Seize the day, live the moment
April 24, 2005 | 12:00am
They came, they saw, and they certainly helped me conquer my discomforts to seize and live the day.
Last Sunday, my former classmates from De La Salle University-College of Medicine visited me in my hometown of Nasugbu, Batangas. The Mass and then the lunch we had by the beach were by far the "biggest" events I had participated in during the past five months. They turned out to be special for me because they underscored some lessons I had recently learned about seizing and living the moment.
Prior to the Mass and picnic, our good family friend, Dr. Cris Lara, had been sending me text messages for over a year. He is an active member of the Focolare movement, whose organization and apostolate had a special place in the heart of the late Pope John Paul II.
As a whole, Dr. Lara’s messages have centered on "living the moment." To wit:
Pay attention to the present moment.
Be attentive to the will of God at the present moment.
Let ourselves be won over by the will of God in the present moment.
Be constant in living the present moment.
Given my present condition – I have spent the last five months mostly at home, and mostly in bed at that, recuperating from cancer – all these and similar messages have inevitably motivated me to meditate on the meaning of "living the moment."
While in my heart of hearts I pray for and believe in my complete spiritual and physical recovery, I am realistic enough to acknowledge that death is inevitable not just for me but all of mankind. Having cancer has placed the stark reality of death front and center in my field of vision.
I think about death now not in a morbid, dreadful sense, but in a way that guides me on how to live the rest of my life. Perhaps more than anybody else, "living the moment" is most applicable to me and my situation, which has rendered my "mortality" as not just some vague topic but something I must acknowledge every day. With a heightened sense of the inevitability of death, "living the moment" has thus taken on for me a certain urgency to savor each moment, to draw from each moment the sweetest pulp of living, to consider each moment as a time of grace.
I say these with conviction especially because there have been many activities cancer has prevented me from performing. To someone who has been healthy her whole life, that has not been easy to adjust to. These days, for example, I get tired quickly after just one or two hours of standing. I cannot even stroll for it makes me feel weak and light-headed. My left chest has been painful for over three weeks already, on the heels of my having lost appetite and hyperacidity that made me lose over 20 lbs.
If only I could, I would like to convey to as many people as I can that the "ordinary things" we take for granted – like having one’s bodily organs function in synch, being able to come and go as one pleases without restraint, or just living through a day without feeling any bodily discomfort – are in themselves blessings beyond compare! That they are gifted to us daily does not diminish their value; one doesn’t even have to wait to be ill to realize this and be grateful!
Honestly now, how many of us say: "Thank You, Lord, for a brand new day!" the very minute we open our eyes in the morning? The sun rises and sets so consistently we take the coming of a new day for granted.
Similarly, do we say, "Thank You, Lord, for the day that was!" before we sleep? Or even at any time of the day – do we thank God that we are alive, healthy and are able to do the things we want to do?
It is saddening to watch on TV or to read in newspapers about drug addicts, or those who commit suicide, or smokers who puff at several packs per day, or some such person who does not seem to realize just how valuable it is simply to live! While other cancer patients and I fervently hope to be blessed with more days to live, it is sad that others don’t realize how fortunate they are to simply have time in their hands.
One of our greatest mistakes is that we pine and whine for things that simply aren’t – or shouldn’t be – in our sphere of living. We refuse to distinguish between what we think we need and what God knows we need. We think we need such and such things or circumstances or this and that person to be happy – much to our later disappointment. In doing so, we neglect to focus on the here and now, on the good things happening to us, on the things that we could work on rather than merely pine for.
Have you watched Gone With the Wind? The character of Scarlett O’Hara (played by Vivian Leigh), after hurdling adversities in the Civil War, literally has everything a woman could ask for – a loving spouse, a lovely daughter, a prosperous business, an elegant mansion. But she simply denies herself happiness by pining and whining for a married man she can never have. Instead of focusing on her good fortune and celebrating that, she dwells needlessly on what isn’t hers – with tragic consequences.
From time to time I still resent having to live through days of pain, but then I have realized that such are the days available to me so I should just make the most of them. Even if I resent pain with my whole being, what good would it do? So I just "go with the flow," so to speak, and try to make the most of the strength available to me. I try to keep in mind what another friend, Dr. Gigi Catalan-Brillantes told me: "Habang may hininga – kahit masakit huminga – may pag-asa. (There is hope as long as you breathe, even if breathing is painful)."
We often say: "If only this..." or "If only that..." Why don’t we instead say, "I already have this and will work with it," whatever the "it" may be – our physical abilities, our resources, our circumstances, our family, the people we meet, the very time given us.
