Coke Floats and Boundaries

We had a nice surprise last thursday.

Someone brought ice cream for share during Baga*

Hmmm...

Freaky and damp weather or not, the allure of plunging a scoop of ice cream into a glass of Coke was hard to resist.

There is a strange feeling of sharing experiences while slurping on ice-cream filled sprite on a dreary thursday night.

While our islamic brothers and sisters celebrated the end of ramadan, a few gathered to take stock of our individual stories, step back to see the slow work of the Spirit & seek support for each of our journeys.

For many of us, there are many things in each of our lives that we experience, receive and accept that makes us full of gratitude ( job promotions, productivity, community, good family life) while there are other things in our lives which make us scratch our heads, wonder and say "anu ba yun?"

One thing we all agree: relationships, at any level, maybe a constant source of support, appreciation and gratitude.

They give us the neccessary boost in the arm, a glimpse of acceptance, affection, peace and trust which we need, once in awhile, in a world full of strangers.

On the otherhand, relationships can also contribute to our sense of personal confusion and utter bewilderment which leaves us with a sense of estrangement in our journey of discovering our selves.

Perhaps, it is in that strange sense of estrangement where boundaries come in.

All of us, slurping on Coke Float, deeply felt that in various times, we have all built, discovered, embraced and, at certain points, compromised our personal boundaries in more ways than one.

All of us are in a journey of embracing a sense of who we are, though we are forgetful that our personal boundaries dwell in a silent and hidden place, which we have to ardently search for with honesty, courage and trust.

It is a silent place where we can dialogue with our very selves:

• where do my own boundaries begin and where do they end;
• where do my boundaries of friendship end and take the next step into something more intimate;
• can i allow myself to trust & be vulnerable again, inspite and despite of all that has happened;
• where do i let go of a relationship that i admit brings out the worst in me;
• if i know what i do hurts the people i truly love why do i continue;
• do i turn my boundaries into a wall till the right time comes when i can open myself again;

And maybe, its in that silent and hidden place where we can meet & dialogue with our selves again, and perhaps, be found by a boundless and infinite Love.

Question is, does the Coke Float make sharing sweeter, or do they make the difficult truths "easier" to articulate?

that we will never know.

*Baga Evenings are scheduled gatherings in various locations that welcome all (whether retreat alumni from Fr. Ted Gonzales, SJ charism-retreat groups or friends of retreat alumni ) to take stock of their present situation, a step back to see the bigger perspective and articulate/share the support one will need to take the next steps of one's journey.