WHAT IS MEANT TO BE…..

"Ang hindi ukol, hindi bubukol." If you’re a native Tagalog speaker, you might shudder at the graphic visual of the saying. It translates roughly to: “If it’s not meant for you, it ain’t going to happen.” But, fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, it translates literally and more colorfully to: “If it’s not meant for you, it ain’t going to bulge…..”

Boy, it is during these times that I am so grateful that my parents have a command of the Tagalog language and spoke to us at home only in Tagalog. Or else, the humor, the nuance and the not-so-subtlety of the language would be completely lost on me. And entirely lost in translation. Tagalog can be vulgar, harsh, crude, raw and unapologetic; but it is also very descriptive, humorous and sometimes, poetic.

Back to the topic, I was thinking about the role that fate/destiny plays in our lives on one hand, and our own personal choices, on the other hand. Being a control freak on occasion (or many depending on how long you’ve known me), it’s a subject which has fascinated me over the years. The subject further intrigued me when I had remembrances of things past come face to face with me recently. Can I really chart my own destiny and alter the game plan that I was born with?

I watch people who are so driven to achieve that they will pay any price to get to the goal. And more often than not, they do. Conversely, I’ve also seen people who are much more laid back in their approach to getting what they want. Some of them do get there anyway, without really trying too hard and without ruffling too many feathers enroute to the prize.

The more experiences I have collected, both good and bad, the more I believe that we are predestined towards certain things, people and events. At the same time, we also have the power to make choices which can inevitably lead us in another direction. A direction where we had no previous predisposition towards…..

I think that sometimes, in our desire to change what is destined for us, we end up in situations that do not work out in the long run. We end up back where we were supposed to be if we had just gone with the program, too many episodes ago. There is a divinely destined design, particular plan and meticulous map that has our name on it. We discover these as we go along the journey that is our lives.

I have a very natural inner compass nowadays - from a combination of my faith, my common sense, my database of experience, my intuition, my emotion and my belief in the limitless possibility of all things – that guides me in everything that I do. I have come to the realization that consistently making the right choices and doing what is right actually helps us get closer to what was to begin with, already set apart for us.

Tina Vitas
Makati City