On my 79th birthjday. Manny Maramara and Mark Wiley joined me for dinner (courtesy of Mark) at Daddy’s Place (Mommy’s Kitchen), a Moroccan restaurant in downtown Easton. I often say it was my 80th because as a person with Chinese ancestry I also consider the 9 months in the womb as a year. A friend also told me that the Chinese skip 79th and go on to the next year to celebrate. But I am not one to miss a birthday. So there we were with a feast in front of us — grilled chicken, beef and lamb with a skewer of onions, peppers and tomatoes, hummus, babaganoush, salad, pita bread, kibbe, tabouli and a few other dishes I do not have the names for. We had Turkish coffee and tiramisu for dessert. I was even able to blow the candle. I was like a kid in a toy store. Sorry, no beer. We were all teetotaler. Hallelujah!
Continue reading “February 2020 – Photos, old & new”Author: renejnavarro
February 2020 – Blog post
Kintsugi, noun, (Kint-soo-gee): “golden repair”
As if it arrived in time to teach me a lesson, I encountered the Japanese word two times in one month last year, once in a magazine on wholeness and again in a book by a young woman who was raped. It refers to the ancient Japanese technique of putting together the broken pieces of a bowl or a cup with gold thread and lacquer or resin. We can infer different meanings or metaphors from it. Life is not entirely perfect or whole; it is composed of broken pieces that we mended together, shards that became a part of ourselves, a part of who we are, or part of our relationships. The restored self is made whole from life’s experiences. We see the blemishes: they are repaired with love and gentleness. When we look at what we have threaded and glued together we see something new; we also remember that it came from a painful past, a time of anger and bitterness that was transformed through love. We have created a stronger bowl or cup and it’s even more beautiful. I have a saucer that I glued together: I am still using it along with my miniature tea set from China. Our body covers the wounds with scars. As we go through life, we suffer tragedies, tribulations, traumas or learn lessons that become a part of our psyche. We speak of a broken heart when we are rejected. Yet we survive and are healed because we bring our will and hopes inside of us to face the trials we fear we cannot endure. Continue reading “February 2020 – Blog post”
Newsletter – November 2019
*** November 19: Manila, Philippines. I have been teaching private lessons to a few students. The classes are one-on-one and are focused on the correction of Section 1 of the 108 movement solo fist form of Traditional Yang Family Tai chi chuan. In certain cases I also teach Tao Basics, a course that includes Microcosmic Orbit Orbit/Small Heavenly Circle (Xiao Zhou Tian) and Zhan Zhuang (Stationary Postures). Continue reading “Newsletter – November 2019”
Mediterranean Tour—Part 2.
A photo gallery — click on the thumbnail to see the full-size image.
Mediterranean Tour—Part 1.
A photo gallery — click on the thumbnail to see the full-size image.
Newsletter — August 2019
The Med Tour
It was actually Bhutan I wanted to visit. In one of those strange synchronicities in my life, I had met Karma Lhatrul Rinpoche in Bali, a lama from Bhutan. One night an Italian friend Francesca rang me up to tell me we were having dinner in Sopa, a vegan restaurant in Ubud. That’s where I first met Karma, a lama from Bhutan.
Singapore: A photo gallery
Photos from Singapore
Newsletter: May 2019
Once again I am late in reporting on my recent travels. A serious jet-lag, characterized by sleepiness and exhaustion mixed with a busy schedule, forced me to put the materials aside. I had become lackadaisical. I was editing some essays from the 1980s, satires against the Marcos regime, to feature in the anniversary of the martial law regime in February but I was seized with the so-called manana complex. I kept putting the blog off and before I realized it, we’re into April, the “cruelest month” and tax time. To top it off, I had a couple of eye surgeries for my cataracts. Yes, I am getting on in years! ☺
Batanes: A photo gallery
Photos from Batanes
Newsletter – December 2018
***The unbelievably sheer massiveness of the temples and pyramids has left archaeologists, scholars, explorers and plain speculators so skeptical that they attribute the construction to the Lost Continent of Atlantis and Extraterrestials.
But the explanation may be more down-to-earth and accessible: it was human ingenuity and determination that assembled the edifices. Let us not dismiss or underestimate human ability. The ancient Egyptians were capable of such incredible feats of engineering, after all. ***