PARADOXICAL

From: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1142308637942536&set=a.556808999825839 

posted by Resty Odon  # 12:29 AM 0 Comments

 Wilderness within Reach

(Every single day in my backyard is mini-ecotourism day.)


Although I have spent a sizeable part of my growing up years in the big city, I am blessed to have spent a great deal of it too in its total opposite: a bucolic setting like my humble place. The thing I appreciate the most about provincial life is the luxury of doing nothing in the backyard and watching nature's little untold wonders unfold right before my eyes. Without all the hassles of getting a passport or spending a single cent on travel, this experience has brought me a lot of unbidden moments of encounter with many little creatures I had never set my eyes on before, to say nothing about the sight of constantly changing clouds and sunsets that give a range of breathtaking hues, from pink to orange to mauve. In my backyard, every single day is a mini-ecotourism day.

Here, in this barangay they once called Palandey (mountain) and which was historically described either as a "jungle" or "mountainous area" then eventually converted by the Americans as a military camp, I have experienced being face to face with fireflies at night for the first time in my life. Kulibangbang and madre cacao trees grew wild in abandon, and so did wild shrubs and grasses and herbs considered either as medicinal plants or weeds: kulibetbet (pandakaki), tsaang gubat, viray, amorseko, makahiya...

At night, the silence was routinely pierced by the chorus of kuryat (kuliglig or crickets), together with various croakings of different frogs. Sometimes, the darkness was punctuated by a hissing sound and an ensuing racket that could only come from a bullfrog fending off a snake. But most nights, depending on the season, meant an assortment of creepers and bugs I had, for the life of me, no name for. From antlions to box moths to katydids to dung beetles and praying mantises, I had to do deep research just to find out.

On good days, a lone eagle or some other raptor could be seen hovering in the blue skies above, and flocks of white herons or egrets flying by. The sight of a giant moth or a giant bat was rare, but they did occur now and then.

During the rainy season, it's anybody's guess what wildings from bird droppings would come a-sprouting and greeting us on a clear morning. I've lost count of plants that made a surprise appearance, but among those are wild pipinos or pepinitos, niyog-niyogan, sung-song carabao, and ivy gourd. A few kinds of snails and sometimes a lizard also routinely made an appearance, adding to the biodiversity.

Each encounter with new species is like unmerited grace, treated as someone's gift to me for no reason at all, just because I exist. Each kind has its own innate beauty despite its reason for being mostly unheralded and unappreciated. Whenever I feel tired of being good and doing good, some organism stops me in my tracks, springing a surprise of discovery, offering a grand eyeball of sorts for the first time, and the little encounter easily comes off as a secret blessing that only I know about.

My experience with letting nature surprise me on its own terms was once sparked by a big yellow butterfly that flew skittishly on top of our santol tree. What, to me, was an unusual sighting was followed by another butterfly species, then, another, and another, all in one day while I was occupied with nothing. I don't know what's with the santol tree at the time (maybe it was blooming and fruiting?), but this incident singlehandedly opened my eyes. I had already found it amazing that there was such a variety of ants and spiders and dragonflies and frogs and fungi (including mushrooms) around me, but it turned out that diversity was also an arresting feature of yet another family of beings or, biologically speaking, organisms: the butterflies. Eventually, I was compelled to draw each of what I saw for the first time and came up with about a dozen kinds.

And it didn't stop with butterflies. The next happy incident would involve birds, and this time, the one that first sparked my curiosity was a tiny black bird with a single white spot on each wing that looked like eyes in flight. It was something I had never seen before, and it would take years before I was able to learn that it was a pied bushchat. The little bird was perched on a guava tree at my eye level but wouldn't fly away upon my approach like any wild bird would, so I sensed something was wrong. Indeed, it seemed weak and unable to fly for some reason, so after inspecting it, I left it perched on the branch. Then it was gone. But obviously it left a lasting mark.

It turned out that there were other birds here aside from the so-called maya bird, which I eventually learned to be not even a maya but a Eurasian tree sparrow. Pretty soon, I became cognizant of any new thing manifesting its presence whether by sight or sound, or as a mysterious silhouette in the shades between branches and shadows of the underbrushes. This is how I got to learn about the yellow-vented bulbul, the fantail, the shrike, the martinez (mynah), the long-tailed shrike, the zebra dove, the red turtle dove, the brahminy kite, the kingfishers, the white-eyes, the munias... I became a 'birder' (bird-watching enthusiast) without knowing the term yet... right in my own backyard.

I feel especially celebratory whenever I discover something new on my list of confirmed scientific names. By being a serious birder, I would eventually discover that certain species that I never imagined to be present within my locality would someday come face to face with me: olive-backed sunbirds (now called garden sunbirds), orioles, spiderhunters, bee-eaters, parrot-finches, pied trillers, golden-bellied gerygones, red-keeled flowerpeckers, pygmy flowerpeckers, woodpeckers, kingfishers, swallows, swifts, tailorbirds, starlings, finches... As time went by, the list got longer and longer. I even strongly believe that those were a coucal, an elegant tit, and a malkoha that I spotted or whose unique call I heard around my neighborhood at least once. Each first-time-ever-in-my-life encounter is called, fittingly in the birding community, a "lifer." There is this sense of frustration with every species left unidentified, like it's an unresolved issue deep within. But, yes, each new sighting calls for a moment of self-congratulation.

From the surface, my own humble patch is not much. With the rapidly encroaching urbanization, most of the creatures are gone. The sudden loss of certain species, I noticed, always coincided with the removal of certain vegetations that the missing ones find attractive (such as bamboo groves, citrus, and native flowering and fruiting trees). But with many of the trees still around, it still holds so much life in all its manifold forms awaiting to be discovered if only you have the eyes for it.

To make things clear, I hold no romantic vision of nature. Nature can be such a bitch, even beastly. Let's not kid ourselves. Nature also means rats, mice, shrews, flies, mosquitoes, armyworms, centipedes, scorpions, silverfish, cobras, stinging bees and wasps, molds and mildew, pestilential caterpillars, leafcutters, locusts, mean ants that bite you fiercely, and termites -- which my place has a fair share of. I am a nature-lover, true, but also a nature-hater and -basher, depending on the encounter. Nevertheless, I am grateful that I am not totally detached from nature, and the wisdom of the wilderness is still within my reach.

