A better place

I saw The Constant Gardener last weekend. One scene was particularly poignant for me. On the way home from the hospital after losing her baby, the activist wife asked her diplomat husband to stop and give a family (a mother, her son and newly born grandson whose mother had just died) a ride home. This poor African family had just suffered a loss and was walking barefoot in the heat with an infant. They had many more miles to go. The husband refused and gently reminded his wife that there were so many people in need; it was impossible to help them all. She said, "Yes, but these are three we can help now." This was something he echoed passionately later, after he finally left his comfort zone to investigate the death of his wife.

The issues that plague our country today are monumental. Like the husband in the film, it’s easier to be overwhelmed into passivity because so much needs attention. How can one person possibly make a difference? But over the years, I’ve begun to think more and more like the wife, though I have yet to match her courage and determination. She was moved by a commitment to leave this world a better place. If we let that standard be our guide, we would live very differently.

We leave an imprint on the world through our work, the way we live, our thoughts and deeds. A friend and I had a discussion about double entendre songs from hell that pollute our airwaves. She says, big deal, they’re just songs, there simply for entertainment. I had to disagree. Whenever we create something and put it out into the world, we cannot say, this is all it is. It will have an impact and we have to be aware and responsible for what that is. Does it give value or bring people down? Does it inspire people to live out of higher ideals or their lowest instincts?

I’ve been told my standards are too high. I don’t think so. I bristle at the phrase "tao lamang" (only human) because I think that our humanity is a sacred gift. We all struggle through our weaknesses and they all tend to be ugly, but if we are able to learn from them, transcend and transform them, our striving alone changes the world. Something beautiful and deep always emerges from a struggle that is met with humility and love. As human beings we can think, discern, and make choices. This is nothing to sneeze at. These are capacities that affect people and create worlds.

A child who grows up in an atmosphere of love and kindness is very different from one who is abused and unloved. A child who spends his days around people who go about their household tasks meaningfully will carry a different attitude of soul than one who is perpetually in front of the television imbibing somebody else’s one-dimensional world view. The thoughts and deeds that will stream from both will touch many in very different ways throughout their lifetimes. Imagine that and see how the things we take for granted mean a lot.

I have been deeply moved by words written or spoken by people who don’t even know I exist, yet their work has changed me. By the same token, I have been in the company of people who have made me shrink into a hard, dark version of myself. Remembering that I have the power to choose which energy to be part of always gives me hope.

There is no thought or deed too small. Everything counts. It is up to us to decide which end of the spectrum to inhabit. Are we going to be involved in something that makes a positive change or are we going to say, the hell with it, as long as I’m making money and doing other good things on the side, a little infraction here and there is nothing? That is a powerful choice to make.

GMA is part of something that is dying. All that lying and cheating will bring her down one way or another. She has chosen that path and she will face its consequences. It doesn’t mean we are helpless and have to throw in the hat. By choosing to be on the side of integrity and truth, we are already changing this country. By committing to being true guardians of democracy from this day forward no matter who sits in power, we are already changing our political landscape. When we choose to be on time, speak truthfully and kindly, keep our promises, vote for someone we believe in even if people say he won’t win anyway, never ever be part of any kind of corruption, respect all faiths, we are already changing our corner of the world. These are the things we can begin to do to make a difference today.

As long as we recognize that change begins with us and we are in it for the long haul, anything is possible. The Philippines we dream of will one day be ours. There is so much we can do from where we are. All we need to do is begin it now and see it through.

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I can be reached at magisip@yahoo.com. No junk or attachments please. Log on to www.truthforce.info for Pag-Asa updates. Thank you for all your letters.