[SPECKS OF LIFE] Don't wait for life to unfold

By Fred Lumba

Much of our lives today is either getting noticed or not.

If it is scandalous or controversial, notorious or popular, it earns premium media space in both print and broadcast and much more in social media.

The more scandalous, the merrier it becomes.

A few creative minds seek their place in the sun while many others sit on fences and wait till it is safe to venture out.

We are in a critical (pandemic) stage where we cannot afford to sit idly by and allow ourselves to swim with the current, thus simply simulating the sufferings and struggles of those who are merely half-interested to engage in the full dynamics of life.

Sadly, the Third World country we live in seems to lack creative ideas in such areas as public governance and executive leadership, integrity and honesty in politics, genuine ideals in business and entrepreneurship, rural development, education, to name a few.

Thus, we cannot help but express our quiet (or muted) collective indignation at our politicians who are now slowly but surely un-masking themselves of their ambitious plans as elections are drawing near.

Surely, as the people have the sovereign mandate to install those qualified to run the affairs of the state, Filipinos must take it in their own hands to shape the destiny of the nation.

For a long while, Filipinos have allowed themselves to patiently wait for life to happen, either because of their cultural upbringing as a race springing out of its Oriental Malayan roots or because of the mixed, unhealthy colonizing effects of centuries of foreign influence and domination.

Whether it is the first or the latter, the contemporary circumstances warrant that Filipinos should open their eyes to the stark reality that they themselves - and no one else - are singularly responsible for their emancipation, if they so choose to be.

Don't you miss the sunrise and the sunsets when life was simple and easy, communal and convivial because everyone knew everybody in the community?

Don't you miss the bayanihan spirit expressed so loudly and in harmony when neighbors lend their hand to move someone's nipa house from one location to another?

There were millions of wonders in those yesterdays which we, oddly enough, do not see them happen regularly today.

Life, to be sure, is not just a series of experiences, engagements and feelings. 

We are not unconscious to the needs of our loved ones and our friends. We should not allow ourselves to be entrapped in a cycle of misdemeanors and omissions, and failing to rectify these mistakes, we  go to a corner and sulk and wail and weep till our tears run dry.

We are social animals with free will, gifted with five basic senses so that we can make rational decisions.

We are not numb to the insolence and abuses of those who corrupt themselves while holding power and authority.

Today, as education, technology, science and medicine have elevated to new highs, we must decide to bring the full potential of our conscious mind and spirit and use it to better our circumstances, status and situation.

We must remember that to live life to the fullest, we, as human citizens, deserve to experience the freedoms God has bestowed us to enjoy and cherish.

No more coercion, no more dictation, no more manipulation, no more pushing and shoving, no more threatening scares.

All that we seek to become must be available and employable in this human environment; we can opt and choose what role to play in harmony with our friends and neighbors in the community.

We are not robots or androids with artificial intelligence.

We are human beings of the highest kind.

So, don't wait for life to unfold. Grab it. You have the sovereign mandate to make the life you want to have now. 

Remember, tomorrow might never come. 

Napoleon Hill concludes his advice: "Find out what you really love to do, and then find a way to make a good living doing it." (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!