THE PARABLE OF CATFISH

Pedrito and Jose were inseparable friends in their early teens. The barrio called them kambal(twins) because wherever one was, the other was invariably there, too.
They were neighbors so they where together from early morning deep into the night. Oftentimes, they slept in each other's house. Being of the same age, they were classmate in the barrio school. They even had plans to attend first year high school in town together.
It was only natural that on Sundays, Pedrito and Jose went together to church in town. They wore their Sunday best(maong, t-shirt and rubber shoes) even if they took a shortcut through the ricefields.
Taking the regular road, the distance to town would be seven kilometers. By traversing a more direct route behind the cluster of huts and using the rice paddy dikes, the distance was shortened by half. This was called pagtatawid as it involved crossing a stretch of ricefields and bamboo groves as well as streams.
In one of their pagtatawid, on their way to church, they saw a putikan(mud paddle) or a lubluban(carabao's wallowing hole) in the middle of a deserted field. The hole was teeming with hito(fresh water catfish). Either someone used it as a stocking area to increase the weight of the catfish or the farmer missed out because the putikan was out of the usual pathway.
Meeting such an opportunity, one would gather the catch. Ideally the two boys should go to church first and then retrieve the catch on the way back. The problem was that someone else might discover and harvest the fish while they were in church.
Finally, they thought of a solution calling for their rare separation. Pedrito would stay, catch all the fish, go home to the barrio and divide the harvest between them. Jose would proceed to town, attend church and pray fortif two of them. They would then have the best of both worlds.
So Pedrito removed his shoes and Sunday pants and caught all the fish. He then fashioned a reed and secured each fish through the gills for easy transport. In the barrio, Pedrito dutifully divided the catch equally according to number and even size. Hating kapatid is the barrio term, signifying equitable division or even erring to the advantage of the other.
Meanwhile, Jose heard mass and prayed for the two of them. But while in church, he kept wondering whether Pedrito would really divide the fish equitably, even suspecting that Pedrito might try to claim the bigger ones and give him the smaller fish only.

THE QUESTION IS RAISED:
Who is more religious, Pedrito who was not able to go to church but was just in his actuations, or Jose who heard mass but suspected ill-will?

TRY TO REFLECT.

NO REGRETS

At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens.

As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill's wife would give birth to their first child about the time that the U.S. team would be competing in the Paris games. In 1924 there were no jet airliners from Paris to the United States, only slow ocean going ships. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma. Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side when their baby was born? Or should he withdraw from the team and remain with his family?

Bill's wife insisted that he go to Paris. After all, competing in the Olympics was the culmination of a life long dream. But Bill felt conflicted and, after much soul searching, decided to withdraw from the competition and remain home, where he could support his wife when the child arrived. He considered being at her side his highest priority, even higher than going to Paris to fulfill his dream.

As it turned out, the United States four-man canoe team won the gold medal in Paris. And Bill's wife was late in giving birth to their child. She was so late, in fact, that Bill could have competed in the event and returned home in time to be with her when she gave birth.

People said, "What a shame." But Bill said he had no regrets. For the rest of his life, he believed he had made the better decision.

Bill Havens knew what was most important to him. Not everybody figures that out. And he acted on what he believed was best. Not everybody has the strength of character to say no to something he or she truly wants in order to say yes to something that truly matters. But for Bill, it was the only way to peace; the only way to no regrets.

There is an interesting sequel to the story of Bill Havens...

The child eventually born to Bill and his wife was a boy, whom they named Frank. Twenty eight years later, in 1952, Bill received a cablegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The cablegram read: "Dad, I won. I'm bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born."

Frank Havens had just won the gold medal for the United States in the canoe racing event, a medal his father had dreamed of winning but never did. Like I said, no regrets.

Thomas Kinkade eloquently said, "When we learn to say a deep, passionate yes to the things that really matter, then peace begins to settle onto our lives like golden sunlight sifting to a forest floor."