You have not known what you are.
You have slumbered upon yourself all your life.
Your eyes have been as much as closed most of the time.
What you have done is already in mockeries.

The mockeries are not you.
Underneath them
And within them,
I see you lurk...


-Walt Whitman



27.10.08

questions and answers


PEOPLE LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS. it’s in our nature. it goes back from our childhood. from the time we first gain consciousness of the world down to the moment we breathe our last breath. we ask from simple questions like how we were created down to the complicated ones like what’s the pathophysiology of tetralogy of fallot? we ask questions because by asking we learn things. when we learn things, we become knowledgeable, and the knowledge we acquire gives us wisdom to make wise decisions. a person who asks a lot of questions, to some eyes is smart but to others, just plain stupid. questions and answers—one of the most infamous dualities.

questions require answers. somehow, life is a continuous quest for answers but at some point in our lives we find ourselves before a large question mark that hinders us to move forward. but no matter how hard we try to look for answers and how patiently try to wait, some answers are just so elusive. they are not just there; absent when you need them the most. they tend to run away from us. the worst thing that could happen is if the questions we’re asking don’t have any answers. then, we ask more questions. are all questions have answers? we have to ask this because the idea that unanswerable questions exist is just unacceptable especially if the questions are the most crucial ones and yield answers that could define ourselves or lead us to the person that we want to be.

we need answers especially when we are lost. we need directions. we need lamps to light our paths. we need breadcrumbs to find our way back home. we need maps where we could point our fingers and trace our steps. we need compasses to show us the true north whenever we’re lost at sea. we need lighthouses to navigate our ships to safe shores. we need a coin we could flip or a twig or a bottle we could turn when we find ourselves before a fork on the road. we need these things. we need answers especially to questions that could define the rest of our lives. the problem is where to get them?

the most complicated questions sometimes yield very simple answers. and somehow, very simple questions have the most complicated answers. every question is difficult unless you already know the answer or you have at least an idea of how to come up with the answer. it all goes down to how bad we want the answers. if we want the answers badly, we search for it. we search for answers and when we fail, we invent things to get them. in mathematics, it maybe in the form of scientific equations or algebraic formula. same goes with questions in our lives. we invent our own equations and formulas to get the answers. life is a twisted arithmetic. unfortunately for me, i suck at mathematics.

some people ask questions uncertain if they want to know the answers. people like comfort. people like sticking to their comfort zones and if they ask questions, a part of them generate a standard of the answers. they expect the answers are those they want to hear. wanting sometimes overcomes necessity. sometimes answers based on truths are just so painful that people run away from them. people are running scared. in hiding. afraid of the unknown. this is most common cause of anxiety in dying patients or those prepped for very delicate surgeries. they prefer being lost and hovering into nothingness than to suffer the pain from knowing the truth. up until now people fail to understand that pain is a part of life. that pain makes us learn. that pain makes us grow.

truly, unlucky are those hearts that can bend. they may not feel the pain but they will never learn. i call them stupid hearts. their owners are those that look for truths half-heartedly. they are the ones that tend to look for answers in the wrong places. they tend to look, well aware they’re wearing blindfolds and conveniently forgetting to turn the lights on. no wonder they end up groping in the dark. but who could blame them? people lie. they’re afraid they’ve been lied to. they’re afraid that answers may not be true and they are frustrated because there’s no way to prove the credibility and validity of the answers thrown in front of their faces. they have lost something that couldn’t be found anywhere or something you can buy in a nearby convenience store--trust. while paranoia still remains as the ugliest feeling ever.

however, blessed is the man whose heart could break. only few people know this for only few accepted the possibility that the answers could be found underneath the broken pieces. broken hearts yields better people, knowledgeable people, and hopeful people. they may have suffered pain but they are the ones that easily find the northern stars easily, to help them find their way. they are the master mathematicians of love and of life. most especially they are ones that ask and find answers; not necessarily answers that they want but most especially those that they need to move forward and grow…







39 comments:

RJ said...

