The gift of friends

This week has taught me so much about showing up and honouring life and this time, the lesson came through the life of my friends.

I have an 80-year old friend named Ichi. I met him way back in 2003, he is a businessman who believe that

the world can be changed one person at a time. He is one of the foreigners who believe that Maguindanao, a land known for being war-torn will be a place of prosperity that will provide economic freedom for the Muslim people.

His personal impact in my life though is very subtle but deep. On occasions, we would meet up for lunch or coffee and he would tell stories and he would share his wisdom about life. He prides himself for belonging to the Samurai clan. There were those times when I never really believed that I am great. He would tell me that I am and that I’ll be able to do great things and at the back of my mind, I would say, ‘Yeah, right.’

As years passed, I understood what he has been trying to tell me. Yes, I am great.

But last week, I got a call from his daughter who told me that his health is not in good condition and that I might want to see him. When I went to the hospital, I saw how he struggles. I could not help but cry. That night, I wept. I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for having a friend like him – and then it struck me: What have I been doing with my life? I have not been honouring those people like Sir Ichi who believe in my greatness. I have been allowing my excuses to get the best of me.

That night was totally life changing for me because I was able to realize that my life should be in lived honour of my greatness and of the people who have been there all along – believing that I am enough, that I am hope, that I am of great potential.

Thank you God, Goddess, Universe for the gift of friends.

Yesterday, I learned that my long-time friend Alex, only 31, died of Acute Meningitis. Our group of friends were the few, real ones that I got. We’ve been together for 13 years and although we do not meet frequently, we always fire up when we do. He’s the irreverent kind that when you try to act serious, he’s always the one who would whisper something in your ear to ruin your concentration.

We have been putting off our get-together for so long, believing that we have until this whole lifetime and that each day is the same. Apparently, each of us has a different length of lifetime, depending on Who-knows-what. ;)

Suddenly, Alex left and all of us feel really bad because we didn’t even know that he was going through something. We have not shown up. I realize that life is so fleeting and showing up is really important because we don’t know how or when our time will end. The lesson about being there came costly for me; it came with a life of a friend.  

Still, I thank you God, Goddess, Universe for the gift of friends. Rest in Peace, Alex.

Lessons on jumping in

Once upon a time, there was a young man who left the comforts of his own home in search of a magus who was said to hold the secrets of success.  The young man reached a heavily forested area in pursuit of that knowledge. There, he met the magus. The young man did not hesitate to tell the magus what he was searching for and the magus made him go through steep treks that made him doubt if it his decision to pursue the magus was right. Finally, they reached the peak of the hill and there, a lake rests peacefully. The magus told the young man, "The success you're looking for is in that lake."  The young man hastened toward the lake. He saw that the lake was so clear that it mirrors his tired but hopeful face. Suddenly, the magus pushed the young man's face deep into the water. The young man struggled for breath as he was close to drowning.  The magus, pulled up the young man's face as he choked for breath and asks in a powerful voice, "Do you want success?"  "YES!" The magus pushed the young man's face into the lake two times more. Each push grows more forceful than the previous attack. As the young man felt like giving up, the magus let go of the young man's head and the young man struggled to breathe. "If you want success as much as you want to breathe, you will succeed," the magus told the young man.                                                                            *** Last weekend, I made a quick decision to travel to Manila and volunteer myself to support Ike Pono and the facilitator Bruce Conching. I flew in with help from friends and with very little money. What I noticed when I decided was that everything fell into place. Things just flowed and I experienced things I never thought I'd do on that trip. The trip was so great, it was almost magical. I stayed with a young, powerful woman named Glaze. She was a classmate of my friend Carol in Ike Pono Manila. Glaze is highly successful in her late 20's although she came from humble beginnings; her network marketing business is driven to help others succeed too. Her posh condo unit costs PhP8 million and she plans to retire before she reaches 35. We talked for one night about what she did to become financially free. She shared that the most important question that needs to be addressed when reaching a goal is to the 'why' and not the 'how'. The how, she says, will follow once you have decided on the why. I figured that the 'why' serve as the motivation to achieve goals and dreams. Glaze told me the anecdote about the young man and the magus I shared above! During my stay there, I also got together with a young entrepreneur and engineer named Alan. He is full of zeal with a very big heart. His venture in Manila started in 2007. He left his small town in Bantayan Island with only PhP200 in his pocket. When he reached Manila, he would call up companies that place advertisements in classified ads, looking for carpenters or laborers. He would volunteer himself to do some engineering jobs for free under the condition that if they like his work, they'll get him in the next projects. In time, Alan's networks grew and now, he went from being broke to financial free. He was able to send his five siblings to school and now, four of them hold a degree, one is still in school. His success made him send scholars to school. One common denominator with Glaze and Alan is the desire and the decision. Their 'whys' pushed them to jump into their greatness. And their success rippled and touched so many other lives. I left Manila with so much gratitude for everything that has taken place. I felt so blessed. It's like the Universe is telling me that it's time to jump into my greatness and that the things I want so much in life are running out to meet me. Meeting them and knowing their stories caused me to become more aware of the decisions that I made. I made a vow to myself that I am growing, no matter how painstaking it might take and how much change it requires. How about you? What experiences you had the past few weeks that made you change your outlook in life? Photo courtesy of wewanderandwonder.com