Limang-Minutong Kumposisyon

Minsan may mga sugat na hindi gumagaling. Sadyang ngingatngat ng mahapding alaala. At kahit pilitin nating gumaling, hindi na. Kahit anong pagsisikap ang gawin para makaahon mula sa matulis na pangil ng masaklap na pag-ibig, hindi na. Wala ng pag-asa. At kung makaahon ka man, hindi na ikaw yun. Ibang tao ka na.

Pero ang maganda nito, pwede kang magsimula. Ibang tao ka na eh. Punong-puno ng posibilidad na pwedeng mangyari. And dami-daming pagkatao na pwede mong pagpilian. Kailangan mo lang pumili. Gusto mo bang maging sugatan habang-buhay? O gusto mo bang salubungin ang hinaharap kasama ang umaapaw na pag-asa. Pumili ka. Pumili ka nang mabuti.

2016: This Too Shall Pass

Before you pass any judgment on this article based solely on the title, hear me out.

The first time I heard the counsel of the line "This too shall pass" was when I watched the movie My Bestfriend's Wedding. It came at a time when I needed consolation from all the pain and spiritual confusion that I was going through in high school. And the adage did provide comforting strokes everytime I used it on my then unhappy soul.

Fast forward to 2010s. I am a different person. Probably a better way of saying it would be that I am the same person with a wider range of experiences and a healthier perspective in life. Don't get me wrong; I look at my old self with fondness and gratitude for the wisdom that it has taught the "me-now". This same wisdom has led me to rethink the profoundness of the "This too shall pass" motto.

You see, if I use this line to assure myself that all bad things that happen in my life will eventually end, then it also goes to say that all good things will eventually come to pass too. I cannot use this adage and turn it into a double-standard blanket of comfort that only holds true for bad things but not for good ones. At first thought, this sound scary and worrisome. Imagine all your happy moments ending. But it actually doesn't need an ounce of imagination because it IS true. A happy moment will end just like a bad moment. It is the same with a good day. A good year will end just like a bad year does.

What did I make out of this new-found realization? It is that every moment, good or bad, will end. Does this make our lives futile because it is bound to end anyway? Of course not. Ironically, this is what makes our lives precious. The fact that every single moment, whether good or bad, will eventually end reminds us to savor each moment because sooner or later, that moment will pass and fade into a memory. And no matter how we relive the memory, all you have is the memory and not the actual experience. It will never be the same. The only time that you have control on how that memory turns out to be is when you are still living that moment.

So how do I want 2016 to be before it fades into memory? I want it to be good. I expect a few bad moments here and there. But I don't worry anymore. It doesn't matter whether the moments are good or bad because they will all end. What matters more is that I will make each moment in 2016 count. I will soak myself in the bad moments and unhinge as soon as I learn the lessons. I will inundate myself with good moments but not get drunk in them that I no longer appreciate the next string of moments. I will live and experience 2016 before it too shall pass.





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