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Some believe them to be angels while others, spirits. They are the Meliads, Naiads, Oceanids, Mahadryads, Dryads, Nereids, Epimeliads, or Heliads for those to look up to Nymphs. Shamans believe them to be spirits taking on animal form. Others trust that they are in the hearts of some who walk the earth as people. Faithfuls claim saints as theirs. For a few, they are everywhere and without form.

Generally, they are called guardians. The protectors.

I am feeling only dread now for my country at the wake of the great storm Ondoy. So many people lost their homes (although most did not even have homes to begin with), properties, and family. It’s rather comforting that we only got rains and not rains + strong winds. Thinking about it makes me shiver so I stopped and just got thankful. I was lucky enough to not get hit hard by the calamity and this being the case, in what little way I can, I made myself very vigilant during the past two days in monitoring the situation and passing on helpful bits of info and messages via the web. Been calling up some, too. I was up until 9 in the morning today waiting for updates and helping in making them known and checking on friends and how they are. We’ll do some more of this tomorrow at work, we were told. Looking forward to it already.

Photos below were taken during our trip to Bangkok, Thailand earlier this month. I deemed it fitting to show, first, my shots of the guardians scattered all over the city. (Looking at them again, I’m at awe at the talent of those who made these ancient sculptures. And they are all well preserved, too!) Some of them are in animal form while others look like very angry, no-nonsense, and strict father figures. Makes me wonder what my personal guardian looks like. If I were given the choice, what would I want him/her/it to look like? A very sturdy, fog resistant bubble, perhaps? I wonder.

To know how you can help victims of Typhoon Ondoy, visit MLQ’s site, mirrored here via tumblr. Be safe, Philippines!