thought book essay - 2

Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world?

-question to Sophie Amundsen by Alberto Knox [Sophie's World]

The memory never fades of me building mighty and towering towers. Building blocks are my favorite piece of toy in my childhood days. The feeling was overwhelming. I was amazed in the magic of these toys. This is the magic of building great things through the interlocking blocks. What amazed me most is the thought of shaping the blocks to fit my vision of a great building, the thought of influencing things to create something great, something good. Toys do have an effect on our mind that somehow evolves as we grow. As a child, we see it plainly as a play thing, as an adult, we can see it as the external things that “in a way” formed our view and response to the world. I am sure Lego did it to me. Now, I am instilled with that notion of being an instrument. I am a repairman of a collapsing or decaying tower using its existing blocks to strengthen its foundation, a builder of something good, something beautiful. Humanity has always been like this. A builder building great feats, great marks of civilization but he himself has the tendency of destroying it all to oblivion.

The world is a colorful bucket of building blocks so let us use its interlocking characteristic and build something great, something beautiful, and something good with the help of our creative mind and our loving heart.

thought book essay - 1

The Ship of Possibilities

A ship full of souls sails into a vast ocean man by a committed crew and captain towards the horizon, towards uncertainty. This image telescopes how I see student organizations. A sailing ship bound somewhere, but in this case for something - something greater. In my history bank, a galleon ship perfectly emblematizes this. The ship is guided by dedicated men bearing the pride and glory of their name and motherland and these men stand as a conquistador/captain ready to conquer the mighty challenges of the new world and heroic priests delivering a new faith of love to natives; these are the souls who faithfully and courageously man the galleon traveling years into an ocean of uncertainty but hopes in a vision of hitting dry and fertile land to call their own.

Student organizations are ships of this sort. Students called upon in the name of service for God and others, leading a sophisticated and structured organization into an uncertain future but guided by an inspiring and promising vision. In the other hand, a galleon filled with heroic souls but with no vision is the same as a paper boat in its endless trip in a stream. A galleon with a noble vision but no brave soul to follow it is of the same sort. How can a galleon be legendary in that case? Simple, it becomes a testament of heroism through its journey. The journey molds heroic people, heroic people chisel noble visions. The galleon guided by the wind of God’s breath and the sail of man honing that wind travels vast distances safely. The interplay of these two creates that journey, that vast distance ready to test the crew for the greater challenge of hitting dry land. Like the student organizations, they implement directions (programs and projects) with a long-term eye much like the crew manipulating the direction for their sails to harness the wind. The journey is made fuller through faith and action-the correct alignment of the sail to the wind, and the great distance made shorter through vision. After a school year of sailing, the galleon finally hits dry land. A land filled with endless possibilities and countless obstacles. For the heroic crew who had just faced unfathomable challenges in the ocean, they know that it is only the mean that had been satisfied. The end is still very far from the horizon. The story of the conquistador, crew and priests has just begun.

God loves you!

The 7th session with the Republika’s Consul On
"Personal Brand"

Ton: after 47 years Consul, hello! Daghan lng gyud trabaho. School life is intensifying now a-days. Finals na baya. Been dancing, studying, accounting, debating, praying, partying. . . wow! Bottom line, the activities had brought to mind this term consul: “Personal Brand” because it deals with the interplay between the self and the experiences. The same with a product brand, we have this “personal brand” which is distinct in every human person carved by his or her personality, skills, interests, experiences, principles. So consul, how can we carve and develop our personal brand? How could I say this is distinctly “tontonnerish” or “whoeverish”.

Consul: Hahahahaha! A unique topic young one and a delicate one for that matter. Your personal brand is a firm impression or image that comes to mind when people think of you. Thus, it is with great and utter importance to take care and nurture this so called “brand”.

Ton: Ohhh! How could I create and nurture a personal brand?

Why me?

Consul: Simple young one! Start with the mind and heart, the rest will follow. Having a personal brand is all about having first the belief and love in yourself. If you accomplish this, it is easy for you to create that so-called “personal brand”.

Ton: Oh…so confidence and love gyud ang pinaka fundamental. So if have a strong sense of this already then what?

Consul: Then you could play with things. You can now conquer knowledge and relish it, build relationships and accomplish heroic deeds. BUT young one, all must be bonded with a principle that serves the very core of all of this. Yours young one is of that of the Atenean. The very core of that identity that radiates in multi-colors.

Ton: Ya! Come to think that I’ve been is XU since nursery! Radiates in multi colors? What do you mean consul?

Consul: An atenean way of living young one. God as the hub and source of everything you do serves as the lunching pad of plenty of wonderful things. These wonderful things are colorful and heroic. Just give it a ton of Magis and it will surly explode! That is a personal brand, a harmonious mix of principle, love and deeds that will surely create a unique mark to each who nurtures it.

Ton: Thank You Consul! You again gave me a new perception about personal brand ha that is out of the conventional “corporate” notion of it. It is simply living out the principle with love and magis and the “brand” will simply follow.

God loves you!