We Live to Love

If there is just one thing that the world needs so that it will be at its best, so that there will be peace and understanding, so that a beautiful future is assured to the younger generation, then that would be nothing else but love. This world needs love because the reason why there are people who suffer, who feel lonely, who are poor and helpless is not just an economical thing. There is a hunger of love and such can only be filled by acts of love alone.

True love yields goodness. It yields hope and bigger dreams. It gives a different meaning and feeling even to sacrifices. We experience life the moment we love our neighbors, ourselves, and even our enemies. We live to share our talents and our gifts to others and to the world. We live to love.

May all of us be reminded of this most important commandment and may we find the beauty on it. Though it would require us to do something, to give something or give up something, love should not just be seen as a responsibility. Rather, it should also be seen as a privilege. To be able to know how to love is the best experience ever because it has the power to transform you at your best.

http://notebooksforlife.blogspot.com/

Reaching out to Calagnaan Island

With the Philippine National Police-Region VI team loading the galvanized iron sheets

Reaching Calagnaan Island

the young, dedicated teachers of Barangcalan Elementary School

Much thanks to the Filipino community in Malta for sending us the funds

      Who would have thought that in this beautiful Calagnaan Island in Carles, Iloilo, students are still studying under the scorching heat of the sun? Who would have thought that this inviting island is an island filled with survival stories from the people--- for when and after Yolanda came, they were left to eat fallen coconuts and bananas; they had wet clothes; they were left with damaged boats and nets, destroyed houses, roofless school buildings and of course, traumas?

Children having their classes

Fr Ron leading the prayer and the activities for the children

   

    When we arrived after long and challenging boat rides, we were welcomed by the smiles of the people, the children and the teachers. We were welcomed by much insights and deep impression. I am really so proud of the students because despite financial difficulties and the limitations of their classrooms, they were still so eager to learn, and I must say that their stories will be inspiring many students and parents. I am so proud of the teachers because of their dedication to teach and for the noble sacrifices that they would have to bear just to be with their students. I am proud of the entire community, for helping one another so that they can move on in life with optimism and unwavering faith. I am proud of all those people who made this outreach possible, to those who sent the funds, to those who made the links and the transfer of the materials possible, to those who taught songs and dances, to the hands that got wounded, to the skins that were burned, to the bodies that got tired, to the spirits that were filled with joy and love… We did these all together, and we are touched to do more. This is how we are welcoming summer 2014...

Giving some school supplies for the children

With Misyon Staff Bessie and Assistant Editor Anne

Welcoming Summer 2014

My Soul's Restlessness

   It is literally a long and adventurous journey for me to get here, but its all worth the effort and the risk. Each moment spent with people we have met for three days and some for just couple of hours was equally as important and special as to the moments we have had with people who had been part of our lives for three months, for three years or even for years equivalent to our age. I constantly pray that God will continue to use me and my life to be of help in any way I could and in anywhere possible at any time, despite of my limitations and brokenness. Oh Lord, let my soul's restlessness produce goodness and let love overflow from it so that more beauty can be revealed by and through it...

the habal-habal ride

with the active youth in the community

with Joey

Pipo and Jam preparing the gifts and the goods for distribution

   On my way there, I rode in a habal-habal, with the driver sharing to me his story of how he longed for his wife who never returned after working abroad, and his son whom he was not able to see for the past eight years. He talked about how heavy his heart has been, and how days became a struggle for him. He then told me to pray for him...The ride was bumpy, just like his life.

   On my way there, I saw a child climbing halfway a coconut tree, trying to catch some signal for his cellular phone. I found out from my friend, who had been assigned as a priest in the area, how communication has been so difficult. Sometimes, people pay for the motorcycle to bring their phones in the town to receive messages. On our second night, we experienced climbing towards that spot of the highland where there is signal. There was no electricity that time, but the stars and the fireflies had given us a wonderful view. I was surprised to see several people going there just to text. 2014 is coming very soon, but we still have places in the country where communication system is not accessible.

   But I must say too, that despite all of these curbs, the people there have a good glimpse and experience of life, with all their simplicity, sense of neighborhood and deep spirituality. I thank God for allowing me to immerse into their stories and join them in their celebration even just for a while. I thank God for the kind and generous family who had planned for such activity and really made it happened.

