Be the You

The Priest-Paleontologist-Philosopher Teilhard de Chardin S.J. would want to remind us:

“To understand the world,
knowledge is not enough,
you must see it,
touch it,
live in its presence
and drink the vital heat of existence
in the very heart of reality.”

This reminds me to be one with myself and to discover it not theoretically but instead discover it as one should employ every faculty.



What I mean with ‘theoretically’ is that process of learning by which we abstract things from its original vigour and reduce it into a collection of parts instead of a unified single whole.

We are caught with that standardized way of living that when we do not line up to this or that point we are branded as having a lesser grade of living and even worst – being a member of a lesser species of humanity. We are caught to pattern ourselves to this objectified way of living that we do not anymore find where ourselves fit in the greater scheme of things.

We are now have to battle to this new form of colonialism which Pope Francis calls “Ideological Colonialism.” We may not anymore a colony of Spain nor Japan territorially but we are a colony ideologically of the United States, Korea and other countries. How?

We dress, eat, drink, etc. on the standard of the Americans, Koreans, etc. Forget about eating with bare hands for spoons and forks and even knife is what the standard. Forget about barong for tuxedo is the standard. We are so colonialized that we would like our snub noses sore high like towers and our fair brown skins be as white milk. Even our language, forget about Hiligaynon, Cebuano or Filipino, you are in if you know English.

But, this is changed in the ‘way of life’ embraced by two people who are courageous enough to go against the torrents of modern thinking. Jon Jandai and Decker Moss are just exceptional humans. They learn how to embrace their selves.

Jon Jandai narrated how he made his way from competing in the high pace living in Bangkok to embracing himself and living simply. To forego of the things unnecessary and embrace the little things he has. To forego of the things craved for by the world and be contented living in the solitude of his sustainable space.

From this he realized that we cannot be transformed externally by the things we add to ourselves but instead complicate the life we have. Instead of the hope of life enjoyed we will be caught up to being robots living lives not worthy of humans. I remember how this concept is lecture in Metaphysics. In Metaphysics, being (anything that exists) is composed of 2 components: Substance and Accidents. Substance is that necessary things which makes a thing a certain thing. For example, the substance of the chair is its chair-ness. Its chair-ness is that which makes a chair a chair. But there is another component which we call ‘accidents.’ Accidents are those unnecessary qualities which a thing have which do not contribute to it as something. Going back to the example of the chair, some chairs have designs but these designs be it present or absent the chair will remain the same. The chair might be pink or blue or white, the chair remains the same.

So, in Jon Jandai’s realization it is not the external things he possesses which makes him him but ultimately it is he who makes what he is. He may use a Jag jeans or BG lab jeans or a Chinese made jeans the fact that he is Jon Jandai remains the same.

This might also be the feeling of Dr. Decker Moss but I do not agree with one thing: to change his physical sex. We as human beings are part of a greater whole only that we are endowed with free will but still there is this invisible force which governs our day to day and that is the natural law which exudes from the divine reason of God. HE might say that who HE is still remains (now) HER, but if this is really what HIS doctrine then why HE cannot accept the fact that HE is born MALE. I appreciate and was inspired by his desire to empower those LGBT’s but to go against the torrents of God’s divine plan I do not agree.

It is a right to express the opinions and feeling that we have in our mind and hearts. It is a courage to go against what society say what is the norm for it is just a contract between men but to go against the divine plan of you being male and female, the boundary should not be trod upon by us finite.