March 29, 2024

Uncertainties of the future continue to puzzle us as we come across different circumstances that test our tolerance, challenge our sanities, and twist our way of life .
First, the battle against Covid-19 consistently causes heightened alert in all corners of the world. More families grieve for their loss, while some worry for the safety of the people they care for, and worst some are suffering not only physically but also mentally because of the underlying risks brought by the pandemic. It remains unclear whether we’ve finally found the cure, or are we expecting a more appalling situation?
Furthermore, the Cordillera is still recovering from the damage caused by typhoons and non-stop rainfall. Farmers, business owners, and individual homeowners are having their share of survival stories. Properties were ruined, structures were destroyed, transportation slowed down, and the most unfortunate disaster is witnessing those tears and blood of innocent lives running through the muddy ground.
Other than the worldwide chaos that concerns health and natural disasters, decency seemed to have been forgotten. Cat Stevens sang it right with his lines, “Oh baby, baby it’s a wild world.” People from various places are being exposed to violent surroundings because of extreme practices of liberalism that alter the essence and value of humanity. What’s obviously wrong is being normalized, etiquettes are taken as jokes, bullying becomes a trend and nudity is now a fashion. Are we expecting more unfavorable instances this coming election?
All of these mayhem of the present society are becoming ordinary in the eyes of our growing children. We are being compounded in a vicious cycle that is almost inescapable. Despondent as it may look like, but there’s a bright light of hope.
The bigger picture shows us the rampant desolation of standards and morals, but we can always begin to make a difference starting from our own selves. It’s okay to get tired of these unending tests that involve our whole being. Time to time, we’re being attacked by anxiety, burdened by responsibilities, pained because of emotional grapples, and sometimes perplexed by our own state of mind. Then again, remember that you are not the only one experiencing such. Life is unfair, but it is unfair for everyone. After all, nothing is perfect in this world.
Open your eyes, look around you, and see how you have been favored all this time. The food on your plate, the clothes that warm you, the air you breathe – this may sound cliche, but those are only a few of the manifestations of the living hope that is being offered to us individually.
Live in the moment. It’s important to plan ahead, but be careful of missing the value of the current time. That person beside you might have been the greatest blessing you’ve ever received, but you have been taking her for granted because your eyes are focused on something else. The smile you gave to that vendor on the street might have been the gesture he needed to regain his dying energy. Your simple greeting to a person might have been the only message she has been waiting to ease the loneliness she has been enduring.
Indeed, it’s never easy to take account of every detail that happens around us, but the bottom line lies in the way we appreciate the essence of existence around us. If we start focusing on good things, we attract better things ahead of us. Most of all, we’ll clearly understand our true value as a person – that we have our own special individual purpose.
In the midst of the dark, may we always choose to spark the natural light inside of us as we rekindle the dying glow of our fellow people, especially during these challenging days. Find it in your heart to keep finding reasons to consistently do what is right and good. (KATHLEEN K. PADSINGAN)