Remain Calm in Any Situation

Easier said than done, I know, but it's a must. And it's possible. Keep calm whatever happens. And the one sure thing to do to remain calm is keep cool. To put it more radically, be emotionless. It's not passiveness or being cold, it's cold-blooded. How? Just tell yourself, "it's not a big deal," whenever troubles come, in whatever form.

Photo by Yoann Boyer on Unsplash.

And that's the truth. Nothing's a big deal.

I know it sounds scary, yet too simple, but disturbing all at the same time that it seems a silly thing to say or advice. But what often works in real life are simple, silly things. Happiness and peace, for instance, happen with a simple life that gets amused at silly things, plus right amounts of quietude and meekness, counting others better than yourself. And considering others better than you are is a silly idea for most people. 

But why did I mention "cold-blooded"? Doesn't that sound heinous? The word means zero emotion or being pitiless or callous, even deliberately cruel. Yeah exactly, and you use all these to deaden your reaction to danger. When you're in danger, like being inside a plane about to crash, or being held hostage by a psycho, try to feel no emotions, zero emotions, being pitiless or callous about the thought of dying, being cruel against self-pity, and doing all these deliberately. 

If there's no drama, you can better weigh your situation objectively, think of the right things to do and do it without reservations, even save lives with zero regard for self. To get the kind of calm we need to have, we need this kind of cool to get the calm required in dangerous situations. And this calmness stays in our spirit if we train ourselves in it regularly, like a lifestyle. A constant mindset.

As a local hiker I often find myself in a strange locality where I'm apt to get lost. It's not that I'm poor with directions or anything like that. It's just that all of us are bound to get lost at some time in our lives. And when you're lost in unfamiliar territory you're exposed and easy target to danger. You need to be extra calm because muggers are after unstable people who find themselves in strange places.

But being lost now and then is normal. If you never get lost, you're abnormal. There's something wrong with how you live life. I'm not talking about living wickedly and lost. I'm referring to a kind of righteous wandering like what young Jacob had, or even Jonah. They dared veer off from the right direction, not out of wickedness but out of stubborn adventurism, and something that proved too risky. 

The important thing is disposition. It's like making mistakes. We all do, and it's okay, as long as we know what to do next---which is to do right the next time around.

Same with getting lost or anything we find ourselves in that spells trouble or danger. Recover and take the right path. And it starts with not panicking, or looking for someone or something to blame. Keep cool and think clearly. Be so radically and cold-bloodedly calm.

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Scrap Treasures Unearthed by Local Art Hiker

You get to meet other local hikers trekking different life terrains as you wander through life. We're all "hikers" in some sense, and we trek our own chosen paths, some smooth, some rugged. Like Alex. Here's a local hiker who hacked through a rugged footpath of his own by creating "treasure" displays from scrap materials. And it's all thanks to God for the pandemic lockdowns, which initially looked like a dead end to him but later became an opportunity. 

Why Not His Own Exhibit?

Trash materials scheduled to be disposed when the garbage truck comes. Soda tin cans, scrap papers, wires, discarded bottles and short branches from pruned trees. But wait, said Alex Legaspi to himself. He stared at the bunch of litters before him. Something in his artistic proclivities reminded him how old and wasted rejects can be turned into new creations fit for a specific purpose. Like what he did with his campaign for a solar panel company on recycling and zero waste. He was then the designer of the display booth stand during a trade convention. The idea struck him. Yeah, why not?

"Naisip ko, ginawa ko ang campaign na 'zero waste for cleaner air...cleaner world.' Tapos hindi ko gagawin sa actual (na buhay ko)? Drawing lang?"

From trash to treasure. Other folks have discovered money in trash (pera sa basura) but he toyed with the idea of making treasure out of trash. He was pondering on the idea while in the confines of his home in Pampanga last year due to the pandemic when severe lockdowns forced some companies to cease operations for a while. He thought it was the end of his colorful career. He is head of the advertising and promotion department of a local Caterpillar Marine Engine company which stopped work schedules since last year when the pandemic set in. 

