Reclaiming Back the Childhood Innocence*

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Reclaiming Back the Childhood Innocence*

Pit, Senyor, Senyor, Senyor!

Someone asked me what's the meaning of " Pit Senyor! "

the famous phrase you hear during Sinulog, a mardi gras in Cebu.

So it's a shortcut of an Asian phrase " sangpit sa Senyor " ...

PIT - could mean Prayer, Intention, and Trust to the Lord.

One good thing about those celebrations is;

you can express your faith in simple ways,

like just by attending the processions,

fluvial parades, the nine days mass...

Faith sometimes can't be explained by logic...

the Buddhist has a term for it " KOAN "

which could mean a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle

that has no solution, to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning...

so next time I’m being asked by others why we do such and such…

my answer would be “it is KOAN.”

Or I would just tell the inquisitor that

I am not obliged to explain to him why they do this and that,

Isn't everyone longs for a celebration?

You don't have to go to the world cup

or watch an Olympic game

to have a taste of the pleasures of life.

A simple street party at home can give you a physical and spiritual boost

and that's how simple happiness can be.

Happiness doesn't need to be always grand,

Doesn’t need to be magnanimous and expensive.

Like a little child who can enjoy almost anything as his toys,

from a simple sling shot, a stone,

marbles or a tin can

we can still be happy in some simple celebration in life.

But as we get older, we forgot on how to be happy,

we thought that happiness is going to other places...

Watch the Asian Cup in Doha

and also we don't know now how to pray.

During childhood, our prayer is as simple and as fulfilling

as " Angel of God, my guardian dear,

to whom God's love entrusts me here....

or a Thank You.

But as we get older, our prayers actually are not sincere prayers

but it is always asking.... ,

asking for more wealth

which could be a form of selfishness...

So we can learn from the simple mardi gras celebration

that a child like faith can make us happy in life

and there is no need to ask others again

as to why they dance on the street

~Champs Ulysses Cabinatan

* in honor of the mardi gras celebration for the Child Jesus,

celebrated few weeks after Christmas