ON BEING HUMAN

Reflections & thoughts on the first ROL of CCI-Bohol

No matter how strong, happy and equipped we all are the need for people to be listened to is very great. It is no question of inadequacy or weakness the people that I was with last Sunday was attracted to the thought of sharing without fear or prejudice.

We were only seven- a good lucky mix of seven people coming from different backgrounds and struggles who are regularly evaluating relevance of their involvement in life. Most of us can trace our background with the Youth Ministry. One was just affiliated to it due to his attraction in the critical review of life.

The longing

Evident in the sharing was the longing of the participants to be coherent in their faith. This includes integrating faith in decision-making and in understanding people in the workplace. How to bring the person of Christ even to the ‘unlovable’? How to put color in such a drab routine of filling out reports and forms to colleagues who are fault finders?

Common for most of us was the struggle to adjust to the work environment. Most did not totally adapt the given culture but instead tried to influence it. “It was pure hard work” said one. The investment that you place in something intangible may be heartbreaking at times.

However, the need to recreate spaces of dialogue, joy and a culture-seeking fulfillment prevailed.

The struggle

Amazingly we were not alone in the struggle. We found people in the workplace sharing the same sentiments. These are the people that we turn to in times of conflict. These are also our main sphere of influence.

The struggle was not only confined in the issue of competence, commitment and capacity. It was more on the struggle of adjusting to different attitudes and behaviors. What was proven helpful was the training of the Review of Life. Seeing the reality as it is allows one to be more open and accepting. This is a key element towards tolerance.

We found out that domestic issues are sometimes very demanding and difficult to overcome. It is very important to grow together in consciousness as a family. If not, conflicts would surely arise. We grew up with so much cultural conditioning. If we don’t have common understanding at looking at issues (e.g. gender, the economy, politics, success, etc) then we are bound to a precarious situation.

How to explain to children about faith? What is a ‘liberal Christian’? What is the meaning of going to church? How is my relationship to the institutional church? How is this understood by our life partners and our children?

Strikingly, being a youth leader in the church was a major consideration for choices in life partners. People expected us to be more pious and to remain active in the daily works in the parish. Some of us detached ourselves from this involvement… The partners were the first ones to ask WHY and what went wrong?

The commitment to eradicate corruption

We committed to eradicate corruption in the workplace. Jokingly a question was asked on whether or not we are staring at the same corruption. Is facebooking a form of corruption when done in the workplace? How can we draw our strength to remain faithful to our job for eight-hours?

This can be a point of more Reviews…

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The next ROL for CCI-Bohol is 15TH October 2010. CCI stands for Cardijn Community International