#MINDANAO
The Christmas season continues to inspire us with hope. In my last columns, I reflected on the economic development imperatives as well as thoughts on a Mindanao Sunrise where I probed some attitudes needed to face the uncertainties ahead.
Knowing this, I am thankful that Christmas comes at the close of the calendar year. The chaos of year-end business and work requirements coupled with extended rest affords a special time to look back at the past year, and reflect on past achievements and the challenges posed by an uncertain future.
How are we looking at the future? A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey for December 2024 showed that 10 percent of Filipinos are eyeing the new year with fear, rising from three percent in 2023. In the same survey, 90 percent of Filipinos are facing the new year with hope, compared with 96 percent in 2023. Geographically, the same survey saw the Visayas at 87 percent from 93 percent in 2023, while in Mindanao, it dropped to 89 percent from 96 percent in 2023.
These sentiments come, despite inflation hitting the two to four percent government target level at 3.2 percent, and consumer expectations improving in the last quarter of 2024. I cannot fully explain or define why these trends are such and what these may mean. What I can do is identify certain attitudes that can help many of us, including myself, to navigate the complex reality of 2025.
That said, we will need a grounded realism to face 2025. It is a capability to take things as they are and calmly find ways out of the difficult situation, perhaps even seeking a way that brings success.
This requires the following: temperance and grit to keep our emotions in check, and a sense of hope to feed the vision to overcome and surpass the reality.
Simply put, it begins with an acceptance that reality is what it is and that in many ways we cannot fully control. This ensures better rationality when making decisions.
This matters because people with a product or service to sell, or a money scam, will want you to be excessively emotional, either happy, angry or hopeless. Often, when such strong emotions pass, the regret over the decision sets in.
On the other hand, when we are grounded on reality we can calmly make decisions. This clears the way forward since risks are better understood and mitigated. We see more hope as a result.
This requires a deep grounding in our own strengths and an understanding of our weaknesses and limitations. Faith and grace allow us to transcend the chaos and achieve the grounding needed to face reality, not merely to absorb temporary difficulties, but to overcome them and achieve success.
Farewell, Fr. Rodriguez
Farewell to Fr. Horacio Rodriguez, OSA, the long-time rector of the school where I spent my formative elementary years. My faint memory of him recalls how he was a humble, dedicated and consistent person, a trait I find in a dwindling number of individuals. Such patient effort to build a school over several decades, through various political administrations and economic shifts, requires a deep grounding in oneself and the mission provided by divine grace, we often cannot fully understand, and nurtured by faith that sadly, many today reject as unimportant, even foolish. This kind of foundation exemplifies the grounded realism we need to face an increasingly uncertain world.
Happy New Year everyone!