Note: first published last June 11, 2007 under Anthony's column Vibes and Visions in the Life section of The Daily Tribune.
Celebration is the first thing we think of when the time of our birth date nears. We check our budget for that day, and make a list of friends and acquaintances we would want to invite. Upon receipt of greetings and gifts, we smile and laugh with happiness and candor. At the end of the day’s celebration, we retreat to our bed to start another day on a lost pathway. The essence of our existence is gone. Not even a trace of it.
Best birthday ever
Two days before my birthday, it is my annual ritual to spend the day alone for a journey to an unknown place. I’ve done this sort of retreat since my teenage years to search for thing in my life that I actually don’t know exactly what – some kind of soul-search or internalization, if you might want to call it that.
It was what my father taught me when he was still alive. To spend time alone and explore the world of its vast treasures and my place and role on earth, and that being the celebrant, I will always get the blessings and the things I need for my own personal quest.
The first time, I decided to travel north. I was excited yet lonely, looking back on the days that passed in my life, feeling and promising myself that I could do better than what I’d done so far. Television on buses that time was not yet available, so the walkman was my companion.
Along the ways the bus got a steering wheel problem that we almost had an accident. It could not even bring us to the nearest bus terminal. While some decided to stay in the bus to wait for a transfer, the others decided to walk the rest of the trip as their destinations were just a few kilometers away from where we stopped. I decided to walk with rest, not minding that I didn’t specific destination.
One by one my companions reached their places and I was left alone walking on a journey to nowhere. I felt a bit of fear for soon darkness would envelop the area and I would need a place to stay. After a few more of walking I reached an area with a small eatery and some small stores by the roadside. I decided to have early dinner in one carinderia. While having my meal, I noticed a small girl watching me while I ate. She wore dirty clothes and looked very hungry. Taking the pity, decided to give her my softdrink and the bread I had in my bag. I did not notice she was with her older brother until she ran into him, who was resting on a pile of coconuts.
“Kuya, ang bait nung mama”, she said to her brother while pointing at me. I ordered another drink, approached them and gave it to them.
“Salamat po, pasensiya na po kayo sa kapatid ko.” The boy instead of sipping the softdrink, replaced the cap and kept it in his bag, while his younger sister, jumping with joy, followed and recapped her bottle.
I went to the eatery and the owner told me the kids’ story. Their mother left them when their father got sick. The father suffered a broken back from a fall while at work, and after that he wasn’t able to work again. From then on the two kids stopped going to school and started collecting fallen coconuts to sell to survive their days.
I approached them again and asked them where they lived. Reaching their house, I found myself watching the two kids and their father, just outside the hut.
“Tatay, may mabait na mama dun sa labasan, binigyan kami ng pagkain”, said the younger child.
“Etong kasing si Nene, ‘Tay, lumapit parang nanghihingi sa carinderia”, commented her brother.
“Nagpasalamat ba kayo?”, asked the father.
“Opo”, both the children answered.
“‘Tay, eto tinanpay at isang Coke. Hapunan natin ngayong abi, tapos bukas na ‘yung isang Coke at mag-gagata ako ng niyog at santol”, said the boy.
“Gata na naman”, quipped the young girl.
“He, buti nga meron”, said her brother.
In a dimly lit house, they started partaking of the bread I had given. While they were sharing the food and drink, I saw the father’s tears start flowing down his pale cheek.
The scene broke my heart. I felt the pain, remembering my own father who passed away. I suddenly felt something different in me that needed to be released. I must have made some noise, for they noticed me standing outside. Upon seeing me, they invited me in.
I took the chance of telling them that I needed a place to stay for the night.
“Dito ka na lang po sa’min matulog”, said the little girl.
“Sige, iho, dito ka na lang matulog, pero pasensiya ka na, maliit lang itong bahay naming”, the father added.
“Boy Scout po ako”, I jokingly answered to let them know I could adapt to any situation.
That night we had a very good conversation. I noticed this family didn’t pity themselves, but instead had so many dreams ahead. Nene, the younger sibling, wanted to be a teacher; the elder boy wanted to work in the municipal house. The father’s wish was for him to get well soonest so he could give the children what they needed for their future.
I was amazed and felt so proud of this family. In the city where I live, there was so much pity and hopelessness that many resort to all kinds of foolishness just “to have a life”, while here in front of me was a family that didn’t have anything but themselves and their poor surroundings, and yet chose to hold on to a bright future.
By early morning, after a restful sleep in the hut, I decided to journey back home. I tried to give them money but they politely refused. The bread and Coke was enough, they said. The two kids then accompanied me back to the road to get a bus home. We waited for almost hours for the bus.
The family being unaware, I bought a sack of rice, several canned goods from the carinderia and store where I had met the little girl. I also left the cash I intended to give them, which they had refused. The money was what I had reserved for my birthday party. I put the cash in an envelope with a short note that I would visit them in the near future and that they must accept the gifts I had left for them in the care of the carinderia owner.
In the bus on my way home, I knew this was one of the best birthdays I have had in my life. I realized the need to thank God that I am better than some other people living on Earth.
Birthdays are not just about celebrations and parties. It is a time to reflect on the path of fulfilling your destiny on Earth. I did not have that birthday party everybody was looking forward to, but I had the celebration of life, not just my life, but of others as well.
Helping people is so easy to do, but one must look for deserving people that can be helped, just like the family I ‘accidentally’ encountered.
The father died after a year, the “kuya” married a woman working in the municipal hall and is now attending to the farm owned by his wife. The little girl is now a public school teacher, just as she wished.
How did they manage to succeed? It is another story of hope and faith in the beauty of life and the future that all of must in our hearts.
