I *heart* human empathy in the Philippines

Filipinos have long been known to be one of the most happy and hospitable people in the world.

Ours is not a perfect world, so when we focus on others, our own problems seem to drift away and seem smaller. As we observe a man's action, we tend to place ourselves in his position and this dictates how we act or react to such circumstances. We are always aware of someone else's pain. The things that tormented us the most are the very things that connects us with all the people around us.

We have kept of spirit of "bayanihan" alive in the calamities that claimed many lives. We stood firm and steadfast in the July 16, 1990 earthquake, which shook up several parts of Luzon, and left over 400 people dead in Baguio. We showed up carrying containers of home cooked meals for victims of Typhoon Ondoy, served and assisted everyone like long-lost relatives.

When asked which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who have shared our pain and touched our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The family who have been with us in moments of despair or confusion, or a friend who stood with us in hours of grief and bereavement. To us, there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.

Filipinos do not decide wholly from experience, we draw our decisions from empathy.

We do not treat enderness and kindness as signs of weakness and despair, but as manifestations of strength and resolution.

This is an entry to MISSION: I *HEART* THE PHILIPPINES

Comments

  1. to quote from Noynoy's just-concluded UN General Assembly speech: My people have shown that united, nothing is impossible. We call it people power.

    ReplyDelete
  2. and I think it stems from our strong family ties as a people.

    ReplyDelete

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