THE SIMPLE LIFE -- 2005

I miss the simple life and I admire the people who remain happy living that kind of life.

With that thought in mind, I just want to share what I want to do in 2005. The year 2004 was chaotic for me because of missed opportunities, shattered dreams, a job that went wrong, and plans put on hold. Nonetheless I remain optimistic this coming year and look at the promise of achieving a significant goal. Getting married is just a matter of time but I don't want to be married and pursue a dream at the same time. So this is crunchtime for me, if I won't be so lucky this year, I'll get married and just be a financial planner and economist for the rest of my life until I retire.

They say that when you don't expect much, it doesn't take much for you to be contented. Life is hard but we have our friends, our family, our lives and our faith.

These proverbial questions suddenly came to mind: What do I want, what will make me truly happy, what is it that I must have or want to make me happy?

Then after one sleepless night I finally found the answer, it is not what I have but what I don't have that will make me genuinely happy: A SIMPLE LIFE. Not the show, but the concept.. though I won't mind Paris giving me a dose of her life even for a day. oops..

I promised myself to stop WANTING and start APPRECIATING.. not to wish for material things, but crave for contentment and happiness. Also, I shouldn't think of myself but of others around me. It is in the virtue of giving that receiving is validated.

But it led me to ponder, "what if I try to serve the people I want to help?" We all know that public service here in our country is really service to yourself.. Honestly, I want to run for public office because I wanted to get rich the easy way.. but after what I've seen in government, I just want to sleep soundly at night.. government service is not for me. Up to now it kills me that I enjoy a comfortable life while a lot suffer in hunger and poverty knowing that the people who were tasked to help them only make them suffer more.

I remember my grandpa saying that if you want to do something, you should know where to start. He had his start as an ordinary civil servant then worked his way up to become a high-ranking official in government. He had a genuine dream of helping his countrymen, but cancer beat him in his fight. Up to this day, I still shed tears when I read his letter asking me to make a difference in this world by striving for honesty, moral integrity, and humility. I haven't kept my end of the deal up to now. But I do hope that one day when I make my grandpa proud, I will not be the only one doing so. It's not wrong to be OPTIMISTIC that our country will change.

Enough of government and public service..

This latest soul searching gave me time to examine myself and it afforded me a realization. I used to think that a big house, expensive things, and a lot of cars will make me happy, but it just made me want to crave for more.. That, in turn, made me sad because I felt like I never had enough. Inspite of the fact that I don't have all the material things I have my family, my love of my life, my friends, my integrity, my life and my faith.

I will start my days now with a prayer thanking God for all the things He has given me and for the life I have taken for granted. I may not have a Ferrari but I have Michael Schumacher caliber parents who have gone to the extreme perfection of giving me everything that I wanted and loving me to the fullest. I may not have a sprawling mansion but I have a house that keeps me warm because of the love I get from my family. I don't have everything that money can buy though I have found solace and meaning in the love of my life, Vic. I may not be superlatively successful, but God will show me The Way.

I used to wish that I'll be as rich as the Ayalas one day but I'm just proud to be Veegee Cabugao.

Thanks for taking time to read.. life is not how much you accumulate.. it's how much you can make a difference in your life and in the life of others.

To a prosperous 2005