On Christmas Day in Manila’s heat,
She met with Dwight to walk the streets.
Nineteen years old, with eyes worn thin—
Oly held back storms she kept within.

 

Her mother, tough and torn by years,
Would lash with blame, explode in fears.
One slip, one word—not said just right—
Could spark her ire, ignite a fight.

 

“I told her something small,” she said,
“But she just snapped and screamed instead:
‘You’re so stupid!’—it hit me hard.
So I struck back, for I’d been scarred.”

 

The power comes when you don’t defend,
But listen deep and let them extend.
To hear their world without your shield—
That’s where love and trust are unsealed.

 

Dwight said, “I get the sting that you felt,
But there are other cards you could have dealt.
When those sharp words came flying through,
Could silence be the first thing that you do?

 

“Don’t say a word—just breathe, stay still.
And know that you could have goodwill.
Then gently say, with tone sincere:
‘You might be right—please help me hear.

 

Tell me what in me looked wrong,
I want to learn, to grow more strong.
I won’t defend, just try to see
What truth your anger shows to me.’”

 

The power comes when you don’t defend,
But listen deep and let them extend.
To hear their world without your shield—
That’s where love and trust are unsealed.

 

“It’s not defeat,” Dwight told her plain,
“It’s not pretending there’s no pain.
It’s a power shown in softer ways—
To lead with grace, not what betrays.

 

“If you respond like this each time,
The shift will feel almost divine.
She’ll wonder where her daughter went—
And find her own defenses spent.

 

“Then slowly, she may shift as well,
And start to break her hardened shell.
But this won’t work by just one try—
You’ll need support when tensions fly.

 

“That urge to strike, to make your case,
Is strong—in all the human race.
But it’s addiction,” Dwight made clear,
“To prove you’re right, defense is near.”

The power comes when you don’t defend,
But listen deep and let them extend.
To hear their world without your shield—
That’s where love and trust are unsealed.