‘One Step at a Time’

We sometimes are so overwhelmed by the obstacles that confront us — the heights we have to scale, the one hundred and one tasks we must finish and the errands we must run — before we accomplish our mission and reach our destination. 

It can be as mundane as doing all  the housework before it’s time again to pick up the kids from school; fulfilling all the necessary requirements for a visa; or as life-altering as getting over the death of a loved one.

How does one go over the hump? How does one meet the deadline with all the certifications and bank statements required and one’s trip is less than a month away? How does one cope with grief?

The most common answer from those who have made it, is: One day at a time. One step at a time.

***

Some friends and I got together last Saturday, and listening to friends can be as enriching as reading Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Who better to give us guideposts about life than fellow travellers on our earthly journey? Aissa B.C., one of my friends from high school and a recent Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago, a kilometric walk that is a retreat in itself) pilgrim said that the best way to finish the grueling walk that culminates in the Cathedral is to simply focus on the next step; the stretch immediately in front of you. She recalls that there were times the pilgrims had to scale steep hills and if she looked too far ahead and focused on the uphill climb she would have been overwhelmed.

But Aissa scaled all obstacles almost effortlessly. One of her fellow pilgrims noticed in amazement that she (Aissa) unconsciously overtook a lot of them.

“If you keep on looking up at the steep slopes ahead instead of the ground just ahead of you, you might hesitate and think you can’t do it,” she says.

She found out that by taking the camino one step at a time, she not only saved herself from vertigo,  she was making herself focus on the here and the now. And she realized that was how she wanted to live life — one step at a time.

True, if we looked too far into the future we might see ragged cliffs instead of blue skies. So better to focus on the journey and when at the peak, gaze at forever.

But you cannot feel the joy of gazing at endless blue skies unless you hunkered down on the ground first.

***

I remember I had a similar realization  — only in reverse — during a trip to Ayutthaya in Thailand many years ago. My sister-in-law Editha took us to the old Thai capital and I wandered off and climbed a steep wat (a Buddhist temple). Because I was focusing on what was in front of me, I easily climbed the stone steps and made it to the top. When I reached the top, the view was breathtaking. And then came the hard part — going down the almost vertical steps. I froze. I was on a landing more than a story high and I felt that I was going to fall flat on my face on the ground  with the very first step down.

Marooned at the top, I devised a way of descending the wat by sitting on every step and dragging my bottom down to the next. One step down at a time, looking straight ahead instead of straight down. And whoa! Before I knew it, I had reached the bottom of the steps, in one piece.

***

On Mondays and other hectic days when one’s schedule can be as hard to chew as a slab of steak, stop. Trim off the unnecessary fat and cut up your schedule into bite-sized pieces. Don’t take on something you cannot digest.

So, start with the dishes. Vacuuming the carpet can wait.

Fill up the visa application form before you get annoyed by the prospect of getting a copy of your birth certificate from the NSO (I heard it’s a lot simpler nowadays) because you lost your copy. If you’re fazed by doing the forms online, ask a teenager to help you.

And if you’re mourning the death of someone special, give yourself permission to grieve. Gina de Venecia, who lost her youngest daughter to a fire that gutted their home, said she found out that though the tears won’t go away for good, the interval between the tears slowly became longer and longer. And before she knew it, she was able to smile again. Slowly, one day at a time.

Shop Global, Help Local

The yearly International Bazaar offers an opportunity to shop for unique and authentic products from various places the world over in a one-stop-shop.

Around 35 embassies and six consulates will showcase the best of their local goods. Over 100 booths will also sell Pinoy products.

Set on Nov. 29 at the PICC Forums 1, 2 and 3  CCP Complex, Pasay City, this year’s bazaar is one of the biggest and most diverse holiday bazaars organized by the International Bazaar Foundation Inc., (IBF), Ladies of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM) and members of the diplomatic and consular corps.

Proceeds of the one-day event will be donated to the IBF, which will then use them for various projects such as scholarship grants to deserving students from indigent families, financial support for the elderly, abused and abandoned children, as well as victims of calamities.

Apart from the International Bazaar’s array of goods, guests will also get  a chance to win a  Hyundai Eon car courtesy of HARI Foundation Inc. (Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.) through its president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo and International Bazaar Foundation Inc. as the grand raffle prize. There will also be airline tickets, kitchen appliances, hotel weekend packages and many more interesting prizes when you buy a raffle ticket at P200.

Shoppers and their families can also get a chance to have a “taste of the world” because there will be different food tables at the food court that will sell authentic dishes from various countries.

IBF is headed by chairperson Gretchen del Rosario, wife of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, together with IBF board of trustees president Sylvia Farolan, vice president Bambina Buenaventura, secretary Rose Villamor, treasurer Alice Guererro, executive director Nora Salazar with members of the board of trustees Margarita Tambunting, Marion Coscolluela, Fe Cabactulan and Monaco Consul General Fortune Ledesma.

SHOM officers are: Agnes Roscigno (Italy), president; Lizia Lu (Israel), vice president; Fehmina Mona Safdar (Pakistan) treasurer; Masita Ahmad (Malaysia) assistant treasurer; Ziki Ralte (India), membership coordinator; Toni Patchett (Chile) charity coordinator; and Sille Svenkerud Førner (Norway), communications.

Entrance tickets are available at P100 and raffle tickets at P200 in Tesoros outlets on Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City and Mabini St., Ermita, Manila and at sixth Floor Special Projects Unit, 2330 Department of Foreign Affairs Building, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.

(For inquiries, call IBF Secretariat at 833-1320.)