TOMORROW’S TOMORROW

Innocent and playful, sometimes annoying, but their gentle countenance is always accompanied by booming laughter that I don’t mind being pushed around by them. They were the little kids that I used to play with whenever I visit my grandparents’ house in the province. WHEN I think about them, I can’t help wondering what their respective tomorrows will be like.

Simple life, simple joys, simple dreams – I have often associated these kids with every little thing that’s simple. They easily get contented. Candies bring a great smile on their faces, second hand clothes are considered a blessing and basic school supplies such as pen and paper seem to be a miracle to them. It is as if they can’t wish for anything more than plain attention and appreciation. They don’t need much so they don’t ask for more. They take life as it is and has never, even once, hoped for a better tomorrow.

When I say tomorrow, I see the things that I have been dreaming when I was the same age as them – quality education at the metropolis, high-paying job at an established company, and a comfortable way of living.

But their tomorrow is different to this, very much different.

For these kids, their tomorrow is the same as their today, and so as their yesterday. They see themselves stuck in their little barangay (village), growing up, finishing the mandatory second level of education, and getting married. Work will come as the need arise, at the mercy of their parents’ friends and relatives.

I would like to say that such thinking is really unfortunate, but I guess I have to reconsider. I don’t think that I have the right to say that my perceived tomorrow is better than theirs. Because to be able to be where I am now, there were doors that have opened up for me that might be forever locked for them. And it is only after I entered those doors did I started thinking, or dreaming, about that tomorrow that still doesn’t exist for these kids.

You see, our dreams are always affected by the opportunities and new horizons that come our way because we could only see those things that are attainable. The things we cannot see clearly will only remain as blurred images of the many possibilities that might have come our way had someone unlocked the door towards it for us.

These kids’ dreams are simple because I’ve seen more than them. Their hopes are limited because they have never seen what lies behind those doors I’ve passed. It is not that they are easily contented. They just don’t have anything more to look for. If only someone could unlock the door for them from the other side.

Perhaps, rather than thinking about what their tomorrow will be when I think about them, it would be better if I could at least become that someone.

THE RIGHT TIME TO GIVE UP

Never giving up on a dream is a good mentality a person should have. But, if we would look unto reality, this is not happening all the time. Giving up is part of life.

Giving up in some aspects of life doesn’t mean that a person is not optimistic anymore. Giving up doesn’t mean that you have to end your life; it is just allowing you to stop and rethink about your methods in getting your goals. Usually, we get second thoughts when we already struggle with the path that we take. We often ask ourselves, “Can I do this?” or “Should I continue doing this?” Just be realistic at all points, remember that there are always another way to let your passion enrich your life.

So when is the right time to give up? We give up each moment. We surrender each day. Think about the truth and your reason of existence. Remember that one strategy to win a battle is by learning how to surrender. The truth is that you just have to know what matters to you and never let it go. Sometimes we need to lose in order for us to learn more things. Sometimes we have to lose something good to get something better because sometimes the answers are just in front of you waiting to be realized.

PERSONAL STRUGGLE

Personally, I normally don’t give up. When I was still in high school, I have always believed that I can reach all my dreams in life. I was a very idealistic person. When I graduated university, everything changed. I have realized that sometimes, I need to give up things I like, not because I am feeling negative but because I know that there are better things to come.

Photography and filmmaking are two of the things I want in life. Despite the fact that I do not own any kind of gadgets that will help me do all these things, I am just glad that I still have not come to the point of giving up my dreams in life. I believe I am still in the process. I save for a budget. I practice. I aim to study again. But sooner or later I know that I have to think about it. I hate to say but maybe I have to face the fact that I cannot do all of it and that I have to look for another way to at least reach them so I would become more productive.

We should just remember that staying positive should always be a partner of every “giving-up moments” in life.

THE BEST PATH TO SUCCESS

We all have a dream, an ambition, a goal – call it whatever you want. In the end, what matters most is the journey towards our destination. If we leave before we even set forth on our trip, we will never reach the end of it. And everything is bound to be futile and worthless.

When I think about all of the things that I want to accomplish in my life, from simple out-of-town excursions to my improbable I-can-change-this-world aspirations, I always end up asking myself where to start. And that question will linger, playing over and over, and then over and over again.  And like any other ‘hopeless dreamer,’ contented to spend his/her life inside his/her own fantasies, I simply quit looking for an answer.

One day, in a teambuilding class, we were asked to choose between two teams with different ‘missions’ for that day’s orienteering activity. One group will have to pass through the confusing path of a standard MAZE while the other will have to take the arduous climb to the top of a TOWER.  Having heard that the tower is around an hour of walk away from the campsite, I chose the Maze Team. And so our journey began.

Around 30 minutes into the activity, while our team was deep into the labyrinth of oversized grasses and roots, it started to drizzle, and then it rained. It was probably the thought of getting wet that created such great chaos and confusion among our members. We started running in all directions and before we knew it, we have already lost each other. The catch is that we cannot leave the maze alone; we have to leave it together. So that’s how we lost. An hour later, I reached the end of the maze, the other team watching me and my teammates emerging from the sea of greens one by one, despondent.

That’s when I started thinking, had I chosen the straight path leading to the top of the tower, I would not have ended up a loser. But, contradicting myself, I also thought that if it didn’t rain, or if the rule didn’t require a team effort, I could have easily won the race.

And so I asked myself again, which is the better path to success?

If I choose a similar route as that of the maze, much of my time will be spent on trying to figure out which direction I should turn to; I will not be able to see the end clearly, as obstacles will be blinding my vision; and I might end up wasting half of my life moving forward, only to retrace my steps backward with one wrong turn. When I finally reach the end, it might be too late.

If I choose to struggle and push myself to the limit, eyeing the very ambitious peek of a tower, I’m afraid that I might not be strong enough to hold on until the end and collapse halfway through my ascent. The fall is definitely going to be hard. I would be hurt and may not be able to stand up again. If worse comes to worst, I might even lose my life, along with all my dreams and aspirations.

Ever since that lost, I began asking my friends, acquaintances, and even strangers I met along the way that very same question and I was surprised to get wonderful resolve from all of them. Each answer is unique, influenced by their personalities and world views.

One very religious friend argued that even if it takes time, traversing the twist and turns of a maze would be an acceptable test to her faith. She said that her God would never let her astray and will guide her to the right direction as long as she remains faithful until the end- just like how Jesus stayed faithful when Satan tempted Him for forty days.

Meanwhile, a very easy-going friend gave me a simple statement. She chose the tower for the simple reason that she wanted to enjoy the journey. With the amazing view, the blue sky above and the grand landscape below that will flood her vision; she said that she only wanted to feel free.

Another has given me an answer with set conditions. He said that if he could go back down anytime, he would choose the tower; or if he could have a compass, he would choose the maze. I have known him to be a very meticulous, thinking person who does not like taking risks.

Come to think of it, all of the people I have asked have given me different perspectives on my personal dilemma of finding the best path to success that instead of finding an answer, I ended up switching from one point of view to another. I have to admit that up until now, I’m still searching for the best answer. But on second thought, maybe I am not really, whole-heartedly looking for one. Perhaps after all the questioning I have already realized that we all have a dream, an ambition, a goal – call it whatever you want. But in the end, it is not really important what kind of dream we have, what matters most is how we would be journeying towards our respective destinations. Our chosen paths may be different from one another but the important thing is that we have to start somewhere. Because if we leave before we even set forth on our trip, we will never reach the end of it. And everything is bound to be futile and worthless.

Q: What do you think? Are you going to choose the confusing path of a maze or are you willing to bet your life on the strenuous climb up to the top of a tower?