The year was 2014. The day: 13th January. I was unemployed. I was broke. I was broken. From the waiting area of an outsourcing firm, right after an interview for a call center agent position, I got the one call that would forever change my life.
That call carried an unrelenting threat, sweeping me to the emergency room of a hospital in Mandaluyong. As the curtains were pulled away, I remember my breath coming to a stop. I couldn’t move. On a gurney, wrapped in white blanket, was my Mama. Gone. Snuffed out. Like a quick but devastating explosion.
That was more than seven years ago. Even now, the full range of that detonation is still unknown to me, yet with the storms of tears and the torrents of doubt, that catastrophe had also brought me a gift: motion. Its momentum compelled me to move. A hundred steps forward. Twice as many steps back. After what seemed like a lifetime of inaction, I was finally moving.
That movement took me to places. Figuratively and, of course, literally. Not long after that tragedy, I started traveling. And, slowly, the pain alleviated. Each mountain I climb, every new horizon I gaze at, brings me comfort. It wasn’t immediate. It was painful for the longest time. But the thrill in the new provided some sort of unguent. And in time, I found that the entire affair was healing me.
I’ve come a long way and I’ve accomplished things I hope Mama would be proud of. I’ve become a writer. I’ve devoted time to causes that mattered to me. For a while, I’ve dabbled in teaching. I even made a docufilm.
Then, my journey brought me to Insight Timer. I don’t think of it as a coincidence. For sure, it was a culmination of decisions I made and connections I nurtured. So, fate maybe?
It’s a rare thing to have your source of livelihood align with everything you value. And I’m glad that after years of movement, Insight Timer is the place where I can be still, with a purpose that brings refuge to so many, and with people that are a joy to work with. A stillness that elevates, affording freedom to continue to pursue other equally worthy endeavors.
I think Mama would approve.”
