Office

upon whose necessary authority

- every one of our presidents -

stands before we, the people.

- selah -

(I have other reasons

to support President Noy

- but they are wholly personal -

and so I shall exclude them

here in our consideration.)

But - good or bad - ultimately,

it is your choices we must defend, O my people,

so make these choices well and - decide.

---<--@

Think about it -

(Refer to our 2nd Monthly Exercise)

Whatever happens here, we can not exclude a Filipino from being a Filipino.

We still have to take care of each other.

We are expected to only choose our friends, this is the only correct choice.

So we must - with all peoples and with all nations, abide in peace and good will. Our enemies make themselves.

For our values are the values of peace.

NOTE: A representative democracy does not exclude the participation of the people so make an informed decision and let your representatives know - write them, text them, twitter them, or pm them in facebook - express your opinions through the right channels. Above all, we must stand together as one nation.

On the first day of trial, at the closing - Senator Enrile was right to caution us about who we are - we are a nation, not a mob. (20120116)

- selah -

I will cherish and understand our Republic endeavor - it is the foundation of our democratic processes in the political, social and juridical institutions and representative traditions that maintain the good order of our public peace that shelter and preserve the life of our civil society.

And I shall maintain a constant vigilance over our democracy, participating in the labors that enrich and advance the peace of our Republic, seeking every means available, to pursue the the common good of our people and realize the eternal vision of our nation established in our Constitution.

(excerpted from Citizenship with Fidelity)

(20120123) The uncertainty being braved through by our peers in the senate chamber - our senator-judges, the prosecution, as well as the defense - about this whole impeachment trial is proof of its own significance.

For we are making a path here where there was none.

It is a path that if it is crafted properly and tread justly, with the utmost care about all those concerned (the nation not excepted), shall serve as a comfort and a guide for those generations who yet to stand at the helm of our great and noble Republic undertaking.

Yes, it is important!

Let us pray it concludes decisively.

---<--@

The National Minimum

Where is the Darkness?

My fellow Filipinos,

brothers and sisters of the Promise,

do you know why this is the Land of the Morning?

Because when the morning comes, my beloved people,

our generations will ask - where is the darkness?

---<--@

Hindi po nabubuhay ang bansa natin dahil madilim ang gabi.

Salutation #57

It is human to fight for love. It is not human to fight for hate. For when we fight for love, we defend. When we fight for hate, we only fight.

(What if?)

What if next year,

we draw a line in our hearts

- together this time -

and agree to belong again

as human beings and citizens to each other

under Almighty God

as one nation?

What if next year,

we leave the darkness of the past 2000 years

completely behind us?

What if next year,

we let go of our divisions

and hold on to our belongings

to each other instead?

What if next year - we begin again -

the labor of building upon the strength of our nationhood

and work to unify our one Republic peace?

What if next year,

we learn to reach out to each other

- more and more - as Filipinos than as anything else?

What if next year,

we make an effort to understand the plight of our minorities?

What if next year,

we stop making fun of the least of our brother and sister Filipinos

and try to share with them the meekness of our spirit?

What if next year,

we capitalize on the freedom of our gifts

and work together to build a better Philippines?

(On an election year: What if next year,

we work together to ensure a free and fair election?)

What if next year,

we mark the beginning of our labor of hope

and the end of our labor of tears?

- selah -

It will not be easy.

The taming of the unknown earth

- was meant to be difficult -

and the building of the inhabited earth

- shining with a myriad living lights -

near impossible.

The peace that we are tasked to observe

- one with the other - is not a perfect peace.

There will be adversity

and there might also be conflict...

But deep may this long night be,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise,

its darkness shall yield to our unity

for the darkness is but the darkness

if it does not lead to the truth.

Let us always remember,

we are a forward thinking nation!

And a forward thinking nation

is a nation guided by the light of its own truth.

---<--@

May Peace be in Egypt -

"A warlike Republic may seem unified but where the foundations by which the State unifies it's elements are not only unjust but also untrue, it shall never advance to fruition."

My beloved brothers and sisters of the Promise -

Let us pray for the unity of Egypt and for the Christian minority in that land...

Truly, the evolution of the Egyptian Republic shall not be easy. For all undertakings of Country is a labor vehemently opposed by the spirit of division.

But if they must succeed, they must do so by securing the 4th Cause and closing the gate of their Country against the spirit of oppression that wages a constant war against the weakest and most vulnerable portions of their common citizenry.

For if their Republic allows this horseman a free hand upon their land, it shall work its way from the weak to the strong and shall mean to one day overthrow even the noblest of their folk until - by and by - there shall be no one left to defend the liberty of that Republic.

So let the peace of Egypt be in our prayers - for all Egyptians.

And I especially ask my own Roman Catholic brethren and sisters to take this prayer to Holy Mass this Sunday - may Peace prevail in Egypt and in the Middle East!

---<--@

No State exists to fail but all States that fail exist only for itself.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang Republika ng Ehipto! God bless us all.

Exceeding the Defense

Salutation #54

Mapalad ang Bayan na ang Diyos ay ang PANGINOON.

(2045)

In 2045,

if we choose Peace today,

if we are patient, if we are persistent,

we will look back at the songs we sing today

and the songs we shall be singing then

and we shall as one nation praise the LORD!

When we realize how God

has turned our mourning into rejoicing,

we will praise the LORD!

When we realize how God

has transformed the pain of our our repentance

into the power of our freedoms together,

we will praise the LORD!

When we realize how God

has embraced all our little crosses

in order to bring our people forth into victory,

we will praise the LORD!

When we realize how God

has answered our songs of hope and longing

- gently, surely, patiently, wisely, mercifully, and generously -

and turned them into those songs of love and heroism,

and hymns of thanksgiving, glad tidings, and constant adoration,

we will praise the LORD!

If we choose Peace today, O my people,

my beloved brothers and sisters of the Promise,

- by 2045 -

if we are patient, if we are persistent,

all the problems that confound us today shall be no more.

If only we turn our hearts to God

- if we listen to Him -

we will find

as our gaze turns slowly away

from the darkness into the Light,

that all the persistent shadows that have plagued us in the past

- will have fled our people -

as the future opens up

into the skies of a new horizon

at the dawn of our new, old Philippines.

If we are to win the Peace of the LORD from God today,

we only have to seek it and to choose it absolutely

and we shall become who we are as we are

- who we must be for each other -

as citizens to each other,

a keeper and a friend.

For we are a patient and persistent people.

And we always have been a patient and persistent people

- since we became a people -

at the beginning of the long march of our nations

at the autumnal dusk of our faded Eden, mabuhay!

---<--@

A forward thinking nation is a nation guided by the light of its own truth.

Let us always remember, we are a forward thinking nation!

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Last October 3rd is German Unity Day.

Mabuhay, one Germany!