Very nice!

In life it is good if the questions are always 'honest questions' or even 'complicated questions,' because you said they all have SIMPLE answers.

But what if it's a 'tricky question,' or a question whose anwers are between 'life and death?' What kind of answers can we expect?

Can we blame those people who cheat in real life (just like in the board exams)? Or shall we leave them alone because after all they are cheating themselves?

Anonymous said...

broken hearts yields better people, knowledgeable people, and hopeful people.---AND POETIC PEOPLE. hehe.

very well written ron.

but we cannot really blame those hearts who stay in the safe side. maybe they have experienced too much pain in the past, and learning how to bend was the only way to save themselves from another kind of pain. they are maybe selfish, stupid and coward... but in one way or another, they can also be considered as "smart" and "brave" for they chose to be not afraid of protecting and fighting for the one thing that humans love to chase. it's what we call "happiness". we cannot blame other people for protecting the happiness they're having. :)

and lastly, i've a simple question: why is it so impossibe to sneeze while our eyes are open? hehehe. ;)

Dabo said...

this is a good post.. tinamaan ako hahaha.. seriously kanina sa elevator.. i realized the questions in my head, are maybe not meant to be answered right here, right now... maybe in the future and if its the case.. so be it..

--- --

familiar ka sa lifehouse's breathing?

nung mabasa ko yung 'breadcrumbs" sa entry mo.. naalala ko yung fade away ng kanta.. it was saying something about: that you are tired of me waiting for the scraps to fall from table to the ground

but the whole song.. it perfectly fits this piece of yours to complement it..

anyway here is the chorus

"coz i am hanging on every word you're saying.. even if you don't wanna speak tonight..that's alright, alright with me.."

similarly it was asking questions

KRIS JASPER said...

Oh Ron, I agree to mostly everything in here... except for the breadcrumbs thingy....

I dont leave breadcrumbs on my path,
like the pandas (and maybe most animals) I wee/urinate to leave my mark.

lol.
__________
Ive tried vid blogging just, and it is unfortunately crap! sigh.....

Clare Marshall said...

haha...just what I need to realize...hmmm...thanks...haha.. :D

Unknown said...

I like questioning things and all, because I think I learn whenever I ask questions. I might not like the answers, but I take it regardless. :)

And sometimes, we might dont get the answers we need sooner, but eventually we will...and most of the times, unexpectedly.

"A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements."

~kinesics

the spool artist said...

what’s the pathophysiology of tetralogy of fallot????

...medyo nag nosebleed ako ng konti sa tanong na to ah!

great post ron... balikan ko muna at di pa ako tapos magbasa. i just had to comment on that million dollar question! hahaha

Chyng said...

and instead of questioning God why He let us experienced some difficulties, try asking Him "WHY US?" the next time a very fortunate thing happened to us...

on the lighter side,

ang gusto ko ay question and answer sa Math Eq. Kahit di mo alam sagot, prepare a bonggang solution kasi my points din yun! hehe

JanZeE_tripper said...

"so many question but the answers are few"

sometimes kasi alam mo na yong sagot sa mga tanong eh, all you have to do is to live with it,

i dont really question kung bakit ako nagkakaganito, kung tatanungin ko pa, m just making my life complicated, you don't have to know the answer, live your life the way it is...

kayo ako enjoy ako sa buhay ko.. hehehe

ron salamat sa pagdalaw mo blog ko, hirap pala alagaan kakapagod..

