Taking our own pride and putting it forward
There are a lot of things we Filipinos can be proud of. We don’t even have to go into complicated things like genius, though we also have a lot of that.
We have simple yet strong points that usher in choices. What will we opt for? One that cultivates our worth? Or lets us down?
Our ability to bounce back after a crisis. This is among our strongest points. Note that after a catastrophe we pick up whatever is left and rebuild. Whether it be a home, or life itself.
When a loved one is lost, it may take longer. Knowing how attached we are to those we love. We grieve and find strength in prayer, then we plod on, gaining strength in the living relationships we have. Embracing each other in the comfort of friendship and the celebration of life. This is our winning stance.
On the loser’s end, we blame. We blame others for the loss. The lack of government support for whatever, even if we do not pay our taxes well.
Our ability to laugh at ourselves. We make fun of our idiosyncrasies and laugh in slapstick manner at our quirks. Yet, beneath all these is that humble acceptance of ourselves, and what life has offered. We mostly have a ready smile to return to one who smiles at us, even in the midst of pain. And we are always grateful for whatever little we have. We are forgiving, and accepting even to a fault. Because we tend to be used, manipulated and fooled. But we can also be vindictive and cunning and hard to cross. So people have to be careful beneath the veneer of courtesy.
Our good point is we are sincere to the sincere. And take on the once bitten twice shy attitude when hurt. Caution is a good lesson learned.
Our view on time. I would like to think Filipino Time is ON TIME. We have the same clock. If we can be prompt when we are abroad, when the country we are serving is not our own, why can we not do the same here?
A friend told me that promptness is an indicator of how much we value the people we are meeting with. And we Filipinos do give much premium on relationships. So, when we are tempted to lean on the old view of time, perhaps it is time to look into how important the time of the other person we are meeting with is, as well.
Our love for country. We all profess to love our country. But we always refer to ourselves, albeit jokingly, as losers! Oh yes, you read me right! When things don’t go well, we say pinoy man gud! (because he is Filipino). We malign our own country. We throw our garbage indiscriminately. We blatantly mock our own race even in our quips. We enjoy watching our leaders fail especially if they are not our choice. We forget we live in the same nation. This has to change as we are passing on the lack of patriotism to our young. We have to rebuild our pride of country and self-worth as we are all Filipinos.
We are placed in the land that we are by a God who knows where we belong. We must love and respect our homeland because it is a gift from Him. Let us make the right choice to “Walk proud, we are Filipinos!”