Passing on

Even if the Department of Interior and Local Government has renewed its call to outgoing officials to guarantee the smooth and systematic change of capacity to their successors and that the time has come to transcend party politics and interests and get ready for a smooth turnover of powers there are still politicians who can't relinquish political hard feelings and harshness.

What's more, regardless of how we accentuate that the more prominent undertaking of the nation-building anticipates the recently chosen officials while reminding the bets to move and regard the election results as the Filipino people have spoken, chaotic transitions are as yet occurring.

And as the cliché goes: nobody is indispensable, one could just pass on whose command has finished to somebody to proceed or begin something new. In any case, one thing is without a doubt, the person who is leaving has recollections left, be it worth keeping or something else. But such legacy has already been etched in the history of a place.

For some, it is difficult to leave from the usual as one would also depart from the comfort, the normalcy of being, plus of course the power and influence of it. Power is addictive for people whose intention from the start is dubious.

Such power or the capacity to exert will over others and the ability to make things happen, overcoming potential resistance in order to achieve desired results is what we need of a leader. However it can be used positively or negatively. When used negatively it may well cause conflict. And when used positively it can overcome conflict and even avert it.

Supposedly, the peaceful transfer of power from one political leader to the next is a hallmark of democracy. But under the surface, the transition is rushed and chaotic. For the new administration, transition represents a unique opportunity to consider what it really wants to achieve and how.

On a personal as well as relational perspective, we humans know how to fight for the things that are important. We fight for relationships, for people, for jobs, for things to stay the same. But they don’t always fight as hard to hold on to us. One of the greatest sources of hurt is holding on to things that are trying to let go of us. The harder we hold on, the more it hurts.

If we are in the midst of a knock down, we will get through, but first we have to release our grip on whatever it is that’s holding us back.

In a boat that’s sinking, we know we have to let go of something but we can’t. We won’t. If we’re honest, we know that the things that are pulling us are dead weights. But we do remember a time, once, when it felt good to have them around. That was a while ago though and now we can’t actually remember the last time they brought us joy.

Power, influence, comfort and every single other advantage are addictive. At first, giving up isn't an alternative however there is a conclusion to all these. Letting go is one of the hardest, however one of the most intrepid things we can do. With all that we leave, there is quite a lot more holding up ahead. Be prepared with open arms when it comes.