RENT MUSICAL BACK in MANILA BLOG CONTEST 1
(Contest Duration: 12.00am October 26, Monday to 11.59pm November 15, Sunday)
Seasons of Love is my uber-favorite RENT Song! This actually inspired me to quit my day job because I wanted to have a life of meaning by touching Filipinos with our food and travel discoveries in the Philippines.
Do you measure life in terms of the number of pay days and salary increases every year?
Do you measure life in terms of years, months, days, hours or minutes? OR
Do you measure life in terms of the number of people you love and touch?
It really is a beautiful song. In honor of this favorite tune of mine, I’d like to invite you to join a contest.
To enter, you just have to answer this: “What’s your favorite Rent Song and Why?” in the comments section of this blog post.
The best answer will win Two (2) Balcony Tickets worth P1,600 for the February 6, 2010, 8pm show!
CONGRATULATIONS TO EDWARD CAPACILLO FOR WINNING TWO (2) BALCONY RENT TICKETS TO THE FEBRUARY 6, 2010, 8PM SHOW!
Edward Capacillo said…
Just
like you, hands down my favorite song from the highly prodigious
soundtrack of Rent – and one of my most beloved songs of all time – is
Seasons Of Love. It is a profound and timeless paean to the penultimate
reason for being – does one live for oneself or for others? For one’s
passion or for those which really matter the most at the end of the
day? And who is to tell if you have lived your life well?
525,600 minutes…
How can you measure the life of a woman or man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried…
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died…
It’s time now to sing out, though the story never ends…
Let’s celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends…
Remember the love!
I used to work as a fulltime head chef with the requisite long odd
working hours during nights, weekends and holidays. Needless to say, as
much as I tried to justify the inordinate call of duty with my
unwavering passion for the culinary arts and the industry as a whole,
it nevertheless took its toll on my relationships – with my
long-suffering wife who has a demanding marketing executive job herself
and had to deal with my being so near yet so far, my two growing sons
who invariably resented and manifested having an absentee father, my
dearly departed parents with whom I was not able to make the most of
their twilight years, my friends who got so used to my absence, among
others. Even worse, I was languishing in my spiritual growth or the
lack thereof. Then the inevitable epiphany struck me – is my career
worth sacrificing my loved ones for? What so-called legacy will I leave
behind? Will people really revel in my epicurean prowess, or will they
revile me for my failure as a family person and a Bible-believing
Christian? Which will the decidedly critical human nature choose to
highlight? The realization hit me loud and clear – something had to
give and the choice was inarguably clear. And so I am now nurturing a
home-based food business with only a fraction of my previous income and
industry accolades coming my way for now, but with an overwhelming
sense of gratification gained from almost always being there for my
family whenever and any which way the need arises. And my wife couldn’t
be any happier – methinks that sums it all up if my radical shifting of
gears is well worth it.
Upon reading your own reason for loving the song, I can’t help but
feel that we are kindred spirits on this one. My sentiments exactly!
But then the thought crossed my mind that my insight might be
misconstrued as a copycat of yours, so I contemplated on opining about
my next favorite I’ll Cover You. But I opted to just be true to myself,
so there.
Please email amillionmiracles@gmail.com, or contact Minnie Fong via Mobile Number: +63917 8676332 to claim your prize 🙂
Live an Awesome Life,
Anton Diaz
Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com
Mobile: +63917-LOVEOAP (5683627)
Email: anton@diaz.ph
Add me in Twitter: antondiaz
Add me in Facebook: antondiaz
Add me in You Tube: antondiaz
P.S. Get your tickets to the opening Saturday night show of RENT! We will be watching this show and please say hi when you see us 🙂
Feb 6, 2010 (Saturday) – OAP Show
8PM/ C.P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza
Reserve Now! (check out the Seat Plan)
Email: amillionmiracles@gmail.com
Mobile Number: +63917 8676332 (Minnie Fong)
(Tell them that you are an OAP reader. 🙂
Ticket Prices:
P800 – Balcony
P1,100 – Loge Sides
P1,400 – Loge Center
P1,600 – Orchestra Sides
P1,700 – Orchestra Center
My Favorite song from Rent is “Without You”. Because that song best describes how I felt when my dad died last year. That the world around you continues on like nothing happened but you alone felt stuck and motionless because a part of you has died knowing you are going to live the rest of your life without that person anymore. It is a song of yearning as well as mourning the perfect description of heartfelt emotion of losing someone. As the song goes…
The tears dry without you, Life goes on but I’m gone
‘Cause I die without you.