Fr Michael giving the prize for the game

with Joey, Mapeth and Fr. Arvin

During the gift giving

   During those days, I had tried stopping myself from reflecting, but each word, each bumpy road, each embrace of the wind on my face, each line from any song, each story I heard, and each smile I saw from the faces of people who were once strangers to me were naturally taking me to a journey of talking to God to ask for wisdom behind circumstances. And that was how I decided not be afraid of reflecting again, because that is the way I had appreciated the clouds, the tears, the joy, the shadows and mysteries. That is the way I had learned about accepting and giving back gifts with courage and love.

Some more prizes

with Fr. Michael's family

What Yolanda has Done

Roofless but still standing strong

      That 8th of November this year was supposed to be like any other day that came into the lives of Filipinos. For the children I was able to talk with last Friday, it was supposed to be another day of playing in the fields and along the shores and for some, another day of learning at school. But something happened that day that made these children hid under their beds and when their houses got destroyed, made them run as fast as they could to seek solace in the hills, in the houses of the well-off in their community and then in the evacuation centers. There was something not ordinary that day that has made the children tremble with fear, cry hard and then pray on their bended knees. That day typhoon Yolanda came in so fast and then left the country with unimaginable destruction and deaths. That day came and has left these children with awful memories.

The brave children affirming their shared experiences of crying, running and praying...

    I had just no question when 9 year-old Jose told me that he wished that November 8 did not just happened at all and that typhoon Yolanda never hit their place. He described it as something he never thought could happen for real. He recalled how the winds made him felt so helpless and so worried about his parents and siblings who were outside their house. He tried drawing that scenario in his notebook and he shared to the group how the rushing rain and the wind had literally hurt his face. He knew it was so strong because their roof flew away. Now, November 8 will be a day he could not just forget, just like how it is for all the survivors and their loved ones. 

Red, who used to be a guidance counselor, facilitating activity for the youth

 

Misyon's Assistant Editor, Anne telling a story to the toddlers

The children recounting their stories of resiliency and faith

    

       Since that day when Yolanda hit Philippines, we at Misyon office had been reasonably disturbed too. We are in deep sadness. I know I share the same feeling with many people coming from various walks of life across the world. Survivors are still badly in need of assistance for their basic necessities like food, potable water, clothes and medicine, and materials for building their houses. They also needed psychological support so that they can cope with trauma and negative impact of the disaster. Even their spiritual aspect is in need of some consolation because for all the loss that they had incurred, many of them are still in the midst of darkness.

Repacking of goods at Camp Delgado

      It is easier to see the physical effects of Yolanda compared to the emotional scars. We can get possible get estimates of how many will be starting from scratch again in terms of building their houses. While traveling towards Sara and then to Estancia, Iloilo together with the team from the Philippine National Police in Camp Delgado who organized the relief operation, I’ve seen several houses with no roofs yet. I have seen several junk shops filled with scrapped housing materials. I had seen uprooted trees and tilted electric posts. Estancia’s situation was even worsened by the oil spill which we were able to witness with our own eyes. We also passed through temporary housing camp sites for the people and it would take time before things will be back to normal again. A month has passed but I can still sense the sadness in the communities we visited. Part of me is telling that help could never be enough. Typhoon Yolanda has left but the long-term effects will continue to haunt them. With the inconceivable aftermath of the typhoon and the tears and losses you hear and see from television and newspapers, you are moved to do something. You are move to do whatever is it that you can do to help, or at least lessen their hunger, their pains and suffering.

Red teaching me how to make a bracelet on our way to Sara, Iloilo

Traveling towards the northern part of Iloilo

After our lunch at Estancia Municipal Police Station

     That was the story of how me and Misyon’s assistant editor Anne, found our way in that relief operation too. We wanted to do whatever we can to be of help. We were so disturbed that we cannot just sit and watch our neighboring island and I had no doubt that it is God who has been touching us, and our editor Fr Sean Coyle who immediately said yes to us. We are thankful that God had given us that opportunity to use our academic background, our experiences and our passion to be with the survivors even for two days. With that very limited time of helping in the repacking of goods, of hearing the stories of the children, and looking at their artwork, and then seeing the communities and the people, we feel one with them. We hope that with our simple efforts, we were able to bring message of hope and love to them.

