Legacy

Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila, as well as the golden jubilee of entrance to Carmel of our Lady, Mary Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa of one of the nuns there. There was a simple but solemn and beautiful thanksgiving mass, held at the famous apparition site. Imagine sitting there inside their cloistered area, contemplating the site, as well as the lives of both this nun (still so bubbly after 50 years of a life centered on Jesus), and  St. Teresa of Avila whose own life and writings was nothing less than precious legacy to so many.

In addition, the day was also special for my good friend who shared that exactly 16 years ago, she too had said goodbye to the rest of the world in pursuit of the call to join this same convent in Lipa. Like her fellow nun, she too now lives a life centered on Jesus, and yet she too is as bubbly and full of life as one can imagine.

I was so grateful to witness such beautiful legacy, and together with the others present, felt my heart stir with emotion listening to the soloist's voice fill the air with the song of St. Teresa below:

AWIT NI STA. TERESA

Huwag bayaang ligaligin ng anuman

At bayaang takutin ng alinman

Lumilipas ang lahat ng mga bagay

Tanging Diyos ang walang hangganan.

Ang lahat ng bagay ay naaangkin ng katatagan.

Ang nasa Diyos ay walang pagkukulang.

Sapagkat ang Diyos lamang lahat ang kasiyahan.

Huwag bayaang ligalin ng anuman

At bayaang takutin ng alinman

Lumilipas ang lahat ng mga bagay

Tanging Diyos ang walang hangganan.

Lumilipas ang lahat ng mga bagay

Tanging Diyos ang walang hangganan.

It was indeed a special day of grace. The Saint. The apparition site. The vocation and witnessing of the two cloistered nuns. The quiet comfort of Our Lady, Mary Mediatrix of All Grace. Their legacy:

Lumilipas ang lahat ng mga bagay

Tanging Diyos ang walang hangganan.

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Photo Speak

Every October 1, aside from it being the Feast of St. Therese, is also for me a special  day

for remembering and celebrating another spiritual year.

Sometimes photos, more than words, can better capture our gratitude and love for all that has been, is, and will be, in Him, our Good Shepherd  :=)

 

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Motherhood Blessings

 

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Traveling Light

"Travel light.. and go where the wind blows you..."

I first heard the line above in a mass homily, and it has stayed with me since. I am drawn to the feeling of freedom it alludes to.

Traveling light, without the usual years-worn baggages, with mind and heart fully focused on the road ahead... and with the gentle wind of His Spirit blowing behind my back and moving me forward towards new territories yet unexplored... towards new ways of living more free and easy and light.

Midlifing?  :=)


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Solitude

It's hard to capture in words the beauty of silence and solitude, as this is something best experienced than talked about. 

 

A walk along narrow pathways surrounded by greens,

sounds of crickets and birds as if singing in unison,

alternating light and shadows playing on the ground,

 

the smell of burning leaves intermingled with scented bushes, while wind whispers through the trees and blows on one's cheeks and arms..

 

Sitting still, with mind empty

 

but heart open..

as silence becomes prayer,

and prayer becomes rest

in His cradle of unhurried time and quiet space.

 

 

The HR Vocation

Within HR, there is a lot of opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of the human person. We guide the line managers in deciding what profiles they need and whom to bring into the organization. We orient new hires and guide their adjustment to a new culture and environment. We equip supervisors with tools and skills needed to shape behavior and provide useful performance feedback. We remind supervisors to listen to their staff's career aspirations, and teach them how to identify and address their development needs. We help ensure that a healthy leadership succession pipeline is in place, and that the leaders learn how to lead with a balanced combination of IQ & EQ. Aside from focusing on high potential talents, we also assist supervisors in turning around the behavior of staff who need more support for their lagging performance or lapses in character or work ethic.

When employees have personal problems that affect their ability to work effectively, many come to HR to seek help. Numerous trust relationships are built, and many a confidential word are brought out and shared within the privacy of the consultation rooms. Staff know that a good HR professional will be able to sensitively balance the actions needed to address their needs with the needs of the business.

Looking back on many years of being with HR colleagues, I have witnessed a lot of the group's genuine generosity in offering so much time, attention and focus in the service of others. Practically 90% of what is done is about serving others. In fact, oftentimes, HR folks end up putting everyone else's needs before their own. Now this may not really be the best thing to do, because one also has to be filled herself or himself, to be able to sustain work which is very others-centered.

If there are unsung heroes within the org, I think our HR colleagues can qualify to be called such - heroes and true carers for people, and for the organization.

If the CCO/CEO is like the father and head of the family, then HR is like the mother, the heart, looking after her children, our employees, making sure that their stay in the company is not just about going after profit goals, but is also very much about growing up and maturing into the persons they were all meant to be.

Yes, being in HR can be a genuine and meaningful way to live out a vocation of service to others. This is "the pearl of great price" that people in HR have discovered :=)

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Wise Nature's Way

Everyday several of us at home eagerly check the state of the plants and flowers around our simple garden. Each and every plant is lovingly inspected. And each and every flower bud that starts to bloom is looked at with high anticipation and excitement. I make it a point to take their "ID picture". Macro lens and ISO setting so that even the fine, little lines of their petals, and the shifts and variations in color, shade and lighting are captured. There is only a short window of time to take the photos while the bud flowers into its fullness, before it reverses and starts to dry up and shrivel, eventually making way for the next bud to appear.

Nature is very wise. It shows us something for our own life. When checking out the garden each day, I often get reminded about how each person possesses a beauty of his or her own, which when given the right care, can flower into fullness. When we pause to capture the essence of another's life and soul, the fine lines and colors in their life that can be captured like an "ID picture" make themselves known to us. Some whom we come to know stay with us for quite a time, while others are with us only briefly, before moving on in separate ways, making room for others to come in and out of our life.

When I take a photo of the flower, its beauty is captured and is here for me to keep. Just like with people in our life, once we have come to experience who they really are, they continue to remain a part of us even as we move along on separate journeys.

Wise nature's way.

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