Gracias Ashok, my friend

Gracias Ashok, my friend

 ONE early morning not long ago, I woke up feeling depressed because of a lingering sense of failure in what I could have had accomplished had I planned and worked harder in pursuit of my dreams in life. Suddenly, I felt like I was a desperado so helpless, so heartbroken that I just laid on on my back on the bed numb and motionless, just staring up the ceiling, unaware of what's going on around me.

         Then, the message tone of my cellphone screamed and I was up on my feet. With a sluggish motion, I opened the inbox and read the message: "Fulfillment doesn't merely mean achieving our highest dreams in life, but also living a life that has made the lives of others worth living. Gudam."

          The words hit me like icy water splashed on my face. Slowly, self-assurance crept up my being. I may not have been gaining much ground in making the lives of others worth living, but at least I should be contented with what I could make out of myself for the remaining chapters of my life.


         For a few moments I held the mobile phone and my eyes lingered on the message inbox. I read further: "God has made life so good that even if we don't enumerate all that we need everyday, we realize that He continues to give what's best for us. Gudam."


         Within minutes, I was fully alive. The heavy load I was carrying a few moment ago vanished. I began to feel  that my spirit was back and I noticed that the golden rays of the early morning sun have started to fill up the room, giving warmth and comfort. I felt God's presence in the room. I was humbled.


         Thank you Ashok, my friend. Of course, Ashok is Mr. Ashok Vasandani who, for countless days or months now, has been sending those priceless messages each morning before breakfast. They arrive without fail so much so that I began to call them "breakfast appetizers." Like several other media practitioners, business and civic leaders in the city, I am wonderfully happy to be in Ashok's List.


         I don't exactly know who are the others in Ashok's List. I'm just aware that colleagues in media like Idol Orly Navarro of Aksyon Radyo, Joey Ball and RJ Jimenez of Power Radio read once in a while Ashok's nuggets of wisdom which oftentimes are divinely inspired. The message certainly make life worth living.


         Ashok's List calls back to mind the classical movie Schindler's List. The movie is a 1993 American epic drama film about Oscar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.


        The film was a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked the film 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time.


        Ashok's List may not become a box office hit. However, I'm sure that, as in my case, many of those in his list, in one way or the other, have been drawing inspiration from his divine messages to move along the bumpy and rock-hewn road of life.