From Juan Tamad to Juan TAMA
I got an email during Christmas break regarding some tips on how to spend the New Year. It was nice to receive such ideas that are quite simple enough for anyone to understand but ironically enough, not that popular in the current lifestyles of Filipinos today. I was wondering about how this could probably be done. How the common man with no access to Internet can understand such an email.
I though if people like us could live out what these tips in our own lives, maybe from there change again could be ignited. I talk and talk again and again about change coming from us because it us indeed us that are capable of making it present in our society right now.
What I believe to be the most important among all of the resolutions listed is the top 10 tips for spiritual renewal. I think that this might be the most effective way to really ignite such change. It is only by inviting the Lord to enter our hearts that we enable His light to shine through to the world and inspire people to live with the other following resolutions to live a better life.
Inspiration and divine presence is what we need, people! And it’s pretty much about time to start. New Year, New Life. Better Life. With better goals in mind, there is no doubt that we could do it. As Geroge Elliot said, "It's never too late to be who you might have been."
THE LIST!!! Quite lengthy but there are a lot of good points here...
DIYES: From Juan Tamad to Juan Tama
Start the year right. (You might want to include some in your New Year's Resolutions. ) Pass it on to people you care about. Make a difference! Shine in 2009 and beyond.
Teodulo P. Gonzales, S.J., Volunteers for Families on Value Formation, Center for Family Ministries
FOR THE NATION
LUPANG HINIRANG: Top 10 Basic Needs of a Nation
Job opportunities (competitive salaries, entrepreneurship)
Family programs (support system for good habits)
Health care (affordable medicine, accessible treatment)
Competent education system (teachers, curriculum, research)
Environment (waste management, sanitation, conservation & preservation)
Peace & order (safe environment, trustworthy law enforcers)
Public transportation (road discipline, systematic mass transport)
Implementation of the law (knowledge of the law, fair & just resolution of cases, equality before the law)
Responsible public information (sense of awareness)
Nationalism & nation building (cultural heritage, patriotism, excellence, ethics)
LINGKOD BAYAN: Top 10 Tips of Citizens to Public Officials
Have the common good above all. Keep in mind that you are a steward of public trust.
Consult your people.
Do your best in all that you do.
Appoint officials based on character and competence.
Be transparent in all your transactions.
Address the community's basic needs (e.g. livelihood, education, health care, security, environment) .
Use public funds responsibly.
Respect your superiors and colleagues. Continue what is best from the previous administration.
Serve without expecting anything in return.
Leave a good legacy for others to follow.
KAP: Top 10 Tips for Barangay Officials
Allow faith and political integration.
Continue good initiatives of previous administration.
Be transparent in all transactions.
Encourage cooperation for a better caring community.
Make committees work with direct impact.
Be part of the development council.
Have direct services to help families in need.
Involve women in running the community.
Mentor the youth to participate in community.
Be vigilant during elections.
FOR THE FAMILY
FAMILIES FOR THE NATION: Top 10 Tips Families can do for the Country
Integrate faith and life. Make the home a safe place.
Learn from family history.
Strengthen parental leadership.
Honor marital and family covenants.
Prepare people for dignity of work.
Craft One Family, One Dream.
Invest in education and reading.
Start teamwork (or bayanihan) in the home.
Manage conflicts with compassion.
Be a steward of resources. Live simply so that others may simply live.
TILL DEATH DO US PART: Top 10 Relationship Tips
Appreciate and accept your loved ones.
Respect people, even if they do not respect you.
Have couple or family bonding time.
Communicate. Listen.
Develop teamwork in the home.
Pray for your family.
See your loved ones in God's light.
Manage conflict with compassion.
Read to your children before they go to bed.
10.Keep your promises.
SANA: Top 10 Tips from Kids to their Parents
Trust us.
Listen. Do not nag.
Discipline with love.
Allow us to be who we are.
Appreciate us, even if we are not perfect.
Do not humiliate us in front of others, esp. friends.
Guide us without suffocating us.
Respect our choice of friends. Get to know them.
Be with us as we grow.
Love us unconditionally.
PAYO: Top 10 Tips from Parents to their Kids
"We will take care of you."
Finish school and study well.
Be healthy. Eat and drink with moderation.
