Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Tuesdays With Morrie: An Inspiring Movie and Novel - Like!


Professor Morrie Schwartz and Author Mitch Albom
 I had this in my Stylistics class (intended for media discourse) with my dear BSE Seniors of MQAPC. I was so happy to see, feel and know that they have all appreciated my efforts of bringing them quality, inspiring, life-learning, and heart-breaking films. 

I wasn't expecting that I could take them to where they were while seeing the movie, Magnifico. I was so surprised to see them coming up with such great realizations in life. I was so glad to see them inspired; they were so touched by the lines, scenes and all. It was a perfect moment for everyone.

I am so overwhelmed that I have been an inspiration and a blessing. Having all these makes me feel so blessed and fulfilled. Oh well, I firmly believe that I am serving my purpose as their mentor. I know I am loved. And that makes me so proud! I am a Teacher! Xoxo, Mommy Mai
     
Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson
Written by: Mitch Albom

Morrie Schwartz's reflections - taken from the author's own perspectives. 
*Accept the uncertainties, contradictions and tension of opposites in your life.
*Entertain the thought and feeling that the distance between life  and death may not be as great as you think.
*Talk openly about your illness with whoever wants to talk with you about it.
*Resist the temptation to think of yourself as useless. It will only lead to depression. Find your own ways of being and feeling useful.
*After you have wept and grieved for your physical losses, cherish the functions and the life you have left.
*Watch for and resist the creeping  urge to withdraw from the world.
*Let sadness, grief, despair, depression, bitterness, rage, resentment -- all the negative emotions that arise in you -- penetrate you. Stay with them as long as you  can or until they run their natural course. But do not brood about them. Become reinvolved in life as soon as you can.
*Be grateful that you have been given the time to learn how to die.
*Accept and  indulge your passivity and dependency when necessary. But be independent and assertive when you can and need to be.
*If you can't have large victories or achievements, be grateful and celebrate small  ones.
*Find what is divine, holy, or sacred for you. Attend to it, or worship it, in your own way.
*This is the time to do a life review, to make amends, to identify and let go of regrets, to come to  terms with unresolved relationships, to tie up loose ends.
*Learn how to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll know how to live.


Major Themes
Relationships
Relationships are a big theme in the book. The relationship (past and present) between Morrie and Mitch, between Morrie and his caregivers, between Morrie and his family, and between Mitch and his brother all play a big part in the story.

Attitude
Throughout his illness, Morrie displays a very positive mental attitude. He does not feel sorry for himself because his body is slowly deteriorating. He looks at the positives in his life and the things he is still able to do. His positive attitude inspires Mitch and others in the story.

Purpose
As he reflects back on his life, Morrie realizes he purpose was to educate and he does it until the day he dies. This pushes Mitch to realize he is fulfilling his purpose in life (journalism) and the purpose of re-connecting with his brother.

Dependency
Morrie learns that he needs to depend on others as his body fails him. Mitch grows to depend on Morrie as well for life lessons.

Regret
Mitch states that he has regrets in his life, such as not reaching out to Morrie sooner or losing touch with his brother. Morrie almost seems to believe that there are no regrets, and that everything happens for a reason.

Devotion
Once they make the pact, Mitch doesn't miss a Tuesday with Morrie. He meets with him week after week, religiously. This teaches Mitch the importance of holding true to your word. Morrie depended on Mitch to make this visit every week, and in the end, Mitch depended on Morrie to be there to teach him.

Love/Compassion
Throughout the book, we see the love between Morrie and Mitch, the compassion between Morrie and his wife, the compassion between Morrie and his team of nurses, and the compassion as Mitch worries about his brother. There is even compassion between Morrie and Ted Koppel as the two become friends.

Mentors
Morrie was a mentor to Mitch in college and again later in life. The reader realizes the importance of having someone to look up to and guide them through life. Morrie was able to teach Mitch lessons up until his death.

Aging
Morrie teaches Mitch and the reader that there is nothing to fear with aging, and that it is all a part of life. He says everything comes in steps and you just have to face each step as a new challenge or opportunity.