JanZeE_tripper said...

may tanong ako.. at pls wag mo tong i post..

papayag ka bang makipag one night stand sa akin.. naiinlove ako sa mga sulat mo eh.. nakakturn-on ang galing talaga.. tsk tsk tsk

joke lang

Kape Kanlaon\ said...

how about those people asking questions just for the sake of arguement? hehehe
I usually do that. Kahit alam ko na ang magiging sagot, or kahit alam ko personally ang sagot, I will still sometimes ask, para lang may mapagkwentohan or ma discuss. and sometimes to also test the responce of some people. mahilig kasi ako mag define ng tao, pero of course I don't just judge them right away.

need I say more? this is another awesome entry from you, Ron.

lucas said...

rj: wow...you ask alot of questions eh? hehehe!

josh marie: gusto kong sagutin tanong mo. hehe! in medical terms nga lang. hindi tayo pede dumilat at magsneeze at the same time kc magkaiba yung mechanism nung actions nung dalawa as influenced by the parasympathetic and sympathetic actions ng utak natin respectively. hahaha! the same logic goes to why men can't urinate and ejaculate at the same time :)

dabo: i don't know what goes inside that brilliant mind, but i really do hope you find the answers you're looking for...

i am familiar with the song breathing kaya lang hindi ko alam yung lyrics. i'll check it out.

nakuha ko yung idea ng breadcrumbs sa story ni hansel and gretel :)

eyprille: ano namang narealize mo? kaw ba yan colby? hehe! joke!


KJ: haha! i'm not surprised coz i know you're not a human being. hehe!

kinesics: "A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements."--- i love this quote. really true. a single question could yield so many answers and remember them. a thousand statements could be easily forgotten. hehe!

spool artist: ahh..the 'pathophysiology of tetralogy of fallot'? hahaha! the answer is very complicated and very medical. it's a congenital heart disease of the newborn that causes 'blue babies'.pathophysiology of a disease entity includes the factors that caused the abnormality, the process, and the clinical manifestations... ang hirap tlaga ipaliwanag! hahaha!

chyng: hahahaha! tama ka. ilang beses na rin ako naisalba ng mga solutions na yun para hindi bumagsak sa math! hehehe! esp nung high school :)

janzee: very interesting answer, janzee. sounds like you have already found the answer you're a looking for afterall :)

btw, i prefer vanilla ice cream than lollipops...

peace out!

lance: pareho tayo. i ask even the most bizaare questions. ang sarap kasi kapag may mga discussion lalo yung mga controversial ones :)

thanks, mate.

ponCHONG said...

aba..question and answer pala ito.

question ron:

naniniwala ka ba na minsan ang mga simpleng tanong ng mga bata ang mahirap sagutin?

Anonymous said...

lucas! ganun din ang sagot sakin ng kaibiagn naming doctor. kayo talagang nasa field ng medisina, nakaka-nosebleed. hehe.

---by the way, kung gusto humiram ng tuesdays with morrie, gora ka dito sa ofis kung mapapadaan ka. hehe.

lucas said...

ponchong: oo kaya! maxadong malikot kasi ang mga imahinasyon ng mga bata. but of the time teir innocence makes enables them to ask the most simplest and fundamental truths. corrupted na kasi tayong matatanda. hehehe!

joshmarie: ahehe...xenxa na ang labo ng sagot ko hindi ko rin kasi mailpaliwanag in lay man's term...ehehe!

wow...tlaga? paiiramin mo ako? san ka ba nagwowork? :)

ibang level tong post mon ito. kung saan ka masaya suportahan taka :)

. said...

however, blessed is the man whose heart could break. only few people know this for only few accepted the possibility that the answers could be found underneath the broken pieces. broken hearts yields better people, knowledgeable people, and hopeful people. they may have suffered pain but they are the ones that easily find the northern stars easily, to help them find their way. they are the master mathematicians of love and of life. most especially they are ones that ask and find answers; not necessarily answers that they want but most especially those that they need to move forward and grow…

No wonder, someone I know was raving about your post. It was a well written piece but your last paragraph hit me the most.

Sana nga tama ka. Someone is is planning to build a citadel. :)

lucas said...

mugen: si dabo ba yung tinutukoy mo? hehe! thanks :) what do you mean someone is building a citadel??? hmmm...

RedLan said...

