Your mantra for the week: “What matters most is that I love myself… and others.”
I believe that human problems are due to lack of self-acceptance as well as not having received enough love.
Self-acceptance begins with loving yourself, and when one succeeds, it is easier for others to give you the love you desire.
I have come up with 15 ways to make oneself likeable and loveable.
1) Be positive, not just in thought, but also in feeling. As the adage goes, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” One who thinks with one’s heart becomes a magnet to others who will not only like you, but will go out of their way to aid you in the pursuit of your dreams.
2) When interacting with others, get them to talk about themselves to give them a sense of importance. Most likely, they will find ways to show you their delight.
3) The way you listen is more important than the way you talk. Listening is connecting, building a form of relationship. Any relationship becomes a potential channel of your good.
4) Always be the first to greet someone you’ve met before. You can simply say, “Hi, it is nice to see you again,” with a sincere smile. Keep in mind that God answers prayers through people, events and circumstances.
5) Be full of enthusiasm. The root of enthusiasm is entheos, meaning “from the God within.” People will reciprocate accordingly.
6) Be a bearer of good news. Some people thrive on bad news because it makes them feel they are better off than others. But remember that hearing “good news” is a clue that you will be the next recipient of something just as wonderful.
The next nine tips, in next week’s column.
‘Men Who Matter’
Recently, People Asia Magazine honored 15 Filipino men who have excelled in their respective professions and served as inspiration to others who want to make a difference in their community, the country and even in the world.
Among these “Men Who Matter” are Jerry Acuzar, builder and developer of a 26-hectare heritage resort in Bagac, Bataan, the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar;
Joseph Calata, the largest retailer and distributor of agrochemical products, feeds, fertilizers, veterinary medicines and seeds all over the country;
Jaime Ponce de Leon, the most successful art auctioneer in the country;
Francis Libiran, whose haute couture gowns and dresses are donned by both local and international high-profile personalities.
Reparation
At last, after decades of being promised reparation for the violation of my human rights through no human wrong that I had committed, except for criticizing “Si Malakas at Si Maganda” who were then showing signs of becoming a “Conjugal Dictatorship,” which came to pass on Sept. 21, 1972.
Last week, I received a Notice of Resolution that I would be duly compensated for the months I was actually incarcerated, euphemistically called detained, and the five years when I had to report to Camp Crame three times a week and could not leave Metro Manila without a written permission, and that I must stop writing for any publication and appearing on television—short of saying, “please disappear.”
In those dark years, many detainees who were released conditionally were rearrested for not having reported as required, even if they actually reported but had no evidence to prove that they did. So, to be sure, I made the authorities sign a paper every time I reported my presence.
I did get away, however, with cowriting a script with National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal, under the pseudonym Desi Dizon, for the screenplay to “Pito Ang Aking Asawa.” It made the list of the 100 Best Filipino Films.
From dictator to ‘hero’
When Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law, his goal, said one of his closest cronies, was “to steal the country but not bring out the spoils from its borders, unlike what other dictators had done.”
In 1969, I was forewarned by the crony, that once Marcos wins his second term, he would never let go, and that martial law was just around the corner.
Three years later it came to fruition on Sept. 21, 1972, through Proclamation No. 1081.
Imagine getting reparation for human rights violations from the loot of a former dictator, now a “hero.”
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