a season, a lifetime, an hour

since i got hold of a copy of lea salonga's "inspired" cd, i couldn't
stop listening to the first track titled "who are you?" i couldn't help
but recall a very nice email i received about 4 yrs ago having about
the same thought.

ang sabi ng email at ng kanta is that people come into our lives for a
reason. some stay for a lifetime, some you meet to serve a particular
purpose, some are just there as mere acquaintance.

"lifetime" people are are parents and relatives. of course,because God
chose them to bear us, nurture and nourish us, and basically be there
all our lives. at some point,our elders will die ahead of us,but we will
always know that they served their purpose. sabi nila we get to
appreciate our parents more when we become parents ourselves. i believe that
no matter how rough our relationships with our parents or relatives can
be,they will always be a major influence in our child-rearing stages.
in one way or another,we will apply the teachings or values they
instilled in us. let's admit it,we need our families. we seldom tell them how
grateful we are,but they have this lifelong commitment tha they will
with us forever.

yung mga "season" people naman are those we encounter who not
necessarily stay with us,but we may find a need for them in more ways than one.
i guess these are people we meet at certain stages in life. for
example,these are friends we meet during high school or college who you may
become friends with for a long time. however,they may not be your spa or
gym buddies, or fellow book club hobbyist as they may get busy
attending to their children or business trips. at some point,they will
disappear from your life,but again may or may not come back for another season.
they will leave important prints in your life that you will surely
cherish until you get hit by Alzheimer's.

finally,yung mga "hour" people are those that come as mere
acquaintance. ito yung mga taong nakikilala mo sa school, sa office, sa mga trips
you go to. pwedeng yung relationship with the person isn't that
substantial,but still hindi magiging kumpleto ang school or office life kung
hindi sila kasama sa eksena. you may bump into them one day and will not
remember their names. the person beside you will ask if you know
them,you might simply say "ah,taga office." but then again,you will always
associate that person with an institution you sought refuge to.
again,hindi kumpleto ang isang lugar kung hindi mo nakita ang pagmumukha nya
dun.

a person may crossover to these different levels of affiliation,but
bottom line is,we learn from these people or we discover things about
ourselves brought by experiences with these people. God always blesses us
with someone we can always share love and laughter with. the question
just lies as to how long they are willing to stay with us.