Bukas ko na to babasahin. Mukhang nosebleeding eh. BTW, napadala ko na ang pera sa LBC. Iba pala bayad pick up sa door to door. Pero okay yung door to door para sau. I covert the money kasi di tumatanggap ng dollars ang LBC. Yung service kasi nila ay ang ipapadala mong pero, i deposit nila tapos i-withdraw dun sa lugar na papadalhan. 1,200 plus sana ang equivalent kaso, kapag more than sa one thousand mag add ako ng additional fee every hundred tag 99 php daw kapag door to door. kapag pick up 99 lang lahat. ewan ko sa service nila. kaya 1,ooo lang yan.

Salamat sa suporta sa blog ko.

No need naman daw ang tracking number kapag door to door pero if ever ito ang tracking number 111010267151. Bukas o sa friday raw maideliver. Thanks ulit!

Keep blogging.

Anonymous said...

dito lang ako sa edsa kamuning mrt station. yung mataas na building dun na may logo na hugis puso sa tuktok. tapos sasalubungin ka namin ni kuya onat. magdala ka ng streamer ha, lagyan mo ng pangalan mo para makilala ka namin. hehe. :)

Kris Canimo said...

the worst thing that could happen is if the questions we’re asking don’t have any answers. then, we ask more questions. are all questions have answers? we have to ask this because the idea that unanswerable questions exist is just unacceptable especially if the questions are the most crucial ones and yield answers that could define ourselves or lead us to the person that we want to be.

tell me, ron. is this your form of quarter-life crisis?

sapul mo e. we tend to ask questions for answers only to be bombarded with more questions, not until of course, we realized that questions are far more important than the answers themselves.

which is not to say that we stop asking questions and not finding answers. the answer is, i think, time. :P

RedLan said...

Can you answer the question: WHAT'S THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF TETRALOGY OF FALLOT? --- nakakanosebleed.

A person who asks a lot of questions to others---just plain stupid. So the Q & A portion of beauty pageant is stupid then. hehehe

Are gays created?

We need lighthouse to navigate our ships to safe shores. -- What's the role of the man in the lighthouse? hehehe

For you, you suck at mathematics. Well, I swallow figures.

The pain makes human being.

This is a great post. It made me think a lot of questions. Some I can answer, some it remain questions.

Myk2ts said...

tama ka. malamig ang simoy ng hangin pag ganun diba? tapos me sopas na mainit na naghihintay sa hapag. perfect :)

allergy? saan? naku masama naman yung less than 4 hours na sleep diba?

Pheng said...

You know where I can get the signature like you have under your post? Long time no see you btwn :)

lucas said...

redlan: red, maraming salamat talaga sa premyo mo. hehehe! lagi akong bibisita dito baka meron ulit! hahaha! joke! sige hintayin ko na lang :) i'm so grateful na naligaw ako dyan sa site mo :)

balik ka anytime.

---
ahh hehe! yung tetralogy of fallot? haha! medical term yun. tinanong din ako si loven. may sagot ako dun sa comment section ko. hehe!

haha! hindi naman! i said to SOME eyes.

ang role niya eh maintenance. baka mapundi yung ilaw you know? :)

wow..ibig sabihin malupit ka sa math! burger! 3x!

peace out!

prostetitute: haha! quarter-life crisis ba kamo? haha! you could say that. :)

i couldn't agree more. time usually gives the answers. timing is crucial. answers usually make more sense when we're ready to accept it.

as kinesics had said. a single question is more influential than a thousand statements :)

happy halloween!

joshmarie: ahh..alam ko yun! so magkatrabaho kayo ni kuya onat? hmmm... sige pag punta ako sa cubao minsan i'll try to drop by :) dito ako sa laguna eh...

have a nice day :)

mykt2s: nako hindi ko alam eh...pero ok na ako ngayon. nadaan naman sa gamot. :) masama nga yun pero bumalik na yung sleeping pattern ko. 6pm to 6 am sa tulog ko. hehehe!

lucas said...

pheng: ahh yung signature? gawa ko lang yun. wrote iy in a sheet of white paper, had it scanned, inverted the colors and then VOILA! hehehe!

Anonymous said...

