Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

 

Hello lovelies! I’ve been absent from the blog for a while; there’s just so many things going on all at the same time.  If you follow me on facebook (and if you’re not, well, you should. hehe), then you’d know that I’ve been busy with projects, as usual.  But the past few weeks have been wrought with more than just work concerns.  My home country, the Philippines, has been beset with one disaster after another.  First, there was that 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Bohol, which left thousands homeless and destroyed so many heritage buildings.  Then, just last Friday, the strongest typhoon ever recorded ever, hit the Philippines, almost wiping out an entire city as well as numerous coastal villages, and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.  You’ve all probably seen the news coverage.  I was glued to CNN since Saturday morning, just monitoring updates.

I don’t normally share personal stuff here, but the disaster brought about by Typhoon Haiyan was just too horrific and there’s no way that I can just stay silent about it.  It’s too late for recriminations regarding how the government was ill prepared, and yada yada yada. It’s not going to do any help any way.  And it will definitely not help the victims of the monster typhoon.  The people need immediate help. There is no food, no water to drink, no medical provisions, nothing.  As I write this, it is already the 4th day after the typhoon struck.  Those people are beyond desperate.

If you haven’t done so, please help.  Pray, volunteer, donate. Whatever. Just help.  The response has been really great so far, but the needs are far greater.  It’s frustrating that from where I am, the only thing I can do is send money.   But there’s hope, there’s always hope.  We are a strong people, we Filipinos, and our faith is strong too.  More importantly, we help each other — it’s in our nature.

If you wish to help, but don’t know how, and you live in Singapore, a photographer friend is offering a “Shoot for a Cause” photography session for only $50 for a 30-minute session at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.  This is actually a fantastic idea and I’d like to support it.  It’s also perfect timing if you think about it – you can have your holiday family photos taken!  I believe she’s also preparing Santa Hats and other props.  So go, book a session! Get lovely family photos, and help out the victims of Typhoon Haiyan at the same time.  Details below: