Passers-by and Regulars

(taken from my Multiply Blog dated April 17, 2009)

Last night I attended mass at the EDSA Shrine. I was tired from the heat of the day and the long walks I took in the afternoon after work. I sat at the very first pew. I was tired and the only things that came into me were sentimental moments... I was "emo"at that particular time.

In the bus, on my way home, I started to compose a text message and had it sent to people who have been very special to me... I would like to share that text message with you:

"I was just at the EDSA Shrine and suddenly had this thought in mind... It is a church located at a focal point where roads from one town and three cities meet. The people who attend mass there are either regulars or passers-by. Some may only see the faces of others once, others oftentimes.

Just like the shrine, there are people who have come to my life as regulars and passers-by. They are people who have made an impact on me, and in a way contributed in my development as a person.

I did not send this to everyone, but if it's in your inbox it means that you're either a passerby or regular. Salamat at nagtagpo ang ating mga landas (thank you for being able to cross paths with each other)."

Sometimes, we are driven by the allurements of this busy life. We become too busy with the things that we think needs to be done. We forget the people, good people, who have helped in molding us to become the person we are today.

May the lessons we have learned from the people that God has placed before us, be for us a constant reminder that the world is still a better place to live in. A great teacher of mine, Jerry Lovette, who taught me English in Grade 12, said: "No matter how bad a person is, there is still goodness in him." The world still needs good people to turn things around. The goodness a person does to another reverberates throughout eternity.