First thing, what I highly expect today is before I come over, you must have already added me as your friend in your Facebook account. I know for a fact that despite the poor signal or limitation of internet coverage in our place, almost every one, if not all of you, have signed up the Facebook account. I recall Ma’am Mamie and the rest of faculty members, former classmates, and a good number of SAHS alumni from different places of different batches have been added into my bucket of friends in my Facebook account.
As a social service network, Facebook is a tool where users may create a personal profile with multi-faceted functionalities. You may store your pictures through personal albums, you can give you status by posting on your wall, exchange messages, give your comment or ‘like’ on any messages or picture, video or anything that you have posted on your wall, may it be the birthday of your son, bad experience, mixed feeling, reaction to what one posted, opinion, belief, almost anything that you want to express and share through network of friends. Users have option to search and add other users as friends and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school, or college, or other characteristics. As of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users throughout the world, of which Philippines has a share of 22.9 million users. (as of date this year 2020, 1.6 billion FB world users with the Philippines sharing 74 million)
The very reason why I am putting emphasis on Facebook, ( without counting other social networks, among others, like twitter, multiply, link-ed, blogs, (now with Instagram and more) is to raise a point of paramount importance to our theme in this commencement exercise: “A partner towards transformational society, an answer to a societal change”. And as Facebook users, we may wonder if our constant access to and use of IT communication would bring about meaningful changes to our society. In our company Globe Telecom, our mission is: Transforming and enriching lives through communications. In your case, may I pose a question: Does social network like Facebook have the capacity transform our lives or in larger dimension, our society?
The series of protests in Middle East were organized on the social networking site which led to successful revolution in Tunisia (Jasmine Revolution) and Egypt. Other anti-government protests are heating up in other Middle East and African countries like Libya, Bahrain, Yemen etc. with multitude of people, mostly young protesters who are communicating through Facebook. It is very interesting that an Egyptian man in his early twenties has baptized his newborn baby girl with a name “Facebook” following the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
We have to reexamine how significant is social network like Facebook, to our lives and how would it bring about transformation in our society today (or for a start, in our smaller communities) . As subscribers and being an integral part of this vast digital social network space, we have to ask ourselves, how could we be part of an ANSWER towards social change, than a big QUESTION MARK to an ever-aggravating social decay. Jose Rizal dubbed it ‘social cancer.’
My dear graduates, to start with, please ask yourselves, what am I here for? Why for 10 long years from elementary to high school, I have been walking to school day-in day-out just to attend classes, study my lesson and finish my home works? Isn’t it boring or isn’t it killing me softly doing the same stuff or seeing recurring activity everyday in my life?
But we wake up every morning realizing we remain steadfast, striving hard and lingering on despite all odds and adversities. Even without knowing it, the reason for our resiliency and steadfastness through the years is: we are all here for a mission in whatever way we conceived it. And the most common mission attributed to all people like you who are in school is to become a SUCCESSFUL person. Success has always been a common measure of how we accomplish our mission. Success! vague and loose it may sound, but at least we have a glimpse of what are we here for or what our purpose is for this life.
Others may have no choice because they would say “my parents told me to be in school”. “Children of my age are also in school, so I will follow suit”. Or for exceptional few who are self-motivated at early stage of their lives would say: “ I must achieve something for myself and education is the only weapon for me to become what I want to be. Usually, it starts with oneself, nothing more but with oneself. Hardly in the first phase of your life does the issue of social transformation come into play.
And here we are confronted with a challenge to become partners towards social transformation, and to be part of the solution for social change. Is it within our personal vocabulary, you may ask? Wow, how ambitious!! Me, a mere high school graduate is now given a Herculean task to be a part of this noble but grand endeavor: social transformation and change? Isn’t it so big for me to accomplish? Am I up to this challenge now? I expect that doubts may haunt your hearts.
. But my dear graduates, when we dream to become what we want to become or when we imagine ourselves becoming what we aspire to be, (to become a nurse, teacher, accountant, lawyer, doctor, seaman, engineer or culinary artist, architect, midwife, etc), unconsciously, we are actually preparing ourselves to be a significant partner in effecting social change or transformation. Unknowingly, what we are doing is we are preparing ourselves to be part of this grand design for transformation or change we have desired. You are actually doing it now, within your personal space, then you expand to your family or within your sphere of influence. Sometimes, we have to start with a selfish act and end up with a selfless impact.
