BACHELOR OF SCIENCE VS. BACHELOR OF ARTS

We are often  confronted with the decision of which road to take after our primary education on which road to pursue, take up courses that serves science and technology or opt for education in the scope of arts.  Most have been led to their career path by their parent's dream for them. The lucky ones are those who with enough resources and encouragement, are able to drive themselves to their visioned goals. But history choose figures that were able able to hurdle great difficulties to able to rise from great difficulties to be torch bearers and serve as inspiration for those who seek to improve themselves.

Great stories were made out of the lives of great men who succeeded. But they were actually one in a million for everyone who become champion, hundreds were stepped on and became failures in their quest. Success doesn't always translate to happiness and there have been too a lot of stories how lonely things are on the top. How often do we read stories of famed celebrities battle with drugs and addiction for pleasures they could not find in their stardom and at times lives ended by their own hands. 

There are no better roads,  it is how we see our travel that makes the difference. For every story of success there are million of stories unheard of on how people died in their bed smiling at the thought that though they were no deemed a fairy tale, they left behind seeds that will have better lives than the one they've had. Illiterates who were able to send their kids to school, farmer who planted trees whose fruits his children and grandchildren will get to eat, writers inspired by their miseries who wrote poems and novels to be read by future generations, landless ones who were able to bequeath a home for his family, and a lot more simple tales of simple lives shared. 

I wish everybody will spare a couple hours of their time to watch this wonderful movie. It tells more than just discovering and using your gifts. It tells about friendship, love and true happiness and how life playfully move us in a circle until we find the exit to it and find the right road to take.

   

Albert Einstein  defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but expect different results. One of the greatest scientist who ever lived, who could pose  an argument about such conclusion. That is what separates scientist from artist, the first tries different ways or methods (experiments) to arrive at a conclusion, go for a theory until actual figures can fully support a principle. 

Vincent Van Gogh   was considered insane during his time and was even mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist. He was looked upon as one "crazy painter painting crazy things in crazy ways" but his so-called "crazy ways" powerfully influenced the current of expressionism in modern art.

There is no comparison  between the two, both of them occupy a certain height of fame and greatness and they took different roads to get to where they are.  Einstein took the road of logical thinking and was revered for developing a scientific theory that served as one of the two pillars of modern Physics while Van Gogh proved that there is no such thing as a "crazy idea", he was just way ahead of his time. He painted to express his self, his dreams and how he view particular subjects, be it a portrait or a landscape. 

Men of science seek to discover things that exist but people doesn't know about, harness nature's existing energies for man's use, work on to find explanation how nature and living things function the way they are and their relationship to each other and to men, and develop better use for things that we already have termed as technological advances. History will tell us that most of them were passion driven, unmindful of the hardship they have to undergo, criticisms and discouragements, and at times lived impoverish life to devote their time and their lives to fulfill their visions. 

Men of arts were different in their pursuit but went on with the same kind of passion. They sought to change the view of people towards existing norms that every new form of 
arts and fashion were deemed as some kind of rebellion against prevailing cultural traditions.
They think outside the box, go against public opinion to able able to express their own, and seek to forebear ideas that have never been thought of before. Arts have different forms, most of the time dividing the population, even a country whether to embrace the future or cling to the past.
Theirs is not to find logical explanation of things but express themselves in some other forms of communications such as music, portraits, photography or movies, and so forth.

There is conflict  between men of science and men of arts, only among people who lacked both gifts in scientific minds and artistic minds, who teach about the two and the critics and the people who prosper from their achievements. The world is a great tapestry composed of limitless strands of life of which we are a part of. We can only seek which slots we are destined to fill and for that we have to listen to our self, our heart and our spirits. This a matter of philosophy, for each of us have a gift, something we are good at, something other people don't have. The sooner we get to discover what gift we have, the sooner we'll get to find our rightful slot, the sooner we'll get to make our mark that we will be leaving behind for our future generation to learn and value our memories.

As for me,   I took the road of science but found myself like a square peg trying to fit a round hole.  Found happiness in the arms of a lady and worked on the other half of my life to make up for all the times I messed up. I went back to something I really love, watching movies and reading books, and selling them for a living. Though I may not be deemed as a success to most, unable to give my family a prosperous life but I believe I gave them a happy home. 

