By Philip Suzara
Pondering… as I sit here at the edge of my mythical life pond.
One can see many things happening at the edge of life’s pond, as in any pond. Decisions are made there, life changing decisions, defining moments… to get in the pond, or not. The pond is encircled by its edges in different forms and kinds: straight, jagged, rough, rocks, pebbles, sand, soil, or mud. Very much like people. No matter the differences we have, we all belong there… around the life pond, inside, outside, at the edge, but there.
I think about our nation’s current state of affairs and the many situations and circumstances it had been through. I think of the changes that have been applied and practiced throughout the country’s many administrative transitions.
Change is what we usually desire and look forward to every time the opportunity presents itself to us, especially during elections. The hype and frenzy usually happens at the beginning of the campaign season, a few months before the actual elections. Some of the admin candidates have been seen strutting and testing their wares around since months ago. Such is only possible with politicians and demagogues who have newfound monies and power. They conduct themselves with impunity and have no qualms about circumventing laws. These demagogues should, in time, be unmasked like wolves in sheepskin.
The Exodus Song of Pat Boone comes to mind because it has so much to tell us today. It speaks of a broken people that will, one day, come together again as a fruit of their struggles and God’s blessings.
“This land is mine God gave this land to me This brave this golden land to me And when the morning sun Reveals her hills and plains Then I see a land Where children can run free So take my hand And walk this land with me And walk this lovely land with me”
These words speak to us of our paradise, our promised land, our free people, and one nation… such beautiful words to describe our supposed nation. This, unfortunately, has been trashed by the transgressions and excesses of selfish and greedy demagogues.
Real change – the benevolent kind, has always been both heart wrenching and edifying. The mores and culture of different parts of our dark history will really knock one's sense of justice and humanity once revisited and peered through the lenses of eyes that, already, had been borne distantly out of the decades of the many struggles for emancipation and liberation... a sort of manifest destiny. Even to many of our fellow Filipinos, this had been the key to consciously, or even unconsciously perpetuating feudalism in its many forms - from one of rapacious utilitarianism to one of filial innocence.
But, we struggle, everyday, for a liberating leap into freedom – equally in its many forms: from the sublime, to the ridiculous. Real change begins with each one of us; your future begins with you. Freedom is never served on a silver platter; we have to fight for it—together. Our struggle needs to be fought with a sharper sword, with a louder and united voice.
“Tho' I am just a man When you are by my side With the help of God I know I can be strong
To make this land our home If I must fight, I'll fight To make this land our own Until I die, this land is mine”
What you allow to happen, will, and what you don’t allow, won’t! One cannot expect nor demand it from the government if there is no willingness, nor effort to change from within us. We all struggle to become better versions of ourselves – better human beings. This is best served when we now peer through the lenses of love, equality, and compassion for others… the way that God had designed it to be.
Such is the dynamism of real change.
Pondering… as I sit here at the edge of life’s pond.
Philip Suzara
Creature of God. Child of the Universe. Global Citizen. Lover of Life. Freedom Fighter. Agent of Change. Lone Wolf. Occasional Consultant for Strategic Communications.
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