“Puhon, anak. Say ‘puhon.’”

It was my dad more than my mom who reminded me of this. Funny enough, my dad’s native tounge was Tagalog; it was my mom who taught him Bisaya. Yet she would never be the one to remind me—part of me always wondered why. But what mattered more to me was why I needed reminding at all, and why this?

“Puhon” is a word in Bisaya (also known as Cebuano) that means someday, in the future, soon, and God-willing.

It is a reminder for us in the present to look toward the future—to be grounded on the now while anticipating what is to come. Yet, puhon is as anticipatory as it is cautionary, for it calls us to simultaneously hold on to hope and prevent our egos from flying too high like Icarus.

We say “puhon” prior to a major life event like a graduation or birthday, or when talking about an upcoming job interview or surgery. These future events aren’t trivial passing instances, but significant life shifts whose gravity mustn’t be ignored.

But sometimes, we sometimes say “puhon” for the most seemingly-mundane things—from visiting relatives who live nearby to going on a trip to a place that’s less than an hour away. Invoking it in these instances can make the notion of “puhon” feel trivial, diluting it of its meaning.

Now, it’s something that remains with me. When I was younger, I never thought much of it, and my parents never really gave their reasoning. In a way, this reflects the tendency for Filipino spirituality and religiosity to quickly devolve into the “because that’s just what we do” mentality. But as I grow older and find myself saying “puhon” without thinking twice.

While I partially attribute it to its frequent invocation leading it to be deeply entrenched in my vocabulary and mindset, I attribute it moreso to the radical hope possessed by my parents—both Filipino immigrants to the United States, each simultaneously bearing the scars of their personal sufferings and trauma and the radiant glow of their joy and humor.

They saw something in every situation that initially didn’t. And since I was young when I began to become conscious of it, I didn’t have the vocabulary to grasp it. but now, I do. Puhon is, in the words of the Presbyterian minister and televangelist Robert Schuller, “possibility thinking.”

While other televangelists preach(ed) the “prosperity gospel,” Schuller preached the “possibility gospel.” His sermons on his program The Hour of Power hinged on the power of hope, possibility, and optimism rather than accumulation, consumption, and material wealth.

In a similar way, puhon recognizes that fate and destiny are not only beyond our own understanding but beyond the material and physical. This radical hope can only be of God—the one who nourishes, empowers, and liberates us.

Whatever happens, may it be wisely and justly—not by us, but by God—whose ways and thoughts are not ours, but sourced from a boundless eternal love.