My favorite song of RENT is “I’LL COVER YOU” particularly these lyrics:
Live in my house
I’ll be your shelter
Just pay me back
with one thousand kisses
This song resonates deeply with me because it describes PASSION. To offer everything and ask almost nothing in return is genuine love. Every person has felt this kind of love before and RENT was able to stir our hearts by their stories and songs.
Oh I just love RENT! I can watch RENT over and over again without ever getting tired of it. It brings me to tears each time :_)
My favorite song from Rent is ‘One Song Glory’
This song reminds me that death is inevitable, we dont own our lives, we’re merely on borrowed time. So we better make the most of this borrowed time.
One Song Glory tells me that yes, I will die soon but that I must make sure to leave something “great” behind. The simple message of the song is that we can all have redemption in the little things we do. What we do can be our One Song Glory.
Love, love, love RENT!
It’s my funeral song. Cliche as it may sounds, It’s Seasons of Love. 525, 600 minutes- you begin to realize that time is really ticking and you have to spread love. I learn to love my students and learn to enjoy my time inspiring them. It’s more than payday but every day when you go to work and you see these people, you have time to touch their lives. It’s about seeing the love in every Pinoy you meet- may it be malls or relief centers. It’s about letting go of your burdens and just to spend the 525, 600 minutes with the people you are close to. Everyday should be a season of love.
La Vie Boheme is also a favorite because it shows non- conformity. A dead fish is the only one swimming along the current- you have to live your life differently from others. Names of people and events uttered in each line signifies pivotal moments in history, a search for knowledge or as Collins put it, ” computer- age philosophy”. Every thing is marked with knowledge, passion and philosophy.
Just like you, hands down my favorite song from the highly prodigious soundtrack of Rent – and one of my most beloved songs of all time – is Seasons Of Love. It is a profound and timeless paean to the penultimate reason for being – does one live for oneself or for others? For one’s passion or for those which really matter the most at the end of the day? And who is to tell if you have lived your life well?
525,600 minutes…
How can you measure the life of a woman or man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried…
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died…
It’s time now to sing out, though the story never ends…
Let’s celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends…
Remember the love!
I used to work as a fulltime head chef with the requisite long odd working hours during nights, weekends and holidays. Needless to say, as much as I tried to justify the inordinate call of duty with my unwavering passion for the culinary arts and the industry as a whole, it nevertheless took its toll on my relationships – with my long-suffering wife who has a demanding marketing executive job herself and had to deal with my being so near yet so far, my two growing sons who invariably resented and manifested having an absentee father, my dearly departed parents with whom I was not able to make the most of their twilight years, my friends who got so used to my absence, among others. Even worse, I was languishing in my spiritual growth or the lack thereof. Then the inevitable epiphany struck me – is my career worth sacrificing my loved ones for? What so-called legacy will I leave behind? Will people really revel in my epicurean prowess, or will they revile me for my failure as a family person and a Bible-believing Christian? Which will the decidedly critical human nature choose to highlight? The realization hit me loud and clear – something had to give and the choice was inarguably clear. And so I am now nurturing a home-based food business with only a fraction of my previous income and industry accolades coming my way for now, but with an overwhelming sense of gratification gained from almost always being there for my family whenever and any which way the need arises. And my wife couldn’t be any happier – methinks that sums it all up if my radical shifting of gears is well worth it.
Upon reading your own reason for loving the song, I can’t help but feel that we are kindred spirits on this one. My sentiments exactly! But then the thought crossed my mind that my insight might be misconstrued as a copycat of yours, so I contemplated on opining about my next favorite I’ll Cover You. But I opted to just be true to myself, so there.
My favorite song is without a doubt Seasons of Love. I’m all about feeling, giving and sharing the love. (If my daughter reads this, she will probably say aloud, “Cheesy!”) I appreciate the blessings that are attached to it, and the life lessons learned from this selfless act.
Remember the love, (You know that love is a gift from up above)
Remember the love, (Share love, give love, spread love)
My favorite song is also SEASONS OF LOVE. It’s always been my inspiration song and my perennial mobile ring tone.
The song for me is about JOURNEY. Journey to self-discovery, journey to self-reliance, journey to great places and journey to standing up after each fall.
Hi Anton,
Gosh…this is a tough one–as mentioned I have sooooo many favorite RENT songs but right now, at the top of my head I’ll go for ANOTHER DAY. I love that Mimi is not afraid for what she wants in life and not afraid to love even if it could hurt. I feel like life in general, especially love is a LEAP OF FAITH and if we keep on trying to second guess everything, we end up doing nothing. This song inspires me to take chances even if those chances can hurt.
“Give in to Love, or live in Fear”
“I can’t control my destiny, I trust my soul my only goal is just to be”
“There’s only yes, only tonight. We must let go to know what’s right”
“NO DAY BUT TODAY”
Can I just say that I am a certified RENT HEAD. I know anyone can just say the same thing but I’m really die hard — to the point that I give Rent DVDs to friends or force them to watch it with me. I have Jonathan Larson’s book and documentary and 2 Christmas Seasons ago, I even made my own graphic art of quotable quotes from Rent, had it printed out and gave it to my closests friends as presents. Oh and I’m such a die hard that last year on my bday my boyfriend surprised me in Fully Booked’s cinema and had all my friends sing Seasons of Love for me 🙂
that would be “take me or leave me”.. The song’s the bottom line to a relationship, what we ask the other person and ourselves. Its not one of those cheesey or idealistic songs of what a relationship is and how it will save the world or make everything bright. at the end of the day that’s where it comes down to- especially for the hard times. All relationships have their share of problems, and the strength is seen on how people are willing to make it work. The things we love are also the things we get annoyed with- easy going can be indecisive, motivated can be uptight and over compulsive, friendly can be flirty, sensitive can be emotional. “I hate mess but I love you” we don’t like everything but we just say “eh mahal ko eh” and that characteristic we hate we accept as a part of who that person is. Those that make us unbelievably happy are also the ones that can make us sad, because they pierce who we are. And so in a relationship, we are who we are and the person is who he/she is in the both forms a character can be. And sometimes it gets tiring but we just have to remember…And for all the triumphs and problems, its the question to ask take me or leave me.Of course, if its leave me then that would suck but who wants end up with someone where they’d lose who they really are? And if the answer is “take me” than that’s the best feeling to be accepted for who u are, all ur good points and flaws and nothing else but you.no pretenses or ending up with just the idea of who u are. 🙂
Hello! It also is without a doubt — “Seasons of Love”. It just hits me right smack in the heart 🙂
“I think they meant it
when they said you can’t buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are my love,
On life
All my life
I’ve longed to discover
Something as true as this is”
(I’ll Cover You, sung by Angel and Collins)
**
When I first saw Rent, I had just graduated from gradeschool. It was 1999, my first trip to New York, wide-eyed about all things Yankee. In one of the scenes, the actress incited the audience to “moo” with her; much to my bewilderment, the audience did (men mooing louder more than others). After watching, Seasons of Love was the only song thirteen year-old me could remember. (That, and the hilarious community moo-ing.)
Ten years after, two years after college, and one screening of Avenue Q later, the universe made it apparent that most of what I thought and did (or didn’t do) was either pure genius or pure bull. It was during the humdrum minutes in between that I’ll Cover You became my favorite antedote among the play’s equally lovable songs. (That, and cheap beer with friends.)
The song is sung twice in the play: first, when love was found, and again when love was lost. “I’ll Cover You” redeems the humanity in “renting”– making these small moments count, making them count for someone other than ourselves, accepting life as greater than the sum of its imperfect parts.
Back in 1998, I joined Repertory Philippines Summer camp under the tutillage of
Mr. Robbie Guevarra (who was part of New Voice Company’s RENT in 1999, Music Museum Greenhills).
The play that Robbie gave us to work with was RENT. I loved the play so much (even though I was not in any lead parts) because of the realizations that came to me most especially with this line:
” There’s only NOW, there’s only HERE
give in to LOVE or live in fear.
No other path, no other way.
NO DAY BUT TODAY!”
I realized that you have to take control of your life, love and take that chance to learn something new… to discover new things, to try new things that you never thought of doing.
Let go of the past and build a ‘better you’ for the future.
