Loob, Likha, Laya: A gathering on creativity for collective care and liberation
We're hosting a different kind of Ugnayan Tambayan this September. :)
Hello, ka-Ugnayan!
Are you looking for ways to use your creativity more meaningfully for causes that inspire you? Been working on a cause, and are now seeking fresh ideas and perspectives? Or overwhelmed with different social issues and unsure of where to start?
Wherever you are in your journey, if you’re looking to use creativity to co-create better futures, we hope you’ll join us for Loob, Likha, Laya, a community conversation on co-creating cultures of collective care and liberation on September 21, 1-4PM at Common Room in Atrium Makati.
In this Ugnayan Tambayan, we’ll explore the different ways we might use creativity to grow that culture, together with Mako Micro-Press, Jovie Galit of Pinay Collection, AM Valdez of Good Food Community and Karina Abola!
Bakit “Loob, Likha, Laya?”
If you’ve been reading Mga Liham ng Ugnayan, you may have noticed our past month’s themes of kagandahang loob and lakas ng loob. Later this month, we’ll also be writing about tibay ng loob.
What do we mean when we talk about loób?
In Sikolohiyang Pilipino, or the study of Filipino psychology, several authors have offered various definitions of it:
It is an “inner self,” an “inner being,” the “holistic self,” the “core of oneself,” the “core of one’s personality,” etc.1
It is “will,” or more specifically, “holistic and relational will,” a “potential” or “power” that is known through “acts of willing”.2
It is “what-lies-within-that-lives-without,” that which lies inside and must be expressed and perceived externally.3
There is an outward expression of this loob, and our actions with or towards our kapwa often reveal our loob.
We express, shape and define our loob not in isolation but in community, in relation with our kapwa.
Kung gusto nating magpakita ng kagandahang loob, we might engage in acts of unexpected kindness (without ulterior motives).
Kung gusto nating magpakita ng lakas ng loob, we might take certain risks to our own safety or wellbeing because we felt strongly that something needed to be said to others or done for others.
Related reads:
• Kapwa at Ginhawa: Expanding our circles for collective wellbeing (Mga Liham ng Ugnayan)
• Pagbubuo ng Maka-kapwang Ugnayan: A framework for meaningful connection (Pagbubuo with Jen Horn)
The urge to create
At Ugnayan, we hope that the connection that our cards (and now postcards) and our Ugnayan Tambayans create will ultimately move us towards more mindful, authentically expressed lives, and a more connected, inclusive and equitable world. This may not (will not) happen immediately, but I believe that with each reflection, conversation, creation, we make a bigger and bigger opening or space for those possibilities.
Because of our loob, we may sometimes feel an urge or compulsion to express or to create. We sometimes repress this in ways that don’t serve ourselves or our kapwa. And in some ways, I’m still working on that for myself.
So it helps to be reminded that: expressing our creativity can be a release and pagpapakatotoo sa sarili, and maybe, eventually, it can be a pathway to co-liberate our kapwa — whether that be in bringing beauty, wonder and joy back into the lives of those who have lost our sense of interconnectedness, or in fighting for our collective dignity, freedom and humanity.
The act of creating can be a form of pagpapalaya — ng sarili at ng kapwa.
There’s much else to be said. So, we’d love for you to join the conversation at Loob, Likha, Laya. Here’s a bit more info about the gathering:
Sadya ng Pagtitipon
Storytelling of different creative expressions of collective care and liberation
Connecting with our own creativity and advocacy
Finding power and joy in community
What to expect
* This is a working event flow.
1:00PM-1:30PM - Welcome and casual connection, introductions by Ugnayan Cards and Common Room
1:30PM-2:45PM - Kwentuhan and Q&A with Mako Micro-Press, Jovie Galit of Pinay Collection, AM Valdez of Good Food Community and Karina Abola; moderated by Jen Horn of Ugnayan Cards — (You can read more about our partners and panelists in our sign up form.)
2:45PM-3:00PM - Connection break
3:00PM-3:50PM - Guided group reflection & conversation
3:50PM-4:00PM - Closing
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
To accommodate different capacities to pay, slots for this are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested range between P200 to P500.
Each ticket comes with a P100 voucher valid on items, food & beverages at Common Room Atrium on the day of the event. Proceeds will be contributed to Good Food Community to help support their work with organic farmers while nourishing marginalized communities.
We look forward to connecting with you there. :)
Para sa malayang sarili at kapwa,
Jen Horn | @pagbubuo
Tagapagpadaloy, Ugnayan Cards
Pe-Pua, Rogelia and Elizabeth Protacio-Marcelino. “Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology): A Legacy of Virgilio G. Enriquez.” Asian Journal of Social Psychology 3, no. 3 (2000): 49-71
Reyes, Jeremiah (2015) Loob and Kapwa: Thomas Aquinas and a Filipino Virtue Ethics. Ke Lueven Doctoral School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
de Castro, Leonardo. (2000) Kagandahang Loob: A Filipino Concept of Feminine Bioethics. In Globalizing Feminist Bioethics, edited by Rosemarie Tong, 51-61. Colorado: Westview Press.