The Art of Living

Last week was spent studying painting under maestro Tito Joey Velasco whose freshly painted masterpiece is shown above. Amazingly, I learned more than sketching and got a crash course on the art of living.

I've been reflecting on the certainty of death since last Tuesday when I tagged along Tito Joey to visit his friend's dad who was dying. Since I didn't know anyone, I quietly waited and witnessed the family waiting for their father to breathe in his last. I noticed that when a person is dying his breathing is farther-in-between, takes longer, is much deeper and more deliberate. It is so far from how we normally breathe as we inhale and exhale without even thinking. At about 6 in the morning, Tatay Poly inhaled his last.

A big lesson I'm taking home is learning how to breathe deeply, sucking the marrow out of life. Ah, breath of life. The free gift we normally take for granted.

A lot of things come to mind after this night: the movie Bucket List where 2 cancer patients make a list of the things they want to do in life given their limited amount of time. Tito Joey's realization of the freedom and courage that the certainty of dying gives for one to do the things he wants without fearing what other people would say. After all, there is nothing left to lose only regret. This wise advice coming from a survivor of a terminal disease himself. And recently, I am reminded of Bo Sanchez's advice to Live like a Dying Man. I agree with him when he says, that "You don't need to have cancer to change your life."

Life is short, my friends. Unless we accept this truth, we can never really truly live because we will have the tendency to take time for granted as if our days are without end. I am equally guilty of squandering time as I love to sleep a lot, too much, that I miss on some wonderful awakenings.

"Time is a slippery thing," Tito Joey said. "A lot of people go through life half-awake." I was jolted from my sleepiness.

Tito Joey shared that, "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important realization I've ever had to help trigger God's gifts. Because all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. There is no reason anymore not to follow your heart."

He counsels, quoting Steve Jobs who said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

I realized that anything is possible in this life. It's really up to us if we want to create a masterpiece out of our lives. Beginning today, I choose to breathe more deeply and start living life with zest.

On a final note, seated there at Tatay Poly's death bed, I saw what was truly important. He was surrounded by family and friends whispering loving words to him. He even managed to teach a total stranger (me) without saying anything. Such is the kindness of his life.

This must be the art of living: For death to have meaning, our lives must have meant something. And that something is all about love...

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Here's to seizing the day. I managed to check one of the "things to do" on my bucket list. Ah the smell of fresh paint! I love it. Here are my very amateur paintings. The first one, I copied a picture from an American artist, the original is sooo much better. But I love how the French define amateur to mean "lover of". Amateur, from the Latin amatorem "lover," and from amare "to love." If this is the case, then let us live life like amateurs, with passion and zest! :) Trying is better than regretting. Trying is everything. In this spirit, I humbly share with you my very first paintings.