(This content is 0% AI-generated.)

posted by Resty Odon  # 3:06 AM 0 Comments

 " Remember that you live in a fallen world: an abnormal world tainted by sin. Much frustration and failure result from your seeking perfection in this life. There is nothing perfect in this world except Me. That is why closeness to Me satisfies deep yearnings and fills you with Joy. "

posted by Resty Odon  # 8:43 PM 0 Comments

 If you are in the business of doing good, expect to be opposed on all fronts. After all, what is life but war? But it is a battle worth fighting for, because it's the only one that matters.

posted by Resty Odon  # 11:19 PM 0 Comments

We are NOT as Intelligent as We Think We are, and That is a Good Thing!

"Uy ang talino mo naman!"

I feel uneasy every time someone gives me that remark just because of what I wrote. Why? Because I know enough about various kinds of intelligence and have met a lot of people who have shown me first-hand what intelligence means: that it is NOT limited to the 3 Rs.

I may be good at words, but once upon a time I saw how my cousin routinely beat me at math in grade school. Our Grade 3 teacher, Mrs. Evangeline Tagulao, had this habit of staging a mini-contest using cards where two pupils guessed the answer to basic math operations. In those contests, it was humiliating for me to realize that I wasn't good in math, not at all. Although 1+1 and 2+2 were basic for me, if my teacher asked a combination higher than those, I would have to relax myself, sit down, and think hard to get the answer right without using a calculator. (No joke, no joke.)

I don't know how I survived school subjects like geometry, chemistry, algebra, physics, statistics, and calculus. It must have been because of how good my teachers were, like Mrs. Cuchapin and Mrs. Saygo.

I may be good at writing essays, but you won't believe how much I admire another cousin who could play the guitar and read notes and chords on this little song book called "Song Hits." As for me, I tried playing "Yellow Bird" one time on the ukelele, of all things, and from thereon accepted that I wasn't born to be a musician. Maybe a critic, but not an actual player.

I know my intelligence is limited whenever I am with someone in a strange place, like a city with streets winding this way and that, and the person has no problem getting lost in it. ...Because left to my own devices, I am pretty sure I would end up panicking like this fool pleading for help inside a labyrinth or deep within the jungle after I ventured a little off the hiking trail.

I admire people who know how to cook well by instinct (even without going to culinary school for it), because I am kind of bad in this department.

Even as a writer, I am envious of people who can write poems, fiction, and especially novels, for which I have no energy doing.

I know my so-called intellect is no match to the innate talent of athletes, so I can't afford to brag about it in the face of their skill.

I may have a way with words, but you can't expect me to be like McGyver around the house, with my knowledge of carpentry and electrical wiring close to nil.

I admire people who can be the life of the party, an event host -- things like that. Because I can't do that even if my life depended on it. Or will only do it at gunpoint.

I am excellent at being a recluse, though. I am fond of ruminating, of navel-gazing, of stargazing. But not to the point of making a career out of it, or coming up with a profound philosophical treatise. Maybe by being the client or patient of the psychiatrist, yes.

They say interest in the natural world is called naturalistic intelligence, and I think I have it in spades, and that is why I took up BS Biology in college. So maybe there is at least one other type of intelligence that I can say I possess. But it only resulted in cultivating succulents that refuse to bloom. I discovered that most plants die on you if you give too little or too much of sun, water, nutrients...

Some people may be secretly envious of me for what I have, or what I have developed (though sheer passion and hard work), but I am, in fact, envious of people who can do anything I am not as good at. Especially singing and dancing.

I am probably the most unbalanced person you know. This thought keeps me humble. My saving grace, I think, is that my interest will strike most people as incredibly wide. As a writer, this enables me to treat most subjects as though they are the most interesting thing in the world.

Anyway, I am glad that no person has a monopoly of intelligence. I don't think I have met anyone who has ticked off all the boxes by Howard Gardner. A few exceptionally gifted people like Jose Rizal may be polymaths, but they, too, have weaknesses. God, in his goodness and generosity, must have distributed intelligence in different ways to different people.

What a wonderful world it is, if that is so, because it means we were born to collaborate with our multiple intelligences, with our own unique giftedness.

posted by Resty Odon  # 3:26 PM 0 Comments

We are all marked men

by Francis J. Kong 

Here is an exciting piece I’ve kept for years and found funny. The article is titled: Nine Important Facts to Remember as We Grow Older.

#9. Death is the number one killer in the world.

#8. Life is sexually transmitted.

#7. Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

#6. Men have two motivations: hunger and hanky-panky, and they can’t tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich.

#5. Teach a person to use the Internet, and they won’t bother you for weeks, months, or maybe years.

#4. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.

#3. Weather teaches us a valuable lesson. It pays no attention to criticism.

#2. In the ’60s, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now, the world is funny, and people take Prozac to make it normal.

#1. Life is like a jar of jalapeño peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow.

This list was funny to me years ago when I was much younger. But now that I am in my senior years, the humor doesn’t carry quite the same punch.

Ryan Holiday, an author I follow, recently launched his book, Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values, Good Character, Good Deeds, where he talks about Marcus Aurelius. It didn’t matter that Aurelius was powerful and wise, nor that so many people depended on him. It didn’t matter that he maintained the stern, rigorous habits of his youth.

Marcus Aurelius was getting old. Like all of us, he faced the path of time, walking it daily, going only in one direction – away from his younger self, never to return.

In Meditations, we catch Marcus as he comes to terms with this reality. He had always meditated on death (that’s what the practice of memento mori was), but now he was no longer a young man. In fact, he was a marked man.

It’s a painful realization, one too many of us try to deny or distract ourselves from. We push the thought away, fantasize about breakthroughs in medicine, or dream of a fountain of youth. We see others as old, but we? We feel the same as we always have, so we pretend nothing has changed.

Seneca faced a similar shock when he visited his boyhood home. The sight was disappointing, especially the old and dying trees surrounding the house. In his youth, the house had been surrounded by lively, green trees he’d helped plant. That’s when Seneca was hit with an unavoidable truth: they were the same trees from his youth, now nearing the end of their lives – and so was he.

We all face the path of time. We all get older. We are all marked men.

In youth, we may feel invincible. But reality eventually arrives. Some face it with courage and acceptance; others deny it, hiding their fear behind superstitions, like: • Avoiding the mention of death • Mirrors in the house • Carrying charms • Knocking on wood • Numerology and death

Fear of numbers like 13 in the West and four in East Asia (due to its phonetic resemblance to the word for death) and shying away from the number “nine” on their birthdays illustrates how numerology is linked to death superstitions.

The wise prepare for this eventuality. They don’t wish to burden their children with unfinished affairs. A responsible leader always plans for such times.

