Restoring the (lost) Art of Living

RICA Valdez gives participants last-minute instructions before they start cooking.

Work at home, while only the doing of little things, is just like the golden gleam of sunlight that runs through and brightens the whole fabric of civilization.—Laura Ingalls Wilder

This encapsulates the idea behind Art of Living, an initiative launched by Joy Schallenberg, proprietor of the food manufacturing firm Beatrice Kitchen Inc., with friends Malong Savillo, Jane Kim and Lorraine Feliciano in 2014.

Schallenberg believes in starting them young. “We thought of this initiative for girls aged 12-16 who, we observed, are living in a world of ‘instant and quick fixes’ in which work in the home is undervalued,” she says.

Alarmed that the girls are losing the taste for domestic tasks, which form the backbone of homemaking, “we came up with a series of seminars including demos and hands-on training to expose the girls to the wonders of home. Last year, we had four sessions: Filipino cuisine featuring Vicky Pacheco, executive chef of the Chateau Group of restaurants; table service and sandwich making; food pairing and beverage. The sessions culminated in the Art of Living Conference in May at the Makiling Conference Center in Calamba, Laguna. The conference was attended by 21 girls from 11 different schools like St. Scholastica’s College, Everest Academy, Woodrose, etc.”

Art of Living is inspired by the words of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, whose message of holiness in the ordinary included giving due importance to domestic tasks.

“Housework is something of primary importance. Besides, all work can have the same supernatural quality. There are no great or mean tasks. All are great if they are done with love” (“Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer,” 109).

Oct. 8 will be the 50th year since the women of Opus Dei began stable apostolic work in the Philippines. With their guidance, many Filipino women discovered the divine dimension of their work, including and especially, in the home.

YOUNG women get hands-on training on the art of setting a proper table.

Promoters of Art of Living “don’t want the young girls to lose that nurturing character that is part of their feminine genius.” The idea is to empower them to take care of their own homes in the future and carry it wherever they go: their workplaces, in the field of social relations, in places of leisure, etc.

The whole of society could do with the humanizing touch of women, which they do when they are skilled in domestic tasks. It does not aim to limit girls and women in their activity but helps them live true to their nature while exploring all their possibilities in different fields.

The Art of Living hopes to contribute to strengthening families by providing a more homey, healthy atmosphere and by creating a culture of good taste, refinement, warmth that hopefully will extend to the society as a whole.

Art of Living part 2 is underway. Sessions include housekeeping, baking and French cuisine. Contact Joy Schallenberg at [email protected]. Jing Gomez, Contributor