I WAS with a group of top decision makers, batchmates of the big boss at SunStar Davao during her college days at the Ateneo de Manila University.
On top of the itinerary was the Prayer Mountain because it’s something to behold if you are into well-manicured gardens. That’s aside from a tour of the Davao City Public Safety and Security Center and Central 911 just to show off what the city has.
On the long trip down from the Prayer Mountain came the realization, that yes, my friend and I are the right path in providing a sanctuary of art and healing that is more than just a meditation garden. Rather, a place where workshops can be held in whatever form, amid the most relaxing greeneries, with the vision of building a repository of Mindanao arts where people can go, look, and learn.
Davao already enjoys a steady stream of visitors, but very few are able to try the less-traveled roads simply because it can be iffy if there is no other destination or something to do at the end. By creating art spaces, we not only are able to nourish our souls, we are also able to bring awareness that there is more to tourism than Instagrammable features.
There is so much to show in the city, but it takes people in the know to discern.
Untapped yet to yield maximum benefits and profit are the visitors who appreciate the hidden places, not just to post and humble-brag about it, but to find peace and a feeling of fulfillment. There is something more there than crass commercialism. And in this tiny niche of discriminating visitors are people willing to spend anything for their peace of mind and the achievement of their purpose.
There is also the priceless interactions that bring learning and better appreciation and understanding.
It’s tiny but all so worth it, especially for us who are looking into that niche. When your motivating factor is harmony and healing, then this too will generate harmony and healing. After all, we reap what we sow.
That said, let’s make sure that we only sow goodness so we harvest goodness. I’ve seen it with my own eyes how a person who looks at every one as someone who could potentially steal something is surrounded and gets to deal only with the dishonest and the con-men. That is a life so miserable, and yet it’s a life the person has no one to blame but the self. No one else planted the seeds of dishonesty, distrust, and suspicion. No one but the person’s own mind.
Take heed: What you sow, be it only in your mind, is what you will reap.
saestremera@gmail.com