The magnificent Christmas spirit

I am sure that most Filipinos enjoyed Christmas Day and continue to enjoy the Christmas season. They wanted to, they expected to, and they did. That is the power of a welcomed pattern, that is the power of the collective will, and that power is the force that can achieve great change and greatness. 

Unfortunately, that power is not easily tapped; maybe, it is even impossible to do so. First, what other equivalent does Christmas have that can bring together the public, the government, the businesses, the schools and the churches together?  As a positive force, none. 

But in some instances in our history, we had come together as a people to go against the odds and achieve great feats. The motivation, though, was to fight a common enemy.  We rose against Spain, we rose against Japan. We went through an ordeal of suffering until the thirst for freedom emboldened us to heroism.

There is only China that looms large as an enemy worth preparing for. It has chosen to toy with us for the moment, although it can feel like bullying from China’s sheer size and overwhelming military resources. Relative, though, to its capability, China is not yet playing hardball. That should not lull us into complacency, however, because China can move violently against us anytime it wants.

Should China decide to do so, I am confident that Filipinos will resist. Like the pattern of celebration that Christmas is, defiance and rebellion against foreign invaders superior are part of our history and DNA. Against Spain and Japan, Filipinos learned to use alliances to win and regain freedom. That alliance is what we are building now in our preparations against a China invasion or  control of the waters around us. 

In other words, take away the freedom of Filipinos and we resist. Even against Filipino despots and dictators. It does take time to fight our own but it is a foregone conclusion. In the People Power Revolution, we had a special experience fighting superior force and resources, and the people won. That experience is now a latent capacity. It will not just wake up but it is there when the fateful moment is ripe.

It is, however, the kind of power that Christmas has in bringing us together, not to fight enemies, but to discover our power to build and live our dreams. How can a people find oneness if what we believe in is not beautiful and inspiring – like Christmas? Have we lost our innocence forever that we cannot imagine a life driven by decency, by values cherished by our ancestors, by the power of bayanihan?

Every year, we celebrate Christmas. I can see that the spiritual side of it, or its most meaningful dimension, is starting to weaken and being replaced by the forceful influence of money. Gift-giving remains important, but gifts that are now bought with money more than the gift of our higher selves being offered to those we love. Still, much of the true Christmas spirit is holding on, and we still can use it to inspire us beyond Christmas.

I am not naïve. I am as realistic, and maybe even more objective beside. When I see the pattern of governance and leadership even in the private sector, I see that my finer dreams are not possible anymore. But that is my mundane side, my realistic and objective side. That is not my innocent, child-like side that still enjoys the togetherness of Christmas and the way the Christmas spirit makes the heart more tender, forgiving, and generous. Can I bring this side beyond the calendar season of Christmas?

Probably not. The harsher part of life can be relentless in teaching us to be selfish and defensive. We remember the pain of trusting and then being betrayed instead. We remember the hopes, the brightest hopes, and the severe frustrations that followed. We remember the truth, the way our parents and religions taught us about it, and the confusion when we experience the truth being twisted by fake news, disinformation, and worst of all, by the humanoids in trolls and bots dominating the environment.

If I cannot extend the spirit that drives Christmas to a collective effort at nation-building, can others can? Can the more idealistic youth of the Philippines do it, then? Can they hold on to that idealism when they can hardly read, write, and grasp instructions well? When they are 5 to 6 years behind the academic development of the average youth of the world?

I am not confident at all. It is not that their academic development is my main measure of how well or poorly their lives will be, because it is not (most parents believe so though). My first and most important measure is the visible evidence that they understand life and can easily determine truth from false, right from wrong, and are equipped with survival skills. Only with that fundamental capacity can the native Filipino talent and DNA enable the Filipino youth to excel and succeed.

At this late stage of my life, especially blessed as I am to have reached this senior phase, I believe my challenge is to go beyond the realistic and objective. After all, I have had a lot of that and they will not go away either. But I will have to reach down deep in my soul to rediscover my innocence, to unchain my imagination, and believe in miracles again.

Life is not supposed to defeat the best in us; that is not the role of reality and objectivity. The fullness of life is the fruit of having lived a good life, having raised the next generation to be productive yet giving and kind, having told the story of our ancestors and how they cared for the motherland, and finding the inner peace and contentment due to elders preparing for the next life.

I bid 2023 farewell. Difficult as it was, I thank it nonetheless for having been there. ###