We cannot live fully unless we are at peace with death. Senior Pastor Chad Williams of Union Church of Manila shares a little-known fact about Winston Churchill, who planned his own funeral. After the eulogy and benediction, one person in the eastern tower of St. Paul’s Cathedral plays Taps, and on the opposite side, Reveille/Sunrise, Sunset rings out. “Oh, Happy Days!” indeed.

As the psalmist says: “Lord, teach me to number my days right, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.”

A yellow sticky note pops up on my computer screen every time I log in. It says, “Francis, live each day as if it were the last, because one day, you’ll be right.” This is wise, and I hope you agree.

posted by Resty Odon  # 4:53 AM 0 Comments

By all accounts, I shouldn't be a devout Catholic, I should've been more of a communist rebel or at least a leftist activist. At young age, I had everything going for me to become a rebel. I came from a poor family but moved in a circle dominated by kids from well-to-do families. I knew first-hand the thousand humiliations of being materially inferior.

Couple this with another sense of inferiority: physical. I was the proverbial ugly duckling. I grew up in a family where being mestizo or mestiza was openly preferred and extolled. Growing up bitter was written in my stars, so to speak.

I also grew up with a father who seemed to me to be distant and also struck me as a disciplinarian, militaristic type. I hardly saw a loving God the father in him. I also developed a lack of self-esteem.

It didn't make sense to believe in a loving God. It didn't make sense to have faith. And yet, despite these twin wounds that ran deep inside me, I became the good boy, the nice guy, the one who wanted to please everyone. It wasn't obvious to me then, but I apparently was hungry for love and acceptance. And aside from that, I became a religious kind of guy, a churchy person. Apparently, I too was trying to win God's love and approval.

I am not sure how or why I ended up being so, so today is perhaps a good time to trace it.

(To be continued)

posted by Resty Odon  # 7:04 PM 0 Comments

Thoughts on an FB Reel

posted by Resty Odon  # 7:28 PM 0 Comments

Slander Season Begins

It's election time once again, and so the mudslinging is expected to pollute the airwaves to 100% saturation. Hey, are you actually expecting a campaign debate about platforms and programs? Don't be ridiculous. What you can expect are slander and defamation galore, not to mention the spreading of lies. 

Complementing this reality is our love for showbiz gossip. As of this writing, the word war between comedian-actor Dennis Padilla and his beautiful children with Marjorie Barretto are competing "Trump's tariff tantrum" (as one editor deftly put it) and China's military drill for an impending invasion of Taiwan. The noise generated on social media, I figure, could power solar panels and nuclear reactors enough to avoid outages for 10 years. 

If we are not careful, we can easily get caught up in the ensuing maelstrom. After all, who doesn't love to listen to juicy stuff? As one veteran media man once pointed out, "That's why FB reels are most effective as clickbait."

It behooves us, therefore to reminder ourselves of basic do's and don't's. What can we discuss in public and what can we not? 

What I learned is that, public matters, including very public acts of public officials concerning matters of public concern are par for the course. Private matters, including private faults or sins, when discussed in public is gossip: malicious and defamatory in nature. In Christian moral terms, gossip, whether true or not, is slander, if uttered inappropriately -- that is, if discussed with a third party who has no business knowing it.

In legal terms, as a former colleague turned lawyer pointed out, there are notable differences. "Truth is a defense to defamation whether as libel (written form of defamation) or slander (non-written form of defamation). If defamation is against a private person, then malicious intent is presumed, but if against a public person, you have to prove negligence."

She explains further that defamation in the Philippines is "more confined to imputing to someone a crime, vice, or defect that tends to put a person in dishonor or discredit him/her. So for example, if you call someone who is indeed bald "kalbo," then this is not considered defamation, but if you call someone "prostitute," then it is a case of defamation."

There are a few exceptions to the rule against gossip and malicious speech.

In the case of persons considered as "public property" like showbiz people and celebrities whose livelihood depends on the public consumption of their professional and personal affairs, their issues may be legally discussed in public by common folk. If a celebrity airs his/her dirty laundry in public, that would be fair game for public, er, interpretation and analysis.

(Personally, I would still be uncomfortable lest I end up judging a person's character especially since I don't know him/her personally and I am not privy to the whole story. (Remember that every story has two sides -- even three sides: the sides of the two antagonists and the side of the one caught in the middle and took a neutral stance like, say, Switzerland).

There are very few other exceptions when it is legitimate or necessary to discuss a person's faults with a third party, like when a sibling reports another sibling's wrongdoing to their parents with aim of correcting a mistake, or when you are confessing your sin to a priest, or when you're in a counseling session when you need to reveal identities, but in confidence and within a safe space, or when you are reporting a crime to the police when a misdeed takes on a public dimension.

Another important exception is when discussing an issue to share a lesson or illustrate one's point, but without revealing identities.

An extreme case is during war or when facing criminals, murderers, torturers. Of course, why would you reveal that you are hiding 1,000 Jews in your basement, or that you are entrusted with the family's jewels in the attic, or that you know the state's secrets? Being overly honest in this case would be plain stupid, even under the pain of torture and death, as long as the aim is to uphold what is right and good and true and protect life and limb and property.

It is sad that, during elections, a lot of people take slander lightly. They think it is okay to spread lies, assume doubtful things as truth, and invent malicious things against fellow candidates when it is, in fact, equivalent to murder, the murder of reputations. 

The worst cases are out-and-out cybercrimes, when some people have the gumption to steal other' people's identities to make threats or extort money from the unsuspecting.

In Christianity kasi, when it is none of your business to talk about a person's private faults with a third party (emphasis on private), it is not just uncharitable, it is a serious sin even if the accusation is true because it is impossible to take back what you have released like minute spores or seeds in the four directions of the wind. How much more when the presumption proves to be untrue? -- it becomes a case of bearing false witness against thy neighbor. 

Righteous speech is one of the hardest things to obey, of course. But we can't deny its wisdom, especially when we find ourselves on the receiving end of malicious thoughts from a judgmental public.

posted by Resty Odon  # 7:59 PM 0 Comments

𝐖𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠? 𝐖𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?

It's simply amazing how the same incident could be looked upon by two groups of people so differently, as in diametrically opposite ways. We, Filipinos, are especially notorious for it. As a society burdened with highly diversified levels of fragmentation, I think we have a special knack for it.

