I have been wrestling with some grief and loss in my personal life. A crisis, that is. Too deep and real I find myself so lost and failing. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Sorrow makes us all children again – destroys all differences of intellect. The wisest know nothing.”

Oh, how true!

I was in a digital storytelling workshop few days ago and one of the participants mentioned Steve Job’s speech. I never bothered to watch it before, but now I found myself watching it again and again. Obviously, it struck a chord with me.

“…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did…I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

“It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“

“I hope your dreams take you… to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.”

Finally, my younger sister made it! She graduated last 22 March 2011. It’s been quite a journey with her all these years. What a bonus to be able to make a trip to Cebu and actually see her march and go up the stage to receive her diploma. Every step she made brought so much joy to my heart. I always knew this day will come.  It made me think about my own journey, too. How I have taken some detours. How I have lost my way. How I have failed. But there were people who never gave up on me. And I, too, was stubborn – I pressed on despite all the dark days. And yes, I, too, made it!

Congrats, Gen! We love you and we are proud of you! All the best!

Got something special on my mail box yesterday. A small package from a dear friend in Fallon, Nevada – April “Noodles” Richardson. Made my heart happy! She wrote: “When I saw the title, it just screams “Au” to me. Miss yah!”

The word that reminded her of me was RAIN. Yes, a number of my friends know that’s one of the words that has a personal, intimate connection to my heart. A key word, it is! Noodles, thanks for remembering and for your thoughtfulness. You made my day!

How about you? What’s your word?

Here are a couple more digital stories from our workshop in Colorado Springs last year. These are stories of fathers and daughters – tender, precious, and redeeming.

“Where is home for you?” A digital story by Michelle Anderson. Via Affirmativa 2010. Digital Storytelling Workshop, 17-19 August 2010. Colorado Springs, USA.

Ten years ago a friend gave me a book written by Ruth Myers. To this day, I still have with me the index cards where I wrote my answers to the book’s study guide questions. Four years ago, I moved to Singapore and met Angeline Koh, my editor and colleague. Small world – Angeline and Ruth are close friends! Ruth is a Navigator veteran and author of many books.

Three months ago, I had the privilege of visiting Ruth when I was in Colorado Springs. Yes, I met her, held hands with her, hugged her. She looked so frail, wrinkled, and old. Yet there was so much life bursting out of her faltering body. Her shaky, soft voice, her hungry eyes, her big smiles, her prayers, her touch, and life are all together difficult to forget and impossible not to notice and admire.

While on a boat ride yesterday, I got news that Ruth passed away. The sea was calm. Standing by the deck, I watched the distant islands and let the drizzle on my face. Thank you, Ruth Myers, for touching my life. I’m one of those blessed by your writings and affected by that one short encounter in Colorado Springs.

“I am poor…As a little girl I remember attending a friend’s birthday at a local tea house. They dressed us up in floor-length Victorian gowns, served us scones…but I am poor…”

This is a digital story by Caitlin Barber produced in our Digital Storytelling Workshop, 17-19 August 2010 in Colorado Springs, USA. Working on her story together gave us a unique bond that will stay for a long time. Caitlin is now in Thailand serving an orphanage centre, or something like that. I wish her the best!

“Each day from my office window, I look at the ridge where I last hiked with my 12-year-old son, Ian…” A digital story by Dave Lyons, produced in our Digital Storytelling Workshop, 17-19 August 2010, at Colorado Springs, USA.

“There’s one advantage to being 102. There’s no peer pressure.” - Dennis Wolfberg

On our day-long drive to Estes Park and the Rockies in Colorado, we stopped by some places where my friends and I had a treat of seeing the wildlife in the mountains.

I was speechless many a time. Imagine a thought balloon over my head with the word – WOW! –  when I saw for the first time a moose!

But one of the sights that I also didn’t want to let go was this: an old woman who seemed to still have the energy and the eyes to see and enjoy beauty. And yes, she’s using a digital camera. I think I will be just like her in my coming older years. Haha. Mark Twain said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” ;-)