This is what our journey is towards social change. However, the word ‘change’ is actually the most overused if not the most abused word in our vocabulary today. All over the world, in the West, In Europe, in Asia like Philippines, and most recently in Middle East, ‘change’ has been a keyword for political sloganeering. It has become an economic battle cry in our time of economic meltdown. We shout change in economic policies, change of leaders. In corporate world, it has become an strategic lingo- we call it change management. Even in our face and body, some people effect change through cosmetic surgery. Salamat doctor. Change has evolved into a brand equity for all of us.
Oftentimes than not, we mean the word ‘change’ for variation or replacement. We only hit the symptoms but not the malady. We show the form but not the substance. I call it “changes within continuity.” It is because we keep on changing the forms within the same recurring framework. Change of people but not of attitudes; Change of position but not of principles. Change of mind but not of heart.
What we need is not changes within continuity. We don’t need ‘keep the change’ everytime we deal with others. That is not transformational as we like it; it is transactional as we want to profit from it at the expense of others. Therefore, I must say that what we need is a continuity of change which starts from ourselves, afterwards influencing others to change themselves for the better and eventually creating an atmosphere where social change takes place. This is a genuine and meaningful transformation.
For us, change is simply you and me. A genuine change I want to see in me. It is a process of examining ourselves and along the way, regaining the soul that has been lost for quite a time. Time and again, I always say that “even we explore the whole world to find a perfect place, there is only one place we need to travel into- ourselves”. In other words, meaningful and positive change must start from within. “Know thyself”, Socrates said.
On my article (On The Art of Being Alone), I reaped out a realization that, “for us all, to be alone is not an isolation, not even a contrast. Neither it is a divisive attitude, nor an outpouring selfishness. But it is a inner inclination to create an atmosphere of serenity. A kind of creativity to understand more of oneself – its abyss, wholeness and purpose.”
Recently, I saw a movie entitled “Sanctum”, it tells a story of an underwater cave diving adventure for an unexplored cave in Papua New Guinea. However, when some of the diving team wanted to go up back to their camp, storm came in and a devastating outpour of water started to flood the network of long underwater cave. They tried climbing up and went against the current of water until they realized, there was no way up but only way down if only to survive. It holds true with ourselves. If we want to be with the outer world, to reach out to others, to be an agent of change, we have to go deeper into ourselves.
“Becoming conscious of myself prepares me to understand the life of others and their sense of collectivity. It is then that my social dimension can find meaning in my newly discovered self. The way ‘out’ is the way ‘in’
It is for this reason that we want to achieve our goal and purpose in life first on a personal level. But before we can be successful in our personal endeavours, we need to equip ourselves with basic success principles which will bring us from where we are to where we want to be.
I have prepared a little menu for you today. It’s just a soup for your thirsty soul. For you to savor its taste or memorize it easier, I baptize it with an acronym “S.A.H.S.I.A.N WAY”. It is a distinguishing mark of your success, a footprint of being a Sahsian. You may use it your lifestyle—a way of life. Perhaps in your journey towards a meaningful and successful life, you may bring along with you these principles to transform your dreams to reality. This is what S.A.H.S.I.A.N stands for:
Self-enhancement; Aim High; Heroism; Steadfastness; Inspiration; Action;Nurture
Self-enhancement. Don’t go to war without weapon and ammunition, otherwise, you are at the mercy of your enemies. Self-enhancement simply means you must devote sufficient time and efforts for self improvement. Develop your talents and skills with dedication and passion. Be competitive by putting a higher standard for your learning. Be excellent in any undertaking you engage in. Read books, indulge into writing. Be creative. Practice logical thinking. Find reason for everything. Hone your technical skills. Learn more things. Innovate for change. Discover your passion and pursue it.
Please remember the Filipino youth constitutes 35.5% of the 95 million Filipinos. It means you are competing with about 33 million Filipino youth out there. The challenge therefore is to be as excellent as you can become in this highly competitive environment. This is how you pursue your dreams. Equip yourselves first, then become catalyst for social change, afterwards.
We must not refuse to see ourselves filled with so much potential, thus, we need to shape ourselves better every day for excellence, competence, and innovation allowing ourselves as humble but noble instruments in the process of transformation. I would congratulate you not because you finish High School today. I would congratulate you because you open your mind to broader opportunities of learning. I would congratulate you if you accept the challenge to sharpen yourself and go out to the world for new opportunities.
Aim High. “Begin with the end in mind”, Stephen Covey said in his best-selling 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In any life’s undertaking, always set your personal goal—you aim. In management, we call it vision. What is my purpose in life? What I want to become?
