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Beyond the Sunset is where my angel, my guardian, and my mother be.
I am in front of you today to introduce someone And that someone happens to be me.
I am Ailenemae Ramos originally Ailenemae Salvador almost 4 decades ago and May 11, 1984, to be exact. And of course, to save you from counting I am 38 years old.
Have you ever tried to live your life without a mother on your side?
How is it feel being motherless all your life?
When I was a child
I used to sit on the ground, Waiting for the sun setting up end on the sky And imagined your face watching over mine.
I grew up believing Every sunset you were there. Looking down for me From Heavens up above.
Oh, Mother! I wish you were here. I missed you so badly. After each sunset, I wish you were on my dreams To feel your hugs so tight in me.
I never got a chance to say I LOVE YOU! To say I'll miss you!
To see you personally! And even to be loved by you!
You heard it right, I am alone and lonely, and at my young age, I longed for a mother's love and presence
We lost my mother when I was 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days. An innocent child being raised by loving grandparents in a small village in our town Jones and the province of Isabela Philippines. I can say I also acquire a kind of sensitive personality in which I easily get hurt every time I hear bad words against me and my family, in short, I don't like the fact of being belittled by anyone.
I grew up with many struggles in life I once had an envious mind, I always compare my way of living with other kids around me. I remember those times I screamed and cried silently as I wanted to have what my friends and cousins have a happy and complete family, with a loving and caring father, mother, and siblings My father is still alive but I have no happy memories of growing up with him, rather heartache and anguish feelings are what I felt as I continue my life journey
However, I become brave, strong, and powerful and I continue struggling from life experiences along the way I learned to stand up on my own and started to dream impossible things. I lived with a very productive and imaginative mind wishing to have a good and prosperous life await me And of course, at a young age, I believe that if I study harder I can achieve my dreams without a doubt. And so I did. I study harder and even sacrifice my happiness to get high grades I work hard to excel in my studies, and once on the dean list in Far Eastern University in the course of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Financial Accounting batch 2004, but unluckily, I didn't finish for the reason of lack of financial support due to our poor way of living 3 semesters I've missed and I never got a chance to go back and continue my course.
I ended up marrying the man of my dream and building our family at a very young age. Many challenges I've been thru and without me knowing it, I've been away from my 17 and 16 years old teenagers for more than a decade now.
Being a mother working far away from my children is a very hard decision to make I did not intend to do this in the first place. I know that there are different reasons for how I ended up here.
Leaving my children with their father at a very young age was a heartbreaking situation. As a mother who has had a teenage daughter who lived with her father in another part of the world for several years, it was tough to consider how he would be able to support a
teenage girl during her adolescent years. I had no problem with my son as I know my husband can take good care of him as he knows for sure how to manage to give him all the support he needs. Please let me feel you Show yourself even only in my dreams
And let me see you.
I know that can't happen anymore No matter how much I try.
The sunset is so beautiful most people adore. I always believe that you'll always there beyond I never missed watching each day of my life.
Praying you'll always there looking after me. As I am longing for my mother's love, I realize that my children are in the same situation as I am right now. They are there, thousands of miles away from me, hoping and waiting for the time that we will be together once more.
How many years could that be? 5years? 10years?
I don't know the right answer either!
I need to work and earn more for their education
I am a woman with full determination to commit myself to something I want to be a part of. And I am sure, my mother loves me the way I love my children...
I love my children as fiercely and deeply as any mother out there
They are the reason why I am still living and fighting for all the chaos I’m struggling with in life. My love is an unadulterated, pure, complete, and absolute dose of unlimited expression of affection. I am someone who only expects the happiness of my children more than anything else. Beyond the Sunset is where my angel, my guardian, and my mother be.
Happily married for 18 years and a proud mother of 17 years old young woman and 16 years old young man
She's been working as a migrant domestic worker in Hong Kong since July 2010.
She is a proud Team Leader and Mentor of the Uplifters community, Ambassador of Pathfinders, and a volunteer in WISE HK.
And very proud to be one of the 3 good souls who started and co founded the Migrant Writers of Hong Kong last March 30, 2021.
"Beyond the Sunset", is her first ever Poem Collection book that was published on March 16, 2021, with the help of Ms.Marites Ritumalta of the Poetry Planet book publishing house
The book was specially made to express her love and longingness for her mother who is in heaven right now
Inside the book, you will know her deeply from the simple and weak young girl who transforms into an independent and extraordinary woman, struggles and strive harder to be better and braver to reach the top of her dreams in life.
When Ailenemae arrived in Hong Kong in 2010 to work as a domestic worker, she did not foresee herself blossoming into an advocate for MDWs.
Through firsthand experience dealing with unlawful treatment from past employers and listening to the stories of fellow workers, she grew invested in making space for the voices of MDWs to be heard, their emotions understood, and their hard work appreciated.
After publishing a book of poetry titled Beyond The Sunset in 2021, Ailenemae co founded Migrant Writers of Hong Kong, which encourages fellow MDWs to use writing and the arts as tools for self expression. In the future, she hopes to publish an anthology and generate funds to build a mini library and Internet cafe in the Philippines to help young children.
"Always look on the positive side of life. Sometimes you will bump into a brick wall and it can get upsetting but you’ll eventually gather yourself and you’ll overcome it by going around it or over it. The choice is yours! �� You are in control of your life "
None of us are superhuman. We all sometimes get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan
If things are getting too much for us and we feel we can’t cope, get our pens and papers, write something, put them in words, eventually we feel much better and we will be better.
Ailenemae Salvador Ramos from Jones Isabela, Philippines.“Thereisonethingstrongerthanallthearmies oftheworld,andthatisanideawhosetimehas come. ”
VictorHugo
"On rare occasions, there rises from the multitudeofmediocritythatis humanity a singleperson ofextraordinary visionconjoinedwiththewilltoachievethat vision, who presents a most formidable presence.Onetoshapethecourseofhistory . " Steven Erikson
INTRODUCTION
Poets, writers, essayists and educators from around the country and the world were recognized and bestowed many awards and certificates, including the honorary degree Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) in a special convocation held at the Puerto Paraiso Resort Function Room in Binalonan, Pangasinan, Philippines last August 7, 2022. This momentous event appreciated and recognized the works of these creative artists, who are pushing the boundaries of the creative arts in their respective domains, inspiring generations of readers around the world, and enriching the core disciplines of literature and the humanities in the process. 7
ERWIN L. RIMBAN, LPT, CLSSYB, MAPsy, D Litt (Honoris Causa)
DISCUSSION
Creativity has been an incredible force through the millennia. A perusal of the greatest works of mankind can stagger the imagination. The paintings of Raphael The plays of William Shakespeare The relativity equations of Albert Einstein. The creative ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci. The epic lines in the Iliad of Homer The chess games of Paul Morphy, Bobby Fischer, Gary Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. The amazing sculptures of Michelangelo. The haiku poems of Basho The love sonnets of the Brownings
The enlightened mystical poems of the Upanishadic mystics. Masterful creations like Rodin’s Thinker. Incredible monuments like the Taj Mahal of India, the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Egypt. Innovative enterprises like the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines also comes to mind The list is endless.
How about things, events or performances which are not easily recognizable as creative, yet pulsating with creative ecstasy in the moments of their creation?