      It was not the first time that I participated in a relief operation but it was made so unique to the people and even for me as we were singing Christmas carols. Fr. Ronilo Datu, Regional Chaplain of PNP Region VI, spearheaded the singing and then later on, he enjoined the people. When they sang with us with smiles on their faces, I felt we were producing the best melody ever. It was so special maybe because I know that I heard it from people who will be having a different Christmas this year. They were only beginning to build their houses. They are recovering from their lost means of livelihood such as carabaos and boats. But here they were, clapping their hands and enjoying the music. God is really so amazing. He can make good things happen from bad things, as shared by Fr Ronilo. How could a tragic event such as Yolanda cross all the barriers and borders and revive our brotherhood and sisterhood? How can it lead us back into unity and into love? God can do that.

       Our team did not just go there to bring material goods or simply to talk with them. We came with the hope that God would use us as instruments for them to feel the spirit of Christmas and to affirm their resiliency. On our way home, despite the same view of roofless houses and junk shops filled with dilapidated housing materials, I found myself sensing just a little bit sadness. Optimism overpowered me. I just knew that right that moment, God is continuously reasonably disturbing many young and old hearts all over the world. I just knew that once God touches them, they will just find themselves helping too. Like us, they will go home with not just them reminding the people of God’s love. They will also be reminded of God’s undying and empowering love for them, and that will lead them back to the beauty of cheerfully offering themselves for others.

Singing "Silent Night" and then "Joy to the World" with the people;
The roof of the church is still not furnished but God's presence is undeniably so strong...

A Reflection about 'A Thousand Stories in his Eyes'

    Reading this 2010 Hideaway article reminds me of a question asked to me before about analyzing the street children phenomenon. That was really tough to explain. I know I was not being asked to just look at the statistics or reports. I know and feel that to better understand their situation, I have to hear their stories too. And yes, their eyes have much stories to tell, and its not easy looking at them straight to the eyes...

     One of my first actual experiences as a young social worker is with street children. By theory and even in the practical sense, it is true that intervention with them (not just for them) should be sustainable and empowering. We can identify immediate causes or factors which have to do with the children and family; underlying causes or factors which have to do with the community; and the root causes or factors which have to do with the society as causes in the growth of street children. Immediate causes are poor and large families unemployed/underemployed parents, irresponsible parents, family values which are materialistic/consumerist, family conflict, family environment, vices of parents, degradation of morals, violent upbringing by parents and lack of knowledge and parenting skills.

     Widening our lens we can also see that meanwhile, the underlying causes are ineffective access to basic services, non-availability of adequate employment opportunities, inequitable distribution of resources and opportunity in the community like land ownership, nature and conditions of work/employment: formal and informal sectors, congestion in slum areas, inadequate housing/poor housing facilities, poor law enforcement/exploitation by law enforcers, only one style of delivery of education exists, deterioration of values and central body provides no/few activities for children. The root causes are the economic, political and ideological superstructure, the structural roots of poverty and underdevelopment and the unequal world order and the debt burden.

     We need more of this kind of exercise in looking at the issues we have in our society, and having the necessary communication skills and being equipped with the right medium will help us a lot. Minimizing the negative effects of globalization can come if all of us will take part in the advocacy of being more conscious creatures. One thing that had changed as a result of globalization is the quality of the communication that we have and the kind of relationship that we have developed. We want everything to be instant. It is sad reality that many had become less sensitive to the feelings of others and we care more of our own development.

    Communication should be used as a tool of empowering each other, of building the confidence and self-respect and dignity of one another, of promoting authentic relationships, brotherhood and sisterhood and true familial atmosphere. We should take time to talk to one another face to face and not just be contented with machines or gadgets. We should be connected to our soul, and give more time in listening to our innermost feelings, as well as the feelings of others. And of course, that includes giving time to interact with other people like with the children. We should listen to their stories. We should help them find the beauty in having wonderful and productive conversations. We should give them beautiful childhood memories and even until they grow. In my point of view, I know that every act of kindness and care we extend to these children will have a long way to go. We may not realize it but who knows our help to them is the same, or only example they have of hope and love? A fish that we have given them may inspire them to learn fishing. Why not try? It's worth the risk. In the same way, we should do the same to our own selves as well and to others. When many forces around us have been changing the world, making it appear smaller and faster, we should level up the kind of communication that we have too, making it more developmental, inspiring, transformative, peace-promoting and meaningful. We should go beyond what we hear, or what we can ask. We should learn how to discover stories from their eyes too...

