In her poem "Language Lessons,"¹ Leny Strobel reveals how, before the introduction of doorbells, Filipinos would visit their neighbors and shout, “Tao Po!” to announce their presence. More than a "hello," the phrase told the neighbor that the visitor was a friend, and not an aswang come to suck her blood or munch on her bones. It’s a good thing vampires in the Philippines are honest! By saying Tao Po! the visitor also affirmed her own sense of humanness while inviting the neighbor to share her experience of being human.

Tao Po! points to the very first tangible gift we are given: Life. Our bodies define the physical boundaries of our experience, help us to perceive and learn from our environment, and provide numerous ways to interact with the created world and its beings. Without our human life, we remain simply concepts, ideas without context. No matter how complex we think of ourselves as being, without our bodies we would be unable to interact with others and affect change in our world.

Physical life is a profound gift; one I have underestimated many times, one I once thought was a burden to be endured or worse, something to cut short to eliminate the pain I was experiencing. But in continuing to live, I have discovered that what I experience in life changes and grows me in ways no cerebral exercise or emotional examination could provide. I am no longer confined to what I can imagine, but can build on that imagination by encountering the unique points of view others offer.

Through our interactions, we witness how our presence in the physical world changes and grows others just by being there. This can be as small a moment as a smile given to a stranger walking down the street, or as great as the birth of a child.

By writing down and sharing our experiences, we pass on the gift of our lives to others. Even if we are not physically with the reader, our writing can provide a new perspective or new bit of information they would not otherwise know. By bringing our experiences to the page honestly and viscerally, even if it is cloaked with metaphors or changed slightly to protect the innocent and the guilty, a kernel of truth can be revealed. That’s the beauty and wonder of writing.

“Tao Po!” I am a human being.

Each of us has a story to tell; that’s what makes each of us storytellers.
If you are a storyteller, you can write.
If you can write, you can change the world.

Salamat Po – thank you for joining me on Life’s journey as I share my experiences in this column.

¹L.M. Strobel. A Book of Her Own, pg. 32, T'Boli Publishing (2005)