THE HOLIDAY BLESSINGS

By Zante Palermo

The Year 2014 is about to conclude, with just a few hours left in it.  Like most experienced by every living soul in this planet, it has been a year of Ups and Downs, Happiness and Heartaches, Success and Failures.  Depending on individual perceptions, one would conclude this year has been great or worse for them.

December, being the last month of the year, is the time for Christmas parties.  These are celebrated almost everywhere.  Almost all party venues are fully booked, hence the reason some had theirs as early as November.  From big corporations, to small offices, to very close friendships. 

In most of these parties, one of the highlight is the raffling of prizes.  This is most anticipated by majority of the working class.  Consolation and door prizes might be among the choices of Ham, 5 kilos of rice, cash prize ranging from PhP 200 – PhP 1000, spaghetti package, cooking utensils, and more.  Grand prizes might be Desktop Computers, Laptops, High End smart Phones, High End TV sets, A Modern sala set, a 1-Million Peso cash prize, depending on the budget available, and those that are given by sponsors.

You would see the ecstatic joy of the winners, most especially those who are grand prize winners.  Imagine this, you have been craving for a particular item for such a long time, and in that instant, Voila!!! You are the winner!

I am one of the unfortunate many, who most of this lifetime never got to win any prizes.  Though the latest 2 years of my life, until last June 2013, I have been able to win minor prizes.  Since then, I haven’t been lucky.  Of course, this includes the Holiday Raffles.

Some maybe are just born lucky.  Any raffling of prizes, whether major or just for fun, they always get to take home some of the prizes.  Lady luck must be with them always.  Or as they say, they’ve been good all life through that they’ve been blessed. c”,)

AS the year is about to end, I made a reflection of what has transpired in my 2014.  It was a mixture of bumpy road to a well-cemented one.  BY balancing those, I have reflected that the blessings that came to me outweigh the bad fortunes.  It’s been a great year, to sum it all up.

I have not won any raffles since June 2013 and up to this writing, but I don’t mind.  Because as I looked back to my 2014, I have already won 2 grand prizes.  And for me, these are very grand at this time of my life.

First Grand Prize.  My girlfriend accepting my proposal for marriage. That happened at the end of first quarter of the year.  When I decided it’s time, I was nervous of how to present the proposal.  Praise to Almighty, I got the YES.

Second Grand Prize.  My being able to travel to Saitama, Japan, with all expenses paid by the hosts, from plane tickets, to hotel accommodations, to meals, to travel and relaxation, to heritage tours and culture immersions, to daily allowances and more.  As much as I had fun, I learned a lot from that travel.  This one event in my life I’m sure I might not be able to experience again.  For such blessing like this, I cannot imagine would happen to someone like me.  I am very much thankful for such reward, and have to credit people from the Saitama Prefectural government international division for this (Mr. Kimio Wada and Mr. Namba, thank you so much!).     

AS 2015 is about to arrive and knock at my door step, I have readied myself of new adventures to come.  It’s best to welcome the year at a positive note, as this will be the guiding light for the journey ahead.  The positivity brought always bear fruit for more blessings. 

The experiences from the past year, and those before that, should be used as learned lessons.  In the words of my favorite philosopher Confucius, “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be Failure.”

EACH DAY IS A BLESSING. EACH MONTH IS A BLESSING. A NEW YEAR IS A BLESSING. 

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH AND EVERYONE!!!