HEARTSIGHT

CHRISTINA LLANES MABALOT

Heartsight and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Physical eyes would only see the misery, but perceiving the world with your heart leads to healing, direction, and the strength of character to finish strong.

At the dawning of this pandemic, the world was at a standstill. A few weeks into quarantine, the special needs community was set back to segregation, or, literally, isolation, as the new norm calls it. Now five months in an unpredictable era, we are in limbo. We are, confused by the present, doubtful about the past, and uncertain about the future. The fear of a microscopic killer has defeated even hope. The book of Proverbs says, "Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick." Yes, hearts are ailing, minds troubled, and we're sick of everything plus the virus.

How much longer are we going to stay dormant? When do schools reopen? Will I get my job back? Is it safe to get a haircut? Or even, should I or shouldn't I wear a mask? No one knows. But, one thing I know, I'm tired of being the forgotten people, waiting for some form of relief which usually turns out to be tokenism.

So, I retreated into my thought processing plant to see if I could break new ground. My signature framework for piercing the darkness for a silver lining is "heartsight", or seeing with the heart. This unique extrasensory perception could be our navigator in unchartered waters. Physical eyes would only see the misery, but perceiving the world with your heart leads to healing, direction, and the strength of character to finish strong. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "It is only with the heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eyes."

HEALING THROUGH REDISCOVERING YOURSELF

Crisis crushes self-image and misleads a person to think himself worthless. Since perceptions speak louder than truth, a person could be contained in self-limiting beliefs. The real problem is, decisions and actions are determined by self-perception.

After the murder of his father Mufasa, Simba, in the movie The Lion King was caged in the "Hakuna Matata" (no worries) mindset. Although Simba's real identity is the king of the jungle, he lived in complacency and mediocrity, just like Timon and Pumbaa. But he caught his moment of awakening when he stared into clear water that mirrored the stars in the heavens. He remembered the words of his father, Mufasa, saying, "Remember who you are." This was the turning point for Simba to re-establish his true calling, and he stepped up to his role.

We, too, need to be revived to live up to our purpose. There is a reflection of who we are and who we can become in our hearts. Disasters or tragedies will never diminish that. However, that image needs to be redeemed, and we need to be intentional in drawing out that forgotten identity.

Heartsight is the brand of wisdom that was there any basis for them in the first place. I've learned to dissect my every fear by asking myself questions like: "Why am I afraid?" or "How can I get settled?" or "Who can I talk to about this feeling?" Undesirable realities may be the legitimate basis for feeling afraid. Still, they should not be automatically taken for dead-ends or closed doors – for fear itself is the roadblock. If we get to pass through fear's paralysis, we can focus on our circumstances and address them. "We need to be revived allows me to see opportunities where others perceive obstacles. Born legally blind, I've been locked down in a box with a "disabled" tag all my life. But my heart, who knew who I am and who I can become, led me to transform my dreams into reality. We can do the same today. Remember, it is typical to doubt ourselves when tidal waves of change wipe out all normalcy semblance. But don't accept defeat, only losers do.

Rethink who you are and who you want to be. Relive your mountaintop experiences and, from that vantage point, imagine a big picture of your future. What challenges have you overcome? Re-examine your past and how you've gone this far. If unhindered, what would you want to be? Allow your heart to speak. no holds barred, and dream so you could imagine yourself in light of your full potential. An established identity is the foundation for direction.

FACE YOUR FEARS

It haunts you. Or it's the elephant in the room that seems untouchable. Ignoring or running away from it will not fix the problem. Zig Ziglar says FEAR has two meanings: "Forget everything and run" or "Face everything and rise," the choice is yours. Fear has its way of taking over our sensibilities, especially when a loved one with special needs is involved. We've thought that we have a plan set up for the future. And now, we're back to the drawing board. But confronting fears is the first step to crushing them.

Fears differ with every stage of our lives. As a child, I feared that I'd lose my parents and end up in an orphanage. In my teens, I was afraid that no man would marry a visually-impaired woman. Later, I dreaded begging for a living if I couldn't find employment.

Looking back, I realize that not one of my fears came to pass, nor was there any basis for them in the first place. I've learned to dissect my every fear by asking myself questions like: "Why am I afraid?" or "How can I get settled?" or "Who can I talk to about this feeling?" Undesirable realities may be the legitimate basis for feeling afraid. Still, they should not be automatically taken for dead-ends or closed doors – for fear itself is the roadblock. If we get to pass through fear's paralysis, we can focus on our circumstances and address them.

