Peace of Mind

Amongst the many memorable experiences related to our immersion in the 7 Lakes area in Laguna, my favorite one would be sleeping in the middle of the lake. My foster family had a hut in the middle of the lake to watch over their fishpens. Tatay Pando offered it as a place to sleep for the night, an offer I was all too eager to take.

From the moment we rowed out into the darkness I felt as if I was at home in the lake. The tranquility was profound. You could hear everything; your own breath, the gentle swoosh of the oar, the quiet slosh of the banca slicing through water, the flapping of bird wings, the fish swimming near the surface - and at the same time, nothing.

I wasn't alone of course. Our OSCI formator Kuya Raffy and my buddy Angelo were kind of dragged along, and Christian rowed us there. They went in the small room and slept almost immediately, but I didn't. I wanted to stay up as long as possible, and if I was going to sleep I'd do it outside, on one of the benches barely covered by the hut.

From all the noise of daily urban and academic life, the silence being in the middle of the lake that night was almost breathtaking in its serenity. The lake surface was so still as if it was a mirror, and the squares of the fishpens divided it and made it look like as if it was a pane of stained glass, reflecting the mountains that were silhouetted by the lights from the houses at its' base and the sky bright from stars that could only shine away from the cities. I was staring at this picturesque view from the bench where I lay, my feet pointing out the porch and so it was as if I had a magnificent wall painting at my feet. Under the small roof, with the whole lake at my feet and nothing but a net on my right side to keep me from falling into the water, it was my closest to sleeping under the stars. I stayed up as long as I can and tried to burn that image into my memory.

The silence was only broken by the occasional bird and sound of fish making more fish. The gentlest of breezes made for a cool night. In the darkness, and silence, in the middle of nature's tranquility, I found peace and a quiet mind. I just tried to enjoy it as much as I can, because I knew it wouldn't last.