DNL’s Speech during the Rotary Club
Induction Rites held last November 5, 2006.
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| ``A Coffee Break`` |
A young woman who felt that life was getting difficult
went to her mother because she wanted to tell her that she
was giving up.
After listening to her daughter talk about her
frustrations and disappointments, the mother calmly went
to the kitchen and filled three pots with water before
boiling them.
Soon the pots started to boil. On one pot she placed a
carrot, on the second pot an egg and coffee on the third
pot.
After 20 minutes, she fished out the carrot and the egg
and placed them on separate bowls. She then poured the
coffee on another bowl.
“What do you see?” The mother asked her daughter.
“Carrot, egg and coffee,” replied her daughter, more
irritated that her mother did not seem to listen to her
frustrations.
The mother told her daughter to feel the carrots and she
noted that it was soft. Next, the mother asked the
daughter to take the hard-boiled egg and break it.
Finally, the mother asked her daughter to sip the coffee.
“what does it mean mother?” The daughter asked, starting
to suspect her mother was about to give her a lesson on
life.
The mother pointed out that all three objects faced the
same adversity: boiling water. Each however reacted
differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. After
being subjected to boiling water, it softened and became
weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through
the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
It was a different story with the ground coffee beans
however. After they were in the boiling water, they
changed the water.
The mother then asked her daughter: “Which are you? When
subjected to adversity, are you a carrot, an egg or a
coffee bean?”
There are those who are like carrots before they face
adversity. But when they are through, they become soft and
lose their strength.
Others are like eggs. They had been soft before the storms
of life came. When the winds and the rains are over, after
a death, break-up and frustration, they become hardened
and stiff.
The coffee bean however is different. When subjected to
the very same circumstance that the carrot and the egg
when through, it releases fragrance and flavor. It
actually changed the hot water and turned it to coffee.
This is the same question we should ask ourselves in these
times of adversity.
We are going through perhaps the worst crisis a nation can
have in times of peace. The enemy is not a foreign army
under a foreign flag. The enemy is the face of
indifference, skepticism and selfishness.
The years of betrayal by people in government and
exploitation by those who control the economy in their
hands have left us bitter, suspicious and angry.
The question that every Filipino needs to answer today is
not so much about what needs to be done. The question is
whether the adversities have made us better individuals.
Until such time that we shed off the bitterness that is in
our hearts, we cannot expect much.
This is the challenge that every Filipino, every
Tagbilaranon and every dignified individual must confront.
Obviously, this is the question that every Rotarian in
this gathering must answer.
That you have decided to come out of your comfort zones is
an indication of your desire to make a difference. It is
the kind of attitude that this country needs from
individuals and people like you.
When people asked me why I kept aspiring for public office
despite six consecutive unsuccessful attempts, I gave the
same answer: I want to make a difference in the lives of
the people of Tagbilaran.
After only two years, we have given back dignity to public
service, we have convinced our people that the city
government is not a milking cow for political lieutenants.
After only two years, we have assured the poorest in the
community that they will no longer be refused hospital
services or denied medicines simply because they are poor.
After only two years, we have given hope to all pre-school
children and school children in all our public elementary
schools that we will give them the best support that we
can afford so that they will be competitive when it is
their time to look for jobs.
We are making a difference. And yet, your city government
cannot do it alone for them. We need all the help that we
can get from people like you.
I am not asking you to share my political affiliation.
That is the least of my concerns. I am asking you to do
your share, to make a difference where you can.
Do not be afraid about the odds. Take courage in the
thought that service to those who cannot repay us has its
own rewards. Courage is not the absence of fear but the
realization that something is more important than fear.
The brave may not live for long, but the coward does not
live at all.
When you leave the comfort of this venue, take courage in
the thought that the future looks better not only for you
but for all those lives you will touch.
Do not be intimidated by the storms along the way. In
times of trial, just take a coffee break. |
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