Changes

In my sober moments I tend to become more reflective and serious about how my life is going. I guess it is bound to happen when one is met with the reality of having to face midlife changes. It suddenly dawned on me that I have spent the last twenty years of my life as a religious. So many changes have happened in my life. The dreams and aspirations that have become part of me during my younger years no longer matter. Even the way I view the world now is different the way I used to. Changes. Changes.

Somebody I knew used to say that change is the only permanent thing in this world. Everything, everybody changes except change. We have to understand this change because it serves as a sign for us and – without this sign, we will get lost.

Whenever I go for vacation in my home province, I could not shake the feelings of nostalgia especially when I see some changes that have taken place since the last time I was around. The rivers where we used to swim when we were still children are no longer there. They have long since dried up. The bamboo trees that used to grow in abundance and whose flexibility to the caress of the gentle breeze has always fascinated me are already nonexistent. The farmlands have been transformed into processing zones and subdivisions. So many changes have taken place, and since I was not around when those happened, I feel somewhat lost.

I used to hear from friends and even relatives who are pleased with the (good) things that I have done in my life remark: “I hope you will not change.” In other words, they mean, “I hope you will remain as you are.” Ugh! You mean stagnant? Static? Oh no! I have always argued that a person has to change in order to grow. Of course, I know their wish meant that I would remain as good a person I am at the moment and not change for the bad. “I hope you will grow and grow to be better” sounds good to my ears instead.

Truth is, change will always come, whether for the good or the bad. We are living in a world that is continuously evolving. Everything in it (people, environment and technology) changes as the world changes. It is up to us to give our positive share in order to contribute for a better change in our world.

Lesser Impact

A friend called me up a week ago and asked if I had already seen the film Deep Impact. When I said no, she eagerly invited me to go with her since she was dying to see the movie. My friend’s invitation came just on time. I was also planning to see it myself since I was somewhat intrigued by the write-ups I have read about the film, not to mention the tag line that says: “Oceans rise. Cities fall. Hope survives.”

The movie stars Tea Leoni as the ambitious Jenny Lerner, Elijah Wood as Leo Biederman and Robert Duvall as Spurgeon Tanner.

Imagine a comet the size of Mt. Everest about to hit the earth! If it does, it will be an extinction level event. Leo accidentally discovered the heavenly body while on a camping with his astronomy club, but the discovery was kept under wraps by the government for about two years until Jenny, the journalist stumbles upon the truth. By this time, it’s months away from doomsday. The President was forced to acknowledge the truth. In a hastily called press conference he presented the astronauts he is sending into space to intercept the comet and blow it up before reaching earth.

I must confess I was a bit disappointed with the way the story unfolded on the big screen. I guess I was expecting something that would really leave a “deep impact” on my emotions as the title suggested. Nonetheless, the special effects were done very well, but the story was not well crafted.

I remember seeing a telemovie several years ago on the aftermath of nuclear war. I am not very sure now, but I think the film was called The Morning After. It was a thought provoking film. The movie graphically portrayed the desolation and devastation that happened in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It was a powerful message against the evil of war and the folly of the superpowers. The memory of that wasteland littered with dead and dying people haunted me for days.

I though the film Deep Impact would in the same way be thought provoking and haunting. Sure, there were lots of dramatic scenes here and there, heightened by James Horner’s musical score, which I happened to like very much. But as a whole, I think the story has not much depth really.

Communicate Hope

In this year dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the 32nd World Day of Communications has for its theme: Sustained by the Spirit, Communicate Hope.” It is indeed a timely reflection in this second year of preparation for the celebration of the great jubilee of the year 2000. All of us are being invited to become communicators of hope in this ever-changing world we live in. And we can only be so if we let the Spirit who dwells in us to take hold of our lives.

One of our sisters has written an article on how to communicate hope especially in these times when the “world needs hope more than ever.” I find her reflection deeply inspiring. Allow me to share with you her thoughts.

“Above other hopes, we need to hope in Someone who is able to answer all the questions in our mind and the longings in our heart. This Someone is Jesus Christ, the sole Savior of the world, who brought the highest hope to humanity. As followers of Christ, we have been taught to hope and diffuse it to our fellow men and women. How can we do this in practice? The following are suggestions about how we can communicate hope to others:

• To communicate hope means to inspire trust; a trust rooted in faith, in the fidelity of God to his promises to humanity through Jesus Christ. People experience solitude, problems, pains, but Jesus Christ has overcome all these and through our own witnessing of hope, others can learn to trust in the midst of their own difficulties.

• To communicate hope means to develop attitudes that foster and manifest trust. It means to establish relationships that show fidelity, trust, mercy and attention to those who need help.

• To communicate hope means to take and carry on one’s responsibilities in daily life, at the same time clinging to our hope in the new creation and in the life to come, the ultimate goal of our existence.

• To communicate hope means to give an answer to those who ask about the reasons why we should hope.

• To communicate hope means to participate fully in the time in which we live, to embrace the miseries of the world and to participate in the merciful Love that heals and redeems.

• To communicate hope means to overcome everything that blocks the Light. It means facing and resolving conflicts and healing wounds that are inseparable parts of life and communicating whatever will help others to believe, hope, love, celebrate, rejoice in the good of others.

• It means to ardently desire with the Spirit, who renews history and brings forth new elements in it. It means sorrow for the past mistakes, looking forward to becoming renewed in a new creation. It means growing in holiness and responding to the demands of the kingdom in obedience to Christ.”

The reflection above is an excerpt from an article written by Sr. Agnes Quaglini on the occasion of 32nd World Day of Communications that was celebrated in Rome and in other parts of the world last May 1998.

Not Just an Ordinary Cartoon

I love cartoons as a kid.

Cartoons then were funny and generally harmless. Now cartoons are mostly violent. Violent imagery leaps up greater than life on television screen and feeds this notion of brute force into the subconscious of the kids who view them.

The latest Disney animated movie Mulan is not just an ordinary cartoon that we usually see on TV. In fact, this film adaptation of the story of a brave Chinese girl who went to war has a very strong message to communicate to young kids today. Ideas like duty to one’s family, personal honor, obedience, courage, and leadership spice up the story of this animated movie. Indeed nice notions for kids today to think about.

Mulan is touted to be the most expensive animated movie to date. It used computer-generated imagery to create different elements in the film, more than what had been used in previous Disney films.

I have seen an older version of the cartoon on video, which I guess was produced for television programming. The figures were of inferior quality compared to the highly computerized elements in the movie version.

Who is Mulan, by the way? We are familiar with other Disney characters like Snow White and the Little Mermaid since we have read the stories even long before these were transformed into films. But Mulan?

Mulan is the heroine of an ancient Chinese poem that was later expanded into a novel. As the story goes, Mulan disguises herself as a man to serve in the army in her father’s place. While in the army, she is recognized as a courageous soldier. It was only much, much later, when she decides to go back to her family and puts back on her lady’s garb that her fellow soldiers realized she was a woman.

It is a film that makes a strong statement on cultures that regard women as second class citizens and less important than men. Young women struggling to find their place in society can look up to Mulan and draw inspiration from her firm determination to succeed and prove herself.