Energizer bunny

Netnet Camomot .

BACK-TO-REALITY is the post-vacation syndrome. While still on vacation mode, you have no choice but to start working immediately upon arriving home to face business matters that were already trying to catch your attention during the vacation. In other words, there’s no rest for a business that tends to keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny. And that’s a good thing, otherwise, you won’t have funds for the vacation.

And it’s only when you’re home that you have time for Facebook, where the most interesting video—most interesting for me, anyway—is that of Karen Davila interviewing Sen. Manny Pacquiao about his college degree.

Davila: “Sa mga debate ngayon, tinatanong, Palagay ‘nyo ba kailangan ng college degree para sa isang senador, college degree para sa isang pangulo, sang-ayon ka ba doon, Manny?”

Pacquiao: “Sang-ayon naman ako doon.”

Davila: “Pero kung gano’n, baka hindi ka na mag-qualify.”

Pacquiao: “Nag-aaral naman ako.”

Davila: “College degree?”

Pacquiao: “Yes, nag-aaral ako.”

Davila: “May degree ka na?”

Pacquiao: “Malapit na.”

Davila: “Aba! So, you’re finishing your college degree?”

Pacquiao: “Yes, nag-aaral ako.”

Davila: “Saan?”

Pacquiao: “Sa…”

Davila: “Secret ba ‘to?”

Pacquiao: “Yes.”

Davila: “Ah, okay. But can you share it? So, you’re working on the side to gain a college degree.”

Pacquiao: “Kailangan lang kasi… The most important thing is alam mo ‘yong sitwasyon ng problema ng bansa natin.”

Davila: “Pero teka lang. Tinatapos mo ba ‘yong college degree ngayon o hindi?”

Pacquiao: “Tinatapos.”

Davila: “Anong eskwelahan?”

Pacquiao: “Eskwelahan? Dito lang. Kilala mo, eh.”

Davila: “Saan ‘yon?”

Pacquiao: “Dito sa Maynila.”

Davila: “Malaking istorya ‘yon, anong pangalan ng eskwelahan?”

Pacquiao: “Ibubulong ko na lang sa ‘yo mamaya.”

Davila: “So, secret ‘to. Pero kumbaga naghahanda ka sa gano’ng paraan.”

Pacquiao: “Naghahanda naman ako. Ako kasi ang tao na hindi kailangan pagsabihan kundi ginagawa ko ‘yong dapat kong gawin… Like boxing. Boxer ako, champion, pero actually hindi lang boxing ang sports ko, basketball, volleyball, chess, billiards, kumbaga nilalaro ko lahat.”

This interview was the epitome of an awkward moment for Davila. There was a time when I thought she should switch to showbiz talk shows because that seems to be more appropriate for her. Imagine her with Boy Abunda or Vice Ganda. Perfect, right?

An interviewer should always be aware of his place in the world and the space his intelligence can occupy in that world, with respect as the key to an in-depth discussion about anything since an interviewer’s judgmental attitude can make an interviewee clam up and not reveal more. Besides, learning requires loads of listening and discernment. If the interviewer only thinks of himself and what to ask next, like what Kris Aquino used to do at the height of her showbiz talk show career, it becomes a one-sided soliloquy of the interviewer’s thoughts.

Pacquiao’s achievements in the world of boxing have awed even the boxers who have also broken records in their own fights. But for Davila to focus on his lack of a college degree is understandable especially since there have been stories on his plan to run for president someday. Still, it’s not about what the question is but how it’s asked.

A judgmental attitude can be reduced to this one word: mental. But with mental health now a major concern, it’s unfair to reduce anything into a mental problem.

But it’s proper to avoid being judgmental, otherwise, you may morph into a bully. You have no idea what each person has been through, and to judge him only on what you see as of this moment, can be stressful to you. And for what? Usually, the subject of your judgment is unaware he’s now being judged. He may learn only much later that he has been a favorite gossip topic for, say, six months or even ten years, and by then, it would be too late to repair friendships and relationships that have been destroyed by the gossipmonger and the gullible people who care to listen to him.

One reaches a certain age and point in his life when he now automatically shuts his ears off to any gossip and judgmental attitude. He hears but not listens, without allowing the unfairness to fill his mind and heart for the rest of the day. Instead, he focuses on his own reality and how to face the daily challenges one step at a time, one day at a time. That way, he simplifies his life and doesn’t waste time on unnecessary matters as he keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny.