Ni Ji
Having 3 meetings in a day at one to two hours each is such a mentally draining and butt-aching experience that i do regularly.. and driving 60miles back to the office is one helluva travel.
staring at the road, relaxing my head on the front seat of the car, my japanese co-worker pointed at a rainbow that is partially hidden behind the dark gray clouds hovering laguna bay.. he asked how many colors are there in a rainbow and I replied "seven — ROYGBIV"(from kindergarten days). and he said that its the same with japs.. but for westerns, they have 5 rainbow colors only.. (so what happens to the ROYGBIV acronym??? becomes RYGBV i guess.. ??? ) he asked for the filipino word for rainbow and i paused for a while trying to remember the word (realizing i haven’t spoken the tagalog word for rainbow in years) and told him that it is called "bahaghari" named after a folklore.. surprisingly, this japanese guy does not recall any stories behind the existence of a rainbow. he said that its just a rainbow.. colorful, beautiful and awesome rainbow..
"NIJI" — that’s how they call it.. then i started telling him the story of the rainbow based on the filipino folklore and the roman catholic version as well.. "THE PROMISE".. that a rainbow symbolizes his promise of new beginning.. a new beginning for mankind to flourish after He wiped out everything and everyone except Noah everything in the ark in that great flood.. a promise that he won’t ever "erase" mankind with a big flood..
the story ends but my thoughts drifted.. reflecting.. thinking.. connecting the rainbow, its colors.. our cultures (japanese, filipino, westerns) and our outlooks in life.. for me, the rainbow symbolizes hope (there is a rainbow in after every storm).. a new beginning.. and hopefully a better beginning.. and as i watch the rainbow, my heart whispered prayers of hope.. better life.. happy tomorrow.. fade out—-
– fade in.. office work again.. and arriving back to the office means rush rush rush rush.. i need to review some proposals.. check on some stock availability.. answer a couple of emails.. and the list goes on and on.. lights out —
—flashback:
scenario: meeting room.. time: this afternoon 5PM.. scene: this guy from a partner company commented that all the while he thought that Johanne, the marketing and sales person that the japanese GM was talking about was a GUY.. to surprise.. Johanne was a "she".. a strong-willed she.. and the singaporean channels manager commented that it is his first time to meet a lady marketing manager from a japanese company.. (fact: japanese has this "thing" about hiring male managers.. especially if they have to hire a filipino.. something about their culture dictates that women are the weaker sex in every sense of the word.. including weaker mentality) but i have proven that a filipina is capable of making good decisions, planning and effective marketing strategies. thanks to the people behind me who supports me after all the descrimination.. — bow!
Back to the rainbow.. so beautiful.. scientifically, its a reflection of light from the dewdrops.. can be artificially repllicated in a light prism.. in religion, well, i have mentioned it already.. and personally, i just want to think about it as God’s reminder that over everything, someone far more greater exists.. it is a reminder that there is hope.. there is beauty after a rough storm.. and to add to it, it reminds me that beautiful things in life are intangible.. it can be captured by a photograph but it can never be touched.. life’s experiences.. it can be captured by memories.. still intangible..
Dance like no one is looking.. sing like no one is listening.. live life each day as if it was the last.. paint your life with beautiful colors.. leave a rainbow-colored legacy to the ones you love and be the rainbow in a person’s life.. carpe diem!
