A futuristic infographic maps time pressure, uncertainty, resource constraints, decision branches, and stakeholder impacts around a central clock.
Have you ever experienced a last minute scenario? Definitely, almost everybody had experienced a last minute scenario regardless of sex, age, and socioeconomic status. This last minute scenario might be your Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or someone’s birthday, couple’s wedding, a dying person or even certain situations like last minute decision or action; last minute question, statement, proposal, plan, program, project, etc. These are some examples of a last minute scenario.
Here is a thought-provoking question that you have to answer wisely, “If you have given a one-minute opportunity to change you or your decision for better, what is that thing and why? Another critical question is “If you are given a chance to live for one minute, what is the last minute that you shall do?” How and why shall you do it?
You can ask such kind of questions in less than one minute but your answers for that questions might be one-minute or more. Definitely, the actions with that answers are more than one minute. Would it be one-minute enough for you? The time cannot tell you but you can tell the time.
A family watches colorful koi fish in a pond at an outdoor shopping center.
Pip: Dreams are the one content format with no editorial calendar, no SEO strategy, and absolutely no regard for your sleep schedule.
Mara: And masmeron has been writing them down before they slip away — starting with a night of vivid dreaming that moves from a mountain stream to a shopping mall, and raises some genuinely interesting questions about what we receive and from whom.
Pip: Let’s start with the dreams themselves.
Libreng Damit at mga Salamin
Mara: This post is a dream journal entry — two dreams recorded in careful detail on the night of December 14, 2025, with the author noting the exact time each dream ended. The central question running through both is about gifts: who offers them, and what it means to accept.
Pip: The first dream opens in the mountains, catching fish in a clear shallow stream. Then a stranger arrives carrying handmade bags, and pulls something out for the dreamer. The post records the moment directly: “Ibibigay ko ito sa Nanay ko” — I will give this to my mother.
Mara: That line does a lot of quiet work. The dreamer receives a red sleeveless duster from an old man in a native hat, and the first instinct is not to keep it but to pass it on. Generosity moves through the dream rather than stopping at the dreamer.
Pip: The stream itself carries that tension — clear and full of fish upstream, then visibly polluted where a pipe from a nearby house drains into it. The dreamer notes the contrast plainly: the fish are gone, the stones are coated in mud.
Mara: It sits there without commentary. The post doesn’t editorialize; it just describes what the old man points out, and lets the image hold its own weight.
Pip: The second dream shifts entirely — a shopping mall, a glasses shop, a vendor offering free eyewear. The dreamer keeps returning mismatched pairs, one lens small and one large, until the vendor produces a heavy steel-framed set with four equal, clear lenses.
Mara: And then the vendor adds a curved mirror filled with small everyday items — toothpaste, lotion, a toothbrush. The post captures the dreamer’s surprise: “Hindi ako makapaniwala na may dalawang libreng items ako” — I could not believe I had two free items.
Pip: What lands is the vendor’s expression as the dreamer leaves: eyes welling up, watching them go. A stranger gives freely and feels something about it. The dream doesn’t explain why.
Mara: The post closes with the author waking at 5:05 a.m. and giving thanks for the morning. The record-keeping is the point — catch the details before they dissolve, and the meaning can wait.
Pip: Gifts offered by strangers, streams running clear then clouded — there’s a lot to sit with in a single night’s sleep.
Friends and families enjoying Filipino food in a vibrant restaurant
Pip: Dreams are the original unfiltered content — no editor, no algorithm, just your sleeping brain running a dinner reservation with maximum complications.
Mara: masmeron’s recent writing takes us into that territory: a vivid dream of a family dinner, with strangers, crowded benches, and a quiet question about welcome and belonging. Let’s start with that dinner.
A Dream Dinner, Crowded Benches, and a Stranger at the Table
Pip: The setup here is a packed restaurant, a family trying to find seats, and a stranger who needs a place to sit — the kind of small social moment that dreams somehow make feel enormous.
Mara: The post describes the scene in careful detail, and then the narrator quietly asks a sister, “Pwede ba siya makikain sa atin? Magugustuhan kaya niya yung pagkaing Pinoy.” The sister’s answer is generous but honest: she can join, but she might feel awkward competing for food, and she won’t eat her fill.
