The Quiltmaker's Gift

What a pity that I haven't heard or seen this book before. However, it is a true joy to find the meaning and discover that there is such a literature for children that illustrates what I long to do with my life for the coming years.

The book is called The Quiltmaker's Gift and is written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de Marcken. It is a charming fable of a generous quiltmaker who sews the most beautiful quilts in the world, then gives them away. It involves a greedy king, rich and powerful, yet unhappy with the things he have. The two lives intertwined and each learn the power of change and sharing.

The premise of the story is that the quilt maker will give one of her special quilts to the king if the latter agrees to part with his so called treasures to those who are in need. It is like to free ourselves from the bondage of materialism and confront our fear of losing what we have. At the end of the book, the quilt maker gave one of the quilt she especially made for the king and the king answered:

"But I am not poor. I may look poor, but in truth my heart is full to bursting, filled with memories of all the happiness I've given and received. I'm the richest man I know."

It is difficult to give away things we possess or had acquired for the longest time. It is equally hard to let go. However, we live to enjoy these things and when we part, these things will serve their purpose to other people again. Our link to material things should be that of needs and not of wants. Hard to let go, but beautiful to live a more simpler life.

The beauty of living is not that of acquiring wealth but that of acquiring wisdom and strength to fulfill our goals to lead and reach others. This is one goal I look forward to achieve.

Christmas

We make choices in life. Some chose to be away from home because they need to start a new life. Some made a choice to be away to escape what there was in their past lives. Some chose to stay. Whatever the choice was, there is one thing that connect us again, Christmas.

I put up a Christmas tree for many reasons. I celebrate Christmas and believe in the birth of Jesus Christ. I put up a tree every year because I am alone in the house, for almost eleven months of each year. The tree becomes a reminder of my childhood days: the presents, the parties, the get-togethers, my friends and my family. The tree reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas: not that of receiving but being more loving, more caring and more forgiving.

Since I live alone, the tree is there to reminisce family gatherings and make myself feel better. Looking at the tree is like having hope all the time. When I sit down on my sofa watching the flickering lights, I cry not because of its simplistic beauty but because of the past and good memories associated with it. Christmas is my favourite celebration and putting up the tree early is a way of making the spirit of Christmas longer in my household. Believe me that it takes courage to put them back inside the box.

The lights of the tree just as the star that led the Three Kings to Jesus will shine among us so that we could always remember the goodness of Christmas and the goodness of our hearts, the friendship and the best times of togetherness, the love and warmth of our families, and our commitment to our faith.

Merry Christmas to all and God bless!

300

300 entries since the beginning and I am still going to write and share. Entries about my passions- gardening and teaching; trials and successes; failures and sorrows; books and religion. Each and every entry is a creation not just by the mind but by the heart. My present status as being all alone throughout had forced me to create a vessel to communicate my thoughts and feelings gathered everyday.

300 is a big number but still a minuscule to the many ideas that permeates my core of thinking. It is nothing compared to the many thoughts that pervades my everyday meet with disasters and joys. It is also not enough to compare the number of times I was hurt or fell in love or thoughts of giving up. The entries I wrote were just a summary of my real core.

Each entry speaks about a layer of my inner thoughts, desires or faulty decisions. They moved me to seek support from readers and learned through those posts the magnanimity of dialogues. I seek not of an audience but a venue for my appreciation and disappointments. I made a start, continued through these years and eventually managed to reach these many entries.

I will continue to write as it is my only companion in life. Even without an audience, my monologues about living will surely be heard not because it is loud and daunting but because it speaks from the heart.