Before...during...and after THE Summit

 

Day and Knights

It's sad to see families breaking up to seek promises of a good and better life - I believe it's the same pattern of poverty

For judith it was a promise of security of a comfortable life and loyalty from a knight in shining armour

For alma it was a promise of security of love and attention of a knight in shining armour

I think this is the poverty of women in our society - the absence of security in our relationships - that's why we keep seeking for that perfect knight - but we all know it will never be perfect - so maybe it will have to be a decision to see that we are a sum of all our relationships - that maybe a subtraction of one can be an addition of another - and maybe at some point we will have to say it is enough - and maybe it will feel enough.

p.s. weird that both women are my exact same age

A big dream built on humble beginnings

 

A Merry Christmas to everyone! (from HongKong)

 A Merry Christmas to everyone!

Yesterday was interesting for me.  My friend recommended that we visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple because it has been said that whatever it is you pray for in that temple will be answered.  I was naturally curious - why do they believe?  Entering the temple is a god standing on top of a dragon, claiming victory for slaying it and walking further is a company of statues lined up like in a chess set with animal heads, seemingly preparing for war - which I'm assuming are the warriorlords.  Walking a bit further is the praying place where all the believers flock to ask their questions and to pray.

This past year, my prayer has been for constant strength - strength of mind and strength of heart.  Sabi nila na everyday sa farm ay parang bayani challenge - where you are asked to make the impossible happen.  I have no hesitations in agreeing with this.  Sa bawat pagreklamo ng mga tao na walang tubig sa farm - na hindi makakaligo o makapagtoothbrush man lang - na walang tubig para makaluto ng kanin para sa isang libong tao - na hindi makapagpatubig sa mga pananim o makapagpaligo ng baboy - hindi po ako tubero at hindi rin ako ang water district - lalong-lalo na wala po akong powers to summon the waters of the great seas.  BUT one thing I was sure I had - the team.  I had the team who supported me in each and every challenge. 

When it was the first time we had a hundred guests in the farm who devoured more than we can handle and needed to wash piles of dishes, kahit na hindi nila naging toka, all the kalinisan nanays jumped in to help the kitchen staff clear all the dishes and clean-up.  When it was the first time to organize a wedding in the farm, and the grassroots kitchen floor tiling needed to finish in record time, all the foreign interns and construction workers worked day and night so we can have a dance floor. Nung nawalan ng tubig nung expo due to a water pressure problem from the water district, nag-igib ang buong team - discreetly, while entertaining guests in between igibs, so the kitchen and the toilets will have water to use.  When we needed to finish a lot of construction and clean-up in the farm in preparation for the expo and we asked for help from other GK villages for bayanihan, all came without hesitation.  I feel I was just not a witness to a bayani challenge this past year - I was also a witness of a bayanihan challenge - the challenge to work together with one mind and one heart.

I am grateful for what I have seen and experienced.  Through the farm's lens, I am seeing the miracle I've always wanted to see - the miracle of sacrifice, of family, the miracle of love that will end suffering and poverty in this country.  This is not by the strength of a few but a thousand minds and hearts having one common goal.

I may have a glimpse of an answer to my question on why people believe their prayers will be answered in the Wong Tai Sin Temple.  When you know you are backed up by an army - of warriorheads - all armed and ready for war - all committed to fight and never give up - there is no reason for you not to believe.  Now we're building an army and now is the time to believe.

Thank you Tito Tony for the inspiration and sharing the vision with all of us!

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

15 Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.

16 And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

17 I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

Reflections on an Easter Sunday

Who is my brother?

It will be the first Social Business Innovations Camp in a few days and some bed space facilities are still being constructed...and I’m seeing stars.  Don’t laugh but I’ve been assigned to be in the construction team of the Enchanted Farm with zero knowledge of being an architect, a contractor, a foreman, or an engineer (*faint*).  Since I’m also part of the team looking after the facilities, it made sense that we don’t only make sure the facilities are guest-ready, but the facilities are also ready to rise from the ground (*clueless*). 

The on-going construction of facilities around the farm has been providing jobs to the residents of the Gawad Kalinga community and by trying my very best to be a “foreman”, it drew me closer to the community.  Spending time with them is when I witness first-hand some of the values Tito Tony continuously talks about like hardwork and zero-tolerance for substandard quality, but foundational, is good relationships. 

So back to the story – so a few days into the camp, I see that the toilet tiles of the Grass Villa bathroom are not aligned, creating a concaved bathroom wall so I’m frantic that it gets corrected immediately, otherwise, it will stay that way...forever!   Adding to my frazzleness is the lingering thought that my brother, who has just arrived from Doha, is in Manila and wants to treat me to dinner, and I have no idea as to what time I’m going to be done in the farm.  I’m being pulled in two directions – either I stay to make sure the whole bathroom does not lean on one side or I just jump into the car and meet my brother.  And then, I receive a text from Tito Tony, saying that it would be wise to stay.  So I did, I said, ‘yes tito, no problem’.

That night, I was sorting through my day and I realized that I was feeling a tight knot inside like something was not right.  I was certain it had something to do with me not being able to make it to my brother’s dinner plans.  But in my head, I knew it was the best decision to stay.  And so, I needed to untie the knot. 

My brother gave me an opportunity to play an important role in his life as his sister.  I took on financial responsibilities for his education and basically acted like a parent to him.  So I guess I felt I deserved to be treated out to dinner, now that he has a good-paying job.  While untying the knot, I realized one thing – that while I will forever hold the title of “the sister who awarded a full scholarship” to my brother, my work is done here.  It is time to let go and move on.  And now that my work is with Gawad Kalinga, I now ask – who is my brother?

 

“I Thirst”

It is Social Business Innovations Camp day and I have not changed shirts, because I did not plan to stay in the farm days before, thus, I did not have new clothes to change into.  Nevertheless, I still took a bath, but wore the same shirt.  I am expecting to be running around like a crazy lady the whole day, until the next day, so whatever misses there will be, they will be bombs I will have to take and bear.  It is the moment of letting go.  BUT, to my surprise, I actually stay put, except on some few occasions. 

Each speaker is inspiring, complementing each other in inspiration – exactly my craving.  And I am not the only one fired up, each participant is.  The whole team worked very hard weeks before to piece everything together and I have to admit, I was not expecting to be an inch inspired.

I have, yet again, diminished the value of the whole experience, even before it happens.  I only focus on the amount of work that needs to be done and on whether it was done well.  I never anticipate what comes next.  That while there is much value in hardwork and sacrifice, the moment of letting go is the start of grace and to my shock and awe, I came out very much inspired.

 

Don’t light the candle

Weeks have gone by and I am still drawn to the camp experience.   Similar situations have already happened after, and then I remember the camp and I’m sane all over again.  I realized that when there is nothing or anything left to be done, as it may be beyond my capacity or control, I have a choice to let go.  It’s just like the Good Friday a few days ago when all the lights went out and the farm was in total darkness, we had no choice but to be dependent on the moonlight. 

 

“Pag-ibig ba ang dahilan ng iyong pagkilos?” – Homily, Easter Sunday, 8April 2012

Social Business Camp Batch 1