So he decided to find something productive to do at home.

"I decided to fix some things at home, clean the whole house, do some repairs, repaint everything. I gathered a heap of trash in the process that I thought could still be put into good use."

Wood Art 

That's when the scrap toy treasures were "unearthed." The idea was "buried" for a while but the ample spare time provided by the lockdowns resurrected the idea from oblivion. So Alex--or Lex to his friends (and to us, his UE Manila high school classmates circa late 70s)--started gathering the bits and pieces and went to work. His first project was to save the tree stem debris from the community incinerator. So he did some wood art crafts, always the creative smart guy that he was in our graduating class (1978) when we needed some art works.

"Inuna ko yung mga sanga ng puno kasi susunugin na ng barangay. Ito na ngayun yun."

From useless stems ready for disposal and burning, to a colorful hanging wooden chime or practical wall mounted display. Everything's from materials just lying idly around his house. Instead of remaining useless and even a menace, he turned them into something valuable. He added some inspirational wooden guideposts made of ply boards. 

Real Inspiration

His inspiration stems mostly from his new-found devotion to the Lord. Instead of being made unproductive by the pandemic, he claims the Lord enabled him to do more meaningful things while kept at home. "I can do ALL THINGS through CHRIST OUR LORD which STRENGTHENED ME. Philippians 4:15," he once messaged me. "Siya talaga ang magaling hindi ako? The Giver of the Gift... Siya talaga ang inspirasyon ko," Lex humbly insisted.

Wire and Paper

Later on, he tinkered with old wires lying around. With some finger dexterity and imagination and inspiration, he turned them into mounted sculptures which look like wringed wire trophies to me. Checkout some of his scrap paper arts below after his wire trophy collection.

Tin Metal Scraps

Saving the best for last, Lex started exploring artwork possibilities with discarded soda tin cans. What good could they be used for after being emptied of their contents? He started playing with the idea of scooters. So the journey began. This local hiker shifted terrain, this time a path of piecing metal strips together to form scooters.

And look what he used for the scooter wheels. He mounted the whole thing on a smooth wooden base for a metal sculpture souvenir item or trophy, Philippine made by local ingenuity using some imported soda brands. It could very well pass for a novelty item in a souvenir shop which tourists would go crazy for.

Then he tried it out with motorcycles.

If it's possible with scooters and motorcycles, then why not a farm tractor, too?

Best for Last

Saving the best for last, he tried it with jeeps, too, and it worked. Well, not at first. It was quite a challenge initially, but with perseverance and the drive of a local hiker, he didn't give up. In fact, as soon as he learned that I needed his art works for my blog, he finished it pronto within minutes.

And below is the end result.

Awed by what he accomplished, I mentioned about how things can turn out really good in the end, even those we think are fit only for discarding away. They can even end up being precious treasures from scraps, literally. And Lex agreed and added.

Alam ko din na minsan inu-unahan kasi tayo ng negatibong isip natin, kaya tinatalo tayo ng takot. Pero alam naman natin walang ibang gusto ang Lord kung hindi mapabuti at maging maayos tayong lahat. John 10:10 "Naparito ako upang magbigay ng buhay... Buhay na ganap at kasiya-siya."

Getting Lost While Hiking in Amadeo

Amadeo, bragged as the "coffee capital" of the country, is a fourth class municipality of Cavite, which means it's a perfect place to wander in and get lost big time while hiking near Tagaytay. I mean, with plenty of wild countryside and pastoral areas still intact, it's ideal for hiking and sightseeing and, well, getting lost a bit to escape stupid city life.

Watch the video below.

Anyway, it's not entirely thickly forested because small subdivisions are gradually popping up and dotting the place--and probably Amadeo is in danger of losing its reputation someday of being the coffee capital. I hope not. I hope the coffee plantations remain preserved and productive and thriving.