And with that I jump started my life.
I went back to school and finished my degree, now I am working for a company I love so much that I’ve been here for 9 years now.
I share with my friends and colleagues the line I quoted above that there is
NO DAY BUT TODAY.
That line made me achieve to be the ‘First Female Port Equipment Operator in the Philippines’.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear
FIve hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure– measure a year?
In daylights– in sunsets
In midnights– in cups of coffee
In inches– in miles
In laughter– in strife
In– five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love
Seasons of love
Oh gosh! Seasons of Love never fails to touch me over and over and over.
And watching the video in your blog almost made me cry. Now I’m holding back tears.
The song made me realize what life should really be all about.
Seasons of love because I’ve memorized the the minutes in a year- a non-leap year that is; Plus the fact that it is a very inspiring song… love love love love love…
My favorite song would be Finale B (even though this song seems a bit sad for some). It combines lyrics from the different songs in the play, thereby making these lyrics more meaningful and significant for me. I especially like the part that goes…
“Forget regret or
Life is yours to miss.
No other road
No other way
No day but today.”
Every time I hear this part, I remember how important it is to focus instead of what I have now. In times that I already want to give up, I tell myself instead that there is still hope and that I should continue to persevere.
Indeed, one must forget regret or else he/she might miss the other wonderful things that are in his/her life. As the adage goes, live every day of your life to the fullest. One might never know when a particular day will be his/her last. Always remembering the phrase “no day but today” might hopefully let each of us appreciate the great blessing that God gave us another day to live. 🙂
My favorite song will always be “Will I?” It is indeed a sad song of a person who keeps on asking if someone will care for him and will be awake from his nightmare. For me, this song of a depressed person makes us -meaning the normal, healthy people – to reach out, understand other people, share sentiments and open our hearts to others who have less, who are in despair, who feel hopeless.
It is usually the seemingly simple that is the most poignant. The repetitive round of “Will I?” struck me the most when I first watched Rent.
Will I Lose My Dignity
Will Someone Care
Will I Wake Tomorrow
From This Nightmare?
You see a montage of different people, each dealing with his or her own issues. You see sickness, loneliness, sadness and despair. But come to think of it, these thoughts are ever-present in each and everyone of us. It’s a day-to-day experience.
Of course we want people to care. That’s why we all exist.
That’s why we all wake up every morning to face the world and all its opportunities amidst the challenges. Because we know that there are those who will still care. No matter how low we feel we’ve gone at one point in our lives or another, I have learned that we only let those people around us down if we give up. And what’s worse is that we let ourselves down the most when we lose all hope.
That’s why it’s a question to the self. It’s a question that’s only answerable by each and everyone of us [them].
We only lose dignity once we start believing we’ve lost it.
We have to care for ourselves before we expect other people to care.
There’s always tomorrow.
Rather than focusing on haunting dreams, why not focus on the reality of today?
There’s so much in life to look forward to. 🙂
If I only had one choice, then it would be “Goodbye Love”…
I’d be happy to die for a taste
Of what Angel Had
Someone To Live For-Unafraid
To Say I Love You
All Your Words Are Nice Mimi
But Love’s Not A Three Way Street
You’ll Never Share Real Love
Until you Love Your Self-I Should Know
It sounds gay; but I’m not. If you think about it; the words are reminiscent of and ideal relationship… and ideal kind of love everyone thinks of. They all have a point don’t get me wrong but in real life, this stuff does not always happen. We all hope for the right kind of love but not everyone gets it.
Don’t think I’m pushing for worldwide singleness because I still hope there is someone there for me. There is HOPE…
When you are almost 30ish and you get tired of relationships like I do most people would probably think it is the end of the world, slit their wrists and tell everyone its an accident. Well I don’t… and I am still optimistic because I know how to love myself.
With the thought of still getting love unconditionally, love that may or may not be the norm in Philippine society, married, unmarried or just living in… I cannot lose hope no matter what status I end up in. I’m not going to be pressured getting out of a single guy’s life just because of peer pressure or my folks… because we have to admit it, they have probably done that to you too in one way or another. The song personifies hope… and the undeniably grueling world of relationships. Much like what mid life crisis I probably am in right now.
