Taal’s wrath

As I was scanning my photos of my trips in Manila, I came across the ones during my Tagaytay side trip. I was with my cousins who wanted to see the attractions. We went to the famous puzzle museum and, of course, the coffee shops overlooking Taal Volcano and its lake. The sunset that day was still in my memory - the mix of pink and blue in the sky that transitioned into the night was vivid to me as we took a lot of photos and sang under the sky. It was a happy day. We ended the night warming ourselves with the famous bulalos that almost cost us a fortune.

Today, I look at the volcano and the lake surrounding it – it's nothing compared to what I saw. There is too much ash around the area that has even reached Metro Manila. The health hazards are too much that could pose imminent danger to those living in the vicinity. We don’t know yet if there is another movement from the volcano, as these things are not predicted. I feel like it was a wrath deep inside that had to explode. Not because of the hit dance craze "Tala" which I have written about in a previous entry, but for reasons we do not know.

We can always speculate on the reason, or interpret it on our own terms. Maybe nature has been calling our attention to take care of the environment. Or this could be a sign that we have been too much as a nation. This means too much drama, politics, corruption. Nature could have its ways in calling our attention. But then again, it can always just be nature acting on its own. It’s very peculiar that we ourselves cannot understand but have to adjust at this day and age.

Instead of making interpretations on the disaster that happened, maybe we can be more proactive and mature by extending what we can to the affected people. I saw a video of a couple splashing water on the windshields of passing cars that had been caught in an ash fall. Other organizations are also looking after animals that inhaled poisonous gas from the explosion.

There are so many things that we can do, but we are also too swamped with the festivity of the Sinulog. But, like what the rector of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño said, we can always keep our hands to our hearts instead and say a little pray. We have to pray that the nature's wrath will stop and that strength may be given to those who are affected. We need to pray that there will be no casualties and everyone will be safe. With a few words and a few minutes, we can do so much without even noticing it.