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Haplos


“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength…” Lao Tzu

HIGIT sa tig-sandosenang yakap at haplos sa dalawang apo—a dozen hugs a day ensures inner well-being and growth plus revved up powers of the immune system, so findings show. Tinatakalan din ng ganoon ang mga alagang aso’t pusa at lupa… pati mga itinanim na kawayan, balite, kakawate… siyempre lalo na sa katalisuyo, may itinatanim ding muhon matapos ang masinsinang pagsusukat-sipat.

It took psychoanalysis to figure out how the tactile gesture of loving can max up strength and a sense of self-worth. Pero matagal na palang ipinahiwatig ng pantas na Lao Tzu… at matagal na ring naging kabilang sa mga iniingatang pamamaraan ng ilang sining-tanggulan… if right doesn’t pack might, being right is useless. Kapag nasa katuwiran, dapat na matindi ang maihahalibas na angking lakas.

If you want to be deeply loved, love deeply. And thus harness deep reserves of strength. Hideous strength.

The loveless grow weaker… and weaker, even wicked. T-teka, mitsa ng kandila ang wick… so we can construe wicked as melted wax or blubber fitted with a fuse… at kapag nasindihan, unti-unti ngang nauupos, nauubos hanggang matapos.

Tender tactile imprinting must explain why our firstborn granddaughter Musa takes a deep love for her Anghelola… she was a few months old when her granny made a daily rite of gingerly kneading her all over like a lump of dough. The maxed up immune system strength made her tough against all manner of ailments that came with the shift in climes and times, why, she’d venture giggling, get herself drenched to the marrow in the rain—no colds caught, no shivering, no fears.

And if deep love means not having to displease the beloved, that ought to explain why Musa just wouldn’t dare displease her granny… she’d throw tantrums and toys at times but all it takes to hush her is a disapproving look from her Anghelola.

Matagal din na hinagilap ang tamang sagot sa bugtong na naisupalpal noon mula sa mga unang aralin ng shorin-ryu karatedo… sangkap daw kasi ang marubdob na pagmamahal upang umigkas ang kahindik-hindik na lakas sa bawat kaldag ng kamao, sikad ng tuhod, siko’t paa… pero saan nga hahagilap, huhugot, aapuhap ng ganoong antas ng pagmamahal na nagsasalin, mag-iimbak ng lakas?

Palpate for the palpable. Patalasin ang pakiramdam. Malakas ang bugso ng paglalambing ng mga lekat na pusa namin… maalimpungatan madalas sa madaling-araw na kasukob na ang dalawang pusa, sina Hsing-I at Toyang, umaamot ng init at naglalambing.

Unconditional love o walang pasubaling pagmamahal? Hindi magkandatuto ang mga alagang aso sa pagsalubong at pagkiskis ng sariling katawan sa amo—kahit amoy-alak o ang pasalubong ay tadyak…

At kapag may labahang talas ang pandama (bah mak ang taguri nito sa Cantonese), ang hahaplusing banakal at bulas ng mga puno ay may ipipintig na pag-ibig… maging ang niyayapakang lupa at niyayakap na simoy-hangi’t hibla ng liwanag-araw ay magsasalin ng pagsuyo’t lambing.

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make…”

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