Even so… I still believe in love… =)
P.S. Obviously I don’t want to have the same song as everyone else hehe =) Good thing I had a different favorite…
i love all the songs in rent, but if i would choose the one that hits the spot the best, it’s ‘no day but today’.
hearing the lines ‘forget regret or life is yours to miss’ always put things in perspective for me. i guess we’ve all gone through that stage, at one time or another, when we keep thinking about what has happened in our lives and we think how things might be different — and better — if we made different choices or took a different path.
but no matter how much we do this, we can never really turn back the clock. and who’s to say if that other choice really was the best? and all the while, the time we spend wallowing in shoulda-woulda-couldas is time in limbo… time that is better spent enjoying what life is offering us at the moment.
as the song says, there is no day but today.
Seasons of Love never failed to amuse me. Nor bring me goosebumps. Hearing it over and over does not tire me, it only inspires me to do more, to love more. Being a first-time mother, I was scared at first. I hid from all my friends, became absent in family activities and dwelt so much thinking about my future. I was stressed out just thinking and basically wasted my energy on it.
Seasons of Love is an inspiration for me. To be free, to live once more, to love. From then on, I made moments. Not once a year, twice a year or even once a month. Yes, I made moments and memories for the five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes of my life.
And now, I feel much better. Contented. Happy.
In one of my many moments of buying a book, I chanced upon “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom in the local bookstore in 2001. I was hooked. I finished the book in one sitting only and with eyes full of tears. Five years hence, I found myself in the same situation. Not with Morrie but with my father who was afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. A degenerative muscular disease. Science has evaded this disease. No cure yet has been found until this day.
From the moment of diagnosis, every second with my Tang was precious. Every laughter, tear, smile, dream, inspiration, faith and love is priceless. My favorite song from Rent is “Seasons of Love”. My father is my hero. My inspiration. My rock and my mentor. He is my love. I got married in our home surrounded by family’s love and my father’s unwavering strength and inspiration. After 3 years of battling the disease, our family lost him two months ago. I am blessed to receive the genuine LOVE and have fought the best fight for my Tang.
No day but today would be my favorite rent song. I consider this my mission statement in life: No day but today. It has a simple message, live each day as if it were your last. It sounds cliche but it’s true. People today take their own life for granted, we hear of suicides and cutting themselves in order to feel. Well, we were given one life to live, and the Bible says we should be stewards of what is given to us by God, hence, our life.
“No day but today” means appreciating every day that is given to us. It’s not waking up everyday and thinking “Oh God, it’s morning again” and living just to get through another day. It’s loving each living day with gratefulness because we are alive. It’s doing what you love to do without the need to please others. It’s freedom from our past baggages, appreciation for the present and high expectations for our future.
Definitely “I’ll cover you”. The title itself tells us immediately that whatever happens, we’ll be there for each other. Regardless of race, gender, age–love succeeds. And that is what this play is all about, and what our life should always need. Love in different levels. Love at home, Love with friends, Love with special someone/s, Love after death. To love is the best thing that we’ll ever do for ourselves–and to not having to regret it is the best feeling in the world.
For me it’s “One Song Glory”. It’s a song about leaving a legacy in this world, “one song to redeem this empty life.” The song hits me hard because I know I haven’t made any mark and I’m already turning 32 soon. It frustrates me, consumes me, but I still haven’t found the path I need to take, my “glory.” Like Roger, I NEED to make a difference somehow, to leave a dent before I die.
My favorite is Seasons of Love. Just hearing this song brings back so much memory, four years worth actually. This is my high school batch’s song. Of course, high school has been a million years ago but still, it represented a time in my life (in your life too!) wherein everything was simple and the harsh realities of life are light years away. We make choices, good, bad, whatever. It shaped who we are today and how we live our life.
Everytime I hear this song, I flashback to those moments years ago and remember friends, laughter, tears, and of course, the exams. The times when every decision I made seemed like a turning point in my life. I hated high school back then, always thought that everything (and everyone!) was juvenile and immature. But years later, I realized that it was one of the best years of my life! (I’m sure you can say the same. You’ll always remember the people you went to high school with.)
