Lifting Up

As Jenny walked through the unimaginable destination,she realized the different faces of each of us during the pandemic. Fearful, anxious minds of most of us. How can we get up or Do we still have hope in the normal life we have experienced? When will we be able to return to a time of happiness and without fear? Will we still experienced that? She hope so, because many of us are already struggling. Unable to be with a loved one in life and not free to do what we want, the situation is very different now than it was then. Many has changed because we avoid being infected and infecting others due to the virus that is spreading around the world. These are the only thoughts came to her mind.

(When her cellphone suddenly rang)

Dr. Jenny Mccarthy, we invite you to be our guest in our webinar which will be available on YT Channel. We have selected you as a motivational speaker and we want you to deliver a message based on your outlook on life especially now of pandemic. We are very pleased with your presence and commitment to our advocacy.

Thank you very much.

- Celina Araneta

(Activist head, writer, blogger)

She was stunned when she read it in her email. She just swallowed and was confused. But, it does not matter to her because she also dreams of doing it. She has also been invited several times to be a speaker but it is different now because it is held virtually. She didn't flinch anymore, she prepared what she was going to wear, she needed to look presentable because many people were watching her and it might even go viral.

At 3:00 pm...

Good afternoon. This is truly an honor. President Araneta, special guests or viewers, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I’m honored to be here today. To God be the glory for another wonderful cold day here in Canada and hoping that all of you are safe.

I have been asked to send you off with some words of wisdom. I’ll do my best on the wisdom part.

I'm Jenny Mccarthy, a psychiatrist, an entrepreneur and a public relations ambassador. I am glad I was invited and chosen to be a motivational speaker in general. I don't know how to start it. This is the first thing I did to speak "on screen" which millions watched ... (she laughed out loud with a mixture of nervousness)

In our life, there are periods of challenges that we must face, but the real challenge is how we grow and learn from overcoming them. Being naive children, we believed that life was simplistic and effortless. Well, we were wrong, we can only yearn for life to be easy. Growing up, we continue to face countless hurdles that only get bigger and bigger. My life, in particular, has been filled with numerous up and downs. It felt like I was in an endless roller coaster going up and down. Some believe that life is filled with obstacles and experiences that will help us pave the path to our own successes. But is that really accurate? There are some points in life when I’ve felt that I would never conquer a problem. From trying to learn to walk, to making big decisions that would affect the outcome of life. There are always complications and doubts that block our path. What job am I to choose? What university do I apply for? These thoughts will soon turn into a bitter reality. A reality that we will have to face. I would do anything to go back in time when I thought learning division was complicated as a series of knots. Sadly, this is the harsh reality, but even in this reality, we see even ourselves getting through a barrier. Life isn’t a game where you only have one try. Even when we stumble a thousand times, we can still manage to get back up, and it’s that thing about life that leaves me in awe. Life is a series of failures and lessons.

Just like my own experience and I'm proud to share this to all...

22 years later...

During the height of the typhoon in the Philippines, in the town of Tacloban , I was one of the lucky survivors. Rescuers saw me floating in the middle of the sea while clinging to an empty plastic container. But my parents have not been seen since a giant wave swept our whole house. Although I was lucky to survive, I had severe trauma that I would take for the rest of my life. For me, it is very difficult to accept the bitter fact that I will never be with my family again. I was only ten years old then, I did not know how to start again, I had nowhere to go and even my relatives were gone.

When I regained my strength since I was rescued in the middle of the sea, I decided to go to the place where our house once stood. As I was walking, I was immediately greeted by the cold wind and I heard wailing , none figure out where it came from. I did not even feel scared and just kept walking. I looked around, it was like a "ghost town".

I was moved to when I saw the place where our house used to be. Its columns are almost empty and only concrete floors are left. Because of my great longing, the happy memories of my family while they were still alive flashed back to my brain.

She stopped talking for a moment ... tears welled up in her red cheeks ,... and she continued the story ...

I cried when I realized that I could only remember them together. That flood ruined my happy life. As a result, I lost everything, including my family. ("I want to die ! , I want to die. There is no point in living anymore!" ) I cried out in despair because of my great anguish and I slowly got down on my knees and buried my face in my palms. Gradually, the sadness I was feeling disappeared and was replaced by anger and hatred until I thought of committing suicide.

"Why am I still alive, I wish I had just drowned with them! I wish we had died the same way!" I shouted furiously. I immediately grabbed a rope and tied it around my neck. I was about to climb a tree to hang myself when the cold wind suddenly blew. I was suddenly startled and turned away. I slowly backed away when I saw an image of the man, it was standing in front of me, it was wearing a white cloak.

"W - - - who are you?" my chest throbbed suddenly and I was terrified at that moment.

"Come, come with me!" the white man gently answered at the same time reaching for his hand but I was hesitant whether I would accept it or not.

"Come my daughter, do not be afraid. Hold my hand!" He said again then he smiled at me.

I felt relieved at those times, relieved, lost all fear

"You know my daughter, everything that is happening in this world has a reason. You may not understand it yet, but the day will come when you will also understand everything and be thankful that those things happened. Remember this, you were not left behind by your family to make your life miserable. They left you because they knew you were brave and you could live alone."

I was carried away by his sermons and cried.

The next morning, I woke up to the sunlight hitting my face. I did not realize that I had fallen asleep in my grief. My body regained consciousness. I felt that I had regained my strength, so I got up vigorously and started a new life. Soon, the DSWD, a government agency that cares for orphaned children, took me. Luckily, an American couple adopted me, brought me to America and treated me like a real child and I am very grateful to my new family. Because of them, that is why I am here to deliver a meaningful message to all of you and encourage the millions of people here to be steadfast in the life you lead, if darkness passes through your life, go through it and run swiftly, overcome the darkness and believe that there is a light that will shine at the end and is waiting for you.

Now, I am happy with the life I enjoy. I am a mother and have two children and I teach my children how to run their lives and I guide their every decision they make.

And I am sure that every one of the viewers today, is going through life like me or other problems especially now, pandemic. All I can advise you is to be strong and act no matter what.

Don't stay in the shadows. Refuse to stay in the shadow. Break out about your dreams. Break out about your passion that you have for changing the world. Break out about how you feel about things. Never hold back. Refuse to be in the shadows as you step out into this life. Don't be shy no matter how crazy it seems to you. That crazy idea may just be the solution for some crazy global or local problem.

And this pandemic my short message to everyone...

Even if we fall into new trials,our hearts never tire,rich out to the hand that is willing to sympathize. Our hearts never tire,it is in the heart of every mankind. Love for others and true service. A town,we will go up, there is nothing left to rise. A strength,a hope towards the new morning that is our heart. We will help one another to rebuilt our dreams.

God bless us all and keep safe always...

"Wow, Dr. Jenny that was a wonderful message,thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience." President Araneta said praisingly.

"Thank you also to you and all the viewers" Jenny nodded as she bowed.

(A lot of viewers commented on Jenny's excellent speech. All of them like it.)

-The end-