Education of the Heart

(A book review submitted to our Social Work Education class)

    
    The Education of the Heart is a book of readings and sources for care of the soul, soul mates and the re-enchantment of everyday life. It is edited by Thomas Moore. 

    The book has a very catchy introduction and reading such made me decide without any apprehension that this is the book I would spend time reading and then willingly review. 

     Education for me has been a challenge because for me to finish until college, I had made so many sacrifices. I had to live away from my family. I had to learn how to work. I had to discipline myself and balance time. Coming from that, I know that I knew ever since that education is something of value. But although education has a personal effect and has really been a part of my life, I had to admit that the pages of the book had made me realized that education should be more than that. It’s about time to see and feel education not just a requirement for a job, not just for earning for a living, not just for personal credentials or prestige. It is about time to feel education not as a need, not as something to be forced at the ‘self,’ not something to be scared about or to be tired and sick of. It’s about time--- and should have been a long time--- to place education in a very sacred space of our being--- in our heart, in our soul. It is about time--- and should have been a long time that we love education and let it love us. Having such reflections is making me happy now because it is making me feel that as my perception and relationship with education is changed, my life is also about to change. 

     The book made mention of education as an eduction. Education is the art of educing or bringing out what is latent in a person. Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills or abilities- that’s training or instructing- but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed. I find such lines really beautiful and true especially in my profession. The essence of social work education for me is bringing out the best in the self, in the others, and in the world. Education is about enlightenment and empowerment. It is about inspiration. It is about making dreams reality. 

    Starting with the ceremonial cosmic walk, I was able to experience together with my classmates that sense of awesomeness of the space I have here in the universe. While I was involving myself in the unfolding process of the Earth, I was able to appreciate the life that I am having now; knowing that it had came from a very sacred history, or should I say herstory. I am amazed of my uniqueness and the same time of my commonality with other creatures in terms of origin. To be educated of that story with the entire community of the earth in this single sacred universe is a transformative experience and I think that is the essence of education too. 

     We had visited in the first part of our class how education has been as time passed by. During primitive times, education among people was directed to ensuring survival of the group, clan, or tribe through training of the young in skills and arts necessary to maintain life. After that we discussed about Renaissance which was a revival or rebirth of learning, a belief of dignity of human beings, a renewed spirit of nationalism, an increase of trade among countries, and a period of exploration. 

     In the Philippine Education System, we can trace that during the Pre-Spanish Period, the early Filipinos considered education as a way to preserve their culture and transmit this knowledge to future generations. During the Spanish Regime, schools were established with the objective of rearing children to learn skills acquired by the youth in Spain. The educational system was under the control of the Roman Catholic Church. 

     During the American era, education was a means by which people can be oriented toward a democratic way of life. They made education accessible to all. During the occupation of the Japanese, education was an instrument for Filipinos to embrace Japanese ideologies. It promoted vocational education and inspired people with the spirit of labor. 

     In the post war, all educational institutions shall be under the supervision of and subject to the regulation of the State. The government shall establish and maintain a complete and adequate system of public education, and shall provide at least free primary instruction and citizenship training to adult citizens. 

     As part of the Legal Basis, the country has the Educational Act of 1982 (Batas Pambansa Blg. 232) which applies to both private and public schools in the entire educational system. It aims to provide that the basic policy of the State is to establish and maintain a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development. 

    Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution stated that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all”. Yes, education should not be a privilege for those who can afford it and to those who have the opportunity. Education is a right. It should be within the reach of the people. But the book speaks not only education to be something around, but also something that is inside. Deep education entails an emergence of character and personality, and often takes the form of initiation. The Introduction of the book sights that a person can be educated by the death of a relative or friend. Experiences teach people. It gives them insights. It leads them to change. Education should be something that we experience on a personal level too, and not just in the classroom and in the school. To be educated, a person doesn’t have to know much or be informed, but he or she does have to have been exposed vulnerably to the transformative events of an engaged human life. Let this world be a school too. As a social worker, I am being taught more about this profession by the lives and realities of the clients that we serve and the community where we are needed. 

