Counting blessings

The world witnessed several tragedies in 2014. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed over 7,000 lives and still counting. Not one but two Malaysia airlines flights with over 500 passengers disappeared or were shot down. 276 school girls were abducted by the jihadist militants Boko Haram in Nigeria while 145, including 132 children, were killed by Taliban extremists in Pakistan.  Similarly, 290 persons, majority of whom were high school students, drowned when their ferry capsized in South Korea.      

On a personal note, I grieve for a couple expecting their first child this month and after nine plus months of waiting, discover that their baby is still-born. And the mother had to go through labor pain for a few days knowing that the fetus inside her was no longer breathing. A woman who lost her husband last year had to bury her only daughter with two young kids 18 months later.  An office driver providing for a family of six discovers he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and has to file for early retirement. A gracious lady campaigned for the installation of Vigan as a World Heritage city was violently killed the day before Christmas by her son who was high on drugs.  Indeed, in Pope Francis’ words, “so many tears this Christmas.”

But amidst the gloom and the doom, bright lights still flicker in the firmament. The work of Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for speaking about young girls’ right to education recently recognized with the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, an accolade she shared with Indian Kailash Satyarthi who has tirelessly campaigned against child trafficking and labor.  Three year old Anana Smith chopped off her golden hair so she could donate it to Locks of Love, a foundation that helps bald cancer patients. Seven-year-old Quinn set up a lemonade stand and raised $50,000 to help pay for the medical expenses of his best friend suffering from cerebral palsy. Reading that many in London will not partake of a Christmas dinner, teener Jordan used his savings and supermarket coupons to buy $1,000 worth of groceries which he distributed to the homeless.  Truly, the countless feeding programs, medical missions, housing projects and other charitable endeavors together with the individual, random acts of kindness are the candles in the sea of darkness and which help restore our belief in the over-all goodness of humanity.  

Let us use the final days of the year to reflect, examine, and learn as we continue to appreciate and celebrate our life’s blessings. Wishing all of you a challenging but satisfying 2015!

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And as we welcome 2015, let me share with you Scott Blum’s story about the Two Lists of New Year’s Resolutions:

I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert. He taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had. 
“Now that you are becoming more aware,” Robert said, “you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don’t lose the momentum you have built.” 
“Like New Year’s resolutions?” I asked. “Yes, so tonight’s assignment is to make two lists, the first is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper.” 

That night I spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful. 

I met Robert the next day. “Tell me about your two lists,” he asked as the familiar smirk crept onto his face. 

“The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead.” 

“Let me see the second list,” he said. 

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered. 

“And now, the first list.” Robert held out both of his hands. 

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it. 

“What did you do that for?!” I couldn’t hide my anger any longer. 

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. “What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do.” 

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me. 

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page: 

“Love.” 

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Greetings: Birth anniversary best wishes to writer Jose “Joey” de Asis.

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“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”— Eric Hoffer

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