The gliding aerial moves of Michael Jordan and Manu Ginobili on their way to the basket are easily appreciated by adoring fans. So are the amazing acrobatic moves of an athlete like Nadia Comaneci as she essays perfection in gymnastics Many situations have innate creativity in them, too, born of the inexhaustible wonder of the universe. The chess games of genius Bobby Fischer are creative They burst with geometric and mathematical ideas of sublime wonder. The ideas of Lao Tzu are creative.
They speak with incredible vitality and dynamism. The works of Steve Rune Lundin, author of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, are creative. They burst with archetypal lore. The loving flights of ecstasy traveled by Plotinus when he merges with the Infinite are creative They are recollections of his mystical rapture with the Oneness of the Supreme Being. All these and many more are products of the amazing, infinite potential of the human mind, body and soul.
The history of mankind is replete with awesome moments like this, when the innate genius present in the genetic structure of an individual combines with the pregnant possibility of a single moment in time to produce a wonderful event, a creative endeavor. Since the dawn of history, creativity has been the primary weapon of the human mind in its attempt to understand, comprehend, systematize, analyze, conquer and ultimately master the natural world.
Moments of creativity are evident in the very first hunters of the human race, when the hunter gatherers in the wilderness fashioned rudimentary tools to arm themselves and improve their hunting expeditions.
Moments of creativity are evident in those early communities, when the men and women started to organize themselves into primitive tribes, the precursors of cultures and civilizations. Moments of creativity are evident in the first artistic explorations of nascent, the ancient paintings in caves. In fact, the primary institution of mankind, marriage and the family, is an act of creativity. It is creative in the sense that man and woman seeks a better and more exalted 8
kind of relationship, a bonding paradigm which will improve the chances of the offspring to survive in the harsh world.
As mankind evolved, creativity became its primary weapon in the pivotal event of civilization building Creativity is evident in the successful attempt to settle in the great and rich deltas of the world to erect the primordial cultural archetypes that eventually developed to become the cradles of civilization, such as the Tigris Euphrates, Nile River, and Yellow River civilizations Creativity is evident in the formulation of the first laws of mankind, such as the Code of Hammurabbi and the Ten Commandments Creativity is evident in the inception and development of the various languages. Complex languages like Classical Greek and Exegetical Hebrew are testaments to the intelligence of man and his ability to construct amazing philosophical and theological systems. Profound languages like Ancient Sanskrit and Mandarin Chinese are testaments to the wisdom of man and his ability to convey multiple layers of meaning Romantic languages like French, Spanish and Italian are testaments to the passion of man and his love of life, beauty and truth. Creativity became instrumental in the development of cultures around the world as well as the singular achievements of the great paragons of those cultures, the men and women of creative genius who regaled world history with their incredible personal achievements. Examples of these paragons range from ancients like Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Newton, Bacon, Milton, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Leibniz, Boddhidharma, Alighieri, Longfellow, to more recent luminaries like Wilt Chamberlain, James Oliver Rigney, Jr., Frank Herbert, Enya, Michael Whelan, Wesley So, Sarah Brightman, Ramon Fernandez, etc This is just a sample of masterful creators in various fields. The amazing period called the Renaissance was an attempt to rekindle the awesome creativity that flourished in the Greek city states. Mankind had reached a kind of saturation point in the Dark Ages and it was time for a unique renewal The rediscovery of our creative heritage in the classical periods of Greece and Rome had incredible implications through the centuries after Renaissance Art was a blossoming phase and a coming of age for mankind. It is a critical phase in the History of mankind that deserves a place not only in World History and Art classes but also in Psychology Education and Sociology classes.
The study of creativity enhances man in many ways. After all, Art has multiple functions in the life of man It has a personal function, to elevate man and cultivate his refined senses. It has a religious function, connecting him with the Divine It has a sociological function, networking man with the larger spheres of Life and society and community. And it has a cognitive function because it harmonizes both the right and the left brain.
Creative artists, creative scientists and creative mystics have labored long and hard to build the foundations of evolving humanity. This quest, though unrecognized by the common man, is helping inch by inch to catapult the human being to higher and higher levels of consciousness. This is the spiral of life, the Tao of creativity, the spirit of evolution.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Our world today, usually, gives attention to the achievements of the left brain and the scientific mind. Sometimes, the achievements of the right brain, represented by artists, poets, writers, musicians, philosophers, and theologians are neglected. But, we all know, that without the world of the arts, the humanities and literature the world will be a very boring place indeed, devoid of elegance, beauty, harmony, excitement, and inspiration. The impact of the arts and the humanities upon world culture is beyond words. In contradistinction, we exist because of the services of science and technology. However, we are alive, our hearts, minds and spirits are vibrant because of the creative endeavors in the arts and the humanities We are therefore delighted that creative artists, like the awardees, are bestowed the recognition that they deserve. Events like these will surely have a cascading effect on our culture, and inspire generations of creative artists, poets, writers and related professionals. We therefore congratulate our organizers, Dr Zaldy Carreon De Leon, Jr. and Madam Tess Ritumalta, for their initiative in conceiving, developing and bringing this event to its manifestation. Thank you for this wonderful event, which is a memory that shall not be forgotten for as long as we live, and even beyond.
To the creative artists, poets, musicians, essayists, authors, educators, and philosophers here present: keep on creating! Your creative outputs are eternal monuments of divinity and humanity, working hand in hand to inspire mankind to reach to something that is beautiful, transcendent and eternal. May you continue to inspire people around the world, so that they, too, can create something beautiful in whatever domain or expertise that they are in Cheers to all creative poets, writers and artists worldwide!
“What is meant to be, will be.” This quote written by author/dramatist J. M. Barrie indeed holds true, as far as my metamorphosis into writing is concerned. My penchant for writing began at an early age when I was about 9 years old. My love for reading served as a prelude into the field of writing, leading me to numerous encounters, concurrence and rendezvous with books and manuscripts. Coming from a family of musicians, I guess it was one of the significant justifications why I have always been fascinated with things about art, including writing. As I grew up to reading books, I progressed and evolved to a kind of hobby that is writing.
I have been accustomed to writing and have come to love doing it so much that at an early age, I have come to realize that I am both a writer and an artist not only by heart, but by the spirit It`s as if I was born to trod in this path, as if a pattern was made for me to gradually and continually absorb and immerse myself in this domain.
Way back June 2019, that was when I started joining various online writing platforms and began entering writing challenges and contests from different groups I had moments of winning, I was given awards and recognitions from different international writing organizations For a new writer barely starting in the field, it is sheer overwhelming to receive such kind of acknowledgment. On the other hand, I somehow felt a little bit disappointed that I managed to win against foreign competitors but never got the chance to be recognized in my own country and by fellow Filipinos. Not until the opportunity to work in Poetry Planet came I felt thankful and blessed that I was chosen winner in those previous international contests, however, there is still somehow a sense of something amiss despite all the recognitions and accolades I was afforded. I was thankful for all the international awards I was given, yet, there is a big difference when one is accorded recognition in his own home.
