Im living now in one of the happiest times Ive known. I have always been a traveler and my life islike a series of episodes with different people in different places. I was in Cebu as I began to writethis the day before 2013 ended. The spectacular land-and-sea journey from Manila and the solitudebeside the sea in a remote idyllic town gave me the emotional healing I needed. Swimming alone, outin the middle of Cebu and Bohol, I have regained the peace of mind I thought Ive lost.

Im so blessed. Its a new beginning and Ive met good friends. I found work and for our officesChristmas Kringle, I received the only thing I wrote on my wishlist: Hermann Hesses Siddharta.

Many a time will I recall this day, O Exalted One, and this moment when my eyes beheld a holy man,said Siddharta, the young Brahmin, in that unforgettable encounter with Gautama Buddha.

I still remember vividly how the story of a young mans quest for enlightenment moved my soul when Ifirst read it as a teenager in the 90s in Morong, Rizal, long before I embarked on my own spiritualjourney. One weekend last January 2014, one of my Mormon friends gave me a book by a Buddhist writer.

Ifound Clarice Bryans Expect Nothing: A Zen Guide especially resonant because the authors transformation mirrored mine. The most agonizingpains I suffered came from my unmet expectations of others. I learned the hard way that peoplewont always do what you think they would, even what you both agree they should.

I care, and perhaps, I cared too much. But Im changing. I can stress myself by forcing others toconform or I can Expect nothing, which also happens to free and liberate me and bring me peace andjoy, in the words of Bryan. Of course, expecting nothing takes much less energy. And it also freesother people and me from myself.

I seem to have become a Buddhist just when my personal relationship with God has grown deeper andmore profound than ever. I find that amusing, in a metaphysically ironic sort of way, especiallysince I dont believe in labels. I dont define myself by my creed, and Im not religious in anyconventional way anymore though I have the highest respect for what other people believe.

The God I worship resides in the same mountain we are all heading for. We are simply going throughdifferent routes. But we are all, with our own cultural rituals, brothers and sisters on the samepilgrimage in search of the Sacred.

I find that Im changing a lot lately. Im becoming more of a presence at work by my increasing airof indifference to rules and office politics. I begin to disappear more frequently. I find itamusing that some people would try to project a sophisticated image and come across assuperficial. Siddharta, true to himself by listening to his inner voice, is the real thing.

Im on a personal quest. The life Im creating for myself is outside the corporate world and awayfrom the mainstream. For me, its all about being authentic. On a fateful day in March 2014, thelife of Siddharta gave me strength to defy a power-tripping supervisor by going straight to the top.It was a moral victory. Im humbled by the shower of goodwill and solidarity from my colleagues evenif some of them can only cheer secretly for fear of retaliation.

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The way to inner peace