“Easter is very important to me. It’s a second chance.”—Reba McEntire
Happy Easter to all! With so much desire for change and longing for peace and harmony, I breathe in hope and compassion to jumpstart a new chapter in my life. Easter and spring remind us that no matter how bad things get, how hopeless the situations are, life is just around the corner.
Easter truly symbolizes rebirth and a new season of hope. Today we celebrate the gift of victory over every challenge we have ever experienced. Like Easter eggs that break out of its hardened protective shell, we break open our hearts and minds to discover a transformation to a new life enhanced with positive thoughts and firm beliefs. Life is eternal and endures no matter what.
To experience personal growth, we need to spring clean our lives to weed out all the unnecessary mental clutter, unwanted emotional baggage and negative life energy.
My self-mastery coach and healer Elaine C. Kahn said that I should nurture my own flower garden daily, instead of weeding out the plants from the other side of the fence. The more I focus on my personal journey of love and compassion, the faster I will reach a new purposeful life.
For those in need of guidance and direction, contact Integra Wellness Center at 83534188 or +63927-7780806. In the same building is Luna Garcia (@belunaholistics on Instagram; tel. +63966-3887223; [email protected]), a holistic health practitioner. Luna has been so helpful with my energy alignment with her needleless acupuncture service.
Easter in Namibia
After years of planning, I am just so grateful to be able to spend my Easter vacation in breathtaking Africa again with my traveling group TropAfrica. Visiting Africa every 10 years with this gang headed by Malu Gamboa-Lindo is such a blessing and privilege.
Since our first Africa adventure 20 years ago, A2A Safaris (@a2asafaris on Instagram) has been arranging all our adventures with the most amazing safari lodges and best game drives. They are a travel company since 2002 and have extended their destinations to not just Africa but also Latin America, Antarctica, Arctic and Wild Asia. As a setting to ring in a huge milestone and to begin a new chapter, otherworldly and heavenly Namibia was a perfect choice! After almost a day of travel, we began our adventure in Windhoek and spent a day touring this small town and of course, shopping! The highlight was the visit to an outdoor arts and crafts market where we encountered Himba women selling handmade jewelry. If you watched the movie “Black Panther,” they were portrayed as the mining people of Wakanda.
Our first safari lodge was Sossusvlei Desert Lodge that sits in its own private reserve and is near Namib Naukluft National Park. We learned about the ecosystem, Aeolian geological processes, walked to Deadvlei and climbed various dunes including Big Daddy.
Photos hardly do justice to Namibia’s amazing landscape. We’ve been mesmerized by the magnificence of the desert during morning and late afternoon drives. The flight into the lodge felt like viewing the topography of Mars. We also took a helicopter ride and soared over the vast expanse of the desert. We hovered over jagged mountain tops that emerge from the iconic Namib dunes, white mineral pans, rocky outcrops and unique fauna and flora. The helicopter ride was extra thrilling because it had no doors!
Flying over a landscape that has remained unchanged for millions of years made me reflect on God’s beautiful world and the need to help preserve it.
We continued our exciting adventure on quad bikes, driving over the sand dunes. After that super adrenaline rush and a little excitement from Gai Olivares on her bike, the lodge prepared our dinner in the middle of the desert as we gazed at the full moon and the vast sky.
Our expert guide Bonnie Mukoya assisted us in every detail while pointing out the different animals and showcasing the best of the Namib Desert. He climbed with Rosan Cruz, Malu Gamboa-Lindo and I to the top of Big Daddy sand dune and guided us on the quad bikes.
We have gained lasting memories and will surely have this wonderful experience engraved in our hearts. I am just so grateful to spend my healing journey with other longtime friends Rajo Laurel, Nix Alanon and Mon Lindo. This trip was perfectly timed, creating so much inspiration and so many ideas.
Prioritizing women’s health
It was also timed so I could be part of the launch of Eluvo Health. Eluvo Health underscores the remarkable medical contributions to women’s health care and wellness in the country as well as women empowerment.
Founded by Dr. Jaycy Violago-Olivarez, a young innovator and trailblazer in the field of women’s health care, Eluvo Health is a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to prioritizing women’s health and wellness. It celebrated its official launch at the Garden Pavilion of Grand Hyatt Manila.
The launch commenced with young ballerinas dancing into the venue as they gifted guests with flowers, a nod to the theme of the event “In Full Bloom” and to the significance of the word “Eluvo” (which comes from ovule—the female reproductive organ of a flower—spelled backward).
Certainly, the highlight was a dynamic live talk show hosted and moderated by Stephanie Zubiri, an accessible wellness advocate, journalist and founder of Soulful Feasts. Guided by Dr. Violago-Olivarez, the talk provided a platform for community leaders and women empowerment advocates, lawyer Karen Jimeno and yours truly to delve into pressing women’s health concerns prevalent in the Philippines.
From reproductive health to mental well-being, the panelists engaged in insightful discussions, shedding light on vital topics that often remain under-addressed in mainstream conversations. Attendees had the privilege of hearing from the four esteemed speakers as they candidly shared their expertise and passion, all while illuminating the urgent need for comprehensive healthcare solutions tailored to the diverse needs of Filipino women.
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