Noong Huwebes, nakatanggap ako ng text mula sa aking station manager na si EnerVon C.  (Yes, I call him that because he is really full of energy and Vitamin C…C for Caring! :))

It said “Chiquiness, check out the PinoyRadio.com(PRC) website. We’re getting violent reactions regarding the replays of The Chiqui Pineda Show (TCPS) every Wednesday.”

At first, akala ko nagbibiro siya.

It turns out, EnerVon wasn’t joking. Exaggerating, yes. It wasn’t that violent, though there were indeed ruffled feathers, it was mainly opinions shared by a couple of listeners.

Opinions shared.….until there was direct and angry criticism that went:

“Exactly my point Jhoyce! I am here to listen to Pinoy music nonstop. This is not the place for current trends and info. Yesterday’s discussion was a total nonsense, and wasn’t informative at all. I had to close the tab after 5 minutes or so! Two ladies and a guy* arguing about the viral blue/black/gold/white dress, and for the love of pete, they didn’t have a clue what they were howling about! As I commented in the past, I tuned in to this site to listen to Pinoy music while in my office working. The discussion yesterday, certainly, made my work messy.” – JuanP

Although masakit siya – I’m still human and a sensitive one at that! – I’m glad for this happening and…talagang tumatanda na ata talaga tayo, mga kachika, kasi nakuha ko pa to feel grateful for the effect it’s having on the people concerned beginning with PRC and of course, my work ethic and standards.

I do get the point: Gusto ni JuanP at ni Jhoyce ng non-stop OPM. One of the commenters said kasi na “yeah we want non-stop music, that’s why we are listening here. If we want informative and current trends we’ll listen somewhere else.”

The bottomline is this: All criticism can be turned into constructive and helpful tools to the people concerned. That is, if the players are coming from a place of connection rather than division.

Its main objective is to entertain, promote and share Filipino culture by playing Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and various genre 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also a source of news and information about what’s happening around the globe and in the Philippines, includes discussions and interesting programs. – PinoyRadio.com/About Us

Sigh. So it begins.  I do believe Criticism and Creativity can live together in the one house, granted that the former is constructive and the latter stems from courage.

I found a really good post about how to handle criticism here.

And I am once again reminded by this great man’s words:

      “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”  ~ Theodore Roosevelt

This weekend, I counter-dare you, dear reader – whether you’re the one on the receiving end of criticism or the one who likes to dish it out ~

Get in the arena, YOUR arena.

Be it your workplace that needs you speaking up against the powers that be or the home-front where you need to put your foot down on a harmful practice (i.e. too much electronics, kids cut it out!)

I once again share what our dear Neil Gaiman admonishes regularly (paraphrasing) *”Before you consume/collect/criticize something, create one thing…then another…then yet another.”

Before you know it, you’ve made a dozen pies/paintings/planter boxes and quite possibly in the process, got calm, relaxed the need to feed the monster and buy more stuff and became happy.

Best of all, you can choose share these creations with loved ones and make them happy, too!

Courage in Creativity,