Teacher's teacher

It is hard to think of summer without thinking of some kind of vacation to a place outside of home - whether local, regional, national or international. One's dream journey is of course to go abroad what with all the exciting but affordable package trips. This is the summer blows in store for those who have not traveled to Hongkong, Macau, Zhenshen, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur. This Asian tour can become your trip of a lifetime such that all other trips are not as scary as we used to think. However, this same trip can become your Summer blues if you did not prepare enough or you were not given the necessary kits how to manage when you are part of a package tour. There is no dilly dally, slow movements if you want to hurdle the schedule which will really be demanding  on your alertness and energy.

This early, at least before May comes, learn how to cope with what might be expected of you by keeping your- self fit and healthy. Take your regular vitamins and if possible, exercise. Prepare your prepare rubber shoes, your favorite handy carry all bag and most comfortable get up.  Make sure you are going with family or well chosen friends. We hear of traveling companions who quarreled when they reached their destination because one of them felt she was left unattended or not given enough time to keep pace. The owner of the hotel was so aghast looking at middle aged women shouting - at least - using their native tongue so not everybody knew what the shouting bout was all about. All the other members of the group were disheartened and would you believe, when they went home, coincidence perhaps, one of the group members died due to anxiety and added stress!

Learning how to cope with summer blues and blows begins with your own attitude towards life and what it is all about. After all, one can stay at home and come up with productive activities enough to fill your entire summer. Whatever you decide, ENJOY!

"Go to the world and subdue it". . . the bible teaches us so even with the Holy Book we are already taught to take care of Mother Earth.

Then here comes summer, another opportunity to implement this huge task as stewards of this One. Mother Earth. Let us begin with our own homes: Are we supporters of "Re-use, Reduce, Recycle" movements? Are the children doing their share? The hope is with good home management the "domino effect" is within reach and the recipients are the bigger communities where you and I function and earn our living.

Summer 2012 has already made us experience the extreme heat that your eyes will be glad for having sunglasses on otherwise, migraine and more migraine is a likely visitor all throughout the day. Even the mere thought of going somewhere to have some fun is already not "fun" to think of for the transportation services are enough to dampen your expectation of convenience and peaceful journey. 

If there is one great teaching moment this summer, it is the realization that all these years we did not give Mother Earth her due but IT IS NOT TOO LATE. We must give better care to MOTHER EARTH ASAP.

As you peruse magazines and/or surf the net, we are made aware of the young people engage in crimes. At least we still see some of the youth engage in positive activities like sports and arts and even "kid"preneurship. How then should we encourage every young person to indulge more on something that promotes well-rounded personalities? One easy strategy is to begin at home and then followed up by teachers in school: Good Manners.

By Good Manners we refer to what is basically respect for parents, siblings and virtually every person. It implies harnessing the goodness placed by God in every person's heart. We know when something is good or bad because we are made in the basic goodness of the Maker.

Teachers do not refer only to teachers in school but parents who take care of their children; guardians who make sure the children they are in-charge of are properly guided and are doing activities for their good; community leaders who are concern for every resident in their barangay thus promote bayanihan and neighborliness.

Good Manners: Where are you Teachers? I no longer fear for they are everywhere doing their share in their little ways, God Bless You!

In another blog, Elderly blues and blows, the plea was for the younger bus passengers to keep us gentle ways towards the senior citizens, in this particular talking point, it is to learn how to act when riding a public transportation - driver, conductor and passengers alike. 

First talking point: Are the passengers getting their money's worth? their human rights as persons and their rights as consumers? As a passenger myself, there are more occasions when we do not deserve all this inconvenience. Imagine you have to literally go through big bodies, male and female alike, to fight for your desire to travel. One time, I sprained my shoulder due to tugging my bag and avoid losing it. When I finally entered the bus, it was obvious there was no more space so there was no choice but go down, bags and all. All this time, the conductor did not care what was happening. the driver all the more had no qualms whatsoever as to what was going on among the passengers in the bus he was driving. this is the sad plight of everyone. Nobody cares and this happens everyday in any terminal -m at least in the Philippines (? Pls. correct if this is not the case in your own Phil. situation.)

First learning point: As passengers in a public transportation, we can only say we get the learning that even before any bus transportation be allowed to serve the public, there should be enough training given to anyone concern that passengers must be treated with care. They have no reason to feel that they are mere passengers who must be thrashed into the "dungeon" of a bus. As passengers, we learn that we have to go beyond our duty as travelers. We must do everything in our power to tell the transportation owners that we deserve respect and fair treatment in matters of bus fare and services due as consumers. We must make the transportation owners they cannot become rich at our expense.

Second talking point: Good manners and right conduct must be observed by all parties in the bus experience.  The passengers should not talk as though the public bus are theirs. they should not gossip all throughout the journey because other passengers are just dying to "kill them" especially if they  know some of the "cast of characters" in the gossip. the conductor should have the "finesse" as he gives the tickets. He cannot just call out if one already has ticket and give one across somebody else, allowing his "armpits to be almost directly on the face of a female passenger who in turn called him bad names". the driver should not be talking so loudly with fellow drivers who have joined him as free passengers for the moment and their so-called joke about  passengers who put on balm of some kind that make them party to being "old and nauseous". 

Second learning point: We should know by now that life is better than this facet of our existence. We can go on with our travels without hurting others. We take the bus and sit there. We take out a book and read and in the process learn something. We can listen to music through our mp 3 or 4 and be happy with it. We can nap and be peaceful until your destination comes. What a peaceful world it would be if every person, every bus passenger, every man or woman, indulges in more proactive ways than destructive ones. SHALOM!