I was constructing my comment in mind when I heard the TLOS OST. Nalungkot ako bigla at nakalimutan ko ung comment ko. HAHA. Anyhoo, for me, questions do not require answers all the time. Sometimes, it is an end to itself. Dahil nasa context na rin naman tayo ng LoS, the movie seems to leave unanswered questions pero un na un, it is the end. Hehe. Unanswered questions do not mean an end mark to one's life. We must still go on with either seeking the answers for it or just being contented about it i.e. moving on. :)

Unknown said...

I always try not to ask too much because it just leaves me, after the day, all wasted and it even brings me a little headache.

Pero I can't help not to. Some questions have already been answered, pero never kong nakita sa kanya na sinabi niya yun through words. Na-realize ko na there are answers to your questions that you will find once you stop asking.

However, there are still a lot that bother me. So help me Lord.

lucas said...

ahahaha! nadala ka ng background music ko! ang ganda ng movie noh? the end was vague but mew gave the answer for us. kanya kanyang formulation ng ending! hehe! same with the answers that we seek in our lives :)

thanks for dropping by :)

lucas said...

ton: you're right, reyn. hehehe! sometimes we just need to shut up so we could hear the answers being whispered to our clogged ears.

hope you find your answers soon :)

Anonymous said...

medyo malayo-layo ka pala lucas. laguna. :) oo iisa lang ang bahay na pinagtatrabahuhan namin ni kuya onat. magkasama kami sa iisang progrma dati. pero ngayon andun na kasi siya sa kabilang show. :)

natuwa naman ako sayo. inexplain mo din kung bakit hindi nagpapsukob sa payong. hehe.

charles said...

whoa you're one heck of a writer!

and your blog is a party!

pusangkalye said...

odd but true----we often ask questions but more often than not, we are not ready to accept the answers as they are because we have preconditioned ideas that we want to believe in.....

wanderingcommuter said...

i believe there are still a number of questions that should not be answered or takot langa ko malaman ang mga sagot...

either way, this post is pushing my ass kissing side to say, nice one, dude!!! hehehe

lucas said...

josh marie: hindi naman maxado. isang bus ride lang naman eh. hehe! it's cool na magkakilala at colleagues pala kayo. hehehe! such a small world.

ahehe...ayaw mo? hahah!

charles: thanks! at sa wakas ng post ka na rin. peace out!

saling pusa: very true. people pretend to look for answers but the truth is, they're just scared.

ewik: same thing to me. hindi ko alam kung nandyan na yung sagot o ayoko lang talagang tignan yung sagot na nasa harapan ko.

thanks. wow. totoo ba to? hahaha!

Roland said...

minsan mas madali magtanong kaysa humanap nang sagot...ako when i go somewhere hanggang hindi ako naliligaw, hindi ako nagtatanong... ayaw kong mapag-isipan na tatanga-tanga at hindi marunong magbasa ng direction, hehehe.

favorite subject ko math... wla lang nasabi ko lang.

lucas said...

roland: hahaha! ganun din ako madalas. hehehe! hindi naman kasi ako magala pero i'm learning alot of things...

wow.malupit ka pala sa math eh..kaw na! burger! 2X

Anonymous said...

naalala ko lang, may episode sa Desperate Housewives season 3 na Questions yung theme. tas eto yung narration:

From the moment we wake up in the morning 'til our head hits the pillow at night, our lives are filled with questions. Most are easily answered and soon forgotten. But some questions are much harder to ask because we are so afraid of the answer. Will I be around to watch my children grow up? Am I making a mistake by marrying this man? Could he ever truly love me? And what happens when we ask ourself the hard question and get the answer we've been hoping for? Well, that's when happiness begins.

lucas said...

yoshke: i remember that episode. i watch desperate housewives too and i love the narration. sometimes comical but most of the time educational :)

Anonymous said...

"what u dont know wont hurt u" - ayon din s isang famous quote..Ü

-- nald, movie b ung love of siam? have u watched it? mgnda dw?..