Monday, July 29, 2013

A Gift of Wisdom: The Credenda Scroll




Turn away from the crowd and its fruitless pursuit of fame and gold. Never look back as you close your door to the sorry tumult of greed and ambition.

Wipe away your tears of failure and misfortune. Lay aside your heavy load and rest until your heart is still. Be at peace.

Already, it is later than you think, for your earthly life at best is only a blink of an eye between two eternities.

Be unafraid. Nothing here can harm you except yourself. Do that which you dread, and cherish those victories with pride.

Concentrate your energy. To be everywhere is to be nowhere. Be jealous of your time since it is your greatest treasure.

Reconsider your goals. Before you set your heart too much on anything, examine how happy they are who already possess what you desire.

Love your family and count your blessings. Reflect on how eagerly they would be sought if you did not have them.

Put aside your impossible dreams and complete the tasks at hand no matter how distasteful.

All great achievements come from working and waiting. Be patient. God's delays are never God's denials.

Hold on. Hold Fast. Know that your paymaster is always near.

What you sow, good or evil, that you will reap.

Never blame your condition on others. You are what you are through your choice alone.

Learn to live with honest poverty, if you must, and turn to more important matters than transporting gold to your grave.

Never meet troubles halfway. Anxiety is the rust of life. When you add tomorrow's burdens to today's, they become unbearable.

Avoid the mourner's bench and give thanks instead for your defeats. You would not receive them if you did not need them.

Always learn from others. He who teaches himself has a fool for a master.

Be careful. Do not overload your conscience. Conduct your life as if it was spent in an arena full of tattlers.

Avoid boasting. If you see anything that puffs you with your pride, look closer and you will find more than enough to make you humble.

Be wise. Realize that all men are not created equal for there is no equality in nature. Yet no man was ever born whose work was not born with him. Work everyday as if it was your first, yet tenderly treat the lives you touch as if they will all end at midnight.

Love everyone, even those who deny you for hate is a luxury you cannot afford. Seek out those in need. Learn that he who delivers with one hand will always gather with two.

Be of good cheer. Above all, remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. Look up. Reach out. Cling simply to God and journey quietly on our pathway to forever with charity and a smile.

When you depart it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found.
 


(Perry's Note: The Credenda is a scroll that the star Acabar gave to the character Tulo in Og Mandino and Buddy Kaye's novel, "The Gift of Acabar".)


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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Parable of the Crow: Perk of Being the Boss


A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.
A rabbit asked him, ”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” 
The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” 
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Believing That There is a Solution: The 18th Camel


The father left 17 camels as inheritance for his three sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will.

The Will of the father stated that the eldest son should be given one-half (1/2) of the 17 camels while the middle son should be given one-third (1/3). The youngest son should be given one-ninth (1/9) of the 17 camels.

As it is not possible to divide 17 into 2; or 17 by 3; or 17 by 9; the three sons started to fight with each other.

Eventually they decided to go to a wise man. The wise man listened patiently as the Will was read. After giving this some thought, the wise man, brought one camel of his own and added the same to 17. That increased the total to 18 camels.

Now, he started reading the deceased father’s will.

One-half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 camels.

One- third of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 camels

One-ninth of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 camels.

Now add this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17 and this leaves one camel, which the wise man took back.

Moral of the story: The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th camel i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the common ground the issue is resolved.

It is difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution.

If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any

(I edited this from an FB post of Ramon Averia.)

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Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Exception to the Rule: Police Officer Santiago


Today, July 7, 2013 we got involved in a vehicular accident. It was around noon, and being a Saturday, traffic was unusually heavy. Edu (a.k.a. Mr. Edwin G. Madriaga, Speed Center for Leadership [SCL] Administrator) picked me up earlier in the morning to make some purchases. We decided to go to downtown Sta. Cruz, Manila, where there is a substantial concentration of construction suppliers.

Edu, who was driving, positioned himself on the leftmost lane of Recto St. as we approached Masangkay St. That’s where he intended to make a left turn. As we turned the corner, the car on our right side and a bit ahead of us, miscalculated its turning radius. There was a soft thud as our bumper’s right tip got caught in the other car’s left rear fender.

Since we were on top of the line of cars on the left lane making a left turn, all other cars behind us stood still. To make matters worse, the car on our right side was blocking the middle lane of a street that can accommodate only 3 cars side-by-side. The driver of this car disembarked from his Enova. He appeared to be a young Chinese, thirty-ish, almost Edu’s age. Edu went out of the car to confront him.

About 2 minutes later, a cop came. He looks fifty-ish and clean in his uniform despite the sweltering midday sun. He immediately took charge of the situation, much like a solicitous parent trying to mediate between his kids. His demeanor must have disarmed the 2 drivers completely because they now focused on disengaging the cars rather than getting an advantageous traffic report.

As both drivers clambered back to their seats, this cop assisted them by making signals so the 2 cars that got entangled would be free of each other. From time to time he would frantically shout to stop when it appeared that tugging it this way or that would tear the fender or cause more damage. When both or either of the 2 drivers got out, the cop immediately held a mini conference to sort of get their feel of the situation. It was when the best option came out: to bodily lift the Enova while the Revo backed out at a specific angle.

Do we need more warm bodies to lift the car? This cop darted to the sidewalk and in an instant had 4 ‘tambays’ back with him. Meanwhile traffic came to a snarl, except for the opposite direction, with vehicles inching their way past us beyond the median barrier. An ‘uzisero’ of a jeepney driver stopped to make casual chatter, thus aggravating the stress of the people around. Without losing his cool, this cop barked at the driver to get lost or else…

By now there were 5 or 6 people lifting the Enova, and 2 drivers seated and waiting for directions. A lot of instructions were being thrown in by concerned passersby. This cop fleetingly looked and listened to most of them, perhaps trying to process in his mind what best to do.

Then he stepped back, and like a conductor in an orchestra, made quick gestures and instructions. He was so taken in by the moment that his face contorted every now and then, as if feeling the pressure on the metal of the cars.

Suddenly everything seemed to go slow-motion and silent. A few heaves and tugs, all in unison, under the baton of the maestro. And just like that, the 2 cars disengaged. The cop signaled at the young Chinese, asking which way he intended to go. With a hand signal for other cars to stop, the cop cleared the road for the Enova and it dashed off towards Mendiola. He also made way for us to complete our left turn on Masangkay St.

Traffic was still at a snail’s pace when next I noticed the cop walking along Masangkay St. in the direction of the next block, Soler St. I suggested to Edu to surreptitiously hand some amount to the cop for his trouble and so that he could take care of the ‘tambays’ without shelling out of his own pocket. We changed seats and I took the wheel as Edu clambered down and started walking at a fast clip to reach the cop.

The next scene was straight out of the movies. The cop, who was momentarily taken aback, vehemently refused with a vigorous head shake. “Wag na, wag na! Trabaho lang!” (No, no! don’t bother. It’s just my work!) I picked Edu up, and as I made a right turn on Soler St., he recognized our car, and with a smile, waved us goodbye. I made a quick glance at his nameplate. There it was: SANTIAGO. I did not get his rank, but I’m guesstimating PO3 or PO4.

Police Officer Santiago, you may be an Exception to the Rule, but you certainly did the Uniform and the PNP proud. You may be a voice in the wilderness, but you are a beacon of hope for your organization. Here’s hoping the majority will be like you someday. No matter how long it takes. Cheers! And my snappy salute.


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