"GIVENS"

It will not, it should not, it must not - but the real thing is, it happen. It’s given.

I noticed myself quite emotional watching the last friday episode (Sept 30,2011) of 100 days to heaven aired by ABS-CBN. The dialogue between Sophia ( Jodi Sta. Maria) and Anna ( Coney Reyes) was so realistic and so real that it truly captured my emotion. I was surprised with my own uncontrollable reaction knowing for a fact that I don’t have any similar experience like that of Sophia.   “Sino ba ako?” Sino ba mga magulang ko? Bakit nila ako ipinamigay na parang tuta? – Such lines evoked in me the desire to write this simple enlightenment which emanates from a disturbed emotion.  

What truly disturbed me was the thought that many young, innocent individuals who have been desperately searching for their own identity because of some conflicting realities – be it a marital conflict, unwanted pregnancies which resulted to adoption, economic inability for child rearing or from any other unthinkable circumstances.  In Anna’s case, it was a desperate move to hide her incapacity to handle a painful love affair, which in effect, resulted to a lifelong separation.

How many of our brethren who are facing such scenario, how many of us who are now suffering because of some mistakes, lapses caused by unreflective decisions in life? Whatever stories we have, whatever background we came from – the truth is, this is part of who we are, this is part of the many ‘givens’ in life. All of us are born to live with the given realities in our lives no matter how painful or shameful it may be.

Together with such realization, is an invitation to be courageous in accepting that we don’t have the capacity to change what was given. To be born with the kind of parents we have, to be born as a Filipino and not as a Czech or Slovak, to be male rather than female, to be born on this century and not on the future -these are all natural realities which are part of the givens of life. If we dare to look closely to the realities of life, we would probably discover many wounding experiences endured by many because they are caught into situations that they themselves has no capacity to rectify and it gradually affect their lives even at present.

Are there still hope? YES!... – To live and accept  the many  “givens” in life but mindful that we can still do great things beyond our horizon. We may have bitter childhood upbringings, hurtful family background, but it would not deter us from moving forward - to dream for more, to search for more, and to live for more.  Accepting the ‘givens’ of life is a sign of great humility to acknowledge the fragility of human existence yet hopeful to gaze at the future.