The morning after

Today, the day after Christmas, is truly the best day to imbibe the spirit of Christmas after the dizzying rounds of Christmas parties. This is the best time to set aside a few moments of reflection in order to discern the real meaning of the occasion.

And during these precious moments of peace and quiet we can ponder more deeply and realize that every Christmas is somehow different for the other past Christmases. One way or another changes have occurred in our lives — changes for better or for worse — that could nevertheless be our stimulus to hope for the best because of the thought that everything happening to us is clearly a blessing in disguise.

Whatever may be our status in life is not a hindrance in personally discovering that all events in our life are small miracles that somehow manifest Christ’s love and compassion even if we may not feel it at all.

Indeed, all the hardships, setbacks, disappointments, failures and frustrations we experience should be received with equanimity and composure as they are precisely the ingredients of triumphs and successes, happiness and prosperity.

As one anonymous writer said, obstacles are part of life, they are life themselves so “there isn’t any road to happiness for happiness is the very road. It is a voyage, not a destination so there is no better time to be happy than now.”

To be sure, so many calamities and tragic events visited our country this year as in the past years. And one of the greatest calamities regularly occurring to us is the kind of politics and politicians alternately holding the reins of power in our government. The future really looks dim as far as achieving reforms and having a cleaner, more honest and efficient government is concerned.

Then, even as we were already in the midst of preparing for Christmas, another strong and destructive typhoon named “Ruby,” hit our archipelago particularly Eastern Visayas and the Bicol region. Yet it was during those darkest episodes in our people’s lives when we saw the hidden and admirable Filipino trait — the Bayanihan spirit of helping each other and coming to the aid of those in great distress.

Such trait is manifested not only by the millions of our countrymen who offered aid and assistance to the victims, but also in the subdued tone and austere manner that our countrymen in the unaffected areas celebrated the “happy holidays.”

In fact so many Christmas parties planned long before were cancelled not only to commiserate with the victims, but also to help them by sending the money that should have been spent for their parties, to alleviate the victims’ sufferings. The traditional exchange of gifts was discontinued and instead, they send the gifts in cash or in kind to their fellow Filipinos hardest hit by the disaster, so as to enable them to still savor the joyous feeling of the occasion.

These are signs indeed of our people’s reluctance to splurge and spend when others are in need or in the midst of suffering. To most Filipinos, the most important thing in life is still to be able to help others to be happy also.

Of course over and above these natural calamities are the regular man-made calamities the entire country is suffering. This is the rotten kind of politics and politicians alternately holding the reins of power in our government. There seems to be no end in sight as far as achieving reforms for a cleaner and more honest and efficient government is concerned. The heaviest yoke around our neck and the biggest bane against poverty alleviation in our country is still our political system of kanya-kanya, tayo-tayo.

Most of those in power both in the local and national government belong to political dynasties. And it has also been confirmed that the people’s money have been used for illegal purposes by the Chief Executive to influence (“bribe”) the members of the legislature in approving his recommendations.

The plus side of all these man-made disasters is of course the awakening of our people to all these wrongdoings and political shenanigans. They have become more vigilant and have taken steps to change the kind of government we have.

A National Transformation Council has been formed and several assemblies have been held in different parts of our country asking for the resignation of the present government so that necessary reforms can be effected. Of course their moves seem to be so unfeasible under our current set-up, but what they are doing shows that our people have not completely lost hope that our country will sooner or later have a cleaner and more efficient government for the common good — a real “government of the people for the people and by the people.”

And so let our reflection for this day after Christmas bring out the message that despite the many obstacles besetting us, there is still hope for a change. And that change involves not only a change of the people running our government, but a change in the bad side of the Filipino character of kanya-kanya, tayo-tayo. Obviously this can be achieved only if we can overcome our pride and selfishness and allow the spirit of love, compassion, generosity, kindness and understanding prevail in our hearts in good or bad times.

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