Gut level

Good news. EJ Obiena announced on social media he has fully healed from his lower back injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. The better news is, he did not share every single detail of his journey to recovery. Rightfully so, private matters should remain private, but not necessarily secret.

Although the pole vault phenom missed out on the medal podium in Paris, Filipinos are still awed by his almost there performance, including his off the field behavior. He keeps his private life private. While he posts photographs of him and his girlfriend, he does not share things that belong to them, especially their misunderstanding.

When the articulate jumper opens his mouth, he champions propriety and decency, focusing on the sport he excels in and never snorts on ugly things. Whereas golden boy Carlos Yulo tries different things. He experiments on gender-bending fashion and stars in reels, almost always with his girlfriend while his family feud haunts him.

But these are personal choices he is entitled to. Although holding back would have been a better part of discretion. If you don’t like what he is saying and doing, don’t listen, don’t watch. Easy to say. Although he stands short like the average Filipino, he is not an ordinary Filipino. He is a modern day national hero.

Whatever he does impacts. Kids look up to him, they want to be like him. He should thus avoid anything that disappoints them. People should remember him as the only Filipino athlete who raised the flag and country twice over in the greatest test of athleticism, especially his artistry in the floor exercise and precision in the vault.

Definitely not his forgettable dance moves, he has more power than grace. Everyone is meant for something. Stick to where you are good at. No one can do everything, simple. Yulo himself knows this. He bombed out in the all-around where the jack of all trades and master of none is crowned the best.

Again, it is easy to say he just shows the other side of his personality. Maybe the funny him. But no one is laughing, especially at the gory details of how his money went awry. People, ordinary or celebrity, or everyone in between and beyond, should not feel compelled to over share their family problems, it just doesn’t solve anything.

And, the world proceeds with or without, or even despite their domestic controversy. Even posting of personal milestones should be tempered, not every mile should be divulged, much less how each stone was turned.

There is power in privacy, beauty in mystery. Yet again, it is easy to say he just shows the difficult side of his life, probably for others to learn from. No need, examples abound, everyone in the neighborhood has a story to tell. But the world does not need to know every side, especially the inside. It’s ugly, and it stinks.