     I agree that one of the great problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated. True to our modern values and vision, we tend to the instruction of the mind and the training of the body, while we generally neglect the soul. It’s not surprising that as our culture advances in information and technology, we seem to become more inarticulate about matters of the heart. We quantify ‘human behavior’ and I believe if social workers will not be conscious of this, we too can fall into trap of quantifying human behavior. We develop programs of therapy and treatment, but do they really have much effect? That question really caught my attention. Do I understand the matter of the soul? I think I am one of those who could still encounter the soul chiefly as a set of intractable problems rather than as a creative and constructive source of life. Now is the time to be more reflective. Now is the time for me to meditate on the specific events of my life, and think about what they are telling to me as a whole. 

      I really like how the soul is being described in the book. The soul is more enticed by the past, especially by the beauty and wisdom that is our world heritage. We have to learn from our ancestors. I think on the personal level, an important part of being truly educated is to be able to learn how to reflect on the struggles and victories of people before us. In my opinion as well, that is the beauty of being able to write our auto bibliographies. In the process of recalling what we had been through, we are able to re-visit decisions, actions, perspectives and events that had taken place in our lives. We then maintain our connection with our entire being and we establish recognition and relationship with our soul. 

     The book has contents which require feelings before one can actually understand what has been expressed. I had to re-read them and then recall particular experience before I was able to get into what the writer has been saying. True, I agree in the book that we should not be taking a purely mental approach to the selections. We should read them with and by heart. It is shifting from a mechanical to a soul-centered world by giving up the intrusive quest for information, clarity, definition and answers. Instead, enter into the beauty of language and thought. And so I just find myself meditating on the book, reading passages aloud, writing them down for future reference, posting some quotes in face book and telling them to friends. For me, one of the main messages of Charles Cooley then is that this is not just about us. We cannot totally be far from others. These are just some of the ways of committing them to memory and then sharing them to others which for me is the goal of education. These are all ways of educating the heart. 

      One of my favorite parts of the book is this line: there is much to lose when we focus only on meaning. I agree with this, as I too, had several conversations with a friend about trying to understand events in our lives. Most of the time, we end up getting tired over-analyzing things, and when I had read that line, it seems like the heaven has given me an answer. We had been so meaning-focused, that we had sometimes failed to enjoy things as they are. As it is mentioned in the book, from the soul perspective, meaning is less important than meaningfulness. Ideas that move us with the grace of their presentation penetrate the heart and serve purposes that go beyond understanding, as they foster passion, interest and decision. In my life, I am glad to witness how I am growing each day through participation and then, contemplation in the experiences which has molded me. 

        I also agree that writers of the past still speak and have a presence in us, and this is also one of the reasons why I had always believe in the power of writing, and that’s one of the reasons why I had never stopped writing my experiences through poems, short stories and narratives. We can hear their voices in the words, phrases and sentences of their books. We are present to them as they present themselves to us. It was really an opportunity for me to enter in many conversations in the book. In the process, it expanded my own community. I was able to engage in the voices of the past with my heart and soul. For me, this is also a validation of how important reading is in our life-long education process. If we want to widen our horizons, we must never stop reading. 

       Without an education, the heart presents itself as a cauldron of raw emotions, suspicious desires and disconnected images. Dreams appear stupefying, longings inappropriate, and relationships confounding. Without an animating, educated heart, the intellect appears superior, and we give too much attention and value to it. Our institutions and ideas then lack the humanizing breath of the soul. Education of the proper kind brings into view the order and sense in matters of the heart that otherwise seem elusive, and position the heart to play a significant role in affairs of the mind. For me, this means that we should put heart to knowledge. Why are we studying? What is it making to our relationships to others and to the environment and in our commitment to the society? For me, education should be purposeful. It should lead to service, to peace and to love. 

       Soul is a strange word. For me, it will always be mysterious, and not just because I was able to review the book, then I could already go out and claim to everyone that I had understood the depth of the human soul. But something beautiful and life-changing happened to me in the process of reading the book. I was able to listen to my soul. It is really there, and it is telling me a lot: from pain to happiness, from sorrow to hope, from confusion to peace, from hatred to love…Wondering about the soul, seeking adequate language for it, wanting definition and insight, all mark the beginning of the process of bringing soul to life. Care of the soul begins in a felt acknowledgment of its reality and importance. The soul becomes more present as we consider it in our conversation, writing, meditating and the thoughtful living of our everyday lives. But because the soul has such deep roots in personal and social life and its values run so contrary to modern concerns, caring for the soul may well turn out to be a radical act, a challenge to accepted norms. Now, I am accepting that challenge courageously and excitedly! 

