The many gems we keep

Dazed from all the hassles of work in that Saturday evening, I went to teacher Nelia Cruz Sarcol’s book launch to witness a gem unveiled. Two books The Legend of the Pearl of the Orient and The Pearl Principle: Ang Diwa nga Perlas ng Silanganan revive the tired spirit of the Filipino who deserves to look more deeply into his self and discover the gems that have lain dormant. 

We have many treasures that have been layered by the deception that being adverse is revolutionary and a sign of intellectual brilliance. Some young minds are schooled to march or protest or be in opposition to connote the ideal of non-conformance. Forgetting that being radical does not always mean one has to oppose. Rather it calls for action towards a change that will be good and even better for those whose lives we are trying to improve.

I bow with much humility and pride. This paradoxical feeling inspired by the vigor teacher Nelia, and only teacher Nelia for now, in this moments of political bickering and black propaganda, has cared passionately to remind us of.

Priceless are the lessons Teacher Nelia has brought to fore when she focuses on the beauty of our country and our people, a rarity in these days, where some of us in media, in our pursuit of justice, have given injustice to the quiet populace. She talks about the struggles we face day to day but also heralds our victories. She centers on the good that has emerged from a painful process, taking lessons from the experience and allowing our nation to emerge, as it is, triumphant, in the character of a true Filipino.

Encouraged by what she advocates I cannot help but agree with teacher Nelia. There are many gems in this country, pearls and diamonds, encrusted in gold hearts that need to be chiseled out of the casings of bitterness, discontent and envy. Maybe there are still more precious stones here and there that we have not dug out of their mines or have not voluntarily come out of their caves of silence because they are afraid to be unpopular when the noisy few love to put the country down.

At one glance, Teacher Nelia reminds me of the prophet Jeremiah. In 586 B.C., the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar massacred the City of Jerusalem and devastated the spirit of its people. Because of the state Jerusalem was in, its citizens tried to migrate to other places. Jeremiah who survived the atrocities of the siege decided to remain where he was, living with his people and teaching them about God. He gave them hope and encouraged them to see that they had value more than they ever knew.

Really, Teacher Nelia has come true to form. She has expanded her classroom to the world by giving us books to glean values from and apply in our daily lives. She has gone beyond the lectures and walked the talk in her school through the Gift of GOLD (Giving of One’s Self to those who have Less and are Disadvantaged) where young leaders have touched the lives of the less privileged and have been given access to better their livelihood.

Listening to what Teacher Nelia is really saying allows us to once again to reflect on the essentials; to discern what best we have and to use them properly. In her soft spoken and well-written prose, she ably urges us with succinct and caressing words to rise above the turbulent tides and gleam like the pearl of the orient that we really are.

Shining in the country’s abode is one such pearl in Teacher Nelia, and many like her who are just waiting to emerge in these islands of the orient seas.