The Power of Allowing

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I just hit another milestone in my life. Well, actually, it’s more of a milestone for my son – Patrick Gabriel – who happens to be the country’s youngest motivational speaker and broadcaster. Just this weekend, Patrick flew to Singapore for a 4-day vacation, without Mommy and Daddy.

Of course, it’s a milestone for Patrick because he is beginning to be independent at his young age. Don’t get me wrong, he is traveling with his aunt along with a few of his aunt’s friends, so he is not traveling alone! Personally, I feel it is an accomplishment as a parent to ALLOW my ten-year-old son to make decisions for himself, and to be okay with the thought that he is not going to need me for a few days.

I’m proud of what my son has grown to become. At age 8, he wanted to become a radio broadcaster, so I produced a radio show for him called “Voice of the Children.” Shortly after, he wanted to become a motivational speaker, so I started tagging him along in my talks and giving him a few minutes of stage time even just to say hello to the audience. Now, he is motivating people who are even older than him – college students, parents, teachers, professionals – and his speeches are pretty awesome! In other words, he decided to follow my footsteps… no, let me take that back. He actually wanted to beat my record as the youngest broadcaster and motivational speaker, and all I really did was ALLOW him to!

Patrick having dinner in Singapore

I think all of us need to learn to use this power of allowing things in our life to unfold. In many cases, we tend to cling to situations, things and people that no longer nurture us or make us grow, primarily because we don’t know what will happen if we let go. This fear of the unknown causes us to stay in our “comfort zone,” because we’d rather be comfortable than free.

Think about it. How many of us stay in a job we don’t even like, because we’re afraid to let go of the security of the monthly paycheck? How many of us tolerate an abusive partner, because we’re afraid to come home to an empty bed? How many of us stick to a dead-end plan because we’re afraid to admit that it’s going nowhere?

Sometimes, all you need to do is to LET GO and KEEP THE FAITH.

Patrick having a blast at Universal Studios

When you go out to dine at your favorite restaurant, do you order your food and then spend the next few minutes worrying if you’re food is going to come, the way you ordered it? When you press the letter “A” on your computer keyboard, do you panic and think “what if a different letter comes out on my screen?” It’s funny to think that we would worry about such “trivial” things, but if you think about it, that’s pretty much how we act towards life! And the main reason we act that way is because we obsess with HOW things would come to pass.

To allow is to believe that what’s meant to happen will happen in the highest and best way. To allow is to be at peace with the thought that you will be safe and okay no matter how things turn out. To allow is to realize that even if something does not happen as you planned, it is getting sorted out for you in the grander scheme of the Universe.

Patrick Speaks at Go Volunteer Expo

I have proven this whole idea of allowing life to unfold in my own life. In my career as a voice artist, for example, I have experienced a lot of rejections, challenges, criticisms and frustrations that would have caused me to fold up and throw my dream to the back burner. But I remained faithful to my vision of making the Philippines the center of voiceover excellence in Asia. I remained positive that something good will always come out of the bad. Above all, I kept the pure intention of making other people better and happy in my heart, and I opened myself up to every opportunity that would allow me to do so.

Patrick speaks at the SNCCC Graduation

I’m glad I did. Otherwise, there would be no voice acting school that would have produced a generation of voice artists who are passionate about the craft. There would be no volunteer organization like Voice of the Youth Network, that would give the youth a voice on issues that affect them. If I gave up, there would be no VoiceMaster that would inspire, motivate and empower Filipinos to find their voice and use it in a positive way.

IYA 2014

So the next time you feel the need to cling on to something that’s meant to be let go, or to push for something to happen that is not meant to happen, take that as a challenge… to release the controls and ALLOW the Universe to work its magic in your life.

Contributed By: Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales