ON BEING ASIAN

I watched the afternoon program of the ASEAN celebration of 50th year. The scenes were full of dancing. The history of the ASEAN was moving. 

Yes, being an Asian sounds strange in our midst. It is easier for women to say "I am a modern Filipina, more westernized than ever." To be westernized looks mod, the in thing, hindi huli sa panahon.

The songs in the beginning were in English, showing how detached we are from the truly Asian culture. 

Then while watching the dances, my eyes started to look for truly Filipino steps. It was difficult to do so. Most of the steps were ballet, with flying the partner here and there. Then the men were copying Michael Jackson's gyrations. 

Even the costumes were not indigenous to Filipino culture. To have truly Filipino design, there should have been more geometric shapes. Then the colors are more varied rather than brown and gray and white.

It was the singer who sang a Filipino song dressed in a tribal costume who caught my eye.

I felt ashamed -- our neighbors have more respect for their own culture -- the Thais, the Indonesians and Malaysians.



You see Folks, I feel Asian because when we look at people, we go beyond the physical. Our gaze penetrates the inner mind and feelings. We could even decipher what a person would do at some instance. Those people who meditate a lot could do so. And meditation is an Asian practice which we must cultivate so we can determine who will do good, not evil to us at onset.

How funny. I watched an engaging indie film, so-called but the theme song was Air Supply composition: Two Less Lonely People. Sayang. I could have applauded more.


Our Asian-ness is something ingrained in us. The reason why two million overseas Filipino men and women could feel at home beyond our borders is because we look at the earth as a boundary-less place. We belong to the universe not one place. Being Asian, we see and feel the past, present and future. That is why maybe some of us could feel a strong inkling that we have met a person sometime in the past although we have only met him or her for the first time. That is because, "kutob" or intuition is strong in us.

Maybe next time we have an international gathering, let us get the cultural groups from the Cordilleras and Mindanao to showcase what is truly our own. Let us feel proud of our roots. That is the first lesson in being an Asian. Next is being proud to showcase our culture to the world.