#008: How do we choose what to believe?

Astrological signs, Patreon updates, accountability crews, and more tiny yet precious life moments

May 30, 2021

Hey, friend! Thank you for being here. This is a Sunday newsletter! It may be or may not be every Sunday, but this OK to BE email will arrive in your inbox anytime on a Sunday. At the moment, you will receive musings about relatable everyday adventures, more silly than serious stories, and some tiny yet precious moments of life (well, mine, mostly) in between. If anything here touches you in any way, I encourage you to write back or leave a comment—and I shall reply! Also, this is a public dispatch, so feel free to share with a friend or two. Enjoy! :)

Share OK to BE

Growing up, astrology was something that popped up every now and then in our Christian household. My Aquarian mom, who was the one who instilled our practice of religious faith, would sometimes say “it’s because you’re a Libra” whenever I did something that was… probably Libran. (The rest of the family is also made up of more Libras.) As a child, I didn’t understand much, or let alone any, of it, but I would peek at horoscopes in newspapers and magazines and think it was fascinating how those twinkle twinkle little stars and the universe could explain, even predict, the life of a human—all of which I thought belonged to God and God alone.

The Super Flower Blood Moon in a starless sky, taken last May 26 with my phone cam that tried its best

Later on, we had a new house built, and that’s how I first heard of feng shui. No doors should be facing each other, beds should be facing the window, stairs shouldn’t face the front door, and so on. This was probably how I also found out about Chinese zodiac signs, as I remember how my mom would sometimes say “it’s because you’re a Snake” whenever I did something that was… probably Snake-ish. Again, as a child, I didn’t understand much of it. Our home library, which was just a box then, did not have any reading materials about the topic, and instead was filled with comics, fairy tales, encyclopedias, a few chapter books (the beginning of my collection), and Bible stories.

Yes, the Bible. Now I’m not equipped enough yet (nor do I think I will ever be) to discuss the intricacies of what the gospel says about astrology, but I often run a quick online search (my home library now is Google, lol), and every time, hits would include new articles about Christian astrology or statistics about the percentage of practicing Christian who also believe in the stars, which were entertaining and stale to me at the same time. Entertaining because I knew that, inside the church, astrology has no clear space, if at all; stale because as a Filipino, having a mix of beliefs is pretty common given our history of colonization. (And time just being 2021, you know?)

The reason I’m talking about this is because my friend Allana, who reintroduced astrology to me sometime four years ago by way of birth charts, sent me links to tarot reading videos a couple of weeks ago. I can only speak for myself, so on my end, us sharing stuff like this is more of an inside joke or how-are-you than actual subscription to the idea. But I did watch those tarot readings, and (perhaps not) strangely enough, some that were said were pretty spot on—and I don’t mean that they resonated and I just filled in the blanks—but they did hit the nail on the head, close to convincing me that there might be really something there. What kind of something, I am unsure, but I’m not closing the door on learning more… because that’s just the eternally curious Libra in me. Hah! (Sometimes I would talk to my mom, whose religion is now Kdrama HAHA, about all this stuff but she would just say, “Arrasseo, arrasseo… KA!”)

I will say this: I believe God is real. I also believe in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have questions or doubts, nor do I think having questions about other kinds of beliefs invalidates my Christian faith. To me, believing in something requires a great deal of curiosity, and simply put, if we don’t ask, we will never know. (Now, get it, let it roll!)

What is one question you have about faith? (And what is your sign? Haha)

***

Family

My senior citizen mom (the same mom previously mentioned, lol) received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this month, hallelujah! She hasn’t complained about any side effects so far, except for a bit of pain on the injected arm on the night of. (Meanwhile, my vicarious experience was to get knocked out by a migraine for the rest of that weekend.) However, she recently has expressed second thoughts about getting the second dose because of the things she has been stumbling upon online. Goodness gracious! Aside from sending her verified and scientific reports about the efficacy of vaccines, I should curate her feed when I get the chance.

What is one thing you did or that happened to you that helped you breathe easier this week?

Faith

I’m still attending Sunday School sessions! This month, our group has been discussing the topic of “why we are Christians.” It’s okay, so far… but I’ll be frank, I would have been more excited had it been the topics I suggested to the lead pastor a few weeks ago, which were: 1) the women in the Bible and 2) depictions of Christian figures in popular media. I hope we pick those up next.

