By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
This is usually the time to appraise how the year went. For businesses they look at the bottom line. For us whose businesses are just monkey business, we look at the health of our families and the result of whatever that kept us busy the past 12 months.
Others in business who had finally bitten the bullet and said enough is enough of being employed, I am starting on my own, being my own boss. The first Christmas after that decision could have been a bleak one—after so much hard work in the months before that.
But then again there is that promise of being gainfully liberated from employment. So while that first Christmas might not have been monetarily bountiful, there was hope. And it is that that is worth recalling many “Christmases” after.
In our case it was 24 years ago when the idea of putting up this publication was decided once and for all. First was that discussion about it at the lobby of the Millenium Plaza along Makati Ave. in Makati City, over cups of coffee after dinner. It was a few days before Chirstmas. Everything was said in jest. A day or two after that, we were in Baguio and on the eve of Christmas was a meeting at John Hay where the decision was sealed. It was just the decision having been etched on stone. No plans, no money, no nothing.
Yet there was that hope . The chill, the cloud that late afternoon were memorable, accentuated by the melody in the background….. “chest nuts roasting in an open fire…..” The first issue would come out on the first Sunday after the coming New Year which was a few days away. While we felt good that time, everything was a monumental struggle as we muddled from issue to issue.
Every Christmas thereafter was gloomy for me. Saddled with Himalayan obligations, brooding was my mood every yuletide season. But the determination to see this paper through never faltered, even after decades. Gloomy Christmas after gloomy Christmas, we have finally reached this point.
Back then, it would have been almost impossible to relax at a hotel lobby sipping coffee or cappuccino or anything else. I would have been very tense this time of year and could hardly afford some snacks in a hotel.
Now, I am encoding this article in a hotel lobby with my teenage son and his cousin munching on some fries after devouring huge servings of banana split.
Looking back at those gloomy Christmases, I am still glad I made the plunge to put up this newspaper.
My cup of tea however might not fit you. Don’t dive into a sea of uncertainty unless you are very sure about yourself. That you will survive to have the last laugh.
If you are wired not to take big risks, suicidal risks, then forget it. Be secure where you are right now. Why gamble with the future of your family when you can sail them through safely into the future by not taking stupid risks.
For those however who had taken the plunge years ago, am sure they recall with happiness that first Christmas after making that momentous decision.
The ultimate return is not financial in nature but having survived and learned a lot from facing challenges after challenges. It is the spiritual maturity that resulted. This also assures being able to produce one’s family needs, but not the greed of the members.
And this was exemplified by Jesus Christ who was born in a barn, and not in a five star hotel or hospital.**