A TRUE FILIPINO HERO : TUNAY NA BAYANI

He is one Filipino hero that everyone should know
He's a policeman ... Master Sergeant Jason Magno
While our police force is besmirched with corruption
A name to honor and respect all the men in uniform

An ordinary cop in the province of Misamis Oriental
Beyond the call of duty he faced a deranged criminal
Wielding a rusty knife and grenade he caused a ruckus
Right inside a school he threatened kids in the campus

Unafraid Sgt Magno wrestled the man to the ground
But the man remove the pin and yelled its a bomb !
He dropped the grenade and it rolled into the crowd
The crowd was then stunned by a deafening sound

Sgt Magno laid bloodied, his body torn and shattered
He dove and covered the blast so lives could be saved
A heroism written in blood, an act to be remembered
Well deserving a Medal of Valor, a story to be revered

Indeed we have reasons to feel proud, to be a Filipino
To serve and protect, each policeman's sworn motto
That out there in the streets there are cops on the beat
Dedicated cops we can rely on especially in time of need

WHY THOSE WHO LEAVE THE CHURCH NEVER COME BACK

Our life is defined by the adversities we overcome. Raised as a Catholic, a devoted one until my college days I too walked away from the church and I am sure that I won't be coming back. We studied Catechism from grade school to high school. I was a regular Sunday worshiper until I got lost a bit during my working years. But it was also then that I started searching for answers and tried to unshackle the guilt that the Catholic teachings bind us with. I sought religion to calm the fears that hounded me since I was a child and during the darkest part of my life, it was not the kind of faith that shaped me for what I am today. The kind of inner peace I feel today, I could not define in terms of  religious doctrines but has guided me through the storms of life I have gone under.

Knowledge is addictive. As you open different  doors of knowledge there is always a voice within you that pushes you to open more doors. Religion binds us to one and when we try to open other doors, we were told that it is a mortal sin. But our mind has limitless boundaries so how could it be wrong to make full use of nature's gift. Television has many programs that espouses different beliefs and I started watching most of them. Then there are a lot of books about philosophy, religion and history, so I started reading them. I haven't quite stop searching and I'll go on as long as I can. The inner peace I've been searching for, I've found, I'm just going through the routine of fine tuning. 

A mere coincidence maybe but my kind of faith was shaped by four men who all walked away from the church. An avid reader since my grade school years, I never missed and even clipped some of Bob Garon's column from the defunct Daily Express newspaper. It was sort of a daily love letter to his wife, in guise of advising other people who too were caught in the travesties of life. Reading his column made me aware of a lot of things,  about friendship. life. happiness and marriage, and especially  one's faith in God. His belief in God never wavered but he broke his vow of celibacy believing that he too can walk the sacred grounds in his own ways. 

My closest friend in high school too was a devout Catholic and we sort of bonded by going to church on Sundays and spending the rest of the day playing pool. He was a great storyteller which I emulated later on, but he was good looking guy with his height and mestiso features that I have to add a bit of slapstick comedy to my stories so I could impress on my audience. We lost contact after our high school days and 30 years later I found an article in the defunct Jeepney Magazine that he was helping abandoned children through primary education guided by his new found faith with his wife. I never got to meet him until now but knowing that he also walked away from a high paying job just to do the so called God's work must have compensated him spiritually in some way. I guess he was one of the first from our batch who made millions in the corporate world but was unable to close his eyes to the shady dealings that accompanies negotiated product sales.

The third one was an uncle, an ex-seminarian, who mentored and taught me how to seek for answers that bepuzzled the mind. Not once did he mentioned the real reason why he left the church and justified his leaving as a mere search for his true self. A shade below 5 feet in height yet I looked up to him as one of the best teachers in life I've had.  Over a couple bottles of beer, we shared  jokes and I guess he was the one who inspired me to view the past through history readings and seek enlightenment by understanding the trivialities that mask life messages. The love for boxing glued our friendship and my only regret was that he never got to see how Manny Pacquiao made himself as one of the sports biggest legend.  He would topped the bottles of beer with crispy pata had he been alive when Manny defeated Oscar Dela Joya.

The fourth one was one of the best friend I've ever had. Also an ex-seminarian, we both worked for the same company in the 1980's. He too did not answer the call for priesthood and decided to get married and have a family.  Our friendship was merely about sharing the fun of our youth and we never got to discuss much about religion. Yet the way he led his life in a way showed me the right road I should travel in my later life. During the darkest days of my life, his and his wife's effort to help me out was way beyond the kind of friendship I imagined.  

I too walked away, not because I don't believe in the teachings of the church but because I wanted to learn why other people took different roads. I have no doubt about the existence of a Supreme Being that created everything out of nothing. The more I get to learn about science, history and culture, philosophy and the like, I could not comprehend why it is wrong to go beyond the teachings of the church. We have inside us a CPU  that can process any information and data fed into it, and our life has been programmed to last a lifetime which we can debug to produce the kind of output we want. Our life like all others will come to an end and the following generation will analyze and try to improve on where we left off.