The process of asking yourself is what we call “envisioning”. It’s like creating a picture in your mind, a picture of yourself standing out as person you want to create in yourself. I suggest you do this exercise while you are still in the fountain of your youth – full of dreams and burning passion. For example, when you want to become a seaman, just close your eyes in a quite place, maybe along the seashore to have audio effect to your meditation. Imagine yourself standing at the fore of a giant vessel M/V St. Augustine. You are about to enter the Panama canal and see the wonder of this man-made water infrastructure. You are supervising the crew for docking maneuver to your assigned port. You are the chief mate and you are looking forward in a few months to be promoted to captain of the ship. Wow!!! Then slowly open your eyes and go back to reality.
When you are aware of your vision in life, you are in better position to know the steps in achieving it. Your life’s vision is your guiding star that will shine your path and give you clear directions towards your destination. Once you created a vision, the next thing you do is to come up with a blueprint of your life or your personal map. If your vision is to become a great teacher someday, you will formulate your plan of action how to be able to fulfill your goal to be a great teacher. Thus, in your early stage, I urge you to write a personal vision/mission statement.
Heroism. In everything you do, flourish it with virtue of heroism. Heroism is an act of expanding and equipping beyond the call of duty with greater motivation to allocate what one has acquired to satisfy the need of others. Please don’t think that when I urge to be heroic, I don’t mean you must go to Bagumbayan to get shot by firing squad so that a statue will be designed and sculptured for you one hundred years after. Heroism could be made manifested in little ways by simply making yourselves available to others in need. You can be a heroic person if you share your talents, skills, resources and time for service. In Rotary, we call it “Service Above Self.” In JCI creed: “Service to humanity is the best work of life”
Not contented with the present resources and talents, we will seek for more so that others may be benefited with these endowments and be given opportunities to develop their potential as human persons. In the long run, they will multiply the same opportunities to others who in turn will inspire others to do the same. So on and so forth until we reach a critical mass sufficient to launch a movement for social change.
As aspiring individuals, we would strive for more, do much better and give myself to the fullest to be in greater service to others within the circle of our influence. If we espouse heroism, we are pushed to move forward and take a bolder step to go beyond our personal territory.
Efren Peñaflorida Jr., who organized Dynamic Teen Co. as a teenager to bring education to unschooled and neglected street children by his pushcart was named CNN hero of the year. He gives us a lesson on heroism: one need not be rich to help the poor.
Steadfastness. Yes, we may possess high level of intellect earned from self-enhancement. We may have a very high IQ. Or we have a towering vision and clear life’s purpose. We may be action-oriented. But can we sustain longer than we expect. Can we run through long distance until we reach the finishing line?
You know, nowadays, people are fond of running. Every week in some big cities of the Philippines, there is always a “Fun Run”. Some would run for 3K; some would go for 5k. For experienced runners , they pound the streets in long distance running from 12 to 21 or even 42 and longer. But it’s not all about running; it’s more on building up a stamina. To build up stamina or steadfastness, you need to have a good balance in training, frequent running at steadier pace like thrice a week, weight training to tone up and get leaner.
I see children of today whose ‘moodriver’ is running dry of patience. I observe some kids running through games on the web, engrossed with the idea of winning and when they lose, losing temper holds sway, as if winning is handed down on a silver platter. In real lives, we hear some young people end their lives out of defeat in a given life’s challenge, unbearable as it may seem. It is so because new age snubs the attitude of perseverance or steadfastness while new generation greets a tool of technology which they thought offers no hassling interference in their lives. All the while, it sunk in their minds that due to their own ability, ‘success’, is a quick grab, however, towered on a quicksand.
If we have the IQ (Intellectual Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient) AQ (Action Quotient), we also need to develop RQ (Resiliency Quotient) – which is the ability to:
- Maintain ones inner emotional balance in a positive state even when all hell is breaking loose around you.
- Remain detached from but able to observe calmly what is going on around you.
- Avoid having your vital life energy from ever being depleted from your mind and body in spite of the circumstances you find yourself in.
- Hold a joyful, positive, optimistic outlook even in the worst situations.
- Live life effortlessly and in a stress free way without allowing it to take a toll on your physical, mental or emotional state. (“What is Your Resiliency Quotient, Or “RQ”? By Nick Arrizza, M.D.)
Everytime I drive my kids to school, I will let them recite a quotation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which says:
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight but they, while their companions slept were toiling upward in the night.”
