To live happily, learn to roll with the tide. Adapt to the changing seasons of life… for everything in life has its own time, rhyme, and season. As for me, the time to downsize has come, as my home has become almost an empty nest. My son Karlo now has his own family, and youngest daughter Vanessa has flown on her own. Its just me now and my daughter Nina.
Years ago, well-meaning friends suggested I move into a condo, but I kept saying I shall miss my garden, where I meditate every morning amid the calming sound of the waterfalls. I shall miss the homing birds that come at a particular time for their ration of bird seeds and cooked rice. I shall miss the sight of the multi-colored flowers and the green plants surrounding the garden. I shall miss being sun-kissed while I sip my coffee and read the newspapers. I cannot bear to miss all these, so I thought.
Until that freak accident that put me on a wheelchair for two months. Then the idea of condo living dawned on me. It was a mind-opener, and the urge to do so came stronger with the passing of time. I prayed for the best place to live in, as I scouted for a comfortable-yet-most convenient-with-all-my-needs-just-around-the-corner condo unit. I focused on condos along Ayala Avenue and Legaspi Village. None came close to what I wanted: the three bedrooms were too big, and the two bedrooms were small, and they came fully furnished. I wanted to bring the furniture and other things I had been accustomed to so the transition would be gradual. I did not want an all-new place with used furniture and things previously owned by others.
God really works in mysterious ways. He sent me to see a condo that I did not know had not been lived in since it was bought. Imagine the stale dirty air and the thick-accumulated-over-many-years dust that I must have inhaled. I got sick for two weeks! The incident opened my eyes to that vicinity and realized all my requirements are in that area. Though I did not go back to that uninhabited-never-cleaned-since-turned-over unit, in my heart I knew that area was IT!
Moving from a big house to a three-bedroom condo was sooooo exhausting! I did not just transfer my home but my office as well. I had to read every single document since 1995 to trim down my six filing cabinets to just one, sorted every piece of cloth, dinner and silver ware, kitchen stuff, curtains, bags, furniture, etc. for donation, and ensured the remaining things fitted in my condo.
Now in my first month of condo living, I heave a great, relieved, happy, delighted sigh. It is awesomely comfortable and convenient. I walk in the park every morning, do some yoga stretching, read newspapers under the sun to help my over-taxed and over-used eyes because of the voluminous papers I went through. I have made friends with some people who congregate at the park regularly, like the Indian couple Tiss and Suban, who were doing some breathing exercises one morning. I approached and told them I learned that kind of breathing from Dr. Madan Kataria, under whom I studied Laughter Yoga. The couple said Laughter Yoga is very popular in India, so we did some LYoga exercises and let out some rounds of blustering laughter. Hoho, hahaha!
Laughter undoubtedly is an easy, good connector between and among people. How the mini Laughter Yoga I conducted last week started, I cannot remember, as it was done spontaneously with eight ladies, two of whom were from Cambodia, and just started working here. I shared with them the good times I and my family had in Siem Reap last August, and talked about the many temples, the most popular of which is the Angkor Wat.
Mali, a Cambodian, gamely took pictures while we were doing the Laughter Yoga exercises. To introduce LYoga, we did two warm-up exercises: the LYoga clapping, which excited them when they were told it boosts the flow of energy to the body faster; and the hoho-haha-ing, that promotes the overall well-being of a person. I then introduced some LYoga exercises and started laughing gleefully, relaxingly. Coupled by some deep-breathing exercises, we began to perspire, as LYoga is a body exercise. When done, my new-found Laughter Yoga enthusiasts asked if we could do it regularly. Of course, I said, because it is the best, wonderful way to start our day: relaxed, happy, positive.
Doing LYoga in the morning helps prime us for the challenges, excitement, and the unexpected that the daily grinds bring about — happily, positively, efficiently. Doing it after work helps greatly in destressing and relaxing our minds and bodies completely. Promoting restful, recharging, deep slumber. Yesterday, I joined two ladies from Robinsons Summit doing Zumba in the park after office, and I suggested we cap the dancing with Laughter Yoga. And laugh we did to our hearts’ delight!
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E-mail me at mega_abundant_lv@yahoo.com.