resilience

Mons Tantoco’s Philstar column this Sunday is just so overwhelming. She interviewed foreigners who have been living or have lived in the country and asked what they like most about us Filipinos.

She spoke to ambassadors from Britain, Israel, Pakistan, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden, and the General Manager of Shangri-La Mactan. They almost come up with a consensus in saying that Filipinos are generally jolly people, hospitable, always come with a ready smile, optimistic and resilient.

Resilient. I like that.

It only goes to show that Filipinos easily adapt to the environment or situation they are in. Most of the time, the Philippines undergoes tough times, economically and politically speaking. It’s a way of life for us. I mean, we never fail to appear in the Top 3 most corrupt government every time they conduct surveys against our neighboring countries. This scares the hell out of foreign investors, thus pulling down our economic ratings. Not only that, kidnappings and other forms of destabilization proliferate in our motherland. Wherever you look, you can see families living below the poverty line. What’s sad is that they continue producing offspring without having means to fend for them, let alone send them to school.

Inspite of it all, we face each and every day with our heads held up high, thanking and praising the good Lord above, and telling ourselves “kaya ko to.” Hey, we don’t have perfect lives, nobody has, but we are still indeed blessed. Favorite pa rin tayo ni God. He blessed us with so much strength for us to continually fight our daily battles.

I just hope we Filipinos don’t just give up on ourselves just yet.

There’s still hope.

Have faith.

And act… FAST

scary

Last night started the campaign for saving mother earth from the uber harmful global warming. It is indeed a big threat to planet earth as we might be wiped out of the map if the glaciers in those cold places (like Antarctica) melt that will eventually lead to the rise in sea level. Needless to say, since we will be experiencing “high tides” on a regular occurrence, the possibility is high that our lands will be submerged in water. This will mean zero habitat, zero life.

So let’s do our share in saving mother earth. Let’s conserve energy, as it is one of the factors that lead to global warming. So less energy consumption, less Meralco bills (kaching!). Also, let’s not use plastic bags and invest instead in eco-friendly shopping bags (thanks to Anya Hindmarch for introducing eco-friendly bags). Screw designer bags, go for canvass statement bags. This means, we do not have to “recycle” (as if we do) these plastics. Even if we do, the plastic materials aren’t really meant for recycling because they aren’t biodegradable. I also think that each one of us should turn green thumb and start planting more trees. Trees absorb the harmful carbon dioxide that depletes our ozone layer (gee, thanks to elementary science).

I hope it’s not too late yet. If everyone could just cooperate and do everything we can to save the world. If we don’t do it NOW, we might not wake up to a beautiful world we now live in.

the present is a gift

we just buried my late uncle yesterday. it's our first "dead" after my lolo died in 1992. it was hard for the santos clan to deal with it. everyone was in denial,everyone was in pain,but everyone saw it coming. that he will eventually lose the battle. he succumbed to septic shock a.k.a multiple organ failure.

i'm one of those who can't bear seeing cadavers,let alone viewing them in a coffin. this one was different. since the dead person is my tito,i was not afraid. i even watched him while his lifeless body was being covered with white cloth. i was even the one who chose the casket he'll lay in. i made sure he lied in a nice viewing box . after all,it was the last time people saw his face. i kept telling him that i hoped he liked his bed. i also couldn't help but look at him everytime i had the chance because it was the first time i saw him that handsome and peaceful.

we battled fatigue and sleepless nights during the wake. but what's worse was the emotion that overpowered us. we kept exchanging tito mon stories -- how everyone treated him, how he remembered everyone's birthday and how he asked everyone for his final request. funny how he asked my cousin to buy him a black belt, my tita for a basketball jersey,another cousin for a watch and my other uncle for a bottle of orange soda. ha! we never realized that was his last.

oh well, everyone has his time. some may pass tragically, some peaceful. so i guess it's true when they say "carpe diem." seize the day. you will never know when it will be your last. that's why it's called the present, because it is indeed a gift.

rest in peace, tito mon. find your way back home. i prayed to god that he welcomes you in his kingdom with open arms.