Life is a battle,
regardless of whether one is poor, rich, or powerful. Poor individuals, who
comprise the biggest fragment of the total populace, need to battle to meet their
needs … food sources, safe houses, and schooling. The affluent and the bigwigs
in our society also battle drug and liquor addictions, gambling, affliction, and
some more. World leaders, as well, powerful as they appear to be, need to
battle for the endurance of their administration because of political foes, a
falling apart economically, and ineffective international policy. Life, indeed,
is a battle!
The Village of Mayana
According to a UN
expert, nearly one-fifth of the world population or 1.4 billion people cannot
fulfill the most basic needs every day. A few decades ago, poverty was
concentrated in rural areas in most developing countries, but a recent study
showed that urban poverty is also increasing as fast as cities are growing.
These areas are refugees of drug addicts, criminals, and many epidemics that
ravage a nation's wholesome environments. Inadequate access to safe water, poor
sanitation, overcrowding, and insecure residential status make poor people’s
life miserable!
History consistently
advises us that to endure and support their autocratic administration, leaders must
struggle to stay in power. In countries like Russia, North Korea, and China,
the leaders must consolidate their power with super-wealthy backers, torture
political opponents in jail at a moment’s notice, and maintain secret agents.
At home, for example, Duterte also struggles over his foreign policy in China
and the United States, a problem with Manila’s traffic, and EJK’s over the war
on drugs and the covid 19 pandemic control. These problems are causing the
political opposition to go against the president, promote a jeepney’s strike,
and stage various human rights demonstrations. As always in the history of
world leaders, their lives are also in deep trouble, and they are struggling in
pain.
Whether we like it or not, there is no way to avoid the struggles
in life. And in every struggle, there is heartbreak, emotional trauma, and
setback. But all these things can make people stronger and better.
Believe it or not, the human battle ends when life ends.
Bad friends do influence your life negatively. They can alter
your view of the world by changing your perception and turning you into a
different person, and they can bring a tremendous change to your character,
lifestyle, manners, and actions, and eventually destroy your life.
Wine is a mocker; a strong drink is raging
While you seek friends for support and encouragement during
bad times, find enrichment and guidance in your life’s journey, and
enlightenment of your soul, bad friends can alter your view of the world,
change the way you look up things in life, and develop you into a different
person. Unknowingly, you usually meet them at social gatherings. People in the
upper class of our society usually meet bad friends at parties, religious and
civic organizations, political acquaintances, and other forms of activities
among society’s bigwigs.
Influence from bad friends is powerful and it is more
serious for the rich and famous. Take the case of Ruby; a beautiful woman in
her early 50's who established her name by making friends and holding important
positions in well-known social organizations. With her friends, she found a
connection to influential lawmakers, amassed wealth and became famous, and
acted as a conduit for graft and corruption. Aware of her impending arrest by
the government for her role, she left the country without any traces. But
things go differently for her. She was troubled. She could not sleep and eat
well. A few months later, she returned as a government witness in a pork barrel
scandal that implicated several senators and other famous personalities. Being
haunted by her own conscience and why she turned as a government witness
against her former friends, she concluded by saying, "I don’t want to die
with 110 million countrymen hating me. I don’t want my grandchildren to be
ashamed of me, so I felt I had to do something, and I must correct my mistake,
and I can’t possibly right a wrong with another wrong. " That’s it. She
regretted what she had done. Bad friends influenced and eventually ruined her
life.
Mayana Fiesta celebration
Bad friends also bring a tremendous change in your behavior,
lifestyle, manners, and actions. By keeping in the company and hanging around
with bad friends in your work areas, offices, meetings, and other functions,
you are strongly connected with their common objectives, likes, and point of
view, and gossiping activities. You could not feel and sense the threat at the
beginning because slowly and slowly you are engulfed to emulate your bad
friend’s way of living in one way or another. Some of the effects are extremely
disastrous to your future. You do not know that your constant companionship
with these bad friends programs your way of thinking and develops into a habit.
The negative influence of bad friends knows no boundaries.
Even in a short time in a company, the influence is great. It can change the
world! Imagine what happened to the daughter of newspaper magnate and publisher
Randolph Hearst. The kidnapped Patricia Hearst, his 19-year-old daughter, after
3 months in the company of kidnappers, became friends and converted herself
into a member of the terrorist organization. She sympathized with the cause of
the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and participated willingly in the bank
robbery. After just a short period of friendship, the daughter of a wealthy and
famous family becomes a robber. It ruined her life!
Outdoor activities
There are many ways to avoid falling for bad friends. Look
for, associate with, and surround yourself with only positive influencers; hang
out with only those who support and enhance your life; filter their background
and stick to those who share your mission and ambitions in life.
Indeed, bad friends negatively influence your life in far
more powerful ways than you imagine. It can change your outlook on how you
perceive the world and can behave towards you on the dark side. By putting
yourself in the company of bad friends, like Ruby on the pork barrel scam and
Patricia Hearst on bank robbery with kidnappers, you are inviting a disaster.
Bad friends, like a giant black hole sitting quietly at the center of our Milky
Way, are on the lookout for someone on the verge of annihilation. The bible
puts it, 22 Cor 6:14-15.
14Do not make unsuitable covenants with those who do not
believe: Can justice walk with wickedness? Can light coexist with darkness, 15
and can Christ and Satan coexist peacefully? What kind of union can there be
between one who believes and one who does not believe?
