This article was written by Direk Heidi O. Sison on her 68th birthday last July 26. Direk Heidi has produced and directed TV variety shows, musicals, drama, game shows, among others. She is currently busy conducting seminars for organizations and private companies as the founder of Character Building Foundation.

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The things we learn as we
continue to take this journey called LIFE is awesome and endless.

At 68, what used to be such a huge
concern is now insignificant; and what never crossed my mind has become my
focus.

I used to worry about my weight.
The nicest way to describe me was plump. Through a process called ageing, do you
know that you can lose all that fat because your stomach naturally rejects red
meat, fat and processed meat? You begin to enjoy more vegetable, fish and
chicken. Pasta is always welcome. Weight is no longer an issue but only a
number indicating nothing except change. That, too, is insignificant.

“Eat all you can” buffets give me
no thrill. I know I can no longer go beyond one or two appetizers or soup
with bread. Talo tayo diyan.

What used to worry me, like
“fashion”, isn’t complicated anymore since my objective is to be comfortable. No
more tight girdles, three-inch stiletto heels, mascara, accessories galore,
matching bags and shoes. I want to feel the ground when I walk fast (still) and
avoid bangles that only get entangled somewhere. In other words, safety has become a
bigger objective than being a fashion plate.

It used to be that all show
business discoveries must appear in my program first before they are seen in
any other show. Today, I don’t know the artists’ names, what  talents they
have,  or if they are really popular. I look at the TV set and
sarcastically ask, “who is that! Like, does she think she has talent?”

Television, which was my domain, no
longer dominates entertainment, communication and information dissemination.
Now, the computer is it. Does that make me irrelevant? Certainly not because
what matters is the substance, not the medium. Everything on TV today has been
done before. We watch old ideas done with better sets and crispier picture.
Every other program is a rehash.

Computer technology is still a
personal challenge but I know its potential is bigger than the TV screen. Ideas
are flowing endlessly. It is within reach regardless of language spoken for it
has a language all its own that transcends boundaries.

When I was young, I couldn’t
write. Perhaps because there wasn’t much to say. Today I am eagerly looking
forward to writing to share the lessons of life and enrich others.

I might write the stories of
people I met during this journey who made my life very “makulay”. Remember Nora
Aunor and her “Makulay na Daigdig ni Nora?” Wait till you read mine.

It used to be that I eternally
worry about my children. Are they home? How about school? Do they keep good
company? Today, they worry about me. I have a feeling they think I can’t
cross the street or go up the mall to watch a movie all by myself. Did I not
carry them in my arms as I climb steep staircases while carrying
bundles of groceries with the other? Why, that was only some twenty years
ago. My strength couldn’t have changed that much!

It used to be that I was always
right. Today they gave me that dare stare when I say I am right.

I am two years from being
seventy. I am not anxious about the future of the younger generation, and  I cant blame them. The future is scarier than we think and my
grandchildren will have to be more courageous than I am. They need to have a
massive dosage of HOPE, endless DETERMINATION to move on in spite
of life’s gridlock, WISER with the ways of the world, TRUSTING
all the time, that in this journey you have a traveling companion who loves you
unconditionally and whose timing is perfect.

NOW I KNOW

You cannot rig life, you have to
live it

You cannot cheat death, it will
take you at the perfect time

You cannot flaunt wealth; you can’t
bring it with you

You cannot perform miracles, for those belong only to GOD

You cannot go through life being
self-centered and greedy

You need both success and failure
to bridge you to eternal life

At 68, NOW I KNOW

Today I move on. My light is bright
though at times it flitters like a candle in the wind.