Continuum

                                          (cartoon: dreamstime.com)

“Then, one black day, Bill (the male nanny) took the children into town to see a pantomime. Not only was the pantomime an inaccurate version of Cinderella…but Bill left four of our children at a bus stop and they were never seen again. To make matters worse, he came home with two children who weren’t ours, whom we had to return.” - Doug Macleod (My Extraordinary Life and Death)

There’s this book which I picked in Fully Booked that could be considered as a nice reflection for our own wise and unwise lives in this world. It seems to be an irony but could also pass as an allegory so for the reader to proceed to a certain level not just on the funny side of it. Indeed, the written gems could be a tool for improving the mantle and the core of our beings.

We get stupid sometimes. It is a fact since we are not born perfect. Our capacities to think must also be paired with the exact movements of our bodies. That is the reason why cognitive intelligence must be paired with psycho motor competence for the concepts to be materialized. Then the affective side of our beings need to be considered as well. There are lots of us who cling to emotions as the most important thing of our existence to the point that the professional ethics are placed as only a side dish. There was a teacher who excused himself from from work since he said he is not feeling good: an emotional conflict happened at home. This could be normal but if the reasons recur, what would we do with it for the sake of the children assigned to us to nurture?

Once we are into public and social services we need to understand our responsibilities to the society we are in. One reason why the communities are infested with skewed things is selfishness. There are some of us who come to the office for the sake of having the salary at the end of the month. Yes, we need to have this since this is one of the reasons why we are working. But when we are service providers, we must also consider the services we are displacing. Do they compensate the amount we receive? Still some of us will react with a violent YES with raised eyebrows but we need to reflect more. Do these services fit the standards we vowed to attain?

For the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), there is a need for licensed professionals to improve their capacities in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes to quality-assure the public and the services rendered. This is the main reason why the CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is required. The commission deems it necessary to make this move to uplift the standards of the services to be rendered by the professionals which could be beneficial to the public.

It is again normal to react. There are complaints in the field since not all of us want to extend an extra mile. We like sitting on our comfort zones since we sometimes do not give a heck to the so-called services. We justify our actions as the best that we could give and we say not-so-good things to the facilitators of these innovations. We repel change. But if we go deeper on the intention of the commission we might realize that is done for the common good.

Once we attend authentic training, we will be build our capacities to better the service that we offer. When we gain bits and pieces of information from the resource persons, we might develop good skills that could be radiated to the people we serve. And when we garner the right attitudes through the seminars that we attend, we might not shout to the client that we are dealing. We may understand that they are the lifeblood of our salary.

In the end, it is how we affect others that matter. The money and material things we acquire in this world are unnecessary props that might be useful for a specific time but will be thrown out of disuse of malfunction. Relationships with human beings are important than the clothes that we wear.

Immaterial

“Why don’t you buy a car for yourself?” gesticulated the acquaintance who reeks with fake perfume and skewed fashion sense so loud it makes her look like a perfect fashion victim. She ranted on the beauty of the SUV’s of the contemporaries and the trips they have abroad.

Sometimes, we are engulfed in that great sense of acquiring things since our wants are being influenced by what we see from our friends and our neighbors. We keep up with the Joneses. This great urge to have what others are having will oftentimes lead to dishonesty or having money out from dishonest and even immoral deeds.

Human nature is that we justify our actions. There are those managers who take resources from government coffers and will then say that they deserve the amount since they have extended their services beyond what is expected of them. Their conscience is clear. They even proudly display themselves in church-led activities for their morality is defined by their own concepts.They are self-righteous and would bite back when someone gives corrective measures. For them, they are doing it the right way.

The reason why spiritual growth is encouraged by the church and the sages is: This allows the person to shy away from being worldly. He is taught to nurture the spirit and eventually makes the “temple” to become simpler and holier. Christian faith inculcates following what Christ showed during his ministry - live a simple life and act as a servant leader.

But why is it that there are those people who are actively engaged in the church yet they still hunger to acquire material things? There are many factors which could lead the discourse to an intricate web. One thing is sure: these persons fail to arrive to a spiritual maturity. Another is that their unmet needs and desires overpower their need to be holy.

What would a car do to a manager whose competencies to be one is nil? Will the signature clothes substitute the capacities of a leader or is it effective leadership? Is the lavishly-constructed house a reflection of a person’s efficacy as a public servant? These are just some of the reflections we need to consider since a lot of times we only linger on the superficial but not the deeper meaning of things.

There is nothing wrong with acquiring things. Living in comfort is one of the reasons why we work. But these things must not muddle with the basic intentions to be honest and good. That is another story. We should also delay gratification since we consider material things and comfort as blessings from the divine. By acquiring stuff at the expense of others and service, there must be a religious fear that we must have that all would be retrieved back…

Yet  we define of our lives differently. That is the reason why there must be common grounds for all. These are faith and the laws of the land. There will be spiritual and moral anarchy when we will not surrender to the divine. There would be chaos and conflict in our land when we will not adhere to its laws.

Also, education must be the sole ammunition in the war against ignorance and the thriving of universal values. The educators must also go deeper to themselves to be able to radiate positive light to the learners to make the world a better one. This battle must be considered since the proliferation of the wrongdoers seem to be the trend these days.

We must understand that we could never square a circle.

New

People are vowing to become better versions of themselves. Their resolutions are glaringly reflected on their social media insights and shout outs.

Basically, the new year is just another date. Although it stands for the entry to another calendar year, it is just another day. But it is innately human to attach emotions to dates and even things to make them significant. Some would even go beyond the expected emotions they resort to depression and even violence since such days awaken experiences which trigger deep-seated or suppressed feelings.

The frenzy of buying food and new clothes could be attributed to the media hype and the marketing strategies of the products and commercial establishments. The young ones would be bombarded by material things the adults are also craving to the point that the spiritual aspect of the celebration (Christmas is a religious activity) is being placed on the sidelights. And such media influences continue to become larger as the internet came. It seems that a family would be left out if they could not post sumptuous and festive gatherings on social media sites.

Then, there is this trend of having resolutions when the first day of the year takes place. There’s nothing wrong about it since planning to become a better person is a positive act. But the question is why wait for the new year to become a better one? Isn’t it reasonable to bounce back during the time when one fell? Still, it is good to have such mindset but plans and promises must be paired with tangible actions to realize the changes to become a better individual.

It all goes back to introspection. There is a need for each of us to look deeper in our selves and identify our own strengths and the aspects that we would like to improve. There is also a great need to focus on the inner self than look at the other persons since there is nothing one could do to change others.

Yet, people tend to be on the surface of things. Going deeper entails maturity and intellectual efforts to become more humble and more reflective. These attributes are difficult to attain since it could not just be done by a flick of the fingers. Instead, it requires the individual to constantly monitor his/her feelings and thoughts to create better plans and change the skewed parts of his/her life.

So what is there to do with the coming in of the new days of the year? We need to move forward remembering the instances when we fail and prove that we can become better ones not committing the same mistakes. We could build relationships. Ultimately, this is one of the basic roles of individuals who belong to a society. Our families must be on the understanding state despite our differences. The romantic bonds could also be strengthened by not being selfish but with self-understanding persons who understand the partners as well. The bigger communities will be strengthened when the smaller ones are being worked out by every member.

Here is hoping that the next 365 days will be filled with pervasive understanding which results to harmony which will eventually make us united even with differences on beliefs, religious convictions, race, skin color, sexual preferences and social status.

Let us make the NEW adjective be our guidepost to replenish the energy to serve as well.