Post typhoon reflections
As the saying goes, “In every gray sky, there’s a silver lining”.
I had the impulse of writing about the horrors of the past weeks and the devastation Ondoy and Pepeng brought to our country. I thought of even posting pictures so I have a graphic presentation that would have made readers sigh and feel sorry. However, I quickly realized that drama and grief are not my cup of coffee. I do not have the capacity nor the inclination to stir heavy emotion that can support such endeavor. Sensationalism is not my arena. I am not the queen of drama. So I resolved to writing about the silver lining of the grayest moment of the past month.
- The value of family, friends, neighbors and even lovers. I was away from home when the highest flood came raging into our house, uninvited. I have never been as afraid, nervous and anxious in my entire life as I was during those two days. I was relieved to find out that my uncles and cousins all helped out in salvaging items, getting food and checking on our neighbors to see if anyone needed help. Days after, friends from faraway places came and brought food and water. Present boyfriends moved furniture and bought food from the market that was only accessible by walking through waist deep flood. Ex-boyfriends, no matter how bitter the break up was, called or sent messages to check if we were alright. Calamity brings out the best and the worst in people. Luckily we have the best kind in our lives.
- The value of Bayanihan. Sure we got annoyed by our neighbors a few times because they drunk excessively and sang all night long. We might have had a few riffs over trash thrown to our side or using the front of our house as parking space. But during Ondoy, nobody looked the other way when someone was in need. Nobody was needed to be told to help and even went out of their way to do so. Despite the many flaws Filipinos inherited from thousands of years of colonial mentality, Bayanihan can make up for all this and make me proud to be a Filipina.
- The value of cleanliness. They say that disaster is natural, but calamity is man made. Rain could not have drowned Luzon if rivers, canals and drainage weren’t clogged with garbage, houses and malls. Now, clean up drives and environmental causes are the new fad, I just hope that this fad evolves into classic style like jeans and white shirt.
- The value of preparedness. Ondoy caught us off guard and blind sided, Our area in Cainta has never had flood in the 20 years we live here. Life teaches us that life altering moments come in the most unexpected time. While the government, in its last stupid attempt to console itself for not being prepared, tries to brainwash citizens into thinking that nothing could have prepared us for this, Some clear minded individuals beg to disagree. Sure, we could not have known through PAGASA’s jurassic equipments that it will rain that much, but we have always known that Philippines is a disaster prone area, as such we should always be prepared for what might be heading our way.
- The value of faith. I’ve been an agnostic for many years now. But during the onslaught of Ondoy, I prayed hard with all the memorized our fathers and hail Marys left rusting in the recesses of my mind. I prayed to the God of Catholics, as He is the only one I knew from the time I could learn how to speak. I prayed long, steadfast and unrelenting, as if I wanted to make up for all the years that I did not. It was then I realized why people pray, why there is a God, why there is religion. In the most trying of times, I found the answer I was looking for.
I will always be the person who sees the silver lining, and I thank God that I am.
Here’s to a new beginning!
