Do you often times think that you are alone and lonely? Do often feel that you are low and lost? Do you often say that life is a sad struggle and it is not a joyous journey?
If you say yes or even slightly yes to any of these questions, keep reading.
I don’t claim that I understand what you feel. I neither claim that I felt the same way. But let me tell you that at a certain stage in my life, I have felt alone and lonely, low and lost, and at a certain level – have forgotten the joy in life’s journey and have magnified the sadness in every life struggle which had brought undue misery in me.
Immediately after getting my license as a Certified Public Accountant, I put on my coat of courage and adventurous spirit. I bid a quick goodbye to the cold mountain breeze of Benguet and said hello to the hot and humid atmosphere of Metro Manila and the fast and thrilling corporate culture of Makati. A big firm hired me as I eagerly joined the race of busyness and excitement of employment.
It was tough and terrific. My colleagues and superiors were friendly and professional. Our projects across different locations put my competence and character to the test. I was embracing the city life and its corporate challenge.
Until I started missing home. The province. My family and friends.
Salary is just right. Professional growth is offered. City life is exhilarating.
But something seems missing.
Simple sadness seemed sizeable sometimes.
My comfort was the church near my place, my newfound friends, and Facebook that helped me stay connected with my family, old friends and hometown buddies.
Yet I was longing for more. I was yearning for more.
Through encounters with different people and attendance in various events, I was invited to attend an event called The Feast. I did not know what to expect, except that I admire the person who invited us that day. He is so successful yet so down-to-earth. He seem so holy yet so human. He is a true person. He seemed to be a real friend. He is the leader and preacher in the said event – his name is Bo Sanchez.
It took me weeks before I attended The Feast at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. I first planned of attending only once a month but after my very first experience, I told myself, “I should have come here a long time ago. Now I should come here weekly – as long as I am here in Metro Manila.” It was as if I have found a spring of quenching water after hours of tiring trek under the scorching heat of the sun.
I became ‘addicted’ with the experience. I took in every teaching that I listened to. I internalized every inspiration I got. And I accepted the gift of grace and the call to a better change.
It was at first awkward. It was wonderful but it seemed weird. It was a bit uncomfortable. It came with a challenge to change some negative thoughts and actions. But it was a challenge worth accepting. It was all worth it.
As I experience joy in the event, ignite relationship in my interaction with strangers-turned-friends, the feeling of being a low and lost is gradually being replaced with the feeling of being loved and longed for. Sadness is now replaced with sweet inspiration. And loneliness is now replaced with lustrous joy.
There are struggles still. There are difficulties. But now faced with a new in perspective, attitude and response.
Daily drudgery turned into daily devotion and delight.
What was the magic sauce? What caused the change?
It was none other than that bond in friendship, the connective tissue in relationship, the string that unites. It is love.
While we may feel unworthy amidst our human frailties, we are still called to experience the luster of life in the light of love. For after all, we are created of love and called to love. Yes, despite our weaknesses.
So, receive it and share it. And as we share that love, we also have to continue to experience it – to stay connected with a nurturing community. Be like a tree that is planted beside a nourishing body of water. One of the ways to do it is to join The Feast. You don’t have to go to Metro Manila because this December, something big is going to happen!
I received a news that the small group that started as a Feast Video group here in Baguio is now going to be a full Feast, a live Feast – to be launched on December 3 (Sunday, 9AM) at the SM Cinema 1. I am inviting you to be there. Admission is free.
I hope and pray that you will experience an empowerment of love. And if you have been feeling low and lost, may you experience once again that you are loved and longed for by none other than your Creator, your God. For you are His child.
(Chris Dao-anis, CPA, DTM is a trainer and speaker on public speaking and leadership. His latest book ‘Living Large in the Little Things’ is available at Mt. Cloud Bookshop, Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Road, Baguio City. For talks and trainings, email him at chrisdaoanis@gmail.com or visit his website at www.chrispoweracademy.com.)