I've seen this constantly while growing up around people who didn't share my background: those who were not Pangasinense (Tagalog vs non-Tagalogs), did not grow up in Manila (city person/coño vs promdi), not belonging to the lower classes (rich vs poor), not Catholic (Catholic vs Protestants mostly), not pro-Marcos (loyalist vs oppositionist)… I can't quite forget the fierce school rivalries, and the seasonal clash about the basketball teams one was rooting for during the Philippine Basketball Association games on TV. The most vitriolic of them all also happens to be the pettiest: Noranians vs Vilmanians. (Recall, for instance, the showdown between Allan K and Leonard Obal in the hit show "Si Velma at Si Nura" in 1992 at The Library.) Life in the midst of all that antagonism on account of various socioeconomic differences is a constant debate on who or what is right or who or which is better.

For every point you raised (thesis), it was sure to be met with a retort (anti-thesis). It's a world of Hegelian dialectics without end, if you know what I mean. If you're not careful, you’d get convinced that everything is subjective, and there's no such thing as objective reality. It such a world, everyone can be easily accused of being in denial, having cognitive dissonance, and a victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect (or is that confirmation bias).

Once again, we are in the middle of such endless debates with no one willing to concede, what with the eruption of that meeting that transpired in the Oval Office between Trump and his so-called 'Make-America-Great-Again' (MAGA) gang. This was followed by an ex-president's arrest by the International Criminal Court. It is easy to get caught in the maelstrom of mudslinging between the two camps, the very much annoying divide between conservatives, often synonymous to Republicans, and so-called liberals, often synonymous to Democrats. Not to mention, the even more maddening divide back in home turf between the DDS ('Dutertards') and the Dilawans/Pinklawans. In each issue, who is telling the truth? Why, of course, the one you side with!

It's a crazy dystopic world out there, because there's no longer any debate at all. If no side is willing, or no longer willing, to listen to the contending side, or has already formed an opinion without even bothering to try looking at the other perspective, there’s no point in the exchange.

In one writing seminar of hers, I remember how a noted novelist once recounted how she had been invited to give a talk in a history convention of sorts. "History is no different from fiction," she said with a straight face and in front of rabid historians too. The historians didn't like what she said, she said, and I guess she was never invited again. But to prove her point to us, her writing class, she took note of the biggest news of the day, something about the First Lady, and pointed out how it was interpreted in opposite ways by two contending political parties. We in her audience laughed in unison. "See?", she said, implying how right she was.

I understand why the historians were aghast, though. If nothing is ever factual, if no interpretation of a given story is ever right and authoritative, then what is the use of studying history, what's the point of anything at all? As irked teachers of yesteryears would exclaim, "Let's just go home and plant camote!"

What kind of world is this when nothing seems valid anymore as long as it is contested by another party? ...when nothing holds water anymore just because someone is opposing it?

While it's true that humans will be humans, with weaknesses and blind spots, blind to bird's eye views (the big picture) and God's eye views (the complete picture), I'd like to believe that there is such a thing as objective reality, no matter whose viewpoint is questioned, no matter whose religious affiliation or political party is hurt. Fact is fact is fact. And opinion, even though it is just an opinion, must be based on fact for it to become a valid opinion. Otherwise, it would be plain nonsense.

Opinions are simply not equal because there is the reality of people getting confused and, worse, being dishonest and in denial, both deliberately and unconsciously. There are people who deliberately obfuscate things to advance a dubious agenda, withhold information resulting in missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, exaggerate, and/or proffer an irrational or skewed interpretation of reality due to several reasons (a host of psychological issues ranging from trauma to neurosis, hallucination, drug use, other addictions, to psychopathy and psychosis). There are delusional (delulu?) individuals who needed to be shaken and woken up from stupor. There are people who are barefaced liars or downright hallucinating psychopaths.

That's right. Some opinions are invalid because people being people, anyone of us can easily get caught up in various shades of untruth.

These days, there is the wretched reality of reportedly paid troll farms manipulating social media 'reacts,' making every content online highly suspect when you are gauging for the genuine pulse of the masses.

Who's wrong? Who's right? Truth doesn't seem to matter anymore in the ensuing cloud of confusion. I can understand it if it's a matter of partial truths coming together as in the Johari window or the four different versions of the same incident seen from various angles, as depicted in Akira Kurosawa's movie, "Rashomon." But distortion? Manipulation? Deception? And fake news? I'd say, heck, no way.

It is, therefore, hoped that history will always be the one to vindicate the truth in the end, the one to reward the brave truth-tellers and all those who sided with them. But alas, by then, all of us on the opposite sides of the fence would have been long gone by the time we could afford to gloat at our hard-won triumph or else weep upon our bitter defeat due to our mistake in perception. Fortunate then are those who would live long enough to enjoy that luxury in an ocean of the deluded, the fork-tongued, and kings and queens of the Nile.

Happy is the day when truth-twisters of all stripes will get their comeuppance in the unflinching, impartial judgment of time.

Then again, what are historians but mere human just the same, hardly immune from blinders, and therefore can be the most contentious lot? Just notice the lack of consensus in a lot of historical issues. Bias is everywhere, even in media, where history is constantly written in a hurry.

Fortunately, for me, I have been writing long enough to know that my reading or take on any subject matter could be wrong at a given time. I am greatly humbled by the discovery that the more things I know, the more things I know I don’t know. (Try to read that wonderful paradox on human knowledge again.)

And I am also fortunate to be at that age when my need for outside affirmation is close to nil. Having eaten humble pie many times through time (as a 'Marcos baby,' I used to be rabidly pro-Marcos -- just ask my high school classmates), I no longer derive satisfaction from engaging people in hot but fruitless debates on anything, unless I feel compelled to by circumstances or encounter really open-minded souls. On the other hand, since I no longer have a strong need to be right, I feel a lot more relaxed and a lot more free in saying anything I want because I am no longer coming from a direction of needing to repair something in the ego, but instead (or so I’d like to believe) simply want or choose to stick to what is honest and true and good for all.

In the face of popular contrarian opinions like these days when I am surrounded by -- nay, swamped by -- people on the other side of the political fence (I actually have a big problem with both sides), I can feel calm and confident in my own thought as long as I know it is well thought-out and based on hard evidence, while finding great consolation in this G.K. Chesterton thought --“Division is better than agreement in evil.” – on top of Carlo Carretto’s admonition: “Forgiving all (everyone and everything) is the apex of our life’s journey.”

I've learned that it is a lot easier to tolerate someone with an opinion different from mine by exerting an effort to follow their logic, to understand where he or she is coming from. Because of that, though I have not exactly developed a thick hide, I have become extremely tolerant of views opposed to mine, and am capable of being friends with people who don't share my beliefs. Compared to my compulsive younger self, I can now even admire people brave enough to air contrarian opinions, especially when it is not fashionable, especially when going against the grain, and most especially in this era of cancel-happy culture because I know how it feels.

