WHERE TO FOCUS OUR MINDS AND HEARTS

(NOTE:  This is a repost.)

Yesterday, October 7, 2014, I attended mass at Our Lady of Victories Chapel at Harbor Point Mall in Subic.  The Gospel Reading was taken from Luke 10:38-42.
 
In his homily, the priest said that the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples went to Jerusalem, the place where He would later encounter sufferings and eventually meet His death.  They were welcomed by Martha to her house.   
 
Martha was busy preparing foods for Jesus and His companions.  But what all Mary did was sat beside Jesus and listened to Him.  When Martha complained to Jesus about doing the serving all by herself, the Lord told her that she was so busy and worried about so many things when only one thing is needed.  Mary chose the better part because the Lord Jesus Christ may not be with them again so she took that rare opportunity to listen to Him.
 
In our present world, we have so many concerns and are engrossed with so many activities that seem trivial and not really important.  As a consequence, we live stressful lives that oftentimes lead us to useless anxieties.
 
We should learn how to simplify things.  We should free ourselves of enslaving activities and interests that lead us away from God.  We should focus our minds on what really matters in life.

THANK YOU, PRESIDENT CORY!

(NOTE:  This is a REPOST. Originally published on August 2, 2009)

Corazon C. Aquino, 1933-2009
(Photo from Nueva Ecija Journal)

August 1st is a marked date in my calendar. That is the death anniversary of my mother, Urbana Ayroso-Ramirez (March 19, 1921 - August 1, 1987). 

Yesterday, August 1st, 2009, another great personality (and mother, for that matter) passed away—former President Corazon C. Aquino, the mother of Philippine Democracy. Being a democracy icon not only of the Philippines but of the whole world, President Arroyo has aptly referred to her as a “national treasure”.

I was doing some household chores early yesterday morning when I heard the song “Magkaisa” over the radio or on TV. That song will remind one of EDSA… of People Power Revolution. And the People Power Revolution will always come in close association with the name Cory Aquino.

Being aware of the former president’s health condition, I became apprehensive and worried about what could have happened to her. My inquisitive mind and restless feet brought me to a neighbor’s door where I learned about the sad news that the former president has passed away.

I was emotionally affected. My voice trembled as I continued to ask and talk to my neighbor. And as old and familiar footages and videos of Cory were shown on TV, something started brewing in my eyes.

Many may not know it, but I was a Cory sympathizer during the turbulent period of our nation’s history when the political situation was very, very unstable. Because of the many sufferings, pains, and sacrifices that she had gone through, she easily won the hearts and sympathy of many Filipinos, myself included.

Cory fought with the dictator and it was a David-versus-Goliath-like fight with herself representing David and emerging as the victor in the end.

I remember the mammoth crowds or rallies, the Cory! Cory! Cory! chant, the flashing of the "L" or Laban sign, the yellow ribbons and confetti, and the ticker-tape parade on Ayala Avenue that characterized the political atmosphere of our country during those times.

I had a more-than-a-meter-high pile of Malaya newspaper and another more-than-a-meter-high pile of Mr. & Ms. magazine/newspaper that had accumulated in my living room from the day those “mosquito press” started their publication until the time of, what seemed to me, their "mission's accomplishment".

I had a collection of various foreign broadsheets such as Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Asian Wall Street Journal, and Stars and Stripes that some fleet shore patrol and stationed American servicemen gave me or inadvertently left in our office (U.S. Naval Base). Those broadsheets carried news and stories about the political turmoil and unrest in our country that couldn’t be read in the local dailies especially when the “mosquito press” were not yet in existence.

After the EDSA Revolution, I also had a collection of various magazines that featured Cory, like the Time Magazine where she graced the cover being its Woman of the Year. 

But transferring from one house to another in Olongapo made it impossible for me to keep all those things intact. I could have boasted of such collections now with their great historical value had I not lost or misplaced them. Living all alone by myself and doing everything all by myself, I have lost track of them and really forgotten what I did with them.

There was even a time when, after Cory had peacefully relinquished the presidency to her successor, I tried to contact her by phone to ask about some matters of importance to me but Ms. Deedee Siytangco, her secretary, told me she had a meeting with foreign journalists. Instead, it was Ballsy, her eldest daughter, who entertained me on the phone. Oh, how pleasant and very accommodating Ballsy was to me!

I also loved listening to Cory’s speeches my most favorite of which was that one she delivered before the joint session of the United States Congress. That particular historical speech made me truly proud to be a Filipino. 

I have read much and widely about Cory Aquino—a plain housewife who suffered much under Martial Law and who was destined to liberate (as she indeed liberated) her countrymen from an oppressive and tyrannical rule, an honest public servant, a woman of Great Faith, and a President known for her simplicity and well-loved by the people. Despite all the pains she suffered in her earthly life, though, history will be kind in judging her. Cory Aquino has already earned a prominent and an enviable place in history. In fact, with the kind of life that she had lived, even sainthood won't be far from her.

Thank you, Tita Cory! Leaving the world of the living may sometimes be sweet especially so when your beloved Ninoy just cannot wait to be with you again. You may now rest in peace.

WE LOVE YOU!