In conclusion, “Tuesdays with Morrie” is a wonderful story about the meaning of life. Like what Oprah Winfrey said, “Tuesdays with Morrie resonates with everybody. I think we all relate to Mitch. His life is just going by too quickly. And then he was blessed to stop and find his old teacher Morrie. And even though Morrie was dying, he taught us about living. All of life is about teaching and learning. When you learn, teach. When you get, give. Life is filled with Morries. We all just need to look around.” We need to agree that our lives are all about teaching and learning. Our lives can be our school or class. Our experiences and other people around us can be our teachers. We ourselves are the students and the subject matter of our lessons is the meaning of our lives.


'A TEACHER TO THE LAST': BATTLING FATAL ILLNESS, A PROFESSOR USES DEATH TO SHOW US HOW TO LIVE

Visit Mitch Albom's Page - HERE.


Magnifico: The Most Inspiring Philippine Film Ever Made

Magnifico: A Film that Touches Lives

I had this in my Stylistics class (intended for media discourse) with my dear BSE Seniors of MQAPC. I was so happy to see, feel and know that they have all appreciated my efforts of bringing them quality, inspiring, life-learning, and heart-breaking films. 


I wasn't expecting that I could take them to where they were while seeing the movie, Magnifico. I was so surprised to see them coming up with such great realizations in life. I was so glad to see them inspired; they were so touched by the lines, scenes and all. It was a perfect moment for everyone.


I am so overwhelmed that I have been an inspiration and a blessing. Having all these makes me feel so blessed and fulfilled. Oh well, I firmly believe that I am serving my purpose as their mentor. I know I am loved. And that makes me so proud! I am a Teacher! Xoxo, Mommy Mai


Film Review: Magnifico

IMAGING GOD IN FILM
Magnifico as a Christ-Figure in Philippine Cinema

SYNOPSIS
Magnifico is a heartrending film about a Filipino boy whose love and sense of mission changed the lives of those around him. Produced in 2003, the film directed by Maryo de los Reyes won at least 25 awards not only in the Philippines but also in international film festivals.

The film opens with the birth of Magnifico (also called Ikoy in the film). It is clearly discernible at the outset that the boy was born in to a rural poor family. His father, Gerry, is a carpenter but does not have regular employment. It was Gerry who christened him Magnifico because he enjoyed watching a magician by that same name. Magnifico’s mother, Edna, augments the family income by stitching embroideries. 

Their house is a dilapidated hollow-blocks-and-wood structure typical in rural Philippines. They were so impoverished that they could only prepare soup and noodles for the town fiesta. At one point Edna had to pawn her wedding ring so they could have food on their table.

The story actually begins when Magnifico turned nine. His brother, Miong, has just lost his much-needed scholarship from a university in the capital city Manila. This was a heavy blow because Gerry pinned his hopes on Miong to save the family from poverty. His grandmother, Magda, who lives with Magnifico’s family, figured in a serious accident and had to be hospitalized. In the hospital it was discovered that Magda had pancreatic cancer. This was another backbreaking blow because part of Gerry’s meager income would now go to medical expenses. As if these problems were not exasperating enough, Magnifico’ sister Helen had cerebral palsy, which rendered her incapable of self-mobility and comprehensible speech. Burdened by such seemingly insurmountable difficulties, Edna lustily sighed, “life is a never-ending misery”.

But whole throughout the film life proved to be a series of small marvels. When Magnifico heard whispers that his grandmother Magda would soon die and that his family was incapable of shouldering the sky-high burial expenses, he innocently devised a secret plan. Employing the help of his school buddy Carlo, he covertly began constructing a wooden coffin. For materials he asked scrap wood from a local woodcarving shop and borrowed carpentry tools from his neighbors. And together with Carlo, he sold iced water and juice at the town carnival, hoping to collect money enough for his grandmother’s funeral dress, flowers, and tomb. When their two plastic jars emptied, they ended up with 306 pesos (about 4 euros) in their hands. However this was way too low, considering that he needed at least 30,000 pesos (roughly 400 euros).

Yet Magnifico never lost hope. Nor felt bad. He was determined to fulfill his mission even if he had to sell iced water and juice until kingdom come. For aside from toiling for her grandma’s wake, he was also saving for her sister Helen. He promised to bring her to the town carnival so she could have a colored balloon and enjoy the merry-go-round and other fun rides. Since Helen could not walk, Magnifico resolved to use his money to rent a wheelchair from Domeng. On the day Magnifico and Helen would go to the carnival, Magda’s illness worsened. And since his parents had virtually nothing, Magnifico had to part with his 300 pesos to buy the requisite medicines. Armed with very minimal amount of pesos in his pockets but with a lot of determination, Magnifico brought Helen to the carnival by carrying her on his back.

