FARSIGHT, INSIGHT,
FORESIGHT
Bob Calida, December
3, 2013, the Year of the Big Storm
“Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay” – Joey Ayala’s Magkaugnay…
“There’s no such thing as a minor
devastation” – Pres.
Noynoy, PDI, Nov. 13, 2013…
“When you lose everything this world can
offer, you then understand the things that are of
real value…” – Ptr. Jesse Viloria,
Church of the risen Christ, Dec. 2013…
“My answer to … is the application of a
Marshall Plan approach in the recovery program
for the disaster stricken communities…” – Rolando Valenzuela,
PDI, Nov. 29, 2013…
“Kung may paku lang ako,(“paku” is Bisaya
for wings) nilipad ko na yung…” (If only I had
wings, I’d have flown to...) – Nanay Dionisia,
soon after her son’s big win.
“For most people, what is out of sight is
out of mind. Manila-bound
decision-makers tend to
un-see Mindanao and the Visayas because they
don’t see them much.” – Joey Ayala,
Farsight.
Farsight perspective for Rebuilders:
“Rebuild the Visayas and build the nation”.
WAWD, Dec. 3, 2013
Dear me,
Nothing
beats a disaster in drawing extremes from people and communities. Yolanda and
its aftermath gave unprecedented extremes in unprecedented doses. Heroes and
jerks; givers and looters; the capable silently helping, spectators loudly complaining;
encouragers, discouragers, naggers; the strong finding hidden reserves of
strength, the weak retreating in distress; damage counted in billions of pesos,
international aid in billions counted and still counting. Isn’t it awesome to
see at close range the diversity, healing power and abundance of the planet? How
long will the drama of Yolanda’s aftermath be replayed again and again in the
consciousness of the nation?
World
War II gave Europe the Marshall Plan. When the collective systems of the Filipino
tribe weakened to the point of complacency if not collapse, Martial Law came. Martial
Law gave us EDSA I. Right after a terrible earthquake, Yolanda came with
unexpected fury. Will Yolanda give the world a Marshall Plan II? Will the
Manny-Kim debacle give us Nanay Dionisia and motherly surge and “Pati-Kim”?
Dear PAGASA,
What’s in a name?
There is energy in
words and there is energy in names. The Adamic naming prerogative was
established when the creator allowed Adam to “name all the beasts of the field
and all the birds of the air, and whatever the man called each living creature,
that was its name.” And so it came to pass that name meant character. Name
describes a person’s character and a person’s character is shaped by his name. But
what’s in a name? The answer is a
question - why are there so many of us named Jesus, Maria and Jose? And years
from now can you imagine how many new voters will come out named Manny and
Jinky? Praying in the name of Jesus simply invokes the character and power of Jesus
Christ to make prayer come true.
Now, here’s the
thing
-- they say beware the fury of a woman scorned and on the surge, because it can
destroy. When the next storms come WAWD hopes you’d stop naming them after women.
Nothing superstitious and no offense meant at all to all the women that we
admire and love. Let’s name them after the fragrant Sampaguita or the lovely Chrysanthemum,
or the cute bird Maya, or the tiny and harmless creature Kagwang (Tarsus), or
the cross-pollinating Bat, or the Dilis, so abundant in our seas, or Tilapia…
Or
if you really want a woman’s name, use something like Lan which sounds more
nerd and techie than Yolanda. Or you can use ‘Nanay Dionisia’. Imagine taming a
storm into being motherly? Fierce and just so, but motherly. Motherly surge? Isn’t
that something? If storm goes to where she wants to fly, imagine all the storms
it can create in media. Use a soft and feminine name that you have to use, but
not Kim. Don’t risk inducing a whirlwind.
If
you outsource storm naming rights to WAWD, easily my best bet is PAGASA. Name them all PAGASA 1,2,3, and
so on and so forth until they stop blowing. As the Bible says “in everything
give thanks”, WAWD says “in everything there’s HOPE”.
Dear Mr. President,
We
salute you in this time of extremes. The bad
news is you have a huge and difficult job to accomplish. The work of
Relief, Restore, Rebuild could take years to finish.
