EMBRACING THE FUTURE

Recently I received an invitation to the 60th birthday of a friend. It read “Just like wine, she gets better through the years". This is the experience we hope would be true to all of the members of High School Class '65 of the College of the Holy Spirit, Tarlac as our class celebrates our Golden Jubillee and the school celebrates its diamond anniversary on January 10, 2015 its at San Sebastian Village Campus.

FUN DAYS

For truly the solid Christian values that the Holy Spirit sisters and our teachers have molded in us have grown through relentless commitment and practice all these years. Just like most of us classmates, I wonder how fast the years flew. For in my heart my memories can easily travel to our “fun days" when we took ourselves so seriously eager to embark on our vision of a career and a family life. Some of us even entertained entering the convent.

FUTURE IN GOD

Now we have reached the time to reflect and embrace the future. It is a future that eventually will lead to the end of our pilgrim journey in the bosom of the Father, in our true home called heaven. We get glimpses and reminders of the eternity that await us, part of it interesting, some moments quite mysterious and scary. This is the case when one cares for an ailing child or husband. Or hears of a sick classmate or friend. Or of a beloved teacher who dies. But our faith tells us everything will be marked by God's Love. We experience this as we close our eyes after receiving the Eucharist and have that deep, secret and intimate conversation with Jesus. Or we witness the peaceful passage to the "real life" of our mother as we accompanied her through the rosary and with the song “on this day O beautiful mother".

AGE OF INTEGRITY

The author of the book “New Passages" cited the decade of the sixties as the “Age of Integrity". It maybe because it is the age when the struggles to please people or take care of our children is over. Now there are no more excuses for not being authentic. We can live our true values as other material things fade in importance and priority. We can allow our authentic selves to emerge, “to live the good, the true and the beautiful within us “to live our design where the only title we seek is to be that worthy child of God, “born in His image and likeness". It is to live the gospel and the commandments, “to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself".

RETIRING IN 2015

When I told my family, I was retiring in 2015, they were surprised, “Mom, you are retiring?". It was like I have spoken a heresy.  Quickly I bantered, “I am re-tyring" or putting a new set of tires.  Now how does one put a new set? For a month I reflected on what I felt was unlived in my life. I did a list.

LESS OF CURRENT WORK

One, was to reduce the mental work I do. Owning and leading an organization development and human resource consulting company, does not allow me much rest as we have grown dramatically the past 25 years. Detaching from the company is painful, but selling a majority stake to American partners who share our values mitigate the pain. After all the challenges to growth with ASEAN Integration and the growth of China and India present opportunities and threats that younger generations can competently address.  This allows me to convert part of my investment into cash while continuing to do my much loved work as consultant and trainer under Ancilla. Then, of course a role I cherish is to continue writing my column in Philippine Daily Inquirer sharing and learning from our readers.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Two,  I have always dreamt of a social enterprise that will alleviate poverty through job creation, training and placement. I have realized that when a person has skills and values integrity s/he is likely to retain and grow on the job. A regular source of income can do wonders for a person. As an article in the recent issue of Bloomberg Businessweek a CEO who runs work force development in his town in the US said, “There are very few problems in life that a good job can't fix".  I have started to put down the business concept and do the start-up next year.

                                               

Three, I realized a townhouse I bought in Tagaytay and studios in Makati and Alabang have brought in rental income.  Should I invest in a few more for me to get more passive income? I am starting to think and wonder.

TRAVEL WITH FRIENDS

It's More Fun in the Philippines

Four is to indulge my wanderlust, traveling the Philippines in a comfortable van equipped with EZ chairs. Together with my women best friends, we would visit towns we have never been before. Surely local and not foreign travel is for us. We have seen many countries for both work and leisure and now our aching shoulders and knees yearn for local sceneries and food.

APOSTOLATE

Fifth is attend to “apostolate" both the spiritual side and the "family" side. The apostolate side is similar to what my best friend now does, active as an officer of the basic Christian Community.  I will intensify my dedication to the Focolare Movement doing my best to promote its charism “that all maybe one" in and outside our community. Then to spend time with my "apo" my 4 year old granddaughter. I realize why God gives us much joy with "apos" at this stage in our life.  I want to leave her a legacy of faith and caring.

WRITE NOVELS

Sixth, is for me to write my dream novels if I found time. One is a mythical novel of our Datu Historical Voyage from Malaysia.  Two, is to write the story of successful and unassuming business family that has made a great impact in the lives of many people. Then, three a love story the likes of the Reader’s Digest condensed novels.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/writing/images/
9349790/title/pen-paper-wallpaper

Now I have to end my list, or I end up busier than I am now. Sorry my friends, habits of busyness are difficult to mend. Wishing you all the best for embracing the future of your choice in God's divine and lovely design. In the end all our dreams, begin and end with Him, His Will for us.

(Tita Datu Puangco is the CEO and President of Ancilla Enterprise Development Consulting, a major training and organization development company in the Philippines with an Asian reach. It specializes in enterprise transformation, executive coaching, corporate leadership and functional training, human resource systems, corporate academies, learning events and management of business training centers.  Visit Tita’s Blog at http://titatalkstraining.blogspot.com. For additional information please email author at tdpuangco@ancillaedc.com.ph or at tita.puangco@yahoo.com)