Beyond retirement
Making one's life meaningful has no end. Probably after a certain phase in life, it is already an end. And perhaps for some, it's the beginning of a more challenging one. December 9, 2014 was truly memorable. In their dinner for a cause, I attended and witnessed the senior citizens who are members of the Cebu United Radio and TV Artists, Corp. (CURTA, Corp), who are still as vibrant during their heyday doing what they are best at.
In such a particular occasion, a birthday of a retiree, former associate dean Dr. Primitivo Ereno that gathered the newly organized UP Cebu Retirees Association (UPCRA), an initiative of Dr. Rhodora Bucoy and Mr. Rey Guangko. Kudos to both of them! They made the meeting of past and present employees possible! It was an evening that allowed us to exchange wonderful memories that we once shared. Dancing, singing and laughters filled the Ereno residence. Special thanks to Professor Fe N. Reyes for creating a Facebook account for the group.
Gatherings bring back the past. Practices that worked and lessons learned. Or occasions that when brought back to present, what steps or measures could have been done.
With wisdom and contentment in life, they still continue to be productive in areas they love best. Ms. Portia Dacalos, our retired guidance counselor, is still very active in the promotion and awareness of women empowerment. Using various for a and creative performances, women can share what they are going through and could also exchange ideas and ways to elevate their status in the community. The UP spirit, as a social conscience, is still with Ms. Dacalos. And this time, she can fully devote her energy to a much wider community.
Doctor Sophia Logarta, Doctor Lelani E. Paredes and Doctor Madrileña de la Cerna remain active in writing for their weekly columns. For Professor Fe Reyes, her write-ups in a daily, are likewise worth following. They all provide insightful topics to their followers. Specifically for Doctor Paredes, who unceasingly provides trainings for personal and professional development, and from time to time accepts part-time teaching in a university. Doctor Ereno, Doctor Carvajal, Doctor Logarta and Doctor Bucoy who are very much into consultancy works. Professor Erlinda Gallo, on the other hand, is active in the church ministry.
I was delighted to see Doctor Neri Gantuangco, who is into consultancy works, Doctor Lina Nellas, Professor Nene Montaño and Professor Helen Bañez. Being together teaching in high school and college, I was glad to see lawyer Lourdes Barcenas, who is still very active in the law practice.
They still, from time to time, provide moral guidance to the present ones. They are the ones who remind them to keep the good name of the institution, as they have labored before. Though in most cases, their views and opinions are unsolicited but they don't stop from ensuring the present ones are guided with basic principles of truth and goodness. They still maintain their link with each other and even to the people in their previous institution.
With life fully utilized, financial stability follows. This allows them to travel at the luxury of their time. This experience widens their understanding of the world as travels allow one to know other cultures beyond our own.
In the community, they continue to provide leadership in areas critical to social development. They have reached the point of self-actualization. Their lives are not only useful to their immediate families but to the community where they belong. The very community that provides them with the necessary stimuli that made who they are now, a community that lets them see life beyond their own.
Through the years, they may have prepared for financial stability for themselves and their loved ones but more than this is their ability and time to be of service to others. To continue what they've been doing for the past years is a life fully served.
Retirement for them is not the end of hectic, structured days but the beginning of a more significant life for others.
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