Fragments of the Quiet Mind

It’s not the knife that breaks you. It’s the hand you thought would never hold one. I’ve had people talk behind my back. I’ve been insulted, excluded, underestimated. I’ve had strangers throw shade, coworkers act petty, random people online say stupid things. It stings for a second, but I forget about it by the next day. Because honestly, I expect that from people who don’t know me. Who have no investment in who I am. It doesn’t really get in. But what stays—the thing I carry—isn’t from enemies. It’s from people I trusted.  And it always catches me off guard. Every single time. Because you never expect it from them . The ones you let in. The ones who knew your soft spots. The ones who said, “I’m here, always.” The people who didn’t just know your story—they were in it. And then, somehow, they become the ones who hurt you in ways no stranger ever could. It’s never loud. It’s not some explosive betrayal with dramatic exits and slammed doors. No, it’s quieter than that. It’s the u...

There are goodbyes that shatter, and then there are silences that echo. Not all endings announce themselves. Some just slip quietly into the background — like static you stop noticing until you realize the music’s been gone for a while. No slammed doors, no explanations. Just a gradual erasure, like watching ink fade from a letter you read too many times. You keep checking your phone, not because you expect a message, but because some part of you still hopes silence can be broken like a fever. Unspoken words hang heavier than shouted ones. The things we never said take on lives of their own — mutating into doubts, rewrites, what-ifs. You rehearse arguments you'll never have, play both sides until you forget which one was yours. And isn’t that the cruelty of silence? That it offers no shape to mourn, no moment to collapse against? Just a formless absence where meaning used to live. Closure is a myth we invented to survive unfinished stories. But silence — silence tells you there was...

It started with a simple question from a cousin at dinner: "Would you still vaccinate your future kids after all that Dengvaxia stuff?" I had just taken a bite of kare-kare. I chewed for a bit longer than necessary. Not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I knew the moment I opened my mouth, I’d become the uninvited spokesperson for science, ethics, and a country’s fractured trust. There’s something absurd about the way we treat public health here. We throw away decades of medical progress faster than we throw rice at a wedding, then panic when outbreaks arrive like uninvited relatives during fiesta. We trusted science — until it made a mistake. And like every Filipino family feud, we never truly recover. We just stop speaking to each other and pretend everything’s fine. For the past Months, the name "Dengvaxia" spread faster than the disease it was meant to prevent. A vaccine meant to protect became a symbol of betrayal. And suddenly, everyone was a...

Some mornings I wake up already mid-thought, like my mind kept walking while I slept. Not toward anything, exactly—just pacing. The question I fell asleep with resurfaces before my eyes even open. It has no new answer, but it returns as faithfully as breath. A strange comfort: to be haunted not by ghosts, but by inquiry. There’s a pattern to these questions. They orbit. Disappear for a while, then drift back in disguised forms. “What am I doing with my life?” becomes “Is this enough?” becomes “Would I recognize peace if I had it?” They change costumes, but not essence. Like light refracted through time. Answers, on the other hand, are cowardly. They rarely stay put. The ones I trusted at twenty have become hollow at thirty. Truth ages poorly. It sheds skin, then masquerades as something wiser. Maybe this is why I distrust conclusions—they feel too much like ceilings. Some people collect answers like trophies. I collect questions like old books with marginalia—underlined, dog-eared, ...

I used to believe faith was a steady flame handed down—warmth that sheltered me from the cold winds of doubt. It was a map drawn by hands older than mine, with clear roads, familiar landmarks, and promises stitched into the sky. I carried it like armor and sanctuary, the kind you don’t question because it’s part of your bones. But growing up is learning to step outside that light and see the shadows it cast. The edges blur. The roads fork. The promises twist in ways you never expected. Outgrowing faith isn’t a clean break. It’s a slow peeling back, a quiet unlearning, an ache that feels like betrayal and freedom all at once. It’s realizing that what once protected you may now confine you. That your soul, hungry for something deeper, refuses to be tethered to the stories you were told. I see now that faith is less about certainty and more about courage—the courage to face the unknown without the safety net of old truths. It’s a paradox: losing belief but not losing hope. Letting go b...

Most people hate philosophy. Not because it’s boring—but because of how it was shoved down their throats in school. You sit there, sixteen years old, half-asleep under flickering fluorescent lights, while someone drones on about metaphysics like it’s tax code for the soul. They toss around names like Descartes and Nietzsche like everyone grew up debating epistemology at the dinner table. And when you ask a question? They hand you more terms. More “frameworks.” More essays with footnotes. No wonder everyone bails on the first week. But here’s the thing no one tells you: philosophy isn’t dead words in old books. It’s the voice in your head at 2 a.m. asking, “What’s the point of all this?” It’s the moment you stare at your ceiling and realize you’re just a meat skeleton with WiFi, flailing through an uncaring cosmos. It’s real —more real than half the crap we learn for standardized tests. Philosophy isn’t about finding answers. It’s about learning how to sit with the questions withou...

I just finished my 42km Marathon and yeah, at first it seemed like a brilliant idea.  I was fueled by overconfidence and way too much caffeine, thinking, “How hard can this be?”  Looking back now, it feels a bit like reviewing a movie where the plot twist is me questioning every single life choice that led me to that point. The marathon was less about crossing the finish line and more about having an endless conversation with my inner critic. At various stages, I found myself deep in debate: “Is this pain really worth it?” and “Did I actually need to run up that hill?” I practically had a tumultuous relationship with my chafing shorts, and let’s not forget the uphill stretch that had me questioning if I’d somehow offended gravity. But hey, through the sweat, the sore muscles, and the occasional existential crisis, I did it. I faced down every doubt, pushed through every mile, and emerged victorious—or at least, upright. So here’s to me, for running 42 kilometers and discoverin...

Ang nakakapanlumong karanasan ng isang pilosopo Sa kanyang pag iisa hawak ang sigarilyong tumutupok sa kanyang katinuan,  sa bawat hithit at buga ay sya ring bilis ng proseso ng mga ideyang di mawari kung dapat pa nga bang isipin o hayaan na lang. musika, sining, pilosopiya – Kabayo, damo, ulan at buwan. Di dapat ito pagtuunan ng pansin. mga kontradiksyong kinapapalooban ng pagdududa Mga katotohanang napapanis sa tagal ng panahong di napagtuunan ng pansin.  “Tama!” maski ang katotohan ay dapat ding maubos. Ang nakakalungkot ay ang kawalan ng lakas ng loob,  At hinayaang takot at pagdududa ang mamutawi sa iyong kamalayan.  At isa ring tulad mo ang nakapag isip ng ideyang ito- Sa pagitan ng pantas at ng kawalan,  sya ang di natitinag na sabihin ang kanyang nasasaisip  Binigyang kulay,  pinalawig ang emosyon,  at isinalahad ang kanyang saloobin.  Habang binabasa ang kanyang akda Wala ka ng magawa kundi tumunganga.  At sinasabi sa sariling, ...