To each his own

Netnet Camomot . 

MY Facebook account recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. That’s 10 years of posting photos and updates, sharing others’ posts, watching videos, installing video games that Facebook advertises, commenting on posts and photos, reading the news, reacting to fake news, and so on and so forth, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

My New Year’s resolution to lessen or even stop posting on Facebook is still on. So far, so good. In other words, good luck na lang to me as I look forward to more reading, writing, spring cleaning, KonMari-ing, and savoring quality time with family and friends.

Too many photos and thoughts, too little time to post. Whew. Might as well read books. And it’s also too many books, too little time for the bookworm, but once he decides to stop watching television and Netflix, and checking out social media, surely there will be enough time to read.

Bookworms read, chefs cook, dancers dance, singers sing, writers write, but people love to complicate things, they ignore their, uh, inner voice as they choose money over happiness. This will make them rich, of course, and then they can buy anything they want. And what’s wrong with that? Nothing. To each his own.

Still, there’s the lucky one who does earn moolah through the career or business he loves, and that’s the path you should also aspire for. Look at Sen. Manny Pacquiao—he did retire from boxing in April 2016 but he keeps going back for more. That’s what you call passion.

Well, the word “passion” has been used, misused and abused, so better avoid calling anything as your passion. How about advocacy? Or your life’s work? Hmmm.

Henry Sy Sr. was one example of a man whose life’s work changed the way the Pinoy enjoys his weekends and vacations. Sy opened his first shoe store in 1946 perhaps as a means to survive after the second World War. That shoe store branched out to more stores and later, malls and even a bank which is now the biggest universal bank in Pinas.

I still remember going to the Shoemart stores in Carriedo, Cubao and Makati in the ‘80s, and later the bigger SM Cubao, and then there was SM North Edsa which opened in 1985, a few months before the 1986 People Power.

The ‘70s and ‘80s were uncertain times in Pinas, with former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos declaring martial law in 1972, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983, and the People Power Revolution in 1986, but Sy persisted and kept on moving forward, never daunted by politics and the upheavals it caused.

If there’s one person who knew how to focus, it’s Sy—always aimed high with his dreams and goals, and obviously learned his lessons well along the way.

I’ve always attributed SM’s charm to good feng shui that inspires you to eat there and to shop, watch movies, buy books and office supplies, make muni-muni while having a massage, haircut or mani-pedi. If I want to save money, all I have to do is avoid all SM malls. Haha! But that’s where we buy groceries, so, SM is a hard habit to break for me.

Here’s hoping SM will push through with the plan to renovate its uptown mall in Cagayan de Oro. Wish ko lang it will become bigger than SM CDO Downtown Premier.

For the Christmas season shopping and get-togethers, I visited SM Downtown more often than SM City despite the proximity of the latter to uptowners. That’s why I saw the huge reindeer at SM City only this month. Yes, huge as in humongous, the kind that could prompt a Cagayanon to ask, Wala na bay mas dako pa ana?

Sy did get bad press, proving that the ladder to success is not as rosy as a taipan’s public image even if he’s known as “the father of Philippine retail” and has been named by Forbes magazine as the richest man in Pinas for 11 years now, thanks to his P1.05 trillion net worth.

If we were to start counting with 1946, the year he opened his first shoe store, 2019 is his store’s 73rd anniversary, a longevity that retail stores and malls in the US can only wish for in this age of online shopping.

SM is definitely the mall that—to borrow Marie Kondo’s mantra—sparks joy in the hearts of shoppers, foodies and movie fans.

Imagine the possibilities that could have been created and nurtured by Facebook users had they focused on their careers and businesses instead of scrolling down their News Feed to check out the latest on Kris Aquino and Nicko Falcis.