Mamasapano

I know it isn't the right time to talk about this.

But it's so hard resisting the itch. I'm a Mindanaoan. I have three cousins who are policemen. During college, I have read the books Under The Crescent Moon, In The Presence of My Enemies, and countless essays about the Moro insurgency.

Now, I feel angry, betrayed, hopeless. But the worse feeling is reading the news, gulping, and thinking: "It's happening again. The cycle won't stop. People just keep killing and saying the wrong things."

I'm going to write about this incident in length at some other time. Right now, I have to pause and wait for the results of the investigation.

Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.

- Laurence J. Peter 

Execution

Good plan. Better execution. Excellent results.

After three weeks, I can finally go full blast and put the sales plan into action. 

This is Year 2 in my current company. And I'm excited. Last year, the General Manager visited us and gave us a lot of autonomy on what we can do to make our business unit grow.

His words were manna from heaven and I've been busy thinking about what we can do better. 

Here's hoping things go according to plan. 

We really need many more wins here in Davao. 

2015 Personal Learning Goals

1) Learn how to cook

2) Learn to play the guitar (again)

3) Get back to playing basketball

4) Learn Python

"Single"

A fellow brother in my Lingkod community shared to me one conversation he had with his mom last month. Aware of his mother's expectations, he told her that he wasn't pursuing anyone for 2015 so he could focus more on his service.

His sharing brought back home how we've misconstrued the label "single". 

For many, being single is akin to a burden. For men, it carries the unpleasant connotation that either the guy's advances are always rejected or he's torpe, unwilling to make the first move. For girls, the lack of a boyfriend may mean she's undesirable.

Needless to say, many of us like to avoid this situation and likewise treat others in this predicament with sympathy.

Kawawa ka naman. 

Tara, hanap tayo ng babae sa tabi-tabi...

Pag-laag pud panagsa 'day para ma-expose ka.

Tabangan nato si ku-an mangita'g uyab beh.

"Kung sino pa yung gwapo't maganda, sila pa yung single." - Bob Ong

Somehow, along the way, we lose sight of how much a blessing it is to be single. I don't mean the common benefits such as less expenses, less heartaches, or less headaches. But the blessing here is this: by being single, we are blessed to love less so we can love more.

What does the paradox mean? First, by having no boyfriend or girlfriend, we're able to care for more people. By not balancing our priorities with an exclusive relationship, we can distribute more of our resources - our time, money, emotional stamina, and effort - across many. We can build better relations with our siblings, parents, or relatives. We can spend more time with our friends. We can give back a lot more to our community.

Second, being single means an opportunity to love ourselves better. It's a good excuse to do some introspection, be more self-aware, and become better persons for it. 

Third, being single means we're more free to know and love our God more. Without the necessary distractions of a significant other, the state of single-hood is an opportunity to deepen our spirituality, hone our prayer habits, and increase our faith. 

Again, by loving less, we're able to love more.

The surprising thing is that the time when we're single actually prepares us to be better committed partners in the future. All it takes is a change in mindset and to recognize that being single is a gift in its own right.

The Wise Men

I think I should share something from last Sunday's gospel.

The gospel last January 4, 2015, during the Epiphany of the Lord, was taken from the Book of Matthew 2:1-12. It tells the story of the wise men who came and paid homage to Jesus Christ, the infant. 

Finding Jesus across miles and miles of desert by following a "star" is nothing short of a miracle. But that's not what I want to emphasize.

What I want to point out are three characteristics that can be gleaned from the wise men.

First, they had faith. They believed in the eventual success of their journey despite the almost insurmountable obstacles ahead. 

Second, they had diligence. Decades of poring over a foreign nation's literature and messianic texts prepared them for the moment when the sign would arrive. True, they had faith but, more importantly, it was an informed faith built over years of diligent study. 

Third, they looked past appearances. Anyone who saw Jesus Christ in a manger would be right to assume the child wasn't in any way royalty let alone a king. But the wise men knew deep inside their hearts that this child was the one they we're looking for.

And guess what? They were right.