Of all the honors and distinctions I was bestowed, winning the Best Poet 2022 in Poetry Planet Book Publishing International Inc. and being conferred an Ophir Award surpass all the other awards I was given in the past Firstly, the winners was chosen by the prestigious Ybarra Scholars and Fellows headed by Dr. Zaldy Carreon de Leon Jr., being authorities in the field of Education I must have written something remarkably good to be able to pass the high standard of the jury. Second, co nominees are also well known in their field and to be among one of them is simply a feat in itself Third, the award came from fellow Filipino writers and to my knowledge, the best appreciation an artist can receive in his career is be vested the prestige of being recognized and distinguished by his own fellow Filipino writers. Fourth, I was given support and financial reward by our LGU, thru our Mayor and Administrator as part of appreciation of my accomplishment. Further, our Vice Mayor offered the funding of my book to be distributed to school libraries in our municipality
In Love With Ekphrasy is my first published book. Since time immemorial, I have written so many poems, essays and short novels though I never got the chance to publish
them. Publishing a book has never entered my thought, since the mere joy of writing is such a satisfying and rewarding accomplishment already. When I started my stint as a moderator in Poetry Planet, it seemed that everything began to take place in the most natural way. Ms Tess Ritumalta, its Founder, told me that aside from me, all other moderators and administrators in the team has already published a book. She motivated me into doing the same. Since I am a moderator of Ekphrasy Challenge, what better book concept can I offer but of this one I am conducting in the group.
Being a part of Poetry Planet has opened new doors for me, I instantly found an avenue where I can share my writings to readers online. Along with it, an opportunity to work again in public service by doing communication at the Office of the Municipal Mayor in Tanza, Cavite. This work is totally different from my previous job, nevertheless, one I much enjoy and prefer to continue doing for it affords me every opportunity to write and be continuously creative. Although I have been a writer all my life and as far as I can remember, it was only for personal hobby and inclination. This time, I am doing writing as a profession
I would never have arrived in this path, never have travelled in this direction and thrive at this journey if I have not taken this single step of joining Poetry Planet. This became my turning point along the crossroad of uncertainty at the time of confusion
That was my brief narration of my emergence as a writer and my personal journey into tracing my roots as an artist I cannot chronicle my journey as a writer and an artist without including an anecdote of at least a page of PP in this article. For all its worth, PP deserve a mention it naturally, respectfully deserve. I am proud to be one of its branches in where I sprouted and where I get to express my artistic flairs
Although my biggest dream is to become a pilot by profession, I immensely thank my lucky stars for paving the way for me wherein somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon this group in Facebook Destiny must have done its part and instructed Fate to accomplish its task of leading me to the path of treading this road. Truly indeed, what is meant to be will find its way into your life effortlessly. 11
It was a moment of jubilation and joy to be chosen as one of the recipients of Poetry Planet International Magazine It is a validation of the craftsmanship and talents of every man and woman who pursue literary works.
I wasn't able to receive the award personally and my sister and niece join my fellow awardee to receive this achievement award. My spirit and my heart were there and it was indeed a humbling moment wherein my books were acknowledged and immortalized through this event.
Being an Author, Educator, ECE Program Director, Co creator/Admin of Fil AM South Bay Community, Commissioner of Library and Education in District 5 San Jose, California, Motivational Speaker, Health and Wellness Coach, Transformational Life Coach, and a Catechist. It is great opportunity and privilege to share my life journey with purpose, positivity and prayer to all the people in my community where I serve.
My book Woman Of Hope resembles each one of us who dares to set no limitations and boundaries towards each of our dreams in life. It is an empowering story of my life that is based on my faith in God, my determination, and my persistence. It also determines my continued support for various community work in my hometown in Bacolod City and my community in San Jose California along with groups and organizations that join me in fostering an outreach program for the poor and homeless
My 2 books Woman Of Hope and 365 Days Year of Purpose, Positivity and Prayer expresses the desire to help people by inspiring them to nurture their talents and skills and must never give up. As an immigrant who start from nothing and venture into education, mastered in Child Development Empower men and women to express their full potential in life.
It takes responsibility and honesty in our work that will take us to a higher place.
And once we reach the peak we have to look down and spread wisdom, kindness, and generosity to people
The event is not just an awarding moment but it brings back to the community the importance of literacy and education It is a tangible and factual representation of wisdom and hopes, sharing it with the community who are striving and aspiring for greater purpose in life
Editors Note: The story is from the book “Migrants’ Stories, Migrants’ Voices 1" published by the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) with the support from Cordaid, an international development organization based in the Netherlands. The book contains a collection of 12 stories of the realities of migration as experienced by overseas Filipino workers and their families. abs cbnNEWS.com obtained permission from PMRW to publish the stories online.
Like any other million Filipinos seeking for a beautiful and bountiful future for their families, I also left for abroad. My reason for looking for a greener pasture outside our country was so simple, to be able to buy a BMK bike for my eldest daughter Aprille, who has been nagging me since she was 5 years old.
My salary from the Coca Cola Bottlers, Phil, Inc and that of my wife, as a teacher was enough, but because we are still struggling as a new family, we decided that it was time for one of us to work abroad as the salary was much better than here in our country. The task was on me.
It was a painful and horrifying morning of December 2, 1983, when I boarded flight Air
Niuguini bound for Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, ETD 0845 hrs. Despite my daughter’s request not go ahead even at the expense of her bike, I was thinking if I could still comeback knowing that the project would be in Kiunga, of the Eastern Province, Papua New Guinea, the heartland of the cannibals. The last reported cannibalism incident was just a year before the year I left. It was also my first time to go outside the country Worst, I had no experience as a Material Specialist, knowing that I would be working with the world’s largest construction company, BECHTEL But because of my desire to change the future course of our lives, I went ahead. I was ready though for this scenario for I was a street fighter, a survivor In the past, I experienced rejection from my in laws, but after years of wooing and humility I was finally accepted, although sometimes the pain of rejection still lingers in my heart up to the present. While I was at the project site, at first I felt the boredom, and I wanted to go home, but with a few new friends who mentored me, the good salary and the best facilities to compliment our hard work, I felt I was in heaven I was driven by my goal of giving the best education to my kids.
My wife’s daily letters boosted my morale and kept me in high spirits.
Of all the Filipinos, I got the most number of letters, mostly from my wife. The usual voice tape and songs from my kids came regularly. In other words, my communication with my family was satisfactory What was scary was the danger that lurks everyday in the workplace was much real. There was a time when our client, OK TEDI MINING CORPORATION failed to fulfill their promise of royalty money to the natives of the whole province. This caused an uproar that almost cost the lives of 5,000 expatriates and us Filipinos.
That was 3:00 a.m. in the morning, the second year of the second month from my arrival; when we were awaken by war shouts. I went out to investigate what was the commotion about, but a horrifying experience almost caused me my life because a few inches from my left at the level of my heart struck a thud. Later I realized that it was the famous tribal arrows laden with poisons Our mess hall and other vital facilities were also destroyed and our food looted. We were not allowed to go outside until the morning
We realized that all our heavy and light vehicles were all flat tired and the runways were destroyed and our airport at stand still with huge timbers crossing the very runway. Nobody could leave the project nor could somebody come in. The project site was under siege by the rough natives. But knowing that they were doing this because their rights were being trampled, I salute them Our project site was at stand still for a week although at this point in time the wives and children of all the expatriates were repatriated to Port Moresby, the capital city of PNG for a possible attack.
According to our intelligence report, from Filipino teachers based in those areas, our site would be attacked by the natives from all fronts. Meaning about 30 to 50 tribal groups are to attack us for their breakfast, lunch and dinner unless our client would pay the royalty money. Almost one third of Papua New Guinea Armed Forces were frantically diverted to Kiunga Province to augment the original forces assigned there for the protection of the lives and equipments of the company.
After a week of negotiation with the tribal heads, things were agreed and there was peace again inthe site. As I thought of my family, it did pass to my mind just to go home, but my goal was much greater than my desire.
Also, nobody from the expatriates tried to resign or else it could have been a big dent on the pride of my fraternity Lex Taliones from San Beda College of Law.
