This is not a story. Or something profound like a poem. Still there is a need to post this. An Eyeball of doctors and for doctors held last September in Serendra somewhere in the Fort. Don't ask how I got there, I was just dragged there by megamom.

So I was just there sipping tea with megamom who, I have to add was so nice since she virtually sponsored our eyeball courtesy of Abbot of course, when I realized I was actually doing something good for the community, albeit it is an online community.

You see when I first started this blog, it was suppose to be only for my dark cherub. For her to realize how much she meant to me. How I was willing to give my life, my entire existence for her. Unfortunately, she never saw that. And I finally realized she will never see that. So instead, I wrote about about my other addictions hoping that others may understand what I went through. Hoping that others may understand that in the end, love is no more than an addiction.

But it was fascinating that I also met interesting people. Through my search for meaning and touch, I met doctors who write and see medicine more than what it is.

Like the seafarers of old who see beyond the horizon.

And in a way I am grateful that my personal essays, addictions, and insecurities can actually be a bridge to meeting these extraordinary people.

It was pure nonchalance when Dr. Primy Chua invited me to join the Gusi Peace Prize last November 24 at the Meralco Theatre. Naturally I said yes. Feeling close with the powers that be has its quirks afterall.
So I went and I was even more fascinated with the people I met. The Gusi Peace Prize is a foundation which seeks to give honor to distinguished individuals with exemplary contributions to peace, human rights, medicine, and the performing arts. It sounds very much like the Nobel Peace Prize or the Ramon Magsaysay award and you're probably right it is pretty much the same.
Ambassadors and famous personalities abound the place and I was honored that I had the opportunity to talk with one of the laurels for Medicine Dr. Harold Lindsay Thompson of Australia.

And what I witnessed was beyond me.

For they were ordinary people who simply believed in our common humanity. And in the end, I understood that it was not the titles even though they were foreign ministers, diplomats and presidents, rather it was the kindness that was more important for them.

The kindness in the face of HIV, Malaria, Poverty and Social Injustice. The kindness in the face of all aridity and disenchantment.

Something that I know will take me a lifetime to understand.

It was suppose to be a simple medical mission - we were just to examine the patients, give the medicines and leave the place. Fate however had other plans for us.

While going to a medical mission last November 22 for the Aetas in Bataan, our front wheel exploded. Literally dragging us to the side of the road. Although no one was hurt, we were all shaken. But what was interesting was that the ambulance we were managed to stop directly in front of a vulcanizing shop with a small eatery.


So we stopped by the eatery, had sarsi and hansel biscuit to pass time. We talked, all of us and shared what was an epiphany of stories. And one by one our wall shattered, and in that brief moment, 5 complete strangers became so much more than friends.

It will have to be reserved for now. The story will have to be shared in another time. Perhaps for my grandchildren or when I become too old, too cynical to believe in fate or in love.

Rest assured that I will keep with me the memories of those 5 strangers, those curly haired children, and those voices who never give up in the belief that there is still hope for the Filipino people.

I may never understand life the way my professors taught it, but maybe, just maybe it is the pit stops, the journey that makes it all worth the while.