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Second thoughts

PARANG Peter Pan, kakapit sa masayang isip—just one flimsy thread of a happy thought—at makakaya, malaya nang papailanlang sa himpapawid… lumipad na tila limbas, humaginit na tila alaala sa kalawakan.

Pero subukang gayahin ang ganoon—hold on firmly to a single thought. We double dare you, do it if you can.

Parang pumigil sa naghuhuramentadong pison, parang umawat sa walang humpay na hagod ng alon sa dalampasigan… walang hinto ang kawing-kawing, kawan-kawang sagasa’t ragasa ng isip.

Mas madali ngang pigilan ang paghinga. Kahit pa nga dalawang minuto, pansamantalang mapipigil ang hininga—lalo na kung tatambad bigla sa paningin ang katakam-takam, makapigil-hiningang tanawin… halimbawa’y sunod-sunod na inararo ng backhoe ang batok ng mga kapural at kasabwat sa Malakanyang sa Ampatuan Massacre… o nagsulputan kaya sa hukuman ang 57 biktima, pawang agnas na bangkay, sumusulasok na ang pagkabulok pero matamang magmamasid sa pagdinig ng kaso… na wala talagang kahihinatnan, pwe-he-he-he!

Even a French kiss can be so satisfyingly breath-taking… more so an Aussie kiss, that is, oscillation done on the nether lips…

But to keep a firm grip on a pure thought for, say, two minutes, can that be as satisfying as holding one’s breath under whatever’s soaking wet? Tougher than toughest!

Lagi kasing may nakabuntot na pasubali—second thoughts, also-ran thoughts, random and ransom thoughts—kaya paso na, bali pa ang susunggaban o kakapitang kisap ng isip. Kaya talagang matindi sa hirap ang halimbawa ni Peter Pan… ‘hirap tularan.

Mabilis kasing makahulagpos ang isip… ang totoo’y isipan lang ang gabay ng buong katawan sa taikiken at wuyiquan… thought is supposedly faster than the speed of light… kaya lagi’t laging sasalpak at sasapol sa katunggali ang kaldag at bigwas ng mga naturang sining-tanggulan.

“Even flow… thoughts arise like butterflies. We don’t know, so we keep chasing them away,” alulong nga ni Eddie Vedder.

‘Hirap naman pala, eh, bakit ba kailangang gayahin pa si Peter Pan? O magtiyagang alamin ang mga lihim ng sining na tulad ng taikiken or wuyiquan? Sirit na…

• 17 seconds of pure thought is worth 2,000 man-hours (about a year at 40 hours per week of action taken)
• 34 seconds = 20,000 man-hours (or some 10 years...)
• 51 seconds = 200,000 man-hours (or about 100 years...)
• 68 seconds = 2,000,000 man-hours (or about 1000 years...)

Bakit natin kailangang isiwalat ang ganitong inililihim na diskarte? Mahirap kasing maglaan ng 1,000 taong walang humpay na gawa sa anumang nais… na katumbas lang pala ng matiim, mataimtim na tutok-gagap ng isip sa wala pang dalawang minuto…

Aba’y kung takbo ng sariling isipan hindi mapanghawakan, nagkalat na parang basura kung saan-saan, paano pa kaya ang mga mapagpasyang paglilimi’t pagkilos?

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