"It is
important to always go back and reflect on what we are celebrating. The
first Christmas passed in
the most humble and simple way. Christmas should be more than the garb and
lavish merriment. In its truest sense, Christmas comes in small things. It is
the time when we see the child in each of us. If we want to really experience
what this season is all about, we should have the ability to feel joy and awe
like a child hastily opening a present."
I wrote this when I
was asked to share a one-minute introduction as part of the faculty
presentation for this year's university Christmas party. You might ask, isn't
this what you have always been reflecting on for more than 10 years? It's quite
true but Christmas can never be trite. It's something we never get tired of
celebrating it for we the chance to be child-like again. Child-like, as it has
always been explained is entirely different from being childish. Adults, as far
as I'm aware can never get back and have that innocence we see in infants. Even
a time machine cannot do this particular job. So what does it mean to be
child-like? It simply means being happy without being too rational or without
being rational at all. When a child is given a present, the child would simply
smile and feel excited. The awe which we do not see often from adults.
Another year is about to end, it has been a very productive year for me. Just last April I took a job offer to be an agricultural technician under the Local Government Unit in my place, I still teach at the university at night. In addition, this is my second year taking master’s, I hope to finish it within a year. Working for the government has made me complain less about how the whole system works. There are still people who believe in transparency and good governance. I'm beginning to understand what public service really means. It's quite true that those who complain a lot are those who do not really act or those who do not contribute to the solution which the system badly needs.
So a good point for reflection, did I devote a lot of time complaining about how things are going? I'm not just referring to what the government is doing but also to our personal situation. How we attain our goals and how we react to unexpected changes.
This year can also be seen in terms of beginnings and endings. Has it been a chaotic year? If yes, then there is a great need to organize our lives. If we're fond of planning our lives, we need to sort things out. First we need to identify what causes chaos, in most cases, it's poor time management. I have to admit that I encountered this problem quite often this year. I tried to do a little troubleshooting and just found out that accumulated time (summation) just to click that famous "LIKE" button is possibly equal to time devoted to work or even time to organize one's schedule. Managing time still consumes a certain amount of time. There is no such activity that does not consume time. If we believe that time is money, as I always remind my students, dreaming cannot be free at all ("hindi libre ang mangarap").
About two years ago, I wrote an entry entitled, "On Gratitude", the reflection is quite relevant, the best way to end this year and begin with the next is to have a grateful disposition. The nature of gratitude is that it makes us rejoice in the things we have or have received, it does not focus much on what we do not have. It makes a big difference if we live in constant gratitude. It is a way to live, not just the right response for what we receive. There is happiness in contentment brought about by gratitude.
Thank you! Here's to a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
