by Benjamin Casono
My physics professor back in college began her lesson on the
Principle of Uncertainty proposed by Heisenberg in 1927, by asking us:
“How do you know that the sun would rise again tomorrow?” The predicted
end of the world was a hot issue back then. Clearly, the answer to the
question was: No one would know. We can never know for sure, but we can
only believe so.
“To see is to believe”. Yes, we woke up the next morning and we
witnessed the sun rise again. That is the beauty of hindsight. Well,
what about illusions and hallucinations, parallax, color-blindness,
lucid dreams, etc? Being so much dependent on our hindsight, we have
taken for granted that the reverse is what usually occurs and could even
be more profound.
We have all forgotten that “to believe is to see”, that we also have the
gift of foresight.
PRC Commissioner Honorable Teresita R. Manzala, PRBOA Chairperson
Architect Armando N. Alli, UAP National President Arch. Rozanno C.
Rosal, deans of various colleges, distinguished guests, fellow
architects, venerable politicians, beloved parents, professionals,
ladies & gentlemen, good afternoon.
Bago po ako magpatuloy, nais ko po muna batiin ang lahat ng congratulations.
To establish my point, first, let us look back and reminisce our
nostalgic, glorious days of reviewing and preparing for the board exams,
the whole duration of which can be broken down into three phases:
foresight, hindsight and what is in between.
Our foresight was when we were preparing for our exams, strategizing,
internalizing, anticipating probable questions, building confidence
& strongly believing in ourselves and in the thought of successfully
passing the exams. This was where we had a great field of uncertainty
and randomness ahead of us where we only had to believe in order to see.
Now, the hindsight was having read the PRC post online that we passed
and we have done well in our exams. “To see is to believe”.
Now what happened in between our foresight and hindsight for me, is
the most sensational part. Opo, dito po tayo nagbisita-iglesia, nag-alay
ng itlog kay Sta. Clara, nagpadasal sa Pink Sisters, etc. Dito po tayo
sumugal, na dahil limitado lang ang oras kinailangan nating
magprioritize. At dahil sa sobrang bagal ko po magbasa, pinili ko na
lang po yung mga paborito kong subjects. This is the part where we
believed in our lecturers and mentors as if they were priests, and in
our books & reviewers as if they were our Bible. Muntikan na po ako
umatras dahil sobrang andami ko pang hindi nabasa at hindi rin po ako
nakatikim ng kahit anong mock exams. Nagkaroon pa po ako ng bonggang
diarrhea ng tatlong araw at trangkaso sa loob ng linggo ng eksams. Pero
nagtiwala at nanalig na lang po ako sa Kanya at sa lahat ng mga
natutunan ko sa aking mga guro mula pa noong kolehiyo hanggang sa review
centers.
My point is, the bridge between our foresight to our hindsight, is
where the magic happens. It is where we take the risk of walking into
the great sea of uncertainty, and entrusting our lives & our future
to each other. This also happens when we entrust our design and
specifications to our chosen engineer, contractor, foremen, workers and
laborers. This even goes on in daily lives of people like me, riding a
jeep, when we entrust the whole 15 to 30 minutes of our lives to a
jeepney driver, a total stranger.
Belief, trust and faith in other people, in our goals and even in our
own ideas are the pillars of the bridge we walk across, over the deep
gap of uncertainty.
Mga kaibigan, hindi ko po sinasabing magpaka-utu-uto na lang tayo o
magpaka - “bahala na” o “bahala ka na”. Of course we take precautions,
we verify things, we monitor them, we have to be watchful but not
paranoid, we also trust our instincts, we do research, we do our part,
and we choose the right people to believe in, that is when we have a
choice. But this does not mean that we give doubt, for to do so is to
never proceed at all, and to breed doubt, is to slowly destroy
everything that was built. Doubt takes away all our guts to take the
risk & to take a leap of faith towards something possibly greater.
Friends, we are now in the business, in the professional business of
Architecture and I strongly disagree when they say that this is “only
business, nothing personal.” Business, being run by humans, is a
personal matter based on relationships. We are not merely mechanical
machines that are connected by bolts or rods and driven by gears.
Instead we are all linked by the trust we build with each other, and
fueled by the passion we share. We get a partner, or partners whom we
trust that they share our visions. We hire an accountant to whom we
entrust our hard-earned money to.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe once said: “Treat a man as he is and you
make him worse than he is. But treat a man as he has the potential to
become and you make him better than he is.”
Before I finally end my speech, I would like to selfishly take this
opportunity to thank the PRC, PRBOA & UAP, and the two universities I
came from: Ateneo de Manila and UP Diliman. I would also like to thank
some particular people I believed in and have learned so much from:
Arch. Rey Gabitan, Arch. Jeremiah, alyas “Jeje” Queddeng, Arch. Emilio
Ozaeta, my mentors: Arch. Nicolo del Castillo, Arch. Danilo A.
Silvestre, sir Felix Chua & sir Jerry Araos. I would also like to
thank my first mentor & my kuya Arch. Avegail Casono, with his wife
Arch. Edra Belga Casono, plus my ate & professional guidance
counselor– April Joy Casono. Thanks also to Mr. Dondi and Mrs. Christina
Aguilar, for all the encouragement and assistance most especially
during the crucial week of exams. I would also like to thank a very
special & faithful friend of mine – Arch. Paul Henrick Letana. Also,
I would like to thank my girlfriend, who is of course, here with us
today, who is also my best friend, my partner, my first employer, my
constant companion and commander, Arch. Darlene C. Aguilar. I always
feel so lucky and blessed because she chose me, and she always believes
in me. Also, many thanks to my tatay and nanay. My tatay lived most part
of his yearly life in a ship, as a captain, sailing oceans of deep and
dangerous uncertainties. Being far from land and from his family, he
knew he could easily get swallowed by the ocean or by his own
loneliness, yet he chose to believe in what he does just so we could
have a convenient life. My nanay on the other hand, never left our side
so she could give us her full support and guidance all the way. Both of
them always believed in the success of their kids. Mula po sa kaibuturan
ng aking puso, mahal na mahal ko po kayong lahat.
And of course, most of all, I would like to thank Him, yes, capital H, I, M.
And also, let me congratulate and thank you all in advance, for being
great Architects of this Nation, that truly believe & serve The
Filipino People.
Well, finally, believing does not really ensure a 100% success of
course, but it dramatically increases the chances, trust me. If only we
could learn how to harness the power of having faith in everything we
do, in the people we trust, and in the goals we pursue, and in Him, then
we can say with great confidence to every challenge we face: “Consider
it done.” Mabuhay po tayong lahat, mabuhay po ang Pilipinas.
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