The Simple Life

Robert Louis Stevenson once said, ~The best things in life are nearest. Breathe in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of the right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.~ Ultimately, it's been 23 years since my last visit to the Philippines and the difference as a 9 year old then to now as a 32 year old is perspective. You see, as a 9 year old you pay more attention to your own self interests than the surroundings before you causing you to miss out on a truly wondrous experience. For its an eye opening situation indeed when you take in not only the positive aspects, but the negative aspects, as well as I focus on the following three topics: traffic, family interaction, and poverty.

Let me ask you this question to those who live in an area where traffic is highly prevalent such as New York and Los Angeles, do you think your neck of the woods is totally outrageous? During my time in the Philippines I witnessed traffic that went beyond totally outrageous as there are no rules. Essentially, a two lane street becomes 5 lanes and there is no such thing as who has the right of way leading to witnessing an absolute standstill in traffic at a 4 way stop where nobody wanted to move to the point where an altercation nearly ensued. Yet, as much as there is complete chaos on the roads there weren't any accidents whatsoever while I was there. Let me tell you something though, as much as it was an enjoyable experience I wouldn't want to drive there because I know I would have/suffer high blood pressure, an aneurism, and/or a heart attack.

Without a doubt, part of what made my trip in the Philippines so enjoyable other than the food and the awesome activities was spending time with family I haven't seen in years. Thinking about it, my time spent reconnecting with relatives outside on the porch rather than inside because of the lack of air conditioning was fun. The times sitting outside enjoying the entertainment of just laughing/sharing stories were the most memorable to me was when I realized that for a number of families in the states there is a serious lack of family interaction. The entertainment of the internet, tv, video games, work, etc. are just some reasons that have separated the family dynamic in the U.S. causing kids/parents/husbands/wives to see each other as strangers rather than family. Let me tell you something, U.S. families can learn a thing or two for Filipino families.

If you think about it, you never really know how good you have it until you actually see it for yourself with your own eyes. Personally speaking, I have a deeper appreciation of who I am as a person and what I have after visiting/seeing the places that many of the Filipinos call home. Whether it's living in a run down shack next to a landfill, under an overpass, in the streets itself, or walking up to a vehicle and asking for handouts you can't help but feel for your own people, which is a sad state of affairs. However, what made me absolutely speechless was seeing both kids and adults rummaging through the trash in order to find something to eat. For the most part, that is the way of life my friend for a number of Filipinos who don't have the financial means to support themselves and have to hustle any way they can by any means necessary in order to survive.

In retrospect, my time in the Philippines was filled with excitement, fun, and not to mention food out of the wazoo, which is why I humorously named my vacation the Philippines Food Tour. Being back in the Philippines after 23 years gave me new found insight as to what is most important. Unlike most kids in the U.S., kids in the Philippines enjoy chasing each other, playing basketball on broken down/carton made goals, or playing on mounds of dirt. In any case, a big house, fancy cars, expensive video games/video game systems, air conditioning, updated/current electronics such as DVD player or stereo system, cable, etc. are what my relatives don't have and despite that they are a extremely happy with what they have without any complaints whatsoever as they all live the simple life.