Life in the Philippines is pretty much okay for me overall. The only real disappointment has been that I haven’t found love here. Of course, I haven’t been looking all that hard either. The few Filipinas I’ve met have proven to be disappointments, but I’ll take the blame there as well. Fact is, I’m just not willing to put my heart on the line which is a necessary prerequisite for engaging in a meaningful relationship. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.
Anyway, over at Kevin Kim’s walking blog, he provided some great insights on overcoming inertia and gravity and laziness.
Dr. M. Scott Peck, in his pop-psych classic The Road Less Traveled, argued that the most basic human character flaw is laziness. If there can be said to be a “physics of the spirit,” then concepts like gravity and inertia would apply to spiritual matters. Laziness is a function of both spiritual gravity and spiritual inertia: gravity, insofar as the human tendency is to find the downward path of least resistance; and inertia, insofar as the human character resists switching tracks once it decides on a certain course of thought and action. Laziness, then, was the devil on one of my shoulders today. It’s the devil that always tells me I can sleep another 40 minutes when my phone’s alarm sounds at 5 a.m. It’s the devil that makes me think, now and then, about how nice it’d be just to take a bus back to Seoul and spend the rest of my break lazing around in my apartment with nobody else the wiser.
I can totally relate. Lately, it seems I have to push myself to avoid taking the easy trail rather than the mountain walk. I’ve always got some legitimate rationale for doing so, but I’m likely just making excuses for my inherent laziness. It occurs to me that this logic probably applies to my love life as well. In taking the easy and safe path I’m missing out on the breathtaking vistas that true love might show me. I don’t know, my fall back argument that there are worse things than being alone still resonates. I reckon I’ll just wait and see what happens next.
In the meantime, I’ve still got my walking to keep me company. And sometimes I’m not even walking alone. Here are some shots from Wednesday’s hike.
I’m happy to report that I did not short cut the trail this week, telling the devils on my shoulders to shut the fuck up. There were a couple of times during the walk that I had to overcome some gravity, but I got it done.
I’ve been hanging out a Cheap Charlies quite a bit of late. Both me and the nephew enjoy the views and it is hard to resist our favorite bargirls, Maya and Rosemarie. Speaking of views, here’s one from last night:
And the latest news on the owner of Cheap Charlies doesn’t sound good to me:
1. He’s had a massive stroke. It’s left him totally paralyzed on the right side and aphasic (unable to speak).
2. He had a massive bleed which caused a subdural hematoma that required opening his skull to drain the blood.
3. He has additional medical problems; most of which are under control. These include hypertension, renal failure, possible diabetes and pulmonary congestion. The congestion is troubling as he has lots of sputum that must be suctioned regularly.
4. The prognosis is not promising. Much will depend on his resolve. Strokes often cause severe depression whereby the patient loses the will to work with their physical and speech therapists and don’t recover. The best thing that could happen is he becomes well enough to travel back to Scotland. Tim tells me his sister is a nurse practitioner who specializes in stroke recovery.
5. Tim’s handling all the bills and doing a great job stepping up to the plate. Graham’s bills are going to be significant.
At least all the money I’m spending on beer is going to a good cause. It does put my meaningless problems in perspective. Get well soon!
I’ve had it to here
Bein’ where love’s a small word
Part-time thing, paper ring
I know it’s been done
Havin’ one girl who’ll love me
Right or wrong, weak or strong
Don’t know that I will
But until I can find me
The girl who’ll stay
And won’t play games behind me
I’ll be what I am
A solitary man, solitary man
Sorry to hear about Graham. I hope he achieves some measure of recovery. My buddy Mike has a friend who suffered a severe stroke years ago. The guy was so deep under that, for years, the parents debated pulling the plug. Around last year, though, the guy started showing signs of responsiveness, and now he’s almost fully functional again. Things don’t always pan out like this, but there’s reason for hope.
Yeah, it is a long road ahead made all the more difficult by being stuck in a foreign country with little to no support system in place. I understand that the only money Graham has comes as income from the bar. That’s never a sure thing and it’s all the more iffy with a new bar fixing to open right across the street.