Avida Land: Forever is where we’re meant to be

Written by Ramil Digal Gulle / Contributor

Saturday, 26 June 2010 17:56

I AM essentially a storyteller. And storytellers are, in a real way, keepers of our collective memories—hopefully, the memories that matter most and are most meaningful. And what are these memories, but threads that make up the tapestry, the story of our race? One story that I actually enjoy watching on TV is the story presented in, of all things, a commercial for a residential development. That Avida Land commercial just gets to me—it is, when you think about it, a distillation of the story of humankind and our collective aspirations for forever. I can only wish the wife and I would stay as happy, as radiant with love and companionship as the elderly couple in the commercial—who are shown reminiscing about how they built their life and their future together. Whoever invented marriage and family had the right idea. What better way to ensure the survival of our culture and civilization, our very species? Without marriage and family, we’d all be too busy with conquest, competition and instant gratification—all of which would end in futility. If we lived our lives without considering the impact on our children, who represent the next generation—then humanity is doomed. The philosopher Plato gave this advice: “There are four things, before he dies, that a man must do: build a house, father a son, write a book and plant a tree.” These four essential goals are meant to continue the story of humanity: providing a safe, secure home for the family; producing and nurturing offspring; preserving the sum of human knowledge; and preparing an ecologically sound future. Building a house, for instance, makes a home possible. And with a home, we begin a life-giving journey that launches us toward forever with our spouses and children, as shown in the Avida Land TVC. There are also other things I wish we could have forever, as I plod through middle age in the 21st century, amid blissful domesticity. Music, for example, is one thing I definitely wish would stay around. We can all probably survive and stay sane without television, without movies, and even without the Internet. But a life devoid of music—that would not be worth living. Imagine watching a film like Titanic or Avatar or even The Ten Commandments and 300 without music. Imagine going to a KTV place where people recited the words on the screen instead of singing them. I also hope that greeting cards do not disappear completely. It’s the same case for actual, handwritten letters that you send through the post office. There’s just something very heartening and solid about greeting cards and letters—in a way, they actually freeze a moment in time. Sometimes, these frozen memories include embarrassing moments, like all the love letters I sent to my girlfriend (now my wife). She reads those letters back to me—for fun—and of course, the words make my skin crawl; so I just cover my ears and scream. But I can’t just push a button and delete them. I have to physically destroy those letters if I want to get rid of them. Now, consider printed photographs: you may have a fancy smart phone, or a web-site that displays “photo albums” but a low battery charge and lack of Internet access will get rid of those albums fast. Anything that you can’t get rid of by pressing the “Delete” button just might be worth preserving. Then there’s Romance. When you’re middle aged, you might be slightly appalled at how youthful romance can happen through text messaging, chat, e-mail and social-networking sites. Does any young man still bother to actually visit the young woman’s house, meet her parents, etc.? I have high hopes that Romance will last—primarily because Filipinos are incurably romantic. And while our popular romantic figures have shifted from ordinary mortals to vampires that sparkle in the sun (this still bewilders me), I believe Filipinos, deep down, still expect to get into the whole courtship bit, which is the wiser course. I also pray that Honesty sticks around. Some say that honesty is a rare commodity these days—but I think most people still prefer to be honest than otherwise. The mistrust, cynicism and chaos that result from too much dishonesty will simply tear society apart. Think about it: if more people practiced honesty more often, so many of our problems would be solved. I’m happy to note that I’ve followed most of Plato’s advice, except the one about planting trees. I’m glad that I’m just one goal short of contributing to humanity’s quest for forever. By the way, if you ever get a chance to watch that Avida Land commercial, and feel a distinct, emotional tug—don’t ignore it. It’s likely your instincts telling you to continue the story of the human race by making your own journey toward forever—a forever spent with your loved ones and the things you should treasure the most. In Photo: Avida Towers Alabang was recently launched amid fireworks and glasses of wine at the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa. Ayala Land’s Bobby Dy (left), head of the Residential Buildings Group, and Antonino Aquino (third from left), president, were joined at the event by Avida officials Divine Lopez, president Leo Montenegro and Dez Cruz.