Our past has a lot to do with our present. Our present, on the other hand, has nothing to do with our past. But the present has a lot to do with our future. As much as we would not want to intertwine these various events, they are interrelated.
My fear of heights has always been the result of my Ferris Wheel experience. This could explain why I close my eyes and tighten my grip on the armrest of an airplane after it takes off and prepares to land.
The only way to overcome fear is to face it head-on. Nah, haha, for me, I would rather choose a firefight with criminals than slide for life. The series Fear Factor shown when I was younger featured many weird things that scared people. Our preschool teacher, Nicole Burog Pulido, is so scared of frogs that if you threw a bullfrog in front of her, she would run outside the room. Jun “Pikoy” Adorio, my brother John’s friend, is so afraid of rats that he will jump right onto the seats just to save himself. Even my wife China, a small but fierce person, is afraid of spiders.
I have somehow lessened my fear of flying when I worked as a medical representative in Saudi Arabia. Every week, we were required to cover territories outside Jeddah. I took the plane at least four times a week for two years. This reduced my fear but did not totally eradicate it. When I came home in 2004, working for Marsman made me travel by plane more frequently than before. Sometimes, I would travel to have lunch in Iloilo and be back for dinner in the evening.
The only fear we should fear is fear itself. While it seems easier said than done, unless you get out of your protective shells, this fear will keep haunting you for the rest of your life.
The same is true with poverty. It is a curse that has been handed down from one generation to another. My Lola Beding used to say that because I had two moles on the opposite sides of my shoulder, I will suffer much in life. True, there were moles on my shoulders and even on my balls and penis. What’s the difference then? Surely I neglected the two on my shoulders and put my thoughts on the moles below. And lo and behold, it made women gossip about me. Just kidding of course.
Our attitude and behavior have always been with us since the day we started walking the earth. They automatically come out when prompted, even when not summoned. Until we become conscious of their existence, we are under their spell, and the consequences are beyond our control.
As a young executive, most of my actions were immature and impulsive. As teenagers, we are driven by sexual urges towards the opposite sex, which can result in unwanted pregnancies and shattered dreams. The older we get, the more control we have over our emotions.
“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”? – Invictus by William Ernest Henley ||
