Eye-openers in this time of meditation

It’s the time of year when we pause and ponder on the temporariness of life and the permanence of life after this life, when we are overwhelmed by intimations of our mortality.

It’s the most appropriate time for Funfare to publish two poems that should serve as eye-openers for all of us, rich and poor, who ultimately are headed for one and the same final destination. One was sent to Funfare by Dina Reyes of the National Center, The Living Rosary (with an office at 430 Mayon St., Quezon City) and the other from my dear late friend Rio Diaz whose battle with the Big C inspired thousands of people.

Here’s poem one (from Dina):

Live A Life That Matters By Anonymous

Whether you are ready or not, someday your life will come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won’t matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived at the end.

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant, even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who love you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.

It’s not a matter of circumstances, but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

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And here’s the poem from Rio which I’m printing again because of its timeless/timely message:

Safely Home By Anonymous

I am now at home in heaven;
All’s so happy, all’s so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief are over,
Every restless tossing past;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly
Trod the Valley of the Shade?
Oh! but Jesus’ love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still;
Try to look beyond earth’s shadows,
Pray to trust our Father’s will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idle stand;
Do your work while life remaineth –
You shall rest in Jesus’ land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of the meeting!
Oh, the joy to see you come!

More Pinoy winners in international fests

• Congratulations to ABS-CBN’s The Correspondents team for winning the Best UNICEF Child Rights award given Friday night in Hong Kong by the Asian Broadcasting Union and CAASBAA. The winning episode, Batang Preso, showcased the plight of minor offenders in prison. The Correspondents beat more than 50 entries from all over Asia-Pacific. Karen Davila, one of the show’s hosts, was in Hong Kong to receive the award.

• Congratulations, too, to director Auraeus Solito, director of indie film Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros) for winning Best Picture at ImagineNATIVE Media Arts Festival, one of the most recognized film festivals in Canada held last week. The film stars Nathan Lopez as the adolescent gay who falls in love with a principled cop (played by JR Valentin), with Ivan Camacho as Nathan’s father.

The same film won the Golden Zenith Award at the 27th Montreal World Film Festival held in Montreal, Canada, last September. Auraeus was in both events to receive the awards. Auraeus was invited to enter Maximo Oliveros at the ImagineNATIVE filmfest after his documentary on his Palawan tribe, entitled Basal Banar, earned raves in Canada last year.

The film, which will open Nov. 16 in theaters nationwide, is one of the first two efforts from neophyte film outfit ufo Pictures which is composed of young screenwriters, including Raymond Lee, the producer, has shared screenwriting credits for the award-winning films Milan, Anak and Tanging Yaman; and Michiko Yamamoto, Maximo Oliveros’ scriptwriter who also wrote Magnifico (directed by Maryo J. delos Reyes) which has won awards both here and abroad.

In Montreal where Maximo Oliveros beat entries from Germany, London and the USA, the jury cited the film’s "impressive quasi-documentary style and its spirit of humanity and tolerance."

(Note: See related story in Boy Abunda’s column Direct Line.)

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