Seasons Of Love used to be my favorite song from Rent also, but it lost its appeal when it became overplayed. I’m liking it now again since I haven’t heard it for a long time… Anyway, the song I’m liking more in the soundtrack is Take Me or Leave Me. I know it’s not the usual favorite but the upbeat music really appeals to me as well as some lines in the track. The title itself is kind of empowering for me – Take Me or Leave Me. It really sends the message across the other person to accept you for who you are. And the lines in the song that stood out for me are:
“Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby, or leave me”
These lines are very cut and direct – no need to interpret underlying messages or such. This song inspires me to be more upfront to others – the strong lyrics and upbeat tune give me the courage to do so. When I sing along to this song, I feel like I can say these lines to someone else if I really wanted to. 🙂
It’s been 10 years since I first saw rent at Music Museum, but up to now, the song “Will I?” is still on heavy rotation on my iPod (no kidding!). The haunting melody and the way they sing it in rounds really captures the pain and despair in the lyrics.
Will I lose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I wake tomorrow
from this nightmare?
It’s actually in a somewhat insignificant part of the play – the characters inflicted with AIDS are just asking these questions to themselves. But the way the song is sung is heart-wrenching for me and it made me feel their hopelessness. It’s like they’re trapped in a vicious cycle and they can’t get out of it no matter what they do.
It’s a song that anyone can apply to the low points in their lives. This is my favorite RENT song because it is the most real and drives straight home. It was REAL songs and REAL lyrics like this that made my 16-year-old self stand up clapping after the play was over.
My first reaction to Rent back in 1999 when I gave the Broadway soundtrack a listen-through was not very enthusiastic. I was used to Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables and Miss Saigon and all those lovely dramatic plays that had orchestra music and soaring vocals. Rent’s loud, raucous rock jarred the ear and made me grit my teeth when I first heard it. No one seemed to know how to modulate except for Collins and the lady in Seasons of Love who did provide soaring vocals, but that was rock for you. Later on the mellower songs like “One Thousand Kisses” and “Will I” soothed me and were the easiest to hum. Rent grew on me.
I kept coming back to Maureen’s “Over the Moon,” though. I mean, what the heck was that? Why was she talking to cows in her dreams? The woman was crazy. There’s nothing wrong with Diet Coke! (Diet coke… diet coke…)
And then I realized that _I_ lived in Cyberland. I was not living the Bohemian life because I had chosen to abide by the lies and the rules and the virtual life created by society, which shackles us into submission through consumerism, tradition, and the excuse that it is all in the name of ‘progress’. As I began to relate to the feeling she evoked, I even remembered a nightmare of being horrifically chased by a large Mickey Mouse mascot when I was five, which made her description of being tied to the hood of a yellow rental truck especially vivid (do all children get these monster-Mickey Mouse dreams or is it just Maureen and I?)
I get the symbolism of the dish and the spoon bit of course, but I am not insane enough to say I completely understand it. Still, Maureen’s rather eccentric call to take a leap of faith into the unknown, to rebel against the system and to embrace your individuality struck a chord in me that has made me just a little thirsty (and made everyone else look like a lap dog of a wealthy daughter of the revolution, but don’t tell them I said that, they look pretty rabid as well) for something beyond the desert of this Cyberland I live in. Something found only beyond the far reaches of the moon. Something to make me moo.
Moo with me.
The Heart May Freeze Or It Can burn
The Pain Will Ease If I Can Learn
There Is no future
There Is no past
I Live this Moment As My Last
There’s Only Us
There’s Only This
Forget Regret
Or Life Is Yours To Miss
Life is too short to be spent on living in the shadow of regret and desolation. It is not about looking back and getting stuck in an era where words are left unspoken and actions left undone. If one keeps living in the past and brooding over what should have been done to change it, might as well keep digging a deeper hole for misery and just creep inside it. There is just too much to miss if one decides to keep wallowing in what cannot be taken back. Life is about exultation, about the celebration of Being and the What Is. Each one of us is given a unique gift, no matter how seemingly mundane yet complex, and that is Life. We are asked to go beyond what the past has limited us to do and maximize ourselves to recognizing and reaching our highest potential as individuals.
