DAY 35 - Sticky Stuffs.

It's mine! Till death do us part . . . . . . . ! 

Their faces turned all red. Some started giggling. Others, laughing. Then all burst out a roar of laughters. It was the sound of embarassing laughters.


- "But why?" I asked. "Why do you laugh?! What's the matter?"


No one spoke a  word. Then I continued my reading of the story A Thousand and One Arabian Nights to them. Then again when I read that particular word they all suddenly burst out laughing. 


- "What's wrong?!" I inquired. 


This time, complete silence. But I understood. 


You may wonder what was that particular word?! What was the word that made those teenage boys and girls burst out with embarassing laughters?!


Here goes: bitches! 


- Hmm?!


Yep. Bitches! 


That was written in the storybook: "Princess Zobedei told her sister, Amene, to bring out the two bitches." That's all. 


Now's the problem. Those teenagers only heard one meaning of the word and for them it's profane. It is profane when you place that particular word on people instead of the animals. That was on their mind. 


Yet how does that word or a word come to be a problem?!


- Well, isn't it all about the displacement of words? Or to be specific, names, titles and labels?


When one displaces a word out of context it could trigger negative emotional and physical reaction or even violence. Isn't it so?


Yet why does a name, a title or a label trigger such a strong physical and emotional reaction?! 


- Isn't it because you identify yourself with it? You become one with it. Now it is you and you are it. 


For instance, suppose you're a doctor, a lawyer, a priest or a bishop. Then some stranger who didn't know you're such an important person inadvertently uses that particular word on you, what is your immediate emotional reaction?


- Hope you hear the point.


Here seems to emerge a formula for suffering and hurting. The formula is as follows: 


1. My label = me.
2. You respect my label = you respect me.
3. You hurt my label = you hurt me.


Isn't that the reason why many companies spent a great deal of money, energy and time to legally protect their trademarks or brand names?! 


- Hmm! 


On a personal and deeper level, isn't that the problem of identity or identification? 


The question is who are you? Are you just a name, a title or a label? 


Look and see for yourself. Are you identifying yourself with any name, title, label, ideal, ideology or system of beliefs? Will you get mad when someone demeans and denigrates your label?

When that's the case, you're stuck. Such label or title or name or ideology or system of beliefs has become your all in all. Without it your life has no meaning. You feel you're nobody and nothing. You can't live without that label and you're even willing to die for it!

Again, the question is who are you? Are you a mere label? Is the label your ultimate reality? Are you sure?

Why don't we just examine it and open ourselves to see.

One thing is certain. I got stuck with many labels. Some, others stuck them on me. Others, I did it to myself. The same is true for you too.

Then a second thing is also certain. No matter how much I love my label and identify myself with it, even till death do us part, the label is not me. Not ever!

So who am I? Who are you?

Are you still you without the label? Can you live without it? Can you know without identifying yourself with it? Is your life still meaningful without it? 

- But of course.

Yet who or what am I really? 

Ask yourself this. What is it that goes in and out of your body, mind and soul day in and day out? Yet when it stops you die? Without it, you die? What is it? What is that stuff?

Well, that stuff is really your life. It gives you existence and makes you what and who you are.

You know it already. It's breath. Without it you're dead. Yup. It's breath and breathing. 

Breath and breathing are not name, title or label nor are they ideologies or systems of beliefs. They are real. 

Breath truly is what you are and makes you who you are. 

Now when the Lord God came down from heaven to be one with us humans, He came down by means of a Breath, the Living Breath of the Almighty - the Holy Ghost. Then one day He said, "God is spirit. Those who truly worship God, worship in truth and spirit. For God is spirit." Then further He said, "Don't you know y'all are spirits!"

We know what and who we are. We are spirits. Yup! Spirits embodied, not bodies ensouled!

We are truly spirits. In fact, you are just a breath. So am I!

Why don't we all take a slurp of breath . . . .

You can't have it. It's all mine . . . . ! 

. . . and breathe out now . . . !


Yup. Isn't that freeing? 


You can't attach or identify yourself with a breath or breathing. You can't. It's you already. Hope you see that. 

Also, breath is unstickable. Yet it can go anywhere and penetrate anything. Look, it's everywhere.

When you're content with only one breath, you'll be content with everything.

When you humble yourself, breath will lift you up.

When you're gentle with yourself and others, breath will be so for you.

When you're generous with others, breath will be generous with you. 

Yet you need to be true and truthful to yourselves.

So breathe . . . Breathe out now . . . back to where you came from and whom you belong. 

Breathe out now . . . into the Gentle and Generous Holy Ghost.

God bless y'all. 

Ps: In case you wonder,  here are the exact Biblical quotes: 


- "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24). 


-  "Is it not written in your law, I said, "You are gods"?" (10:34).