For thirteen years, I resided in Metro Manila: first, as a student in a Quezon City university that’s currently celebrating its centennial year, then as an associate in a Makati law firm that’s almost as old as the Philippine republic. My sisters and I never managed to agree on a common housing arrangement, so we each had our autonomous way of living, converging only on weekends and holidays usually to dine, shop and watch movies together.
Expectedly, my life in the big city was radically different. The singular denominator of all of the addresses that I stayed in at one time or another was that they were all small and cramped. Since I didn’t don’t cook and there was no one to cook for me, I thrived on junk food, pizza and fastfood deliveries, instant noodles, takeout, and dining in fancy shwunzy restaurants. Due to poor nutrition, pollution, bad habits, and probably the hormonal imbalance characteristic of a single woman, my face was covered with acne that was truly horrendous in size and number. I was no stranger to unpleasant episodes: rude cabdrivers, driving in standstill traffic and flooded streets, lining up for almost anything decent, having my necklace snatched…
Despite all these, I never thought that I would return to settle down in my hometown. I was happy in my own way, having finally found my high-heeled groove in the urban jungle that I was in. Life was incredibly hectic 24/7, but I felt very zen, that I had discovered peace and contentment amidst chaos, and that returning to a small town would be an act of mental and financial self-deprivation. Besides, what was I to do for fun in a place without a mall?
Today, I stumbled again upon the very book that convinced me to give Davao del Sur a shot. This book was thrust into my hands in 2001 by a– (should I say clueless?) –Barnes & Noble assistant in Fort Lauderdale when I asked him where the biography section was. Perhaps he was a mystic who saw the hungry soul through my querying eyes? Or maybe I didn’t know it then, but the book just fell into my lap at the right time.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is based on ancient Toltec wisdom. According to Ruiz, “thousands of years ago, the Toltec were known throughout southern Mexico as women and men of knowledge… [who] came together as masters (naguals) and students at Teotihuacan, the ancient city of pyramids outside Mexico City known as the place where Man Becomes God”. The Four Agreements reminds us to be impeccable with our word, to not take anything personally, not to make assumptions and to always do our best from moment to moment. The narrative is straightforward, incisive, and easy to remember.
It took a certain degree of adjustment for me initially, but today, I have a better life. I am more thankful and appreciative of the blessings that have been given to me, and less caring of the opinions of others. I have grown in many ways, and I have grown to love living in my hometown.
“I turned my head to the sky, to the sun, to the stars, and put a little piece of my love in every star, in the moon, in the sun, and they loved me back. And I became one with the moon and the sun and the stars, and my love kept growing and growing. And I put a little piece of love in every human, and I became one with the whole of humanity. Wherever I go, whomever I meet, I see myself in their eyes, because I am a part of everything, because I love.”