With these lines of the song, “No Day But Today”, I am constantly reminded to just keep going forward no matter how painful the past may be. The trials, tribulations, struggles and heartaches will always be there to serve as nudges to keep me in check and think about the decisions I keep making in life. As of late, I have been in a stump, or a “quarter life crisis” (if I may call it that) and it has arrived in my life quite a bit early, and very much unexpected. There are moments when I want to let go, but then I am reminded that giving up every time I am met with disappointment is not living at all. Although a myriad of feelings abound my life presently, I believe that it is better to toughen up as early as now for who knows what could happen if it got postponed for a later date (think a decade or so). I may have made bad decisions in the past but without these, I would not strive to do better in life and become the best person I know I can be. Being thankful for both the triumphs and setbacks has taught me to embrace life for what it is, and appreciate myself for who I am. It is all about living in the now, and relishing and basking in it can one feel and realize the utter sense of the word LIFE.
So what this song is telling each of us is to just get out there, live life and love it every step of the way for it is too beautiful and intricate to be put to waste.
CONGRATULATIONS TO EDWARD CAPACILLO FOR WINNING TWO (2) BALCONY RENT TICKETS TO THE FEBRUARY 6, 2010, 8PM SHOW!
Edward Capacillo said…
Just like you, hands down my favorite song from the highly prodigious soundtrack of Rent – and one of my most beloved songs of all time – is Seasons Of Love. It is a profound and timeless paean to the penultimate reason for being – does one live for oneself or for others? For one’s passion or for those which really matter the most at the end of the day? And who is to tell if you have lived your life well?
525,600 minutes…
How can you measure the life of a woman or man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried…
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died…
It’s time now to sing out, though the story never ends…
Let’s celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends…
Remember the love!
I used to work as a fulltime head chef with the requisite long odd working hours during nights, weekends and holidays. Needless to say, as much as I tried to justify the inordinate call of duty with my unwavering passion for the culinary arts and the industry as a whole, it nevertheless took its toll on my relationships – with my long-suffering wife who has a demanding marketing executive job herself and had to deal with my being so near yet so far, my two growing sons who invariably resented and manifested having an absentee father, my dearly departed parents with whom I was not able to make the most of their twilight years, my friends who got so used to my absence, among others. Even worse, I was languishing in my spiritual growth or the lack thereof. Then the inevitable epiphany struck me – is my career worth sacrificing my loved ones for? What so-called legacy will I leave behind? Will people really revel in my epicurean prowess, or will they revile me for my failure as a family person and a Bible-believing Christian? Which will the decidedly critical human nature choose to highlight? The realization hit me loud and clear – something had to give and the choice was inarguably clear. And so I am now nurturing a home-based food business with only a fraction of my previous income and industry accolades coming my way for now, but with an overwhelming sense of gratification gained from almost always being there for my family whenever and any which way the need arises. And my wife couldn’t be any happier – methinks that sums it all up if my radical shifting of gears is well worth it.
Upon reading your own reason for loving the song, I can’t help but feel that we are kindred spirits on this one. My sentiments exactly! But then the thought crossed my mind that my insight might be misconstrued as a copycat of yours, so I contemplated on opining about my next favorite I’ll Cover You. But I opted to just be true to myself, so there.
Please email amillionmiracles@gmail.com, or contact Minnie Fong via Mobile Number: +63917 8676332 to claim your prize 🙂
Hi Anton! This is such pleasant news and to think I was oblivious to it for so long! I only found out about it serendipitously just now when a long-lost college friend of mine tracked me down on Facebook after reading that I won this contest on your blogsite. Truth to tell, I honestly thought somebody else won because in my opinion all the other entries are equally deserving. Some of the comments with their allegorical prose were so enthralling and even quite unnerving that I wasn’t really putting my hopes up of winning. Plus the fact that I wasn’t able to monitor anymore the results when the busy holiday season starting late November kicked in. Since I haven’t gotten any email notification thus far, I figured that’s the end of it. And the avid OAP reader in me didn’t get to visit your homepage regularly since then because I opted to just check out the links you were posting on Facebook. But all’s well that ends well – my wife and I are now so thrilled we will get to watch the re-staging of Rent on its opening Saturday night show for free at that! I will definitely seek you out on that date just so I can personally extend my gratitude for this wonderful opportunity you have afforded to us through your site. More power to OAP and God bless!
Oops! Forgot to post my message above through Facebook. Just to let you know it is me. 🙂
As i read the songs lyrics from one of Rent songs,i feel that i can also do that,i can also touch someone elses life, so that they will live it to the fullest,and also made humanity realized that, life is a gift from God.