I am presently at a place where I will never get tired of pursuing the truth (as I see it), no matter what (I hope), because for me, that's the only right thing to do, the only thing in life that matters. Why? Because God is truth himself. (On the other hand, it’s good for us to recall whose epithet "father of lies" belongs to.)

Pursuing truth and embracing it, then, is life's greatest enterprise and, in this apocalyptic nightmare of a world we now live in, as preternaturally described and dreamed up in detail by the likes of Orwell, Bradbury, and other secular prophets of doom, it’s the greatest adventure of a lifetime.

posted by Resty Odon  # 5:42 PM 0 Comments

As a long-time member of a Catholic charismatic community in Manila (a major aspect of my life which was interrupted when I came back home in 2016), I have been fortunate to listen to innumerable talks about the Christian faith. I eagerly absorbed them all. But when I listened to the social teachings of the Catholic church for the first time, I literally got dizzy trying to wrap my head around them. 

The talk was delivered by a very young but very able priest at the time, Rev. Fr. Rany P. Geraldino. 

Since the talk was a much-condensed version of what should have been delivered in several sessions, we in the audience had to deal with information overload owing to the novelty of the subject. On top of that, I had to grapple with this internal dialogue all along that said, "Filipino leaders who are Catholic never seem to pay attention to these," which of course upset me, as the negligence is one reason we live with such a degree of backwardness as a society. 

As a compulsive note-taker, I was not in my best element, as I was able to take down maybe only about 50% of the outline of the discussion, but I was still glad to take in as much.

“𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 – 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 '𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧'”

(𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.)

“The social teachings of the Catholic Church are the Church’s hidden treasure – emphasis on hidden,” Fr. Rany P. Geraldino says, by way of introduction to his talk on the admittedly heavy subject. And this, the Academic Prefect at the Archdiocese of Manila points out, is unfortunate, "because the social teachings of the Church are not a by-the-way or an add-on, but a constitutive part of the message of Jesus Christ.”

“Everything boils down to Jesus Christ’s message of love of God and of neighbor. These two are related, one can’t stand without the other. For how can you love God whom you can’t see, if you don’t love your neighbor whom you can see?” he goes on.

But who exactly is our neighbor? "The definition of ‘neighbor’ has evolved,” he explains, “from the Old Testament times, when neighbor meant ‘fellow Jew,’ to the Christian era, when ‘neighbor’ means ‘everyone in need’ (refer to the Good Samaritan story).” “And in modern times, ‘neighbor’ is expanded to mean the whole of society and the environment that influences the person.”

In other words, no one can afford to be "apolitical." No matter their station in life, “persons have a social responsibility. All actions have social consequences. There is an interdependent web of life. ‘Ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan.’ Everyone is considered our neighbor, a part of our family, a brother and a sister.”

(Being apolitical itself is, I guess, being political.)

“In 1891, Pope Leo XIII released the document ‘Rerum novarum’ to address a pressing social situation at the time of industrialization and rising socialism.”

“Eventually, the Compendium of the Social Teachings of the Church was crafted so that the kingdom of God may be felt even here on earth. (“Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”) Life on earth should be the beginning or foretaste of heaven.”

He then outlines the four sources of Catholic social teachings: scripture, Magisterium, experiences of the church, and dialogue with branches of knowledge.

For a quick backgrounder:

- "Even though the Bible is not a book of morality, not everything is in Scripture. Social teaching is always contextualized; not all issues emerged during Biblical times."

- "The Magisterium or teaching authority of the Church, includes papal encyclicals and pronouncements. We believe in the papal infallibility ex-cathedra, i.e., official positions in terms of faith and morals. Despite the Dark Ages the Church went through (14th-16th centuries), the Church’s faith and morals were preserved, the Church being both human (wicked, frail, weak) and divine, including the teachings of authorized Church bodies in the Second Vatican Council."

- "Experiences of the Church include the lives and teachings of the saints, and the engagements of the Church in present issues.

- "Dialogues with other branches of knowledge include consulting with experts in psychology, philosophy, medicine, bioethics, sociology, etc."

“Catholic social teachings are jokingly called the ‘hidden treasures of the Church’ because most people are not aware of them or ignore them. Understandably, there is the danger of Catholic social teachings becoming liberation theology, as in the case of priests like Oscar Romero who were reduced to being (leftist) activists. Catholic social teachings are not liberation theology!” he emphasizes.

“Catholic social teachings are more of principles than concrete lines of actions.”

“The main principles of Catholic social teaching are as follows. (Actually there are seven, to be more specific: 1. life and dignity of the human person; 2. call to family, community, and participation; 3. rights and responsibilities; 4. option for the poor and vulnerable; 5. the dignity of work and the rights of workers; 6. solidarity; and 7. care for God's creation).”

I. Primacy and Dignity of Human Person

“This means the person is the ultimate end, not the means to an end. Society is ordered to the person. He or she is created in the image of God. Christ died for each one of us. Christ redeemed us. Therefore, we have to respect one another.”

“For example, in the mentality espoused by certain local TV shows, people are exploited for their poverty for entertainment purposes and for money.”

“Human rights are inviolable. This is the basis of Christian social teaching.”

“If God respected us, so should we respect one another. As Fr. Ron Rolheiser put it, ‘If God went down to our level, why can’t we go down to the level of our fellow human beings?’”

“Each human is destined for participation in the divine life.”

In the Philippines, dark spots on the dignity of human person can be seen in "the upholding the right to life (who decides who is worthy of life?); extrajudicial killings; abortion (contraception mentality leads to the slippery slope of condoning abortion); euthanasia (this also happens through “waivers” in hospitals); care for the handicapped, mentally ill, aged (are we friendly to the other-abled?); lack of decent living conditions for the poor, who are worthy of being children of God; lack of right for each employable to work; [suppressed] right to truth (are we against ‘envelopmental’ journalism, do we support the Freedom of Information Act?); and [violation of the] right to vote."

(Speaking of elections, I might add: While politicians always get hit for being "corrupt," voters' expectation of receiving money and other means of "support" from politicians in exchange for their votes makes them just as culpable, since such an implicit understanding forces politicians to fulfill the unwritten expectation. And speaking of elections, let's not forget the rampant cases of slander, calumnies, and defamation by many candidates who profess to be Christian, as though the gravity or level of depravity of such an act is not equal to physical murder.)

II. Common Good

“This means the sum of social conditions that enable persons to achieve their full human potential.”

