The Art of Giving

Chiffon Ruffled Top: Posh Wardrobe | Sequined Skirt: Forever 21 | Chained Stam Bag: Marc Jacobs | Heel-less Shoes: DAS | Pearls: Forever 21 | Watch: Rolex

I wore a nude and pink combination (I am so into Pastels and Pink recently, if you noticed) when I was in Iloilo for a weekend and this outfit, was reserved for the special event we had which was the Inauguration and Official Announcement of our 2013-2014 Scholars from the Visayas Region. I am the Executive Director of our Scholarship Foundation and as such, I would not have missed the event for the world. I have always advocated for the importance of education in molding and shaping lives, in giving people an opportunity to a better life and in building a better community. Having 20 new scholars that day and welcoming them as beneficiaries to our foundation was truly heart warming. It was, in so many ways, such a great thing to experience.

I believe Lady Astor aptly put it when she said, "The main dangers in life are the people who want to change everything... or nothing." What a lovely thought. This tackles the meaning of dualism and the horror of being caught in dualism. Those who want to change everything often become ruthless in their laser focus upon what they know is right.

Those who want to change nothing have become so enured to themselves and other human beings that they only pass through life not looking to the right or to the left. Neither group does much for itself or for anyone else. When we get too caught up in a cause, we become the problem. When we do nothing about the world in which we live, we are the problem. Actually, at the end of the day, both group classifications operate out of the same self-center and self-serving purpose and focus.

WHAT IS THE THIRD OPTION? The third and most optimal option is to be present to ourselves and to others, accepting those things which we cannot change, changing the things we can, and knowing the difference. 

In our constant struggle on how to change the world, let us not forget that change comes and starts from within. At the end of the day, we must realize that we must be the change we want to be. 

xx, JL