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Nothing little in "little" contributions Vol. 1, No. 5 * 27 November 2008  By JCI Mem. EMI ROSE R. PARCON2009 President
I am not alone.
What a reassuring thought.
Though at times, it does really feel that way.
I realized that over the years, I really was not. For every worthy endeavor, somebody or some people have been given to me to help me pursue things that oftentimes, I cannot do alone.
That is why I immediately corrected Sir Fred Quino of DYRF during his interview of me. I was with JCI Mem. Charmaine Ong of JCI Zugbuana last Saturday during the Oras sa Jaycees program. He said that for a person of my age and size, he could not believe that I would "carry the world on my shoulders" (quite a coincidence that I used more or less the same phrase in my last week's column).
I, actually, don't carry the world on my shoulders. At least, not by myself.
I stand on the shoulders of giants. I get advice from the wise and experienced. I work with the hands of many.
I am not alone.
Angels in Our Midst Though, oftentimes, these angels are not in the limelight as they should be, I know they find fulfillment in being able to help and contribute.
I take this opportunity to thank them now. Or, as a friend corrected me, to thank Him for giving me these people:
Marlon - my ever energetic, walay libog, incoming VP for Administration. Despite his very, very busy schedule handling the organization of pharmacists, working both as a pharmacist and a professor, without a day off in a week, he finds time to make calls to some officers and members, to coordinate and to attend meetings;
Irish - my gorgeous, sexy, superwoman of a VP (for Operations; incoming). Despite her being a "single mom" to two kids and a newly born baby now (her husband is working in Malaysia) and a full-time executive of an automotive company, she finds opportunities to contribute, whether to change day-off schedules to attend a coordination meeting or to convince her tough-*ss boss to sponsor one of our projects, or even to simply apologize if she can't attend a meeting because her kid is sick. What an amazing, beautiful, woman.
Rose - she loves this chapter enough to make sure di kami mapahiya kahit papano. Kung pwede lang nyang bayaran lahat lahat ng kailangan namin, gagawin niya. Pero 'di naman process-oriented kasi, yun, eh. Cookie - my blooming and confident yet unassuming incoming SG. She juggles excuses to get out of work and manages her time so she can coordinate with several people on the project she chairs and uses up her scarce resources for taxi rides, expensive lunch (because there's no other less expensive alternatives nearby a meeting area), and lots of load just so that she can get things done. She misses her gym time from time to time too (one which she invested a lot of money for) just so that she could attend a meeting. Sagdi lang, Cooks, I bet you, JCI will help you slim down, though gorgeous naman ka karon especially with that glow of yours.
Iris - my cool, beautiful, self-assured incoming Treasurer. Despite her seeming meekness and coolness, she can be one h*ll of a tiger when she asks for dues payments. Still polite, though. Which is part of her charm. There is that assertiveness in her that you just can't say no to. And she looooooooovvvvvvvvvessss the same advocacy that I do: our Read to Lead program. I never hesitated handing that to her. I know the program is in good hands.
Eric - though busy with his business, he took a drive back on a long ride midway to his meeting just to spend a few moments with us during a meeting to put in that very important signature of his on a very important document. That alone touched me. (This will be long. I'm feeling grateful today. Don't STOP me. I will continue. Walay magbuot kay ako ning column. But I will try to keep this short na.)
Joni - our amazing discovery. Our incoming PRO and IDC. She heeded the call of Sen. Gordon and is the first to pay the dues in FULL! Lupigan ko! and she does what she does without fanfare. And she attends meetings despite being drained out of her energy from work. She does not care if she's sleepy, she attends! (I could learn a lot from her).
Sandra - oh, another amazing discovery and obviously quite a leader too. Only less than two months since she started and still an aspirant, but, WHOA, she has been quite a helpful assistant both to Irish and Cookie, attending meetings even if she has not slept a wink yet.
Titen - another amazing Juanita. Intelligent, witty, pretty and hardworking. We had an opportunity to work with her for a project (outside JCI) last April and got awed by her work ethics. And she has not lost her touch ever since.
Lynnie - oh, I love Lynnie. She sprinkles her wisdom unobtrusively. Soft-spoken and unassuming, yet deep and so insightful, she need not shout her ideas to be heard. And a sensitive soul too. She intuitively knows where to place herself and how best to help and when to say her thoughts best. I would say this is one wise gal.