“Stewardship is a spirituality, meaning we are not the real owners of our properties." ... “Private ownership is not absolute. We seek the will of the real owner, who is God.”

These statements remind me of this Biblical passage: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common... There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus, Joseph, a Levite,..., sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the apostles." (Acts 4:32-37, New American Bible version)

Thanks to this sense of community of the earliest Christian church, a dog-eat-dog world suddenly turned into some kind of a utopia, a paradise-on-earth. Which makes us wonder what happened all along that the result today is a yawning gap in socioeconomic status in supposedly Christian communities and nations like ours.

(But a quick qualification: Neither does Christianity advocates a classless society -- after all, can anyone imagine a viable society in which everyone is an owner of a major company or everyone is a lowly staff? Even many insect species have complex hierarchical societies.)

“To whom much is given, much is expected,” he continues as a reminder to all. “In terms of politics, we must have participation.” “In economics, we observe the principle of the universal distribution of goods.”

In the Philippines, he continues, dark spots in the area of common good, include the “widening gap between rich and poor, forests and corals exploited for profit, irresponsible mining practices, laws that benefit only foreign interests and those of the elite, globalization, graft and corruption, and slums as a symptom of uneven development.”

III. Solidarity

“Solidarity is based on the idea that we are interconnected and interdependent to each other. Solidarity equals love. In the Church, solidarity is expressed by being a church of the poor. The principle of solidarity is evident in the case of creation and ecology itself.”

“To check our application of solidarity: Do we have a mind-your-own-business mindset? Are we too family-centered or group-centered (ethnocentrism)? Remember that we also have obligation to others. Are we narrow-minded, do we have narrow concerns, or are we too locally focused (regionalism)? Think globally, act locally. No to parochialism. Do we exhibit only momentary acts of solidarity (for example: people power/EDSA revolution, flooding of donations after ecological disasters), instead of sustained efforts?"

IV. Subsidiarity

“The big does not take over the small, the big enables the small, and allows the small to do what it can on its own, allows growth from within, respects and allows associations, unions, and civil societies, to act on their own.”

“The big fish doesn’t swallow up the small fry. A good example is the case of [some big businesses that swallow up everything in their path].”

“The principle of subsidiarity protects the people from abuses by higher-level social authorities imposed by these authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfill their duty.”

“This principle is imperative because every person and even intermediate group has something original to offer the community.”

“The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to certain forms of centralization and welfare assistance and to the unjustified and excessive presence of the state in public mechanism.”

“One example is Vietnamese and Chinese governments' control of the practice of religion, where people can't have public declaration of their religious belief.”

“For applications in parochial and corporate settings, problems should be solved with respect to the lower levels.”

“In the Philippines, dark spots in the area of subsidiarity include the following: feudalism and padrino system; paternalism, or the patronizing approach in helping others through a dole-out mentality (giving without care as to the outcome after), or providing technology/products on donor's terms; and lack of entrepreneurship, resulting in overdependence on authority, and people not being allowed to control their own destiny.” “Even in families, parents who are too dictatorial violate the principle, since children should be allowed to grow on their own (pace of) maturing.”

***

In conclusion, he says that, “as Filipinos, our commitment and concerns should not be limited to our own family only, but should be extended to the community, and (according to our capacity, sphere of control/influence), even to the bigger community.”

Personal Commentary

It is teachings like these that touch souls profoundly and make them want, or will, and decide to be Catholic or Christian by choice in the face of such negative realities in the secular world and in our relentlessly capitalist society, whose ways and values are, more often than not, inimical to these thoughts, or even the reverse of what these teachings say as ways forward.

In these teachings of Christ through the Church, which seems to espouse "downward mobility" in so many ways, to paraphrase Henri Nouwen, one feels loved as a person and as a member of society, one feels secure in being cared for for who he or she is and gets a sense of hope to live out the best version of oneself according to God's will and God's plan, instead of being constantly alienated by "the world's" pervasive ethos of one-up-man-ship, pressured in so many ways that are instinctively revolting deep within.

Another insight one gains from this set of principles is that Christianity, as an -ism or philosophy, is neither completely capitalist, nor democratic, nor socialist, nor communist, but more of a "civilization of love," in the words of St. Pope John Paul II. It can never be boxed in like a convenient ideology, it is neither conservative nor liberal, for what could be more liberal than "upholding the primacy of human beings"? A reversal of the law of the jungle ("a tooth for a tooth," "to each his own," "survival of the fittest"), at its heart is the law of love, we could say, which should, in theory, result in a caring society and a just social order, where "everyone outdoes everyone in caring service," and yet without the forcible legislation of 'love' and equality the way socialist and communist societies understand it, since the moment 'love' is forced via legislative acts or government policy, it immediately ceases to be a case of "loving thy neighbor as oneself."

With these social teachings, Christianity quietly makes this proposition of affirming life and humanity in the here and now, short of bringing heaven on earth, or a version of utopia, if you will, but only as a precursor to what is expected beyond life as we know it. ...While at the same time, it constantly eggs on its followers to focus on life eternal or "the four last things" (death, judgment, heaven, hell). I haven't encountered any philosophy this strange and at the same time attractive.

Of course, in the real world, these social teachings are one thing, and the application of these teachings or their "translation into action" (as Fr. Rany puts it) is another. Their application in the real world comprises the tricky part, for how exactly do we apply these concepts or principles in the complicated world of politics, business, law, public administration, or even in the arts, and so on?

As a famous columnist once said, "There is the rub." Therein lies the hard work. But negotiating this complex middle ground is worth exploring in our quest for alternative solutions to present-day problems that do not, or no longer, work. As a Latin expression goes, "In medio stat virtus." (Virtue lies in the middle.)

posted by Resty Odon  # 8:53 PM 0 Comments

"This is a time of abundance in your life. Your cup runneth over with blessings. After plodding uphill for many weeks, you are now traipsing through lush meadows drenched in warm sunshine. I want you to enjoy to the full this time of ease and refreshment. I delight in providing it for you."

posted by Resty Odon  # 6:52 PM 0 Comments

What Food Means to Me

I never realized I have been dealing with the topic of food from so many angles until Alya Honasan of Philippine Daily Inquirer popped the question in an online interview, "What does food mean to you?"

Reading the question on email, I suddenly felt pity for beauty pageant contestants. You know, being asked a profound question while in skimpy wear on live telecast. (We might recall here Venus Raj's response when asked about the biggest mistake she had made in her life and how she had made it right, and how her answer was roundly criticized for its, of all things, un-American syntax.)

