I was upbeat the other day but the next day was bad for me. Still, knowing how important a family reunion was, I went to a lunch get- together for our extended family. It was great to meet with long unseen relatives on my mother side from far and wide. Like any other Filipino family, ours has relatives spread out all over the world.
There are, of course, always differences among relations but underlying all these is a commonality called family energy. As they say, why concentrate on differences when it is better to focus on good similarities that should be strengthened?
The family energy comes to fore whenever such a meeting happens. Rare is the chance when long buried quarrels are dug up resulting in shouting matches or even fisticuffs when alcohol gets in the way. More so if the differences resulted from property or in heritance issues. Sadly, when they do, such are the most difficult to solve or to settle.
For the younger generation, family is the place to start chasing after lofty dreams. For usually, connections are the best where to start the quest. And where to best begin building an extensive network than in your clan. Other connections can be established later in life, but your own backyard is still the best launch pad.
So the next time you are called to a reunion, go and exert effort to bring the kids along. Their international connections can start from there. For, indeed, the world has even become a lot smaller. **