Bonding time with Marius, my 8-year old son, kagabi. Ginagawa niya ang kanyang mga gawaing bahay sa Sibika at Kultura samantalang ako naman ay nakadapa malapit sa kanya at nagbabasa ng mga artikulo ni Leonardo Mercado na "Aesthetics" and "Kagandahan: Beauty vis-a-vis Truth and Good" para sa nakatakda kong report sa klase ko ng "Philosophy of Art" o "Aesthetics" sa darating na Huwebes. Madalas ay ganito kami mag-bonding mag-ina. Sabay na gumagawa ng mga gawaing pang-akademiko. Syempre, may mga panahon din na sa ibang paraan o gawain din kami nagba-bonding. Ngunit sa ngayon, ay magpapatuloy pa ang ganito sa loob ng susunod na dalawang linggo - ang huling dalawang linggo ng kasalukuyang semestre! Mahirap nang magka-grade na INC o DRP. At huwag naman sanang 5!
Nasagot na pala niya ang halos kalahati ng hinihingi sa kanyang homework: "Magbigay ng limang paraan o halimbawa ng pangangalaga ng mga Likas na Yaman - Tubig, Lupa at Tao". Mayroon na siyang limang naisulat para sa Yamang Lupa samantalang dadalawa lamang sa Yamang Tubig at wala pa sa Yamang Tao. Pansamantala ko munang isinantabi ang aking binabasa upang pag-ukulan siya ng panahon at gabayan sa pagmumuni-muni ng ilan pang kaparaanan sa pangangalaga nga ng likas na yaman. Hindi nagtagal at nakompleto rin ang para sa Yamang Tubig. Yamang Tao naman.
Paano nga ba mapapangalagaan o mapapaunlad ang yamang tao? Hindi ko alam kung mahirap lang ba talagang sagutin ng tama ang tanong na ito o may mali mismo sa tanong. Marahil ay hindi ko lamang naintindihan ang tanong. O baka naman ginagawa ko na lamang komplikado ang isang simpleng tanong sa sobrang pag-aanalisa sa tanong? Oo nga pala. Pang grade-level lamang ang tanong na nangagailangan ng sagot sa ganoon ding antas.
Ang lupa at tubig ay mga yamang ginagamit ng tao sa ikabubuti o ikagaganda ng pamumuhay. At marapat ngang ito'y ating pangalagaan. Ang tao, tulad ng lupa at tubig, ay isang likas na yaman ding maituturing. Ngunit kung ihahambing sa unang dalawang likas na yaman, ito ay hindi isang materyal na bagay lamang na matapos gamitin ay maaaring i-recyle, i-reuse o i-reduce ang paggamit. Masinsin itong hinuhubog. Inaaruga mula sa sinapupunan pa lamang. Iminumulat sa mga tamang gawi. Nililinang ang kanyang mga talento. Pinagyayabong ang kakayahan at karunungan. Pinagyayaman.
Ah! Edukasyon! Ang isa sa mga susi sa paglinang!
Ayan, may isa na kaming sagot. Isinulat ni Marius, "1. Mag-aral nang mabuti." Apat pa. Muli kaming nanahimik. Nag-isip. Nagnilay-nilay.
"Number 3 na mommy", pagbasag ni Marius ng katahimikan makalipas ang ilang sandali. Binasa ko ang isinulat niya sa number 2.
"2. Ipaglaban ang karapatan sa edukasyon ng mga Pilipino"
Gusto kong matuwa sa nabasa dahil sa murang edad pa lamang na walong taon ay kakikitaan na siya ng pagpapahalaga sa edukasyon at pakikialam sa mga isyung panlipunan. Batid na nga ba ng kanyang musmos na isipan ang isyung ito? O isa lamang siya sa mga taong sumisigaw ng paglaban ngunit hindi naman alam ang ipinaglalaban? Sa kabilang banda ay natakot ako para sa kanya. Hindi pa panahon para mamulat siya sa ganitong pag-iisip.