Pip: That exchange is doing a lot of work. It’s not just about a seat at the table — it’s about whether a stranger can really be comfortable there, whether hospitality has limits even when the invitation is genuine.
Mara: The restaurant itself is drawn with real texture: warm yellow light, a long folding bench designed with individual sections, a shorter bench that the narrator immediately notices isn’t big enough for the whole group. The family ends up near the entrance, right in the way of foot traffic.
Pip: Seated at the door, not quite inside, not quite outside — which is a pretty good metaphor for the whole dream, honestly. The stranger is in the same in-between position: she’s at the table, but the food is Filipino, and the question of whether she’ll really belong there is left open.
Mara: The woman who joins them is described as Hispanic-looking, carrying paper bags from what seem like purchases, and she stands in front of their table weighing whether to sit. She eventually does — on that short bench — and then the narrator sees her again, or someone like her, queuing to wash hands before the meal, wearing the same black sleeveless dress.
Pip: The dream ends at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, the narrator waking and reflecting on the ceiling. It’s a small, quiet ending for something that clearly left an impression.
Mara: What stays with you is that the dream doesn’t resolve the question it raises. The stranger sits down, but we never find out if she eats, or how it goes.
Pip: Belonging is one of those questions that doesn’t wait for daylight to ask itself.
Mara: Next time, more from that same territory — the small moments that turn out to be the large ones.
A father and daughter enjoy singing and dancing together in a cozy living room decorated for Christmas.
Today, May 27, is the death anniversary of my loving father, Guillermo Menes Meron. I know that my father was a great folk singer and dancer in our hometown, Santa Cruz, Zambales, during his younger years. He was usually invited by single men for Harana or locally known as “Tapat” at night time to accompany them while singing in front of the house of the ladies whom they like. Most of the time, there were three of them such as a guitarist, single man and a singer. These men including my father went home late but with smiles on their faces.
My father was also invited in wedding parties, fiestas and political campaigns with folk singing and folk dancing. He entertained the people around with his songs. He sang Zambal songs as well as Tagalog songs whoever his audience is.
If given the opportunity to bring back the past, I wish to dance and sing with my father while my mother is sitting in front and happily watching us.
Stepping on the snow and feels its coldness is one of the greatest dreams of any person living in the region with temperate or warm climate or experiencing dry and wet seasons only. It sounds pretty amazing sometimes to be like a child specially when you missed those things that you never had experienced when you were a child. Snow that you often see only in the holiday greeting cards is now real thing on your hands and feet.
In Science, snow is a part of the water cycle. It appears during the process of precipitation whereas water falls on the surface in various forms such as drizzle, rain, hail, sleet or snow. Snow is a solid form of water. Snow is made up of purely two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen just like the rain water. If pure water reacts with other elements or compounds in the air or on the earth surface, it is considered a mixture already. If the air temperature in the atmosphere is on or below freezing point which is zero degree Celsius, this is the time when the condensed water in the atmosphere turns into snow then falls to the ground or commonly called “snowfall”.
Snowfall has advantages and disadvantages as well. Snow makes the surroundings purely white in color which lasts for several days. It binds the family members at home to stay connected and engaged. However, snow can also harm plants, animals and humans due to severe coldness. It also disrupts the daily activities at work. Snow can also affect the motorists, power supplies, public and private sectors including business communities.
In spite of advantages and disadvantages of snowfall, let us consider that it is a natural phenomenon beyond our control but we can mitigate and prevent its massive adverse effects by understanding the nature of snow and its possible impacts to our physical, social, emotional, economical and political environments. From then, we can design good plans, make wiser decisions and do great actions.
A person stands on a rocky shore between two sunsets labeled ‘A Final Goodbye’ and ‘A New Hello’.
Goodbye (“God be with you.”) and Hello (“Wishing you a good health.”) may sound contradictory words but for real, these words are so relevant and interrelated with each other.
