Opening the Floodgates of Hope

Monday, 24 October 2011 08:14

Written by Ma. Gladys Sta. Rita

Writing an inspirational talk at the sight of utter devastation is never an easy task.

Few days ago, I was invited by the Philippine National Oil Corporation, to tee up their Monday morning program. I was asked to inspire and motivate the PNOC workforce with something from my book Running A Bureaucracy. That should be easy, I assured myself. Until the wind and rain came pouring on Thursday.

As I was writing the piece, tens of thousands of my kababayan, the people of the Province of Bulacan, were in the midst of the biggest, most devastating flood in recent history. The residents of my hometown Calumpit, found themselves deep in dangerous, rising waters, early Friday morning. They continue to be inundated up until today; the mud and flood stubbornly refusing to subside. Inspiration, the motive spirit to say something uplifting is never more elusive than during these dire times.

But then, each of us has survived the worst tragedies in our lives. We rise again, stronger and wiser, each time. We see tragedies as valuable lessons in survival, hope, and commitment to the mission of sharing what we learned to those who have yet to come face-to-face with the trials that go with life and living.

This is what had driven me in 2008 to create my first book, Running A Bureaucracy. I wanted to share what I learned to those who will come after me. The book is not merely an academic take on the lessons of government leadership and service. It is a practical compilation of my personal and professional experience as Bulacan’s youngest and longest serving provincial administrator, for 17 years.

I was in my mid 20s when I first became a Department Head. It was quite a feat to have even survived the scoff of naysayers eyeing the post, who had every reason to wish I would fail. I realized early on that it takes more than academic excellence to make it in government. It takes guts, grit, and a lot of prayers to make it to the top of a highly-competitive bureaucracy. The lessons I learned from the climb, I shared in my book. And finally mustering the will to write my talk, I gave my PNOC audience two of the most important lessons I wrote in my book.

Lesson Number 1 is about why the public sees those in government as insensitive, spoiled brats, and incapable of understanding their plight. Somehow, in the course of our day-to-day routine of waking up, going to work, doing what is expected of us and going home at the end of a day that seem to be longer than yesterday, the “service” fatigue sets in. Before we know it, we don’t look forward to going to work anymore. We literally drag our feet to get to work. And this fatigue is reflected in the way we relate to others, especially to those who are the very reason why we are in public service—the public.

St.Teresa of Calcutta said that “It is not the magnitude of our actions, but the amount of love that we put into them, that matters”.

There is no coincidence in life. Only serendipity. It was no accident that I quoted St. Teresa of Calcutta, whose message was used as an introduction to the chapter on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of my book, in my PNOC talk. It was, in fact, the perfect timing, when the nation was facing the trials wrought by nature; typhoons and rising flood waters.

What better time to talk about service that genuinely cares for people, and commitment that goes beyond relief goods, medicine, and food. People, after all, do not only need saving. They need to be rescued from their notion that government does not really care for their welfare.

What makes a job worth all the sweat and pressure? I used to tell my people to “put a face” on the volume of paperwork they handle everyday. I say, the documents you hold could be the tuition fee of the utility worker’s child. That thick wad of paper could hold the only solution to avert an impending energy crisis. This is the real “face value” of public service that, at the end of the day, matters most—its impact on people’s lives.

Lesson number 2 is about FEELING and THINKING RIGHT; that anyone can choose to be happy or sad. Anybody can choose to be negative or positive. You can choose to create or disintegrate. It’s all a matter of choice.

The Book of Proverbs of the Bible exalted the value of “thinking and feeling right” and warned each one of us to “Beware of what you think; Your life is shaped by your thoughts.” As we think and feel, we create life, one thought, one feeling at a time.

I have come to believe that the future of our government and our country rests on the kind of collective mindset and psyche that we share. After all the talks of global crises and doom, we are challenged to keep the faith, that the opportunity to rise above all these remains to be our conscious choice. It starts with you. It starts with me. But with the grace of God.

And when we begin to think and feel the hope, the love, and the abundance, even if it’s not there yet, we invoke the most powerful force, that God said, could move mountains—FAITH. Faith that conquers the impossible and opens up for us the floodgates of blessings and hope. Faith that creates everything that is good, true and beneficial. One thought, one idea, and one joyful feeling at a time.

I echoed this message in Running A Bureaucracy, at the PNOC, and to all I have come and will come to meet. I am sending it to you now, as I urge you to embrace its certainty with a smile: THERE IS HOPE FOR THE BUREAUCRACY. IT CAN BE DONE.

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