You really got to do it yourself.

I actually had written this blog before lunch, assuming that the issue I was posting about had been resolved – but it turns out that wasn’t the end of it. Since I’ve ended up filing a formal complaint to my bank describing the whole “incident,” I thought posting the link to the letter would save me a lot of time typing.

Kulang nalang sabihin ko: “Alam ninyo, Tunay Na Lalake kayo; KSE ANG LABO NINYONG KAUSAP!”

It may have been heavy handed but that’s just the way I deal with issues. Besides, I have experienced something similar in the past ¹ Related to “blessing 1”

It just begs the question though; is this “general unreliability” a cultural thing in our country? I mean it even kinda extends even to the workplace, and it just annoys the hell out of me. But I don’t want to dwell on it, as long as I’m not like that, then that should be good enough for me.

Instead, I just decided to see the brighter side of it: I mentioned in a previous post, that a lot of my other issues suddenly sorted themselves out – best of which (so far) was finding out that I didn’t have to worry about the prospect of spending on an operation. I didn’t expect this new expense, but you know what – at least I’m healthy and I probably would’ve spent more if I had been sick.

Reminiscing

Trying to see the brighter side of things [and taking action] this way reminds me of the time I had lost money right before our choir left for a US Tour. I had lost about 2k USD right at the airport before we left the Philippines, and for a moment (or a day maybe), I felt like giving up on the tour itself.

But after further reflection, I realized that I had to see it through. Plus I wasn’t about to give up just yet. As stated in the post, I still accomplished what I set out to do. So the lesson learned there wasn’t really about “signs” or whatnot, but if you want something badly, get your ass moving and get it no matter what it takes.

My most memorable moment on that tour was during an “evaluation” during the tail end of the trip. There was a question (one among many) that everyone had to take turns in answering: “Who did you admire the most during the tour” ² Or something to that effect – and of course we all had our different reasons for the choices we made; wether it be because of someone being the life of the party, or someone doing so well during solos, etc.

Ginny, a fellow member, chose me – and the reason she stated was she admired how I handled myself despite what happened to me. She had said that if that happened to her, sirang sira na ang mood niya the whole tour, but somehow I still managed to keep my chin up and enjoy just like anyone else. She said something like, “super galing niya, kse hindi siya nagreklamo or naging pabigat sa group at any point.”

The funny thing is, I really was happy and hopeful during the whole tour. I mean sure, that first day was a killer, but after realizing that I couldn’t change anything, I just had to make the best out of my situation. I’d rather enjoy the little that was left with me, instead of being miserable the whole three weeks we were there.

I had to stay home while others went to theme parks that required payment. Or I would go shopping with the group knowing that all I could do was window-shop. But I was happy, because at the end of the day, I was still going to get the pot of gold at the end (my Taylor T5) – and I decided to focus on that one good thing; that one sure thing – instead of seeing the other “not so good” things that my unfortunate situation had put me in.

That, like I said in my post yesterday, allowed me to appreciate the little things – and that made all the difference. How much of a difference? Enough to be noticed and admired by someone I admired myself (Ginny’s one of my favorite singers in BP) 😉

Digression

If you read the post about the tour experience, there’s one caveat I’d like to mention; how naive I was then. Specifically, how I kept on mentioning “God’s plan/will” – that’s the only thing that’s different with my life now; I’m still very much positive, still very much a hard-worker when I want something, but I don’t necessarily rely on (or even believe in) “God’s will” anymore.

That’s not to say that I don’t believe in God and His grace, but will? Sorry, not good enough.

The lamest cop-out one could invoke when [good or bad] things happen is that God controls our destiny. If this is the case, then why bother giving us “free will” in the first place?

We may be stewards of the earth, but we are also the masters of our own fates. In fact, the former doesn’t necessarily contradict the latter – as Gary Granada’s song Earth Keeper would explain: “To make or unmake, to do or undo – hangs on you.”

Resorting to “God’s will” to cover up for something we could’ve done but failed to do is both a disservice to one’s self and [inherent] potential. It’s also technically blaspheming as you are taking His name in vain. ³ Not that I have any issues with that, I do it all the time All in all, whether God really had/has something to do with whatever happens in life is irrelevant to me, all that matters is if I could do something… and more importantly if I actually do it.

So I’ll do my best so I won’t have any regrets.

Isn’t that awesome!? Since I mentioned that very same “lesson” in numerous posts – the most recent of which was:

I now find solace in the mere fact that if there was anything in my power I could do to change my situation, I already have done, am doing, or intend to do it

Seems like I have a knack of returning to my “core” – which has always served me well when in troubling times. I know it sounds so self-assuring, but honestly, I wish I could share this perspective with other people because it really makes dealing with life in general a lot easier. It makes a person less spiteful of the bad things that happen, and more appreciative of the good things that happen… and most importantly, it forces us to earn those moments that can take our breath away.

It all boils down to these key points:

1. Shit happens – not because God willed it, ⁴ To say that God wills everything, would mean accepting that even the REALLY EVIL STUFF is willed/ordained by Him… oh, but we conveniently make exceptions out of those cases don’t we? Just like with every damn contradicting doctrine the Church teaches it just happens (most of the time, it’s because people made it happen)… the question is if we do something about it or not.
2. Likewise, good happens for the very same reason; not because God suddenly decided to give you a break, it’s most probably because you worked your ass off to get it, and did something about it.
3. Do something about it.
4. Life is half-full; be thankful of what is there instead of spiteful because of what isn’t. And if it isn’t, go back to #3 – and keep at it. Don’t give up. I say this because #1 can, does, and will happen just as often as #2, but for as long as we don’t give up (and have wind in our lungs) – we always have a fighting chance to change things for the better.