I WAS pressed for time in trying to close a 16-page special issue of Sunstar paper last Thursday night at a coffee shop at NGC when a 7-year-old peanut peddler was bugging me to buy some of her goods. I was very preoccupied. I did not even bother to take notice of her presence when she decided to make a face at us perhaps out of sheer frustration. It was probably so cute my companion decided to call her back and told her we were going to buy two of what she was selling.
Upon knowing we were buying two of her products, she called another peddler about few years her senior and said to him "bakal daw sila dalawa ka bilog, isa simo isa sakon ( they are buying two pieces, so one from you and one from me)."
Each of them then took a piece from their bundle of peanut packs and gave us our order.
I was quite amazed by what I just saw. I mean, how could I not be shocked? Here I was having opened two restaurants, an apparel and a wellness spa in four different cities and now presently running an affiliate here in this city, know for certain that in order to thrive in the local market I have to create a sense of monopoly of service on whatever product I have. Yet this 7-year-old girl who has to survive from her 10-peso per pack peanut sales still managed to share her market just so the other one could also survive the day.
The other peddler must have been her brother or at least her friend but that is not even the point. When she shared her opportunity to earn, she created her meaning at that moment. That 10-peso peanut pack which was half of what she got, captured her empathy for another being and her magnanimous heart. It perfectly captured her love.
You see, sometimes, we get so consumed by trying to excel and dominate in our respective fields we get to forget that sometimes also all we are called to do at a certain moment is to simply share what we have so that others could simply live.
If this world could just embrace the same generosity the little girl showed, then certainly this world would not have been as harsh to the most vulnerable sector as it is now.
So I say let us share what we have and what we can if given the chance. Be it an opportunity, a resource or even just our time. By sharing we will find our meaning and purpose far deeper than our dreams and aspirations.
To that little peddler marginalized by this society, may you not lose that big heart of yours by the cruelty of this world and may you eventually find your way out from the clutches of poverty.
Indeed quite a lesson to learn from a peddler.