I was riding the MRT (yes, the train), my usual commute to our seminar on one of my volunteer day. It could have been another one of those usual days except for two amazing passengers that left me so overwhelmed with the experience. I was standing facing a lady in red, she was seated but kept on looking at someone or something at my back. I really didn't gave it much attention but then she suddenly stood up and went to the other side. I, on the other hand, felt thankful for the seat that obviously was left for me to take. When I took the seat, I finally saw what she was seeing. It was Ashley (I heard the child's name when the lady in red asked for it), and I couldn't explain how I felt. She was barely two years old, yet her body was so frail and weak because of her sickness. Her skin looks as if it was just healing from burns with so many fresh wounds all over. She has bandages here and there and her eyes is suffering from slight blindness. What struck me the most was what the lady in red did (up to now I kept telling myself I should have asked for her name), she asked with compassion the mother of the child about Ashley and her illness, and then she reached for her wallet and gave the mother some money, along with her contact number and told the mother to call her, if ever she needs anything. The mother told us that they live in Pampangga, and everyday, they travel to PGH just for Ashley to be treated. The child's disease (forgive me for forgetting the scientific name of her ailment) happens only one in a million cases. One in a million! My first reaction was, why this child, she's too young to suffer. You could only imagine the compassion we felt for Ashley, and the strength of her mother. You know what happened next? It's amazing. Two women, reached for her bag and gave the mother some money. Another gave her a calling card to call, and more and more people just keeps on giving their moral and financial support. When I gave my card to the mother (I hope she does call), I just couldn't help myself by thanking the lady in red for teaching us, everyone in the train that day, the value of generosity and love. I shook her hand with such respect. There was such a happy feeling inside the train that day that I couldn't help but thank God for showing me what the courage of standing up for someone means.
It made me realize a profound lesson. A lot of people wants to help, they are always willing to lend or share or give. What is stopping them? It is the fear of being the only one who would stand up, being the only who would fight for something, or being someone who would be ridiculous enough to be laughed at. I am just too sure that if the lady in red didn't stand up, no one would extend to help, and yes, I must admit, even myself. I learned my lesson well. Sometimes, it's just too hard for us to show everyone that we have the capacity to love and be compassionate and be generous to other people. We would often say, or justify, that we were too busy dealing with our own problems. When we share the possibility of First World Philippines, most people would laugh at us, saying it's impossible, or they would snicker or raise an eyebrow. Someone even told me it would take a thousand years for that to happen, I mean really, that long? Do we not have faith in ourselves and our country? Then I asked, even if there is so much that you hate about this country, there must be somewhere inside of you that actually wish, if not believe, that the Philippines could be a First World Country.
Okay, so you hate the government, you hate the traffic, resented corruption and all those garbage. You hate the pollution, the everyday stress of the MRT commute, the rising prices and the too many showbiz scandals here in there. But come on, no matter how long you have been working abroad, or no matter how much you want to change your citizenship, you can't, for the life of you, seem to give up tinapa (smoked fish), or salted egg and tomatoes, or dirty ice cream or mangoes and bagoong (shrimp paste). You still seem to enjoy those provincial fiestas, or hanging out with your extended families, and that very famous karaoke. Let's face it, this country may have been through the worst leadership and economic crises, but no matter how many different kinds of money currency we hold, we will always want to exchange it to Philippine peso. We love this country, we may have other countries, we call home, but we can't ever say we were never Filipinos.
The lady in red stood up to offer a hand to Ashley, and people followed. If more and more Filipinos stood up to the possibility of a better Philippines, what do you think could happen? Ashley is like the Philippines, frail, weak and sick. She needs help, are you willing to lend a hand?
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KATE CU
Life & Business Coach
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