It is harvest time! At last, the time has finally come that I get to reap some fruits of our humble Calamansi Tree. I have been eyeing those little round green fruits for quite some time, maybe months. I thought I would never see our Calamansi tree bearing fruits again. Thoughts like it were just a one-time fruit-bearing tree flooded my mind, and that discouraged me from hoping I would ever see a single fruit in that little tree. 

We bought the Calamansi tree from my mother's churchmate. Though I planned to gain a tree by planting seeds and that did not push through. Instead, we decided to grab the opportunity of buying a grown-up tree. 

I was fascinated with the fruits it already had upon getting the plant and hopeful for a fruitful future for the Calamansi tree. There were only a few fruits when we acquired the tree, not more than 7 fruits I guess. After harvesting the initial fruits of the newly bought plant, months passed yet it did not show any sign of bearing fruits. I didn't see flowers. I kept on telling my concerns to my mother and father from time to time and the usual response I got was that it was not yet its season. I understood it but that didn't stop me from asking them when it was going to be its season. I was getting impatient which was not a good sign. 

Days, weeks, and months passed by and I completely discarded my issue with the Calamansi tree, I got busy with other important things. 

One time at school, I heard my colleagues discussing plants since it has been a trend during this time of the pandemic. Plantita and Plantito have been all over the places and the trend also gave opportunities for some to start a small business by selling plants. 

I acquired some useful tips from their discussion about fertilizers. I am for organic fertilizers. One of my colleagues mentioned that she used tea as fertilizer. I thought that was perfect since we have and usually drink tea at home. 

At home, I gathered all the used tea in a mesh I kept in the refrigerator and went upstairs where our plants are located. I was so oblivious as I confidently sowed the teabag on the soil. That was an easy job I thought. 

But I did wrong. I realized that one time when my colleagues were having a small talk again about plants. Well, it had been a consistent topic among them for quite some time. I was supposed to remove the mesh and let the ground leaves dry. I should have not just throw them on the soil. I learned my lesson and removed the mesh when I got the chance to do it at home. 

If my schedule permitted me, I watered the plants every morning, trimmed dried leaves or stems, and whispered some encouraging words to them, especially the Calamansi tree since I was looking forward to getting the fruits. 

Before March ended, I did not miss the opportunity to harvest the fruits of the Calamansi tree with joy and excitement. I only picked the ones that I thought were ready for this season.  

I also learned another lesson from my father, he was happy when he saw the harvested fruits, yet he noticed that I cut some fresh sprout leaves which could have been another set of fruits for the next season. There are still some fruits left to ripe and grow a little bigger and rounder, so next time that it's their season to be harvested I'll be careful not to pluck any potential fruit-bearing leaves and stems. In total, we got almost a quarter of 1 kilogram. Not bad. 

Look! There is a monkey suspended in the air holding on the bridge. Was I looking at myself? Of course, I was not. I am a human being and I am sure of that. More so, I beg to disagree with the theory of Charles Darwin. 

I also questioned the meaning behind the name of one of the activities we did when we hiked Mt. Manalmon and Mt. Gola. I was curious. I thought maybe there were a lot of monkeys in the area before because we did not see a single monkey in the mountains. But not until we arrived at the jump-off of the Monkey Bridge. We saw a monkey on mental chains. I guess it was a pet and displayed there to justify the name of the suspended bridge made out of two paralleled thick metal wire rope. 

For safety, a harness supported each brave soul to cross the Monkey Bridge. As I began crossing the bridge, everything felt shaky. I could not control my strength as I held on to the thick metal wire rope. I kept on making the same mistake of lifting up my feet one at a time and landing them on the wire rope beneath my feet at the beginning of my journey towards the other end of the Monkey Bridge. 

It was shaky, I felt it and also attested by my friend who was next to me. I tended to look at the river below us, but it was not helping me achieve my goal so I decided to focus my eyes on the finish line. I was rushing to get on to the other end, yet our tour guide shouted at me and reminded me that I should not rush and stop what I had been doing wrong with my feet. I was taught to slide on the thick metal wire rope, instead of taking a step. It was easier when I slid, and I got to look at the river from time to time and the hanging bridge opposite of the Monkey Bridge.

I was flooded by a breath of relief after reaching the end of the bridge. Inwardly, I congratulated myself and gave her a pat on the back for braving the bridge. I was happy for all of us for reaching the other end of the Monkey Bridge. We also did not miss the chance to get into the river this time. The water was quite decent and clear. We dipped our bodies and cautiously enjoyed the little time we had with the river.

