By Atty. Howie Calleja
As I celebrate today another year in my life, allow me some time with you to take stock of my life and to look back on the quality of life I have journeyed since my last birthday, the hurdles needed to be overcome, and the aspirations to be when my birthday rolls around.
Scripture teaches us, “Let your light so shine before men,” and warns us not to “light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick,” so it “giveth light unto all that are in the house”. We are all candles and we have brilliant light to share. Only we can hold ourselves back from giving light to all.
It has always been a personal advocacy of mine to promote good governance. My law practice has always been a service to that. Thus, as I look back on my life for another year, I have no regrets about fighting the good fight. Together with good and faithful friends, our battle is not just vigilance against corruption in government but a moral warfare as well against “social structures” that hamper the genuine prosperity of our nation and all compatriots.
To quote George R.R. Martin, “My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results… but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.”
Together with all my proud 1SAMBAYAN family, I will never grow tired of our social advocacy. We will never waiver to give the least, last and lost a chance to have their voices heard in the public sphere, attracting attention from politicians, the media and high-profile individuals around the world. By advocating for a cause, those in peripherals can spotlight their perspective to the wider community and act as a catalyst for change. Without advocacy, many voices would remain silenced. If we didn’t have advocates, we would miss out on critical support for many important issues — and I will never abandon this life mission.
Yes, I am one year older but hopefully one year better; enriched by all the experiences that made me who I am now. A key ingredient in the recipe for healthy aging is the continuing ability to find meaning and joy in life. As we age, our life will change and we will gradually lose things that previously occupied our time and gave our life purpose.
In conclusion to this reflection allow me to leave you with another quote from Andy Andrews from “The Noticer”: ’ If you are breathing, you are still alive. If you are alive, then you are still here, physically, on this planet. If you are still here, then you have not completed what you were put on earth to do. If you have not completed what you were put on earth to do…that means your very purpose has not yet been fulfilled. If your purpose has not yet been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life has not yet been lived…’ Thus, I look forward to more fruitful years of service to God and my Country.
