School had a different vibe this past week. Maybe it was due to horde of Practicum 1 students trying to meet another deadliest deadline of their young life. This time it is about the research topic or the company study topic.
Met a number of them along the corridors. Two at the Research Center. All of them fairly smart students. All of them look aptly worried. All of them wearing their "I am generic!" caps, again.
It seems that when they are pushed, they fold. Hurriedly embracing the comforts of being just another student, a generic student.
That is sad. Very sad. Not only for them but also for the Philippines.
Ganun na lang ba talaga palagi when we are pushed to stretch our limits, we fold. We hide. Bakit ba hindi natin nakikita na pag when we have reached our limits, it also means that we are in a position to push our limits even further? To allow and give ourselves with more freedom?
Haaay, Lord kayo na po ang bahala. At sorry po hindi ko po sila nasuko agad. Lord, sinusuko ko na po sila sa Inyo. Ginawa Nyo naman po silang smart. Sana po maturuan po silang maging matibay. Matapang. May tamang paninindigan sa buhay...
"... why think like mere men?"
Friday
Tuesday
reminder = )
In what group do you belong?
GROUP 1: "I have to change before God could love me..."
GROUP 2: "God loves me that's why I have to change..."
A timely reminder = )
GROUP 1: "I have to change before God could love me..."
GROUP 2: "God loves me that's why I have to change..."
A timely reminder = )
Friday
moving on
She is buried now and the emotional highs (and plans) has simmered down. I guess it's apt to reflect on her life. The life of Corazon Aquino.
For me, she was the impossibility that happened. She is courageous and had this clear idea of what her role was in Philippine story - the transition president who spearheaded the return to democracy. And the best part is she did not try to be somebody else other than that by having an Act 2 at Malacanang when everybody was pushing and urging her to run for a second term.
She was clear about her role and when it was done, she left and became private citizen Tita Cory.
Cardinal Sin, Ramos, Enrile (with his RAM Boys) and the nameless millions of Filipino people were also there to usher in this celebrated part of Philippine history but I think for it to have this staying power of catching the imagination of the whole world up to now, EDSA and Tita Cory must be His'. God's expression of love to our beloved Philippines.
I admit, I sometimes catch myself falling to this 'malady' of slicing the history that happened to us in 1986 as if it happened in a vacuum. As if, it was all up to the Filipinos. And then, you see images of people praying.
I often wonder what would have happened if the Filipinos were not praying back then as the tanks rolled by and the helicopters were hovering?
Would I be truly admiring Tita Cory if I simply gloss over the fact that she is who she is, courageous and honest, because she prayed and have this wonderful relationship with Him?
The presidential election is less than a year away. I hope it is automated. I am praying it is. We have two pastors wanting to become a President. A priest is also in the list. Another Roxas. A Villar. A Bayani. Will the same Macapagal-Arroyo be there too?
Will this be just another election?
Or will this be about the Philippines that Ninoy fought and died for? Will this be about the Philippines that Tita Cory prayed for? Will this be about the Philippines that the past generation saw that was worth praying for? Dying for?
Someone said that it is easy to "slay the beast" for the country. What's hard is to wake up every morning and "fall in love" with the same country all over again. The beauty of duty = )
Lord, let me not forget the Philippines that this husband and wife saw, prayed for and served.
"... why think like mere men?"
For me, she was the impossibility that happened. She is courageous and had this clear idea of what her role was in Philippine story - the transition president who spearheaded the return to democracy. And the best part is she did not try to be somebody else other than that by having an Act 2 at Malacanang when everybody was pushing and urging her to run for a second term.
She was clear about her role and when it was done, she left and became private citizen Tita Cory.
Cardinal Sin, Ramos, Enrile (with his RAM Boys) and the nameless millions of Filipino people were also there to usher in this celebrated part of Philippine history but I think for it to have this staying power of catching the imagination of the whole world up to now, EDSA and Tita Cory must be His'. God's expression of love to our beloved Philippines.
I admit, I sometimes catch myself falling to this 'malady' of slicing the history that happened to us in 1986 as if it happened in a vacuum. As if, it was all up to the Filipinos. And then, you see images of people praying.