In other words, I was stumped at the question, and I think I even blanked out -- but not because I couldn't answer, but because I had so many answers that I didn't know where to begin. I had to literally sleep over the question to sort my thoughts out.

When you have been writing about food from the perspective of a freelance writer, travel and tourism magazine editor, and now public information officer for so long, you know that food is not just food. It is about so many other things. You find yourself at the intersection of so many fields you never expected to converge in your mind, and I believe this is what happens whenever I touch the subject without being conscious about it. Why? Because food is indeed a lot of different things all at the same time.

1. At its most basic form, food is sustenance, so the topic easily turns to proper nutrition and health, Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), essential vitamins and minerals, and the diseases you end up getting when you lack a basic nutrient.

1.1. At the extreme end of the spectrum, in the wellness circle, food may even be seen outright as medicine. As an old sage said, "Let food be your medicine," as in preventive maintenance medicine -- because there are food that double as medicine.

2. Food often means cooking, and what is cooking but basically chemistry, and I am not exactly referring yet to fads like molecular gastronomy and methods like sous vide, and the like, but that's a part of it, too.

3. It doesn't take long before you see that food means the edible flora and fauna (biogeography or terroir) of a given place, and these can be endemic, exotic (imported), nativized/naturalized, cultivated, etc.

4. Food is also all about economics and agriculture: the modes of production involved (starting from backyard gardening), the workers behind it, its place in the market, the pricing, and how it is distributed and marketed through a supply chain.

5. If you dig deeper, discussing food means discussing it anthropologically because it is also associated with some significant rules or practices (culinary arts) and the underlying belief system. So this means that food is all about the culture in general, associated traditions and history, about being human, something that Doreen Gamboa Fernandez was so good at. There's even a subset of 'foodways' called ritual food, a very interesting topic that is hardy being written about.

6. And because many food items and dishes are unique to a given place, food also becomes a source of ethnic pride and cultural identity. As they say, "You are what you eat," not just in terms of health but also in terms of your own sense of identity.

6.1. Food inevitably then becomes tourist attraction as tourism inescapably includes food-related interest points.

7. Of course, from the perspective of sybarites and epicures (current term: foodies), eating may be discussed purely by its gustatory aspects, flavor profiles (from sweet to umami), and this may be extended to how it is presented (plating).

8. Then there's the matter of food as preferences (likes, dislikes), in particular, which are a matter of family background, a matter of nostalgia, giving food a significant psychological dimension. Food suddenly becomes a mental health issue (food addiction, bulimia, anorexia).

9. I could be missing some other things. (Political? Legal? We can talk about the Milk Code and Europe's legislation on food origin to protect authenticity and intellectual property.)

So for me, considering all of the above, eating food is not just a physical and physiological act, but also a social, economic, cultural-historical, psychological, and aesthetic act.

This may sound strange, but the very act of eating is, for me, a spiritual act as well. And that is why I routinely say my prayer before meals. (Some people even say a prayer after meals.) I am not just thankful to God for the provision, I guess; in the very desire to eat, I am expressing my continuous desire to live, my continuous appreciation for life. If we study the Bible closely, we can notice a hidden theology behind eating and eating together.

When I was struck with covid sometime in 2021, I experienced a most alarming loss of appetite for the first time, and I forced myself to take at least three mouthfuls every meal because I guess I still wanted to live despite the fact that I was very weak and depressed, so food to me at the time literally meant my very survival.

So going back to the question, I eventually answered all of the above complex web of points and concluded: "Food, for me, means life."

What does food mean to you?

(random food photo: Andrew Casipit)

posted by Resty Odon  # 8:16 PM 0 Comments

To all members of the Odon and Junio clans in Bayambang: May I inform you that our beloved Uncle Berns (Venancio Junio Odon) has gone ahead of us at 88 years old. I think he is the last Odon of his generation. We will miss him badly because he was such a kind, loving, God-fearing, generous, talented (he was a good singer dancer, guitar player), and naturally funny guy. Join us in praying for his eternal repose.

***

Eulogy for My Uncle Berns

I guess we who grew up having a normal family life -- that is, having a mother and a father by our side -- never really outgrow the thought of being our parents' children. We live through the marching years, decades, clinging to this illusion that our parents will always be by our side, forever living, mentoring us through life's ups and downs, occupied with our concerns, from our diet to our posture and anything that comes from our mouth. They may irritate us sometimes, or often, but we never entertain the thought that someday soon they could be gone.

This illusion is broken, and rudely so, when they get suddenly ill, or worse.

Yet even at the throes of death, our natural reaction is to deny, hoping against hope down to the last millisecond that a miracle would occur and our beloved parent would rise up once again, back to health, if only for a small window of opportunity to live again and delay the inevitable.

I have many memories of my Uncle Berning (a.k.a. Venancio Junio Odon), so I don’t know where to start. I will just mention a few, in the spirit of celebrating his 88 years of life.

Everything came back together once again when I learned about his quick passing due to pneumonia at age 88. Some memories are quite bad and not worth recalling, but most memories are good ones and worth retaining and writing about.

When he was still living in the Philippines, my family lived two houses away from Uncle’s house, so we were neighbors for a very long time. That’s from 1978 up to the time they moved to the US in the '90s. Life was so simple back then. Our houses did not have concrete fences, unlike today. So my uncle would barge into our house any time of the day or night, and he usually asked for leftover rice or anything he wanted from the kitchen.

That was how things used to be in our family. We could freely ask for any fruit or vegetable growing in our yard, and we often exchanged our dishes of the day, so we could taste each other household’s cooking. Of course, we never matched my Aunt Susay's (Zosima) cooking, which was always perfect.

Sometimes, my Uncle would ask for a lighter and then he would sneak in a cigarette, which he said was prohibited in their house.

Apart from being good-looking (he had movie-star mestizo features and was quite fussy with grooming and fastidious with his get-ups), my Uncle had many other traits that endeared himself to us and to everyone. Whenever he was around, you can be sure it would be a riot because he was a natural comedian, because he was such a jolly person. He had a perfect pitch and proper timing when he was joking.

Growing up, I knew he was a loving father as well, and this character of his extended to us, his nephews and nieces. Even though he was not rich, he was a giving person, generous with the little that he had, perhaps even generous to a fault. He was that kind of person, that is why everyone loved him.

He was also very talented. He was good at singing and dancing. I can’t forget how, one night during a power outage, he sang a lively Spanish song while playing the ukelele. I have never heard that song again.

Another thing I can’t forget about him is when he joined the Marriage Encounter program in the church, because he was suddenly a changed man. He became an even better person after he gave up his favorite vices, and instead spent time serving God through various church activities together with his wife.

