The Brother President delivered this message last August 13, 2011 to welcome over 200 delegates of the Philippine Drowning Prevention Congress held at the Debbie Decena Auditorium.
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Distinguished guests, honorable government officials, officers and members of the Philippine Drowning Prevention Council, delegates of this Congress, members of the media, a warm welcome to all you from the school community of De La Salle Santiago Zobel. It is an honor for us as a school to be chosen as the site of this Congress.
I used to do Scuba Diving some years ago but I stopped due to my present responsibilities. Everytime I would dive, I still could not let go of the fear of the deep even though one of my favorite movies, as an educator of young people, is Finding Nemo.
Deep waters can play tricks in your head. The dark waters below can grip you with frightening images of fearsome sharks, venomous coral snakes, sharp edged hard corals, and of course drowning due to the loss of tank air or the bends.
Since most of this is in the head, in the words of the fish named Dory in the same animated movie, I just say to myself: “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!” By the time the fun dive is over, you realize that there was really nothing to fear about. It’s all in the mind, we are all told.
Today, you gather here for a Congress with a noble cause in mind. You will be asking yourselves later about how passionate you are for this advocacy. Yet, nothing really will happen if your passion for this cause isn’t on fire.
There is this little known short story to help you see what I mean. A monk and his student was walking by the river when the young student asked his master this question: “How do I become enlightened? What must I do?” The monk, without warning, just grabbed the student and brought him to the deeper part of the river where the monk pushed down and totally submerged the student.
The monk continued holding the students head under the water and soon after the student was wildly trying to bring his head out of the water, to no avail. The student kept on trying to extricate himself from the situation but the monk was strong. When it came to the point that the monk thought that the student was on the verge of drowning, he released his student from his grasp. The student took several huge gulps of air upon surfacing.
The student then angrily asked the monk. “Why did you do that?”
The monk replied by asking “What were you frantically looking for when I held you underwater?”
The student answered: “Air! I said to myself, ‘Give me air!'”
The wise monk then left him with this message: “If you desire enlightenment with the same intensity as you desired for air, then you will be able to achieve it.”
The achievement of your goals today depend largely on your own desire to accomplish them, your passion to reach them. With God at your side to help you and your strong desire, no water is so deep, no shark so fearsome, no coral snake so venomous, no hard corals so sharp, that will hamper you in attaining your goals today and in the future.
Have a very successful and meaningful Congress to all.
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Major Activities of the President’s Office
Monday-Tuesday, August 15-16
– Chaired a PAASCU visit to a school in Batangas City
Wednesday, August 17
– Took Part in the Growth in Organizational Leadership and Development (GOLD) Continuing Education Session for Distinguished Lasallian Leaders
Thursday, August 18
– Joined the Study Program for International Students Community in bidding farewell to students from Brintone Academy of South Korea
– Met with Mr Rey Romero on the iPad Rollout Program
Friday, August 19
– Discussed some updates on the art collection with school part-time museum curator Ja Cabato
– Met with members of the Executive Finance Committee in preparation for the September Board of Trustees meeting
– Watched the Br Rafe Donato Night High School students perform in the Arts Galore program
– Visited the GOLD Season 2 overnight workshop