Kahit maputi na ang buhok ko

“Kung tayo ay matanda na, sana’y di tayo magbago kailanman…” awit ni Rey Valera na nagpapaalala sa atin na umuusad ang panahon, kaya’t bawat minuto ay bigyan ng halaga. Parang kailan lang, nagmamadali tayo sa paghabol sa panahon. Naging bata, naglaro ng luksong tinik, holen, pikit-mata, tumbang preso, patintero, piko, sipa, turumpo, at kung anu-ano pang mga lumang laro.
Wala pang mga gadyet noon; walang selpon at maka bagong teknolohiya. Walang salitang boomers, Gen X, Y and Z. At lalung-lalo na wala pang Covid-19.
Nag-aral, nagtrabaho, nag-asawa, nag-retire sa trabaho, nagka-apo at ngayon marahil ay nag-aalaga ng apo (“apostolic” ang tawag nila), nabiyuda o nabiyudo o kaya ay may ibang pinagkakaabalahan sa panahong natitira. Sadyang may buhay pa pagkatapos magretiro, kahit maputi na ang buhok natin. Marami pang dapat gawin kahit hindi tayo teki (techie).
Marami pang daan at magagandang lugar ang lalakbayin habang kaya pa. Nagpipilit matuto ng wika at gawa ng kabataan. Sinasalubong natin sa gitna ang karunungan at panahon. May bago nga akong natutuhan kay Nonnette Bennett sa isang pagpupulong ng BGH Advisory Board.
Kung mayroong “marites” ay meron ding “tolits” (tol ano ang latest?). ‘Di ba masaya Chair Ram Sharma, Atty. Joseph Rulla, Glo Jasa, Dr. Florence Reyes, Marie Ragma, Fe Belita, Magda Dawawong, Joey Rulla, at Kristine Sameon? Pero hindi pa maputi ang buhok nina Tintin, Marie, Joey at Magda, junior citizens pa sila. Sadyang masarap magbalitaan.
It’s compromising and sharing still what wisdom you have acquired in the past and the present. Yes, there is life after retirement. We cannot just sit around and wait for the coming dawn. It’s learning and continuing to learn, after all, education is not just for the young. We wonder where all the years went. We ask ourselves if we have lived the life; if we have taught our children well; if we have given them unconditional love.
If we have made enough contribution to humanity so that when the time comes, we can answer God, how much we have touched other people’s lives.
Did we deposit to God’s bank account in this journey called life? When we are young, we just think of the present. We forget sometimes that we are just passing this stage in life and that we should always be humble. We are, after all, somewhere in the dash of life.
We strive to earn money and more money, own material things, have fame and fortune. Sometimes we soar high with the taste of power. We forget compassion. We are unaware that everything passes in due time. As they say, beauty fades, fame diminishes, health fails when you get older, money is important but not so important when you are ill or when there are catastrophes.
You wonder why you got sick when you were so careful with food and regimens and yet it still happens. We stop denying that now we have wrinkles. We are getting curves and mountains in the wrong places. Our skin is getting soggy. What we used to do in minutes, takes us hours now.
But still, even if the body gets old, we still want to do the things we did before. We notice though that we now walk slower, our eyesight gets blurred sometimes, forget things where we left them, like eyeglasses on our heads or where we left our keys and yes even cars.
It becomes harder to get thoughts organized. Even if the body and mind gets old, the soul stays young and cheerful. And the best part is, the mind still remembers happiness and past experiences.
We must still love ourselves, not the ego type but the pure kind, the gift from God.
Kaya nga tinatanong ko ang sarili ko. Bakit ba wiling-wili ako manood ng mga telenovela? Kinikilig sa mga nagmamahalang kabataan. Nalulungkot kapag ang istorya ay mayroong malungkot na katapusan. Kung manood ako ay tinitignan ko muna ang mga unang episodes ng teleserye, pagkatapos ending na. Kasi ‘di ko na itinutuloy ‘pag malungkot ang ending, gusto ko happy ending lang. Bakit ko pa papahirapan ang damdamin ko na mag-isip at umiyak? Pero kapag maganda ang ending ng istorya ay papanoorin ko ang buong telenobela at kung minsan paulit-ulit pa. Madaya ano?
Kaya nga kahit maputi na ang buhok ko, gusto ko pa rin maging masaya. Gusto kong isipin na ang mundo ay iskuwelahan ng buhay. Gusto kong umakyat nang baytang, matuto, makatulong, at mayroong pagkaabalahan. Ang pera ay nauubos, ang katanyagan kumukupas, at ang mga gantimpala nawawalan ng saysay – nagiging palamuti na lamang. Pero ang mga pundar at puhunan mo sa buhay kagaya ng pamilya, kaibigan, pagmamahal, pakikipagkapwa-tao, pakikisama, kabaitan, pag-unawa sa kapwa, at pagtulong ay mananatili sa kaisipan at puso ng mga taong nakasalamuha mo. Nakaukit yan.
Yes, life is beautiful.