Dear
friends:
I
have this strange dream a few days ago.
I appeared very old in this dream. I was
in a place near a cemetery talking to certain people about their concerns. Of
course I was not dead yet and so were the people whom I was talking to. After a
while, an old acquaintance fetched me telling that some other people needed to
consult with me. So I followed him in a secluded place to see the supposed
group. I was shocked because he brought me instead to a group of thugs who
appeared too eager to meet me.
It did not take long before they began to
beat and push me around. There was no doubt that somebody hired them to teach
me some lessons. But it seemed that I did not get old without acquiring a splendid
skill of negotiating my way out of trouble. Eventually, I was able to convince
them to stop venting their rage on me. I persuaded them to ask themselves, “What
could be gained from killing an old man who could no longer tie his shoe lace?”
They realized that my death would mean that no other son of a gun would pay to
have me maimed and thus, they stopped. Fortune must have been smiling at me
because in spite of my age, I was able to cheat death.
And they allowed me to continue trekking
towards somewhere. My feet brought me in the suburb where a gun fight between two
gangs are taking place. I then realized that I have been used to find myself in
the wrong place at the wrong time. I appeared too old to worry about anything.
But then, I wondered why has the world gone so cruel? Where are the dreamers
who promised to build a better future? Can an old man like me do anything to
set things right? It was then that I began weeping, thinking that I could do
nothing but to go home to my wife.
Strange, but this dream is more vivid than
the others that I have in the past.
It left me asking myself whether in my old
age I’ll still be doing those things that have pre-occupied me for the past several
years.
Not that I am growing tired of advancing
the causes of the poor. Rather, I am curious whether it is still possible for me
to change the track that I am taking. With my age, however, I am starting to
believe that there is a limit to what one can achieve and that such limit is
defined by the choices he makes when he is young.
My wife once told me that one of the
special attributes that I have is my capacity of expending (exhausting, may be
the better term) my time and energy to help others with their concerns. She marvels
at this but at the same time quips that while I am investing so much of myself
for others, my greatest achievement as a teacher may not at all be forthcoming.
She hinted that it is the same in all organizations that I have put up—people
would come and go, but nobody would find courage to return and take up the responsibility
of continuing the works that I am doing. She fears that in the end, I’ll be
alone to finish the fight. In spite of this, she does not discourage me; she tells
me to go on as long as I find happiness in the causes that I am advancing. As
always, she is my most loyal fan.
Well, the point is not for anyone to come
back or take away the responsibility from somebody else’s shoulder. It is about
committing oneself to pay forward the good things that he received from others.
Unless we all learn to do this, the world will always be the same: cruel, selfish
and unfair.
How I wish to live for at least twenty
years more so that I can meet you in the prime of your careers. Things will be
different then, I hope. How I wish that we will share a gentle future, a place
where old people like me can pass unharmed. How I wish that we can share a future full of happy
people, of dreamers who make a difference in the world, of advocates who
reconcile differences, and of former students who are true to their
promises.
Now that you’re ready to take further
steps toward your dreams, pause not to doubt what you can do. Draft exciting new
chapters to your story. You earned the skills to sketch good lines, so do not
falter—scribble the most beautiful lines ever.
Cross the crooked lines in your path. Keep
dreaming. Paint the skies with splendid colors. Walk on! Don’t quit! Advance!
Never fear hard work. Never hope for an
easy but meaningless existence.
You are trained to face the most difficult
challenges. Prove your worth by confronting your greatest foe. Resist the
temptation to be complacent. Work hard, but always celebrate your achievements
no matter how trivial they may appear in the eyes of others.
Commit yourself to help people that you’re
going to meet in your way to success. This is the highest expression of
gratitude that you can show in return for the good things done to you by others.
At the end of the day—when we both reached the future—we shall see if bad dreams can be made beautiful by a meaningful
past.
Come what may, I hope that we can indulge
in the good memories that we will soon create as we search for the meaning of our
existence.
Stay the course! Claim the future!
Live long and prosper!!!
