Ray A. Gapuz Story

THE WORLD AS A CLASSROOM:
LESSONS THAT GUIDE US TOWARDS ENRICHING A CULTURE OF MORAL
TRANSFORMATION ANCHORED ON SOCIAL CONSCIENCE

A speech written and delivered by:

RAY A. GAPUZ, R.N., M.A.N.
Dean Emeritus,
Ray A. Gapuz Institute of Nursing at PIMSAT COLLEGES

On the conferment
of the degree:
DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (HONORIS CAUSA)
By the Board of Regents of the Pangasinan State University

Every great man was known for what he gave the world but only a few knew that greatness is shaped by the experiences we gained in this world.
Did you know that Albert Einstein was described as mentally slow because he committed mistakes? But he became great because he learned from what the world has to offer. Indeed, mistakes are a part of our life. And since it is a part of our life, the best thing to do is to accept it and move forward.

Self acceptance is the single most important step to bettering ourselves-morally, psychologically and spiritually. Accepting ourselves means recognizing all the warts and emotional lumps and bumps and the bad bits, the weaknesses and the rest of it. This doesn’t mean however, that we are dead set on living with such imperfections, it simply means, we are going to accept the way we are initially and then build on that.

Self acceptance entails that we analyze our core values, our morality and our conscience which govern our behavior. This is important to ensure fair play in our dealings with others, to help make us a good people in order to have a good society and to keep us in a good relationship with our creator.

It is therefore right to say that in our quest to become successful professionals, we should also strive to be a morally wealthy person. Because the morally wealthy person cannot lose his wealth, for his wealth is infinitely portable, for it resides within himself.

Colleagues, life is a journey. A journey full of lessons, and I believe that the best lessons I’ve learned are the one’s I learned from the biggest classroom, which is the world we live in.

Let me therefore share my life experiences and the lessons I’ve learned from it that has shaped me into the kind of person that I am today.

So join me in this ride to explore our lessons in life!

"Great People are like Diamonds
always polished but never crushed"

A LESSON FROM NEW YORK

 The first lesson that I would like to share with you, is one that I learned in New York. Once I was crossing down a street in New York with a group of foreigners and a few “kababayans”. The skyscrapers thatsurround the streets always give me a fascinating realization that the great structures of the world were conceived out of the small brain cells of man. As we were crossing the street, the traffic light suddenly changed from “walk” to “don’t walk”. So naturally all of us stopped walking in the center island of the street. However, what a fellow “kababayan” did, struck me, for he run as fast as he could to the other side of the street. A policeman saw him and asked him: “Didn’t you see that man, it says there “don’t walk”’ but my dumbfounded “kababayan”, groping for an escape goat found the right words at the right time when he said, “But I didn’t walk, I ran”. Indeed the traffic light did not say that it is also forbidden to run, It just said: ”Don’t walk”. Everybody including the policeman laughed, but the experience provided me more than just the laughter. It has made me realize that “Good humor is a tonic for the mind and body”. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression that comes with living away from home. Humor indeed enlivens the spirit. After which it quiets the mind.

And let us remember that only when we have a quiet mind, can we adequately perceive what the world wants to teach us. It is when our perception of the world is anchored on reality. Calmness of the mind therefore, is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort to learn self control, sometimes through humor.

A LESSON FROM THE PARTHENON, GREECE

  The second lesson is the one that I learned while climbing the Parthenon in Greece. The Parthenon has become the culminating achievement of ancient Greek civilization. It is located on top of the highest and most conspicuous point of the sacred rock. The temple has become a reminder of the eternal lessons in conscience and honesty. While on my way to the summit of the sacred rock where the ruins of the Parthenon still stand today, I came across an article in the book I’m reading. It provides a clear view of the life and accomplishments of 7 of the world’s most successful people in America in 1923. For years, their success stories were the regular banner stories of newspapers and magazines, urging people to be like them.
After 27 years, here’s what happened to them:

1. Charles Schwab- president of the largest independent steel company lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life, and died penniless.
2. Arthur Cutten -the greatest wheat speculator, died abroad insolvent.
3. Richared Whitney- president of New York stock exchange was sent to Sing-sing prison.
4. Albert Fall – a member of the President’s Cabinet was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
5. Jesse Livermore - the greatest “ bear” in Wall Street, committed suicide
6. Leon Fraser-president of the bank of International Settlement, committed suicide
7. Ivar Krueger- head of the world’s greatest monopoly, committed suicide

These successful men were almost everybody’s envy and models of success. They won in the game called wealth but died in the reality called life.
As I closed the book that I am holding in my hands, I opened my eyes to the majestic view of the Parthenon on top of the sacred rock. The ruins , a witness to Greece’s history, has withstood the test of time. Indeed time is a test of greatness, while wealth is a test of our integrity and morality. It reveals or betrays the values we have within.

The Parthenon experience made me realize that every accomplishment that we have is all temporal. When we die, all that remains would be the memories of what we have done when we were still alive. It is therefore not wise to aspire for greatness at the expense of our integrity and morality.