We always celebrate a very special day in our life – our natal day. They day of our birth, our Creator starts to shower spiritual and Earthly blessings to parents and child. We, however, seem to have forgotten these blessing, thus forgetting that we are more than lucky having survived life on Earth.
AVV 607
AVV 607
Celebration is the first thing we think of when the time of our birth date nears. We check our budget for that day, and make a list of friends and acquaintances we would want to invite. Upon receipt of greetings and gifts, we smile and laugh with happiness and candor. At the end of the day’s celebration, we retreat to our bed to start another day on a lost pathway. The essence of our existence is gone. Not even a trace of it.
Best birthday ever
Two days before my birthday, it is my annual ritual to spend the day alone for a journey to an unknown place. I’ve done this sort of retreat since my teenage years to search for thing in my life that I actually don’t know exactly what – some kind of soul-search or internalization, if you might want to call it that.
It was what my father taught me when he was still alive. To spend time alone and explore the world of its vast treasures and my place and role on earth, and that being the celebrant, I will always get the blessings and the things I need for my own personal quest.
The first time, I decided to travel north. I was excited yet lonely, looking back on the days that passed in my life, feeling and promising myself that I could do better than what I’d done so far. Television on buses that time was not yet available, so the walkman was my companion.
Along the ways the bus got a steering wheel problem that we almost had an accident. It could not even bring us to the nearest bus terminal. While some decided to stay in the bus to wait for a transfer, the others decided to walk the rest of the trip as their destinations were just a few kilometers away from where we stopped. I decided to walk with rest, not minding that I didn’t specific destination.
One by one my companions reached their places and I was left alone walking on a journey to nowhere. I felt a bit of fear for soon darkness would envelop the area and I would need a place to stay. After a few more of walking I reached an area with a small eatery and some small stores by the roadside. I decided to have early dinner in one carinderia. While having my meal, I noticed a small girl watching me while I ate. She wore dirty clothes and looked very hungry. Taking the pity, decided to give her my softdrink and the bread I had in my bag. I did not notice she was with her older brother until she ran into him, who was resting on a pile of coconuts.
“Kuya, ang bait nung mama”, she said to her brother while pointing at me. I ordered another drink, approached them and gave it to them.
“Salamat po, pasensiya na po kayo sa kapatid ko.” The boy instead of sipping the softdrink, replaced the cap and kept it in his bag, while his younger sister, jumping with joy, followed and recapped her bottle.
I went to the eatery and the owner told me the kids’ story. Their mother left them when their father got sick. The father suffered a broken back from a fall while at work, and after that he wasn’t able to work again. From then on the two kids stopped going to school and started collecting fallen coconuts to sell to survive their days.
I approached them again and asked them where they lived. Reaching their house, I found myself watching the two kids and their father, just outside the hut.
“Tatay, may mabait na mama dun sa labasan, binigyan kami ng pagkain”, said the younger child.
“Etong kasing si Nene, ‘Tay, lumapit parang nanghihingi sa carinderia”, commented her brother.
“Nagpasalamat ba kayo?”, asked the father.
“Opo”, both the children answered.
“‘Tay, eto tinanpay at isang Coke. Hapunan natin ngayong abi, tapos bukas na ‘yung isang Coke at mag-gagata ako ng niyog at santol”, said the boy.
“Gata na naman”, quipped the young girl.
“He, buti nga meron”, said her brother.
In a dimly lit house, they started partaking of the bread I had given. While they were sharing the food and drink, I saw the father’s tears start flowing down his pale cheek.
The scene broke my heart. I felt the pain, remembering my own father who passed away. I suddenly felt something different in me that needed to be released. I must have made some noise, for they noticed me standing outside. Upon seeing me, they invited me in.
I took the chance of telling them that I needed a place to stay for the night.
“Dito ka na lang po sa’min matulog”, said the little girl.
“Sige, iho, dito ka na lang matulog, pero pasensiya ka na, maliit lang itong bahay naming”, the father added.
“Boy Scout po ako”, I jokingly answered to let them know I could adapt to any situation.
That night we had a very good conversation. I noticed this family didn’t pity themselves, but instead had so many dreams ahead. Nene, the younger sibling, wanted to be a teacher; the elder boy wanted to work in the municipal house. The father’s wish was for him to get well soonest so he could give the children what they needed for their future.
I was amazed and felt so proud of this family. In the city where I live, there was so much pity and hopelessness that many resort to all kinds of foolishness just “to have a life”, while here in front of me was a family that didn’t have anything but themselves and their poor surroundings, and yet chose to hold on to a bright future.
By early morning, after a restful sleep in the hut, I decided to journey back home. I tried to give them money but they politely refused. The bread and Coke was enough, they said. The two kids then accompanied me back to the road to get a bus home. We waited for almost hours for the bus.
The family being unaware, I bought a sack of rice, several canned goods from the carinderia and store where I had met the little girl. I also left the cash I intended to give them, which they had refused. The money was what I had reserved for my birthday party. I put the cash in an envelope with a short note that I would visit them in the near future and that they must accept the gifts I had left for them in the care of the carinderia owner.
In the bus on my way home, I knew this was one of the best birthdays I have had in my life. I realized the need to thank God that I am better than some other people living on Earth.
Birthdays are not just about celebrations and parties. It is a time to reflect on the path of fulfilling your destiny on Earth. I did not have that birthday party everybody was looking forward to, but I had the celebration of life, not just my life, but of others as well.
Helping people is so easy to do, but one must look for deserving people that can be helped, just like the family I ‘accidentally’ encountered.
The father died after a year, the “kuya” married a woman working in the municipal hall and is now attending to the farm owned by his wife. The little girl is now a public school teacher, just as she wished.
How did they manage to succeed? It is another story of hope and faith in the beauty of life and the future that all of must in our hearts.
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