Heaven Knows

In some old religions and cultures, it is believed that a savior is born every few hundred years. Now, whether that is true or not remains to be unknown. What we do know is that in every catastrophic events that plagued the earth, there's always someone who would be willing to step up and take on the role of a hero. A person that the people can look up to and turn when things get out of hand.  I know that it is a huge thing to call someone a hero. It gives the expectation that the person would always do good no matter the situation. That is a tough role to fill, but if there's one person I can call a hero, that would be PABLO of SB19.

According to Google, the common characteristics of a hero are determination, courage, selflessness, and integrity. How does this traits relate to PABLO? Here's why.

Photos from cat_yeah_87 on Threads 

Determination is not about never giving up. It's about even when you did, you will find the courage to pick up where you left off and keep going. Determination is not knowing when you'll win, but the will to keep fighting despite uncertainty. As the second eldest in five siblings, PABLO grew up with a strong sense of responsibility for his family. He experienced life without his father most of the time, and he knew how hard it was for his mother and younger siblings.

He dreamed of providing them comfort and security in life, and he could've gotten those in the corporate world. A regular 9-hour job, promotions every few years, life would've been simplier, but there was something nagging inside of him. An itch he couldn't scratch. He trained under their old management while still working as a full-time employee in his previous job. Imagine having just a couple hours sleep, mental and physical exhaustion, and the constant worry of what would happen? That's almost paralyzing. Instead of giving up in his dreams, he sacrificed his job and financial stability for something so uncertain. Despite everything that had happened, look at him now.

Courage is not about fighting back, but holding it all in for as long as you could possibly can. It's not about giving your all in something that you know you do best, but in doing things that frightens you the most. It is the act of facing your fears and conquering them, one step at a time. We all know how PABLO gets sometimes. When he gets overwhelmed by emotions and fears, he couldn't help himself. It will definitely show. To me, that's not weakness but strength. In a situation where normal people would've crumble, he exposed his heart and showed that he, too, can be vulnerable.

It's one of the scariest thing to do, to let people in, but PABLO turned his fears and pain into songs. Why does he do that? Because more than success and financial stability, he wanted to tell his story. He wants to inspire people through the songs he make, and he's definitely doing that. But do we have any idea of how much courage it would take for a person to bare his heart and soul the way PABLO does?

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one's looking. It's the strong sense of responsibility. You will not allow yourself to do things for your own benefits, even when you could. When the issue between A'tin and the volleyball fans arose, PABLO could've used it for his or his group's benefits. He already went on X to calm A'tin down. Why not chase a bit of clout, right? He could've initiated a livestream and talk to the fans to address the issue. Instead, he simply posted an inspiring message to call out those who are engaging with the discourse without being harsh.

It would've been easier for him to train himself how to be an idol that people would immediately liked. With his talent and genius mind, he could've quickly gone to places if he did. Life would've probably been a bit easier, but that's not who he is. He showed his true self, acknowledged that not everyone would accept him or like him, and simply tries to inspire people by the things he does.

Selflessness is not when you blindly give away your works so others may profit. It's not when lack the confidence or self-assurance. True selflessness is when you know that you could've kept things for your own benefit, instead, you chose to share them. It's the fact that you could've gotten all the recognition to yourself, but you shared the glory instead. It is the knowing what you're capable of and still keep an open mind to welcome people inside your own world. It is not to control them or use them, but to grow and learn with them. The truth that you will happily become the shadow so others may shine.

Many can share, but not everyone can be selfless. It's not easy for people to step back and let others take the praise for the things they've done themselves. But for PABLO, it's not about who gets the recognition. How his works will touch people's lives matters most to him. Knowing that his music reached someone possibly drowning is much more fulfilling than any awards. He has dreams for himself, but he doesn't allow them to cloud his mind and change his perspective.

