Passion in Action

Passion is a thing that anyone wants to do, not for the money or any other thing but the mere pleasure and gratification for doing it. Passion is a driving force, a source of dedication and innate energy that propels a person to do the things he loves.

Great men who excel in science, business, arts, Technology, and sports like Einstein, Bill Gates, Michael Jackson, Steven Jobs, Michael Jordan and our very own Manny Pacquiao, among others, made their way to excellence not because of mere talent alone. An even greater inner hunger drove them to push themselves to the limits just because they love and enjoy what they do. And it's not strange to see them doing it even when the rest have long gone to sleep.

That's passion; passion that begets excellence, passion that makes one learn from experience, from others, and from his own mistakes. Passion is the thing that gives one the power to formulate strategies then visualizes himself applying those in specific situations. Through consistent practice, he masters them with or without the help of others and applies them naturally in real life.

That's how passion makes one a star in his chosen field or career.

As a child, I had this passion to play basketball to the dismay of my father who wanted to see me bury my face in the pages of my textbooks or help him in the farm on weekends.

We were living in an uptown agricultural village and I seldom see kids playing basketball because poverty drove each one of them to the farms to help their parents. But it did not discourage me.

I begged my mother to buy me a basketball so that I can play even when I'm alone. When my father took me to the farm, my next destination as we got home after 4:00 pm was the public basketball court, where I played to my heart's desire after the big boys were through, which always happened after sunset. But I played nevertheless, until I can no longer see the ball in the dark.

There was a time when my father got so pissed off that he chopped my ball into two with a jungle bolo.

Still it didn't stop me. I really loved basketball to the point that I was skipping lunch on weekends just to continue with my passion; I knew I would not be allowed to go back to the playing court once I got home.

I was about 16 or 17 when I began to reap the fruits of my efforts. I became a village star for my "university" playing style. During this time, I was already studying in the city and I just imitated and mastered the playing styles of my favorite university players.

I was just one of the few boys from our poor village to get the chance to pursue college education. I am thankful that my passion didn't, although it almost, ruined my father's plan for me.

I did excel in basketball, the greatest passion I ever had. I had a vertical leap of about two feet, I can take off from the free throw line and lay the ball in through and under the arms of taller defenders; and I can float for a few seconds, the way Michael Jordan did a few years later.

All my feats during those days are now part of a memory that I treasure. They also made me realize that to pursue a dream, one must move and act. I could have gone farther were it not for my stature that deterred coaches from taking me in. I was only 5'0" then with a body that weighed only 110 pounds. I am now 5'3" weighing 135 pounds. :)

But I had a second passion which I did when the weather did not permit me to play; and it is writing. It's the passion that has opened a lot of doors for me after retirement - even if I don't possess a degree in journalism.

The Fury of the Past

As a child, I always looked up to my parents as my only source of inspiration and love. I can still remember how I loved to personify my father's strength of character and wisdom in dealing with the elderly in our small community; for they looked up to him as the epitome of stoic will, determination and innate intelligence.

He came from a destitute family who believed that life is all about eating, drinking and dying, but my father’s indifference to the ignorant beliefs of his elders made him struggle to find education beyond his parents' disapproval. In order to be able to attend elementary school, he volunteering to work as a duck-tender for a "landed" relative at a tender age of eight.

He drove the fowls to the river each morning and he swum his way to the flock each afternoon in order to bring them back home. He was not treated and fed well, and he walked miles each day on bare feet and ragged clothes just to be able to attend school. Yet his early cognizance of the hardships of poverty drove him to stay to achieve what he wanted: a simple elementary education which he completed when he was fifteen.

With the accomplishment of that simple ambition, he made another quest - to finish high-school, and with that ardent desire, he proceeded to our province's capital city to work as a dishwasher and all-around-worker for another relative who happened to own a small eatery. These he did just to earn a place to stay, little food to keep him up and some loose change for his needs in school, as public elementary and high schools in the Philippines are free.

He eventually finished high-school at second place and years later, he joined the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines to fight for democracy against the Japanese. This feat had made him "the big fish in a small pond" in our little place.

My mother was my father's "little dummy" whose dedication and love for her husband easily transformed her from a landowner's daughter to a doting wife whose only direction in life is to love and to follow her husband's way. They could have easily complimented each other had it not been for my father's bitterness of his sad past.

My father was a good provider. He was a man of strict principles and he had a vision.

