26 December 2009

A child-like heart for Christmas and other thoughts

Ganda nung homily nung pari sa amin nung Christmas Eve. It's about possessing a CHILD-LIKE heart. Take note, child-like ha, hindi childish. There's a difference between the two.

Napaisip ako. Ano nga ba ang child-like heart? It's like having the heart of a child. What is inside the child's heart? Malamang me aorta, valves, ventricles, veins, etc. Haha! Wait no, shaddup Edz! Haha! A child-like heart...

Well if I start to recall what was it like when I was a child, I cannot say there is much of a difference now. I still have a child-like heart. That's what I am until now. I am reminiscing how it felt like when I was a child. Here's the list:

  • I remember being curious in a lot of things. How things worked; what do words mean; why were objects like this and like that; how does a TV work (I was a TV addict then); how do radios work; why were leaves green; why do plants grow; why do cats look like cats; why do dogs bark, etc. We have this Childcraft volumes. Pinakagusto ko dun yung Make and Do. Gagawa ka ng mga home-made artistic toys. Gagawa naman ako! Hahaha! Isa pa yung gustung-gusto kong basahing libro, yung Did you know?. It was given to us by mama and papa. Dami kong natutunan dun like what was the first universal language established in the world? It was the Esperanto. Isa pa yung what is the dog that doesn't bark? It's the Basenji. Astig nga e. Astig yung libro na yun.

  • I remember putting myself in other people's perspective all the time. Yung iniisip ko ako sila and how do I see my environment from their perspective. Ang saya nga nito e. Parang nakikita ko rin yung nakikita nila kahit magkaiba kami ng lugar.

  • I didn't care what other people said as long as I'm happy. Wala akong pakialam. Bata ako. Masaya ako. Maglaro man ako sa loob ng mall or maghahahawak ng kung anu-ano, basta may natututunan ako at masaya ako, wala akong pakialam sa mga tao.

  • I trusted people. Even strangers. My first perception of them was they are good and they would do me no harm.

  • I was open to every idea present. Absorb lang ako ng absorb, no argument.

  • I had no pressure to be somebody. What I was, I was. No pretensions. I don't have any anxieties or troubles to think about. I wasn't pressured by society or family to perform well. Basta masaya ako, yun ang ginagawa ko.

  • It was easy for me to imagine things. Like flying in the sky, eating the stars, riding the dog in the Never Ending Story movie, stroke a unicorn, be like an astronaut, have superpowers like in the cartoon The Visionaries, have wings, be part of Voltes V or Voltron (hahaha!), etc. Basta ang dami kong gustong maging nung bata ako. Lakas ng imagination e.

  • I accept objects/things/situations as they are. Hindi ako nagsasabi ng, "dapat naging ganito ka na lang" or "dapat ganito na lang ginawa natin". I don't blame other people if something goes wrong. Iniisip ko na lang, "ganun malamang nga yung mangyayari talaga".

  • I easily get happy with whatever. Hindi ako mahirap pasayahin. Mababaw kaligayahan ko.
Haaay. Marami pa yan. Dami kong vivid memories nung bata ako. Blessed ako kasi I had a GREAT childhood. Others were robbed of this e. Wala silang childhood na matatawag. Maswerte talaga ako I have loving parents and wonderful brothers. I also grew up in an environment na malinis at malayo sa ingay ng kalye. Peaceful ba. Tapos ang saya pa ng extended family namin. Edi rambulan na. Haaay.

Lord, thank you for giving me wonderful memories of my childhood brought by my wonderful family and friends. Not everyone is given this privilege.

I was inspired by the story of the The Gallo Brothers. Sila yung big wigs of the wine industry in the US. I was able to watch it sa Biography Channel. Grabe, kawawa talaga sila. Sila yung sinasabi kong walang childhood. Mayaman nga sila when they became old. But when they were young, dugo't pawis talaga puhunan nila makaaral lang. They were doing hard labor when they should be enjoying the life of a child. Hay. Kaya nga kahapon naghugas ako ng pinggan.

If these Gallo Brothers were able to be successful knowing they started from the poorest of the poor, how much more can I be/accomplish if I started out with something?

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