Goodbye.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A FAMILIAR FACE

AEC members inspecting Hanjin Condotel in Subic 

On November 22, 2019, at about 2:00 pm, I went to Landbank Subic to make a deposit. 

As I was filling out a deposit slip, a lady, probably in her late 40s, came in and greeted me with a smile as though we had frequently met before.

 

Her face looked familiar but I could not remember her name.

 

As I sat on a chair at the waiting area, I tried to reach back hoping to remember her name.

 

Could she be Gina Agustin, then the Chief of Staff of a former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and whom I approached for help in my desire to be reassigned to another SBMA department?

 

Since the lady sat in front of me at the waiting area, I politely asked her if she was Ma’am Gina.

 

She turned her face to me then replied, “Ako si Karen. Si Gina, nasa McDo.” (“I am Karen. Gina is at McDo.”)

I weighed things. Did I offend her? Was she insulted by my question? Was I wrong? Was the lady a total stranger to me?

 

But why did she greet me with a smile?

 

After some ten or fifteen minutes, the male bank teller called, “Miss Karen…” The lady stood up then went to the male bank teller who called.

 

So, she must really be Miss Karen as she had told me. As her transaction was over, she headed for the door, looked back and smiled at me again.

 

After the lady exited the door, the middle aged man sitting beside me smilingly looked at me then commented, “Parang McDo a!” (Looks like McDo, huh!”) referring to an old McDonald’s commercial.

 

After I had exited the bank I was still thinking who that lady could be and where I had interaction with her. Until I accidentally came across Ying, a former co-employee.

I narrated to Ying my story and asked her where I could have met Karen and she replied, “Could she be Karen Magno of the Business Center? She’s now Officer in Charge of the Manufacturing Group.”

 

“Oh, yes! She’s Karen Magno!” I exclaimed.

I knew Karen. She was then Account Officer and we often met at the Account Evaluation Committee (AEC) meeting when I was our Office’s representative to the AEC. But that was more than five years ago.

 

And my mind was back to peace. 

EVERY TIME IT RAINS

A heavy downpour

As I was writing this piece, there was a heavy downpour.  While watching the raindrops fall and listening to the sound they created, a familiar scene suddenly flashed across my mind bringing back some poignant memories. 

In my teens, someone gave me a card where the lyrics of the song "I'll Be Back" by The Beatles were printed. As though making a promise, he wrote at the back of the card an excerpt  from a poem written by Angela Manalang Gloria. And it went like this: 

"You shall not forget

For I am past forgetting

I shall come to you again

With the starlight

And the scent of wild champakas

And the melody of rain." 

Such a very eloquent and deeply moving piece of poetry! 

He was the guy I used to call my best friend. That was when he was still his old authentic self -- kind, humble, refined, timid, soft-spoken, very thoughtful! We had many things and traits in common. I'd say, apart from my mother's unconditional love, his friendship was the best thing that ever happened to me. 

True enough, whenever it rained, he had always come back. Equipped with an umbrella, he would come and ask me to roam around with him. And, despite the weather, it was a most exhilarating experience. Because he made me feel wanted... and needed. He made me feel so very important. 

Sadly, though, with the passing of days (and years), my friend radically changed. The change in his economic status likewise changed his character and the way he dealt with me. 

Even though he's no longer around now, and as if to fulfill the old promise he made, every time it rains, he always comes back. 

But only in my memory. 

MOVIE REVIEW (HINDI TAYO PWEDE)

(NOTE: This is a late blog entry. On March 4, 2020, my close friend, Belen Crescini, called me up and told me she and Nelia were going to see a movie and asked me if I'd like to go with them. I said yes so  we went to the Ayala Malls Cinema.)

Gaudz, Belen and Nelia inside Ayala Malls Cinema

THE MOVIE

"Hindi Tayo Pwede" starred Marco Gumabao, Lovie Poe and Tony Labrusca.

The movie was about lovers Tony and Lovie and best of friends Marco and Lovie.

When Tony met a car accident that took his life, his ghost kept on following Lovie. Lovie was the only person who could still see, touch, feel and talk to him. 

Marco then had the chance to express his love for Lovie whom he had secretly loved for so long. Lovie eventually fell for Marco, too, but the jealous ghost interfered and would not let go of Lovie. 

On one occasion, while Lovie was driving, Tony's ghost kept on nagging her until she lost control of the car and met an accident. Lovie, however, survived the incident. 

When Lovie was rushed to the hospital, Tony felt guilty and sorry for what had happened. 

As Marco was attending to Lovie, he sensed the presence of Tony's ghost and pleaded with him to just forget about Lovie since they now belonged to different worlds. And Tony obliged. 

MY REACTION 

Love can sometimes be fleeting. Short-lived. 

But love can also be so enslaving that it becomes a controlling spirit that interferes in unhealthy ways in our lives. If this is the case, we should try our best to free ourselves from this irrational force so as to be guided by reason. 

There are also other things and persons that control and lead us to living miserable lives -- traumatic past experiences, an oppressive leader or boss, a domineering parent, or even customs and traditions that no longer apply to the present. We MUST break away from these controlling spirits in order to keep our sanity intact. 

But, of course, this is easier said than done.