New Year 2010 Reflections ( First of a series)

Life is very much bigger than one year’s events or successes or failures.
The trick, as we always say, is to have a proper perspective and be guided by road maps such as values we have learned and will continue to learn in life.
 For the new year, let’s make our resolutions measurable, whether quantitatively or qualitatively.
 So, I’m sharing my new year’s thoughts in alphabetical order :

Arriving is just one part of travel. Enjoy the preparations and the trip itself. It is true that travel widens our horizon. A city in the world map is meaningless if one is not able to relate to a friend or its people. An exchange can be had between peoples through representatives and leaders of organizations or nations or tribes. Globalization has helped the women’s movement worldwide in this way.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so check out also how others see you. This is the looking glass self. In elections, how voters see you is crucial in winning elections. That is why candidates must package their core messages in a way that appeal to their constituents. Most importantly, voters can tell if a candidate is sincere or just a charlatan.

Conflict is a part of life. Conflict resolution is a skill that can be learned. That we understand the issues and work towards peace and harmony are what matters. An omelette is made by breaking the eggs. Sometimes, one cannot accomplish something without risking some bad side effects. In development parlance, we develop risk mitigating measures. And, we must bear in mind that one cannot unscramble a scrambled egg.

A Day is just a the time between sunrise and sunset or period of twenty-four hours, counted from midnight to midnight and corresponds to the rotation of the earth around its axis. What matters is making each day ‘one’s day” or a success. This is not to say that enjoying reality is less important than creating reality. The attainment and measurement of new year’s goals and resolutions depends on our indicators for success or how we define success.

Everything has an appointed time. I believe in the ecclesiastic teaching that there is a time for everything under the sun : a time to build and a time to tear down. But, every day is a chance to learn.

Faith is like hope and love. But, we must respect those that have not come near the so called “leap of faith.” These are the humanists and they are increasing in numbers.
This freedom of choosing religious and belief systems is one of our basic human rights.

Guns, goons and gold are anathema to the sacredness of the ballot. Going around in poor communities, I have witnessed that the poor are expecting largesse from politicians like orphans expecting inheritance. What chutzpah!
But, these kind of shameless audacity and mind sets can be overcome with political education.

Humor, if have it, is a measure of intelligence.
The Filipinos are scientifically known to be a happy and a resilient people. They say it is part of our Spanish heritage. Or perhaps, living in the tropics and having the sun everyday makes us happy.
My surname “SOLAMO” in Spanish means I love you, sun.
So, I will always try to be sunny and vivacious amidst conflict that is a constant part of life.

“I think therefore I am.” I write therefore I am. Writing is an act. Rhetoric is a first step. Writing is describing, examining and analyzing reality. The written word when published is one of the ways of knowledge management. Suddenly, through citizen journalism, our world is made real and described by more people from all walks of life, like never before. ( To be continued.)