BILBILingly Yours
O BILBIL pakiusap ako’y tantanan
ISANG PAGTANGGAP:
ISANG PANGAKO:
TUGON NG BILBIL MO:
Hindi Magmamaliw
Taludturan ay muli kong lalakbayin
Pintig ng puso’y pagtutugma-tugmain
Talinhaga nito pilit mong talusin
Sa kanyang kariktan sarili’y lunurin
Mga saknong sa tayutay hahabiin
Maraming pagwawangis dito’y gagamitin
Hindi dahil nais isip mo’y guluhin
Nang ito’y maarok puso ang gamitin
Damdaming dumaloy sa bawat taludtod
Ay laman ng pusong sa pantig tumibok
Kung isip ang gagamitin ‘di mo maaarok
Tanging sa puso damdami’y iindayog
Mata mo sana’y ipikit aking giliw
Sumayaw tayo sa kumpas ng aliw-iw
Sabihin man nilang ako’y isang baliw
Pag-ibig sa iyo’y hindi magmamaliw
Realities in the Workplace
The experience of Isaiah Thomas in the NBA, getting traded by his former team, the Boston Celtics, despite giving his all when he plays, despite playing for them in the playoffs a day after his beloved sister died tragically in a car accident, mirrors some of the painful realities in the workplace.
Isaiah Thomas learned the hard way that no one’s indispensable in an organization.
How valuable is Isaiah Thomas as a Celtic player? He led the team to the best record in the East during the 2016-2017 NBA season and brought the franchise all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. He was the team’s scoring and spiritual leader. But that did not prevent the Boston Celtics from letting go of him through the Kyrie Irving trade.
Should the Boston Celtics be faulted for doing what they did? Thomas should know that it’s nothing personal. It’s all business. The executives of the Celtic organization merely exercised their prerogatives. They did nothing illegal. They simply acted in what they think is in the best interest of the team.
That is one thing employees should bear in mind. There are times that employers have to do what they need to do in order for their business to prosper or simply survive. They need to implement changes and tweak policies at a certain point, sometimes at times when the employees least expected them. Notwithstanding disagreements coming from “downstairs,” changes “people upstairs” want to make, will be implemented.
When changes are implemented and policies tweaked, the employees should not take it personally. Changes in the workplace happen when they are due. It is something inevitable. They need to get used to it. Employees need to be ready to make decisions when they happen. There are available options that they are free to exercise.
Employees may simply embrace the changes and move on. They may decide to just accept organizational shake-ups, policy modifications, and what-have-you then continue working. It’s either they view the changes as necessary or accept the fact that they could simply do nothing to prevent them from happening.
Those who would consider that such changes are unacceptable… those who think that they are being taken out of their comfort zones… those who feel being taken advantage of… do have two possible courses of action. They can either resign and continue their quest to find a perfect workplace or they will stay put and contest the legality of the changes that the employers made.
But locking horns with the bosses is a difficult struggle. Employers are always careful with decisions they make. Only the ignorant ones would risk getting hauled to court by effecting changes or making moves contrary to established laws and ordinances. Just like the Boston Celtics who certainly made sure that they have all legal loopholes covered before they finalized their agreement with the Cavs.
Most employers are wise. One of the things an employer or businessman worth his salt does is study the laws and regulations that govern his business endeavors. It’s hard to catch them off-guard in legal matters. They simply know what buttons to push whenever “push comes to shove.” In addition, they also consult lawyers to make sure that they face no legal impediments with anything that they do.
Employees who disagree with changes that those who employ them implement often fight a lonely battle which they are more likely to lose than win. They risk getting ostracized. If they decide to settle the matter of disagreement in the court of law, the employers are ready. With all their financial resources they are ready to fight a long-drawn legal battle until the employee’s pocket and resolve run dry. There’s also a question of whether or not the majority (or even a few) of their co-workers share their sentiments. They cannot force anybody to join their cause, especially those who consider the changes made necessary and inevitable. They should not force anybody not willing to listen to their complaints about policies and personalities in their organization to give them time for their whinges and whines.
