“Change” is not just a page in our book of life.
It is the entire, whole book of our life that requires a profound examination of our circumstances.
As human beings, we are thinking animals of the first order.
Our present circumstances reflect the thoughts, emotions and beliefs inside our secret personal world. But however secretive we are, these thoughts, emotions and beliefs will be ultimately revealed in one way or the other.
Some people suffer the misfortune of not being able to change promptly to adapt to the unfolding circumstances in life.
Some people prefer NOT to change because they think and believe that the status quo they are in is already in much better shape than the change that is being proposed.
They forget that as people RENEW their thinking, their lives are honed and sharpened and thus inevitably become better.
There is none immutable but God.
There is a prerequisite to change and that is for ourselves to change first.
Sometimes people look the other way before change hits them.
As they strive toward success, these same creatures merely hope in their faint heart to avoid failure.
They then succumb to mediocrity because mediocrity cannot spell success for you and for anyone.
A critical principle in human nature is described by James Allen who wrote in his book As a Man Thinketh: “Circumstances does not make a man, it reveals him.”
As I shift to our present surroundings, the resistance to change is undeniably great.
Despite the poverty that is of Himalayan proportions, our countrymen are falsely led to believe that there are no cracks or loopholes in our fundamental laws, particularly the 1987 Constitution which one former Chief Justice unabashedly described as the “best constitution in the world.”
This mediocre thinking has almost become the standard response of those who suffer from myopic vision and partisan conservative mindset.
Imprisoned by their own selfish ideas and threatened by change that could usurp their social status, pro status quo interest groups are blocking, by fair or foul means, the growing desire of the proletariat for positive change to come into their lives.
The time has come for everyone to rise and be counted.
Filipinos must fight off this mediocrity that is being propounded by supporters of the status quo.
This has been the mindset of the ‘prayle’ of the Spanish colonial times, the elite who compose the oligarchy that arose out of the American-sponsored democracy, the political dynasties that emerged and propagated themselves until today to the great detriment of the Filipino people.
There seems to be a standoff.
But look. Who ever thought the US and North Korea who are long feuding since the 1950s would have their leaders sit down and agree to a peace accord?
This is un-mistakably change, isn’t it?
China and Russia, the other superpowers, are recognizing this event as a major step towards world peace.
So, why are we then reluctant to accept change?
If the food that we used to eat is not as digestible and delicious, could we not try a new chef, his cooking and his new menu?
Until we find the ideal set-up – in governance, in economics, in our social environment – we should not cease discovering and searching new things that will eventually fit into our system.
Therefore, let us strive to succeed and not just hope to avoid failure. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) 2Cor. 1:5: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
