Eric Santillan Blog, society, spirituality

Family Matters

I remember being struck by a song in a popular children’s video I was watching with my daughter. The song was about families and how we have different kinds (there was one where the dad was “far away”, one where the head was the grandma, etc.). The main theme of the song was for us to accept that families now come in “all different sizes and different kinds”. Some families have both parents; others live in a single parent household; some live with a caregiver. And in all instances, you are still a complete family. The song made me realize that we now live in a very different world from when there was typically a Father, a Mother and Two Children.

Eric Santillan Blog, society, spirituality

Mustard Seed Revolutions

The past few months, we were witnesses to protests and upheavals in the Middle East. As with all revolutions, its seeds were planted years ago when democracy was curtailed and dictators and the military took power. But the trigger for this series of upheavals can be traced back to Dec 17, 2010, when a young jobless graduate Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after police confiscated the fruit and vegetables he was selling from a street stall. He had been unemployed for a long time and when the police stopped him from earning a living, he burned himself out of frustration and in protest. This event sparked widespread demonstrations in Tunisia. The Tunisian President went on television days later to promise more jobs. But it was too little too late.

Eric Santillan Blog, society

Myth of the Masa

Roland Barthes, in his book Mythologies, said that a myth is a type of speech. It is a message. So that “everything can be a myth provided it is conveyed by discourse”. The Psychologist Carl Jung, on the other hand, connected myths to what he called “archetypes”. Archetypes are “preconcious psychic disposition that enables a man to react in a human manner”.

Eric Santillan Blog, poetry, spirituality

The Lady At the Grotto Around 12 Midnight (When No One is Watching)

Many people who visit Baguio and the Lady of Lourdes Grotto do not know that the Jesuit Retreat House called Mirador is on top of it. This is where the Jesuits go every summer for villa (vacation) and retreat. This was written many years ago when I saw hundreds of people go up the steps of the Grotto on a particularly busy Saturday. I prayed to Mary just when it was around 12 midnight, no one else was there, and I imagined this scene take place...

Eric Santillan Blog, poetry, spirituality

Ang Gagamba (The Spider)

I wrote this several years ago, in the Jesuit Retreat House called Mirador, in Baguio City. I remember it was a gloomy afternoon, and was about to rain. I remember being awed by the doggedness of the spider. How could he continue building his web, knowing that it will probably just be washed out by the rains? Perhaps, he didn't know? Or perhaps he was just stubborn? Or maybe that's how spiders are.