Paraiso

I’d like to feature a favorite song written and composed by a Filipino musician — Ryan Cayabyab. The song received an overwhelming response from my students when we used it in class for close reading. It sort of immersed the students to a kind of life they don’t normally see around them. They realized that they are lucky after all — they’ve got free education, free transportation to school, free notebooks, a decent house to live in, a simple yet ‘closely-knit’ community, free access to water, free hospitalization, and many others.

I remember having to be exposed to poverty in slum areas of the Philippines when I was in high school. The school had a Social Action Program that encouraged us to show compassion and think of some really good ways we could help the people around us. I tell you, those were truly humbling moments, and they taught me a lot of valuable lessons giving me a sense of purpose and meaning in life. I learned to value simplicity, justice and fairness, humility, cura personalis, preservation and care for nature, among others.

The song tries to describe what a child sees while he roams around a dump site in the Philippines called Payatas where poor families wrestle over mountains of garbage in the hope to find food and reusable things. Below, you will find some photos of children in Payatas which I’ve gathered from the net. The kids in these photos show you smiles of happiness and joy. They show you laughter despite poverty and hardship — an irony of life. However, you also get to see the weight of the world on their shoulders. They stare back with eyes not of innocence but of questions and dismay. Ironically, the song talks about paradise (paraiso) that is totally the opposite of what we all know paradise is. There is good play of language here, and perhaps you can talk about them as you respond to this post.

Here’s the song:

Paraiso
Written and Composed by: Ryan Cayabyab

Return to a land called Paraiso,
a place where a dying river ends.
No birds dare fly over Paraiso,
no space allows them to endure.
The smoke that screens the air,
the grass that’s never there.

And if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
I try to write some words
and create a simple song to be heard
by the rest of the world.

I live in this land called Paraiso,
in a house made of cardboard floors and walls.
I learned to be free in Paraiso,
free to claim anything I see.
Matching rags for my clothes,
plastic bags for the cold.

And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy.
I never fight to take someone else’s coins
and live with fear like the rest of the boys.

Paraiso, help me make a stand.
Paraiso, take me by the hand
Paraiso, make the world understand
that if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
This tired and hungry land
could expect some truth and hope and respect
from the rest of the world.

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Sharing My Thoughts on Dealing with Kids

* Written in response to “Easy? No. Kids today do not have it easy.” in The Matt Walsh Blog.

Hi. Hope you don’t mind me sharing my thoughts.

I agree. I think it’s not fair to say that the kids of today are pampered and ‘having it easy.’ It’s a much more complicated world we are having today, and clearly we have forgotten about the more important things in life.

I’m no parent like you Matt, but I teach kids so I’ll respond as a teacher. As regards protecting kids, I think we can only do as much. We don’t have full control over their lives. What we can do however is teach them to understand what’s really happening so they know the pros and the cons, and hopefully know where to stand. That way our kids are more grounded and firm as you are — I bet you have parents, relatives, or teachers who taught you well on being mindful and conscious about what’s going on in the world, and of course, choosing what is moral and just. But then again, at end of the day, it was you who decided to be who you are.

I support you on the importance of FAMILY and FAITH. I remember having dinner with my family every night when I was growing up. We would begin with a prayer thanking God for another day. Then we would eat and talk about our day, what we thought went well and what didn’t. We talked about issues here and there, and it was a good exercise because I didn’t feel like I was being dictated to do only this and not that. When they turned down some of my requests, they made sure I perfectly understood why. I was also given a chance to speak-out and tell them my views and insights while I also listen to theirs.I know they were trying to embrace me with their love, but it wasn’t too tight to get me suffocated.

Some important seeds they planted in me, however, were essential:

*The importance of LISTENING and being open to new ideas
*The importance of RESPECT and OBEDIENCE
* and the importance of PATIENCE, EMPATHY (putting yourself in their shoes), and UNDERSTANDING