UNLOAD OUR POLITICAL BAGGAGE

Tapos na ang Halalan. Tapos na rin ang laban ng Cavs at Warriors. May nanalo at may natalo.

Pero bakit ang dami pa ring mga patutsadahan, tuksuhan, asaran at awayan?

Ang dami nating mga bagahe na dinadala sa pulitika. Mga bagahe na ang ugat ay ang hindi pagtanggap ng pagkatalo. Mga bagahe that leads us nowhere. Mga bagahe na sobra na.

Mabuti kung ang sitwasyon ng bansa ay healthy, kahit na may excess political baggage ay kakayahin. However, if we allow it to continue adding up, it spells trouble. Di tayo makatuon sa tamang direksyon at sa mapayapang pamumuhay.

The less political baggage there is, the freer we are, and the more likely thatwe’re going to perform our best and enjoy more out of our life.

Anu ano ang mga political bagges na ito. They include pride, motives, distractions, fear, and worries at marami pang iba. Sa pride na lang, napakaexcess na natin. Ang natalo, ayaw tanggapin. Ang nanalo, pinagyayabang pa.

Sabi nga sa isang kuwento, me isang disipulo ang nagtanong sa isang Monk kung paano ito namumuhay.

Sagot ng Monk, “When I am hungry, I eat; when I am tired, I sleep.”

The disciple is astonished at the simplicity of the answer. “Isn’t that what everyone does anyway?”

Sagot ng Monk, “No. Karamihan sa tao ay sinusubuan ang sarili ng maraming desires kapag kumakain, at nangangarap ng maraming bagay when they sleep.”

People eat and sleep with a lot of distractions.

Tapos na ang boxing kumbaga.

Let us now focus in doing our OWN RESPONSIBILITIES.

Ginagawa mo na ba ire?

Abide the law. Respect the elected government officials, whether you may have voted them or not.

Let us participate in making a progressive, peaceful and cooperative community.

Dami pa ring ngawa ng ngawa. Move on na tayo. That is life. Remove the excess political baggage.

Focus now on educating yourself. Honing your skills. Paunlarin ang sarili. Huwag ang mga pulitiko.

Do not underestimate the impact ng paglaglag sa political baggage. If we can successfully do it for one minute, we can do it for another, and yet another. Soon, we are taking away more and more of the political baggage in our lives without us knowing. Mas uunlad tayo, as persons.

Masyado nang nasugatan ang ating bansa. Masyado nang naduhagi ang ating pagkaPilipino. And that is because of political baggage.

Bashers be damned.

—000—

“I got all of this baggage with me. Don’t wana make you pay for what somebody else has done to me
I don’t know what to do. With all this baggage in me” – Mary J. Blige

HELP BEGETS HELP

Follow up sa previous post ko, https://clinquantlife.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/wisdom-in-helping-others/  regarding sa kapatid na biktima ng Yolanda.

Instead of kupkupin at patirahin sa kanila, he computed ang magagastos for 1 year na sila ay pakakainin at patitirahin at ito ay pinagawa niya ng tindahan, in one slot sa aming maliit na puwestong pangkomersyal. “Itatayo po namin itong tindahan para po mayroon silang pagkakakitaan. Kahit na sila ay nasa ibang lugar, hindi po sila aasa sa iba at ang kanilang tiwala sa sarili ay di masisira.”

He applied the wisdom of the Chinese proverb: “Give a man to fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime.’

He even added, that: “pag napalago niya ito, makakatulong pa siya sa iba (italics mine, to give emphasis)”

That was in December, 2013.

Fast forward to May, 2016 or roughly 2 years and 5 months after we agreed on renting one (1) space.

Now, they occupy two (2) spaces and mabili sa puwesto nila, sometimes even the parking slot for pasyente sa clinic ng wife ko ay naooccupy ng mamimili.

I am happy to hear that one day they are already operating a grocery, even if it means moving out of our spaces.

Live proof ng tamang pagtulong sa kapuwa. He did not give them a fish. He did not teach them how to fish. He gave “live tutorial” on how to fish, eat and help others.

Mendicancy ended and helpings hands extended.

Perseverance. Right Attitude. Hardwork. Trust in God.

Rolled into one.

Rising from Calamity the right way?

—000—

“Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted. The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me Your eyes so I can see – Brandon Heath

DANCING WITH IWAHIG INMATES

I had the honor to have a dance session with the inmates at Iwahig Penal Colony. I use the word “honor” because I found that these convicts are humans themselves, with dreams and aspirations, and for me listening to them, being one who gives them hope and rekindling belief in humanity and in God is a privilege.

Dito sa institution na ito marami ang nagbago at naging mabuting mamamayan. Ito ang kabaligtaran ng uusigin at pagpapapatayin ang mga criminals which is now the outcry (I call it fad.. fashion) ng nakararami.

Iwahig was founded by the American colonial administration in 1904  as an open air penal colony covering 38,000 hectares of jungle and coastland. After a probationary period, long-term prisoners are allowed to become magsasaka, mangingisda, warden as the prison is self-supporting and self-managed.

The “lifers’” families organise their own community existence even bringing their family to live there. Vocational activities were available which includes farming, fishing, forestry and carpentry.  Prisoners were free to choose the vocational activities they wanted.

Noong 1955, ay inilabas ang Administrative Order No. 20 na nagbibigay ng karapatan sa mga napatunayang repormadong bilango na icultivate ang mga bukirin sa Iwahig.

Isang napuna ko ay despite na mahigit sa 2,000 ang bilanggo na convicted of homicide, karamihan ay minimum security prisoners na nakatira sa dormitories and work on the agricultural projects within the penal colony.

Isa pang nakausap ko ang nagsabing, may 22 taon na siyang laya, ngunit di na siya umalis sa Iwahig at doon na rin siya nagkaroon ng pamilya at nakapagpatapos ng isang anak sa Kolehiyo at isa ay nasa high school.

Kapunapuna rin ang community sa loob ng Penal Colony na ang mga nakatira ay mga kawani, mga laya at parolado, mga taga labas at lahat sila ay malayang kahalubilo ng mga bilanggo.

After naming magsayaw, isang bilanggo ang lumapit at nagbibenta ng mangga at 100 pesos daw isang tali. Para lang daw may pambili sila ng sabong panglaba ng asawa niya.

Binigyan ko siya ng maayos na halaga ng pera at di ko kinuha ang mangga, telling him na “ayan may pambili na kayo ng sabon, ang mangga naman ay ibenta ninyo sa iba para may dagdag kayong panggastos”

It was a rare and an “awakening” experience dancing with the inmates.

Waking each one of us that we are all brothers in this world.

That we are all entitled to a life. A life full of understanding.

—000—

“How long must we wait to change.This world bound in chains that we live in. To know what it is to forgive, And be forgiven?” – Kenny Loggins