Although quite successful and respected, my father's past drove him angry and full of hate; we had become the innocent receivers of his past frustrations in life. He was easily irritated and his moods were unpredictable. Beyond idolizing his principles, we were very tense in his mere presence.

I adored my father, but his character had setup the distance between us. I can never recall a day that my father had hugged me (or anyone of us six siblings) much less tell me that he loved me. It could have been the greatest reassurance that I as a child, can get from a parent, no matter how angry he might have been with something or someone else.

Growing up as a teenager, I cannot avoid the feeling of envy upon seeing my peers being casually talked to by their parents, who sometimes give them tips how to woo their first love, or advise them not to give in too strong, because they know the pain it would give when things go wrong.

As a kid, I was afraid of even fighting for myself because I never felt that my father will stand up for me when I'm in trouble. I was more afraid of the punishment that may come than to stand up to confront my aggressor. I am a very obedient son. My father told me to always stay out of trouble. He never told me that when we are right, sometimes we have to stand up to fight and be a "man" without getting punished.

My father was a well-read fellow even in that remote countryside. The folks looked up to him because of his knowledge and sound opinions. He is the village adviser on almost every aspect and he could have easily been the best in my young eyes had he overcame the ghost of his past. And he could have been at peace with himself and everyone else, and he could have told me that living the present moment each and everyday is the best way to savor the only life that God has given us. The past needs to be forgiven for what it was.

I still admire my father. His teachings have rooted deeply inside my heart. But I have taken steps to modify a few things that need to be changed, and that is to demonstrate and express my unconditional love to my wife and children, to stand by them beyond a wholesome discipline, and to forgive the past that had shrouded me, for living in the past only hurts me more rather than give me the vindication I wanted to see.

Despite his weaknesses, my father's strengths had helped to instill the best of values that he wanted me to exude in my life. These are honesty, self-reliance, respect, godliness, truthfulness, perseverance and determination, among many.

His stern character has taught me that it is not fear, but love which is the strongest bond that ties the family together.

His calloused nature made me realize that it is the parents' assurance of support which is the spring that nourishes their children's confidence.

But the best thing I learned was to forgive the past for what it was and strive to make it a trophy for what I would be today or tomorrow.

Thinking Aloud II...

If I am I because I am I
and you are you because you are you
then I am and you are

But...

If I am I because you are you
and you are you because I am I
Then I am not and you are not...

* * *

Wisdom knows because
it can see
beyond what we can perceive;
it can hear
beyond what we can listen to;
it can feel
beyond what we can sense;
it can search
beyond what we can find;
it can understand
beyond what we can fathom.

Wisdom knows because
Wisdom is the reflection
of the Perfection of God...

* * *
Seek your self
Read the signs

Look for them on the ground
Search for them in the skies

If you can't see them while awake
Find them in your dreams

If you can't read them in people's minds
The signs are almost always found
In people's hearts

For it is not in palaces
Not in mansions
and not in high towers
That our souls can rest

For it is in the heart
That we can find our real home...


* * *

What Matters Most...

If I have the gift of prophesy
and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains
but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor
and surrender my body to the flames
but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast;
Love is not proud, Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking;
Love is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs;
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth;
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres;

Love never fails, because Love is the spirit of God...

taken from the Holy Bible - 1Cor. 13: 2-8

Live Walking

I
I cry at birth with clinched hands to announce my invasion into the human world.

We are born to struggle, or struggle to be born. Whatever it is that made us struggle, it is the value of life that we desperately want to hold onto in the palm of our hands that gave us the strength right at the very start.

Life and the love of it are two of the greatest God-given gifts that every creature is endowed with.

Day upon greater day I shall be thankful to God for the daily present that He brings to me - and that’s my life today.

II
I cherish the life that I have and I live to learn from it everyday.

Life is a tale of trials and errors and only the lives of the very elect are marked with pre-destiny.

Living the life everyday is savoring the sweetest that it can offer. Living long lives dwelt mostly in the past or in the future is not living it to the fullest at all, for the essence of living is in experiencing every moment that comes along, and not in lingering too long in the past that cannot be undone, or in the future that is uncertain.

Day upon greater day I shall honor the Giver of the life I cherish, for no one else can breathe life unto another except God our maker.

III
I strive to look up to the good people around me in my quest for ideals.

The good and the evil had been at odds since the beginning of heaven and earth and it will be the same until The Day of the Lord comes.

At some point in time, our eyes will open to the knowledge of the good and evil. Siding with the good will glorify the Maker, for all men are made in God’s image and likeness, for God is the foundation of everything that is good.

