The Power of One

After that somewhat depressing piece on causes and morality, I feel compelled to write about hope, and about how we can still do something despite all the madness that goes on around us.

I’m not going to write about it in abstract terms. Let’s just say that I was fortunate enough to have been “reunited” with a fellow artist and advocate whose only passion is to make his community a better place, and I’d like to share his story with everyone here. If this seems like the work of an enamored poet, then I apologize. It’s been a source of inspiration for me, and I hope that it will somehow make you think about your life’s possibilities.

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He had a crazy idea way back in college.

He noticed that many of the kids in the Ateneo grew up in sheltered environments, and were oblivious to the social ills that pervaded Philippine urban society. Yes, they had their theology and philosophy classes, but the things that they discussed in class were so abstract that these didn’t compel students to take action.

He couldn’t bring the students out of their comfort zones, so he brought the symbols of these social ills right smack in front of the students’ faces, where they would no longer be ignored.

One Christmas, he worked to bring in hundreds of streetchildren from the Katipunan and Marikina areas to the Ateneo campus, where they would be treated to a day of fun and games, food and friendship. It was a simple gesture, but it forced students to acknowledge what was happening just outside the campus gates. People became more aware of the changes that needed to be made in society. The project clicked. Thus began an Ateneo Christmas tradition.

He knew that his pet project was only the beginning of a lifetime of servant-leadership.

This man was fond of comics, and he related most with Batman because of the latter’s “humanness”. The Dark Knight didn’t have any inate superpowers, and yet he had outwitted and overcome many a powerful adversary. It was just the sort of thing that he himself wanted to do.

He got his chance when his family was thrust into the political arena, and when public service became a large part of his life.

But he wasn’t just a social activist; he was a musician and an athlete as well. And he masterfully fused these gifts to introduce change in his community.

With his kulintang, his kahon (a box-drum), and 5-gallon water bottles that doubled as congas, he introduced indigenous music and culture to the urban folk. In a city that was (and still is) run by celebrity-politicians, his work gave people a sense of history and dignity. With his arnis sticks and fellow arnisadors, he empowered the barangay tanods and brought some semblance of security into the communities (with an indigenous martial art, no less). Now he is taking things a step further by fusing arnis and percussion in a performance art that is distinctly Filipino.

He is a struggling artist, but his struggles go beyond artistic expression, financial stability, and fame.

Seeing him work from up close has given me a reason to believe that things can get better for our country. He is just one man, and yet he has already created ripples of change in our community—ripples that will, in time, grow to be waves of real, sustained progress.

People may scoff at his efforts, for art, music, and culture are really “just” peripheral concerns. How about feeding the poor? Educating the ignorant? Healing the sick? Serving justice to the marginalized?

Oh, he gets into that, too. But it’s his art which he feels most passionate about. It’s his art which uplifts the spirits of his cityfolk and makes them feel that they have an ally from “the other side” of the societal spectrum. It’s his art which galvanizes both young and old people from his community to make real and significant changes. His art has breathed life into our rotting little city.

It’s amazing what art can do.

Having been born into a well-off family, and being the son of a political figure, he could have chosen to bum around and live off his parents’ fortunes. He could have been like other coke-sniffing, gun-toting political brats who live each day as if they were half-dead. Instead, he has chosen to take up his own cause and use his resources to uplift the lives of those in need.

He gets tired. He gets very, very tired, but he also finds that he can hardly sleep at night. Knowing that he lives each day with a purpose, however, gives him enough strength to forge on and devote yet another day to serving his community.

It’s amazing what one person can do.

And imagine what will happen if more people decided to stop yakking and start moving in the right direction.

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“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

(Written: A Spoonful of Sugar, 11 August 2003)

Seeing Signs

“You’ll never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

(To CC and Niño and their art; and to Jean Paul, his music, and the blue pill.)

Before anything else, I’d like to apologize to Mr. Pascasio (Nikko, is that you?) for not responding to his question on goals and ethics in this Spoonful.

Something amazing happened to me this weekend that I just had to share with everyone.

I came face-to-face with signs that I had never thought I would find. Signs that I had often prayed for but forgotten about. Until now.

When I saw them and recognized them for what they were, I felt as if I had seen ghosts from my past. I was stunned, overwhelmed, and scared. I could hardly believe what I was seeing and feeling, but I had to believe that they were real.

Coincidences happen once. But a string of coincidences that are somehow related to the subject of my discernment must mean something.

I cannot relate the details of my experience, but I’d like to talk about recognizing the signs that exist around us.

They are everywhere.

In The Alchemist, the bestselling work by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago leaves his Spanish hometown in search of a treasure. He encounters many interesting individuals—a gypsy, an old king, a crystal merchant, an Englishman, and finally, the Alchemist—all of whom teach him about understanding the Language of the World.

It is a language that can be understood by everyone who lives, including plants and animals. It needs no words, no foreign vocabulary and grammar, no special characters. Only a true understanding of our own Personal Legends—our reasons for being—and an openness of heart, mind, and soul.

Do you believe in signs? Some of you probably do, but many probably don’t.

We live in a very pragmatic and technical world that it seems foolish to talk about signs, much less look for them.

But think back to some of the decisions that you’ve had to make in your life. Did you decide entirely based on your clear-headed judgment, or did you get some help from a friend’s advice, a passage in a book, or a nagging feeling in your chest?

And how about some decisions that you didn’t make? Have you ever been at that point where you had to either move or stay, and you chose to stay not because you really wanted to, but because you were scared to move? Do you still get that nagging feeling in your chest that you should have done something?

I’ve felt that countless times in my young life. And with each time that I chose to ignore the signs, I felt that I was straying farther from my dream. The signs were leading me to a certain direction, but I stubbornly chose to go my own way. And I got hurt. Over and over again.

We do that fairly often, don’t we? We stay paralyzed and stuck to our little corner of the world because we’re scared of taking risks—especially personal ones. We’re scared of moving. We’re scared of changing. We’re scared of failing.

The weird thing is, we’re not scared of not succeeding.

And that’s probably the greatest tragedy of all. Paulo Coelho says, “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.”

I’m not fatalistic, and I still believe that we make our choices. Nothing is pre-destined to the point where we’re no longer required to act on anything. But I believe that signs guide us to the right path, so that we can achieve our dreams sooner.

These signs are found within us, in the stillness of our hearts, in the deepest recesses of our being.

To actually see them, and recognize them for what they are, we have to clear ourselves of all doubts, fears, and worries. We’ve got to remove the trappings that stay stuck inside us. We’ve got to know who we really are and what we’re really meant to do. It’s a painful task, but it will be even more painful to go through life not knowing our life’s purpose, our life’s worth.

Listen to your heart. Just try.

(I’ve always been a mind-over-heart person, but the moment I listened to my heart everything just fell into place. “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”)

Here’s another passage from The Alchemist:

“Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?”

“Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.”

“You mean I should listen, even when it’s treasonous?”

“Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you’ll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them.”

“You’ll never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”

Good luck with your life's pilgrimage. May the signs be with you.

(Written: A Spoonful of Sugar, 23 July 2003)