In my office, I wrote a simple quotation about perseverance, “I may be one of those MANY who failed, yet I am one of those FEW who try again.”
This is simply a mark of steadfastness. I urge you to wear it as your garment of success.
Inspire others. When you enhance yourself with excellence and competence, then passionately put into actions your dreams with humble display of heroism in steadfast manner, you become a shining example to others. You become an inspiration to others.
The transformation that we aspire for in our lives and society cannot be made possible without the inspiration of others. The Edsa People Power Revolution 25 years ago could not have been possible without the inspiration of Ninoy Aquino who was shot dead for his love of country as epitomized by his belief that “Filipinos are worth dying for.” The sacrifice and example that her wife Cory Aquino made after his death and during her presidency has perpetuated the same inspiration to Filipino people after Cory’s death which crowned her son P-Noy to presidency with a promise to end corruption in the Philippines. This is the same spirit of change that has inspired other countries in Europe like the fall of Berlin wall and recently the series of pro-democracy revolts in the Middle East.
Inspire others even in your own little way to start rolling the wheel of social transformation. Tony Meloto does it through Gawad Kalinga. Teacher, Dr. Jossette Biyo, after whom, planet was named inspired us with her teaching prowess. Kenneth Coponpue get us amazed with his world class furniture showcased in some American movies. Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee Food Corporation who bagged the World Entrepreneur of the Year Award inspired all entrepreneurs. And many more outstanding Filipinos who have shown superb and excellent performances in different fields and interests. Like these people, with our utmost dedication, we are capable of inspiring others and in the long run, be able to partake the task of social change.
Always ask yourself, am I an inspiration to others?
Act with passion. We don’t have to stop in self-equipping or envisioning. We move forward through actions. What separate successful people from losers is they take action of what they desire and planned. Oftentimes than not, it is easier to dream that to take action to turn a dream into reality. We are not here to learn new things alone, retain them in our memory and just leave them in the pages where nothing happen but only to be thrown away into forgetfulness. Our business is not to romanticize with wisdom; our business is to effect change through actions. A comedian and artist Jonathan Winters says: “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.”
Manny Pacquiao took a brave action at the age of 14 when he moved to Manila and experienced living on the streets to pursue his dream to become a boxing champ. Now he is an eight-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions. When I was reviewing for the Bar examinations, I saw him fight in small local venues through Blow by Blow, an evening boxing show, I told myself because he took an action on his dream , success awaited him in the future. He threw punches on the future and won. Indeed, “Success is 10% inspiration and 90 % perspiration.
Nurture for life. Once we have developed the habit of practicing our SAHSIAN WAY, we need to cultivate well-entrenched life lessons and lifetime principles. In your daily life, you can encounter different experiences and hear different life’s stories. You see poverty all around. But you read about a girl, abandoned by her father, who now become a world-renowned artist. You witness fights of your parents. But you heard them kissing and hugging an hour after. You heard armed conflict in our province. But you see people living in peace and harmony. And many more stories that rock your day but soothe your souls.
Learn from them as you come along. Reap from them life’s lessons. And create out of them principles to guide you in your journey to success and change.
In my own humble way, I nurture life’s lessons and principles through writing. I have created a blog though my webpage. HIGHER LAW: www.mcgordon.ph where I uploaded my essays. These are the lessons I have learned in my daily encounter with human realities. This is how I described Higher Law:
“Higher law is simply an enigma, a spiritual experience beyond what lies on human facility, not on the letters of law that slays but on the spirit that whispers the promise of life, to its abundance.”
“Higher law transcends the routines of human lives, but shorter than the height of eternity. It is an encounter at the limbo where its ascent is met halfway by the descent of heaven.”
“Human law assures justice but a HIGHER law produces love. This is the kind of law we must live and hope for.”
Today, as I congratulate you all –graduates, teachers, parents and the entire family of St. Augustine High School for this first taste of success, I challenge you to go with me in this journey towards social transformation. If you want to be a partner or an answer to social change, start it with your self, through SAHSIAN Way: . Self-enhance; Aim high; Be Heroic for others, Be Steadfast; But Act with passion; Inspire others; and Nurture life lessons and principles. Do it a SAHSIAN Way.
If you are in for our cause, then let us open our Facebook and start this process of change from within. But before anything else, add me as your friend.
(Note: The guest speaker delivered this speech in 2011 during the commencement exercise of St. Augustine High School, a secondary Catholic institution located in the small town of San Agustin, Surigao del Sur, Philippines.)