Rio - my angel and old friend from high school. He always has a good heart. Despite being a very busy surgeon and a head resident of one of the hospitals in the city, he still finds ways to contribute in one way or another. And he shows it primarily by sneaking out between surgeries to attend meetings, sign documents or to do a task for a project.
Ryan - incoming BDC, Dude Ryan. You should hear him speak about the things he's passionate about in this chapter. Feeling nimo makig-away na. Shows you how much he has grown to love our projects. Many of our proposed innovations were sparked by this suave guy.
Marge - our incoming 3MC. Feisty, confident, smart and loves kids. She lights up with every youth-related project we share with her. And though she feels she belongs more with another chapter, she, ultimately, decided, ours is where she should stay. You just don't know how relieved I was when you took that Omni project, Dai.
JeffJohn - Could you imagine how a brooding, gorgeous young man who used to tail one of our aspirants (he was "courting" her, then....uhm, we think) would be this active even after that pretty girl he used to simply accompany decided to go inactive? Still amazes me. And he does his tasks, quietly, unassumingly and without any hand-wringing in the process. MaiMai - My greatly misunderstood gorgeous friend. Her organizing skills are amazing. Her feistiness is legendary. One mean tactician and a multi-awarded trainer. But I love her best for keeping me sane by making me feel that I am not as crazy as I think. Jolex - He does not say much. But his tiniest bit of concern via his text message or email response shows that if he had no major tasks to do for his company, he would be more available. His greatest contribution to my sanity is by being an example of ultimate coolness and mild-manneredness. Cerwin - Despite facing a lot of personal challenges, he's there when I call, whether it be a soft-spoken parayg or a shrill shout for help. A great facilitator. He does not impose his wants but helps me sort out my thoughts too. My Big Bear of a Papa Ce. Also greatly misunderstood, but as they often say, genius usually is. Gelo - My husband is funny. He tries hard not to interfere with my decisions and my leadership and management style. He lets me be but I could sense he wants to barge in from time to time and "rescue" me. He wants to be my hero but he also wants me to create my own music. His restraint is amusing. The only thing he can best do as of this point to show he cares but that he also respects my position is to make me coffee when I have to be up after only three hours of sleep. And, of course, the perpetual designer and my cash flow savior. :) "Little" Contributions Make a Difference
You see, every contribution helps. No matter how little it is.
There is this one little story that I, so, love to share to highlight the importance of "little" contributions. I first heard of it when I was in college. And it never left my heart ever since.
The story goes:
A young adult was enjoying the beach when he noticed an old man walking along the long stretch of sand. Every few feet or so, the old man would pick something from the shore and throw it back to the sea.
The young man was curious.
He went to the old man to see what he was doing.
It was, then, he noticed that the old man was picking up star fishes and throwing them back to the sea. Curious as to why, he asked the old man what's he's doing and why.
The old man said, "I'm throwing back the star fishes back to the sea so they won't die here."
The young lad laugh and mockingly said, "my goodness, old man, there are so many starfishes on this beach front. And there are so many beaches in the world. Why would you think you can make a difference."
The old man still continued to pick another starfish. He threw it to the sea and said
"It made a difference to that one"
Point of the story is, no matter how little our contribution is relative to the sheer size of the task at hand, IT MATTERS.
So, my dear A., don't ever apologize for having only 1 hour in the middle of the night for JCI. If attending meetings are difficult and project involvement is unsure, you can always use that 1 hour of computer time for creating proposals and reports. That is already BIG on my book.
Ask, Offer
I was in near tears during that "miserable" BOD meeting. I had an "aha" moment and realized how stupid I was. A member disclosed that she feels "useless" coz when a project is presented, she does not know how she could help nor does she feel needed. We have members feeling useless! And here we are wearing ourselves thin with the complications we entered into this month when in fact there are some who also want to have a greater part of those activities. I almost smacked my head on the wall over the realization! We have project chairpersons thinking our members are too busy to help. We have members who think that we already have everything in place and would not need them anymore. Pastilan. Storya nya ta pirmi ha para dili ta mangabuang sa atong pag-ka assuming. Sus, we only need to make a habit of asking for help and offering a task. Members only need to make it a habit to ask what's needed and to offer whatever small contribution they can provide.
Life is amusing. Kataw-an na lang nako.
MY DEARS, let's not make that mistake again.
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