You simply cannot expect your colleagues to look at things and issues in the organization in the same way you do. You don’t share the same perspectives. Even your circumstances are different. People are also driven by sets of motivations that might be entirely different from yours. Learn to respect that.
Another thing that employees should always remember is that while they need to ensure that their rights as workers are protected, conversely, the employers will do everything to protect their own investments…to improve their business…or to keep their business afloat… even if it means firing their best employees. It’s nothing personal. It’s simply business.
And the lesson everybody should learn from the Isaiah Thomas’s experience in the NBA is that in an “employer-employee relationship,” business interests outweigh loyalty. Expect nothing from your employers beyond what is stipulated in your contract. They do the same. The employees just need to work as best as they can. There are employers who know how to reward those who work hard. Employers also know how to deal with the perennial whingers and whiners.
Just love the work and enjoy the pay. Find a motivation that will keep you going in the workplace. If there’s none, not even the pay, then it’s time to pack up and find another workplace.
Here is the thing, if you think you can find a perfect workplace, you’ve got to be kidding.
The workplace is a jungle….and only the fittest survive. The workplace is not for the faint-hearted. Remember that!
Ang Maging Makata
Mahirap ang maging makata.
Sa lahat ng dyanra ng panitikan, ang tula ang pinakamahirap sulatin. Hindi gawang biro ang pagsama-samahin sa iisang kabuuan ang mga elemento nitong tugma, sukat, saknong, talinghaga, at kariktan. Kaylangan ding puno at liglig ang talasalitaan ng sinumang susulat ng tula upang doo’y hugutin ang salitang katumbas ng damdami’t kaisipang nais ipahayag.
Hindi sa mas madaling magsulat ng maikling kwento o nobela. Hindi rin gawang biro ang pagapangin sa banghay ng kwento ang mga elemento nitong tagpuan, tauhan at tunggalian. Subalit ang mga sumusulat ng kwento ay maginhawang nakakagamit ng maraming pahina hanggang matumbok nila ang kasukdulang ng kwento at marating ang wakas. Si Leo Tolstoy ay nangailangan ng mahigit kalahating milyong salita upang tapusin ang nobela niyang pinamagatang “War and Peace.”
Sa kabilang banda, ang makata’y mayroon lamang isang piraso ng papel, minsan nga kalahati lamang nito, upang ipahayag ng malinaw at buo ang kanyang saloobi’t iniisip. Ang mga Hapon, sa anyo ng tula nilang tinatawag na Haiku, ay kapiranggot na bahagi lang ng papel ang kaylangang gamitin sa dahilang ang naturang tula’y binubuo ng isang saknong lamang na may tatlong taludtod na ang gitna’y may pitong pantig at ang una’t huli’y tig-limang pantig.
May mga dagdag pang hamon sa mga makata kapag kanilang nilakbay ang mundo ng taludturan.
Mahirap bumagtas sa daan ng kalungkutan habang ikaw ay nakangiti. Hindi rin pwedeng sumagwan sa ilog ng kasiyahan habang nakasakay ka sa bangkang yari sa luha. Ang luhang ididilig sa mga taludtod ng tula upang ito’y mamunga ng kalungkutan ay iniigib ng makata sa balon ng mapapait niyang karanasan.
Tanging ang puno ng kalungkutan ang pwedeng pitasan ng luha at tanging ang hardin ng kasiyahan ang pwedeng tubuan ng nakangiting bulaklak. Kung aakyat ang makata sa puno o dadalaw sa hardin ay nakadepende sa uri ng damdaming nais niyang ipahayag.
Kung meron man ay iilan lamang ang mga makatang kayang humahalhak habang gumagapang sa balag ng malungkot na taluduturan.