So for me, PABLO is definitely a hero. The voice of the voiceless, the saviour of lost souls, and the guide for those who are searching for purpose. He doesn't need to be flashy or the center of attention. His words, laid out with melody is more than enough for the right people to recognize him. He is a kind and gentle soul sent from the heavens above because they know that the world needs a hero like him. Through his works, he continuously inspire people to spread love and kindness so that they, too, may touch other people's lives. If someone would tell me that he may very well be an angel living inside a handsome man's body, I would believe them. Why won't I? He's already an angel to so many people and heaven knows it.

Patriotism Through Art

In a country like the Philippines, it is oftentimes impossible to love your own motherland. With corruption, abuse of power, and crimes against its people, our country is that of drenched in blood and a graveyard of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent lives lost. Who could blame you if you wish to have been born and raised in a different country than your own? But if there's one person that can inspire our countrymen to love our motherland, that would be PABLO. His words and his whole being is more than enough to ignite the love we once had for our country.

But before anything else, what is patriotism?

It is not just a word we should throw around for the sake of good exposure. It must not be taken lightly or it will lose its meaning. Patriotism is the devotion, loyalty, and love that a person has for his country shown through words and actions. Not because someone wore Barong or sang Lupang Hinirang means he's patriotic. One must show true support, dedication, and strong pride for one's country's culture, history, and achievements. It is the sense of belongingness and desire to see his country grow and thrive.

Now, why do I attribute this to PABLO?

In multiple occasions, he has shown his stance in our country's politics, not by supporting any one politician, but by supporting our people. Last year, he performed at the UP Fair with his younger brother, JOSUE. During his performance, he said something that left a mark to many of the viewers. As a PPOP idol, he and the rest of SB19 had always distanced themselves from politics and social issues. To hear him, in front of many of his fans say that we should continue to fight for free and quality education, is just too powerful of a statement.

Despite the hate and insults he and his brothers receive from fans of other groups or artists, he had always been vocal about his dream for the Philippines to succeed economically through music. We have so many great talents, and his dream is not that far from reality, if they receive the right support. PABLO had said in multiple interviews that he wants the Philippines to experience what South Korea had during the rise of KPOP. For him, it was inspiring to witness a country draw on its people's talent to thrive economically and conquer the world through music. He believes that we can do it, too.

PABLO is, first and foremost, an artist but he never craved for recognition. In fact, he's happy to be in the sideline and let his co-members shine. Everyone knows that when they did a collaboration with JVKE for Golden Hour, he didn't have his own lines. All he did was to harmonize and provide more flavor to their short part in the music. More often than not, he would push his co-members to talk in interviews, unless the questions required to be answered by him as the leader and chief songwriter of the group. A man so generous takes so little for himself, that's PABLO. His selflessness allowed the group to thrive with the five members working harmoniously despite the fact that he wanted to be a solo artist in the beginning.

Their group's song WHAT? is not just their anthem and declaration of their relentless pursuit for their dreams. It's a call-to-action and an inspiration to anyone who would listen to it. The lyrics: "‘Di na bala para iangat ang bandera. Bara na sa puso niyo na ang tatama. Ama salamat at ikaw ang agimat. Bawat banat iwagayway mo ang watawat." talks about loving the country peacefully. That we don't need violence and war to raise our flag. I just realized that this song fits perfectly with what has been happening in the world. Non-sense wars that don't really solve anything and take the lives of many innocent people, and for what? Ancient rivalries and to prove who has the bigger balls?

I remember when they performed in one of JVKE's concert in the U.S. When they introduced themselves, PABLO proudly said they are from the beautiful land of the Philippines. Most of the songs he had released as a soloist and even the ones he wrote for their group were in Tagalog or Taglish. Despite being an English Major in college and his English vocabulary, it is apparent that he wants to promote his mother tongue as much as he can. One of the underrated and most beautifully written Tagalog ballads in OPM history was his very own creation, Anino, that he gave to Stell to be added in his Room EP. The song was poetry at its finest with melody. The deep, soul-wrenching lyrics of the song  makes you think of what love really means.

