On Journeying as a People, as Global Filipinos
“Our lives are God’s gifts to us, what we make of our lives are our gifts to God.” This quotation came to mind when I was wondering, musing what we have built that we can be proud of or what we have come to be that we can offer as a gift to God, as a people. We all know, and people in other countries will agree, that Filipinos are gifted. And most Filipinos in almost every part of the world can say that their native land is richer than the land where they now stay. We have much to thank God for as a people. Instead, our people complain of hardships and hunger, while our nation sinks in debts.
“Our nation is God’s gift to us as a people, what we make of our nation is our gift to God.” This thought easily reminds us of the nation of Israel – the people, the land and the journey. Many of us are familiar with the story. A people in exile under a mean ruler, went on a journey across the desert to their promise land, which, compared to ours, would be like a desert. But it was the journey itself that strengthened their bond as a people and became their legacy, their pride and their gift to the rest of humanity. And perhaps this is what we are missing, the journeying as a people, and the sense of it. We have either lost it along the way or never had it from the start.
A people who are in exile and are aware of it are better off than others who are not. At least they know where to start even if they do not know for sure where they are going. And people become aware of their exile when they start to believe that there is a better place, a place that they truly belong to, a place where they believe they should be, a promise land. Starting on a journey, it seems, starts with the people themselves, what they think, feel, and believe in – the journey within – the journey of the heart.
Many, if not most, Filipinos in foreign lands feel a sense of belonging – assimilating, giving and finding acceptance. They discover a sense of home that seems to have been lost, that they are missing and still long for in their own native land. Overseas Filipinos, together with the many who are home but who would rather be out there wishing they were home than be home desperate for a way out, have become a people in exile. Going out and moving out are just outward and outbound expressions of what is deep inside the hearts of the Filipinos – hearts in exile, hearts in search of a home, pilgrims for a better life. ‘Home is where the heart is,’ is for everyone, everywhere. How, then, do we start journeying as a people?
We start by believing that our lives and our nation are God’s gifts to us, and that He is showing us the way. For as we journey as a people, wherever we may be, we start lifting ourselves up, as a people, and building our nation up, as our gifts to our Beginning, who is the End to our exile, and Home after our journey.
And may this journeying itself become our legacy – the journey of the hearts of the Filipinos – journeying as a people, as global Filipinos.
Juan de la Cruz
“Our nation is God’s gift to us as a people, what we make of our nation is our gift to God.” This thought easily reminds us of the nation of Israel – the people, the land and the journey. Many of us are familiar with the story. A people in exile under a mean ruler, went on a journey across the desert to their promise land, which, compared to ours, would be like a desert. But it was the journey itself that strengthened their bond as a people and became their legacy, their pride and their gift to the rest of humanity. And perhaps this is what we are missing, the journeying as a people, and the sense of it. We have either lost it along the way or never had it from the start.
A people who are in exile and are aware of it are better off than others who are not. At least they know where to start even if they do not know for sure where they are going. And people become aware of their exile when they start to believe that there is a better place, a place that they truly belong to, a place where they believe they should be, a promise land. Starting on a journey, it seems, starts with the people themselves, what they think, feel, and believe in – the journey within – the journey of the heart.
Many, if not most, Filipinos in foreign lands feel a sense of belonging – assimilating, giving and finding acceptance. They discover a sense of home that seems to have been lost, that they are missing and still long for in their own native land. Overseas Filipinos, together with the many who are home but who would rather be out there wishing they were home than be home desperate for a way out, have become a people in exile. Going out and moving out are just outward and outbound expressions of what is deep inside the hearts of the Filipinos – hearts in exile, hearts in search of a home, pilgrims for a better life. ‘Home is where the heart is,’ is for everyone, everywhere. How, then, do we start journeying as a people?
We start by believing that our lives and our nation are God’s gifts to us, and that He is showing us the way. For as we journey as a people, wherever we may be, we start lifting ourselves up, as a people, and building our nation up, as our gifts to our Beginning, who is the End to our exile, and Home after our journey.
And may this journeying itself become our legacy – the journey of the hearts of the Filipinos – journeying as a people, as global Filipinos.
Juan de la Cruz
posted by Juan at 8:46 PM
1 Comments:
Uy, Juan, ang galing ng buladas mo. Di ko akalain na si Juan, isang pankaraniwang mamamayan, masunurin sa batas, mapagmahal ng pamilya at kapwa tao ay may tinatagong gilas at malalim na pagunawa ukol sa landas na tinatahak ng sambayanang pinoy.
Ako ay si Juan dela Cruz din na paminsan-minsan ay tinatawag na Juan Tamad. Hindi naman tunay na tamad, ngunit tinatamad lamang sa paulit-ulit na pangako ng magandang kinabukasan ng ating mahal na bayan sa ating pagsisikap at sakripisyo.
Hindi kanais nais isipin kaya si kulas na ako ngayon. Isang pinoy na may pangarap na sa sariling pagsisikap ng bawat isa, sa kabouan kapag pinagsama ay matamasa, ang kalayaan at magandang kinabukasan ng sarili at lahat pang iba.
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