I recently went on a trip to the Philippines. I had no idea what to expect and pretty much thought the worse. I landed in Manila and drove 6 hours to a town called Baguio. I stopped along the way to visit different villages and got a glimpse of how people lived there. I was surprised to meet some of the nicest, most humble and gentle people I have ever met.
Feeling like a minority, I was a bit surprised at how I was received. What I found there was amazing. People living, by our standards, in very unfavorable conditions. Yet, there was a smile on their face and what food they had, they would offer it. There was also a politeness that was just their way of relating, not only to me but to one another.
If the people there could be as kind as they were in the conditions they were in, why can’t the people in America be the same why? Yes, we have an economic crisis going on that hasn’t happened since the great depression. I know. I feel it and see it as everyone else is experiencing it. The fear is palpable. The funny thing is the Filipino people were watching our economy because it effects theirs. Yet, the kindness was as if they were highly abundant and wealthy. I guess it depends on how one measures abundance and what one’s definition of abundance is.
If the wonderful people in the Philippines that I came across can be that kind, just as other people in other countries and hardships can find their way to be kind, maybe we can take new stock of how we treat people and situations.
In a time that is riddled with fear, it is now so very vital to look around, appreciate loved ones and empower what means the most. Do not empower fear as fear is shackling. Values, relationships and caring might be the universal way to measure abundance and when all is said and done, I want to have the greatest abundance of all, abundance of heart.
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I have always wondered the same thing. It makes me think back to 9/11 when everything changed in a matter of minutes. And, as I remember it, everyone became understanding of one another and respectful of each other. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life was the night of 9/11, I was at work at a live stage theater and before the show, we all went outside into the parking lot and each person lit a candle for those that were touched by the tragedy. And people would drive by with their American Flags and honk at us, acknowledging and sharing the feeling of love, support, togetherness, etc. that we were trying to put out there to people. It was an emotional experience that I’ll never forget. But my question is, why does it take a tragedy, here in America, to pull people together like that?
I feel like the world that we have grown up in, at least for me here in Los Angeles, is one that is unlike others, where the majority of people in America are obsessed with winning. They will win at all costs – for whatever they’re trying to achieve at the time. It’s very much self-involved and about self-advancement and not as focused on the community around us.
Just the family unit here in America is different than many countries around us, especially those that are hit harder by poverty. They rely on extended family and on one another to survive. As opposed to only fighting for your own survival and your own success.
gotta love travelling!! it’s an amazing and rewarding experience – no matter if it’s shocking or if it’s resport travel, i feel like you learn the most and best things from other cultures!! especially when you travel with a cup that’s half full!!