Have you ever thought or imagined your life-long plan being distilled, crystallized and encapsulated? I did not expect a publication of my past, present and future undertakings as retired academician who in my own small ways continue to be a teacher/writer, an ordinary family man and a practicing farmer. I was featured in the lifestyle section dated October 13, 2012 page 25 of the Cebu City local newspaper, The Freeman. The article is titled, “Kalubian ni Lolo: A Coconut-based Permaculture Living System”.
The author, Ms. Haydee Mae Perez Estibar is a junior, BA Mass Com student of the University of the Philippines (UP), Cebu. I understand that it is part and parcel of the requirements for her to earn a degree in mass communication. I am with Dr. Stephen Covey that this exercise of “writing is a kind of psycho-neural muscular activity which helps bridge and integrate the conscious and subconscious minds. Writing distills, crystallizes and clarifies thoughts and helps break the whole into parts“(The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. p. 135).
Our acquaintance started 2 years ago. Unknowingly, we were in the same boat sailing from Cebu City to Bato, Leyte. Disembarking at about 5:00 a.m., I was a few steps behind the slim, demure, pretty and young lady. Hesitantly, I asked her the location of the Catholic Church in Bato. She responded politely with the negative, unfamiliar with the place being a resident of Hilongos, the next northern town. She was still a college freshman then. With our brief chit chat while walking from the wharf to the bus terminal, I challenged her to define the difference between “mass com” and “dev com” disseminating the information that the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City offers a degree in development communication. Well, we parted ways with the promise to cultivate friendship and active interaction through the www.facebook.com.
Being easily led to the House of God, I was able to attend the first Holy Mass of the day before the following day’s marriage ceremony of Kenneth Bacaltos and Charisse Agaton last May 15, 2010 in Matalom, Leyte. Praises and thanksgiving were offered for the safe travel and being given the opportunity to witness as one of their primary sponsors in addition to my role as baptismal godparent of the bride. Our friendship dates back when her father, Roger Agaton was a dear brother in “The Pillars” (ViSCA’s campus organization) in the 70’s and co-worker in the Farming Systems Development Project for Eastern Visayas (FSDP-EV) in the 80’s assigned in Matalom as site researcher.
Early this year, Ms. Estibar showed interest in permaculture, most likely because the term is printed on the T-shirt in my facebook profile picture. She inquired from whom she can possibly extract details about the subject. I advised her to contact Mr. Joel Lee, the only certified permaculture teacher in Cebu City but then she was denied of his time. She had no other alternative but to go back to me. I invited her to be my blog follower. I urged her to get insights from the articles: “Holistic being and living” (Jan 25, 2011), “Do nothing permaculture” (Feb 10, 2011) and “The first step to a big leap” (Feb 28, 2011) posted in www.nestofglory.blogspot.com. Our farm development plan is advertised in www.youtube.com search permaculture 2011, final kalubian ni lolo. For more information, she visited our home in Mandaue City together with her boyfriend, John for a personal interview along with her camera and other recording gadgets. In spite of the presence of 3 boy scouts vying for a “forestry badge” through me, I gave her priority. Judy was readily available to fill-in and favorably signed the recommendation for them to receive the said badge they desired.
During that whole afternoon interview session, I showed the 3 minutes and 51 seconds video presentation (VCD) of our farm development plan employing the ethics of permaculture. It was our output reported during the closing program in the later part of 2010 when Judy and I joined the first permaculture learning group in Cebu City.
Through the internet, I edited her draft but then there were minor corrections. In the first paragraph and last statement, it should have read “sustainable living”, not “instant living”. For the second domain, it should be “Land tenure and Community governance”, not “Land tenure and Communist governance”. Suffice it to say, she did a splendid job considering she’s still a student. With focus, persistence, faith in herself and God’s guidance, she will certainly be counted among the new breed of high caliber journalists in whatever communication media she is into mentored by highly qualified UP professors.
I acknowledge Kuya Mar Soco with his morally boosting and spiritually uplifting information regarding the article after our BCBP Consolacion men’s breakfast fellowship at Junie’s in Insular Square, Mandaue City on that bright Saturday morning (13 Oct 2012). He confided to me that he was a little bit late because he was admirably reading it before proceeding to our breakfast venue.
Too excited and upon returning home, I requested Marianne Claire, our second daughter to check and verify in the internet. Indeed, it was there being published. I was overly amazed and fascinated with the intermittently flashing red worded phrase, “interesting people in Metro Cebu” in the left dash board of the article. However, I consistently feel and think that God should always be our fundamental and primary interest and attraction in whatever we plan and do.
To Ms. Estibar, I cannot thank her enough for the great favor in trying to distill, crystallize and encapsulate my personal/our family vision and mission as stewards of the resources (land and nature) lent to us by the next generation. As a budding broadcaster, she is readily invited including all of you who are interested to be part of our “living system”.
To conclude this episode, I conform to what Harold Kushner has written, “Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will at least be different for our having passed through it” (In: Dr. Ron Jenson’s book, Make Life Not Just a Living. p. 8). nmg