The neighbors who saw Magnifico and Helen at the carnival showed them compassion. A guy who used to bully Helen for laughs drove them there. Two feuding neighbors each gave them 100 pesos for tickets to the rides. One ticket controller admitted them without charge, another gave them a huge discount and a vendor gave Helen a free balloon. Magnifico brought Helen around. He showed her the cotton candies, the ice cream, the works. Helen had the time of her life. When Domeng saw Magnifico hauling Helen on his back, he understood why Magnifico wanted to rent his wheelchair. Moved by what he witnessed, Domeng decided to give his wheelchair to Magnifico for free. So he arranged for Magnifico to get the wheelchair from his house.

On his way to Domeng’s house, Magnifico was hit by a car and died instantly. The colorful coffin he built for his grandmother became the chest in which he was buried.

MAGNIFICO AS A CHRIST-FIGURE

Peter Malone defines the Christ-figure in films as “any purely fictional character who resembles Jesus, significantly and substantially”. This does mean that the character has to look like the conventional Jesus in church paintings or be named Jesus. The character does not even have to be Christian nor male nor sinless in order to be a Christ-figure. The Christ-figure is “neither Jesus nor the Christ, but rather a shadow, a faint glimmer or reflection of him”. Thus, for the Christ-figure to be authentic, the film character must mirror Jesus’ life in some way. When the film character’s life or at least some aspects of it make implicit, metaphorical representations of Jesus’ own life and values then he or she may be considered a Christ-figure. Hence, “the Christ-figure is a way of being led back to the Jesus of the Gospels”.

Aside from being the son of a carpenter, the central dynamic of Magnifico’s story runs parallel to a variety of Christ-story elements and situations in the Gospels. The film presents these elements and situations in both symbolic forms and in the day to day life and behavior of Magnifico. The following are some of the scenes wherein we can see Jesus peek through in Magnifico.

a.) Magnifico serves others with love

Magnifico is a film brimming with Christian themes, the most obvious of which is that of selfless love. Magnifico’s love for his grandma Magda, for his parents, for his brother Miong, for his buddy Carlo, and especially for his sister Helen is radically Christian and thus radically different from any experience of love these people have ever experienced from other members of their family and from their neighbors.

Magnifico’s attentiveness to the feelings and needs of his ailing grandmother contrasts against Edna’s bitterness towards Magda. Edna regarded Magda’s illness and impending death as an unnecessary encumbrance to the family. Magnifico, on the other had, wanted to make her grandma’s apparent passing away as dignified and unburdensome as possible. He spent much of his free time making this mission into reality.

Magnifico’s compassion towards Helen contrasts against Makoy’s bullying of the crippled girl. He never felt burdened by Helen even if he had to carry, entertain, protect and feed her often. He labored hard to secure a wheelchair for her and to give her the chance to have a “normal” life and enjoy the carnival.

While doing all these, Magnifico never complained nor had any selfish reasons. All he cared about was the joy he could give to those he loved and to those who needed him the most. Such compassion and selfless desire to be of service to others positively manifests Magnifico’s role as a Christ-figure who came to serve not to be served and to give his life as a ransom for many.

b.) Magnifico makes “miracles” happen

There is a minor character in the film named Ka Doring. She isolated herself from people and lived in the cemetery because she felt more at peace being away from the crowd. She was always begrudging and her face perpetually frowned. Children made fun of her hoarse voice. In turn she would scare them off with threats and curses. Magnifico brought her a bottle of herbal medicine for her soar throat. At first Ka Doring suspected that Magnifico was just one of the kids who wanted to make fun of her so she threw the bottle away. Upon learning this, Magnifico brought her another bottle and this time Ka Doring drank a few gulps. Later on Ka Doring’s sore throat would go away. During the town fiesta, Magnifico also brought Ka Doring noodles cooked by her mother. Magnifico brought about healing in Ka Doring, both in the physical and in the emotional sense. For when her soar throat healed she was not anymore antagonistic towards the children who made fun of her.

