Sunshine Stories

I will not forget you.  I have carved you on the palm of my hand.   
— Isaiah 49:15

The last two weeks have been devastating for me. While I was jogging last week, I told God that I am lifting up to Him the most important things to me. Sabi ko, sige na nga Lord, bahala ka na. I think God heard me so He did as asked to remake my life - He took away really precious people and things from me. I’m not sure He’s done yet. Natatakot ako minsan na baka may kunin pa sa akin na mahal ko at hindi na ako titigil sa pag-iyak.

Nevertheless, since I asked for it, I don’t want to complain too much because I believe it’s a happening for a purpose. Baka may ipapalit na mas maganda si Lord, kaya kinuha nya yung iba. So I’m just praying like the person in Gary V.’s song "Break Me".

I’m just glad I have some things in my life that keep me hopeful - love, prayer, jogging, dreaming, music, poetry, and talking to my friends/siblings. These keep me from plunging into depression and wallowing on my fears.

Right now I’m at an Internet shop listening to Pachelbel’s Canon in D major. It’s Nov. 1 and I should be in the province visiting my relatives but here I am in in Los Banos - alone but okay. I need some time to heal and Pachelbel’s masterpiece is creating a miracle for me. I’ve been looking for this piece for so long and now, I have found it! I feel so relaxed while listening to it. It does wonders to drive away the negative vibes! It’s really healing my heart and I feel more peaceful. That’s something I desperately need right now.

This morning, I woke up at 5am to go jogging. It was caught in the rain on my way back from Pili Drive. I took refuge at DL Umali and I had a beautiful view of the green field while rain was falling. I think I spent two hours watching the the leaves and the trees be drenched with the unceasing waters from the heavens. It must be the same with life. Storms in life should be welcomed like the sunshine. It’s not easy but I will make it through.

In the meantime, I enjoy Canon in D Major and take solace in Agnes Prieto’s words,

“At the end of your tears you will find meaning.”

Life is all about contacts’

I met 32 new friends from all over the world when I coordinated a workshop at IRRI for the Communication for Social Change Consortium. The hotshots of the development communication field were there and I was able to closely interact with them. It was so cool! They were all PhD holders but I could call them by their first name and email them if I needed anything in the future. That’s the advantage of being the coordinator, aka utusan, for one week.  As Peter da Costa of University College London told me,
"Duday, life is all about contacts!"

The most popular, of course, was Alfonso Gumucio Dagron, the Bolivian filmaker and author of the book "Making Waves". He looked like Don Corleone but he was such a sweet, outspoken, and inspiring person. All the other practitioners and academicians from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, and North America were there too and I learned from observing and listening to them. I was also encouraged to learn Spanish since a lot of important reference in the field of development communication are in this language and have not been translated. I told Alfonso that next time, I’ll try to talk to him in Spanish.

I have not digested everything I heard because some ideas were really new to me. It was good that the PhD students from Devcom - Pam, Jenny, Ike, and Rica - helped me understand what was going on.

Although I did not get paid for my two-week work - which included everything from airport transfer to renting a jeep so they could go swimming to helping buy orchid fertilizer - it was worth it because 32 doors of friendship and opportunities opened for me. Plus, I got pasalubongs from some of them: a wooden jewelry box with a Nativity scene from Peru, an intricate hair band from India, a green parrot from Bolivia, a colorful red magnet from Colombia, a silver bracelet from Argentina, and a Tiffany’s key chain from the US.

Kindness truly pays off.

———–

just to give you an idea which countries were represented: US, UK, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, India, Nepal, Jamaica, Zambia, Ghana, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Philippines