How do you say “Goodbye” for the current year? How do you say, “Hello” for the coming year? Every year, people around the world have different beliefs, traditions and practices as observed in their own unique culture. These practices were not only be seen at the end of the year but throughout the months of the year. Variation of these practices occurs when people adopt and adapt certain changes due to some influential factors as days pass by. Throughout the year, many things had happened in our life as manifested by tears of joy, tears of pain or tears of grief. Every moment in life is so significant that marks our lifetime history. For the younger children, their clock might seem so slow while for the elderly people, it might seem so fast. Infact, they have the same clock speed.
What shall we do? Perhaps, we shall live normally with our fullest potentials. Learn how to enjoy a wonderful, happy and peaceful life. Everything starts with a wiser decision whatever the reasons or purposes that we want to be or need to achieve. Never pressure or stretch out ourselves beyond our limits and capabilities. Learn how to turn out our negatives into positive outcomes. The turning point starts in our own feet to move towards the direction that we aim to attain. Appropriate mindsetting is necessary to get into the turning point indepedently.
“Hello” and “Goodbye” are still there not because of the reason that “Nothing is permanent.”, but because God is always with us permanently wherever we go and whatever we do and also saying, “Hello and Goodbye.” to us.
It has been a tradition of all Christians around the world to celebrate Christmas. It is the season where families and friends come together to participate on some religious practices in their respective churches. Besides, people around the world are busy during this holiday season. Sellers and buyers of items feel happy most of the time. People mostly feel happy during Christmas season. Most of them have Christmas bonuses, parties, food and gifts.
On the other hand, some people around the world feel exactly opposite of the majority. They sometimes feel blue like the sky for whatever reasons. Although, they have Christmas bonuses, parties, food, gifts, families and friends with them but still there is something lacking to make them happy indeed. Perhaps, they feel blue if they do not have anything; if someone is missing or away from them; if someone is sick; if no one remembers him/her; or if someone is permanently gone and never come back.
However, anybody might feel bluer than the sky if he/she never knows the reason why there is Christmas; if he/she never knows the real purpose of Christmas; if he/she never knows our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, before you do anything this Christmas, just look at the sky first and offer a prayer to our Almighty God; to our Lord Jesus Christ and to God’s creation.
A mother who is looking and waiting for her loving mother.
What is a Mother’s Day without your loving and caring mother? Do you know that every part of a single mother worth more than a million? Let me explain its value.
Your Head
As a single mother, you used the top of your head to carry a bundle of newly harvested rice grains for meal; a bundle of firewood for cooking or a basin of Anchovy fish for selling. You also used your head to think wisely and find right solutions for the daily problems.
Your Eyes
As a single mother, you kept your eyes to your children for their safety. You used your eyes to discipline your children. Eyes that maybe big and wide; on-focus or understanding and kind-looking to your concern. Sleepless nights in times of sickness of your children just to ensure they were safe.
Your Nose
As a single mother, you used your nose if the newly laundry clothes were smelled pleasant and if the children were smelled stinky already and they need to take a bath.
Your Ears
As a single mother, you used your ears to listen to your children and grandchildren’s amazing stories. Through your ears, you heard the sound of the roosters in the early morning wherein you rise from bed instantly to fetch up water for daily consumption.
Your Mouth
As a single mother, you used your mouth to give pieces of advice to your children and grandchildren. You taught them the right things and told them to become nice and hardworking person with brighter dreams in life.
Your Shoulder
As a single mother, you used your shoulder to carry the “Buli” bag or “Pandan” bag with fruits and vegetables inside when going home after the whole-day work in the rice field.
Your Breast
As a single mother, you breastfed your young children regularly so that they will grow healthy someday and free from any kind of illnesses.
Your Heart
As a single mother, you provided unconditional love to your children and grandchildren. You have a big heart too to your parents, brother, sisters, nephews, nieces, husband and in-laws. You knew how to accept and how to forgive persons. You really loved them so much.
Your Arms
As a single mother, you used your arms to strongly uproot the rice seedlings, transplant them on rice fields and harvest the rice grains after a few months. You used your strong arms to pound and manually mill the greener rice grains up and down then filter them using “Bilao” to make it into whiter rice grains.
Your Hands
As a single mother, you used your hands to prepare “Buli” or “Pandan” fibers, weave and design them properly into a local mat for sale. You used your hands to catch fishes along the shallow river and pick up shells on the shoreline with your siblings and children. You used your hands to wash the clothes of your children and grandchildren then press these clothes after drying. You used your hand to put the wet face towel on his/her forehead when he/she has fever. You used your hands too in giving foods to the very young children and elderly people around you.