For the first time in my life I was shaken to death. I was just imagining myself how it would feel when they would start barbecuing me. In spite of our Plan B to escape via the river taking the tugboat of the Filipinos we were resigned to die by giving them a good fight on a hand to hand combat. We were not marines yet all our rooms were fully armed with bows and arrows, hatchets, bolos and some bottles of Molotov bombs with fine sand inside to make it a hot flying element. Thanks to my experience as a street parliamentarian during the Marcos regime
After those worst upheavals, things came to stillness. We were back to work. Yet the experience kept me petrified even in my sleep It was a long one until I experienced peace knowing that I was there for the future of my family and a good show off for the people who kept me at bay during my days in the Philippines.
Because of that long work lull, the project was at full blast, trying to keep up with the work slippage, therefore the arrival of materials and equipments was indeed heavy and taxing yet when we transposed this into work, the overtime was more than we could handle.
As a matter of fact my paycheck was so huge that I made a comment that I should have worked abroad long time ago. Things were getting to be much better for us. I felt that working overtime was necessary yet I recognized the big spiritual negative effect because I often missed my Sunday masses. So my life abroad was driven by my desire to work and earn dollars even at the expense of forgetting my Sunday mass obligation.
My job as a Material Specialist was physically difficult I had to climb the ships cargo bay, jump from container to container and to look at the million dollar heavy equipments for any damages. I was the wharf’s last word Neither ship nor barge could be unlashed unless I say so. I was the ship’s captain pain in the butt. I was also in charge of identifying materials that nobody could identify Comparing my job to the last one as sales supervisor was indeed an irony. Here I am, sweaty and smelly notwithstanding the efforts of sustaining my strength from morning until afternoon under the searing sun of the tropics. Somebody might say how can that be when PNG is a rain haven at 365 days a year?
There was drought at those months. The river was almost dry to a point that the delivery of very critical items like cement and food were done via choppers and C130s. All of these busy traffics were to my advantage, giving me limitless overtime work. That was what I came for anyway I could not believe that the efforts I spent for my six months salary in the Philippines was equivalent to my one month salary in Papua New Guinea, provided I worked hard. At that time, I thought I was in paradise with good money and good food Then I realized that working overtime took a toll on my relationship with my family, for I had no more time to communicate to them via letters because at the early stage of the project, the technological advantage of our company was no match to the cruelty of the Kiunga jungle. Telephone calls are next to impossible The feeling of having so much money was so suffocating that my values started to change. Simple values became complicated
Before, in my leisure time I could drink beer and cheap spirits. I started to ridicule my peers that the brand they were drinking was good only for washing their athlete’s foot. I started to decorate myself with gold and do many things that even the rich would be shocked at my arrogance I always entertained the thought that I had a good salary working in a top line construction company employer and also I felt that I was the best because I was trained by San Miguel Corporation and Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines prior my being an OFW. However, despite this life style, there was a single positive investment I made for my two kids, I gave them the BEST EDUCATION. I sent them both to the top caliber school in the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University. Believe me, not a single moment had I thought of thanking the Lord for those graces, for I believed that I was able to do this through my efforts, my experiences and my innate talent that enabled me to be on top of everything. In short I was full of pride
I thought that my family was already a regular practicing Catholic. In fact we never missed Sunday masses, but we never read the Bible nor shared it with other people. While I was abroad I went to mass every Sunday and I made sure to have a good time after that I felt this was needed to keep me busy, to avoid boredom and at the same time keeping my duty to my faith. Until I met some friends who were the constant companion of
“engineer” Johnny Walker, “architect” Hennesy or “boss” Jack Daniels. During our usual conversations and jokes we were talking about the challenge of why we can’t make it with other women. With my faith at a low gear I succumbed to temptation which almost destroyed our marriage
I went home on the last day of November 1990. After eight years of honey and butter, I had to be home with my family to repair the damage I did Today, I believe that we journey in our own destiny, which is assigned to us by GOD. Why? Here is my proof I am a barrio lad from the province of Surigao del Sur, who knows only the whistles of all the native birds and the common features of our water buffalos endemic to the Philippines Never been used to the city life until I saw the dawn at UST in the mid quarter storm during the Marcos regime. Then I met a beautiful yet simply alluring lady by the name of Mirasol McCrann Macapagal. Our lives crossed as we crossed enrolled in one of the summer classes at UST In short I was mesmerized by her simplicity and candidness. I courted her not for months but years, yet with bad results. I gave up with a sad heart and I went home to earn a living
I worked as a company guard at PICOP until things turned sour. In fact, I almost lost my life there as I caused the ire of one of the leaders of the province by giving a hard time to his bus line plying the province.
I resigned and had to move on and decided to take up law at San Beda College of Law where I met a roommate Joel Dizon from Angeles City. Of all people, he was a former student of my wife, and believe it or not, she was still single according to him. Is this not the beginning of my destiny? I made my first letter to her which was delivered personally by Joel. The process of our relationship was in itself a long story worthy of possible exploration for a love story because of its pain and glory And the rest was history.
Truly I was not expecting it to be that easy unless HE wants it that way From Papua New Guinea, I went home to my family, and fixed my problem with my wife with success. I came home as sort of triumphant because I had millions I built a boarding house near the University at Angeles City, bought lots in top class subdivisions, bought a Pay Loader and other equipment And a fat dollar account with the Bank of America.
My wife was a good financial manager. Our lives were focused on material things then
Our trust in God was not enough. In other words, I was never too close with the Lord whom I learned later to be the provider of all I earned in my lifetime.
From time to time, I felt the karma I had done to my family. One at a time my properties and money started to dwindle
At first, I thought that the reason was mismanagement. Until I realized that the causes of the disappearance of my properties were part of the wrath of God to me. I know He allowed this to happen to make me realize that indeed HE is in control over me Likewise, for me to be humbled It took me a long time to realize that this was the message of God to me. Had there been a church entity like the Migrants’ Desk to guide, counsel and inform all the parishioners about Migrants’ Desk concerns, things could have been different. I remember in one of my talks at the San Matias Parish when one of the participants who was a seaman asked us why it took so long for the Archdiocese of San Fernando to set up this desk. He and his wife could not have been through some problems. I opted not to asked him what was it about because it could have been far worst than ours.
I joined the St Paul Marriage Encounter Pampanga Series. Things started to come into its proper perspective. It was a long struggle. There were moments in our relationship that almost ended up in tragedy, but I believe in the loving forgiveness of our Lord. Forgiveness from my wife was not served in a silver platter I had to win her back and proving it to her that all of us do some glitches in our lives one way or the other.
Likewise our conversion took quite a while The ME community gave us their full support and understanding that mostly inspired us to give our best without expecting things in return It is for this reason that we give back our time, talent and efforts to serve others who are in the same fate we have been Our marriage journey was never that smooth. I had to bite the bullet for what I had done. Knowing that being an OFW and had been gone for a long time, things could not be that easy in my reintegration with my family, the community, and work. I found it difficult until now to reach out to my children and express myself I know I am not alone in this predicament.
There are lots of OFW parents giving their children the best education and financial stability But some children fail to consider the sacrifices of their OFW parents to provide for their financial needs. We can never be at the same time at two places
But we can be of use at one place even at a distance.
I know that I was not at my children’s sides when they needed me most. I was not there when they marched receiving their diplomas. I was not there when they were jilted by their friends nor was I there when they wanted to share their triumphs.
