Knowing the Path and Walking the Path
I do love the Matrix movies. I must have watched it for the nth time (I can’t even remember anymore how many times hahaha). I loved it not just because of the hi-tech effects and of Keanu Reeves. But rather the story itself of the Matrix. For me, it has been a symbol of liberation.
I spent my formative years under the tutelage of RVM sisters. And during those times, I was able to forge the different skills that I would need to survive the adult world. And one of these skills is the ability to think outside the box. But still, the fact that I studied in a Catholic high school meant that I could not just explore and experiment on just about anything. I must remain conformed to the ways of the nuns. Yeah, so I was a good school girl then.
When I started college at De La Salle University, it was the beginning of liberation. Yes, it is a Catholic university, but it has a more liberal atmosphere as compared to where I came from. And my thirst for knowledge and experience grew insatiable. Here I’ve tasted the forbidden fruit all right. Here I learned to see religion as not black and white. But rather a mixture of beliefs, more or less, tempered the way people needed it to be. I dabbled for a short while with witchcraft, having found the tenets of the religion conforms to what I’ve believed all along. Here I learned my vices: alcoholic beverages and smoking. I was unsheathed from my coccoon and was unafraid to explore liberal ideas regarding everything there is under the sun.
I remember an argument I used to have with one of my best friends. She has always told me that she thinks I’ve been going too far with my "explorations". I remember having told her that in order to know good, we must know what is evil. That to drink and to smoke is to imbibe the how and the why of drinking and smoking. That to know the other existing religions other than Catholicism is to grasp the reality of Christ (some people would be surprised that there are other valid religions other than Catholicism or Christianity, for that matter. Most people think of religion as either you are for God (Christian) or for Satan). But we do already know what the right things are, my best friend said. Yeah, we do, I replied. But as Neo said, there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
And so, I chose to walk the path and found myself scarred with my constant encounter with torns and ruthless elements. But I’m proud of what I’ve become. To have gone through all,I know now that I more than know it. I have been in it. I saw the harvest of the vast fields. I have the right to speak of it. But most importantly, I gained the right of redemption.
