Dr. Jun Ynares
THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
“Kakanta na ba ko?”
That was the caption of a funny social media meme which has flooded Facebook timelines a few weeks ago.
With that caption was the picture of a smiling Jose Mari Chan. The combination of the caption and the photo of the recording artist conveyed a powerful message – that Christmas is just around the corner. And, as far as the Filipino is concerned, the turn into that corner begins in the first month of the year that ends in “ber.”
If Jose Mari Chan were to pop up in our front door and were to ask us that question, I would answer, “Yes, go ahead and sing.”
After all, at this time of the year, we can already smell the scent of Christmas.
Strange, but that is a fact. When this particular time of the year arrives, something happens. Things change. The mood is transformed, and the atmosphere shifts from ambient gloom to that of pervasive hope.
Even the weather seems to recognize that the ghost month is over and that September is here. September is 90 days away from December. Ninety days is not too long a wait when the object of anticipation is the greatest feast day of the year. By this time, the weather is no longer too hot and humid. Temperatures slowly drop, especially in the evenings. For some reason, days are more pleasant.
And so are people’s disposition. Some observers say it is difficult to make the public angry at this time of the year. People are more forgiving and more understanding. The “holiday feeling” must have a lot to do with it.
The other reason is the sense of hope.
At this time of the year, hope appears to be abundant – at least in the hearts of men.
This time is when people feel they have something to look forward to, many things to aspire for and which are replete with the possibility that they may be fulfilled.
“Hope is the dream of a waking man,” the philosopher Aristotle.
Hope is more than just an emotion, more than just a dimension of our spiritual state.
Hope is also the focus of research of that field called “positive psychology.”
Experts in this field define it as “a person’s goal-oriented expectations” which are fueled by that person’s “motivation to initiate and sustain actions to achieve his goals.”
It involves what these experts call “pathway thinking,” which refers to that person’s capacity to find ways to fulfill his goals.
In a way, positive psychology masters have differentiated “hope” from “wishful thinking.”
“Hope” involves the setting of clear goals and the ability to take specific actions that would bring one to the fulfillment of those goals.
“Wishful thinking,” on the other hand, is confined to imagining a positive scenario, a version of the ideal life – but not accompanied by a firm motivation to turn that imagination into reality.
Positive psychology experts say they are still trying to find out where in the human brain hope springs from. While they declare that hope is an important antidote to anxiety, “little is known about the neurological basis of hope.”
They are yet to establish firmly where the “underlying mechanism is that explain how hope reduces anxiety in the brain.”
Some of my fellow doctors are wary of “positive psychology.” They say it has yet to prove itself as a worthy member of the family of medical sciences. As a doctor, for my part, I believe that “positive psychology” has taken many steps in the right direction. At this time when people need to cling to hope, the gains in this field play an important role.
If the experts in this field could pinpoint with scientific precision where in the human brain hope emanates, there is greater possibility that we can help more people “to have hope” by triggering certain parts of that vital human organ.
Positive psychology, it appears, is not there yet.
So, we will have to rely on the message of Christmas.
If we cannot locate hope in the brain, we must hold on to the faith that we have long ago found in the heart.
It is the hope fueled by faith.
At this time of the year, Filipinos refuel the hope in their heart born out of their faith in the coming of a Savior.
Someday, our scientists will be able to locate the origin of hope in the human brain.
For now, we will hold on to the hope that springs from the heart.
I guess that is why the song declares that “Christmas is truly in our hearts.”
So, yes. Go ahead.
Let Mr. Jose Mari Chan sing “Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday.”
Kumanta na po kayo.
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