Another small miracle made possible by Magnifico concerned Helen’s speech impediment. Edna tried all she could to teach her daughter Helen to say even such simple words as Nanay (mother) but to no avail. There came a point when Edna’s patience was stretched too thin that she ended up hurting Helen physically. On the night when Helen would be brought by Magnifico to the carnival she miraculously began to talk. It was out of sheer joy that Helen began to utter words like “mother” and “carnival”.

The total healing experienced by Ka Doring and the unsurpassable joy experienced by Helen which gave her the impetus to speak implicitly establishes that dimension of Jesus as healer and miracle worker. These two narrative frames dramatically highlights Magnifico as a Christ-figure.

c.) Magnifico inspires forgiveness and reconciliation

Magnifico’s christological identity is exteriorized not only in the small miracles he effected in Ka Doring and Helen but also in bringing about reconciliation between Miong and his girlfriend, between Edna and Magda, and between Tessie and Cristy.

Miong broke his rich girlfriend’s heart when she learned that Miong only wanted to marry her in order to bail out his family from poverty. Magnifico encouraged his elder brother Miong to ask forgiveness from his girlfriend. Miong humbled himself and went to his girlfriend to reconcile with her.

As has been noted above, Edna was always bitter towards Magda. But in the end Edna’s attitude towards her mother-in-law changed radically. It seemed that Edna’s heart suddenly melted when she saw her son carrying Helen on his back without a hint of displeasure or exasperation. The camera focused on Edna’s face and we see tears streaming down her cheek. Then she looked at Magda, and in their eye-to-eye contact it is communicated that now Edna understood the meaning of unconditional love. If her son Magnifico could carry the crippled Helen with love, so must she bear Magda with patience and compassion. That night was the beginning for a new and better relationship between Edna and Magda.

Tessie and Cristy were both jealous of each other. While Tessie was a perennial gambler, Cristy was a helpless rumormonger. They were neighbors but they didn’t talk to each other. In the carnival they each gave Magnifico one hundred pesos. Not conscious of the presence of the other, each waved and smiled at Magnifico and Helen. After which they discovered that the other was just nearby and they soon had eye-to-eye contact. For a brief moment it seemed that their mutual hatred for each other had gone away for the better. It seemed that at last they were initiating a new way of being neighbors.

Except for his brother Miong, it was not a conscious effort on the part of Magnifico to bring warring people to reconcile. Yet it seemed that every contact with Magnifico was life-changing and inspiring. These people were moved to ask pardon, to forgive and reconcile not so much by what Magnifico did as by his manner, his way of being and loving, which formed a luminous evidence to his being a Christ-figure.

d.) Magnifico carries his own cross, dies and brings about redemption

To start building his grandma’s coffin Magnifico and his devoted friend Carlo went to a woodcarving shop and asked its owner for scrap wood. On their way home they carried a long wooden plank on their shoulders which paralleled to that part in the passion story when Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry his cross. Whole throughout the movie Magnifico would be seen carrying something – a bottle of herbal medicine and some noodles for Ka Doring, a basin of vegetable for his family’s lunch, plastic jars for iced juice and water, a pouch of money to buy medicines for his grandma Magda, a brush to paint her coffin, and Helen on her back. These were his little crosses. These bespoke of his immense determination to be a person for others. And such involving scenes were essentially Christlike in their execution, content and effect.

The life of Magnifico was cut short. He was on his way to meet Domeng to get the wheelchair for his paralyzed sister when a vehicle hit him. He died just like that. He must have been too excited to see Domeng on the other side of the road that he failed to notice the speedy cars. Up to his last breath Magnifico was always on the move to be of service to others. Symbolically his death poignantly conveys that, like Christ, he was willing to lay down his life for others. It was a kind of poetic justice – his death empowered others to new life.

This new life began for the family he left behind. Everyone who knew him attended his funeral. It was such a sad moment. The burial donations the family received totaled 31,105 pesos. When he was still alive Magnifico hoped to raise as much as 30,000 pesos. Ironically, this was to be accomplished in his death. Because of it Edna was able to redeem the wedding ring she pawned. And because of it they had something to restart on financially. Hence, the money became a metaphor of redemption for his family.