For those practicing religion: What is one thing you wish you understood more about your faith?
For the non-practicing: What is one thing you wish would change about how we perceive faith?

Feelings

Gosh, friends. My brain is just 50% BTS nowadays. They released their comeback single, “Butter,” last May 21 (and then some more performances in the next days), and I’m afraid I haven’t been the same since… but in the best chaotic way! I wonder when or whether this enthusiasm will fade. A few friends who have been there since the beginning (2013) still feel the same way, if not more. Just grateful for the joy they (BTS) spark, and that I'm going through the motions of this pandemic and everything else with them. (THEY LOVE US, MOOOM!)

What is giving you emotional or mental calm these days?

Fiction

A new #TinyTutubi story is floating soon! This is an illustrated anthology of stories dedicated to Mother Earth by Arli Pagaduan, one of the most hardworking and truly inspiring creators I’ve worked with. She’s also so gracious with her gratitude, and her humility is unparalleled. I learn way more from her than she does from me, to be honest! If you aren’t following her yet, here is her page.

On the other hand, I’m working on a few more manuscripts this quarter (not writing them, sadly, hahaha but beta reading and editing them), plus Bookbed events and a new project I can’t talk about in detail just yet. It’s an exciting but also scary time for me. I mentioned here that I adjusted my work contracts to make time for my creative work, and SO HELP ME, GOD, let’s make this weeeeerq!

Speaking of, if you remember, I shared about my Patreon in the last post. Here are some new things!

I just hit my first milestone! My patrons (some of them are here, hello!) will receive a smol gift from me in celebration. Thank you for allowing me to do what I do, and helping me support other creators as well!
I’m looking for creators and editors to collaborate with. If you’re interested, let me know!
I’m building a small Accountability Crew for those who want to build or grow their Patreon. Again, if you’re interested, do contact me! I already reached out to a few friends, and hopefully, we’ll be able to start soon.

To see more experiments in reading, journaling, crafting, writing, and editing (I have new projects launching soon), or if you would just like to pledge to cheer me on, here is the link.

Latest posts: “KBookJo Episode #1: Books I read in April” @ $1 tier; “Story Sharing: Exclusive Whisk-A-Wish art & poem!” and “Something tiny” @ $3 and above tier

A classic: When was the last time you chose to do something different?

Food

I eat my feelings and I’m sure you do, too, so I hope you enjoy this photo dump. Another that is worth noting (at least for me): I’m waiting for the BTS Meal to arrive here in my country in wild impatience. I’m more than ready for some borahae-filled fast food!

Butter cake, which I just took a photo of

All the kakanin, only five minutes away from me

What is the best thing you ate this week?

Friends

Maintaining friendships as an adult can be hard and energy-consuming so I just wanted to say that I’m super grateful for YOU, regardless of how often we talk.

Also giving a shoutout to my favorite set of ARMY friends, the Kathys (woohoo!), and leaving you this link to Pinky’s newsletter where she shares practical advice on how one can be a good friend.

Any good deeds you did for a friend this week?
Did you receive any good deed from a friend? How did you feel about it?

⭐ Featured

...Word of the Week — Binisaya: limpyo, which means clean. In a sentence: “Panlimpyo sa imohang kwarto (Clean up your room),” “Limpyo kaayo sa Puerto Princesa (It’s very clean in Puerto Princesa)”

...Words of the Week — Ilocano: ado, which means many or plenty. In a sentence: “Ado iti saba idiay balay (There’s plenty of bananas at home),” “Ado ti kinam mo? (Did you eat a lot?)”

...Sign of the Week — Sign Language: I can sign but it’s best to learn from someone within the community or from an expert. This time is a little different, though, because I’m sharing a “Butter” cover in British SL by @deafarmyedu! Some of the signs are also used in American SL, so they may be familiar.

...Books of the Week: I’m on a space streak so after having read How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson, I picked up Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth by Andrew Smith, which was the book I read for the recent #BookbedMeets! I’ll talk about all these titles in the next KBookJo episode on my Patreon, but in the meantime:

What are you reading, and how are you finding it so far?

My reading buddy, Bibi Mangki #thereadingmonkey, judging me for taking photos of books I haven’t even opened

***

That’s it for now! Thank you for being here. I hope you picked up something fun or useful! See you in the next one. ☀️

If you enjoyed this newsletter or have any questions, I hope you let me know. I appreciate your effort in growing our connection!

OK to BE