Imagine 11 seasons of American Idol. Every year there is rumor that it will not last long but time goes on so with American Idol. Now on its 11th year,  American Idol, like all the other singing contests are good venues to hone the talents of the young. For us in the Philippines, we view the singing contest more intensely if there is a contestant which has Filipino blood. Like Jesica Sanchez, she may mention more her American Mexican blood but she does acknowledge she has Filipino blood as could be seen in her Mom.

The young also need avenues of their talents which will not only develop their special skills but direct their energies towards positive and more proactive directions.

Let us join our hands: teachers, parents and concerned guardians to encourage the youth to join contests that will truly hone their God-given talents just as they use these as vehicles to develop their personalities holistically.

Even in scriptures, dreams play a role in giving a message which even the one concerned is left unprepared but because of faith, responds to the message in a positive manner.

 In our day to day existence, our family, being the most important facet when considering what to do or not to do dreams may just serve as a way of wishing but not really hoping it can come about. Dreams do teach us to believe in the impossible.

Winners for example of lottery or other major draws must be pinching themselves up to now how they made it. I did this myself when I won hundreds of thousands without knowing that it was my machine that won the jackpot. All the people around me shouted for joy but all of them were looking at me, finally my daughter whispered and told me I won. What! a dream come true. But then, situations do not happen all the time so we prefer dreams that give us opportunities to hold on to the good scenarios for life. Like my daughter got a grant via International Visitors Leadership Program and was allowed to visit four states in United States of America without applying for it. She got it through the great system of UNA in recruiting possible participants in ways they alone know. Now, my daughter is back and if the dream comes true, if the job comes and allows us to live in USA, this is the dream that is bound to be impossible to happen, but we can dream, can't we?

So I believe dreams teach us to believe in the impossible . . .

It is sad to know that others live and  die without seeing many parts of the world other than one's place of birth. For those who travel far and wide, it becomes very clear that it is a good opportunity to learn and later teach others how to experience the same.

My family in a way is fortunate because we have lived in various parts of Mindanao and the Visayas and visited Manila many times. In all these occasions you learn many things and to this day remain awed at how we managed to overcome the highs and lows.

How about international travels? In the past blogs I shared our trips to Hongkong, Zhenzhen, Macau, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and again I am awed at how we made it with limited financial capability. It is not hard to accept that this financial limitation is sometimes a good thing for we gave more attention to our being together and not buying or engaging in a shopping spree which was not really possible anyways.

With the most recent adventure of my daughter whereby she was nominated and chosen to become the only Filipino and sole woman participant in International Visitors Leadership Program and stayed in United States of America for more than a month. The dream of all dreams if for the family to have the journey of our lifetime by planning to go the USA in God's time but with my daughter doing her share to facilitate the fulfillment of this dream. Give us three years and with God's blessing, expect me to write our family's experiences of the four seasons: summer,spring, autumn, winter with New York as the key city where we dream to live someday.

Travel is a very good opportunity to learn and later teach others how to experience the same . . .

Each one of us is called by name and so even God had a name if He wanted to save mankind and so he became Emmanuel (God became man) and his name is Jesus. In Jesus we can identify our human frailties, temptation, suffering and death. In Lent we saw all these events. But in Easter, the Jesus who died did not remain dead but was risen. Jesus became the Christ. For the ordinary learner this is the reason for all the Lenten celebration, that even Jesus had to die to redeem us but Jesus rose from the dead which the Christians hope to experience if we remain Christians.

So today, Easter Sunday, each of us has reason to really rejoice for our life now takes on a significant meaning: to die in Christ is really to rise with him. This alone is the core of every Christian Faith and we should therefore evangelize. Happy Easter to you and you and you!

If there is one reality that is difficult to force, it is inspiration. While this is the state this teacher is in, let me be one of  the  first mentors to greet you few hours before it finally comes: HAPPY EASTER!

Every moment that comes our way is like another gift given by the Maker. Teaching moments are always there but it is not all the time that we take the moment to heart so everything that we sacrifice for can just go to waste. There are many temptations in life that to go against the desire to succumb to it is beyond you. It is almost as though the Hand of God must  first touch you before it sinks into your awareness that He has made His point and you and I have to finally wake up. Listen attentively. Pray.

This Easter, let it be one of the rare moments when the Hand of God finally touches you and I to the realm of change only He can plant into our personhood.

Fellow believers, Happy Easter! Fellow mentors and parents, Celebrate the Resurrection Loved Ones and Experience God's Presence. HAPPY, HAPPY EASTER!!!

Sometimes it is too much to bear when parting with and from loved ones happens but the thought that one day soon time will allow the two to see each other again, all the pain is worth the gain. Just like Holy Week, we know in faith that Jesus, the Christ has already risen, every year, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Good Saturday are apt reminders that before long, Easter Sunday is just around the corner and what a celebration!

My daughter left for United States of America last March 3. She was nominated and chosen by the US embassy, through  the Ambassador of USA to the Philippines, Harry Thomas to become part of International Visitors Leadership Program. IVLP is like "manna from heaven" when it was least expected for even Irene was not ready for it. The great call came and it was decided with the little time she had to be ready to leave for USA. Everything happened and after a month and so many memories to record and definitely reflect upon, she is now in JFK International Airport enroute to the Philippines, back home . . . The future is reason enough to celebrate even as the experience of IVLP will be present in our life for a long time to come. Thank you IVLP, thank you Harry Thomas, Thank you Life.

Parting with and from loved ones makes us cry but when time comes to see each other again, ah, happiness, joy, jubilation and all other emotions intact . . . tell you why life is LIFE.