Jet Mariano

Tag: Resilience

  • The Unwavering Light (Manila Philippines Temple)

    Manila Philippines Temple — I waited for the exact second the sun aligned with the spire. The light pierced through just as if Heaven itself whispered, “I’m still here.”

    Excerpt

    The sun hid behind the spire—then broke through. That light reminded me of a different storm long ago, when a screen turned blue, and I learned that faith and persistence are built the same way: line upon line, brick by brick.

    Intro

    November 1999. The world was bracing for Y2K. I was working for an aerospace company in Carson, California, getting ready to drive my parents to LAX for their flight to the Philippines. Before leaving, I decided to double-check our Veritas backup on the Exchange 5.5 server running on Windows NT 4.0. Then came the dreaded BSOD—Blue Screen of Death.

    My shift was supposed to end at 4 PM Friday. I didn’t go home until Monday morning. No sleep, no shortcuts—just brick-by-brick rebuilding until email was restored. I missed saying goodbye to my parents, but I kept the company connected.

    Notes from Elder Maxwell

    “You’ve all been in a storm… when you couldn’t see the sun but you knew it was still there. Likewise, in the stormy and dark moments of life know that the Son of God is always there. His light will never go out.”

    That quote became my anchor—both in IT and in life.

    Perspective

    That night taught me more than any certification. There was no Google, no AI, no online forums—just manuals, backups, and faith that the system could rise again. Today, AI fixes in seconds what once took days. But the light that kept me going then still burns now: the belief that persistence itself is a form of faith.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • When systems—or souls—crash, don’t panic. Pause, breathe, and build.
    • Keep working, even if it’s one file or one prayer at a time.
    • Remember: the Light is constant, even if the screen goes dark.

    Final Reflection

    The Manila Temple photo symbolizes that memory. When the sun broke through the spire, I felt the same quiet assurance I knew in 1999: He never left me. The blue screen, the missed flight, the fatigue—it was all part of learning that perseverance is light in motion.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    The Light never goes out—only our view of it does.

    What I Hear Now

    “Faith is not seeing the light; it’s working until it returns.”

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • The Night I Wouldn’t Quit (Seattle Temple, 14°F)

    Seattle Washington Temple — 14°F, suit and tie, icy pavement underfoot. I slipped once, stood again, and framed this shot while the moon played peek-a-boo above the spire. My camera gear cushioned the fall, my faith kept me standing.

    Excerpt

    Sometimes the light we chase nearly costs us everything. But when we stand back up—cold, bruised, and trembling—we find not just the shot, but the story that defines us.

    Intro

    It was 14°F in Seattle. I was dressed in a suit and tie for a wedding when the moon began to play peek-a-boo behind the temple spire. I scouted the icy pavement for the right angle, slipped hard, and hit the ground. My camera backpack broke the fall. Still, I stayed—shot after shot—until my legs began to stiffen from the cold. Gathering what energy I had left, I ran toward the temple’s visitor center. Kind hands brought me into a heated room and warmed me back to life.
    That night reminded me why I rarely back down—from freezing weather, failing systems, or storms that test the soul. The temple stood unshaken, and so did I.

    Why I kept going: It wasn’t skill—it was discipline. A simple, healthy routine and a promise to avoid quick fixes helped me stay steady. I’m not the smartest; I’m just “never say die.” I started from zero, and service keeps me moving.

    Notes from {Speaker}

    • Courage isn’t the absence of cold; it’s pressing the shutter before the light fades.
    • Sometimes the miracle isn’t surviving—it’s still choosing to serve after you do.
    • The temple teaches us that endurance and grace can share the same frame.

    Perspective

    In IT, storms don’t always come from the sky—they come from critical outages, failed updates, and people relying on you at impossible hours. I’ve faced those too—sometimes while boarding flights or crossing oceans. I was in the Philippines before COVID and still handled tickets for a U.S. client. At Incheon Airport, I restored a VM. In Western Samoa, I fixed email for a company thousands of miles away. Once, 29,000 feet above ground, my soft-phone rang mid-flight—Tahiti users couldn’t send email. I helped them anyway.
    You could call me a workaholic. I call it love for helping people.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • When fatigue hits, serve once more—small acts reignite large faith.
    • Write down one storm you’ve survived and what it taught you.
    • Find a temple—or a quiet place—and let stillness thaw your heart.