Day upon greater day I will glorify my maker by dwelling in His goodness and mercy, where I shall be fully blessed.

IV
In my quest to achieve, I dream dreams that I want to make real.

Life is meant to be lived with a purpose as a candle is meant to be lighted to overcome the darkness, and for whatever purpose, when the candle is lighted, it will surely melt its life away.

Living with a good purpose and direction is spending a fruitful life that glorifies the maker, for his gifts were not spent in vain.

V
Giving back the love of those who love us is the greatest payback that a man could ever give or take.

Love begets love, and love only deserves love to be given back in return.

Day upon greater day will I acknowledge the love of God for me, I will give back the love of those who love me, and I will strive to love those who put me down, and He will be truly pleased.

VI
Bitterness is the result of poor judgment. It is an option for those who want to get back at things they have no control over.

We have to let go of things we cannot hold, for the more we try to keep them, the more they tend to tear us apart. Dwelling on the pain is not the cure for a heartache. There are things that we just need to let go in order to lighten us. These are the unnecessary burdens that pull us down on our way up.

Day upon greater day, I will lay up my unnecessary burdens to God and He will give me rest.

VII
To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Faults are but human and inevitable, and human perfection is but a state of mind.

Forgiveness is a virtue that emanates from God.

Day upon greater day, I will strive to forgive those who offended me, with or without their consent, and God will also forgive me for my offenses.

VIII
To forgive ones self is to claim freedom from self-destruction.

As children of God, we ought to be forgiving even unto ourselves. Carrying the guilt within us ruins our sense of self-worth.

God loves us and He died that we may live.

Day upon greater day, I will live to praise God for the great things He has done for me, and I will look at myself as God loves me for who I am.

IX
We should love the now and savor it’s every moment, for it is the only guarantee that we are present.

The present is a gift from God. That is why we call it “the present”.

Day upon greater day, I will honor the Lord by enjoying every bit of the moments he has given me, as He endured every pain…that I may heal.

X
I reconcile with my spirit for I am accountable to God for my soul.

Everyday, I examine myself, where I stand before God, and every time I stand before Him, I present my soul, and I shall see to it that my spirit is as clean as I can make it before God, even if I know that no matter what I do, my righteousness is as a filthy rug in His justice.

Day upon greater day, I will ask God to cleanse my soul for God’s great homecoming, and He will hear me if I do not regard inequity in my heart.

XI
I have the faith that with God, nothing can go wrong with my Life.

God carries the whole universe and steers its movement with his hand since time began, and until now, everything is working precisely right as God commanded.

I shall humble and surrender my life to God for Him to take control over. I know that I am not a soul too heavy for God’s infinite power to carry, and I shall live fully fulfilled.

XII
God’s spirit is the one sure guarantee of His presence, I seek it.

The spirit of God does not dwell in temples made by human hands. The spirit of God lives in the hearts of men. The spirit of God will live in our hearts if only we welcome Him.

I Seek God’s Spirit to come into my heart, and I will feel God’s presence within me…that’s a guarantee that cannot fail.

Day upon greater day I open my heart to welcome the Spirit of God, for it is only the presence of God in my heart that I can have an assurance that my life will never go wrong.

XIII
If God lives in me, I shall be the showroom of His presence.

God lives in the hearts of the humble, the faithful, the ones filled with love, hope and forgiveness.

I must exude these virtues, and people will know that God lives in my heart.

Day upon greater day, I ask God to humble me and to fill my heart with faith and to make me a light that will shine in the darkness of this material world, to show to the world that the presence of God is greater than all the treasures that this world can hold.

XIV
Every step along the way of my life I want to walk with God.

For the cares of this world, the way with God is a difficult mission.

But the way of God is the safest path I have ever known, because in God’s way, I am with the most High, the Deliverer…and I know and am sure where I am going to.

Day upon greater day I pray for God’s leading. I need Him to take me to the way of Truth, the way to Life…and the way to His graces.

XV
Every day, I thank God for minding me and taking care of my life.

Waking up alive is the greatest thing that could happen to me each and every morning. This is the manifestation that He still wants me to enjoy His present because He loves me and He cares for me. I must remember, He gave up His own life that I may live…forever with Him.

Day upon greater day, I thank God for His faithful miracles that happen every day in my life, things that seem trivial like the sun, the moon, the rain, the air, the water and all the things that were made to sustain life. These are all made for us, and only a living, all powerful God can make it happen…day upon greater day. Amen.