Friday 28 February 2014

Family Time

“Social media cannot replace the interaction of friends and family sitting around a barbecue or cafe discussing life and each other and providing a positive environment,” wrote John Ford of Glendowie in the Editorial and letters section of New Zealand Herald on February 25, 2014. He was commenting on the suicide of TV personality and Australia’s Top Next Model judge Charlotte Dawson as a result of character assassination in social media.

True that the internet has made the world smaller every day, with communicating with friends and family available at the tip of one’s finger.  But there is a dark side of technological advancement in social media, described in two words: “addictive” and “impersonal”.

One can fall into the tentacles of digital connectivity with engaging games, instant celebrity bonding, unlimited self-promotion & gratification, and a lot of dirty stuff. Under the cloak of secrecy, evil people commit fraud and cyber bullying.

Pope Francis has acknowledged the impact of social media saying that ““The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.”  He cautions us: “The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgment, and this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of expression. … We need, for example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm. This calls for time and the ability to be silent and to listen.”

We need to realize that the internet cannot substitute for personal interaction. Shirley Engelmeier in a business article wrote: “When personal touch is lost, time is not lost, but meaningful relationship building is. Technology has “lazyfied” the communications process and the outcome diminishes the effectiveness and efficiency of getting messages sent and received. Harnessing the power of face-to-face communication is key to harnessing the power of your workforce…keeping them happy, and working for you longer.”

If personal interaction is important in a business environment, more so in the basic unit of society: the family. When was the last time you all shared a meal in the dining table? Did you have a family picnic in summer? Do you still pray the Rosary together?

The pontiff advises: “It is not enough to be passersby on the digital highways, simply ‘connected’; connections need to grow into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves. We need to love and be loved. We need tenderness.”

Wednesday 19 February 2014

We Belong

Samantha Futherman grew up in the United States and works as an actress, while Anais Bordier is a fashion designer who was raised by adoptive parents in France.  Anais was told by a friend about an American actress who resembled her in a YouTube video.

Bordier later revealed: "When I looked at the video, I — it was, like, shocking …," You can't imagine that you might have a twin sister somewhere that you don't know about."

After several exchanges, the two realized that they were identical twins born in Busan, South Korea, where they were given away for adoption at three months old.

Asked about her feeling when she met her twin, Futerman said " (it’s) that feeling on Christmas when you open up the presents, the one you were asking for, it's that — that pure feeling of joy." They have since met several times and are currently working on a documentary film about their stories.

Do you sometimes have the feeling that your life seems to be incomplete? That a part of you need to belong? The reason of Christ in becoming a man was to reveal the Father (John 1:14, 18) and to redeem humanity, through his crucifixion. By doing so, He showed us the way towards completion, towards perfection. 

We belong to the Father, and Jesus told us, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2) We are meant to reunite with our Father, and that would be more than pure feeling of joy.  The prophet Habakkuk describes it in this manner, "His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand." (Hab. 3:4a). The joy is beyond human comprehension.

Sunday 9 February 2014

Success

When people reach the pinnacle of their ambitions, what happens next?

For some, it becomes a springboard for more lofty goals, such as humanitarian endeavors.  For example, Bill Gates and wife Melinda created the largest private foundation in the world – the Gates Foundation that primary aims to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and in America, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology.  Warren Buffett has become a major contributor to the Gates Foundation. Low profile Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Steve Jobs,has been pursuing well-intentioned programs in education and social entrepreneurship, through College Track, Udacity and the Emerson Collective.

Then there are others who simply cannot handle success, drowning in the excesses of fame and possessions.  For instance, the Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who disdained Hollywood glamour, was found dead from an overdose of heroine on February 2. Glee star Corey Monteith died after mixing heroin with alcohol.  Teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber was arrested for driving under the influence with findings of traces of marijuana and prescription drugs in his blood. Those are the more high profile ones. There are many others not in the field of entertainment, successful as well, who succumb to addiction not just to drugs, but also to materialism and vanity, on the belief that these will fill their lives with happiness.

God wants each individual to be achievers, to attain their full potential, as He had planned. Once, we lose sight of His Guiding Light, and instead believe that it is the self alone that controls one’s destiny; then whatever is achieved becomes hollow and empty.  The Tower of Babel was built not to honor God, but by Babylonians who thought of themselves as all powerful. “Then they said, “Come let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous.” (Genesis 11:4). But God had another plan: He wanted the people dispersed throughout the earth.

In today’s world, when people lose their way in life, they would go into rehab, to cure them of their addictions.  It sounds more glamorous; but we know that psychological and emotional treatments are superficial, as it is the soul that actually needs healing.

If say, Justin Bieber would decide to go into rehab; most will nod their heads in confirmation. But then how many celebrities and non-celebrities have actually been totally freed from the demons in their lives?  

Bieber, I suggest, you go on a spiritual retreat. I am certain you can be lifted out of the deep vacuum that Legion may now inhabit.  For if you turned to Jesus, the Savior will say: “Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14)


Sunday 2 February 2014

Angry Birds

It was meant to symbolize the desire of humankind for world peace, but the two white doves released by the children in the presence of Pope Francis from an open window of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican were attacked by angry birds--a crow and a gull.

A news report said:

“As tens of thousands of people watched in St Peter's Square, a seagull and a large black crow swept down on the doves right after they were set free from an open window of the Apostolic Palace. One dove lost some feathers as it broke free from the gull.

But the crow pecked repeatedly at the other dove. It was not clear what happened to the doves as they flew off.”

For a moment, the “angry birds” incident seemed to steal the attention from the Pope who not only was chosen as Person of the Year by Time Magazine, but also made it to the cover of the Rolling Stone, a magazine that primarily has popular musicians and controversial figures as main features.

I heard one commentator say that if the pontiff is God’s representative on earth, he could have prevented it, while an animal rights group called for a stoppage of the releasing of doves in the light of the incident.

Its petition read: "Domesticated doves are easy targets for other birds due to their white color and inability to recognize predators and flee. The Pope's intentions in releasing the doves were innocent, but after witnessing the gruesome aftermath he needs to end the practice."

But we ought to put meaning to what had happened. The doves represented the peacemakers while the birds of prey symbolized the elements that continue to spread hatred, violence and war.

Year in, year out, peoples in different parts of the world engage in acts that result in destruction and deaths. In Thailand, protests continue. In Ukraine, the opposition are resolved to oust its leader. In Syria, armed conflicts remain though peace talks are ongoing. Trouble persists between Israel and its neighbors; in Afghanistan, Egypt and the Central African Republic, among others. There is tension among East Asian neighbors.

The United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and other alliances of nations work hard to bring parties to the table to settle their differences. But in most instances, the causes of the conflict are deeply rooted that the process can take years, if not decades.

And who suffers? Primarily it is the civilians. The warring armies are well-fed and well-funded by their supporters and financiers, the latter having vested interests in the outcome.

But in the end, the persistence of the peacemakers does pay off. In the Philippines, we are witnessing the near resolution of the conflict between the MILF and Philippine Government.

For so many times, the doves of peace get clobbered by the angry birds of prey; yet others continue the work. They work beyond symbolism. They sacrifice, even their very lives, to save the innocent from the savagery and barbarism of fellow human beings.