Your Waist
As a single mother, either be sunny day or rainy day, you bent your waist the whole day while planting rice seedlings on the rice fields for a little payment or non-monetized payment of your labor instead, work exchange.
Your Hips
As a single mother, you sit on your hips almost the whole night just to weave and finish intentionally the local mat so that you can sell it then later buy some foods for your children, grandchildren and sister.
Your Legs
As a single mother, you used your legs in walking distantly about two kilometers away from your home to your work place and do the same routine when going home from work place to your home. Your legs consumed all the energy reserved in walking after the whole-day work. You also walked in going to the church to attend Holy Mass with your sisters on Saturday evening regularly. You bent your knees whenever you pray.
Your Feet
As a single mother, you used your feet not only to separate the greener rice grains from its husk but also to clean up the house floor. You used your feet to stand up firmly against all tough moments that trying to bring you down but they fail. You courageously stood still and never give up.
Thus, for this special day wherein everybody celebrates the Mother’s Day and for this special occasion wherein every member of the family comes together, what is a Mother’s Day without your loving and caring mother? What is a Mother’s Day without her presence?
To whom should we give thanks? Why should we give thanks? Due to busy things, sometimes people forget others unintentionally. Most of them focus on their studies, works, businesses, monies, families, friends, travels, shopping, pleasure and leisure. Why do people keep doing these things? What is their purpose in life?
Perhaps, some people are not aware about to whom they should give thanks. Sometimes, people forget that there is God who gave them life and everything that can supports life. Sometimes, people forget that they have their parents who provide them the opportunity to live. They have their parents who nurtured, taught and cared them. They have their families who loved them. Sometimes, people forget that they are supported by other agencies on their basics needs such as the school, church, government, health, agricultural, market and private sectors and so forth. Sometimes, people forget that they need good people around them like their relatives, close friends, nice neighbors and fellow workers. Sometimes, people forget that other living and non-living things helped them in order to survive longer.
All of these deserve to be recognized, appreciated and thanked for. We should thank them wholeheartedly and sincerely not only on Thanksgiving Day but in the whole year round.
A few days before Christmas, people go to the shopping malls and public markets to buy some gift items for their relatives and friends. I want to go and do the same but I can’t because I am already 95 years old who are sitting on a wheelchair and nobody can bring me there.
A few days before Christmas, people go to Christmas parties and enjoy with their friends and relatives. I want to go and do the same but I have arthritis already and I can’t dance anymore. I have Alzheimer’s disease too and I can’t remember the lyrics of my favorite songs.
On Christmas Day, people rise up early from bed and take a shower. Then, people prepare their Christmas meals. I want to do it the same but I can’t do it anymore by myself. I can’t rise up and there is tremendous leg and back pains every time I move my body.
On Christmas Day, people enjoy eating their meals and having happily chatting with their friends, neighbors and relatives. I want to stay longer with them and feel their presence but I can’t do it anymore. I can’t sit on my wheelchair longer because I get easily tired and there is a back pain. I can’t easily process and feel confused with the various information that I can hear. I get easily sleep on my wheelchair if nobody is interested to talk with me.
On Christmas Day, people hear the Holy Mass and visit some tourist spots. I want to go with them but nobody invites me. I used to stay at home sitting on my wheelchair or lying on my bed. I have many thoughts, feel hopeless and lonely.
Before New Year’s Day, people go to the supermarkets and buy food items. I want to do the same but I can’t go there by myself and I have no enough money to buy some foods.
On New Year’s Eve, people cook several foods and prepare them on the dining table with fresh fruits and cold desserts. I want to do it the same but I can’t do it anymore.
On New Year’s Eve, people go outside their houses. They light up their pyrotechnics and firecrackers on the sky. I want to view these things even on my window but I can’t see these lights clearly anymore because I have both eyes cataract. Instead, I tend to sleep on my bed calmly.
On New Year’s Day, people hear the Holy Mass again then they go to shopping malls and have a walk on some tourist spots. I want to go with them but again nobody invites me and brings me there.
