Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Winning


"I don't know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody - somewhere - was practicing more than me."

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."

"I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end."

     - Larry Bird, NBA MVP (1984-86), 
       1998 NBA Coach of the Year 
       NBA champion Boston Celtics ('81, '84, '86)

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Listen Christian

Just a small reminder to me on this Holy Week, a poem attributed to Bob Rowland, and in itself inspired by verses in Matthew 25.  A few years back, while I was doing work for La Salle Lipa High School, I translated the poem to Filipino to better reach my audience.  With props to my friend Robert (and not a slouch in Filipino himself), who was the first person to deliver it in public.  A little rewrites here to modernize the language, but here it is.

We waste too much time on the details of rightness when out there somebody is asking for our help right here, right now.

(Sidelight:  Don't watch "The Descendants" alone.  See it with a loved one.  It can be downright depressing, as I found out last night.  I'm not ashamed - I cried buckets.)

Nagugutom ako
at bumuo ka ng samahang pantao
at tinalakay ang aking pagkagutom.
Salamat.

Nakakulong ako
at dahan-dahan kang lumakad
papunta sa kapilya mo sa silong
at ipinagdasal ang pagpapalaya sa akin.

Hubad ako,
at sa iyong isipan
ay pinagtaluhan mo pa ang moralidad ng aking hitsura.

Mayroon akong sakit
At lumuhod ka at nagpasalamat sa Diyos
para sa iyong kalusugan.

Wala akong tahanan
at sinermonan mo ako tungkol sa
silong-pangkaluluwa ng pag-ibig ng Diyos.

Nangungulila ako at iniwan mo akong nag-iisa
upang manalangin para sa akin.

Mukhang kang napakabanal,
at napakalapit sa Diyos.
Subalit gutom na gutom pa rin ako,
at nangungulila,
at nilalamig.
Saan napunta ang lahat ng iyong mga dasal?

Ano ang nagawa nila?
Ano ang ikabubuti sa isang tao
na buklatin ang kanyang aklat ng pagdarasal
kung ang buong daigdig
ay dumaraing ng saklolo sa kanya?