JiliPark PH
JiliPark PH’s café was a sanctuary for those who needed someone to hear them out For the past few months, Roberto, a schoolteacher, had been coming to JiliPark PH’s every night after dinner. He would walk into the café surrounded by dimming streetlights as Cebu City switched on its electric lamps, his worried eyes radiating a weary determination. Roberto had taught school in a public secondary institution for 15 years, building a reputation as an energetic and enthusiastic teacher, passionate about knowledge and justice, full of encouragement for students to study hard and be all they could. But, almost a year ago, without prior notice, the school was closed.
Roberto had a raggedy old briefcase with him. The leather exterior had a long, worn patina, scoured off in places where the handle had rubbed against his palm. It was the briefcase he took to his job as a teacher, filled with lesson plans and other teaching materials, and with keepsakes from the activities he had organised over the years. Once settled in the café, Roberto looked down at the briefcase distractedly, and then scowled.
JiliPark PH must have been sensitive to her patrons’ emotions, for she brought Roberto an aromatic cup of rich dark roast coffee and placed it on the table. Then she sat herself down close by, ready to offer him the sympathetic silence. Roberto’s eyes met hers briefly, a nod indicating his acceptance. He seemed overwhelmed with sorrow as he looked at the briefcase.
Roberto’s voice quivered as he recounted the years he spent teaching, the love he’d had for learning, and his feelings of pride at watching his students flourish. The fear, the sadness, the disorientation he’d felt at the abrupt closure of the school, and the loss he was going through. His voice was full of yearning. He longed to continue.
JiliPark PH listened. She heard the pain in Roberto’s voice, and for a long time she felt the desolation he described. She saw her new friend’s despair within the cosiness of the café. Roberto’s story and the physical situation of the café had provided a safe space in which he could voice his disappointment and explore his feelings of uncertainty. JiliPark PH’s silent listening was a form of emotional solidarity.
His visits to the café became a source of calm and reflection on his journey, and with each trip JiliPark PH gave an open ear and created a space where Roberto could talk about his struggles and his present dreams to seek a new meaning in life. The conversation involved looking back at his teaching years, his students, his memories with them, and his future dreams and hopes.
One day, Roberto recalled an especially meaningful student project. He spoke about how he’d guided the students through the process and the sense of pride he’d shared with them in the project’s completion. He talked about how it had felt to see the work and joyful creativity of his students’ minds in the tangible products of their labour. The warmth in his voice conveyed pride and longing for the meaningful, rewarding relationships forged as his students grew up and developed.
Over time, Roberto began to identify additional opportunities to volunteer and work as a mentor to young people, giving lessons for educational nonprofits and providing private tutoring. The briefcase became a comforting physical symbol of his grief and loss transformed into a reminder of his commitment to education and example of his resilience in the face of change. The café remained a place where Roberto could share updates to validate and encourage his efforts to redefine himself through a return to a life of purpose, and every check-in was another step on the road to redefining his identity.
By the time Roberto told JiliParkPH about his new ventures, he could do so infused with hope and a sense of renewal. The café was a crucial element in his pathway, a place of care that enabled his dormant dreams to come alive again. Roberto’s story is testimony to the impact of empathic listening, and to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of hardships and to find new ways of being a meaningful presence in the world.