By Andy Fuentebella

By Ellianna Custodio

In the thick of pending deadlines, puzzling deliverables, and plodding days, caring for one’s self can easily fall down the ladder of priorities. Most perceive rest to be a distant luxury that’s gone with the wind, a setback that can critically rearrange an already cemented roster of preeminences that subscribe to a meritocratic mindset. While we place academics and accolades on a pedestal, Sandigan Mapulon reimagines this aggregation, propping up on the same pedestal the significance of a mind that knows when to decompress and a disposition that knows when to pause.

Championing the Ignatian maxim of Cura Personalis, Sandigan Mapulon has committed its tenure to nurturing a community that sees the value in each and everyone’s well-being — acknowledging the equal entitlement of each individual to love and care. Though its advocated beliefs may seem to be centered around the self, Mapulon has been striving to extend this concern towards others, helping shape ASHS students to see themselves as an important cog in upholding the threads of care that bind the community together.

The committee stands as a constant reminder of how treatment is interlinked, that how we approach one aspect of ourselves can drizzle into how we approach other components of our lives. Resting and caring are more than just afterthoughts we reserve to be realized only when tasks have been fulfilled and accomplished, a notion that Mapulon endeavors to underscore. 

The Groundwork of Wellness

“A community that treasures well-being is one that shows empathy and kindness; not just towards others, but towards one’s self as well. It is a community that values all individuals, because everyone is deserving of love and care,” Margaux Dy, the Overall Head of Mapulon, from 12-Acquaviva described when asked the kind of community that Mapulon envisages.

Sandigan Mapulon does more than just trumpet the importance of leading a healthy life; it also aims to induce a safe space for ASHS students, putting an underline to holistic health. The committee calls for a redefinition of what it means to care and be compassionate, that the love one preaches should be backed by actions. Rhian Caliwan of 12-Xavier, the Communications and Research Head, explains this, “There always has to be some form of interaction and outreach so that we can understand the challenges and contexts of the people that we are advocating and helping.”

Conversely, Mapulon also gives weight to self-care as the square one for being able to effectively care for those around you, promoting that the care and compassion are innately embedded into the nature of humanity. The organization also gives emphasis that knowing and establishing boundaries are also forms of caring.

“It’s hard to show up, especially at times that you can’t even show up for yourself,” Zab Gabon from 12-Gonzalez, the Brands Head, defines her understanding of being caring and compassionate in the context of Mapulon’s work, “At times that my personal life is too overwhelming for me, I tell myself that I have to give myself grace, that I have to know when to stop and when to step up.”

In Sandigan Mapulon, care ripens quietly through small acts of graces towards one’s self, unfolding in configurations that are tangible and make themselves communally known. Compassion is not simply an abstract, sporadic feeling, but a discipline that takes time and intentionality to be properly imposed, enriched by honesty and presence; to which these continue to invigorate the very pulse and spirit of the committee’s service.

When woven together, the preceding insights are reflective of what Mapulon is bolstered by — the dedication to fostering a community that cares holistically and shows compassion unreluctantly, a community that perceives self-care and commune as mutually cooperating entities, both vital in materializing that collective love and understanding, ensuring that they are forces that are not just seen, but also felt.

Translating the organization’s intentions to actions, the values that have been substantiated so far are given life through the initiatives that Mapulon brings to better link their advocacies with the context of the ASHS community at large.

The Paths of Caring

Mapulon concretizes what they preach in more ways than one, from seminars to affirmation corners and vent art, the Sandigan sees to it that caring always leaves the premises of being a concept and transforms into practice — abetting for the community to see care and compassion as both internally realized and externally manifested. Caliwan gives light to this aspect of Mapulon, “Although it’s important for us to spread awareness on the different mental and physical health issues, we can’t just preach them without any action to back up our advocacy.”