I was not there when they were sick. Painful as it was, we could not do anything about it, for we were far away earning money to provide exactly for their daily needs, school tuition and other needs which for a fact could not have been provided had we stayed in the Philippines.
Do I feel morally right when providing the best for my family was my first priority? I was hoping I was right. But after finding and experiencing it first hand and knowing what it costs, keeps me pondering, possibly also the parents who are planning to work abroad, that not a chance that I would exchange the money for the destruction of my relationship with my family For until now I am still wooing my children to be close to me.
August 6, 2022 It’s the Ophir and Poetry Planet Awards. Today is the first day of the two day event taking place in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, in the Republic of the Philippines This awards ceremony has been put together to honor various authors’ contributions to literature on the international level. The event has drawn together a number of luminaries from the literary world.
This glittering in door event is also happening Live on Facebook It’s really exciting watching at home The music playing over the sound system reflects the momentous aura of the occasion. I could feel myself submerged in the brilliant surreal atmosphere The most exciting thing about this legendary event, for me, is that not only am I witnessing a piece of history, I’m also a participant in the making of this unforgettable history. Although I couldn’t show up at the event, I have the great honor of being one of the awardees
I’m really buzzing with the excitement of it all It’s like I have had a shot of adrenalin as I revel in the historical significance of the moment It’s fantastic, really Feeling like a million bucks, I listen with rapt attention to the featured speakers. Their deliveries are really superb If I had made it to the event, I imagine how wonderful it would be to meet on the same footing with these scholars whom I place on such a pedestal The high point of the event is the presentation of the awards. I watch in fascination as the founder of Poetry Planet Publishing House International, Marites Ritumalta is being called to the podium. She’s to hand out the awards, assisted by Dr Zaldy Carreon De Leon
I could see each awardee’s face shining radiantly with pleasure as they wear their medals proudly around their necks. What a great honor to meet and shake hands with the presenters of these awards.
I‘m in an ecstatic mood when I hear my name, Lanre Cameron Awosika, coming from the announcer. This is the first time in my career that I’m being internationally recognized It’s more than a dream come true for me.
In my moment of glory, I dedicate my award to all the dreamers in the world Especially those who dreamed of literary work. I am aware of the mighty odds against would be writers, and the Herculean efforts required in becoming an accomplished author. After all is said and done, nothing is as ecstatic as living your dreams.
My dream wouldn’t have been achieved except for my affiliation with Poetry Planet. When I started writing, I didn’t set out for glory. What concerned me most was to have a legacy. I wrote for ten straight years without having my works executed in print. All I had to my name, except for a couple of pamphlets, were piles of dusty and tattered manuscripts. I was a struggling writer when I joined Poetry Planet sometime in 2019. My first stab at poetry came when I started participating in the daily, weekly and monthly challenges. Which I won on my debut. I found that the more I participated in the challenges, the more my writing abilities developed.
Now my works have been published internationally in ten different stellar anthologies. All these books were published by Poetry Planet Publishing House International They include Writers’ Haven, Rewrite the Stars and Born to Dream, to mention just three. All are on Amazon.
I duff my hat for Marites Ritumalta A powerful woman in publishing. Her love and deep commitment to cultivate budding talents has helped to establish me as a bona fide writer Her immortal dedication to literature has had the greatest impact on my writing career. Any wonder why I feel very fondly with Poetry Planet In my mind, Poetry Planet is the finest group on the internet. Acknowledgement is due for my enchanting wife, Amarachi, who have been with me through it all It was her displeasure with my station as a company mechanic that compelled me to reinvent myself as a writer
As I bask in the afterglow of the celebration, deep within my chest I know it’s all a dream.
Continuation from page 12
As I have said time and again, we are traveling in the destiny of our own for the rest of our lives. My wife and I never realized that we would be involved in an apostolate for the Catholic Church until we were called upon by then Msgr. Robert Mallari, now a Bishop as the Director of the Commission for Family and Life in the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga. We were invited to represent the Archdiocese in the EXODUS 4th Wave: Asian Seminar for the Pastoral Workers of the Migrants’ and Itinerant People held at Tagaytay on March 21 27, 2004. From here, the new apostolate called the Migrants’ Desk came to life.
The bishop’s simple yet sacrosanct approach could not make us say No. From that point on we decided to stay and help him and the CBCP ECMI to form the Diocesan down to the parish level of organizing the Migrants’ Desk.
It is rough sailing, sometimes knowing that the stressors in our mission are the very people in the parish we are trying to help, giving us hard times and at some points putting us in awkward situations. But we already have pledged an oath to the Lord that we are giving our best time and efforts to help other OFW families. What makes us different from the missionaries giving themselves for the Glory of God?
To some extent, we became fired up by the inspiring words of our very own Archbishop Paciano Aniceto to move on undemanding for this is where the Holy Spirit comes in as an inspiration. To us, the work ahead has just started. A small difference is looming up so that we can make the dysfunctional families of OFWs perform their best in spite of the odds
We are working hard to discourage them in forming up a culture of money in the future. A long shot? It is But it is not impossible with God’s help And looking back at all these experiences, I can’t but say I owe these all to my wife that in spite of the pains I gave her, she remained loyal to me The way she raised my children, all performing well in school and of good moral standing and in spite of the peer pressures besetting the teenage world now They themselves have their own families now and eventually will have children to become future migrants “disciple ”
As we continue to struggle to be a good couple, we sustain our strength by clinging to each other’s strength and remembering always that God’s love to us is greater than our own frustrations.
Winning is a special form of mentality that is natural to generality of human persons Every human child is fond of displaying an attitude that is inclined to wishes for winning in an engaged task. Hence makes enviable efforts towards gaining advantages over opponents and other contenders in moments of challenges. This is noted from the early days of a child when the child is playing with peers, and will be expressing higher level of happiness when getting advantages over others for successes in target engagements That is why a child will be making more efforts to overtake his or her peers in any noted challenge. We observed such from the early ages of the child as the child is seen being happy whenever overtaking his or her mates in class in examinations. Children even get happier if they win their fellow contenders in some special tasks such as quiz and debate competitions, as well as in sporting events because there is greater degree of joyfulness attached to winning as people generally cheer them up in appreciation for their victories over opponents in competitive engagements.
There is special euphoria that is accompanying any moment of victory in any given challenge. This is for the fact that winners made greater efforts in whatever engagements they are involved when competing with others hence will be very happy to note that the efforts being exerted in such challenges were not in vain This results to expression of joyfulness for their victories thereby resulting to great jubilations and subsequent celebrations It is also noted that winners in some cases have been losers in previous engagements hence when successful, there is need for jubilations and celebrations with the aim of wafting off previous moments of defeat they had suffered in the hands of opponents. Every winner therefore has some sense of joyfulness in mind for overcoming previous instances of failures before securing victories costly
in such challenges
Interestingly, it is important to note that the underlying factor for someone becoming successful in an engaged task is the winning mentality Every winner in a given challenge has a winning mentality at the depth of the winner's mind which becomes the propelling force that encourages competitors towards securing victories in moments of challenges.)