We all face different struggles and challenges in life. I pray that we all get through them and come out victorious through Christ who strengthens us. Sometimes, we are crippled by fear and that is normal, what is not is that we are forever stuck in that same filthy pit we choose to be in because of fear. We are more than conquerors, we are already victorious because God has already gone before us on the battlefield. Conquer your fear! You are not a monkey, you are a human being created in the image of the Most High God! Live a victorious life all for His glory.

During the orientation, we were warned that the path towards Mt. Gola was steep, they even called it 'assault'. I was quite expectant of how steep it could be. We were given numbers in degrees but it just slipped my mind.

From Mt. Manalmon, we went down and began our journey to our next stop. I was sweating and breathing hard from the length of our trek. Every step we made was calculated and we tried our best to be mindful of our surroundings the best we could despite the tiredness that was falling upon us. 

There were two little stores we stopped by before we continued on our walk. We rested for a while and had bathroom breaks. We did not miss the chance to try the all-natural buko juice from the heart of the mountain. It felt like our strength was renewed after a short rest and a sip of buko juice.

The best part for me was not the peak of Mt. Gols, it was the river we passed through that captivated me. The tiver was so clear and felt cold on our feet, which was exactly what we needed at those moments because of the sun's relenting strikes on our body. It was shallow and the current was not really that strong. I desired to bath on that part of the river, but it appeared to me that it was not part of the itinerary we signed up for. We moved on our trek and I decided to move on as well with that desire, but I still could not forget that portion of the river.    

After we had been to so many slopes going up to the peak of Mt. Gola, my feet and knees were aching a bit, and I had this urge to get on the top of Mt. Gola as soon as possible to relieve my agony and exhaustion. I wanted it done, finished. Yet, I was well aware that reaching the peak was not that easy, so I had no choice but to continue my journey and never let my frustration get the best of me. I switched from fast to slow pacing and from slow to fast pacing. I was trying my best to enjoy and be thankful for what I have in those moments: my life, nature, my friends who were with me during that hike, my family who were safe at home, all of God's provisions and promises, and of course the greatest gift of all, God, Himself.

 

Life is not an easy hike. We get to face more assaults than we expect to. We may get tired and think we had enough of life. And sometimes we have these selfish thoughts: God does not care about me anymore. He wants to make me suffer. He does not want me to be happy. And I tell you that is very wrong, sometimes we make our own problem and assault the life God has given us to enjoy. I had my fair share of wrong decisions I made in my life, some were influenced by the people who hurt me. I want to break the cycle and make the most out of the life that God has given me. Be freed from the judgment of the so-called human race. I don't want to be assaulted by anyone or even by myself. I will not run away, instead, I will fly and never let others assault my spirit again, all by God's grace. Others may try to break me because I don't conform to their standards, but I pray that God will always let me fly high. Up, up in the sky.

We went to Mt. Manalamon last February 25, the same day as EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary. 

It was still dark when we arrived at the jump-off. We also had our breakfast there. At four and a half in the morning when everything was still dark, we crossed a hanging bridge. It was a bit scary, but a lot more exciting. The hanging bridge shook a little as we passed by. Under it was a river. The wind was cold. 

Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, I saw some signs which read as Biak Na Bato National Park, and I thought the place was part of it. I reminisced about some of the history lessons I had when I was in high school, I imagined the revolution.

After meeting the tour guides and a short orientation, we started trekking even before the sun rose. It was dark and we badly needed headlights, our bad, again, we did not have any. The built-in flashlight in our cellphones helped us a little in getting a clear sight on our track. It was still cold as we went our way. We passed through a short passage of a cave, it seemed beautiful in the dark and again I was in awe as I gazed at the rock formation.

Coming out from the cave, we crossed a little portion of the river. It was cold and felt so, so good. It looked clear to me though it was still dark. The water gently rushed up to my mid-leg. There were stones so we had to be careful and mindful to avoid any potential injury. We were all giddy and excited at the beginning of the hike. 

The slopes were getting steep as our hike progressed. I was anticipating the sunrise and hoping we would reach the peak of Mt. Manalmon very soon.

All I could remember upon reaching the peak of Mt. Manalmon was the breathtaking sight from above: the crowd of trees, the trail of the river, and other land formations covered with greeneries. It was a magnificent view for me and I was sure for others as well.  

We did not miss the chance for a photo op with the rest of the joiners. Honestly, it was a nice group to be with. I am not comfortable meeting strangers, but that group just gave me the good vibes I need to enjoy the hike up to the very end.