A Form Of Dialogue That Targets Better Relationships

The word ‘Dialogue’ has several meanings. In ordinary layman’s term, it refers to an exchange of communication between two people. It’s like having a message you want to convey to a person.

Such person receives the message and gives a feedback or a response to show that he acknowledges receipt of that which was conveyed. What matters here is that the sender and receiver of the message understand each other. Period!

Nonetheless, there’s another form of dialogue with a much deeper meaning to people of a certain religious persuasion.  Vatican has created an office called the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Dialogue. It is an arm of their church tasked to reach out to believers of other living faiths, such as Islam, Buddhism, other Christian churches, and so on.

It doesn’t mean though that said church is out to ‘convert’ believers of other religions into the said faith. Rather, this type of dialogue aims to foster a deeper friendship with the ‘others’ through whatever means. It could be through study of certain aspects of their respective faiths, through sports, ecumenical services, simple consultative discussions, even through fellowship meals.

I was lucky enough to be a witness to a real dialogue of life several times in the past between theologians of a major seminary and families in the Islamic areas around Davao City, in the island of Mindanao, Philippines.

For more than ten years since 2001, our local ministry in Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue has been helping the said seminary facilitate their Immersion Program to Muslim Communities.

In such program, the graduating seminarians are to spend one full week living with chosen Muslim families belonging to tribes like Kagan, Tausog, Maranaw, Sama, among others.

Imagine the fear etched in most of the seminarians’ faces when they learned that they have to stay for a week with their Muslim foster families! Of course, 99% of them have some sort of bias and prejudice against these people, for reasons they revealed later during the processing of such experience.

When processing day came, which is one day after their departure from the communities, the theologians were ready with their honest sharing and shocking revelations. All were positive ones but perhaps the most touching that was common among the sharing is that their foster parents cried on the day of their departure. Why? Because they have started to accept the guys, loved them and eventually missed their presence, in such a short span of time.

See what genuine dialogue can do to the lives of ordinary Muslims and Christians? Definitely Allah was in their midst when that life-in-dialogue was happening.

Entering into such formof dialogue certainly requires proper preparation, respect and an open mind and heart to be able to accept the ‘other’. With that, its goal of achieving better relationship is just an arm’s length.

How about you? Want to share your dialogue experience?

Excited While On A Waiting Mode

Have you experienced being on a waiting mode? Certainly you know how it feels to sit on hours at the departure area waiting for your flight, only to be told that your schedule will be delayed for maybe an hour. And all they ask of you is to be considerate for such inconvenience! Not exciting at all!

Another incidence of being on a waiting mode is during payday when all that’s left in your pocket is just a few small bills. Then all of a sudden, the company treasurer announces that there might be a delay in the fund transfer because of some technical problems with the ATM machine. How horrible!

All those waiting, causing you anxiety and great psychological disturbance (and financial as well)!  It’s a fact that waiting for something or someone can be quite distracting and irksome especially if all the forces are against you.

But there’s a kind of waiting that brings joy and hope experienced by some lucky women. Yes, waiting for a baby to be born! Getting pregnant no doubt gives the expectant mother joyous feelings to the highest level.  Just the indication of the first few days or weeks of pregnancy will be enough to send you reeling with gladness and excitement.

But nine months seem too long to wait. Unluckily, most women are not spared from the so-called morning sickness and the ‘blues.’ But, it pays to be in the best of health if you decide to conceive. At least, you’re able to manage the discomfort with ease.

Additionally, you should be at the proper age to be able to overcome the pain and discomforts. These are brought about by the changes happening to your body to accommodate that tiny life inside of you.

With technological advancement today, you have several options to make life better and enjoyable despite having limited activities during that period of waiting. It doesn’t mean though that you have to stay in bed all the time and forget about socializing. Of course, it’s reasonable if you’re in some sort of high risk pregnancy.

Why not start to learn some breathing exercises especially if you’re a first time mom? But remember to do it only with the supervision of an expert. Or how about learning to stitch some art into baby’s overall? Or spend some time browsing over those vibrantly-colored baby e-magazines so you’ll know how infants get their baths and their diapers changed the proper way?

Of course, so much can happen within those nine months and you can have all the time in the world to prepare for baby’s coming. There’s so much to thank the Creator for especially for making you a complete person.

On that big day when you hold your bundle of joy so close to your heart for the first time in your life, you would forget that you’ve been ona waiting mode for so long.

Do you have a similar exciting ‘waiting’ experience? Share it here. 

Do You Have A Passion For Writing?

Not everyone can write, there’s no doubt about that. Or shall I say it correctly- anyone can write but not everyone can become a writer.

A person maybe an eloquent speaker but it does not automatically mean he’s the one who writes his sparkling speeches. A preacher maybe able to craft a very good vision for his flock but if someone does not help him lay the blueprint, he may not get to see it come to reality.

 

Is it hard to write? And I mean putting on paper your thoughts, like writing an essay, poem, letters, reflections, realizations, and so on. If you feel you have a passion for writing, go for it no matter how old you are. It’s never too late to write!

They say that writing is both a talent and a skill- talent, if you were born with it and develop it through time; skill, if you take the effort of enrolling in some training or workshop and later on discover that you have the interest after all.

               

Of course, it pays to have a good teacher and a quality school curriculum to produce brilliant journalists. And that could be expensive. But luckily, there are people who really can write magnificent compositions in good English even if they are not professional journalists or writers.

I am one of the lucky few who can freely express what’s on my mind. I am not scared of being accused of bad grammar or wrong spelling and not following writing rules. Truth is, I have so many people in my life to thank for who have helped hone my writing skill.

First, there was my mom (may she rest in peace) who patiently corrected my writing home works. Secondly, my high school language teachers and college professors who instilled the much needed discipline when it comes to the subject.

Lastly, I had previous bosses (a priest and a nun) who believed in my capability and who inspired me to write my own reflections whenever our team had our retreats and recollections.

Furthermore, I happened to meet and became friends with an editor-in-chief of the longest running local diocesan weekly paper in my area. He has taught me all there is I need to know about writing for newspapers. And the rest is history.

Today, I can no longer keep track of the number of articles I have written since 2012 for the outsourcing company I’m working for. My happiness is indescribable whenever I see many of my works published on various websites.

Unfortunately nowadays, there are the so-called instant writers proliferating on the Internet. Many people claim to have an authority over a certain discipline or master of this and that and now are writing online. Of course, this does not include the legitimate ones whose articles are an important resource for those who need info.   

               

In all fairness, there are many individuals who have a passion for writing and it’s good to encounter them once in a while when you’re doing your search online. You not only get educated reading their materials but entertained as well. And most importantly, you can relate to that person.

How about you? Do you feel the same? Share your thoughts here.