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Tuesdays @ FFI – If Just One Person Believes in You

If only self-confidence is something we can buy over the counter, we will not have to constantly search for that little voice that says, ‘You can do it’.

If only self-image is something we can paint on a blank canvass, we will not have to worry about failures and defeats as we can always start painting a new image over and over again.

If only self worth is something that has a stable and progressing value that never fluctuates, we will always look at ourselves with great value and with significant importance.

Every now and then, there will come a moment in our lives when we will have to pick up ourselves from an experience that robbed us off with the self confidence that we had painstakingly built over years of patience, perseverance and hard work. When that happens, it is difficult to know when and how to start all over again. Perhaps, this beautiful song from Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstuck and all their friends will remind and teach us how.

“If just one person believes in you; deep enough and strong enough believes in you; hard enough and long enough believes in you; It stands to reason that you yourself will start to see what everybody sees in you, and maybe, even you, can believe in you…”



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Just because…

A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me a chocolate bar. When I asked why I was given one, I was simply pointed to the wrapper of the chocolate that says…

There are good things we do for people and people around us do for us without really knowing or understanding why. I noticed though that it is when we do something selflessly, it is when we give someone a favour and not expecting anything in return and it is when all we wanted is to give and share ourselves unconditionally that we find it difficult to find and define a reason.

We simply do things just because…

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Lighting a candle

Growing up, I remember being tasked to light a candle in our altar at home at 6pm everyday.  When I moved out from my parents place and had my own, I somehow forgot and stopped being faithful to the 6pm ‘routine’.

Until I lost my father in 2004, I started lighting a candle again every night as my way of remembering him. I feel that by lighting a candle, I am sending him my love and prayers that is why I really try to do it everyday, unless I am traveling. That candle though is not just for him, that candle is also my way of saying Thank You to God for the day that just passed. Lighting a candle is an act of Love.

There are nights when I will light a special candle for special intentions.  There are days and nights when I will light, not just one, but many. When friends ask for prayers or even when they don’t ask but I know they need special favours from God, I always make sure I light a candle especially for their intentions.  Lighting a candle is an act of Faith.

Some may ask for scientific explanation of what a candle does to make things better. I do not have an answer. Some may challenge whether a candle will have the power to change the course of things. I do not have a proof. Some may say it is just one of those empty traditions and practices that really has no value.  I will not argue. At times, when I no longer know how and what to pray because of distress and anxiety, I simply light a candle. Lighting a candle is an act of Hope.

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c h a n g e

The picture below is something I have taken sometime ago but the signage remains to be there up to now. It is a construction site in front of the Lloyds Building and along Leadenhall St. in the City of London. I know many people pass by this road but I am wondering if similar signages exist across Britain and the Philippines, as surely, millions of British and Filipinos seemed to have embodied Mahatma Gandhi’s words:

During the last seven days, I have closely monitored two historical events that have changed the political landscapes of Great Britain and the Philippines. Last Thursday, Britain had its General Elections which resulted to a Hung Parliament. After five days of negotiations between the three parties, Gordon Brown of Labour finally resigned, David Cameron of the Conservatives became Britain’s Prime Minister and the Liberal Democrats leader, Nick Clegg became the Deputy Prime Minister.  I am not sure if people watching Sky News or BBC last night noticed that between the time Gordon Brown left and David Cameron arrived at Buckingham Palace, there was a beautiful and stunning rainbow overarching the seat of British Monarchy. The rainbow may not mean anything at all, but for me, I felt like it was an affirmation that Britain is set for a new beginning.

The Philippines, on the other hand, held its first automated National Elections last Monday. While it stunned everyone on how fast the results were tallied, I believe everyone was also equally stunned on how quickly concessions were announced. Whilst I am so happy that my candidate will soon be proclaimed the next President of the Republic, the real source of my happiness is the pride on how every Filipino made an effort to show that we still believe in our country, we still believe in our leaders, we still believe in the sanctity of our votes and we still believe that change can happen. I can’t wait for June 30. I may not see a rainbow overarching the horizon of Luneta Grandstand or Manila Bay, but I am certain that this period will be a chapter in our history where we will all look back with pride and dignity.

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Tuesdays @ FFI – Wilson

A companion. A friend. A source of hope.  That’s how I will describe Wilson.

Wilson made such an impact not just to me but to many others as well. Perhaps, even millions of people that I am sure some of you will remember who Wilson is.

When Chuck Noland’s FedEx plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean, he was lucky to have escaped the sinking plane through a life raft until he was washed away to an uninhabited island. As days go by, he discovered several floating FedEx packages and started opening some of them.  One day, he got a deep wound to his hand when he attempted to make a fire. He got so upset that he threw several objects and one of them was a volleyball. He used the blood on his hand to draw a face on the volleyball.  He then called it Wilson – and that became the start of their friendship. They shared many moments together and the bond between them got stronger and stronger each passing day.

Before I go any further, yes, I am talking about the movie Cast Away, which earned Tom Hanks an Academy Award Best Actor nomination (and where, they say, Wilson should also be nominated as Best Supporting Actor).

Over the years of being stranded on that island, Chuck has developed a deep psychological connection to “Wilson”, regularly having conversations and occasional arguments. (Wikipedia). One day, when he had the courage to escape the island through a self-made raft, he lost Wilson because of extreme weather conditions.

In moments when I feel that I am drifted on an island of anxiety, when it seems that the outside world couldn’t find me and couldn’t understand how I fight for survival, when it seems difficult to see any vision of hope or a promise of tomorrow, when everything that’s left is the will to carry on, I remember Chuck Noland. I remember Wilson.

I remember how Wilson has been faithful to Chuck until the end.  I remember how Wilson, despite his silence, has provided Chuck the comfort he needed the most. I remember how Wilson, in a language that only the two of them can understand, has given Chuck the assurance that things will be fine.

We all have our own ‘Wilson/s’ in our lives.  Some Wilsons are not meant to stay forever. Some are part of our lives from beginning to end.

Feeling Lost? Rejected? Discarded? Look for your Wilson.

(photos used are owned by 20th Century Fox / Dreamworks)