Keep cool

As the present ambient temperatures shoot up, people are trying everything to cool themselves. Like all other things in life, summer has its other side. The bright sun that makes way for a fun-filled summer also brings big discomfort.

Some of us think of going swimming to beat the heat. Others prefer to spend time in shady, windy places. And we all crave for a cold treat – a cold drink or anything to bring down our own rising body heat.

The youngsters in my neighborhood are doing good business selling cold gulaman (local gelatin) of various flavors. Of course, they also have everybody’s favorite haluhalo (chopped fruits with milk and crushed ice), the usual top seller. At times when they run out of fruits, their leche con hielo (milk with ice) sells just as quickly.

Even the plain drinking water has become a much sought-after commodity these days. The man who peddles bottled water at the street corner near my home says his daily sales have more than doubled in the past weeks. Helping people to keep themselves cool proves to be a profitable enterprise.

There’s no question that high ambient temperatures causes discomfort. And discomfort causes bad mood. And bad mood can adversely affect our bodily functioning. Then, it can only get worse and worse from there.

A great healer once said that man creates his own ills. He must be right. Think about high blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments that are considered lifestyle illnesses; these diseases develop because of the patients’ unhealthy habits.

The area of mood is a most common pitfall to human illness. The relationship line between our mood and our health is often blurred, because the effect does not always immediately follow its cause. Sometimes we even use our mood to gain personal power.

As play director, I work with actors as well as with non-acting staff and crew in theatrical productions. Working with non-artists is hard; with artists, harder. Non-artists may simply not know how to execute well your instructions, while artists may intentionally defy your directions because they have another idea in mind.

The temptation to rule with an iron fist is always there. That is why – at least in the local theatrical circle – many play directors are roaring monsters, screaming and yelling during rehearsals. Being in a bad mood seems to work for them, making them unapproachable and formidable such that they no longer have to be saddled by petty suggestions or complaints from anyone.

The problem is that the body does not necessarily identify between a faked temper and a real one. More so with play directors (who are basically actors, too) since they are trained to make real their every staged action and its supposed inciting emotion. When a trained actor acts mad – he is mad!

Imagine what hell the actor’s body goes through every time he plays freaking out and losing his temper. Imagine, too, what harm ordinary people cause to themselves when they freak out and lose their temper, just because they want attention. Good for the actor who knows desensitization exercises to rid himself of the bad vibes after the show. What about the ordinary person?

Howling and screaming at people may momentarily get their obedience, but not their goodwill. Living, like theater, is a collaborative art. One head and two hands are not enough to cover everything.

You need to make friends with your workmates. When you work with strangers there’s no way to be sure whether they are for you or against you. You will only wear yourself down having to keep watch of everybody at all times.

At the same time, you need to be gentle with yourself. Take some time to get in touch with your feelings, to hear yourself think. When caught in a snag, it helps to ask: What will this matter mean to me tomorrow, five days from now, five weeks or five years from now? Many things curiously turn insignificant when viewed in the wider perspective of a lifetime.

Nothing in the world is worth our own ruin. It is written that we are destined “to prosper and have a future”. And that we will attain it not by our own efforts and deeds, but by God’s grace alone. Nevertheless, we shall incessantly try to be good – to others and to ourselves, most especially – if only to prove that we are worthy of the divine promise.

Take something cold. Go swimming or spend time sitting under the cool shade of a big tree. Let out and let go of the bothersome heat within.

Keep cool. Life is beautiful. And God is good. (E-MAIL: [email protected])