May there be Peace for us all!

Palestinian militants took over the Municipal building in Bethlehem the other day, marking another normal day in our strife torn world. The building is just 200 meters from the Church of the Nativity, the place where the Christ Child was born, an d which was itself held by a dozen gunmen for over a month in 2002.

"Peace on Earth," the angels sung on that first Christmas some two thousand years ago. The world seemed so peaceful then, and it confounds me to think they would need invocations of peace. Where are the angels today when we need them most?

The shepherds tending their flock of sheep only had to look our for the occasional wolf. We have to worry about terrorists, coup plotters and abominable politicians. Then again, they also had their King Herods on their backs, and we must admit the Herods of their world are political leaders that make Ate Glue look like an angel.

I never gave the usual Christmas Peace greeting much of a second thought in the past. But for some reason, wishing someone the joys and peace of the season sounds more like a fervent prayer these days. That’s probably because peace in our time seems so tenuous. It cannot be taken for granted. It is indeed the best gift we can hope for.

If only we can be so blest! The PNP just announced they successfully neutralized a terrorist plot set for this season. If there really was such a plot, one wonders if they really stopped it. In this era of spin doctors and media savvy propagandists, one never really knows for sure. There was a time when even the communist insurgency took a Christmas break. Now, one can’t even rule out a Christmas coup attempt.

Much as I detest the politicians in power, I also think any power grab at this time is even worse. Like many Filipino families with foreign-based family members visiting for the holidays, my family can only hope and pray that the holiday season will be as blissfully uneventful as a Christmas holiday season should be. But I know we can only live by the day in this country. Surviving each day is blessing enough… Christmas season or not.

The past year had been horrific for many of us. It was a year when hope for a better tomorrow grew dimmer by the day. Many simply moved on to more hopeful environments elsewhere. A record number of Filipinos, mostly from the educated middle class, have migrated for good. We, who are too old or unable to move on for some reason, will have to deal with the depressing national condition by hoping against hope.

Then again, adversity brings us closer to our spiritual roots. We start to appreciate the few remaining things in our lives that give meaning to our existence like family, friends and what’s left of our beautiful countryside. But we have also grown cynical.

In an era when it is foolish to trust anything and anyone, we learn the importance of self reliance. At a time when we should have a national consciousness and a strong feeling for the common good, we have become more tribal than ever. We narrow our perspective and learn to count our blessings… a defensive mechanism, no doubt, that also saves on Zoloft or Prozac prescriptions.

Counting our blessing, reminding ourselves that things are not that bad can also give us spiritual dividends. Unhappy as our prospect may be, there are always people around us who have it worse and yet, are handling their difficulties with dignity and self assurance. Personally, I am inspired by the story of Carla, one of my assistants who recently found out she has stage four breast cancer.

If you met Carla in the streets, there is nothing in her demeanor that would make you suspect she’s battling cancer. In her mid-30s, she remains cheerful, keeps regular office hours and more. She contributes business feature articles to Philippine STAR now and then. She’s actively pursuing the academic requirements for her MBA at UP, and getting top grades too. She’s mother to two young children who can’t seem to get enough of her attention and neither can she get enough of theirs.

And the little extra time she has left in her busy schedule, she allocates a portion of that to do volunteer work in Icanserve, a support group of cancer patients. Talk about untypical selflessness in a world that lives by the question, what’s in it for me?

She barely took days off during the weeks she underwent chemo and radiation therapies. She was disappointed to find out that her first bout with chemo therapy didn’t work. But she didn’t miss a beat. It was life as normal as she could make it. She was determined to live as fully as she could manage. That’s one brave woman who is not about to let a fearsome disease make her any less than she really is a person in the prime of her life.

I suppose in her private moments, Carla feels the loneliness of her thoughts about what the future holds… her young children… her loving husband. This is probably one reason why she keeps herself busy, to deny the devil or despair and self pity from getting the better of her. I look at Carla and I think about the weight of her burden and every difficulty I could think of pales in comparison.

If I had any say in naming the Person of the Year, it would have to be Carla for two things: She is showing how we can enthusiastically play to win with whatever cards life deals us. Secondly, she is showing how and why we should look beyond ourselves, how life is more than about ourselves… because by doing so, our problems seem less significant and also because it prevent us from falling into the pit of self pity. In a world that seems to get more depressing by the day, Carla is showing us not just how to survive but how to live.

Well, I guess we ought to treat the cancer that is eating up the nation the same way Carla is dealing with hers. Fight it with the best weapons at our command – the political equivalent of chemotherapy – which is probably why they want to cancel the 2007 election. But we must not let the cancer cells – our political leaders – get us down. Our politicians, after all, tricky and dreadful like cancer cells, should be no match to one body of Filipinos, a people united and determined to fight them off.

We ought to look at winning our battles one day at a time. Bur for now, let us stop, rest and reflect on the joys of the season, so that reinvigorated, we will be ready to face ever difficult battles ahead of us.

My best wishes for peace and joy to you all this Christmas and for the years ahead.

Precious gift

Here’s something from PhilSTAR reader Michael Fortich contributed for our daily dose of laughter.

A very distinguished lady was rushing home for Christmas on a plane. She found herself seated next to a nice priest whom she asked, "Excuse me Father, could I ask a favor?"

"Of course my child…what can I do for your?"

"Here is the problem," she said, "I bought a new sophisticated vibrating hair remover as a Christmas gift for myself, for which I paid an enormous sum of money. I have really gone over the declaration limits and I am worried that they will confiscate it at Customs. Do you think you could hide it under your cassock?"

"Of course, my child I could, but you must realize that I cannot lie," responded the priest.

"You have such an honest face, Father, I am sure they will not ask you any question." She gave him the "hair remover."

The aircraft arrived at its destination. When the priest presented himself to Customs he was asked, "Father, do you have anything to declare?"

"From the top of my head to my sash I have nothing to declare, my son," he replied.

Finding this reply strange the Customs officer asked, "And from the sash down, what do you have?"

Then the Father replied, "I have there a marvelous little instrument destined for use by women, but which has never been used…"

"Breaking out in laughter, the Customs officer said, "Go ahead Father, next.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]