These past few years I have found myself on a unique path.
Twelve years ago, in a blink of an eye, I lost the love of my life. I was thrust into the theretofore-unknown world of being a widower, and suddenly, single parent of two. Aside from that, I was also intimidated by a new career in the corporate world with the family pharmaceutical business.
Looking back, the challenge was how to move on and fulfil all of those daunting tasks, while finding some harmony in the midst of it. One of the things that helped me keep my sense of balance was to get into my old passion and love for photography, my chosen medium of expression to engage my artistic nature.
I love meeting new people from diverse backgrounds and going off the beaten path for the best of nature’s scenery. Thus, the life-changing adventure of Phil’s World was born, combining the people-oriented portraiture with the travel-heavy fine arts and landscape photography. In this day and age, with the advancement of online technology and digital media, most of us are blessed to be able to easily educate ourselves.
Thus I delved into the world of reinventing myself and that meant engaging in various practices, philosophies, and sciences – both old and new – to achieve the best version of who I can become. This also meant espousing a holistic approach, including physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.
To achieve this sense of holistic wellness, I followed my interests and pursued my passions. From this was born the idea of a travel show where I would travel to far-flung places of interest, and experience their diverse cultures, practices, and cuisines.
Along the way I would of course meet similarly diverse individuals and share their stories with the world. With my love for photography I hoped to share my journey through these captured images and moments in time, and I am very excited that after much effort and planning, this idea is now a reality.
My travel show will be aired on multiple platforms, including television networks and various social media. Aside from fulfilling my passion for photography, I also entered into a new business venture that aligns with my lifestyle and goal of holistic wellness.
I partnered with The Observatory Tagaytay, a new events place and boutique hotel in the heart of Tagaytay, which has the best view of the iconic Taal Lake and volcano, and is the perfect location to rendezvous, to celebrate special milestones in our lives with family and friends, or even simply to reset and recharge.
I find myself staying at The Observatory with my kids nearly every weekend as it is the perfect healing sanctuary for body and soul and allows us our bonding moments away from the hustle and bustle of the metro.
And so we end up at this beautiful complementary interplay of passions and pursuits: the fast-paced and sometimes hectic Phil's World, tempered and soothed by the rejuvenating sanctuary of The Observatory. This is part of what completes and keeps me in balance these days, and I hope to share that with more and more people.
By Philipp Dizon