Despite stresses and difficulties being experienced during competitions, winners are noted to be habitually encouraged by themselves that they have the capabilities to be victorious in an engagement With such strong state of mindsets, they forged ahead to contend with both human and other forces of distraction to become victorious in competitions Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo are prominent public characters with horns of heroism that are noted with expression of strong winning mentality in moments of challenges. A winner therefore is a winner in the mind before becoming an actual winner of an event
Winning usually ushers in excessive euphoria of joyfulness, leading to other colourful events in society Fortunately, winning can result to an award given ceremonies for which winners will be offered trophies, as well as being coronated with medals which happened to be Special Designations that denote the participants with their secured victories in competitive tournaments. In some sense, such designations from processes of award given instances can result to upgrading of the winner's Social Status in places of official engagements, and with increase in salaries and allowances for such winners. That is why we usually see the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the end of every footballing season when the best performing footballers are being honoured with their respective features of merits by the French Football awarding outfit in Paris. 19
It is a form of expressing special appreciation to their displaying of extraordinary skills and talents during the footballing tournament. In terms of examinations, Certificates of Participation and Excellence can be awarded to winners which denote their levels of performances in academic engagements. It signified the addition of qualifications to recipients of such certificates from their respective institutions.
With high level of praises and cheers from fans and well wishers, as well as the image promotion and with some financial benefits in the course of winning, there is always an additional extent of pleasure in the mind of a winner which even encourages and propels him or her to get engaged in future challenges to be securing more victories that will result to further pleasures of winning in the mind of a winner. I was shrouded by spontaneous pangs of joyfulness when I won the Poet of the Week in one of the Poetry Planet weekly challenge editions. The pleasure of winning is an activating aura of joyfulness which is full of special passion that is available at the depth of the mind, inspiring the winning participants into further actions for possible victories in future.
Winning moments are moments of greatest gladness as the winner feels free to be flying his freezing feelings of joyfulness to firmament, and is seen roaring in cheerfulness, jubilations, ululations, celebrations and with abundance of roaring cheeeeeeeeers for the vital victory. All accompanying that special precious percentage that a participant has become successful in his or
her attempts for successes and is now declared the winner, especially being the best among the bests in an engagement. Surely, the winner's mind is filled with the euphoria of winning, winning, winning and winning. He is ready to win today, win tomorrow, and is ready to win always. A winner therefore has an itching instinct towards getting engaged in more contentions for more winning for which he or she is to be shrouded with the cheerful euphoria of winning, winning, winning, even at the edge of the Armageddon War.
Looking legibly at the winner's face in moments of victories, you can easily perceived the courses for cheerfulness, roaming round his mind as if he had already secured the meritorious mandate to spend eternity with God in heaven thereby receiving the Crown of Glory from the Lord of Host.
This is not a simple thing. People, we need to think thoroughly, how to move on? How can accomplish the goal? How can touch the pinnacle? How can define yourself on the platform of the desired life? Each part has a significant impact to move on. But for all , the common issue is to win the state Now the question is how can win? How can be a winner? Let's play with this term. Never mind . It will be fine. Better try and try but never lose hope Fear??? What's that? Are you hiding? From whom? Why? No answer. You're making your timid part of life. Stop these bloody thoughts Just stand up and come on with your wings of mind. Yes! Now you can feel so relax.
This is your winning stage You can't measure this pleasure. Because you can define yourself, without shedding any tear. This is your winning platform. Are you happy?
Look at yourself! You are shining like the sparkling star. Surroundings are covered by darkness but you never forget your place Your memento! You are amazing human being. You have a beautiful mind. It can think with love. You have a lovely heart. It beats for your wonderful sights This is the great pleasure As a great hero, you can beat any strife, whatever the result , you are the winner, dear! This is the important thing for all of us We don't want to agree . We only want to see the ray of happiness. But how can see the ray? The ray can't see without any effort That effort means the Cheerful mind The mind is the only thing to perceive whether good or bad, happiness or sadness verse, for the lively part of life. Let's dive in the ocean's cave to search the pearl of happiness. Searching and searching the time is moving. It is a continuous process. But the pearl, still can't find out This is not right dear Happiness is the state of mind. The pearl is residing in your deepest core of mind. When you feel in this way , you will get the utmost pleasure Like a winner, you are enjoying your life, at last. The great pleasure on earth to overcome any state, as a great warrior (the awesome part of life) my dear!
The most peaceful and contented person in the world is, who can maintain an equilibrium in his attitude in all situations Our sages say: “Never be too happy in good time and too depressed in bad times. Time never stays the same. It keeps fluctuating. Just like the cycle of day and night There is an Indian adage: “At times boat is in water another time water is in boat.” That means one never knows when then the situation gets reversed The idea behind all these sermons is that success should not go to one’s head. It also means: “Pride goeth before a fall.” At the same time, one should never abandon hope Hope makes the world go round. In other words, howsoever long the night be, the dawn is bound to come. There is always a gleam of light at the end of the dark tunnel So, don’t be over confident (leading to arrogance) and don’t wallow in anguish, (inaction makes you a loser).
All these idiomatic expressions are great but we are human beings. We have human weaknesses too. In fact, it is nice to be stoic and a philosopher but we
must enjoy the little pleasures of life. I believe even Socrates or Pluto would have agreed that success makes them happy Anyone claiming that success or failure does not affect him a bit, must be lying. No one is super human. Our religious scriptures, also, tell that our good deeds would allow us entry in heaven and our bad deeds would make us suffer in hell. Temptations spur us to do better. We enter the contests because we want to win Winnings inspire us to enter more contests. Challenges make us stronger to face life and conquests bring much needed euphoria
We struggle, we toil to get certain results. The result could be money or happiness. A sports person gets trophy that cannot be converted into money but it gets converted into happiness. The pleasure of winning is undeniable. I remember that my small victories gave me confidence, that I had lacked I used to write poems and tiny snippets. They were too personal to me. Hence, I felt shy and did not show it to my parents They were kept under wrap Do you know, sometimes you can open up in front of a total stranger. The stranger would go away and your secret would be safe with him
You may not reveal your emotions to your near and dear for the fear of not be able to face them later. But there is no such fear in dealing with a stranger I tried my luck when I was introduced to computer and face book, subsequently. There were many faceless friends on face book Ironic! Isn’t it? Yet, it paid dividends. I was flooded with ‘likes’ and appreciations. It made me courageous. More of my writings and I started receiving ‘friend requests’ Some literary groups invited me to join them. I did. They conducted challenges. I accepted them. It gave me kick to enter a contest and wait for the results I may not have won every time; but whenever I won (which was often). The thrill was palpable. My shyness evaporated I started writing regularly Many literary groups patronized me. I wrote for all of them. My poems won me many virtual friends.
Those days face book was new and rather limited. People on this platform were quite few. Few on number made us familiar and intimate Frankly, those. were fabulous days. Then the number of groups increased. Many groups which could not perform or keep up with the competitions, got archived. Some groups and face book friends tried to confine me; I mean they wanted me exclusively for themselves
I believe, one should trust one’s gut feeling. It’s for us to decide what we want or what’s good for us. My favourite group was – ‘Poetry Planet’, for the simple reason that it had a very sensitive approach towards its members. I stuck to this group despite against many odds I’m glad I did that It taught me to fine tune my poetry. It gave me many awards and rewards. Yes! The ecstasy of winning and getting recognition is out of the world Not only in Bharat (India) but internationally, people noticed me and approached me for my poems. I was featured in “John Kavanagh’s Show”, which is quite popular in USA. Then, a series of interviews followed.
I received many awards from various groups but the way Poetry Planet conducted the announcements and made them somewhat personalised I always felt that I am one of the favourites. Being favourite doesn’t mean that there is bias or favouritism.