Mas magandang pakinggan ang kudyapi ng lumbay kung ito’y hihipan ng isang makatang minsa’y halos malunod sa sariling luha dahil sa isang karanasang nagdulot sa kanya ng matinding kapanglawan. Ang tambuli naman ng kagalakan ay pwede lamang hipan ng makatang narating na ang kasukdulan ng saya na tuwing ito’y naaalala ay nangingiti ito o natatawa kahit siya ay nag-iisa.
Ngunit ang buhay ay isang musikerong tinuturuan ang makata na kayang hipan ang kudyapi ng lumbay o tambuli ng kagalakan sa ano mang pagkakataon na kanyang naiisin.
Kung ang intensyon ng makata’y hasikan ng butil ng luha ang kanyang mga taludtod upang doo’y yumabong ang hapis ay kanyang susundutin ng karayom ang pilat na iniwan ng isang sugat ng kahapon hanggang umagos mula rito ang dugo ng kalungkutan. Hindi ito pagiging masokista bagkus ay isang sakripisyo na dapat gawin ng makata. Dapat kasing nararamdaman niya ang ano mang damdaming nais ilatag sa mga saknong ng kanyang tula.
Kaya nga tunay na alagad ng sining ang makata. Kaya niyang paikutin sa kanyang kamay ang mga emosyon. Katulad ng isang artista sa entablado, umiiyak…matapos ang ilang saglit ay biglang tatawa.
Minsan ay mali ang pakahulugan ng mga tao sa makata. Kapag ang tula’y puno ng pagsisisi at kalungkutan dulot ng isang hiwalayan ay inaakala ng mga bumabasa na ang makata’y minamahal pa rin ang nakahiwalayan at nais na ito’y muling bumalik. At ang taong nag-aakalang siya ang pinatutungkulan sa tula’y nagmamalaki’t nagbubunyi.
Huwag kalimutang ang makata’y alagad ng kanyang sining. Ang makata’y hindi alipin ng nakaraan, masaya man o malungkot. Ang tunay na makata’y inaalipin ang nakaraan. Pinaglilingkuran siya nito.
Binabalikan ng makata ang nakaraan para maghanap lamang ng inspirasyon. Binabalikan ng makata ang nakaraan upang may paghugutan ng emosyon…upang siya ay magalit, mainis, mangiti o matawa…upang muling maramdaman kung paano umibig at mabigo…kung paano magtaksil at pagtaksilan…upang muling mangarap…upang muling maramdaman kung paaano mabigo, bumangon at magtagumpay.
Maging Akin Ka Sana
Lumapit ka sana’t kamay ko’y abutin
Ibubulong kong tanong iyong sagutin
Maaari bang ikaw ay maging akin?
Maari bang ako’y iyong ibigin?
Tanging sa ‘yo nakatuon ang paningin
Sa isip hindi kita kayang burahin
Pumayag ka sanang ika’y maging akin
Habang nabubuhay kita’y sasambahin
Lumapit ka na at ibulong sa akin
Batid ko na meron kang nais sabihin
Mga ngiti mo’y huwag gamiting tabing
Upang itago ang sinaktang damdamin
Pahintulutan sana na kita’y mahalin
Tulungang nakaraa’y iyong limutin
Bumaong tinik sa puso’y bubunutin
Ulap sa langit mo’y aking hahawiin
Mapait na kahapon huwag nang balikan
Heto ang palad ko mahigpit mong hawakan
Masuyong luha mo’y aking pupunasan
Mithing ligaya kita’y hahandugan
Maging akin ka ang tanging panalangin
Pag-ibig sa puso muling pasikatin
Pahintulutan sanang kita’y makapiling
Payagan akong ika’y paligayahin
(Mula sa kantang “Be My Lady” ni Martin Nievera)
TAG-ULAN
Umuulan
Walang puknat
Bubong na’y halos mabutas
Umuulan
Maghapon…magdamag
Kalsada’y naging dagat
Sila’y namamangka…hindi naglalakad
Ula’y walang patid
Hangi’y kay lamig
Ngunit sa bubong nagsumiksik
Bahay kasi’y nilamon ng tubig
Tubig-bahang galing sa langit
Sa kalangitang ating ginalit
Do NOT Expect
If you think this is a perfect world then prepare to face a perfect disappointment. This world is not a perfect one and will never be. Things are not the way you wish them to be. People don’t behave, talk and think the way you thought (or wished) they would. Your co-workers, your boss, your friends…even the people you love… might treat you in a way quite the opposite of what you expect.
