Meaning and Purpose

This year it seems that I'm constantly being reminded about the meaning and purpose of life so I wanted to share some quotes that I've gathered from my book and online reads. Please note that these are all from a Catholic perspective.

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"So it may be said that the chief purpose of life for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

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"My purpose is to become closely united to God through love, and my destiny is to praise and glorify God's mercy." ~ St. Faustina (729)

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Alicja Lenczewska: "Why am I still living?"
Jesus: "To learn to love Me and people even more."

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According to Arthur Brooks, "to find the meaning of your life is to seek coherence, purpose, and significance." He gave the following questions for guidance:

1. Why do things happen the way that they do in my life? (Coherence)
2. Why am I doing what I'm doing? Why am I moving in this direction? (Purpose)
3. Why does my life matter? (Significance)

Now imagine a Catholic answering those questions:

1. Why do things happen the way that they do in my life? Because this is what God wills.
2. Why am I moving in this direction? To get to Heaven.
3. Why does my life matter? Because the Lord loves me. I matter to God.

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"God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work." ~ St. John Henry Newman

Grogu?

I purposely brought my sister to a local Miniso store because of their Grogu merch on June 28. I had just finished all The Mandalorian seasons a few days before (sadly a month too late for the new theatrical movie) and was sharing some clips with my sister to entice her to watch the show. She seemed way more excited about buying the merch, hence the photo below.

This is the way.

The last time I watched new Star Wars content was in June 2024, when I tried Disney+ for a month. Honestly, I started to get the Star Wars fatigue before the Solo movie (2018) was completed. New films were released every year since 2014, some featuring characters I was indifferent to, so I lost interest. So when I had Disney+, I only watched Obi-Wan Kenobi, my favorite Jedi. But it was underwhelming.

Then this year, my sister's friend added us to her Disney+ account. As always with these streaming sites, the movie library is huge, but the good choices are limited, with most of the classics I have already watched and the new releases uninspiring. That's the reason I tend to subscribe only when I have enough in my watchlist.

But back to Disney+. It was in April when I finally ran out of good movies to watch. I scanned the Star Wars section and found Andor, which I knew was highly rated; not to mention Rogue One, for me, is the best Star Wars film. It got me invested, for sure. There were slow episodes early in season 2, but after the Ghorman incident, my father (and TV buddy) and I were glued to the Senate… in Coruscant... and in the Philippines. The similarity of events was uncanny! Fiction becoming reality.

"Andor" has a more serious tone compared to other Star Wars media. I noticed that there were barely any alien races; the story is more human-centric and political. I was also waiting for any mention of the Force the entire time. So imagine the warmth I felt when at last Senator Organa said the famous phrase, "May the Force be with you," at the finale.

I mentioned this show to a friend when she asked me what I was currently watching. She then recommended "The Mandalorian." So after getting impressed with "Andor," I was excited for another one.

And "The Mandalorian" WAS Star Wars! From the opening scenes alone, I felt like a kid again—the creatures, the foreign languages, the music. Its episodic structure reminded me of the 90s TV show "Xena: Warrior Princess." I did not even know Baby Yoda was another character. I am so enamored with this series that I can't name which one I love more. Grogu? Best fictional father Din Djarin? Their relationship? The simplicity? The fun family theme? The practical effects? The adventures? Pedro Pascal? All of them!

I think "The Mandalorian" stopping at Season 3 is perfect. However, they should not have included important Mandalorian and Grogu scenes in The Book of Boba Fett, because the three seasons by itself is incomplete.

Now I'm waiting for the movie to be released on Disney+. Hopefully within this quarter.

Sewing and a Crochet Sling Bag

Last February, my sister bought a sewing machine for my mother. For several weeks, she worked tirelessly on her curtains, while I ordered some fabrics online to complete the quilt I had been working on since last year. One side of the quilt was from a damaged malong of my mother's, and I sewed the usable parts by hand.

I always sewed by hand. Growing up, I have been hesitant to touch the sewing machine ever since my mother recounted an incident when she was young: the needle broke, pierced her finger, and... yeah, I'd rather not continue. Suffice to say, it was not a story you tell people averse to needles.

This time, though, I was determined to learn. So when my mom was done with her project, I sat down and she taught me. It was initially really hard and needed more hand-eye-foot coordination than I thought. I can already imagine how difficult learning to drive a car would be.

But I eventually got the hang of it, and I am glad that (finally!) I now know how to use the sewing machine. I'm still on the straight-line phase, though.

I finished the quilt last April.

My sister modelling the crochet bag.

Then last month, I crocheted a sling bag using a local thick cotton thread brand. The pattern was from a Japanese book, and as always, when using different materials from what the pattern required, I ended up changing some things.

The final bag fits my phone, a small wallet or notebook, and maybe a couple of pens.