One recurring symbol used throughout the film was the Rubik’s cube which Gerry tried to solve for at least a year. His failure to solve it symbolized his family’s lack of accomplishment in delivering themselves out of poverty, despair and misery. After one problem piled after another Gerry could not bear it any longer and threw the Rubik’s cube out of his sight. After Magnifico’s death, Gerry discovered that Magnifico had solved the Rubik’s cube, putting everything in its proper place. This was so symbolic of what Magnifico did for the people around him – he united his family, reconciled feuding neighbors, brought about healing to the sick, gave joy to the handicapped -  in short putting their lives and their relationships in their proper place. Thus, in effect Magnifico became the Good Shepherd who died so that others may have the fullness of life.


Please see this LINK. Thanks, Rev. Fr. Stephen. You rock! 


To: Mr. Michiko S. Yamamoto and to Mr. Maryo J. de los Reyes - You are a gift to everyone. Thanks to your skills and talents. You've touched so many lives. Kudos!


Hope you like this! Be inspired and be a blessing to others. God bless us all.


Thanks!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Paalam sa Isang Minamahal na Kapamilya


June 5, 2012... The day when I had the hardest and the saddest speech of my life - thanking everyone, spreading his kindness and good heart, and most of all, praising Him for giving us our dearest Tito Dong. We love you oh so dearly. We miss you so much!


On behalf of our family, loved ones and relatives, I would like to extend our sincerest and deepest gratitude to all who extended a helping and loving hand to all of us especially in our times of grief and sorrow. Maraming salamat po sa lahat.

Til We Meet Again!
Totoong napakahirap sa ating lahat na tanggapin ang nangyari lalo pa’t alam natin na hindi na natin siya muling makikita at makakasama. Nakakalungkot isipin na oras na niya at kailangang lumisan. Subalit alam naming masaya ka na ngayon, free from any pain. You are fulfilled and blessed now that you are with our Almighty Father.

Higit naming pinasasalamatan ang Panginoon sa pagbigay N’ya sa’yo sa amin; You are a blessing, you are a gift.

Almighty Father, we thank you for giving him to us, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. Give us faith to see in death the gate to eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before. In your Kingdom, magkakasama-sama po kami muli.

Tito Dong, hinding-hindi ka namin makakalimutan. You will be missed. Salamat sa magandang alaala, masayang samahan at napakabuti mong puso.
Our Dearest Tito Dong

Ang lahat ng naririto ngayon ay saksi sa kung anong klaseng tao ang pinakamamahal naming si Tito Dong… isang mapagmahal na asawa, mapag-arugang ama, maalalahanin at malambing na anak, kapatid, tiyuhin at kaibigan. Wala akong maisip na salita para maisigaw kung gaano ka namin kamahal at pinahahalagahan.

Masakit, mahirap subalit alam namin na masaya ka na ngayon lalo na at kasama ka na ng ating Diyos na lumikha. Iyakap mo rin kami kay Lolo Leovy, miss na miss na rin namin s’ya. Wag ka nang mag-alala, kakayanin namin ito para sa iyo. Kami ang bahala, magtutulungan at magdadamayan kami.

Rest well and rejoice in His Kingdom.

Ta Dong, thank you very much. We love you. Farewell. Til we meet again.    
Muli po maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. God bless us all.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

God Gave Me You... And Forever I'd be so Grateful to God


God Gave Me You – Bryan White
... I truly believe
God gave me you to show me what’s real
There’s more to life than just how I feel
And all that I’m worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn’t know why... Now I do, ’cause God gave me you...

Daddy Ren and Eieo... 
I thank God for blessing me with great family and relationships, more than what I really deserve.

I am not even sure yet if I can forever be a good mom and a loving wife BUT I know God will always help and guide me to be that 'someone' HE intends me to be.


What a Mom and a Dad Pray on their Kid's First Steps in Schooling
Now that Eieo is on his first year at school, I hope and pray that God will continuously bless us along with his new soon-to-be academic turf, LGIM - Lipfert Guillen International Montessori, Inc., his new teachers and friends... so our kiddo will experience God's love and grace all his life even in many lil ways.

To our school partners now and in the future, we pray that we can work hand-in-hand for the betterment of our unico hijo's future. Excited and prayerful, we hope that our first steps to this journey with LGIM can be a good start (fingers crossed). May God bless our kid/s (Eieo and Eiea - soon?) as we only wish the best for their future.

To GOD be the Glory Now and Forever!

Dad and Eieo I love you, my two boys! 

Love Lots and Cheers,

Mommy Mai