       James Hillman in Re-Visioning Psychology defined soul to be a perspective rather than a substance, a viewpoint toward things rather than a thing itself. This perspective is reflective; it meditates events and makes differences between ourselves and everything that happens. Between us and events, between the doer and the deed, there is a reflective moment-and soul-making means differentiating this middle ground. Yes, I agree. How can we say that we were really educated if we were not able to experience and practice the process of reflection, leading towards transformation? 

     As the book pointed out, love, desire and pleasure are the chief signals of the presence of soul. The soul will be called out from hiding and then we will be educated in the deepest sense. Indeed, it is a lifetime of contemplation on certain phrases and ideas. Yes, I should that the selections in the book are so deep, yet on a very positive way, for it is inviting me to think by heart. I could never fully grasp their meaning but in the process, I would be more intimate with their mysteries. This is how I put heart and soul to my learning and that is something I should be doing in process forever. Every time I learn something, it should change me positively. And I should inspire others to be renewed positively too, and then there would be a true change in the world, and only then, we can truly say that we had put justice, heart and soul to what education really is.

Bantayan Island, Cebu
Gawad Kalinga Build Challenge 2011

  

Sagada's Sumaguing Cave

Social Work Board Passer's 2011 Oath Taking
Manila Hotel 

Few Mondays Changing My Succeeding Days

 Asian Festival 2013

    From the first Monday of 2013 that I was able to sit in his class, my Mondays with him and with my classmates had then became so different from the previous Mondays of my life. The timing was indeed perfect because the class came in at the time when there were a lot of reflection papers to be done in other subjects and reflecting has then become challenging. That class came in at the perfect timing because it has re-defined to me what reflection really is. The way that the discussion flowed has something to do with how we are able to think over how things were usually done, how we had been submissive to the system, how evasive changes has been for us and how we had been perceiving and acting upon on the call of the times. Ever since that first Monday, the act of reflecting has been an exciting and fruitful journey. Since then, reflection has become so vital and much beautiful. 

    We started with a very mind-enriching introduction about culture. I thought that I had understood what culture means until Sir Gois posed to us several points to think about and that has revealed to me that something to be attentive about is how culture is for us, and how it is really a part of our life or not a part of us anymore. I had then found myself so guilty for seeing culture as something being put into exhibit. I had witnessed and in a way, supported culture becoming more of a commodity and a showcase activity. And that class really challenged me to go beyond that. Though culture is something not clearly defined and not easy to define, it is certain that our culture is part of who we are. However, we negotiate our identities every day. We are constantly changing and it is part of dynamics of culture. If culture does not evolve, it becomes static. It dies. In a way, I was able to see human beings to be like that. We are constantly changing, not just biologically but in all aspects. In a deeper sense as well, if we remain so stock in just one way of thinking, one way of doing, and then confined in a box forever, we are also losing much in our lives. 

    The concepts introduced in Asian Studies are what seemed to be like a paradox to me. One of the first statements that struck me is this: the first thing to know about Asia is that we don’t know Asia. Sounds weird, but upon reflecting on it, it is really making sense. I had lived 22 years in Asia but I don’t it yet fully, not even Philippines or even just the Visayas island. Our discussion about Asia’s history of discovery and colonization is also a realization to me that arrived like a paradox. We were so diverse and when we realize our differences, part of our psyche is a struggle of preserving identities and independence. But once we become independent, we should think as well of how we will deal another struggle, as the struggle becomes inside. In my personal life, I think I had several instances of fighting for freedom as well, and then moving the struggle within, addressing doubts and conquering fears, and then, learning lessons. I can also say now that Asian Studies class is a class that has enlarged the classroom. It has enlarged the classroom into Asia and into the world! 