Nothing is perfect in this world. Nobody is perfect in this world. So, do not expect too much or do not expect anything at all from anyone.
Do not expect that the politicians will deliver on their promises. Do not believe them when they say that should you vote for them they would bring about utopia. Be thankful if they could but do not bet on it. The truth is no earthly being is capable of making the social, political and economic conditions of the world perfect.
Expect nothing from your leaders. If you think you could do better than them…that your country is better off with you at the helm… then run for public office. Oppose them. Or march to the streets… deliver your protest against the inefficiency of your leaders. Convince people to champion your cause. But if you don’t have the balls to do those, it would be best if you just keep quiet and perform your civic duties and be a responsible person and citizen.
Do not also expect that the workplace is a perfect environment. That’s the worst assumption to make. You will never find a heavenly workplace. You will end up disappointed if you expect that the people in your organization, from the rank and file to the people upstairs, are angels. They are not. They are just like you and me…humans.
Expect nothing from anyone in your workplace. Just work and perform your duties and responsibilities as stipulated on your job description. That’s the way to do it. Love the job and enjoy the pay.
If you’re not happy with the job and the pay… LEAVE. If you love your work and the compensation is good but you feel that the organizational climate is so terrible that it suffocates you then LEAVE. If you feel “taken advantage of,” RESIGN and LEAVE. It is as simple as that. Find employment somewhere else. Find the perfect workplace you dream of. If you think you are too good to be just an employee then start a business. Make it grow. Employ people and see for yourself if you would be a better employer than the employers you hate.
You should not expect other people to solve your problem (or solve a problem for you)…not even if those people are compelled by their job description to solve those problems. Even if it is the moral obligation of a person to help you get out of a difficult situation, don’t expect that you’ll get help from that person. Be thankful if you’ll get it but one thing you OUGHT to learn is to solve your own problems. Find a solution to whatever difficulty you are encountering.
Do not expect people to think and behave the way you do and embrace your principles and advocacies. Always remember that people look at things from their own perspectives and are driven by a set of motivations that maybe entirely different from yours. Never assume that your perspectives are correct and theirs are wrong.
Remember that people think and behave in different ways. The biggest disappointment you’ll ever encounter is when you expect that all people (or even half of them) are reasonable and conscientious.
You will be gravely disappointed if you expect that the love, generosity and kindness you show will be reciprocated by your friends, loved ones or anyone around you. Do not expect any of them to praise the good things you’re doing and express gratitude for the favors you do for them. Lucky you if they would.
Lucky you, indeed, if the people you deal with , the leaders you elect, the ones you work with and work for, and your family and friends have conscience and conduct themselves within the bounds of reason.
If not, does it mean you are unlucky? Not necessarily. Things just didn’t turn out the way you wanted. At least, don’t be like them.
You have two options. You need to decide. Move away from them or embrace them for the way that they are.
Your choice.
As Mother Theresa said, “People are often unreasonable and self-centered, forgive them anyway.”
She added, “ You give the world the best you have and it may never be enough, give your best anyway.”
You might not get the fair treatment and respect you think you deserve but you do not have to retaliate. As Martin Luther King Jr. puts it, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
So, when your expectations are not met, move on and say, “Life goes on.”
Hold on to your dreams. Hold on to the values you hold dear.
Finally, there are two questions you need to answer. Are you a better person than those who you think disappoint you? That’s the first question. Here’s the second. Do they not consider you a disappointment also?
Reflect!
Source: Do NOT Expect
M.A.D. LIGAYA
M.A.D. L I G A Y A 