My late father reached the pinnacle of success when he became a prominent national government director. From the time he assumed office until the day he left this world he was known as the director. Even after his passing he was still fondly called that title.
A Wikipedia article about him discusses his life in greater detail. It was an opportunity he worked for and he relinquished it without any qualms when it was taken away from him and was offered a ‘promotion.’ He called it delicadeza. I did not understand it at first as I was young then but I know now the reasons and ramifications and these convinced me to reiterate yet again that he made the best decision.
Long before the Azkals came to fame, one of my brothers became a football sensation when he became the national football goalkeeper in his sporting heyday. I remember being awed and astonished while reading about his profile in a feature in an international football magazine. Now he is connected with an international football organization.
After leaving a premier national university my sister moved to a distant but touristic province and quietly worked on an innovative program that revolutionized the landscape of education in the Philippines. Later on, she was awarded together with her husband, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Aside from my late father who was an accomplished author I have another brother who I look up to who is quite a prolific writer as well. He received formal training from the United States in learning how to write. He has written books and for sometime he was a highly acclaimed columnist of a regional paper which has a global audience online.
Coming from a family of recognized figures in society, thankfully, has helped me come to terms with my own little adventure in the public realm. I have mentors who had/has and will help me put things in the proper perspective. Honesty, humility and sheer hard work were their formula for success.
An older brother’s remark which I found funny and amusing was that, “Please don’t embarrass us.” Basically, I am a comedian in the family so I guess he had a reason to be concerned. Well, when I do write I mix wry humor with my writing. I don’t know if my readers can spot them, I hope so though.
Actually, I don’t know what I’m doing in the media. The foremost logical reason for this is that I am an introvert. However, writing is one of the most magical experiences that I do in my own corner of the world. I had to reconcile the fact that if there is a writer then there will be a reader. I have met some of them and it feels good every time to touch base and get positive feedback. On the other hand, critics help me when it comes to improving my craft.
To be honest, the weekly stint that I do for Bicol Mail has become routine but in a good way. A writer is almost always alone when he writes at least basing from my own reality which I am doing right at this very moment.
I had plenty of free training pretty much when it comes to handling a position in the public eye. The family is just cool about it. Well, one brother teases me about it all the time. But another brother gave me great advice on how to go about it with regard to my career as a writer. He gave me a long-term vision on how to plan and carry out my endeavors in this field. A supportive family helps a great deal in this line of work. And most importantly it makes it fun.
There are many lessons I have learned first hand when I was growing up especially when it comes to the downside of being known. True intentions may be the most essential lessons one can be exposed to as there will be a lot of so-called ‘friends’ when everything is rosy but when the gloomy days come you will then know your ‘genuine’ friends. Most will leave but only a few will stay and of course to keep you company by your side in the best of times or the worst of times is your true best friend who is Jesus. Always remember that my friend.
Responsibility is one of the things that fuels my passion to write. It is the main reason that keeps everything in proper perspective. Again words are indeed powerful. They say that harsh words can hurt for a lifetime unlike physical pain that eventually heals. I think that is why I write to uplift more than anything else rather than to destroy. The pen is mightier than the sword.
I have an avid reader who wrote on my account page on social media that she wants to write one day and be a writer like me. She said she was inspired by my story. It was not like that for me though. There came a point where I got nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.
I literally lost everything: my job and I had to go back to my hometown and leave Mega Manila. I was then at a crossroads but there were helpful signs everywhere. But it was a spinning spell of confusion. I had to do a lot of soul searching but I came to know that it’s true what people say that when you are at your lowest there’s nowhere to go but up.
Divine intervention set in, and I started to count my blessings. I have realized that I may have lost a few battles here and there but certainly I can still win the war. It was simple really, I just prayed to God fervently and incessantly. Somehow peace enveloped my soul and an inner light had been sparked. That is the secret I have been keeping all this time while I have been writing which is that special inner light.
I have been nurturing this inner light to make it glow and glisten then shimmer and shine. Like a power cord, I plugged into the Source who is the Supreme Being of Light. I have tried to be under His rays of guiding light all this time. And I always try to share it with you.
Let us never forget that each and every single one of us is a child of light. Let us live in the brightness of the day and may we share in the Splendor of His Divine Illumination.
“Then again Jesus said to them, I am the light of the world; he who comes with me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12
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