the one that got away

mas matagal kong nakarelasyon ang "misis" ko ngayon. december 2008 ko sya niligawan, 2009, kami na. hanggang sa tuluyan na akong nagpakasal sa kanya.

pero nang niligawan ko si "misis", i was reeling from a heartbreak. from a dream na medyo matagal ko ring minahal. i fell in love with it in 1998, nang nagshift ako ng kurso para ipursue sya nang seryoso. we've had our ups and downs, hanggang sa nung 2008, narealize kong hindi ako emotionally-equipped to pursue that "relationship". to still pursue it, after what happened in 2008, would have been hazardous probably, not only to me, but possibly to other people. i was afraid of my own passion for that "love". i was afraid it would blind me, like how it literally did, that fateful day in 2007. i was afraid it would drive me to cause pain to others, indirectly man or otherwise. i was afraid that it would bring out the worst in me.

so i let that love go, because at that time i had felt it was the right thing to do. if a relationship can bring out the worst in you, it's no longer going to be a healthy one. hindi ko makakalimutan ang sinabi sa akin ng isa sa mga earliest mentors namin -- the fact that you still wanted to continue with it, it means you haven't learned the lesson. and in a way, oo, tama sya.  walang growth sa pagkatao mo kung hindi mo marirealize ang mali mo.

it had been an accident. on my part, at least. it happened, but i did not want it to happen, i did not even notice it happening. mahirap mang paniwalaan. para akong kabayo na may takip sa mga gilid ng mata, too focused on getting what i wanted, hindi ko na napansin yung mga nangyayaring iba sa paligid ko. even yung nangyayari right before my very eyes.

pero dahil dun, may mga nasaktan. hindi physically, pero mas malalim. at alam ko dadalhin ko yun sa konsensya ko habambuhay. it's been 9 years,  i'm okay now. i don't know if the people na nasaktan are okay ngayon. sana.

takot na ako sa sobrang passion. takot na sa sobrang ambition. because if you care about something too much, it becomes your weakness. and it brings out the worst in you sometimes.

9 long years na since i "broke up" with the ex, pero you can't ignore those 10 years na minahal ko sya. yung old love ko na yon, gave me the most unforgettable highs i'd ever had in my 20s.

yung ginagawa mo ang isang bagay na you care so much about, wala kang nararamdamang gutom o  pagod o puyat.

yung napanood mo for the first time ang final outcome ng bagay na yun na you care so much about, and you feel horrible because you think it's not good enough.

yung araw na napanood ng iba for the first time yung "anak" mo, and they loved it. and you couldn't believe it, because you had thought it sucked.

then that wonderful year, when that "anak" of yours, borne from your love for this thing you want to commit your life to,  makes all that pagod and all that gastos and all those sacrifices worth it. it validated your worth, as a person, as a worker, as a young person dreaming of marrying this love of your life. it gave you so much hope, a lot of confidence, it made you believe that your dreams can come true.

but all that--validation, honors, awards, recognition-- may not have been the right reason why you wanted to commit to this one great love of yours. may allergy na ako sa ego ngayon. if you do things for your own ego... it's a selfish purpose.

kaya iniwan ko si ex bago pa man nya ako talagang pakasalan. and at that point i didn't even know if i was worthy enough para pakasalan nya ako. kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko, hanggat driven ako by the need for validation, para manalo ng award, para sumikat etc-- hindi ko sya babalikan. dahil hindi sya makakabuti sa akin.  o sa kahit sino.

alam ko marami namang nagtatrabaho for their own egos. pero kanya kanya tayo ng journey, and in mine, i got really burned. maybe it was God preventing me from making bigger mistakes in the future. maybe it was God telling me-- hindi ka pa ready para dyan.

but the passion i had for that one great love, hindi ko makakalimutan. i haven't felt passion that intense. that all-consuming. it may have brought out the worst in me. but it also brought out the best in me.

so now I'm "married" to my current career for 8 years.  and the passion has been running low. this has become a job.  a duty to carry out, so that i can the bills, save up for the future. i get fulfillment from it every now and then, but not enough to take me back to the passionate soul that i had been, 10 years ago.

stasis. cul de sacs. i'm grateful for everything. for the semblance of stability. for the money. for the comfort. but there's this feeling--- is this all there is? is this where life will end? i don't feel the drive to strive harder to climb up the corporate ladder. if i imagine myself in a higher position sa linyang ito, i don't get excited. i don't see the joy in it. i only see the responsibilities na kaakibat nun. and a whole lot of self-doubt.  it's not a dead end job. but why do i not see myself being driven enough to achieve more, to climb higher, to soar?

i was raised that way. Achiever ang tawag sa personality type na yon, according The Enyagram.  but i have lost that part of me.  either naburn ako nang sobra from that traumatic breakup 7 or 8 years ago. or i am not where i should be.

so i think about that old love a lot these days. not a lot, but more often than before. i wonder if magiging mas masaya ba, kung mabubuhay ba ang pagkatao ko, kung ligawan ko sya ulit.  i wouldn't know how or where to start. alam ko magiging malaking sugal, switching from one career to another. like practically starting over. but i wonder if the leap would be worth it.

mas madaling magdesisyon kung hindi ako breadwinner. kung wala akong mga bills. kung walang hinuhulugang lupa, walang maliit na anak. walang asawa at pamilya. i'd go for it. but there's a lot i might lose, if things don't work out.  the money. the stability.

whenever i feel like i suck at what i do now, i always wonder-- mas magiging mahusay ba ako as something else? whenever i would feel like i'm too tired to want to strive harder, too tired to keep getting better, i find myself wondering if i'd be more passionate.. doing something else?

kung babalikan ko man yung minahal ko noon.. iba na ang motivation. money na. at self-fulfillment. money would be easier if you love what you do. but then puro what-ifs and i wonders lang ako. dahil ang realidad ng buhay, the grass will always be greener on the other side of the fence. ang realidad, pwede kang mag-fail. pwedeng akala mo kaya mo, pero di mo pala kaya. o kung kakayanin mo nga, pero ang laki naman ng masasakripisyo sa personal life mo. less time for family. less time for your child, your husband.

kung kakayanin ko, will the money i would earn be all worth the sacrifices? siguro. gagawan ng paraan. pero bottom line, ang tanong-- kakayanin ko ba?

at this point, i cannot afford to do some trial and error. duwag ako. maraming responsibilidad. so maybe i will always be wondering. and hoping, praying na kung sakali mang para doon talaga ako, si Lord na ang gumawa ng paraan.

duwag talaga ako, noon pa man. fresh from resigning from my office job in 2004, i was offered to be an assistant director. tinanggihan ko, dahil natakot ako baka di ko kaya. lesson learned- SAY YES, THEN DO YOUR DAMN BEST PARA KAYANIN.

but then that was 2004. i was single. i wasn't the breadwinner. now is not like before.

so Lord, kung anuman ang plano nyo para sa akin, i leave everything to You. kung para ako dito, things will be as they are, and maybe my mindset will change. my passion will return. pero kung para ako sa The One that Got Away ko, alam ko kayo na ang gagawa ng paraan.