Kapit, a seminar on holistic wellness, is one of Mapulon’s projects. Through Kapit, the committee was able to better reach out to the ASHS community to mutually develop their understanding of what it means to be holistically healthy through engaging talks and discussions with invited guest speakers. In doing so, Mapulon was able to move forward with their mission of cultivating a student populace that assuredly values wellness.

Conversely, a panelboard was also put up by the committee for World Suicide Prevention Month last September, naming it the Affirmation Corner. On this panelboard, Mapulon posted infographics on how to fittingly support one’s self and others during rough patches; it also served as a ‘write one, take one’ affirmation board, as students were also given the leeway to write down words of kindness and encouragement and in return take one for themselves as well. This functioned as a constant reminder for the ASHS community to choose being loving and kind amidst an apathetic world.

Along with these, another one of Mapulon’s most noteworthy initiatives is Dr. Doggo. For the last four years, Dr. Doggo has persisted to be one of the Sandigan’s most awaited projects as therapy dogs are brought in, aiding students with unwinding after a long, hefty academic day. This care-in-action continues to the Vent Art booth, where students are provided with art materials to ventilate their suppressions in the form of art. Mapulon has also extended their initiative beyond ASHS grounds, venturing out through their outreach program in MedHaven.

“All these aim to understand how mental and physical health are equally important, how we can apply it to ourselves and to others, and how we can show up more even outside the Ateneo,” Gabon gives weight to the message and mission that these initiatives hope to convey to the student population.

Mapulon has made kindness doable for most, shedding light on how the simplest of initiatives can significantly steer someone’s day in a positive direction. Calawan emphasizes the importance of making these projects immersive to wholly establish a collaborative understanding of what each internally struggles with. 

Within the committee, transparency remains as an integral aspect of maintaining an understanding culture; the care that they advocate externally sprouts from the compassion they practice internally. Gabon underscores how asking questions, such as “Kaya ko pa ba?” and “Hanggang saan ang kaya kong ibigay?” helps keep context clear for better practice of empathy, regardless of how uncomfortable they may be.  

Caring and being compassionate become lived experiences, second nature to who we are instead of efforts that are beyond our acclimated routines. Mapulon has actualized the thoughts that count and the intentions that usually remain dormant — and while doing so, the Sandigan implores ASHS students to have empathy that goes both ways, inwards and outwards.

The Illumination amidst Dusk

“I learned that caring for yourself should be an active decision, not a passive one,” Dy reflects on what she has garnered during her time in Mapulon, “At its core, all Mapulon wants is for everyone to be more kind — to themselves and to others. In finding love, kindness, and compassion in yourself, rooting yourself in it, and sharing it with the world, you are able to live out Mapulon’s advocacy.”

Mapulon champions care that permeates within and overflows to others, standing both as a model for this sentiment and a multiplier. Through their mission, the community can better understand the eminent link between being a person with and for others and caring for the whole person (Cura Personalis). Taking time to rest and care for yourself does more than offer instances of refrain, doing them better equips you to ground being collaborative in empathy.

Caliwan simply puts this thought, “As much as possible, be present to those around you.”

She delves further into what she has ascertained while being in Mapulon, that one does not need to solve all of their problems or offer to carry all the weight they may have on their shoulders, because most of the time, to pay heed and lend your presence are more than enough — and Mapulon has always dedicated to magnifying this, ensuring that each initiative is reflective of their intention of listening to understand, not just to reply.

To unfold and to feel may both appear as intimidating doings as they imply entrance to vulnerable aspects of you, but Mapulon has continuously shown how sitting with what refuses to stay put can calm even the most untamed of waters within you. Sandigan Mapulon is flourishing proof that illumination does not always mean perilous flames; that one does not have to set themselves on fire just to be seen by others.

Gabon gives regard to the reminder that as agents of change, we must fill this world with love, because everyone deserves love; a reflection that Mapulon unfailingly epitomizes. She quotes Mary Oliver, “You don’t have to be good. You don’t have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You just have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”