I think my Uncle is the last Odon of his generation, so that means he is our last connection to that generation. Sadly they are all gone now, and they brought with them memories of the past that they were not able to share or document.

But we will never forget Uncle’s legacy of love and caring, of self-sacrifice, faith in God and devotion to family – you can see the proof in his four children, his high sense of humor, his contagious joy for life and gratitude for being alive.

I am sure he and his good qualities will live on in all of us whom his life has touched, especially his children, my four cousins Lynn, Rey, Dennis, and Lea, and his grandchildren.

I am thankful that God gave us an Uncle like him. My family will definitely miss him.

posted by Resty Odon  # 4:32 AM 0 Comments

How About Monetizing Culture and Arts?

(How culture and arts fuel products, brands, careers, professions, livelihoods, entire industries)

Innovation -- and the economic progress it brings -- are often credited to science and technology. S&T research, in particular -- and by extension, its application in engineering and other allied applied science fields -- are often cited as catalysts of progress, and rightly so. And yet the field of culture and arts is often forgotten, even dismissed, as a harbinger of good things in this regard. This omission is misguided and unfortunate.

Without a vibrant artistic and cultural scene, a community is as good as dead in terms of creativity and innovation, not to mention bereft of their unsung socioeconomic benefits.

Let us get down to brass tacks then and ask: How does a work of art -- whether it is a painting, poem, essay, dance, story, novel, sculpture, or even a concept, or any of the intangible cultural traditions and practices such as culinary creations -- bring food on the table, money in the bank, improve socio-psychological wellbeing, or stimulate economic growth? How do we even quantify the effect of something that expands visions, opens minds, gives pleasure, touches hearts, and edifies and uplifts spirits? How can we even put a price tag on such essential intangibles as beauty, artistry, skill, craftsmanship, excellence, passion, the thousands of hours put it, wholeness and healing, collective pride, and cultural identity? The very idea! It's ridiculous because impossible. But anyway, let us attempt to connect the dots; after all, in the real word, money talks and we can't eat art -- not directly anyway.

The easiest answer is probably through tourism. If something is truly excellent or unique or intriguing, travelers from all over will come and see it or have a piece of it. Hundreds, thousands, will flock to it, fork over their life's fortune, as tourists do to the Sistine Chapel to see Michaelangelo's ceiling frescoes and 'La Pieta,' to the Louvre to see Da Vinci's ‘Mona Lisa,’ down to lowly Buscalan town in faraway Kalinga to have Apo Whang-od tattoo three black dots on their arm.

Entire towns and cities, even countries, become synonymous to their food products: Parma ham, Kobe beef, Rimini ice cream, Ethiopian coffee, and at home, Malagos chocolate, Bonuan bangus, etc. Just recently in terms of local history, when somebody invented pigar-pigar in Dagupan City, and it clicked, what do you think happened? The same story happened to, say, sisig or the lowly isaw when it was popularized by Aling Lucing of Angeles City, Pampanga, or a random isawan in Diliman. The same is true for certain regional dishes that used to be totally unknown to most, from bachoy to chicken inasal.

How many families got wealthy as a direct result of an heirloom recipe? TV magazine shows routinely feature how generations of people got by and made good in life on account of a secret hopia, longanisa, barbecue, banana cue, or bread recipe that is either unique or well-executed. Many of these initial home enterprises even end up being full-blown stores and restos.

Behind the roaring success of "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings," "Star Wars," etc. are writers who dared to write down an engrossing story with fascinating characters and otherworldly settings while most likely all alone and bored to death in their corner of the world.

Antoni Gaudi's peculiar architectural style and love for his hometown resulted in a unique skyline for the whole city of Barcelona. And when Art Deco and Art Nouveau became the in thing in architecture in the 1920s, the new aesthetic concepts created ripples of change in cities around the world, and the new sensibility spilled over to the fields of interior design, fashion, and manufacturing industry.

Japanese concepts such as kaizen, 5S, wabi-sabi, and more recently Marie Kondo's idea of eliminating "anything that no longer spark joy" have profoundly affected how people and organizations behave and look at how they do things. Steve Jobs' obsession with Japanese ceramics heavily influenced Apple's design aesthetic.

Every major art movement, in fact, has moved global aesthetics to another direction, from arts and crafts to industrial applications, spicing up the realm of culture and arts, engaging people in endless debates that provoke thought, shaking things up often in many unforeseen positive ways.

We haven't even mentioned how visual arts, music, theater, fashion, literature, and culinary arts enrich lives because these fields produce diverse professions: Visual arts lead to careers in graphic design, curation, and restoration. Music generates jobs for performers, producers, and sound engineers. Theater engages actors, directors, and stage technicians, creating a vibrant ecosystem. Fashion drives employment in raw material production, design, marketing, and retail. Literature supports writers, editors, and publishers. The whole showbiz and entertainment industry, as well as media, publishing, and advertising industries, are powered by artists of all kinds. Culinary arts spawn chefs, restaurateurs, and food critics, showcasing how these fields intertwine to form robust creative industries. Wherever there are skillful craftsmen and -women and artisans, there are home-based and cottage industries, or even better, when the products are manufactured for the export market. This year, the local design industry alone is reported to have contributed at least 7.1%-7.2% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The creative (entertainment) industry is reported to have contributed a staggering P1.60 trillion to the country’s GDP, a 12.1% percent increase from 2023.

I hope we Filipinos learn from how the Koreans took things seriously and 'monetized' their own culture and arts (even though it's limited to pop culture), thus offering something novel to a world hungry for novelty. I hope we learn to how to treat our extremely varied and rich artistic and cultural resources as capital for strategic large-scale tourism projects and non-tourism projects for economic purposes. I wish we could discern well which among our unique artifacts, practices, literature, music, and other such interest points to highlight from obscurity in such a way that would bring over hordes willing to part with their hard cash. I am glad that there are lawmakers out there who see this, such as Pangasinan Congressman Christopher de Venecia who has authored a version of Republic Act No. 11904 or the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, and Senator Loren Legarda's push for Republic Act (RA) 11961, or the Cultural Mapping Act, as part of an amendment to RA 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

Seen as raw materials and capital instead of being dismissed as fluff or non-essential, culture and the arts can fuel job creation and product creation across various sectors, ultimately transforming communities and economies. By investing in culture and arts, societies ultimately cultivate innovation, enhance tourism, and stimulate local economies, making the arts an essential pillar of sustainable growth while strengthening the community's sense of pride and cultural identity.

posted by Resty Odon  # 8:12 PM 0 Comments