    Final Reflection

    My life has felt like a series of tours of duty—local government, universities, law firms, manufacturing, perinatal, and home builders—each relying on me as a “Swiss knife” of IT. After the 2012 recession, I lost clients but not calling. I passed the business to my son and returned to corporate life in 2014.

    “Vacation?” I can’t recall one. Every trip seemed to bring a new emergency. But I’ve learned to see service as my rest—because helping others is where my soul finds warmth. I’ve done this since before Google or AI existed, when documentation came from books and discipline.

    Through it all, the pattern holds—stand a little longer, look for the moon, run for warmth when you must, and let the temple remind you that light is never lost to the cold.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Light is rarely free; it asks something of us.

    What I Hear Now

    “If the only thing you take into the storm is faith, it will be enough.”
    “Composition comes back after compassion—first for yourself, then for others.”

    Link to the Talk

    My IT Journey — the long road that led to that frozen night at the Seattle Temple.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8: “The Healing Power of Service”

    Lightning breaks over Saratoga Springs Temple—framed through the open driver’s window, with rain reflections and the flower bed lit by my Tesla.

    Behind the Shot (BTS)

    I waited patiently for the perfect lightning strike, switching my iPhone to video mode so I could later capture the exact frame. I parked strategically, rolled down the driver’s window, and composed the scene—rain-slick path, temple reflection, and the flower bed on the left illuminated by my Tesla’s headlights. I took over fifty shots, braving 55-mph winds and heavy rain until I was drenched to the bone.

    Tesla’s Summon feature became my safety net—it allows the car to move itself up to 20 feet in a straight line. I’ve visited this temple many times and know exactly where to park during storms like this. When the lightning finally hit, my car quietly rolled beside me, heater set to 75°, ready to bring warmth after the storm.

    Excerpt

    Setbacks lose their sting when we turn outward. The surest cure for heaviness of heart is to lift another’s. In serving, we find strength we didn’t know we still had.

    Intro

    After proxy endowment at the Saratoga Springs Temple, rain came hard—55 mph winds, lightning cracking over the spire. I was soaked through but determined to capture the moment. This week was one of the toughest—under the weather, training a new engineer, racing the Windows 10 → 11 deadline. Yet, even weary, I pressed on. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, “When difficulties come, don’t feel sorry for yourself. Lose yourself in service… When you feel down, lift other people up.” That truth steadied me more than the storm.

    Perspective

    In IT, storms don’t always come from the sky—they come from deadlines, downtime, and people who depend on you. The temptation to withdraw is strong, but the gospel has taught me that light returns when I reach outward. Service becomes medicine: teaching, fixing, lifting, sharing, mentoring. Each act reorders the soul toward purpose. The temple reminded me that the Lord’s work never pauses for weather, and neither should mine.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    When exhaustion whispers, “You’ve done enough,” I’ll answer with quiet action. I’ll keep helping the next person who needs guidance—whether that’s a coworker puzzled by PowerShell or a friend weighed down by unseen battles. The Savior’s healing always flowed outward; so must mine.

    Final Reflection

    The downpour cleansed more than the temple steps—it washed away my self-pity. I realized that serving amid struggle doesn’t drain me; it refills me. My soaked jacket, cold hands, and the warmth of my car’s heater at 75° felt symbolic: heaven never leaves its servants freezing in the storm.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Lose yourself in service.” When the clouds gather again, I’ll remember this night of lightning and light—how the act of giving steadied the heart that was slipping.

    What I Hear Now

    “Lift others. That’s how I’ll lift you.”
    The whisper wasn’t from the wind but from the One who calms it.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • When Inbox Rules Go Rogue: A 10-Command Playbook to Stop Impersonation

    Macro ant on a leaf—small bug, big damage. Quiet inbox rules (forward/delete/hide) are how real-account impersonation starts. This post shows 10 PowerShell fixes to stop it fast.

