A good friend of mine, recently asked me for an update because our almost daily conversations have taken a back seat to life.
It’s not that we don’t still enjoy the friendship, the banter, and comfort we find in one another through our rekindled Facebook friendship, it’s just that her taking care of a brand new baby boy, and me wrestling with all the responsibilities that life has thrown my way, are suddenly just a little bit more important than us giggling or crying on the phone with one another.
Mira and I went to high school together and found each other again on Facebook after almost 30 years.
It’s funny when life does that.
I have always said that all of my relationships ebb and flow. They change like the seasons do, too. But it’s in the security of a friendship that is totally without judgement that we know we are accepted exactly for who we are.
These are the types of friendships that allow room for growth when we are paying close attention.
So, recently, my friend, Mira, asked me for an update.
And I know that between the both of us we don’t know when we will (BOTH) get a free moment to be fully present and chatting via FB messenger but, I wanted to let her know that all is well, and that as a family, we are all healthy and moving forward.
I also wanted to let her know that there have been some amazing opportunities and events that have unfolded for me and my family as well.
As I was typing out my quick (ok, not so quick) update for my friend, I realized that it could read much like a blog post would, had I the time to put my thoughts together on one of my most recent and enlightening experiences.
My friend, Rhodora Palomar Fresnedi, who was also the Executive Director of Unilab Foundation, asked me in the first week of May if I had time to join this enriching activity called Leadership Journey.
She didn’t say much about what I could expect, but she did have one of her colleagues send me a list of things to pack. From the long list of things to pack, it was clear to me that I would definitely be challenged on this trip, both physically and mentally.
If I was lucky, perhaps even spiritually…
When someone you know, invites you on a trip to one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines, you make sure you do everything in your power to get there.
And that’s exactly what I did.
Leadership Journey put me back on track in re-examining my beliefs and aspirations.
To be void of all distractions and work on myself was probably the best gift anyone could have ever given me.
It was like a retreat to find myself and my sense of purpose yet again.
Truth be told, we can find moments like this every day. Small moments. Quiet moments. Grateful moments. But they usually come from someone else handing us a gift.
I don’t mean a material gift.
I mean a GIFT.
Sometimes that gift could be their presence. Their time. Their gratitude in return for something you gave them. I see it often with my Buddies. It’s also probably why I also enjoy spending so much time with them.
But being that connected to NATURE for an ENTIRE week?
THAT WAS AN AMAZING GIFT.
It did something to me. It made me think.
I began to ask myself about how I was living my life, raising my children, and taking my place in this world.
I asked myself hard questions about how Nino and I have lived our lives together.
Like: When did our family vacations become more about consuming than immersing ourselves in something new and different?
Like visiting a waterfall. Or hiking a mountain. Or experiencing something different from what the kids experience on a day to day basis? My experience in Siargao was similar to some of the vacations I remember as a child and as a teen. I remember DOING things. GOING places. EXPLORING and EXPERIENCING.
It wasn’t necessarily about what we could buy and bring home.
It was about indulging in the food the culture, and the people of the new place that our parents were treating us to.
My time in Siargao helped me realize that so many of my values had shifted in the past years. I know this happened slowly, like a chipping away at who I was and who I wanted to be. Perhaps, this happened because I began to compromise too much of myself.
Perhaps things changed because of who I was surrounding myself with...
I have written about the last year of my life and how it has been truly life changing. Throughout the positive and negative experiences I have had, I have taken my lumps and tried to somehow figure out what the lessons were that God wanted me to learn.
But I guess that’s what this Leadership Journey was really all about.
It was about me revisiting ME.
It was about me stepping outside my comfort zone.
Remembering who I have always been.
Who I wanted to become.
It was about revisiting my purpose and the work that I choose to invest my time in.
And what kind of contribution I want to make to this world.
The work that I refer to is not just the work that I do through my advocacy, and the organizations that I spend my time with in furthering our common missions of inclusion.
My most important work involves the children that I am raising, and the difference that I hope THEY will make in this world.
Thank you Jojo and Rhodora for inspiring me to be better. To continue to do better. And to strive for more, by pushing the envelope not just through my advocacy in furthering inclusion, but for also reminding me that I can continually step outside my comfort zone in developing who I am and who I want to be as a person.
My Leadership Journey was sponsored by Unilab Foundation and the program was developed by Except One. If you would like to learn more about how Leadership Journey can change your life and help you hone your leadership skills and find your purpose, check out Except One by clicking here.