To seize the day means to make a day meaningful in terms of fulfilling what the Lord wants us to do. Everybody has some role, obligation, mission to fulfill, and discovering which one is ours requires constant reflection and obedience. A lot of us may be busy or occupied, but that does not mean what we are doing is what God wants us to do. The happiest persons are those who harness their physical aptitudes, intellectual and social skills commensurate to the time and opportunities they have. The happiest, too, are those who know how to share, especially with the least of our brethren. Genuine purpose is always motivated by service – whether it be for our family, friends, company, community, nation and especially God.
Each day is a gift and a blessing, and allowing us to live through a brand new day is a sign of trust – it is God telling us He deems it fit that we live another day, to fulfill some purpose only we in particular can fulfill.
God, of course, is also a God of joy. He does not expect us not to relax – in fact He wants us to be refreshed and renewed, which is precisely why He told us to take a day off in a week. Relish such relaxing moments, too, for they reinvigorate us.
Let us start our day asking for His guidance, and end our day assessing how we lived up to that.
After having been given the time, and fully aware of the things we must be thankful for and which we must focus on, we can then go ahead and relish to our heart’s content whatever a day presents to us.
Last Sunday was especially fruitful for me, because it was one occasion I succeeded in enacting my beliefs on seizing the moment. My classmates’ enthusiasm was infectious, and it was touching to know they had driven all the way to Nasugbu to visit me. Led by the indefatigable Dr. Nancy de Leon-Timbang and Dr. Mariliz Ramos-Ambal, the group had organized a picnic for that afternoon at the nearby White Cove Resort. But before that, thanks to Mariliz’s mom, Tita Mate Ramos, the group celebrated Mass in our home. My husband’s uncle, Rev. Fr. Rafael Oriondo, was the celebrator.
Others who attended Mass with their families were Dr. Frank Velarde and Lisa Nery-Velarde; Dr. Melissa Gonzalez; Dr. Madeline de Leon; Dr. Jun Demontano and Dr. Gigi Alcalde-Demontano; Dr. Ed Lou and Dr. Nanie Lou; Dr. Juju Yutuc and Olive Yutuc; Dr. Roel Tolentino and Dr. Elaine Manlapid-Tolentino; and Dr. Joey Miranda and Mrs. Miranda. Dr. Mikee Unabia-Cuaresma, Dr. Annie Morales-O’Santos and Joey O’Hara; Dr. Cathy Pujol-Azores and Dr. Roel Azores later followed. (Unable to join the group that Sunday, Bob Hidalgo and Dr. Marcelle Hernandez-Hidalgo had visited me on Saturday.)
Perhaps if I had not meditated on living the moment, I would have complained and focused on the fact that I still had chest pains, light-headedness and weakness. But the blessing of having my classmates there – with their hearty sense of humor and camaraderie – was a blessing I knew God had given me to savor. I would have preferred to stay longer in the beach but then I got dizzy.
But that was okay because living the moment has taught me to just be grateful for every opportunity given me.
As for my former classmates, they don’t realize perhaps how happy they made me. Thanks again, guys!
(E-mail the author at annmondo@yahoo.com)
Last Sunday, my former classmates from De La Salle University-College of Medicine visited me in my hometown of Nasugbu, Batangas. The Mass and then the lunch we had by the beach were by far the "biggest" events I had participated in during the past five months. They turned out to be special for me because they underscored some lessons I had recently learned about seizing and living the moment.
Prior to the Mass and picnic, our good family friend, Dr. Cris Lara, had been sending me text messages for over a year. He is an active member of the Focolare movement, whose organization and apostolate had a special place in the heart of the late Pope John Paul II.
As a whole, Dr. Lara’s messages have centered on "living the moment." To wit:
Pay attention to the present moment.
Be attentive to the will of God at the present moment.
Let ourselves be won over by the will of God in the present moment.
Be constant in living the present moment.
Given my present condition – I have spent the last five months mostly at home, and mostly in bed at that, recuperating from cancer – all these and similar messages have inevitably motivated me to meditate on the meaning of "living the moment."
While in my heart of hearts I pray for and believe in my complete spiritual and physical recovery, I am realistic enough to acknowledge that death is inevitable not just for me but all of mankind. Having cancer has placed the stark reality of death front and center in my field of vision.
I think about death now not in a morbid, dreadful sense, but in a way that guides me on how to live the rest of my life. Perhaps more than anybody else, "living the moment" is most applicable to me and my situation, which has rendered my "mortality" as not just some vague topic but something I must acknowledge every day. With a heightened sense of the inevitability of death, "living the moment" has thus taken on for me a certain urgency to savor each moment, to draw from each moment the sweetest pulp of living, to consider each moment as a time of grace.