    Excerpt
    Most “email impersonation” losses start quietly—rules that forward, delete, or hide mail. This playbook backs up evidence, stops the bleed, removes risky rules, clears forwarding, and verifies. Calm hands, clear steps.

    Intro
    Most “email impersonation” (BEC) starts in two ways:

    1. Real-account misuse—someone phishes a password/token and quietly adds inbox rules (forward, delete, hide) or enables mailbox forwarding.
    2. No-account spoofing—look-alike domains and weak SPF/DKIM/DMARC let crooks send as if they’re us.

    This post fixes bucket #1 fast. You don’t need Compliance Center/Purview to clean a single mailbox: run these in Windows PowerShell 5.1 to back up → stop all rules → remove risky patterns → clear forwarding → verify. The examples below target [email protected]. After cleanup, keep the door shut by disabling SMTP AUTH/legacy protocols and blocking external auto-forwarding. (For bucket #2, tighten SPF/DKIM/DMARC—that’s outside this quick fix.)

    Perspective
    There are no super heroes in IT—no capes, no instant rescues. When rules go rogue, heroics make noise; runbooks make progress. The job is to protect people’s work with boring, proven steps.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Connect (read-only) — open a secure session to Exchange Online for the mailbox you’re fixing. Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement -RequiredVersion 3.9.0 -Force Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected] -ShowBanner:$false $mbx = "[email protected]"
    • Backup rules to CSV (read-only) — take a snapshot so you have evidence and an easy rollback reference. $ts = (Get-Date).ToString('yyyyMMdd-HHmm') Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Select Name,Enabled,Priority,From,SentTo,SubjectContainsWords,MoveToFolder,ForwardTo,RedirectTo,DeleteMessage,StopProcessingRules | Sort Priority | Export-Csv "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\$($mbx)-InboxRules-$ts.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
    • Disable all rules (change) — safe stop; nothing runs while you fix things. Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Disable-InboxRule -Confirm:$false
    • Remove delete rules (change) — get rid of any rule that silently deletes messages. Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Where-Object {$_.DeleteMessage} | ForEach-Object { Remove-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx -Identity $_.Name -Confirm:$false }
    • Remove hide/stop rules (change) — remove rules that hide mail (Junk/Archive/RSS/Conversation History) or halt further processing. Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Where-Object { $_.StopProcessingRules -or ($_.MoveToFolder -match 'Junk|Archive|RSS|Conversation History') } | ForEach-Object { Remove-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx -Identity $_.Name -Confirm:$false }
    • Remove forward/redirect rules, focusing on external (change) — strip any rule that forwards or redirects mail, especially off-tenant. $internal = @('jetmariano.us') # add internal domains if needed $rules = Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx foreach($r in $rules){ $targets=@() foreach($t in @($r.ForwardTo)+@($r.RedirectTo)){ if($t -is [string]){$targets+=$t} elseif($t.PrimarySmtpAddress){$targets+=$t.PrimarySmtpAddress.ToString()} elseif($t.Address){$targets+=$t.Address.ToString()} elseif($t){$targets+=$t.ToString()} } $external = $false foreach($addr in $targets){ if($addr -match '@'){ $domain = ($addr -split '@')[-1].ToLower() if(-not ($internal -contains $domain)){ $external = $true } } } if($external -or $targets.Count -gt 0){ Remove-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx -Identity $r.Name -Confirm:$false } }
    • Clear mailbox-level forwarding (change) — turn off any top-level forwarding set on the mailbox. Set-Mailbox -Identity $mbx -DeliverToMailboxAndForward:$false -ForwardingSmtpAddress $null -ForwardingAddress $null
    • Verify list and count (read-only) — prove you’re clean; zero is ideal. Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Sort Priority | Format-Table Name,Enabled,ForwardTo,RedirectTo,MoveToFolder,DeleteMessage -Auto (Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Measure-Object).Count
    • Re-enable only safe movers (optional change) — if you truly want routine filing, turn on only simple move-to-folder rules. Get-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx | Where-Object { $_.MoveToFolder -and -not $_.ForwardTo -and -not $_.RedirectTo -and -not $_.DeleteMessage -and -not $_.StopProcessingRules } | ForEach-Object { Enable-InboxRule -Mailbox $mbx -Identity $_.Name -Confirm:$false }
    • Disconnect (read-only) — close your session cleanly. Disconnect-ExchangeOnline -Confirm:$false

    Final Reflection
    The work narrowed down to steady steps. Not a clever hack—just patience, order, and protection of someone’s inbox.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Runbooks over heroics.