"Sa edukasyon din naman umiikot ang sagot sa number 2 tulad ng nasa number 1," pagpapaliwanag ko upang palitan niya ang kanyang sagot. Nais kong ibalik siya sa mga bagay at isipan na sa tingin ko ay mas nararapat sa kanyang edad. Hindi pa niya dapat isipin ang mga ganitong isyu. Hindi pa. Tama si Ma'am Rosal, professor ko sa Humanidades I. Madalas na ang nanay ay pilit na inilalayo ang kanilang anak sa mga isyung panlipunan ng kasalukuyan upang ika nga ay maprotektahan sila. Tulad na lamang sa kwentong "Andoy".
"Mommy, ang number 1 tungkol sa pag-aaral ng maigi. Ang number 2 tungkol sa pakikipaglaban sa karapatan. Kung walang karapatan sa pag-aaral, walang mag-aaral so walang gagraduate. So magkaiba yun."
Napatitig ako sa kanya. Napangiti. Oo. Natuwa nga ako sa narinig ko. Lalo na't nanggaling ito sa labi ng isang grade 2 lamang. Naisip ko noong una na pilit siyang ibalik siya sa kanyang lugar, sa pagiging isang bata lamang at kalimutan muna sa ngayon ang anumang may kinalaman sa mga isyung panlipunan. Ngunit naalala ko, iisa nga lamang pala kami ng pamantasang pinapasukan kung saan mulat ang lahat sa katotohanan at tanggap o tama ang pakikialam.
Nakatutuwa na ang edukasyon sa UP ay hindi lamang umiikot sa apat na sulok ng silid-aralan. Maging sa grade-level pala ay kakikitaan ang mga estudyante ng pagkamulat sa ganitong mga kaisipan.
Oo. Nagagalak akong malaman na pinahahalagahan ng anak ko ang pag-aaral at pakikipaglaban para rito. Ngunit nakalulungkot ding isipin na sa kabila ng magkaibang henerasyon na aming kinabibilangan ay iisa pa rin ang ipinaglalaban. Ano na ang nangyari sa laban na ito noong mga nagdaang taon? Sa kabilang banda, ang pagsigaw sa karapatang ito ay hindi na muling aalingawngaw kung atin na ngang natatamasa ang matagal nang ninanais. Bakit ito pa rin ang sigaw ng bagong henerasyon?
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Blogged in my Facebook Notes posted on September 29, 2010 at 2:59PM MNL
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The One That Got Away
The article below was shared by a newly found friend and a classmate of mine this semester. I find it worth sharing somehow...
To my "one that got away"....Yep, still you all along. Despite the current situation. Despite the distance...
Missing my "good friend"... my "one that got away"
--------------------------------------------
Source: The Manila Times
By: Mark J. Macapagal
In your life, you'll make note of a lot of people. Ones with whom you shared something special, ones who will always mean something. There's the one you first kissed, the one you first loved, the one you lost your virginity to, the one you put on a pedestal, the one you're with... and the one that got away.
Who is the one that got away?
I guess it's that person with who everything was great, everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong. There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn't fall the right way, I suppose. I believe in the fact that ending up with someone, finding a long time partner that is, does not lie merely in the other person. I can actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the greater part, has to do with the matter of timing.
It has to do with you being ready to settle down and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond the little niceties of giddy romance. How often have you gone through it without even realizing it? When you're not ready to commit in that mature manner, it doesn't matter who you're with, it just doesn't work. Small problems become big; inconsequentia lbecome deal breakers simply because you're not ready and it shows. It's not that you and the person you're with are no good; it's just that it's not yet right, and little things become the flash point of that fact.
Then one day you're ready. You really are. And when this happens you'll be ready to settle down with someone. He or she may not be perfect,they might not be the brightest star of romance to ever have burned in your life, but it'll work because you're ready. It'll work because it's the right time and you'll make it work. And it'll make sense, it really will. The day comes when you're finally making sense of things, and you find yourself to be a different person. Things are different, your approach is different, you finally understand who you are and what you want and you've become ready because the time has truly arrived. And mind you, there's no telling when this day will come.
Hopefully you're single... but you could be in a long-term relationship, you could be married with three kids, it doesn't matter.All you know is that you've changed, and for some reason, the one that got away, is the first person you think about. You'll think about them because you'll wonder, "What if they were here today?" You'll wonder,"What if we were together now, with me as I am and not as I was?"
That's what the one that got away is. The biggest "What if?" you'll have in your life.
