By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   TODAY, a big miracle happened to Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, a British national, lone survivor of the Gatwick-bound Air India flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed in less than two minutes after take-off. There were 242 passengers, including 12 crew members. Of the 230 passengers,…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WE undergo many changes as we continue with our life. Some changes are shaped by experience, some by a strong link to our DNA. Some parts of what we are continue to be the same. Impulses, spontaneous responses to stimuli, often go deeper than the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I woke up late, I haven’t slept. It is as if a part of me wants to remain awake despite my body needing to rest. I headed for the rooftop, I was alone. Everyone is still asleep at this time, or wallowing in bed. This…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WE moved to The Celandine on May 2. It is a high-rise residential development project by D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) built on a land area of 8,600 square meters at Balingasa, commonly known as Balintawak and Cloverleaf, an urban barangay in Quezon City, near its…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN writing, I seek more to understand myself better than to enlighten others. There are times when inspiration only comes an hour after the deadline, with just a smell, a memory, a face. Anything could trigger a word. Others approach writing differently. My friend, historian…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo    I have met people who have always maintained that their religion is the only one that can save the soul, without any doubt. Most dominant religions profess their own as the only path to God. I believe otherwise. This kind of certainty negates the complexity…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo    “Questions of a Woman’s Life” was composed on the 24th of March, 2017. The other poem, “Blind” may have been composed in the same year. There are still no answers but she’s no longer blind. half a life of what she lived others live today…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN the Bible, dreams are regarded as a form of direct spiritual communication, between God and man, or between an angel, upon instructions from God, and a human being. In Matthew 1:18-25, an angel appears to Joseph in his dream, telling him not to fear…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   MY sister Emma and her children moved to Filinvest II in 01 May 2017 with an eight-year contract of lease ending 31 April 2025. I moved in sometime later, shuttling from the house I occupied in Mapagkawanggawa, Teachers Village where I maintained a small garden…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   A friend of mine told me that freedom is an illusion. Another mentioned that some have more freedom than others. Are we truly free? In “Freedom”, a poem I wrote about the idea on 04 July 2014, I think I found an answer: “Today, we…