Rendezvous: Finding that middle ground

Rendezvous: Finding that middle ground

It is but innate to see both the good and the bad in the things that occur in our daily lives. Some wish to dwell more on the positive, hoping that all would turn out well; and there are those who see but either scrutinize and voice out, or rather feel helpless and merely fall into despair.

Inspiring as it seems, writing down thoughts once just mentally conceived but had never gone past the lips nor had been brought out to the world in written text, have so been written down, voiced out and bid hello to either challenge, inspire, provoke or stimulate the senses of those who are attuned to or at least modestly engaged to the happenings that occur in this very society we belong to.

I am fortunate to have been graced by such young yet brilliant minds tasked to share what each had written about the things that bother us. One raised the issue of ill politics in the Philippines, the other about the effects of the Church on health and economic policies, some about ideas of corruption, helplessness and distrust in the very country we were born into and raised- all initially seemed like rants from ungrateful spoiled kids talking ill but because they could not get their way.

Although things shared within the group all made sense and appealed to my heart, there was one particular sharing that struck me. This sharing started with questions probing about why things are the way they are despite promises made and hopes raised up but end up disappointing? We belong in a nation that is ought to protect and uphold the rights of those within its sovereign but are rather taunted and played with by those who swore to abide by these. The irony in our existence as Filipinos in a "democratic nation" associated with a supposed degree of freedom yet labeled as a corrupt, impoverished nation. There is this issue between the Church's imposed authority upon political decisions made by the government that raised eyebrows. Her sentiments shared in our native tongue, in Filipino. Rarely do I find interest in reading texts in Filipino nor do I find them easy to imbibe. I was left in awe to have witnessed such passion without intimidation.

The sharing was a rendezvous, a meeting set where minds meet. Different hurts and different concerns-all but met and rendezvoused in a common ground called being Filipino.