Have good friends.
Enjoy sports.
Rest and sleep well.
Respect parents and teachers.
Be open to your parents and siblings.
Be a blessing to others.
Handle trouble with care.
Be a steward of resources.
ESKWELA: Top 10 Tips for Students
Do your best and offer everything to God.
Have a clean, well-lit place to study.
Communicate your study needs to your family.
Focus. Manage your time wisely.
Summarize your notes from lectures and books.
Ask questions. Be critical.
Have a habit of reading. Learn how to use the library.
Study with your peers.
Practice, perseverance & patience.
Evaluate your goals regularly.
IBON: Top 10 Tips for OFW Families
Maintain commitment and fidelity.
Communicate: cellphone, email, text, chat, Magic Jack, YM or Skype.
Have family activities during home visits.
Keep faith alive. Pray the rosary. Read the Bible.
Educate family for stewardship, simplicity, and sharing.
Live within or below your means. Practice moderation.
Have support groups: Marriage Encounter, Couples for Christ, Buklod ng Panginoon, Focolare, Neo-catechumenate.
Get involve with church activities: masses, prayer groups.
Save for the future. Invest in housing, land or other source of business.
Plan well. Working abroad may be a temporary stage.
FOR THE SELF
WATER INTO WINE: Top 10 Tips for Spiritual Renewal
Seek God, the first, the ultimate and the highest of the goods.
Trust in the Good News. God brings new life.
Take up your cross. Life is difficult. Find the middle way.
Be silent and listen to the voice within.
Read the Bible. Seek our story in the story of God revealed in history.
Surrender everything to the Lord.
Follow the law of love: Love God above all and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Know Jesus more intimately.
See God in the poor and in your enemy.
Seek constant renewal.
HEALTH IS WEALTH: Top 10 Health Tips
"Health is your most valuable asset."
Acknowledge how you are affected in life and express it prudently.
Be aware of your body.
Sleep well. Exercise regularly.
Eat and drink with moderation.
Have a regular medical and dental check-up.
Develop good relationships with your family and friends.
Seek wisdom, not just intelligence.
Leave a worthy legacy. Make a difference in someone's life. Invest in books or fund libraries.
Spend wisely. Do not spend beyond your means.
Be right with God or your Higher power.
JUST IN TIME: Top 10 Tips on Time Management
You can just let time pass or you can see God passing by.
You can waste time or you can be a steward of time.
You can serve time in jail or master time in serving.
Focus on activities that will bear fruit.
You can waste time with people who matter to you.
Know when you have reached your limits.
Take time for meaningful work but know when it is rest time.
Short term is linked with long term.
There is a time to plant and a time to reap. Know when to wait.
Learn from the passing of time. Your history is not your destiny.
FROM DEBT TO LIFE: Top 10 Financial Tips
Spend wisely.
Record your expenses.
Save everyday.
Live within or below your your means.
Do not take what belongs to the future.
Cut, save and invest in.
Pay your debts on time. Lessen debt, if possible.
Educate yourself on money matters.
Plot your short-term and long-term financial goals.
Re-invest your earnings into something that will generate more income.
FOR OTHERS
LISTEN: Top 10 Counseling Tips
Listen with the ear of your heart. Reflect what you heard.
Balance self-care and compassion.
Set appropriate boundaries.
Learn the stories behind their expectations.
Ask what really is the ultimate or the common good.
Ask the counselee what one needs to accept, what one needs to change.
Transform blame into claiming responsibility for change and aim for growth.
Recognize and verbalize expectations of needs unmet.
Ask how you were affected, what are the fruits, and how to cooperate.
Learn the traffic of life or the mathematics of life.
PARA SA TAO: Top 10 Tips for Humanitarian Work
Adhere to principles of humanitarianism.
Respect community knowledge and leadership.
Have a listening heart and humility in order to allow personal transformation.
Think out of the box. Be open to new paradigms rooted in community engagement.
Adhere to standards and work ethics.
Be sensitive to culture.
Allow communities to identify and give what they have, to be able to manage the programs themselves.
Respect the value of money or budgets but these are not the reasons for engagement.
Recognize that we are only external facilitators.
Develop personal, face-to-face relationships. Sustain trust.