Recollection, Is it?

Yehey!!! I've got a little time to blog today.

Today, I had to attend a recollection. It is an annual requirement for employees in my institution. Who would not be compelled to attend when missing it means loosing a one-day salary besides getting a significant deduction in the annual performance appraisal?

Honestly, the event can be very helpful. It, usually, reminds the employee about proper perspectives, about humanity, about life, about existence, about purpose, about everything... I used to get recharged after a recollection.

However, today's recollection is not the same. I was maneuvered to leave an hour earlier than adjournment time, missing the culminating activity which is the Eucharistic celebration. OMG, I cannot bear the headache. Is it the poor lighting arrangement in the recollection hall that gave me a terrible migraine? Ironically, upon arrival at my work table, I got a desire to list some points through this blog. Huh! the migraine turned unnoticed.

During the day, I struggled to listen. It was a very long day. Yet, I have an iota of belief that I have digested the points about Devotion, Desire and Death. As emphasized, death links devotion and desire. "Kailangan nating mamatay, Ito ang pinakatatagong sikreto ng buhay... Matagal na nating tinatakasan ang kamatayan, Laging may pag-aayaw sa kamatayan... Harapin ang kamatayan, pasanin ang krus at tahakin ang via dolorosa: ang daan ng kapighatian... Damhin ang unti-unting pagpanaw ng ating mga sarili..." Hahhhhhh?????

Did it really mean that we have to be devoted with our institution, that our desire is making good for the institution, and that we have to submit to the institution's mission and vision?

But wait! I think some reasons for the heavy day are clear.
First, the speaker (unintentionally?) may have promoted a culture of misunderstanding by his ways. A disparity between his person and ours was forged by his remark of describing our electronic lifestyle as jurrasic. Just because we did not care about social media as social media per se made us jurrasic? If most of us do not fully patronize FaceBook, Twitter and the like, it is because we are following "equally" productive means. It is more important for us to understand the theories and concepts implemented in applications, therefore FB, etc. - this was the stand of most of us...

Second, the speaker offensively labeled us as incompetent because we did not bring papers and pen. Okay!!! Where is the sense of quality service by the owner of the hall? Where is the sense of the paperless society as an approach to minimizing environment degradation? .. Actually, I was with a notebook and a pen but I cannot feel that I am more competent than my colleagues in the hall...

Third, his way of emphasizing his being from UP and Ateneo seems to define an unbreakable circle circumscribing his elite person. Despite the fact that some of us are also products of UP, Ateneo and De La Salle, we felt the stereotyping that seem to say we are just Louisians of some sort...

Yes! Our priest lecturer, a media personality as he claimed, is misunderstood as we felt we were. I still learned some lessons though. Thank you father. Thank you Little Flower, Thank you SLU. Thank you Lord!