PH 103 - Pilosopiya ng Relihiyon

Long test namin noong isang gabi sa Philosophy of Religion. Ito ang tanong:

"Kung sakaling magising ka isang umaga at nalaman mong wala naman pala talagang Diyos, magbabago ba ang iyong buhay?"

Ito ang sagot (conclusion part lang. Masyadong mahaba yung sagot ko e):

         "Malaking pagbabago ang mangyayari sa aking buhay kung sakaling magising ako isang umaga, at malaman kong wala naman pala talagang Diyos. Mag-iiba ang aking mga ideolohiya. Magbabago ang lahat ng aking mga pananaw sa mga bagay sa aking kapaligiran, may buhay man o wala. Maglalaho sa aking isipan ang imahe ng isang Ama na sa aki'y nagmamahal at kumakalinga. At sa aking paggising sa umagang iyon, kung wala naman pala talagang Diyos, ako'y magmimistulang isang batang ampon na namulat sa katotohanang wala talaga akong ama. Maihahalintulad sa isang gusali na nabuwal ang haligi at mga pundasyon. Marahil hindi iyon ang maging katapusan ng aking pag-iral, subalit panigurado na ang lahat ng aking mga kaisipan, paniniwala, at ideolohiya ay guguho at lalatag sa pinong pinong pagkadurog.

          Kung ang kahulugan ng aking pag-iral ay "Mula sa Diyos, Para sa Diyos," ano na lamang ang magiging saysay ng aking paghinga sa umagang wala naman pala talagang Diyos? Marahil ay bumalik ako sa kawalan, magbubuo ng panibagong pundasyon sa mga gumuhong kaisipan, magpapa-ampon sa panibagong ama na paniniwalaan, at maghahanap ng panibagong dahilan ng aking paggising sa susunod pang mga umaga." (Matienzo, 2014)

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PAYATAS (Part 1) - Humans of Payatas

BRGY. PAYATAS, QUEZON CITY. No. The mountain on the background is not the mountain we know. It's garbage.

          So our 3-day stay-out immersion in Payatas just concluded. For three days, we aimed to experience how people from Payatas go about their everyday lives. We observed, mingled, went around, and even conducted interviews to dig even deeper. For the first part of my 2-part blog article, these are the Humans of Payatas (Based on the Photoblog - Humans of New York).

"Saan ka galing kanina?"

"Nagbenta po. Kalakal."

"Magkano binayad sayo? Ano bibilhin mo?"

"Limang piso po. Pambili po ng pagkain."

--

"Na-demolish yung dati namin na tinitirahan. Binayaran nila kami.

Nung pinapili kami kung pera o tirahan, tirahan na lang pinili namin.

Kesa naman mangupahan kami sa iba. Isusubo mo na lang,

ipambabayad mo pa ng renta."

--

"Bakit d'yan ka sa kanal naglalaro? Hindi ka ba narurumihan?"

"Hindi po. Sanay na po e."

--

"Taga-Isabela talaga ako. Nagtrabaho ako dito sa Maynila.

Sa trabaho kami nagkakilala ng Mister ko.

Nagpalipat-lipatkami ng tirahan na inuupahan.

Nung dumami na ang mga anak namin, di na namin kinaya mangupahan.

May nakilala kami na nagbebenta ng lupa na mura lang.

P1000, pwesto na yun. Kaso, sa tambakan naman ng basura yung mapapabigay samin.

Kinuha na rin namin."

--

"Wala po kaming manika e.

Bakit? Lalaki lang po ba ang pwedeng maglaro ng holen?"

--

"Ganito lang ang buhay namin dito. Simple.

Walang makukuhanan ng kabuhayan kundi sa basura ng iba.

Pero nakakaraos naman. P120 sa isang araw.

Minsan, nagkakasya na rin."

NEXT PART: PAYATAS (Part 2) - Reflection

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Top 2 Best Names

          When I was a High School Freshman, during the first day of formal lectures, my GenSci (General Science) teacher asked a question addressed to the whole class. We anticipated a very scientific, whatever-logy related question. But to our surprise, her 2-part question went like this:

"What is the greatest, most beautiful, and most wonderful name ever given to someone?"

          After overcoming the astonishment the question brought to us, people started answering the most widely known, appropriate answer to the question: JESUS.

Yes. Everyone of us in the class knew what the answer was. But no one knew WHY.

And this is the WHY:

Philippians 2:9-11

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

          After explaining to us briefly the answer to her first question, my teacher proceeded to the second part of her 2-part query:

"What then is the Second Best?"

          The question got us all thinking. Silence ensued. Everyone in the class was thinking of the best, most beautiful, most good-sounding name one could think of. Then I bursted out loudly: "MIL." Jokingly, of course. Then everyone shouted their own names out loud, giving their answers, teasing each other. Our teacher was just there, smiling. After we had our fun, our teacher finally gave us the answer:

"You are all correct in a sense. The second best name is your own name."

---

          What's the point of this story?

          Pondering on the essence of the anecdote, two things can be stressed out:

1. In this life, there should be nothing more important than our reverence and admiration to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

          He loves you (John 15:9, 1 John 4).

          He gave His life for you (1 Timothy 2:5-6, Romans 5:8, John 3:16).

          He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

2. You, my dear reader, are very, very special.

          You are wonderfully made by God (Psalms 139:14).

          God has very special plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11).

          God knows you very well, even from the very beginning of your existence (Jeremiah 1:5).

          You have been crowned with glory and honor (Psalms 8).

          I wrote this not to encourage you to boast, but to make you realize that, despite all your limitations and shortcomings, you are special in the eyes of the Lord. If you would ever feel down, useless, and hopeless, remember these things.

Oo nga. Tao ka lang. 'Yan ka lang.

Pero sa tingin ng Diyos, hindi ka "lang."

- m. matienzo

- Hello, Ma'am Glenda Tabo. May natutunan po pala ako sa inyo noong High School kahit papaano. HAHA. :)

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What Drives You?

They call this the Golden Circle.

I'm not in the mood to explain this theory in my own words so I'll just copy and paste from another source:

SOURCE: http://www.mondaysunday.eu/sinekstartwithwhy

     "The theory of the Golden Circle is simple but powerful and very inspiring. Every company knows WHAT they sell, or what they do. Most of them know HOW they do it. But very few companies and entrepreneurs know WHY they do what they do: what’s the purpose, cause or belief that inspires them. In order for a company or leader to be successful, they must communicate the WHY behind the WHAT and HOW. Only if this WHY, this deeper cause or purpose, appeals to other people they will sympathize with and support the company or leader. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it."

To help you understand better, here's another illustration:

There. This Golden Circle thing might be a Business Management concept, but I realized something worth mentioning - something that you might find useful in trying times. Outside of the business context, I think we can apply this on a more practical-moral level.

In times of frustrations, discouragements, and downfalls. When you feel like giving up on something you really value, remember these few things:

- Do not let the "what" be your motivation, lest you fall into materialism, boredom, and overfamiliarity.

- Do not let the "how" be your motivation, lest you become mechanical and apathetic in your deeds.

- But let your "why" drive you. If you make the reason behind your action be the essence of your passion, the promise will not only be success, but more importantly, true satisfaction.

What keeps me going? My "why."

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

- Phil. 1:21 KJV

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