Lessons from Mom

There is nothing more exciting and relaxing for me than to end each hectic week at the office drawing with my mother, Anita Magsaysay Ho every Saturday. You can imagine the fulfillment I derive from this experience – an amateur like me – blessed with the privilege of drawing with a great painter like her. My mother has one of the most generous hearts I know. She loves to share whatever she has. In my case, I am so fortunate to be her daughter and thus able to receive from the abundance of her talent. She is a great motivator, and enthusiastically encourages me to pursue this hobby. I am overwhelmed when she waits for me to settle down to jointly choose a pose as if I were a fellow artist. She is objective, with her critiques and gentle and tactful with her ideas on how to improve a drawing. At the same time, she is ardent and spirited with her praise. We sit for hours in a silence I cherish knowing that we both love every moment being together.

When we were little, my mother always told us that she was but an instrument of God’s hand. I noticed that her passion for art is transformed into energy she uses only for her painting and not anywhere else. For example, I have never seen her have a fit of temper or indulge in bad moods, a temperament founded on the ego often expected of artists. So as children, we had a very happy childhood, even when we moved from city to city, requiring my mother to sacrifice time from her work.

There is a poem written by my mother when she was young which reflects her philosophy:

"Lord, how can I depict Thy work, without Thy hand in mine?"

Manila, January 1945

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I often ask myself how differently our country – for that matter – humanity would be if we were to live our lives as instruments of a divine hand. Here are some thoughts:

We would not have one viewpoint and one opinion for every Filipino.

We would agree to help each other work for a common vision for our country.

We would not have warring politicians putting the others down for his own ambition.

We would not be greedy and take what is not ours.

We would not have thousands of associations and organizations to accommodate those who want to be president. Instead we would be able to spend quality time on one.

We would be guided by what is right and good.

Our taxes would be paid.

The tax and duty collectors would be fair and honest.

We would find solutions that are win-win for all.

We would see that what is good for business, is good for labor, is good for government, is good for country.

We would work hard without feeling like life is not fair.

We would be happy when someone else succeeds.

We would appreciate it when leaders must be tough and would be willing to be enthusiastic followers.

We would be willing to learn from life’s experiences, and move on to better things.

We would be courageous and ambitious because our actions are not ours.

We would do our best and make the results pure and heartfelt offerings to God.

We would become happy, contented and abundant.

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I appreciate your comments at dorisho@attglobal.net.