Philippians in Iberia

Grace, her friend Nino and I watched a Spanish film last Saturday. La Torre De Suso. Suso is the absentee bida (so technically he’s not the bida). We weren’t able to see Suso in the whole movie since he had died of drug overdose. But before he died, he left some weird drawings on his bedroom wall. There were a lot of sketches of what looks to me like power lines. Most of his family and friends thought the drawings, were just a junkie’s last-minute ruminations. Suso's best friend Cundo, who turned out to be the bida sa pelikula, thought there was a hidden message in the drawings. And he was right about the message, according to Suso’s confidant (I forgot the girl’s name) during his last days. It was revealed that there was a hidden message, Suso wanted his friends to build a 7-m tower so that they can see things from above.

Now, seeing things from above…. What does it mean to see things from above? This made me think of the dying man’s wish.

Maybe we always have this normal perspective of things, in our case only at eye-level. We always see things in a way we’re used to. But come to think of it, maybe we just have to change our perspective. See things from a different perspective.

Maybe what Suso had in mind is to allow his friends to see their surroundings in a different light. See things from above….. if we are so used to our own myopic perspective on our current situation. Like when we sometimes feel so discontented with our current situations (eye-level lang siguro) and we fail to see the many blessings that we have. We should start seeing things from above….

That trail of thought reminded me of a scene I saw in Luneta last week. While my sister and I were strolling around Luneta, we saw a father and his daughter eating on a bench. Based on the stuff they have with them, they seem to living on the streets. They were eating rice and their viand out of plastic bags. Even their water was placed in a small plastic bag. It was probably their first meal of the day (at 3pm!). What struck me in this scene was the disposition of the father and daughter (not the environmental impact of plastic bag use). They were eating heartily and with a big smile on his face, the father invited me and my sister to eat. A big smile of contentment in a seemingly hapless situation….. And I compare that smile on my not-so-jolly disposition on very trivial matters. So when I sometimes feel dissatisfied, I remember Paul’s words in Philippians 4:11, I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Whatever the circumstances... That is pretty difficult but that for me is seeing things from above…..