It's the power of PABLO's pen game that he uses to inspire people and teach naysayers some lessons without stepping down to their level. His words of wisdom are a blessing to anyone who hears him talk, because he doesn't just wows the mind, the touches hearts, too. He wants to succeed, but even if he doesn't get the recognition he deserves, he never really cared. All he wants is to share his music to the world, touch people's hearts, and inspire new artists because he strongly believes that just like in South Korea, Philippines can thrive through music. 

Si Pablo

 

Why do Pablo refer to himself in the third person?

A lot of A'tin wonder why our beloved Pinuno often refers to himself in the third-person POV. With the way he does it, all we can say is that he's too adorable, but according to LSA Psychology of the University of Michigan, by doing so, we are teaching ourselves an ancient trick that can help us become more wise. Now, that sounds interesting, and here's the reason why.

LSA sited the article written by David Robson for BBC News. In the article, Robson described referring to oneself in the third person or illeism as a practice that has real cognitive benefits. To quote a paragraph from the article: "To the modern ear, illeism can sound a little silly or pompous – and we may even deride famous people who choose to talk in this way. Yet recent psychological research suggests that illeism can bring some real cognitive benefits. If we are trying to make a difficult decision, speaking about ourselves in the third person can help to neutralize the emotions that could lead our thinking astray, allowing us to find a wiser solution to our problem." - BBC.COM

PABLO is called a genius by A'tin, known people in the entertainment industry, and casuals. The moment they learn enough about him, it's always the one word that comes to mind. He has many quirks, even weird sometimes, but no matter what variant of PABLO we see, he's always adorable. What we don't know is that such practice is actually helpful to gain greater consciousness about one's decisions. It allows us to be impartial of our own dilemma so that we may see the best resolution we could come up with. This absolutely make sense to me, because when a person experiences difficulty, it's normal for a human being to become emotional. This often leads to making bad and rash decisions. By training yourself to be impartial, logic and open-mindedness can balance our views that will allow us to see things clearly.

 

@frozenchickenek Pablo in his 3rd person eras part 1 #sb19_pablo #sb19edit #sb19 #fyp ♬ La Luna - PABLO

According to research, illeism was first used by Julius Ceasar in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War), though there was no name for it yet. The word illeism was first attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge around 1809–10. It is said that the Coleridge coined the term by borrowing the Latin word "ille" (meaning "he" or "that man") and combined it with "ism". Another term that Coleridge coined was the Solomon's Paradox based on the biblical story of King Solomon who advised other people wisely while making bad decisions for himself. Solomon's Paradox was spearheaded by Coleridge that tested people's reasoning towards other people's problem and compared it to that of their own.

Another paragraph from the BBC article stated: "The scientific study of wisdom has been spear-headed by Igor Grossmann at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Grossmann first drew on the work of numerous philosophers to decide on a series of “metacognitive components” – including intellectual humility, acknowledgement of others’ viewpoints and search for compromise – that are commonly considered to be essential for wise decision making."

Intellectual Humility

Acknowledgement Of Other's Viewpoints

Search For Compromise

Three characteristics that our beloved PABLO had constantly displayed. His generosity towards people doesn't begin and end with what he can give materialistically. His wisdom, kindness, open-mindedness, and everything he has, he will always be more than willing to share. He is a true genius, not just because of his amazing ability to create music and write lyrics that are not just poetic, but also are true and authentic, his genius comes from his heart and wisdom.

 

Before this Chapter ends, I'd like to say something to all of you. I am NOT nor do I INTEND TO BE the person you call "IDOL". I wear my garbage all the time. My beliefs and experiences made me who I am. I am who I am, I feel good and at the same time, bad about it.

— PABLO (@imszmc) September 30, 2020

While researching about illeism, I realized that what others think are part of PABLO's imperfection are in fact parts of what makes him special. He is who he is because of what is inside his heart and mind, influenced by his parents and his faith. He knows himself because he looks at himself in the third person, impartial, logical, and most of the time, critical. He is a multifaceted artist overflowing with talent and wisdom. A mystery that you would want to solve, a phenomenon you would want to understand, and most importantly, he is a living, breathing history unfolding right before our eyes.