    What I Hear Now
    Be steady. Protect the work. I’ll show you the next step.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – Bad breaks and trusting the Lord

    Super Harvest Moon rising through thin clouds over the Draper Utah Temple. Double exposure, short telephoto (70–100 mm f/2.8) on tripod.

    Excerpt
    Setbacks aren’t a verdict; they’re the venue. What feels like a bad break can become a disguised doorway when we trust the Lord’s larger view.

    Intro
    Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that “bad breaks need not ruin a good man or a good woman… so often in life opportunity comes disguised as tragedy,” and, “trust the Lord, for He sees your possibilities even when you do not.” Those lines met me this week. Sleep was thin, appetite gone, heart stretched—but even the stretch nudged me heavenward.

    Perspective
    There are no super heroes in IT—no capes, no instant rescues. Systems fail, humans tire, plans bend. The real test is not whether I dodge hard things but whether I meet them with faith, honesty, and steady work. Joseph didn’t waste Egypt, and Job didn’t waste ash and silence. I don’t want to waste my own classroom of adversity.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Whisper a prayer of trust: “Lord, I choose to keep trying.”
    • Do one quiet act of goodness for someone who can’t repay you.
    • Write a single line of gratitude for help you didn’t expect.
    • Sit in a patch of light—outside or by a window—and breathe until your shoulders lower.

    Final Reflection
    Worry took sleep and appetite, yet the Lord met me in the stretch. He didn’t remove the weight; He strengthened my will and widened my view. A bad break does not define me; how I walk through it, with Him, refines me.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    “Proving is strengthening.” When the wind rises, roots go deeper.

    What I Hear Now
    Be steadfast. Keep moving toward Me. I know how to carry you.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Sunflower Faith: Strength to Keep Trying

    a monarch resting on a sunflower — a living parable of light, patience, and lift.

    Excerpt

    When trials feel like too much, remember: the Lord proves us to strengthen us. Like a butterfly on a sunflower, we are held up by light we didn’t make and warmth we didn’t earn.

    Intro

    Elder Henry B. Eyring taught that through the glorious Atonement, Jesus Christ knows exactly how to succor us. Strength doesn’t grow in comfort; it grows when we feel stretched beyond what we thought we could bear. If we continue in faith — especially when it feels impossible — we become spiritually stronger.

    Notes from Conference (Oct 5, 2025 General Conference)

    • Christ can succor perfectly because He has felt every mortal challenge.
    • Proving times are strengthening times, not signs of abandonment.
    • Discipleship is continuing — never giving up, always trying again in Him.
    • Faith while it’s hard invites His power to change us.

    Perspective

    God is mindful — of sunflowers and butterflies, and even more of souls. Elder Neal A. Maxwell reminded us that there are more stars than grains of sand, yet “souls matter more than stars.” If heaven attends to sparrows and petals, it will not forget your name, your tears, or your next step.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Whisper a prayer of trust: “Lord, I choose to keep trying.”
    • Do one small act of goodness for someone who can’t repay you.
    • Write a line of gratitude for help you didn’t expect.
    • Sit in a patch of light — outside or by a window — and breathe until your shoulders lower.

    Final Reflection

    The Atonement is not just rescue; it is renewable strength. Trials may bend us, but in Christ they do not break us. Keep turning your face to the light. He will meet you where courage runs thin and hope begins again.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Proving is strengthening.” When the wind rises, roots go deeper.

