Direk Mac’s words of wisdom

“Life is profound and simple at the same time. Life is an irony and a paradox, but it is so simple. Basically, do what you have to do. Everything will fall into place. Do it with great love; do it with great trust; do it with passion—you will not fail.” Text by Jason John S. Lim and Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. These are the words of Mac Alejandre, a self-confessed dreamer who advises others to do the same. He directed the recently concluded Joaquin Bordado and is currently heading a film tentatively titled “One True Love.” Looking at direk Mac now, one wouldn’t assume that he went through his own share of hardships. But he never surrendered and instead enjoyed them every step of the way, knowing that he will achieve his goals someday. “Minsan ang pagkatalo ay bahagi ng proseso para sa isang mas malaking pagkapanalo. [A] dreamer doesn’t give up—it’s true! Because I started with nothing; I started with absolutely nothing. All I had was my faith in my God and my dreams. That’s all I had. And I’m reaping all the fruits of my faith, my love for my God, and my passion for the arts. “Life is good. With all its ups and downs. Before you can experience extreme joy, you have to feel extreme pain.” He shares that his greatest weapon is his heart. “Ang back-up noon is your life. You prepare—you read books, you watch movies, you study, whether it’s humanities, it’s philosophy, literature, [or anything that] gives you insight—but it is [about] life in general. It is what exposes you to the truth, so that you can create your own truth. And then your heart keeps you grounded [while] your mind synthesizes all these things. Yun lang naman trabaho ng utak, e, mag-analyze at mag-synthesize. In the end, it’s your heart that dictates where you will go and how you will feel about it. But it cannot only be a compassionate heart; it has to be an intelligent heart. It is not an all-feeling heart, kung puro emotion yan, ano ang insight doon? Laging may insight [dapat]. Contextualize it. You learn from it so you will become a better person.” Direk Mac explains that there is no point in being jaded in life, because as he says, “lahat ng creations, may silbi.” “Ako, ang feeling ko, ang kalaban ko sa buhay would be cynicism. I do not want to be cynical about life. Life is good. Sabi nga ni Roberto Bellini, ‘Life is Beautiful!’ It’s true! Life is beautiful with all its arias, all its heartbreak, all its glory. Wake up each morning thinking you’re still breathing—[that’s] beautiful.” He continues, “Nilagay tayo sa mundo to go through the journey of life to better [ourselves]. If part of being a better person is doing your good work, humbling yourself, [then] that is what you should do. For some people it is easy, for some people it is more difficult, [but] that is not the point. That is what life is all about, and that is what directing is all about to me.”