At dawn on July 11, 2005, triggered by an earthquake a few months earlier, large limestone blocks slid along a steep scarp in Sitio Balikbayan, Mayana. The debris fell on an area underlain by an older limestone landslide and destroyed large agricultural areas and 67 houses.
Giant scar of the landslide
Seventeen years after the landslide, I revisited the place and saw that the catastrophic event left a giant scar that could be seen throughout the entire village-an iconic picture on the steep side of the mountain — an awesome reminder of how vulnerable mankind is to the forces of nature! As nature simply is, landslides happen without the slightest consideration for human inhabitants. The result of the destruction is still firmly felt; the ghost seems to haunt the memory of the affected villagers.
But nature’s life springs as usual in the village. Early morning is often beautiful scenery – mountains covered with mists and fogs, and early sunrise gives color to the mountains and trees everywhere. As the sun fades in the western sky, beautiful sunsets paint the horizon, marking the end of the hard day’s work.
Today, we can witness children playing in the streets; peasants going home from the farms with loads from harvest. Happy and peaceful lives seem to be everywhere. This is the picture I saw nine years ago... before the landslide! Villagers show no sign of giving up. Daily activities are the same as before. Rain or shine, they go to their farms and make their everyday living. Plowing the fields with buffalos and harvesting rice with mechanized threshers have become common sights.
Ricefields
The village appears to have flourished in a rigorous manner; new houses have been developed in the landslide area, and commerce and trade have boomed. People enjoy the quiet life set slightly apart from the rush and jabber of the modern urban city. Some families own cars and motorcycles for transportation, while others have smartphones and other paraphernalia of modern living... frantically growing urbanization.
As I visited with one of the new occupants, I saw a living room that was clean, had a high ceiling and was spacious with videoke accessories, a nice flat-screen television, and a Wi-Fi internet connection. There was modern furniture and fixtures, and shelves arrayed with the medals and trophies of a lifetime of family achievements and academic awards.
Despite the destruction by the landslide seventeen years ago, the village of Mayana still lives and survives! Life must go on!
As a child is being brought forth to the earth and say “hello world”, it is normally a joyous occasion. This is a moment when parental love begins and expands from there as the days go on. Parental love is defined as the affection that comes from a mother, father, or guardian. It comprises support and guidance and discipline. And above all, these affections and guidance or support are unconditional and unwavering dedication to their children. Parental love… is a love that every child needs.
Odarve’s Clan at Mayana Fiesta celebration, May 15, 2014
Parents, usually the mother, feel the fondness and tenderness of the child at the moment of their birth; cradling a tiny newborn child in their arms demonstrates a true joy of womanhood. It is a wonderful experience.. that is, giving birth to another life. A kiss on the cheeks, picking them when they are crying and keep dancing until they fell asleep, and breastfeed when they get hungry are the demonstration of affection. Parents make them feel secure and loved. The compassion and love of a mother to her child is
Atong and Isaiah under the watchful eyes of their grandma
beyond measure. In biblical times, two women ask Solomon to resolve a conflict. Each bore a son, but one son has passed away. Each woman claims the living child to be her own. So difficult to decide who is the true mother that King Solomon orders that the boy be cut in half and shared. The first woman agrees while the other begs Solomon instead to give the child to her rival. Solomon, being a wise king, awards the unharmed child to the woman who was willing to sacrifice her claim to save the boy’s life. The reason is clear: Her compassion and love for the child proved her to be the rightful mother. Mother’s affection for her child is so strong that she just wants to see her child alive no matter what!
Parental love means supporting and
Parental love declines as children start to have their own
prepares the child for the future. The study shows that the first three years of a child’s life are crucial; the child will develop the significant intellectual, emotional and social abilities. This means they are learning gradually; confidence, security, and empathy. At this stage, our guidance and support are much needed but become lesser as they grow older. Supports must be consistent; offer words of encouragement and wisdom play an important role. These things will take shape in their future and guide them to become happy and productive citizens. The way how parents bring up the child reflects our love for them. Parents are doing whatever they can… moving heaven and earth to meet the basic demands of the kids, including proper training. Supports decline when children move out of the family to form their own.
Parental love is unconditional love and support; that is, not expecting something in return. It is unwavering love and dedication from parents to the children, nurturing and guide their physical, mental, and spiritual growth. It is where a deep emotional connection develops; a bond with children that lasts a lifetime. Discipline, while viewing as unpleasant by some children, as long as appropriate and consistent limits for her child demonstrates love. Some kids don’t understand right away, but only later as they grow older and grows upwards. Parents want to ensure the overall health of the child. A parent wants kids to get upward to be responsible, productive, kind, and God-fearing. Parents always wish for their children’s happiness in a preparation for letting them loose and make their own way of living – and for good. We don’t own our children, we are only their stewards. We will eventually have to set them free. Love for the child is so overwhelming that no matter what the child does, he will always be loved.
Nurturing a child is like training for the future. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. Parents always wish for their happiness, peace, and harmony. Children need to be loved. Like water lilies and sparrows, they have the right to live and be happy. It validates their existence on this planet, making them feel like they are appreciated for who they are. It is an everlasting legacy the parents left behind.
Parental love knows no boundaries. Even the Lord Jesus loves kids. He got angry with his disciples when he noticed that little children were not allowed to come closer to him. Instead, He took the children in his arms and laying his hands on them, blessed them. Consider the passages from Mark 10:13-16
“13 People were bringing their little children with him to have him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. 14 When Jesus noticed it, he was very angry and said, “Let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and laying his hands on them, blessed them.