    What I Hear Now

    Be steadfast. Keep moving toward Me. I know how to carry you.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • I’m Able: Climbing for Light, Capturing the Moon

    After hiking over 2,000 feet to my favorite mountain ridge, I waited in silence with my 1000mm + TC 2x lens—watching the Supermoon rise in full glory. It reminded me that some things are only visible to those willing to climb.
    From this 2K-foot summit, I waited with my 1000mm lens and 2x teleconverter. The shot was worth it. My eyes soaked in the rising Supermoon, but I wanted to remember the experience forever. It took patience, precise camera settings, and above all, an ‘I’m able’ attitude that brought me the stillness I needed. Here’s the result.

    That simple phrase didn’t just motivate me. It rejuvenated me. It reminded me that every setback I’ve endured, every delay, and every heartbreak was not the end—but a test of endurance. Like Edison, like Tesla, and like countless others who stood firm when things fell apart, I now carry this quiet fire inside me.
    No matter what the odds say—I’m able.
    And that means everything.

    I’m Able
    Poem by Jet Mariano

    I’m able—not because I’ve won,
    But because I choose to rise with the sun.
    I’m able—not from praise or might,
    But by standing up when wrong feels right.

    I’m able—through the tear-stained night,
    To cradle hope and guard the light.
    I’m able—though I walk alone,
    To make the climb and call it home.

    I’ve come to realize—I don’t need titles to prove my worth. I don’t measure myself by applause or position.
    What I carry is truth. Lived truth. Quiet truth. Hard-earned truth.
    And in those silent battles when no one’s watching, I remind myself:
    I’m able.
    And that means everything.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Somewhere in Life

    Sunrise behind the Taylorsville Temple — a reminder that even after storms, there’s light, a place prepared for us, and battles that can be won.

    There are moments when life’s rhythm seems to shift, as if unseen hands are arranging the day in ways we can’t quite explain. Today feels like one of those moments. My morning began with simple exchanges, yet carried an undertone of purpose. Last night’s dream—more like a second visit from the other side—lingers in my mind, as if to say, you’re not walking alone.

    It brought to mind the song Somewhere in Life from the 1979 Gates of Zion Seminary album, recorded during the time President Spencer W. Kimball was the prophet. I know these songs well because I served as a CES Institute Director from 1987 to 1990, a season in my life where music like this carried deep spiritual lessons to youth—and, unexpectedly, to me as well. Its words about “storms of evil that cloud your view” and “a hand to hold” speak directly to my journey.

    Somewhere in life there’ll be darkness too
    Storms of evil moments that cloud your view
    And yet in life you’ll find that Morning Sun
    You’ll find a battle won

    Somewhere in life there’s a place for you
    Far away from forces you can’t subdue
    Somewhere in life there be someone to know
    There’ll be a hand to hold

    The assurance that “there’s a place for you” feels especially real today, and with it, the quiet courage to keep moving forward until, as the song says, “you’ll find a battle won.”

    This ties closely to my August 12 “Storm of Life” reflection. Back then, I wrote about facing trials head-on and finding calm in the eye of the storm. Today, I feel that same calm as I prepare to enter the Taylorsville Temple—not just to perform a proxy endowment, but to lay the names of loved ones on the altar, trusting in the Lord’s timing.

    Final Reflection
    Life’s battles are rarely fought on visible fields. Most are waged in the quiet spaces of our hearts, where faith pushes back against fear. My dream reminded me that heaven is closer than we think, and the song from Gates of Zion reminds me that somewhere in life—right here, right now—there’s still a hand to hold, a place prepared, and a victory ahead.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time — Learn to Love the Storm (Provo City Center Temple)

    Provo City Center Temple under lightning—shot from the walkway with leading lights. A reminder I first learned in 2018 after that T-bone crash: storms can shake you, but they don’t decide the ending.

    Excerpt
    Learn to love the storm.

    Intro
    Storms touch every life—loss, illness, missed chances, worry. In IT they hit at 2 a.m., at airports, on freeways, even overseas. Like weather carves a canyon, adversity shapes a soul. Preparation helps—docs, reps, calm breath—until we learn not just to endure but to embrace the rhythm.