A LESSON FROM THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The third lesson that I will share with you today is from my adventurous trip to China.
   Adventure has always been a part of my journey in life. Just like anybody, I am a traveler but unlike everybody I am an adventurer.
Adventure keeps things unpredictable and this unpredictability makes it exciting. Last year I traveled to China for a holiday and to catch up and watch the Miss World pageant live. I packed my bags and took a flight to Sanya, China. When I arrived in my hotel, I learned that all the tickets have been sold, so the next day, I packed my bags again and headed instead to visit China’s monuments of history- the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. That moment I intended to finish my tour in 5 hours to catch up with the last flight to Sanya then back to Hongkong then to Manila. I asked a taxi driver if it is possible for me to visit the Great Wall and the Forbidden City within 5 hours and he said: “I am not sure”. Even with that answer, I still silently decided to go for the climb to the Great Wall of China and the visit to the Forbidden City which is two hours away. To make the long story short, I made it to the Great Wall, I was able to visit the Forbidden City and to my great relief, I arrived at the airport just before the last call for boarding my aircraft was made.
The experience made me realize the truth behind what Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: Whatever you do, you need courage. For in whatever course of direction you go, there is always someone who will tell you that you are wrong.
And as you journey through life, there will always be difficulties arising that will tempt you to believe that your critics are right.

Brave men may remain silent in the decisions that they make. Silence has its victories too, but it takes   brave men who are principled and persistent, to WIN them. Remember, some of life’s battle are won in silence.

A LESSON FROM PARIS, FRANCE

      The romantic city of Paris gave me the fourth lesson which I am about to share with you today. Isabel Moore once said; “Life is a one-way street. No matter how many detours you take, none of them leads back and once you know and accept that, life becomes simpler”. My travel experience to Europe with my mother lends credence to these words. My mother turned 64 in September 11, last year. I clearly remember what she told me when she was 63 years old that she doesn’t want to travel anymore when she turns 65. And I told her, that before she decides to just stay home, It would be nice for her to see Europe. So I got a tour package for her on her 64th birthday. I intended to give the best trip for her, as she wanted it to be her last. I asked an agency to get us business class tickets and to book us in five star hotels. Yet, a day before we were about to leave, they gave us economy tickets and bookings in three star hotels. It was too late to back out. The reason they gave us was that the flights and the hotels were fully booked because of the world cup which is being held in France. So not wanting to jeopardize my mom’s last trip, we decided to proceed. We landed in Paris safely, got to our hotel comfortably and we planned our activities for the next day. I even remember my mother counting her dollars before sleeping. The next morning we were so excited to go out, to tour Paris and shop for souvenirs. But to our surprise, they are not accepting US dollars in any transaction. We were told that the money exchange center is centralized in one area and there is no other way for us to have our money changed to Euros but to go there. So armed with a map, we walked for more than  three  hours because even taxi cabs don’t accept US dollars, to have our money changed to Euros.

The experience taught me one important thing. That even if you already have clearly marked your destination in your road map, It is not until you are actually traveling that the obstacles become apparent. The journey may be full of bumps, potholes and detours but that is reality. And the way to handle it is to accept that it is part of the journey.

A LESSON FROM MY BEST CLASSMATE

And, the last lesson that I’m about to share with you is one that I learned from a person who is a symbol of strength.
One of the reasons we go to school, is to meet up with classmates, who eventually become our friends. For me, my best classmate in the largest classroom is Pacita. Pacita Revil is 61 years old, she had four major operations including a brain surgery that rendered her comatose for 27 days. Despite all of life’s adversaries, she managed to bounce back and at 61 she took a 7 day review, took a foreign based nursing exam and passed. She arrived in the US last February 03, and is now reunited with her 96 year old mother. Pacita’s story taught me that life is a grindstone, whether it grinds you down or polishes you depends on the stuff you are made of. Great persons are like diamonds, always polished but never crushed. And I have come to realize that through Pacita - my best classmate in the largest classroom. And finally, what do all those stories that I shared, tell us? It tells us that developing social conscience starts with ourselves. We learn it through time, first in our home and then in the outside world. We also learn that the responsibility to do what is right does not lie with the leaders of our country alone. It lies within each and every one of us. Because deep within us is the power to change the world  by changing our inner attitude and mind set. At the end of it all, we realize that enriching morality is a constant struggle. It is a non-ending fight with triumphs and failures experienced from day to day. The struggle could be difficult but it may well be worth it. So my dear colleagues, in our fight to save the very core of our moral foundation, let us be persistent in our efforts to learn from the world – which is what I consider as our biggest classroom.
Please join me as we recite the Code of Persistence by Harold Sherman.

1. I will  never give up so long as I know I am right
2. I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of the odds
3. I will not permit anyone to intimidate or deter me from my goals
4. I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and setbacks
5. I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what I desire
6. I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women have had to fight defeat and adversity
7. I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming obstacles may confront me.

Help me GOD to ALWAYS think of what is GOOD
for the GREATER glory of your NAME!