Epiphany of epiphanies

With the holidays now officially over, Epiphany marks our return to Ordinary Time. I found myself plunged into my own epiphanies as I returned home from a short trip with family abroad. 

The Festival of the Three Kings is the Christian Festival also celebrated among the Assyrians, the Armenians and the Phoenicians. Everywhere it is a Festival connected with a kind of universal baptism - a rebirth from out of the water. ~ Rudolf Steiner

The Adoration of the Magi by Edward Burne Jones, 1904

Epiphany time is about the strong, the knowledgeable, and the wise. Exploring the play among these three powers and how they bring balance. With so much lost to pandemic lockdowns, upheavals, and years uncertainty 2023 was largely expended on recovering from and recouping setbacks. 

Much as the year ended successfully with incredible achievements beyond belief and much to be grateful for - I was ready for a break. It was important to take a step back and regather energies before forging forward into 2024. 

For my own epiphany story, it is important that I reflect on what I stand for and work towards. What potential do I chase after? Where do I apply myself with full commitment? How do I nourish and nurture what sustains and empowers me? 

featured in the coffee table book "Houses that Sugar Built:
An Intimate Portrait of Philippine Ancestral Homes"
by; @ginacmcadam and @siobhandoranphotography

Starting with strong - it serves to focus on existing strengths and providing support where strengthening is needed. For me that is what defines the Filipino and where does our pride of place and people reside? 

Then there is knowledge - not just it's collection or accumulation but understanding, comprehension, and above all appreciation its impact and how it can bring change and transformation. It is in study and application of these lessons that we become knowledgeable. 

the iconic Adobo Festival at Casa A. Gamboa

When we got to our destination abroad we were surrounded by so many Filipinos - working, visiting, traveling - all of us outside our own country. Traveling is a wonderful learning experience that teaches us to appreciate new and different opportunities. We can invest more in travel around our own country. 

Filipinos have a long and storied culture and history of migration - willingly, willfully, or against our will. We have lost many to other nations who are made the beneficiaries of their contributions. 

click here to watch the full video by DOT Western Visayas

We are among the top skilled workers, trained educators, generous care givers, and innovative thinkers. With whatever little resources we have at our disposal we manage to create inventions that blow most minds. 

How much more would we be cable of with full support from government, non-profits, and the private sector? I believe it is a worthy pursuit to aspire for. 

event coverage team - GMA & @Nutriasisa

What could our full support for these efforts translate to? Sharing sustainable methods and markets for hardworking farmers who constantly feed us with their hard-earned produce? Provide them with the dignity and respect they don't even ask for but so deserve? 

Negros Island is a rich kingdom of biodiverse agriculture and nature. Surely we can find better ways to protect and conserve our endangered environment and compromised wildlife - instead of mindless destruction and encroachment marketed as urban progress?  

Last comes wisdom - experience, perception, and insight are necessary to form a clear and accurate picture from which we can draw our conclusions or come to a decision that works. As we contemplate and reflect on this journey what we seek is revealed or comes to us - as we grow wiser. 

DOT Creative Tourism Summit with the Slow Food Community of Negros 

This year I am even more committed to advocate for our local treasures - may these articles open up to interested readers the world of beauty and bounty our country and countryside offers.

The advocacy earnestly works to entice more folks to join in and enjoy this along with me. We are lucky to have the ideal venue for our many events here at Casa A. Gamboa - our heritage home, filled with local history.

full moon over Casa A. Gamboa

Loving what is ours can all too easily be neglected in the pursuit of what lies elsewhere. We often leave for last what we already have in our back yards - forgetting our own riches. We cannot continue to ignore or ruin what is all too quickly becoming irreplaceable. 

Ensuring all three elements - strength, knowledge, wisdom - are present in this advocacy and daily routine is vital to healthy resources that perform at peak levels. 

Slow Food Negros at the Philippine booth - Terra Madre Italy, 2022

Providing some rest and leisure can strengthen resilience. Relationships rooted in knowledge can forge unbreakable solidarity. Sharing ideas openly and with compassion is the heartbeat of organized advocates. 

Collectively we can empower change with every shared insight and every connected breath. May our tribe increase and spread. 

Slow Food Negros year end meeting & celebration

Another definition of epiphany is an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. A revelation. Epiphany is defined as that moment of sudden understanding or becoming conscious of something valuable or important. 

The past year has revealed much and continues to provide constant and surprising gifts and insights. May we all be so blessed!