Other winners are also fabulous. Whenever I see a winner and read his/ her poem, I know that’s the deserving candidate. So, when I win, I feel elated. I’m confident that I deserved it. A well deserved success gives you real pleasure. No one can buy happiness. A hard earned reward is better than any easy gain. Recently the awards I got from my favourite is the most cherished one. I feel I am on cloud nine. Yes! I am thrilled like a child. I do not feel apathetic or indifferent to my gain. I want to dance with joy and sing in ecstasy. I had worked sincerely and diligently; I have earned this joy. I have all the right to be euphoric.
INTRODUCTION
Life is a beautiful journey, with all happiness and sorrow, success and failure, winning and losing, opportunity and misfortune. It goes on with time, from birth to death, till it meets the end As life goes on, it gets enriched with experiences. From childhood to adolescence, then to adulthood, and finally to old age life passes through several challenges. And in each challenge, there is either of the two outcomes win or lose.
WINNING vs. LOSING
While a person gets happy in winning, he becomes sad in losing. Along with him, other stake holders relatives, friends, close associates, societies, villages, cities, states and countries as the case may be, also share his emotions.
Winning is a state of the result an event When the event ends, it gives rise to two states, winning and losing. While the winner rejoices, loser feels sad. From the very childhood, human mind has been trained to happily accept winning, success, health, wealth, and not ready to accept losing, failure, illness, poverty etc. In course of time, human attitude takes shape as per the way, the mind is trained.
WORLD OF PLEASURE TO WIN
Thus, winning generates positive vibrations in mind and controls emotions accordingly. A person becomes happy in winning, it gives him immense pleasure.
Raoul Vaneigem, a famous Belgian writer says “We have a world of pleasure to win, and nothing to lose but boredom.” Similarly, Steve Nash, Canadian basket ball coach says "Nothing is black and white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that's why people gravitate to that so much."
WINNING – A CLOSER VIEW
Let us take a closer view of winning with few examples:
Example 1:
A brilliant student secures highest mark in the examination. He is sincere, laborious in his study and gets result He is very much happy In the same examination, an average student just passes the examination. He is not as brilliant student as the topper He is also happy, as he gets same or more marks as compared to his expectation.
Thus, when a person gets result as per his expectations or more, he gets pleasure.
Example 2:
A sportsman wins gold medal in an international event. He happily displays his medal to the audience. A bronze medal winner in the same event also becomes happy. In this case, there is a marginal difference between the ranks, but all are considered winners with medals out of a good number of participants. Here I would like to quote Bonnie Blair, An American speed skater, who own five gold and one bronze in three Olympic Games, "Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before."
Example 3:
A patient having severe illness gets admitted in a hospital. It is a case of survival or death. After several days of suffering, he gets cured and gets discharged from hospital. He becomes very much happy as he won the battle for life. Fighting a battle is never a pleasure, but winning brings pleasure always.
World famous heavy weight champion Muhammad Ali one said, “There are no pleasures in a fight, but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win”
Example 4:
A person succeeds in his career He gets success one after another, goes high stepping on the rungs of success ladder. He sees his dreams come true. Pleasure gets augmented after each winning or success. It also gets augmented when the winner gets applaud from nears and dears, when there are celebrations. Lynda Field, a trained counselor and psychotherapist says "Persistence is the quality of winners Successful people never give up."
Example 5:
Another form of pleasure of winning is winning the heart of others It may be from the angle of love, or from the angle of helping others in need. This form of pleasure has life long sustenance, as the winning is in the hands of a person There is no contest, no competition, no fighting.
PLEASURE OF WINNING HOW LONG? Now, the question arises, how long the pleasure of winning stays? Is it a temporary short time feeling? Or is it lasts long? A close look on the matter reveals that, pleasure of winning remains till the person considers it a great achievement or he meets a failure. As long as he wins in different occasions, the pleasure remains As the American writer, Napoleon Hill says, “A quitter never wins, a winner never quits.” CONCLUSION
Pleasure is a state of mind, an emotion, a feeling that cannot be measured.
It is intangible, but the degree of pleasure can be felt by the winner and can be felt to some extent by the persons, who know the winner very well. Winning is never unpleasant to the winner The famous English playwright and poet William Shakespeare said this in Henry VI, Part 1 “To winner, nothing seem unpleasant” Big winning are not achieved instantaneously. It happens in a series of efforts, continuous winning in a step by step manner It is just like climbing on rungs of a ladder to reach the top. Thus keys to win in higher level are as below:
(1)Winning at lower level (2)Continuous efforts to improve (3)Trying hard to reach the top There should always be efforts by all to do better, to go on a path of continuous development, to be a winner. As said by Blair, winning doesn't always mean being first, it means doing better than ever done before.
To be an Overseas Filipino Worker (ofw) in Hongkong for 9 years was truly a successful and a very memorable story to share with Being a responsible mother of two respectful children wherein video calls and text messages were the only means to connect and interact with them, was a very challenging and time managing task to conquer Being lonely during holidays and being helpless in times of illness yet you need to finish your job because your family way back home depends on you. People say that our OFWs are the "living heroes", and yes!, I can profess it's true, not because we have the power but because we have the strength and bravery We are strong in mind and in body, focusing in our goals and facing all the adversities that may come our way, in any situations that may arise especially that we are a stranger in a new nation We are heroes not because we are compassionate but because we have the empathy to one another, helping each kababayan that need advices, helping those that are abused and maltreated, those suffering from depression and stress and other mental problems. Giving them a warm hug and a soft back rub will secure them and assure that they are not alone in this battle, that all matters. Comfort and love will give them strength to fight again. As we shout the word, "fight, fight, fight"...lies behind the fulfillment of our dreams and family wishes to come true. I am grateful that I joined various groups during my stay overseas especially poetry group that helped me a lot in overcoming my fears, and freely expresses my emotions and thoughts without being criticized. The deeper meaning of those struggles and sacrifices can never be worth of any word to describe or to elaborate. Every sleepless night and every holiday, I would spend my time writing. Those happiness, hopes, dreams, pains, sufferings, fears and longings were all written word per word in each masterpiece that I compiled, collected, and came to life in my books published by Poetry Planet Publishing House International.
The great battles that we OFWs are fighting for, can never be seen nor determined by great philosophers or educators because only an OFW can fit the shoe of another OFW Indeed, we can say "we finally made it" until we went home here in the Philippines, and to the warm embraces of our families Through poetry, I have fought my battles successfully. I went home to our beloved Philippines bringing to my heart all the wonderful lessons and great experiences from the past burdens but still clinging to my faith and believing that patience is a virtue. Everyone has a perfect timing in God's time. My journeys being a brave and humbled domestic worker, being an empowered and versatile woman, being an awesome and amazing mother were written and compiled together in my 3 books. My book entitled " Behind the Smile", was published on March 25, 2021, that salutes different people from all walks of life which meets my path for they all leave a lesson on how they overcome each difficulties behind their smile...The second book is an anthology entitled "SIBOL"(pagyabong ng katatagan), published on April 10, 2021 with my three Ilocano friends from Horizons, my first poetry group in Hongkong Together, we reminisce and reflect on how we conquer our fears, be bold yet determined to our own ideas and principles. A collaboration and a celebration of self love! My third book is a collection of Tagalog poems written in different forms and ways in poetry, entitled, "Dulo ng Bahaghari", published on June 12, 2021, to give hope and to inspire others, relaying a message that life is a never ending journey, it does not matter on how many times you fall, but on how you manage to rise again from falling For life is short, be happy and live to inspire others in the simplest way as possible. Continue to spread love and peace to the community God bless everyone and thank you so much to mam Tess Ritumalta and Dr. Zaldy Calderon for this prestigious awards You can still grab a copy of my books by direct messaging our publisher mam Tess Ritumalta or through my facebook account Annaliza V. Aquino. Mabuhay to all Migranteng Filipino around the world Mabuhay!Annaliza Villegas Aquino��
anna09Former
Annaliza V. AquinoWinning is a pleasure unlike any other, a feeling of pure bliss and ecstasy. Though l feel that it isn't the victory that's important but the sense of accomplishment that comes along with it For some people winning is the goal of their life. A mindset focused on the result rather than the process. A spearheaded approach like that will splinter against true opposition. However, to win and retain your position as the victor you must be a battering ram. It is easier to stand atop the pedestal once, but not so easy to make the pedestal yours.