REVOLUTION 4.0

For most of us, our greatest fear today is how the pandemic is teleporting us to a completely digital, automated, and technological world. According to the Thunderbird School of Global Management, the coronavirus pandemic accelerates the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In Revolution 4.0, machines will control the industries with less and less intervention by human beings. This era entails, among other things, artificial intelligence, analytics, genome editing (genomics), virtual/augmented reality, robotics, digital currency, virtual reality, autonomous cars, and smart factories. What big words! If I didn't work for a technology company, the words would immediately conjure scenes from the sci-fi movie Brave New World.

The concepts are so unknown, they're frightening, although I can't wait to ride the self-driving vehicles. Fear of the unknown is one of man's greatest fears. In an article titled "10 Biggest Fears That Hold You Back from Living Your Best Life," author Daniel Riley puts it accurately: "You cannot fear something you do not know. What you actually fear is the loss of the known." The article further explains that our higher mind sees losing the known as an opportunity to learn and grow. The world is changing. Ready or not, how we work, communicate, and life will all be transformed. We would benefit from learning the new systems instead of wishing for what we used to have. Come to think of it, every industrial revolution, the first, second, and third, was always met with high resistance. But eventually, man learned to accept and even enjoy the changes. After all, technology had taken over work and labor we didn't like doing.

DIRECTION

Heartsight recommends accepting the Fourth Industrial Revolution as the first step in plotting the future. Change is hardest to embrace, mainly if a crisis triggers it. As a blind person, I always dread transitioning to new work roles, alterations of plans, or living arrangements because of the overwhelming disability-related adaptations I need to learn. But I psych myself up through self-talk to welcome the situation as an exciting adventure, to the point that I'm eager to get out of bed every morning. In the same way, we can jump into this new season with high expectations. Moving forward sometimes means taking a detour, or even going in the opposite direction. While it is true that we're surprised by unforeseen changes, we can still choose to embrace and proactively prepare ourselves for the exciting things coming our way.

Take time to imagine how Revolution 4.0 might be. Envision how education, business, communications, manufacturing, entertainment, government, and the other components of society could be transformed. Could you identify gifts, talents, abilities, and interests that you or a loved ones have that would be useful in this new era? Don't worry if you don't have an answer today. Just enjoy the process of searching for new beginnings.

The biggest tip I could offer is to focus on things human beings can do better than artificial intelligence. We can empathize, relate, build rapport, collaborate, counsel, or advise, resolve conflicts, lead, mentor, and do a host of other soft skills that robots cannot do. Also, let's not forget that our Creator has endowed us with the most powerful gift – to create. The ability to make something out of nothing will never be depleted nor programmed in computers. We have unlimited creative powers as inspiration allows. By the way, no one should ever think that he or she is not creative. It's a skill ingrained in our DNA that could be awakened, developed, and practiced. So my advice, for now, is to get inspired to innovate because creativity will drive the future.

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

Shaping the future to our advantage depends on our mindfulness that people have hearts and souls, and robots don't. The heart is the fountain of qualities that make for good character. Examples are integrity, perseverance, resilience, trustworthiness, positive attitude, and the desire for self-improvement. Such characteristics are part of life skill sets essential for thriving in the 21st century. But these abilities don't develop naturally. Education of the heart needs to be integrated into learning systems. By educating the heart, we would have a complete awareness of who we are, who we want to be, and how technology could be a tool towards overall development.

I don't have all the answers to the "how's" today. But I believe that individuals with special needs will uncover employment opportunities if we rediscover ourselves, establish direction, and build character. Meantime, we'll expect the best, but prepare for the worst.

Today is not our final destination. Let's equip ourselves with "heartsight" principles while we still have the liberty to fight for inclusion, while we're not yet perceived as "useless eaters." Let's show the world that we have a place in the digital world.

To parents of young children with special needs, lend the little ones your voice and, especially, mold a heart of courage to fight for our future. For times like this, our mindset is no longer "to see is to believe," but "to believe is to see." No matter the twists and turns, we can still arrive at our destination. We'll continue to learn together, grow together, and win as a community.•

HEARTSIGHT

Christina Llanes Mabalot is physically blind from aniridia, but has a vision. She enjoys touching people's lives to bring out the best in them. "Heartsight" explains her ability to see with her heart. Christina earned her B.A. degree and Masters in Education from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, specializing in Early Intervention for the Blind. She later received Educational Leadership training through the Hilton-Perkins International Program in Massachusetts, then worked as consultant for programs for the VI Helen Keller International. She has championed Inclusive Education, Early Intervention, Capability Building and Disability Sensitivity programs. She was twice a winner in the International Speech contests of the Toastmasters International (District 75) and has been a professional inspirational and motivational speaker. Christina is blissfully married to Silver Mabalot, also physically impaired, her partner in advancing noble causes. Their children are Paulo and Jem, who has aniridia.