I say these with conviction especially because there have been many activities cancer has prevented me from performing. To someone who has been healthy her whole life, that has not been easy to adjust to. These days, for example, I get tired quickly after just one or two hours of standing. I cannot even stroll for it makes me feel weak and light-headed. My left chest has been painful for over three weeks already, on the heels of my having lost appetite and hyperacidity that made me lose over 20 lbs.
If only I could, I would like to convey to as many people as I can that the "ordinary things" we take for granted – like having one’s bodily organs function in synch, being able to come and go as one pleases without restraint, or just living through a day without feeling any bodily discomfort – are in themselves blessings beyond compare! That they are gifted to us daily does not diminish their value; one doesn’t even have to wait to be ill to realize this and be grateful!
Similarly, do we say, "Thank You, Lord, for the day that was!" before we sleep? Or even at any time of the day – do we thank God that we are alive, healthy and are able to do the things we want to do?
It is saddening to watch on TV or to read in newspapers about drug addicts, or those who commit suicide, or smokers who puff at several packs per day, or some such person who does not seem to realize just how valuable it is simply to live! While other cancer patients and I fervently hope to be blessed with more days to live, it is sad that others don’t realize how fortunate they are to simply have time in their hands.
Have you watched Gone With the Wind? The character of Scarlett O’Hara (played by Vivian Leigh), after hurdling adversities in the Civil War, literally has everything a woman could ask for – a loving spouse, a lovely daughter, a prosperous business, an elegant mansion. But she simply denies herself happiness by pining and whining for a married man she can never have. Instead of focusing on her good fortune and celebrating that, she dwells needlessly on what isn’t hers – with tragic consequences.
From time to time I still resent having to live through days of pain, but then I have realized that such are the days available to me so I should just make the most of them. Even if I resent pain with my whole being, what good would it do? So I just "go with the flow," so to speak, and try to make the most of the strength available to me. I try to keep in mind what another friend, Dr. Gigi Catalan-Brillantes told me: "Habang may hininga – kahit masakit huminga – may pag-asa. (There is hope as long as you breathe, even if breathing is painful)."
We often say: "If only this..." or "If only that..." Why don’t we instead say, "I already have this and will work with it," whatever the "it" may be – our physical abilities, our resources, our circumstances, our family, the people we meet, the very time given us.
Each day is a gift and a blessing, and allowing us to live through a brand new day is a sign of trust – it is God telling us He deems it fit that we live another day, to fulfill some purpose only we in particular can fulfill.
God, of course, is also a God of joy. He does not expect us not to relax – in fact He wants us to be refreshed and renewed, which is precisely why He told us to take a day off in a week. Relish such relaxing moments, too, for they reinvigorate us.
Let us start our day asking for His guidance, and end our day assessing how we lived up to that.
Last Sunday was especially fruitful for me, because it was one occasion I succeeded in enacting my beliefs on seizing the moment. My classmates’ enthusiasm was infectious, and it was touching to know they had driven all the way to Nasugbu to visit me. Led by the indefatigable Dr. Nancy de Leon-Timbang and Dr. Mariliz Ramos-Ambal, the group had organized a picnic for that afternoon at the nearby White Cove Resort. But before that, thanks to Mariliz’s mom, Tita Mate Ramos, the group celebrated Mass in our home. My husband’s uncle, Rev. Fr. Rafael Oriondo, was the celebrator.
Others who attended Mass with their families were Dr. Frank Velarde and Lisa Nery-Velarde; Dr. Melissa Gonzalez; Dr. Madeline de Leon; Dr. Jun Demontano and Dr. Gigi Alcalde-Demontano; Dr. Ed Lou and Dr. Nanie Lou; Dr. Juju Yutuc and Olive Yutuc; Dr. Roel Tolentino and Dr. Elaine Manlapid-Tolentino; and Dr. Joey Miranda and Mrs. Miranda. Dr. Mikee Unabia-Cuaresma, Dr. Annie Morales-O’Santos and Joey O’Hara; Dr. Cathy Pujol-Azores and Dr. Roel Azores later followed. (Unable to join the group that Sunday, Bob Hidalgo and Dr. Marcelle Hernandez-Hidalgo had visited me on Saturday.)
Perhaps if I had not meditated on living the moment, I would have complained and focused on the fact that I still had chest pains, light-headedness and weakness. But the blessing of having my classmates there – with their hearty sense of humor and camaraderie – was a blessing I knew God had given me to savor. I would have preferred to stay longer in the beach but then I got dizzy.
But that was okay because living the moment has taught me to just be grateful for every opportunity given me.
As for my former classmates, they don’t realize perhaps how happy they made me. Thanks again, guys!
(E-mail the author at annmondo@yahoo.com)
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