Evelyn R. Luab
Light Sunday
MAY the Lord grant all of us a blessed and abundant 2010. We have no business being alive if we cannot be enthusiastic about life.
To quote Mother Teresa: “The best way to show our gratitude to God is to be full of joy in accepting everything in life."
All of us, I’m sure, went through problems, big or small, in 2009. I refuse to enumerate the possible difficulties. But I would like to speak of the good things: A baby was born after years of waiting for a sire; a new business thrived in spite of so many obstacles; an estranged couple reconciled and the marriage grew strong; an old love got resurrected after years of searching; a garden of orchids bloomed; and a hillside turned green with sprouting trees and all.
The year 2010 will be what we make of it. Let’s do something adventurous. Don’t worry, I have no intentions of jumping off a bridge and diving into a wide river with a rope tied around me just stopping short before I hit the water. While it does seem like a thrilling sport, it's not for a senior citizen. I was thinking along the lines of traveling by myself to the Holy Land, or maybe just camping with a group of kids up a mountain, or maybe just going with one of my helpers to her hometown.
It would be great to be exuberant and to be open to new things, and to expect happiness.
What about backaches, knee aches and headaches? Pray to God and trust in His goodness, and live in the present.
I have yet to see a man who can remain grouchy when everyone else around him is full of laughter, giggles and grins.
Laughing through pain does not mean treading on toes. The Little Brown Man, as we Filipinos were once known, has changed through interaction with other races into a person whose “amor propio” (ego) has grown bigger than his head.
How else can you explain retorts such as: “Just who do you think you are?" or “It will only take one bullet to get rid of you” and “Don’t you recognize who I am?”
Gosh! How did we allow so much air to enter our system?
Our ancestors were always humble. I remember my grandfather telling my grandmother: “Okay, if you say so!” Or my grandmother saying: “I have no problem with that. If it will make you happy, let’s do it!”
Today, we argue even if it’s just to make a point. Our point—not anybody else’s.
I overheard a husband and wife arguing at a supermarket on which pineapple to buy. The husband wanted to get the ones from Cagayan while the wife wanted to get the smaller ones from Negros.
I thought the wife had an edge when she said, “I’m the one who will peel it, slice it and serve it to all of you” The husband retorted, “It’s my credit card that will pay for it!”
Their pushcart swooshed by mine as neither one picked a pineapple from the fruit section.
When my friends and I were much younger, we would have an afternoon out where we would exchange household stories. We would chuckle and giggle over the naughty things we got away with.
The ones I remember still are the wide-eyed answers we would give our husbands when he would say, “Here, pick out your birthday gift. Don’t spend all of it on silly things.
Then we proceeded to buy exactly what we wanted. However, upon reaching home, very sweetly and humbly, we would say: "Thank you for allowing me to buy the things I really wanted to get!" So how can anyone argue with that?
Seriously, let's start the New Year right—with humility, and let's shower the earth with love.