Burn
An Introductory Blog
By Louie Garcia
Good day! I am Carl Louie Garcia, and I can simply be addressed as Louie. Though for so long, I am used to be called by my first name and even my parents rarely address me by my second name. I am known to be a sentimental, persevering, and passionate individual. My heart longs to connect with others with the best that I can do thus, with various types of people I encounter, creativity runs into my veins. Part of the flow for creativity to run is eagerly learning the fields of film, graphic design, and music.
SEEING & BEING BEYOND
Making a Difference in the Holiday Season Blog
By Louie Garcia
The 2020 Holiday Season has really been a special season. Back when I was younger, I always looked forward to a cheerful and vibrant holiday. Gift giving, noisy dinners, and endless storytelling are one of the few things I expect to come. Unfortunately, the pandemic made everything different. For the least, we manage to adjust our lives in response to it, but adjustments just make my heart crave for something to change. Oh, what more I can do, except a few simple things that will prove the specialty of this holiday season.
One of the simple things my heart longs is to bring hope. 2020 is supposedly a year of clarity. Clear plans, perfect vision, and endless opportunities. In the pandemic’s advent, everything changed, and everyone struggled. Everyone feels hopelessness. Fortunately, I have the means to share a part of myself to give a ray of hope for struggling people. It can be for my close family members, and extended family in the province, but essentially, it would be for everyone that I can manage to connect with.
Another simple thing that my heart longs is to connect. Have you ever wondered how communication changed starting from the generation of our grandparents up until the present? Lucky for our generation, communication has been made extremely easy, but does it mean it is also easy to connect? Technically, yes, but no. Actually, it is difficult for me to really understand the emotion, message, and feeling of someone without their physical presence. That is why, at these trying times, I need to extend my capability to connect with others even constrained virtually.
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In relation to the longing of connection is to appreciate. This special season opens a window to see what is important. Fair enough that it is made easy to look through that window and begin wondering the beauty that we have taken for granted. I will focus and refocus on people and things I tend to overlook. From then on, I wish for people to be inspired as to how I can be appreciative of everything and of them, despite the struggles we encounter every day.
Truly it can be considered how easily things change. With one snap, we may never know what is next for us. With one blink, everything can be different. Sometimes though, we just need to hold from the simplest things that we are able to grasp. It does not matter how extravagant our holiday celebration is. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to know our capacity to relate. How about you? What can you see beyond the holiday season?
INFLAME: Burning Again and More for Passion
How to Rekindle One's Passion Blog
By Louie Garcia
A thirteen-year-old boy imagines his future self playing his heart out in a random concert. There are heart pounding beats, catchy rhythms, engaging crowds, and wide smiles from his bandmates. Snapping back to reality, he jumps out of bed to eagerly practice basic chords in his acoustic guitar.
We could presume that the young boy has a passion for music. When we hear the word ‘passion’, we frequently imagine doing things that we love the most. Teaching, writing, singing, gaming, we can name a few. It opens realities and scenarios that we imagine would exist, leading us to feel inspired and motivated in pursuing our everyday life. For some, passion is the drive for us to know our purpose. Thus it is essential to keep this passion alive to pursue our deemed reason.
In pursuant to keeping one’s passion, interviews were conducted with people who strive to balance a well-planned and missionary life in terms of serving God.
Neil Matthew Galang, an area servant and mission volunteer assigned for Missionary Families of Christ (MFC) Youth – Laguna, and Ma. Jesusa Castillo, an elementary teacher at Dalubhasaan ng Lunsod ng San Pablo Integrated School and, area servant and mission volunteer assigned for MFC Youth – Laguna, says that passion for the things we love doing the most can be kept by maintaining one’s purpose and goals in life and choosing to do something for it. Perhaps, this is what a part-time graphic designer for social media management company and a talents/creatives head for MFC Youth – Laguna, Angelo Rigor Soliman, chooses to sustain the things we hold dear the most; “by constantly viewing and involving myself through these things”. Certainly, our involvement and actions become a fuel that burns our heart to desire for more. The kindled fire becomes and serves as light for others to be inspired as well.
The question now is, even with our efforts to keep our passion alive, why are there still times where it seems like the fuel for us to continue is not enough?
One of the familiar terms often associated whenever we feel empty with our passion is burnout. It can be situated with being unmotivated to write fresh stories, to learn new songs, or to watch our favorite movies. It naturally happens, but never be hindered as everyone can also feel that. “If I am being completely honest, I always experience being burnt out from my passions” Angelo said. “Burnout is always a factor to my daily life.”. However, no one said that our passion can never be rekindled. From various perspectives, let us together learn from these servants on how they rekindle their passion.
“By looking back to my goals, getting in touch with people having the same passion, and being grateful for the past.” – Neil Galang
“By taking a step back from all of these and focusing on resting myself; Slowly re-integrating these passions to my daily routine again; and make it a habit to remind myself that being good in your passion is not a race and I have no opponents other than myself.” – Angelo Soliman
“Pause for a while, have some me time, and have some moment to reflect on what had happened and what I did wrong. After that, I write them in my journal. I look at it every time I feel that I am at the end of my patience and will result in me being burnt out again.” – Jesusa Castillo
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Passion drives us to move forward each day. Whenever we feel burned out, Mary Alianette perfectly reminds us all to repeat these words to ourselves, “I rekindle it [my passion] by letting time do its thing; [and] taking my time reflecting, spoiling, finding myself again, and really remembering why I am doing these things that I am really passionate about”.
Let us go back to the thirteen-year-old boy who is now in his twenties. He pursues college and has limited time to do the things he loves the most. But in the middle of being busy for the past 7 years, he was able to serve God through music, form his band, play at events, and live a life more than what he imagined. These extraordinary experiences seem far-fetched but as long as I choose to never give up, my goal will always be my fuel to keep my passion burning.