    The journey towards understanding Sufism as one of the worldviews and that of my classmates was a journey of entering the socio-political and cultural milieu of the previous time in which they emerged and how that had triggered transformational processes. As Professor Gois said in class, if we stay stock in the realm of religion, we will have problems in interpreting our life today. Whatever it is that we believe, we should have deeper understanding on it and appreciation of how it could make us better persons yet still critical, sensitive and responsive to what we are called to do in the present times. And so, therefore, true to what has been said in the beginning, the views that we had been holding, defending and using as guides in our living, will then have an impact not just to ourselves but to the society as we promote peace and fight any form of violence and injustice. 

    Asian Studies will also be a very memorable subject for me because of the Asian Festival. It felt like we had placed the entire Asia in a single room. It felt like we were trying to put the different periods of history in a single event. What has made that night different from all the other nights was our convergence itself. As I’ve said before, coming together was not easy! We were really so diverse and our differences had even made the meetings and the practices, all the preparations and everything that goes along with it, much exciting and challenging. There were some misunderstanding and little tensions, communication barriers, and different point of views on how things are to be done--- and that was understandable as we come from different backgrounds and has varied cultures and beliefs. Looking back, I was able to say that the event was successful not just because of the positive feedback from our guests but more so of our harmonious convergence. Our success comes from being able to work as one despite our differences. We can all work together for a common goal, and then triumphed. From that moment, therefore, I was able to capture the energy, the courage and the inspiration that I can always hold on most especially in facing adversities caused by our differences. 

    The attempt to have a much analytical look of the situation of street children in the Philippines has also challenged me to be critical. When this world is really an awesome place to live in, I had to recognize that there are so many things that have to be changed in this world. And our Asian Studies class is actually a persistent call for me to be part of the struggle for change. We could be happy to be called as social workers, priests, nuns, development workers and so on, for it gives us something to do. But in one of our sessions, Sir Gois has asked us to think, and really think. He challenged us to reflect on what we are actually been doing. Have we questioned when will the problem end, or are we just embracing the idea of just keeping the issues years and years? We were challenged to come out of our comfort zones and go beyond. 

    This is a world where there is so much to fight for. But before anything else, we should start by really believing that there is something out there worth fighting for. We could not just continue thinking only for ourselves. We could not just accept how things are because we felt we are really not affected that much. We should find what we can do to make this world better and fair. Asian Studied has helped me re-discover the world with more understanding eyes and responsive soul. There is not just one way of looking at the problem. We should value and encourage collective thinking and find the richness therein on the sharing of views and acting together. 

     Asian Studies is not just a subject but a process. This is a process that has helped me feel free to think and reflect and then motivated me to see in a different, and a brand new lens what can I be part of. We could go out into the world as someone with a master’s degree but what is the use of that if we had not been of impact to the larger classroom? Change could come not so fast but our willingness to be part of the process and instead of maintaining the systems, challenging them, could actually be doing some impact. As Sir Gois said and I had found myself accepting the challenge, something we have to work out in our generation is how we develop the great capacity to reflect and then to lead change. We should bring in much thinking into the process especially that the struggle we are faced with could have last for hundred years. This is a struggle that we should not surrender easily, and at the times that we are already on the fight, we should grip in at those moments. 

      Asian Studies has helped me a lot in my process of becoming critical and appreciative at the same time. It has helped me towards becoming someone who is reflective and hopeful. My greatest glory then, is to be someone who can bring out change everyday, someone who has never given up the fire that has burnt, and the hope that can be passed on to others and to this planet. And as my life goes on, my struggle towards peace, justice and integrity of creation goes on too. And that was how few Mondays of 2013 spent with him had then changed all the days of my weeks for a lifetime. 

My Little Angels

Marco Polo Care Center Children, Virlanie Foundation Inc.
Passage Camp: Art and Sports Therapy Project
January 28- February 11, 2013
White Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro

You are my angels,

I love hearing your innocent voices…

I love putting you into sleep in your beds,

And then waking up, wondering how you reached my bed

Hugging me all over,

And then seeing your eyes still closed

Letting you just stay beside me.

But I love you more as you are

And I might get mad at times,

Or talk to you as loud as I could---

Yet know that I've done that because I want to guide you

And I want all the best for you.

My little angels

I may had taught you about this, and that,

But you've actually taught me more…

You all have taught me what hope really is,

And you are teaching me more about life,

You are teaching me all about love.