Pearls of wisdom

This teacher’s mission is to give each Filipino a virtual strand of pearls, each pearl in the strand, a gem of wisdom about life and success.

Nelia Cruz Sarcol, a former Philippine Airlines flight attendant who soared as the founder of the CIE (Centre for International Education) British School, roots her mission of empowering Filipinos in the pearl.

“Teacher Nelia” is the author of the book, The Pearl Principle, which is anchored on her belief that change and success come from within.

Teacher Nelia is a riveting storyteller. In her book, she writes:

“In the deep blue sea, an unsuspecting oyster, peaceful and content with the way marine life was taking its normal course, was suddenly invaded by hundreds of teredo micro-organisms from everywhere.

“A daring teredo swept its way straight into the inner chamber of the oyster’s shell and lodged in its virgin flesh. The oyster tried to expel the invader, but as it did, the irritation burned its inflamed muscles even more.

“The discomfort became unbearably painful. Rescue from the surrounding waters was not forthcoming. The oyster could only expect an impending death.

“But the oyster refused to die. While its effort to expel the teredo became futile, the oyster instead thought of easing up on the deadly irritation wrought upon its aching flesh...

“The oyster discovered it had an innate ability to respond to this kind of threat.

“Yes, I can secrete nacre!”

And so it lived. And glowed.

Centre for International Education British School founder Nelia Cruz Sarcol.

* * *

According to Pearl-Guide.com, “Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is a crystalline substance that creates the iridescent visual effect attributed to pearls. Nacre is an organic substance secreted by mollusks over an intruding irritant or implanted nucleus. It is a strong and resilient material that is lightweight and transparent, allowing light to pass through its surface, creating a subtle glow on the pearl’s surface.”

Whoa! No wonder it is called, “Mother of Pearl!” Without nacre, there would have been no pearl.

And without irritants, the oyster inside its shell would not have secreted nacre. Aside from being protective like an armor, nacre seems to be like a skin brightening cream: “It creates a subtle glow on the pearl’s surface.”

Indeed, adversity not only brings out our strength, it armors us with iridescent beauty. I have often wondered why some women struggling with grief are translucently beautiful. Apparently, they are emitting their own “nacre” from the deepest well of their beings. As they say, “May pinanghuhugutan.”

The Pearl Principle by Nelia Cruz Sarcol.

* * *

According to Teacher Nelia, who runs three CIE campuses (Cebu, Makati and Tacloban), “Like the pearl, our essence as persons is formed out of obstacles that we confront in the course of our lives. Our experiences, painful and hard, surround the core of our being, and it isn’t always easy to find anything positive in the hardships we endure.”

She believes, and her over 30 years as an educator molding future leaders bear this out, “Each problem, each challenge is our opportunity for creation.”

“The story of the pearl illustrates that even the worst and most painful experience can become something of a healing artistry. The pearl is a glowing example of a mortal threat that transformed into magnificence.”

This, according to Teacher Nelia, is what the oyster can teach us.

“To find and honor our strength and flexibility in the inner power to bounce back rather than break apart; to turn adversity into a catalyst for growth and progress.”

Offhand, I can think of the post-World War II Japanese people as Exhibit A of the “Pearl Principle,” which Teacher Nelia is espousing among today’s millennials and “feel-lennials” as her own way of empowering the nation, one person at a time.

Devastated after the war, with two of their cities devastated, with not many natural resources to boast of and bearing the stigma of a defeated army, the Japanese, in my opinion, secreted their own “nacre” amidst adversity and became an industrial, not a military, dynamo. Hello Toyota. Hello Mitsubishi. Hello Sony. Hello Kitty. Seriously.

“The Pearl Principle reminds us that adversity is really part of our lives,” says Teacher Nelia, who was granted the Star of Asia Award in 2004 by the Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce in Austin, Texas, for her “innovative contributions to education and entrepreneurship.”

As part of the Pearl Principle, Teacher Nelia reminds us that how we respond to adversity affects our destiny.

“Some of us respond to these pains and hardships by fixating on the pain, keeping it fresh in our minds for weeks, months and even years ­— some for a lifetime. Others take small irritations and blow them out of proportion, making them larger misfortunes.”

* * *

So, after you have emitted nacre and have become a pearl of great price, do you stop there and bask in your own glory? Teacher Nelia says, “No!”

“The inertia of transformation must flow from among individuals and create a chain reaction,” she believes. Pearls must beget pearls, till this world is a kilometric strand of pearls.

“As we sustain the momentum of transformation, we shall eventually reach the tipping point that will dramatically reveal the noble purpose of our human existence: to uplift the quality of life.” Not just ours.

Teacher Nelia believes that after you have created a gem of a life for others, not just yourself, “You are now a pearl.”

(Teacher Nelia’s CIE British School may be reached at its Makati Campus at 888-0909 or 812-0909.)

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