I often wonder what would have happened if the Filipinos were not praying back then as the tanks rolled by and the helicopters were hovering?
Would I be truly admiring Tita Cory if I simply gloss over the fact that she is who she is, courageous and honest, because she prayed and have this wonderful relationship with Him?
The presidential election is less than a year away. I hope it is automated. I am praying it is. We have two pastors wanting to become a President. A priest is also in the list. Another Roxas. A Villar. A Bayani. Will the same Macapagal-Arroyo be there too?
Will this be just another election?
Or will this be about the Philippines that Ninoy fought and died for? Will this be about the Philippines that Tita Cory prayed for? Will this be about the Philippines that the past generation saw that was worth praying for? Dying for?
Someone said that it is easy to "slay the beast" for the country. What's hard is to wake up every morning and "fall in love" with the same country all over again. The beauty of duty = )
Lord, let me not forget the Philippines that this husband and wife saw, prayed for and served.
"... why think like mere men?"
Wednesday
reaffirmation
Priest : (dying) "... just have faith. Believe in God."
Count of Monte Cristo : "But I do not believe in God."
Priest : "He believes in you..."
Count of Monte Cristo : "But I do not believe in God."
Priest : "He believes in you..."
Monday
Corazon Aquino
I'll be 35 on September.
My very first memory of Cory Aquino was that of being a widow of Senator Ninoy Aquino who was murdered August of 1983. A few years remove from the lifting of the martial law.
When she became our 11th president, it was this magical time when I was starting to understand how big the world is. It was a time when I was in acceleration class. It was a time when ideals are set for a man.
For men like me, our teenage minds were immersed and bombarded with this idea that the Filipino race is a special race. It is the race that produced Jose Rizal. The race that stage the first ever bloodless revolution to topple a 20-year dictatorship. The race that received the spirit that inspired songs like "Magkaisa" and "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo."
It infused in me that things are indeed possible.
You see, one has to grow up during the Ferdinand Marcos years to get what it means to be under martial rule. Though I was really young then, and it is only when I was in college when I fully grasped the idea of fear during the later years of the Marcos Presidency.
I mean, I used to laugh at the joke that the most powerful man in the Philippines was President Ferdinand Marcos' barber. Why? Because only his barber can order him like "tumingin sa kaliwa... yumuko..."
That joke only works when it is already imbued in you that Apo was someone you should be afraid of = )
Corazon Aquino defeated President Marcos in a snap election. A homemaker defeating the bar topnotcher. A widow defeating a 20-year ruler. That's something.
And for that idea to be drilled into my young mind, that's something.
Corazon Aquino, for me, is the impossibility that happened.
Corazon Aquino, for me, is the expression of God's hand in the Philippines.
My very first memory of Cory Aquino was that of being a widow of Senator Ninoy Aquino who was murdered August of 1983. A few years remove from the lifting of the martial law.
When she became our 11th president, it was this magical time when I was starting to understand how big the world is. It was a time when I was in acceleration class. It was a time when ideals are set for a man.
For men like me, our teenage minds were immersed and bombarded with this idea that the Filipino race is a special race. It is the race that produced Jose Rizal. The race that stage the first ever bloodless revolution to topple a 20-year dictatorship. The race that received the spirit that inspired songs like "Magkaisa" and "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo."
It infused in me that things are indeed possible.
You see, one has to grow up during the Ferdinand Marcos years to get what it means to be under martial rule. Though I was really young then, and it is only when I was in college when I fully grasped the idea of fear during the later years of the Marcos Presidency.
I mean, I used to laugh at the joke that the most powerful man in the Philippines was President Ferdinand Marcos' barber. Why? Because only his barber can order him like "tumingin sa kaliwa... yumuko..."
That joke only works when it is already imbued in you that Apo was someone you should be afraid of = )
Corazon Aquino defeated President Marcos in a snap election. A homemaker defeating the bar topnotcher. A widow defeating a 20-year ruler. That's something.
And for that idea to be drilled into my young mind, that's something.
Corazon Aquino, for me, is the impossibility that happened.
Corazon Aquino, for me, is the expression of God's hand in the Philippines.
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