And So This Is Christmas

A Quiet Reflection for All of Us There’s a line in a familiar Christmas song that always seems to settle into the heart a little deeper than the rest: “And so this is Christmas… and what have you done?” Not as a judgment. Not as a measuring stick. But almost like a soft reminder —…

What We Do for Others Lives On

There’s a quiet truth that often gets lost in the noise of achievement and self-preservation: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” At first glance, it sounds poetic. But if you sit with it long enough, it begins to unfold like a…

as We forgive

It’s 1:30 a.m. I can’t count how many times or how long has it been since I would wake up around midnight or a little later and toss and turn trying my best to fall back to sleep. Every time when this happens, I would – most of the times – just lay still and…

Embracing Negative

I’ve seen it all and read it all. This thing about positivity. Positive thoughts. Positive feelings. Positive influence. Positive vibes. Positive crowd. You get my point? I have nothing against someone who sees and feels nothing but positivity. In fact, I have so much respect for those people. But you know… Negative feelings matter too….

Picture Perfect!

In photography, it’s not enough that we have a good camera. Knowing how to use it properly is of upmost importance. I am a natural light photographer, so the time of day plays an equally important role. Luck and timing is needed at certain times if not most. But one that is not given much…

Invisible Kindness

I’m pretty sure a lot of you have seen the animated movie Klaus, even before I did. But, I am surprised that nobody talked much about it. Perhaps, it’s because it’s just a children’s movie and an animated one at that. We have so so much to learn in this movie. How much we, adults…

Just A David Amongst The Goliaths

While looking at my Instagram feed last night, I was slapped with the truth. I’m just a David finding my way in a field full of Goliaths. This is how I find myself amongst a group of known and published authors. My inner self, asked me. Charina, are you sure about this? An unknown writer,…

The Power Of Vulnerability

Oxford Dictionary defines vulnerability as the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. Every time I hear the word vulnerable, I think of it as being helpless or weak. That this bring about heartbreak or disappointments or suffering and pain. And I always blame…

Silhouette

We each have stories to tell. Each one different from the others, each one revealing lessons and each one magnifying our strengths. I read somewhere that we shouldn’t be ashamed to tell our stories no matter how little or simple we think it is. For this simple stories of ours could be just what someone…

It’s in the Angle

In photography, we always aim to photograph the extraordinary. In fact, we would go places just to capture something special. Something of importance. Something rarely seen and eye catching. Several weeks ago, we went to Raleigh to pick up our daughter who’s in Governor’s School. While waiting, these flowers in a big flower pot caught…