The
good news is you have a huge and
difficult job to accomplish. And all the support, encouragement and resources
that you need will be there. Empathy and prayers will be there. If there is to
be a Marshall Plan II, you can be sure all the matching resources, talents and
intentions will be there. We saw the world doing it just a few days after Y
struck.
What
was started will continue as you continue. It will come from young and old, big
and small, simple and wise. Above all it will come from those who are given Farsight, farsight in space and time.
From Farsight, forward and backward, will come Insights and from Insights will
come Foresight. All you can use.
Why
worry when we can pray, believe our prayers, and laugh? They say laughing is
the Pinoy’s way to cope and overcome problems. If that is true then we know we will
overcome. Let’s laugh as we repair, restore and rebuild. And when all is done
it will be our joy to see we have reformed, as in re-form or form anew, for the
better that we can be. And for the best that we were made to be.
Finally
for perspective, WAWD presents below an article on Farsight written by Joey
Ayala many years ago, during a curious time when we had a president he called
VP. We hope to give farsight perspective to the ‘Rebuilders’ because as they rebuild the Visayas they will build
the nation. WAWD will continue on this road to Farsight, Insights and
Foresight as needed and as inspired!
Bob
Calida
We
Also Walk Dogs
Asian
Solution Providers Inc.
Asian College
Altered Native/Joey
Ayala
Farsight
(WAWD’s note: Wikipedia
describes Joey Ayala as “a Filipino
singer, songwriter and former chairman of the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts…”
He is known to prefer that his work serve as his introduction.
To me, he is good
friend, intermittent co-worker, writer and minstrel-prophet, inspiring his tribe
with the harmony of words and music. This piece is reproduced with his permission-
Bob Calida.)
Our
sense of sight is an overpowering sense.
The impressions and information we receive through it are so powerful
that most of the time we implicitly accept that what we see is what is. Whether
we like it or not, sight dictates to a great degree our mindset and worldview -
the way we think, feel and decide, the very way we perceive and interact with
“reality”.
For
most people, what is out of sight is out of mind. Manila-bound decision-makers tend to un-see
Mindanao and the Visayas because they don’t see them much.
For
city-dwellers used to having their line of sight limited by houses and
buildings, fences and walls, billboards and electric wires, movie screens and
cathode tubes, the unaccustomed treat of having a far horizon to gaze upon can be
quite a liberating experience.
Cramped
and cluttered spaces tend to make you feel cramped and cluttered on the
inside. Unimpeded external space makes
one aware, it seems, of the vastness of inner space as well. The music and art
of plains, coastal and mountain peoples evoke such spaces, composed as they are
in spaces such as these.
Mindanao
abounds with liberating space. Even from
bustling Davao City it is still possible to catch a glorious glimpse of Mt.
Apo, serene in the distance, the secret date of its next stirring known to
none.
There
is power, deep personal power, inherent in such interfaces. There is also a humbling sense of reverence
or awe that scales one’s self-importance to the proper proportion.
I
am eager to see what our VP (Virtual President) will accomplish with his
promised (?) 3-month Mindanao residency.
I wonder what experiences he will undergo and how these will influence
his thoughts and deeds. Those who will
get close to him will have the opportunity to guide his sight.
Allow
me to share with you a song lyric written in Davao in 1982 (from the album of
the same title) in the hope that you might place yourself vicariously in the
Mindanaon landscape and lend the weight of your will to the vigilance that
Mindanao is now, and will always be, in need of. It is, after all, the “front” and not the
“back” door to our kapitbayan.
Panganay
ng Umaga
Joey Ayala, 1982
ang panganay ng
umaga'y
sumilip sa bintana
ako'y dumilat at
nagulat
sa lawak ng mundo
mga burol at
kabundukan
nakahanay sa
abot-tanaw
bughaw na langit at
kapatagan
magkasintahang
nagtatagpo
lawa ilog dagat
lamig tamis alat
ulan agos alon
haplos sa pisngi ng
panahon
sanlibong ulap
nagliliparan
kasabay ng agila at
lawin
bulong ng simoy
awit ng hangin
at sigaw ng buhawi
ako'y tao lamang
taga-bigay ng
pangalan
taga-sukat taga-bilang
munting butil sa
sanlibutan
ang panganay ng
umaga'y
sumilip sa bintana
ako'y dumilat at
nagulat
sa lawak ng mundo