If you're married, you'll just have to accept the fact that the one that got away, got away. Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think your marriage is, this can happen to the best of us. But hopefully you're mature enough to realize that if you're already with the one you're with, that this is just another test of your commitment, one which will just strengthen your marriage when you get past it. Sure, you'll think about him/her every so often, but it's alright.
It's never nice to live with a "might have been," but it happens.
Maybe the one that got away is the one who's already married. In which case it's the same thing. You just have to accept and know that your memories of that person will probably bring a nice little smile to your lips in the future when you're old and gray and reminiscing.
But if neither of that is the case, then it's different.
What do you do if it's not yet too late?
Simple... find him, find her. Because the very existence of a "one that got away" means that you'll always wonder, what if you got that one? Ask him out to coffee; ask her out to a movie, it doesn't matter if you've dropped in from out of nowhere. You'd be surprised, you just might be "the one that got away" as well for the person who is your"the one that got away." You might drop in from out of nowhere and it won't make a difference.
If the timing is finally right, it'll all just fall into place somehow. And it would be a great feeling, if in the end, you'd be able to say to someone, "Hey you, you're the one that almost got away."
To my "one that got away"....Yep, still you all along. Despite the current situation. Despite the distance...
Missing my "good friend"... my "one that got away"
--------------------------------------------
Source: The Manila Times
By: Mark J. Macapagal
In your life, you'll make note of a lot of people. Ones with whom you shared something special, ones who will always mean something. There's the one you first kissed, the one you first loved, the one you lost your virginity to, the one you put on a pedestal, the one you're with... and the one that got away.
Who is the one that got away?
I guess it's that person with who everything was great, everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong. There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn't fall the right way, I suppose. I believe in the fact that ending up with someone, finding a long time partner that is, does not lie merely in the other person. I can actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the greater part, has to do with the matter of timing.
It has to do with you being ready to settle down and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond the little niceties of giddy romance. How often have you gone through it without even realizing it? When you're not ready to commit in that mature manner, it doesn't matter who you're with, it just doesn't work. Small problems become big; inconsequentia lbecome deal breakers simply because you're not ready and it shows. It's not that you and the person you're with are no good; it's just that it's not yet right, and little things become the flash point of that fact.
Then one day you're ready. You really are. And when this happens you'll be ready to settle down with someone. He or she may not be perfect,they might not be the brightest star of romance to ever have burned in your life, but it'll work because you're ready. It'll work because it's the right time and you'll make it work. And it'll make sense, it really will. The day comes when you're finally making sense of things, and you find yourself to be a different person. Things are different, your approach is different, you finally understand who you are and what you want and you've become ready because the time has truly arrived. And mind you, there's no telling when this day will come.
Hopefully you're single... but you could be in a long-term relationship, you could be married with three kids, it doesn't matter.All you know is that you've changed, and for some reason, the one that got away, is the first person you think about. You'll think about them because you'll wonder, "What if they were here today?" You'll wonder,"What if we were together now, with me as I am and not as I was?"
That's what the one that got away is. The biggest "What if?" you'll have in your life.
If you're married, you'll just have to accept the fact that the one that got away, got away. Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think your marriage is, this can happen to the best of us. But hopefully you're mature enough to realize that if you're already with the one you're with, that this is just another test of your commitment, one which will just strengthen your marriage when you get past it. Sure, you'll think about him/her every so often, but it's alright.
It's never nice to live with a "might have been," but it happens.
Maybe the one that got away is the one who's already married. In which case it's the same thing. You just have to accept and know that your memories of that person will probably bring a nice little smile to your lips in the future when you're old and gray and reminiscing.
But if neither of that is the case, then it's different.
What do you do if it's not yet too late?
Simple... find him, find her. Because the very existence of a "one that got away" means that you'll always wonder, what if you got that one? Ask him out to coffee; ask her out to a movie, it doesn't matter if you've dropped in from out of nowhere. You'd be surprised, you just might be "the one that got away" as well for the person who is your"the one that got away." You might drop in from out of nowhere and it won't make a difference.
If the timing is finally right, it'll all just fall into place somehow. And it would be a great feeling, if in the end, you'd be able to say to someone, "Hey you, you're the one that almost got away."
If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all round.
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