(Message delivered by business executive Oscar Señar, one of eight CRANE Outstanding Caramoanon awardees during the awards night on May 4, 2007 at Caramoan, Camarines Sur. Señar holds key positions in several petroleum-based companies in the country. He placed second in the Civil Engineering board examination in 1967.)
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Business executive Oscar Señar, one of eight recipients of the Outstanding Caramoanon Award is congratulated by CRANE president Alarkon and Balik Caramoan 2007 overall chairperson Dr. Dolly Roa-Perez. Looking on is Romeo Borja, chairman of the Awards Committee. |
Thank you for the honors being bestowed on me as one of the “Most Outstanding Caramoanon.” I am not too sure whether I deserve the honors, but certainly you make me feel like I am ten feet tall today.
Known to many but dismissed by some, the road to success spells a lot of sacrifice. That road is thorny. It is bumpy. It is difficult. You can even fall into a deep precipice in your search for success.
I first left Caramoan at a tender age of 16 in pursuit of a higher education, with a strong determination to ride above the handicaps of growing in a far away and isolated place. This is not a criticism of our townspeople but a stark admission of how disadvantaged we could be if we are not raised in the ambience of a progressive city environment.
It is precisely because of these handicaps that the smell of success becomes even more fragrant, much sweeter, more gratifying and extremely rewarding. This is because success is never served in a silver platter.
Caramoan still looks beautiful but physically appears pretty much the same way as I had first left this place 43 years ago, although some physical developments are already slowly happening. I repeat physically. However, if you look at the sons and daughters of this place, and some of them are very successful in far away places now, you see a completely different picture altogether. Thanks to their hard work and their unwavering pursuit for a higher education and the desire to rise above the limited potential the town could offer. The obstacles mentioned earlier did not deter them from chasing their aspirations and dreams for a better way of life in distant places.
With that as a backdrop, it makes me feel so good to be here. I feel so proud to be here today. It inspires me to be surrounded by my fellow Caramoanons who similarly had gone out into the world chasing for the very elusive dreams of their life.
Allow me to congratulate the prime movers of this affair for their vision and their unselfish dedication to promote the “Balik Caramoan Program”. This is such a laudable project with the objective of promoting our place to the rest of the world, expecting that this initiative would spur tourism thereby promoting the development of this isolated pristine beauty, taken for granted for so long a time. I think the organizers deserve a round of applause.
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to address now the youth of Caramoan and let me leave with them some words of wisdom.
Do not entertain the illusion that success is a monopoly of the rich or those with more in life. Remember that no one goes through life trouble free. I urge you, therefore, that when you encounter huge obstacles along the way in your life’s journey, always remember this anecdote about a donkey.
One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. For hours, the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided, out of pity, to just cover up the well as it was impossible to lift out the donkey. He began to shovel dirt into the well. A few shovel loads after, the farmer looked down and was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit its back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the farmer was amazed as the donkey jumped out over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Let us be like and emulate this donkey – because life is surely going to shovel all kinds of dirt on you. The trick to getting out of your own well is to shake it off and take a step up like the donkey. Each of your troubles is a stepping stone and a great learning experience. Your life will be shaped and polished by the chisel and hammer of trials, adversity and poverty. Search for the positive message that each problem brings. You can get out of the deepest well just by not stopping, never giving up, never sulking in one corner and say this is where fate brought me. Just like the donkey, shake it off and take a step up. When the road you travel gets rough, turn your head up to The Lord for help. You will realize that the most profound and intimate experience of worship will be during your darkest days – when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you are out of options, and when the pain is great.
The road being traveled by those who have less in life, is never a dead end. You just have to chase the dreams of your life vigorously in the big playing field called “The big world of competition”. Remember that when we were born, we were all naked – proof without any shadow of doubt, we were all created equal. Our Life is now is how we made it.
Just like the gazelle that roams the forest of Africa, keep on running by the break of dawn and start chasing the very elusive dream of your life before frustration, desperation and complete surrender to your fate catch up with you.
Before I close, let me thank a few people for what I am today – all my teachers in the elementary and all my teachers in High School – living and dead. I think some of those still living are even here today. Because of your effort, we managed to compete with the best of the best and the cream of the crop of the most prestigious schools and universities in the country. Let us give them a round of applause.
Of course, never to be forgotten, are my beloved parents, who are both deceased now, my father Layo and my mother Pilang, to whom I owe a great deal.
Thank you very much and may by the break of dawn tomorrow inspire our young people to start their search for the land of milk and honey. Remember that, “Success is 99 % perspiration and 1% inspiration.” I learned that quotation from my Alma Mater, the United High School, 45 years ago.
Good night to everyone and thank you. May the Good Lord shower us with His blessings.