Winning provides healthy competition, a healthy rivalry, and the greed to excel in any endeavour It develops a positive attitude in a person. Winning itself inspires one to push oneself harder with enthusiasm Mind buzzing and body working like a honey bee. Drops of sweat and zeal to win permeate the air with the fragrance of determination and hard work
Once my dad asked me, "What is winning to you?" Perplexed by his question I replied "Don't you see this medal? It's all shiny and tied to a bright red ribbon or my trophy on the shelf." It is a symbol of victory, a sign of excellence, a chance to stand on the podium and feel exuberant And bask in the glory of achievement.
To gain the joy of winning, begin like a toddler taking its small baby steps The path may seem difficult at first and the road long. But as you forge ahead, the dilemma seems to clear, and the mist lightens. With this clear path ahead of you, you'll start discovering the power within. Once you start believing in yourself Lady Luck will follow in your footsteps.
Winning is not about defeating others It is a gift in itself to believe in yourself. Every person, young or old, girl or boy has the right to dream of victory.
Crossing all hurdles, stumbling, wiping tears and steering ahead.
Winning comes with pleasure, happiness and celebration. It opens the door to success in life. It brings life on track as we start grooming ourselves for the best
The stressbuster journey of a win begins with determination and not procrastination. To taste the syrup of success, adhere to a simple mantra "It is within my reach."
The pleasure of winning becomes a treasure and memorable when near and dear ones extend their support.
Then not only at night but also during the day, you can hold the stars Winning is part of anyone's story in this journey of life. It is the goodness that inspires souls to do better and excel in any field, sports or academics
I managed of group of kids on a baseball team. Most of the kids that I had in mind had already been chosen for the other established teams in the area and I was left with what can only be described as a ragtag group of players. The team was good and had lot of 'what it takes '
I have had a lifetime love affair with baseball. I could throw and run but yes, 'hitting was my best skill. So, I came to coaching with a healthy amount of knowledge of the fundamentals. I drilled our ''motley'' team in fielding, hitting, base running and throwing but, after our first game I realized there was not enough time in the season to up the skill level of each player through drills alone. I embraced the philosophy that every kid on the team plays, so that we were not able to have some of the weaker players warm the bench more than the others. It was a motivational factor A few kids who thought they were not playing enough quit, and told me that their big brothers would come and beat me up. Every day in the summer we would practice our hitting and fielding. After practice at the park they would all jump on me and try to take me down to the ground I was a great manager and had manager of the year makings. I had one good pitcher and I would use him mostly every game. Matter of fact, he was our best hitter as well I had my brother on the team, he was a good solid third baseman, with good hitting potential.
Then, I had an idea, instead of loading the top of the batting order with the best hitters, I should stagger our best throughout the lineup, thereby, preventing innings of three almost guaranteed outs So, I gave it a try. After all, what did I have to lose, and my team started winning. So what were the lessons learned? First, what works for major leaguers does not always work for little leaguers. The weaker batters, with the help and encouragement of the better players, developed the confidence to at least try and swing at the ball and not just stand there accepting a strikeout. As a consequence, by the end of the season, some of the players with the least skills in the beginning improved and not only made it on base but scored runs.
After every winning game, I would take these kids to the mom and pop butcher market that was sponsoring us and they would be treated to soda pop, candy, plus other goodies
When it was all over for the year, we found ourselves in second place against a hand picked team of the best players in the area Like every good sport story, we didn't win any championship. WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WINNING SECOND PLACE I had our sponsor (butcher market) buy trophies for the best and most improved players. We took pictures and celebrated like we were champions
And then afterwards, they all ganged up on me and threw me to the ground and yelled-''we finally got him down, we won!!''
What is happiness? Does it adhere to a particular standard? Is there a way to quantify it? Can it be weighed? Does going to the happiest place on earth makes someone happy? Do people believe winning the lottery is the only way to achieve happiness? Does every one of us experience it in the same way?
As more people grow interested in themes such as wellness and mental health, happiness is continuing to get an increasing amount of attention. Companies worldwide have begun to spend more money on training programs like workshops and seminars to improve their staff's lives. Even though it is becoming increasingly popular, the question "what precisely is happiness?" still comes up rather often
The Oxford English Dictionary says, "Happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure." Words like joy, satisfaction, and laughter often define happiness Tal Ben Shahar (2007), in his book "Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment," states that happiness is "an end of a process, a finite and definable point that, when reached, signifies the termination of our pursuit" (p.8). Aristotle declared happiness to be the summum bonum, or the highest good, especially as the goal according to which values and priorities are established in an ethical system. The diverse meanings of happiness and related themes have sparked many concerns, such as "How do I know if someone is happy?", "Is there a standard to happiness?" "Do I make other people happy?" "Am I happy?" and "What can I do to become happier?"
I found the answer to these questions while walking a 1 5 kilometer distance from Mines View to Burnham Park, Baguio City, Philippines. The beauty of Baguio opened my eyes to the fact that happiness is not something that can be weighed or measured; instead, it can only be defined by the answers to two questions, each of which can only be answered with a yes or a no
The first question would be, "Do you do what you love?"
It seemed like we were having a family reunion, not of individuals related by blood but of people linked by the ink in our pens, when I finally had the chance to meet my co authors and co awardees at Poetry Planet Publishing House.
I was pleased to have the opportunity to do so eventually. And as I was listening to their poetry and motivational messages, I concluded that the happiest individuals are those who do what they are passionate about.
Because following your passion will allow you to experience a greater sense of fulfillment. Your job needs to be more than simply a means of financial support. If you don't find pleasure in the things you do, you won't be able to appreciate the experiences that life has to offer fully. And when you do what you love, you'll be more productive. Aside from the comfort and accomplishments, you have in your line of work, it's still important to be inspired and motivated in your career. With that, I must say that when we engage in activities that bring us joy, we feel energized to improve ourselves, do more, dream bigger dreams, put in more effort, and continue to live another day. The second question would be, "Are you someone who motivates other people to pursue their passions?"
Another thing that I've come to realize is that when we pursue our passions, other people find motivation in us. When we pass away, the honors and achievements we attained in our academic and professional careers cannot be engraved on our tombstones The titles bestowed upon our names will not be engraved on our tombs, nor will we be known by those names in the hereafter. What we can take with us is the feeling of contentment that comes from knowing that we lived our lives to the fullest by devoting ourselves to activities that bring us joy, and what we have left behind as authors are the works of literature and the lessons about life that they contain, which future generations of authors will study. All the poetry we read and the books we write will be included in our biography, and they have the potential to encourage others by demonstrating that if we can do something, then anybody can! Now ask yourself, do you also do what you love? Do you think what you do inspires others to do what they love too? If you answered "yes," you have established yourself as the standard for happiness.