It's safe to be lost here because human GPS is available anywhere. You just ask any human you see around about where you are or what direction to take to reach a certain place and you'd get an accurate direction, often more accurate than electronic GPS devices which can sometimes end you up in a creek, swamp or dumpsite.

So we rode a van to Amadeo at 6 in the morning (missed my herbal coffee) and took C5 Road instead of the shorter Skyway because none of us were familiar with the new route---although we've tried it several times before with a driver who was familiar with it. After napping a few moments and some slow traffic we found ourselves on SLEX where we stopped by a bay gas station for snacks and coffee. 

We also needed to get some money via the ATM and make several trips to the comfort rooms and laugh at ourselves because of that. Restroom trips are exciting for local hikers. Hikers sometimes find something hilarious in the most ordinary things, like coffee and heeding nature's call after. It's part of hiking survival, keeping relaxed and positive, and laughing. Believe me, stress can tire you more quickly than hiking itself. So learn to laugh outdoors.

Finally, we reached Crisanto Delos Reyes Avenue and the area around Mahogany Market and started looking for Amadeo. Once we saw Save More we knew we were in Amadeo. From the marker that welcomes you to the "coffee capital," we drove up a bit and started hiking to look for the particular area we were to checkout near FarmVille. Yup, you heard it right. FarmVille. It's not the game. It's an actual place.

From noisy city scenes and modern civilization to rustic quietude and stillness deep in the forest. Sometimes the transition can be arresting, inspiring meditation. But we were lost for a while. Everywhere we looked it looked the same. Same trees, same shrubs, same smell. You can easily get lost in the woods. One bushy farm lot we passed by looked like the one we were looking for, but later a lady came out of the small house wondering, looking at us like we came from another planet. Obviously, it wasn't the place we were looking for. She didn't expect us.

So we hiked on. Finally we saw the spot marked X on the map. Treasure!!! We climbed the uphill "entry" of the would-be subdivision and soon were standing in the middle of the "jungle" property we wanted to checkout. Plenty of banana and other full-grown trees everywhere; it was a shame that most of them would be cut down to give way to the subdivision. 

We surveyed the place and roamed around to check things out further, seeing where the road lots and residential lots would be. There were markers where the road would soon appear and traces of it were already in place, a pathway already cleared. But the place was still largely forested, and I could imagine how exciting it would be to campout here. But soon they're going to level the whole place. I hope they retain the natural sloping contour so we can build a small spilt-level house when the roads and lots are ready.

It's pre-selling time when properties are still at a bargain and this was why we drove out here pronto, making a 3-hour drive from Quezon City early in the morning. We wanted to take advantage of the cheap price. For just Php 600K plus, you get a 120 sqm lot in a walled and guarded subdivision just a few seconds away from the national road and Tagaytay proper. When roads are in place, there will be a nice price markup and that spells profits for you.

By the way, above is the minor road going to the national road a few meters away. Just 5 minutes more and you're in Tagaytay city proper, especially at the LZM Restaurant where we enjoy one of the best fried Daing na Bangus dishes in the country, and of course, large bowls of hot and delicious "Bulalo." And the property is also just 3 to 5 minutes away from Mahogany Market. 

We hiked some more to checkout more properties still lush with wild vegetation and trees and did a bit of a tour around FarmVille Phase 1 (which is already sold out) before we set out to Alfonso in our van for a swell lunch. The trekking and waiting (some documents were prepared and signed) made us all starve. We had vegetable salads, T-bone steaks, Blue Marlin steaks and the restaurant's special bibingka.

Then after lunch we drove around Tagaytay and bought some fruits. No more hiking after a big lunch. We just have to burn the extra calories tomorrow. For now, it's a joy ride around Tagaytay in our van. Though we've been to Tagaytay lots of times before, it feels like a new trip when we're here. Watch the video below.