Of Love, Faith and Family

As someone who has always treasured personal interactions, I felt the adjustment that we all had to go through in the past few months. But while social distancing became the new normal and our lives may have been upended due to the pandemic, I believe that our love, friendships and relationships have not been canceled. More importantly, it became an opportunity for many of us to strengthen our faith, and to put it into action through being of service to others.

I recently had the chance to speak to some of my friends Jewelmer EVP and deputy CEO Jacques Christophe Branellec, DMARK Beauty Corporation CEO Nikki Tang, Madison Galeríes owner Joy Rustia and Times Paint Corporation president Reginald Yu about how they celebrated important milestones in their families and personal lives in the past three months. They also shared some of the biggest lessons they have learned. These stories show that indeed, while our public events may be postponed, what’s truly important remain: love, family, and finding joy in the simplest things.

Reggie Yu: The current crisis has once again reminded me of the brief and fragile nature of our lives, and the primacy of our well-being and that of our family, above all else. I have since stumbled upon some hard truths at the heart of my silver lining outlook towards the pandemic.

First of all, apart from doing my part by staying at home to slow the spread of the virus, I realized that, with plenty of time to kill, I’ve learned to love myself more. I found myself taking more adequate rest now, as compared to my pre-lockdown schedule, when sleep seemed like a luxury at that time, when I had so many social commitments that would last till the wee hours of the evening.

Secondly, I noticed that the family was eating healthier meals because fast food was no longer an option.

Another is the fact that, being locked with my family, I had more opportunity to spend quality time with them, oftentimes having taken for granted back when my time was devoted to leading another volunteer endeavor, or attending another social function with friends.

Finally, this period allowed me to be more forgiving of myself and others in terms of what we accomplish, knowing that we’re all going through something that none of us has ever had to deal with. At the end of the day, we’re all doing what we can to get through this period, and it’s important to give ourselves the time to step back and breathe and relax if we hope to keep going.

“We believe that our acts of service, big and small, create opportunities for people who need our help.” - Holger Knaack, President Rotary International RY 2020-2021