Reality Check

Life sucks.
But for some it sucks more.
I just flew back in from the Philippines, It was more or less a yearly pilgrimage I make. My mom is there. She is living with the scourge Alzheimer's. I have family and friends who I treasure. But if I was to be selfish, I would rather go somewhere else. Don't get me wrong, the Philippines is a beautiful country. I would argue that it has the best beaches in the world. There is just so much poverty.
So when the Alexis Louise Quiza Foundation (ALQ), of which I am honored to be a director in their Board, came up with a project to feed street children, my yearly trip took on a nobler purpose.



A study said that there are 1.5 million street children in the Philippines. I thought, if we even are able to provide an hour of relief, from hunger and the heat, this trip would have been successful.

So, on November 25, the ALQ Foundation bought food from Jollibee,  partnered with Childhope Asia and fed street children at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Senora De Guia.



We got to the site early. Prior to the feeding, my family and I elected to stop by and have a late lunch. Yellow Cab! It is my favorite pizza joint in the Philippines. Ironically, it fashions itself after everything New York, even though it's origin is purely Filipino. Anyway... We had our fill and started to make our way back to the Ermita Church...

By now, a group of kids where beginning to come. They were mostly pre-teens. I noticed some of them did not even have footwear. In my head, I wondered how they got around the grimy, blistering Manila streets barefoot.

Soon the hall was full of children. There was order in the chaos. They have obviously done this before. They set up the old rickety tables and plastic chairs that have seen better days. It was HOT. There were 2 small ceiling fans. One was broken. I was drenched in sweat. And it was the end of November! I imagine it was hot as hell in summer. (This is why as a side project, we bought 5 fans to use in the hall.) This same hall is used by volunteers to give the children a semblance of school.

 The Church, through benefactors feed this young ones one meal a day from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Our little Jollibee donation is definitely a treat. A break from the usual grub the church provides.

We were told that their usual meal for 50 children cost 1,500 pesos. That is less than $32! Definitely less than most meals I pay for a regular meal for 2 here in the States. I can imagine the meal for the children wasn't a feast.

Before the meal, I was asked to speak. I tried to wiggle out of it because, I had lost my voice a day before, but agreed because I wanted them to know that no matter how life seems bleak at certain times, there are people in the world who sincerely care for their welfare, and that they should not give up on what is good. The talk was more for me than them.

After that they prayed and thanked God for the food they are about to partake in.

What broke my heart was, we saw kids, try to hide away food on their plate...to take home for a family member...

That was the greatest lesson I learned. No matter how little you have, there is always somebody who always could need your help. I was touched that these kids would put aside the little they have for someone else. How can we not do the same? Message me for details on how to help feed street children through the Alexis Louise Quiza Foundation.

Die.

Die.


"Cowards die a thousand deaths. The valiant taste of death but once."


When I read that quote from Shakespeare in high school, I thought it was a gangsta creed. In the thuglife, you tried to faithfully live it. Swear by it. Do not take shit from anybody…even if it meant death… Death before dishonor.


Bullshit.


I try not to talk about God in this blog. Honestly because I know not everybody who reads it is Christian, much less Catholic. But this message is universal.


We must die in order to live. Live a better life. Let the old you die. So a new you lives.


It is tough. We mourn the death of our egos. We mourn the death of that persona we have taken in as our own. But sooner or later, we have to commit to not who we really are but what we could be. Reconciling the two personas is useless. The persona that we project is tainted. The persona that we aspire to be is pure.


As a Catholic, I know Christ died on the cross for us to save us. I have heard that ALL my life. Maybe what Christ really wanted was for me to DIE with Him. So that He can live in me. I need to let the old me die…so that no longer I but Christ who lives in me. I have to put the old me to rest.


Dying is painful. At least the kind of dying I am talking about. When people talk about a "fate worse than death" I get it now. I am not talking about suicide. Suicide is the easy way out. A permanent solution to a temporary problem. Live life through, even when it's tough and painful. There is honor in that.


But to kill the old you so that Christ can live in you: that is a call to greatness.


Think about it. Every prophet, every one that God has called to greatness started out flawed. That should give me  us hope for fake asses sinners like us. 


Everything is upside down in the kingdom of God. People who got the call were dumb asses simpletons, murderers, adulterers, corrupt; yet somehow, they managed to kill their old self to become vessels of good. They had to be emptied of everything…every selfishness, every poison from pride, every foolish thing they held on to, every vain ambition, … so that the Spirit can reside in them. No half and half. Partly empty was a formula for mediocrity. EMPTY. Nothing left. Only then could they have been filled. And they were filled. Filled to the brim.


It kind of reminds me of the Kid's Story from the Animatrix. Where you had to die to see the real world.


Oh yeah, did I tell you it was going to be painful? That there is suffering involved? You bet your ass it's gonna hurt. It is going to be uncomfortable. It is going to hurt like nothing you've ever known.


Things that give you pleasure? Gone. Fame? Gone.  Material possessions? Gone. Everything that tainted the old you needs to extricated from your being. Like deep cuts, incisions to take away the cancer. And to take it all out. You WILL die. Pray that death comes early.


But what if the process takes longer?


How do you deal with the suffering and pain..and eventual death?


Remember, Christ died for us…shouldn't we die for Him to be reborn in us?

You're scared aren't you? Chicken!  Wuz.

 

Just Do it! Do it! Do it!


Grant me a peaceful death O Lord. That's my prayer.


I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me. Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 20