Witnessing weddings

The first wedding I’ve ever witnessed was that of my kuya, which was almost a decade ago already. Fast forward to today, I’ve been married for almost two years. Mika and I are expecting our baby this March, so fortunately, we were still able to go to the weddings of my friends these past few days (yep, two weddings in one weekend). Buti naisingit pa bago manganak!

There’s something different about witnessing my friends (who feel like my brothers, too) get married. Against the backdrop of the then high school teenage angst and heartbreaks, weddings can feel like sweet endings and exciting new beginnings. Witnessing my blood relatives get married feels like being part of a growing family; witnessing friends get married feels like having adulting partners while letting go of our childish selves. It’s a bittersweet but timely goodbye to our innocence. No regrets, only fond memories and excitement toward a grown-up future.

There’s something fulfilling and comforting in knowing that my friends would end up with amazing partners in life. It’s like having the assurance that your friends-turned-brothers are in good hands.

And as each other’s wingmen, we have done the job, and we can gracefully retire that part of our barkada alter-ego! Haha!

—
Mark 3:31-35. “Who are my mother (and father) and my brothers (and my sisters)?”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-024: JANUARY 24, 2023]

So good they can’t ignore you

When I was going through my own quarter-life crisis, I read three books that shaped my perspective about careers: The Dip by Seth Godin, How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen, and So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport.

What stood out to me about Cal Newport’s book is that it directly challenges the dominant advice of “finding your passion” in one’s career. I’ve heard of some horror stories based on following this well-intentioned advice in the form of the following types of events: (1) serial quitting and stagnating and (2) losing passion for something that a person seemed to love before. The advice of Cal Newport is to focus on one’s skill that one can hone and one can even potentially learn to love.

For some people, that skillset overlaps with passion; but for some people, that skillset may not necessarily be what one is passionate about. For example, some may be bored by research but they have the capacity to understand technical concepts. No passion, but with skillset.

Maybe the insight is that embracing one’s talent, dare I say “light”, is not always a honeymoon experience. But there’s something powerful about the analogy of the light and a person’s skillset – we cannot help but notice light in the same way that we cannot help but notice exceptional performance.

Light can be warm, but it can also burn. To flourish is to discover our inner light and manage it such that our light makes us remarkable rather than our light burning us out.

Matthew 4:12-23. …the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light…

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-022: JANUARY 22, 2023]

To lead is to accompany

As more and more people have access to media and various communication channels, we realize that leaders at the top do not necessarily hold all the power anymore.

Although I am not in favor of cancel culture, this phenomenon reveals how people, in general, are discovering that we have the power to put down leaders and influencers.

Maybe the most appropriate kind of leadership in today’s context is a leader who accompanies rather than a leader who dictates. “Leading with” rather than “leading at the top”.

This is a very tricky dance because such leaders cannot afford to be distant, yet they should be able to see far enough, conjure a vision, and inspire a team.

How can we develop future business leaders who are of this kind?

Mark 3:13-19. “… that they might be with him and he might send them forth…”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-020: JANUARY 20, 2023]

If no good deed goes unpunished, should we stop doing good?

It is such a tragedy to think that the world can sometimes be so harsh. A jungle-like “survival of the fittest” paradigm is one thing. However, what’s worse is when the world can be so evil that it punishes good deeds.

Thus, I find so much meaning and beauty in doing good for its own sake and not for an expected reward. Maybe we can have faith that there is a reward, but expectations can ruin an otherwise virtuous cycle of good.

This is why we are called to be as wise as serpents yet as innocent as doves.

And if we frame this as a challenge, isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that flow-inducing? When an artist is one with the craft and an athlete one with the sport, isn’t this the most fulfilling experience?

When the person is one with the good deed, isn’t this an example of humanity in its most authentic and fullest?

Mark 3:1-6. “They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-018: JANUARY 18, 2023]

Quick meta-reflection on AI-assisted writing: I tried using ChatGPT again, but I was not satisfied with its outputs. It gave useful analogies and ideas, but it felt like a listicle and generic. I had a pointed idea to reflect on the saying “no good deed goes unpunished”, and I felt that writing this reflection mostly from scratch helped me articulate my insights through my “voice”. For what it’s worth, using ChatGPT this time strengthened my conviction about an angle I wanted to build on by making me realize the angles I did not want to include in my reflection.

Fermenting wine and insights

Just as wine needs to undergo fermentation in order to develop its complex flavors and aromas, our minds also need to process and digest new information in order to fully understand and integrate it.

Fermentation is a process that takes time, it’s not something that happens overnight. Similarly, cultivating insights also takes time and effort. We need to be patient, and be willing to let the new information sit and marinate in our minds before we can fully grasp its meaning.

Also, just as wine fermentation requires the right conditions and ingredients, cultivating insights also needs the right environment, such as a conducive atmosphere, the right resources, and the right people to discuss, debate, and learn from.

Are we able to adapt our wineskins such that we can properly ferment our wine of insights?

Mark 2:18-22. New wine is poured into fresh wineskins

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-016: JANUARY 16, 2023]