    Backstory
    Second week of January 2018, on my way to photograph Provo City Center Temple, a driver T-boned my car. He was arrested on the spot. I blacked out for a few seconds—came back, shaken but okay—and still made it to the temple. That night taught me: storms hit hard, but they don’t have to end the story. Funny enough, as I write this, American Pie wanders through a verse about endings. I’m grateful mine wasn’t.

    Notes from the Journey
    Urgency doesn’t wait; readiness is mercy. Pressure reveals what practice built. Quiet faith plus steady habits turns chaos into clarity.

    Practice (today, not someday)
    Prep what future-you will need (one checklist, one page of notes). When the alert hits: breathe, bless, begin. Re-anchor: Grounded • Rooted • Established • Settled.

    Final Reflection
    Loving the storm doesn’t mean pretending it doesn’t hurt. Some trials mark the body and the heart. Yet the covenant echo remains: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment… and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 121:7; 122:7) In tech and in life, Murphy visits often; I’ll meet him ready, resilient, and willing—trusting that beyond the thunder, I keep moving.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Prepared, prayerful, unafraid of weather.

    What I Hear Now
    Hold fast. Keep going between flashes.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • When Laughter Is Still

    My Tesla beneath the Milky Way — motionless, but never without direction.

    Some nights, the noise fades and what remains is the weight of memory. Yesterday left more than questions—it left a silence loud enough to listen to. This poem was born from that space. It’s not about loss or blame, but a quiet confrontation with the world I’ve built, the love I’ve given, and the choices still before me. In this stillness, I ask: what does it mean to keep going, even when laughter is gone?

    It’s me. It’s my world—and I still want to taste it.
    I’ve held joy like steam in a cup—
    brief, warm… then gone.
    But I drank every drop,
    even when it burned,
    even when the cup cracked in my hands.

    I told the sky my secrets,
    parked beneath the stars in silence.
    No music this time. No echoes.
    Only questions,
    and God—still listening
    when no one else would.

    When laughter is still,
    I become what I must—
    not by gift, not by chance,
    but by choosing not to run
    even when I was left behind.

    — Poem written by Jet Mariano

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Today or Tomorrow, Now or Then, Endure to the End

    I become what I will — not by gift, not by chance,
    but like this still house on the prairie, rooted by water, framed by sky —
    I endure. I reflect. Today or tomorrow, now or then.

    Intro Paragraph (Why this poem?)

    There are things I rarely speak, not because they don’t matter — but because they do. Some stories are too sacred to explain plainly. I’ve carried burdens for decades — for family, for faith, and sometimes for people who never knew. This poem is not a confession. It’s a quiet map of where I’ve been and what it cost me to endure. If you’ve ever sacrificed in silence, this is for you.

    Today or Tomorrow, Now or Then, Endure to the End

    by Jet Mariano

    I become what I will—
    not by gift,
    not by chance.

    They said it was for the dream.
    But I never dreamed of this.

    Not the hauling at midnight,
    the cold linoleum behind the receiving dock

    but never my name.

    I didn’t come with love in hand—
    I came with a debt to pay.
    To rescue a soul,
    and carry a family
    across a sea of impossibilities.

    A job at USC
    became a cure for my father,
    a lifeline for my family,
    a bridge for my siblings
    to find homes I would never live in.

    And still, I smiled.

    Though phone jobs stripped my voice,
    while I studied with red eyes and calloused faith,
    and slept beside hopelessness

    They think I’m quiet now.
    They don’t know I’ve just spoken enough pain
    for a hundred lifetimes.

    I write it in playlists
    that no one plays but me.
    I express it in photographs I create—
    where silence can finally breathe.

    I date it in the margins of scripture
    where no one else will read.

    Let them think I’ve always been composed.
    Let them think the IT job made me.
    I know what made me:

    A God who watched me
    hauling furniture in Burbank
    and still whispered,
    “You are mine.”

    Today or tomorrow,
    now or then,
    endure to the end.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Above It All

    No roar, no rush. Just resolve in motion—above it all.

    I walked the fire and bore the weight,
    Yet silence taught me not to break.
    Beyond the noise, beyond the call—
    I stood my ground above it all.
    That’s resolution, not hesitation.

    “Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.”
    — Bruce Lee

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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