During the times when I was attending masses and listening to the sermons, we were never encouraged to read the Bible where all those tidbits of  heavenly wisdom came from. Those who doesn't embrace the faith were considered infidels and misguided souls, condemned to suffer in sub-heaven called the Purgatory where we the living have to pray for so they can ascend into the heavens. Those who won't worship Jesus and Virgin Mary  will burn in Hell as well as those who commit mortal sins by failing to attend masses on Sabbath days. The symbolic head of the Catholic Church, the Pope is infallible, guided by the Holy Spirit, and words spoken are dictated from up above.  As I grew older, I just drifted away a bit, especially after seeing the Church interfered with the affairs of the state.

Like the four men I have mentioned above, I don't intend to taint the Church  grew up in, just wanted to see things from different corners.  


Sadyang mahirap na pag-usapan ang relihiyon

Hindi maiiwasan na di magustuhan ang tugon

Kapag itinanong kung sino na ang Panginoon 

Hindi magkakasundo kahit anong henerasyon

Katulad ng ating lahi na namulat na Katoliko

Sinakop ng kastila para daw sa Kristiyanismo

Ang tanging dala'y Biblia isang banal na libro

Ang layunin daw maging banal, mga Pilipino

Unti-unting iminulat sa gawi ng taga kanluran

Aral na katesismo na siyang daan sa kalangitan

Nagtayo mga simbahan at malawak na bakuran

Ginawa tayong alipin, mga lupain ay kinamkam

Siniil ang kalayaan, sinamantala ang kababaihan

Pati bukid ay binuwisan, tayo ay pinagmalupitan

Sino mang sumuway ay ipinipiit, pinarurusahan

At sa mga lumalaban sa simbahan...  kamatayan

350 taon ng kalupitan ... himagsik ay yumabong
Sinimulan ng mga mason nabuo ang rebolusyon
Binalewala ang sermon, pati eks-komunikasyon
Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin digmaan ang ating tugon

Kalayaaang ipinaglaban inagaw sa atin ng Kano
"Freedom",  demokrasya ang kapalit ating ginto
Pakunwaring tinuruan para umunlad at lumago
Habang ninanakaw ang yaman nating nakatago

Sa kabilang dako lumaganap ang ibang relihiyon
Mga dating Katoliko naging Iglesia, iba'y Mason
Mayroong Aglipayan, Baptist, Muslim, Mormon
Magkahati-hati, nagtalo kung sino ang Panginoon

Mga pag-abuso at ang mga kalabisan ng simbahan
Nagsusuri ng Biblia para mabatid ang katotohanan
Ibang mga mangangaral, nasilaw  dulot na kinang
Ginagamit ang relihiyon upang sila'y magpayaman

May ibang nagsusuri  hanap naman ay  karunungan
Mga kasagutan, mga ukol sa Diyos at sa kalangitan
Mga bagay na di nakita sa turo ng pari at simbahan
Tumalikod di para lumaban, nais lang ay katotohanan

ANNOUNCEMENT

DEAR  READERS
...............................

5  DAYS  IN  THE  HOSPITAL  could do wonders - I  hope this will be sort of  a long goodbye.
Knowing that you won't live forever makes you more aware of the the things you usually take for granted ...develop within you a sense of urgency that given more time, do the things you are meant for.  I guess I have lived enough to do the things I need to do and this time I will try to do the things I wanted to do.

First thing I did after I was out of the hospital was to start downloading songs, now about a thousand, and I am just about 3 tenth finished, listen to them one by one, some songs interpreted by different singers and select the better ones and create a playlist with just one thing in mind - this are the songs of my life and my kids will have something to remember me by once I'm gone.

This BLOG is for all the people who crossed my path, acquaintances, friends and everyone else who have some questions to ask.  I guess I have earned my stripes ... and as a start I would try to answer a question posed to me some days ago by some UMak students who interviewed me :

 "  What is the best advice I could give them ..."

So far this is the best one I've heard. I am quite biased since I idolize Sylvester Stallone

but if ever you want to be happy, you have to find your rightful place in this world. Most successful people are happy but not all happy people could be deemed as successful. Some even have broken lives but maintained their inner peace - and I can relate to that.

But my best advice - just follow where your heart leads you. Along the way you'll hear a lot of advice, some criticism, even disbelief, but religious or not as you may be, thousand of years and hundreds of generations prepared our life for today so it has to count someway and there is a slot for us in this grand puzzle of life.

" Ang kapalaran di mo man hanapin, kusang lalapit kung talagang sa atin. "  

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