Young Roots
The great paradox
By Johanne Margarette R. Macob
“AS much as I don’t like the rain, I just couldn’t curse it, for others want or even need its every drop. Besides, we will never have our rainbows without it.”
That was my post on my Facebook account during the onslaught of Typhoon Labuyo and I must say that I really find the rain some sort of a negative vibe, for a petty, strange reason perhaps. Still, I am well aware that our farmers have been praying for weeks to have some heavy falls for their crops and I was right about that. This was affirmed by the provincial agricultural office. Still some insist that the rainfalls caused by Labuyo were still not enough to water all the farmlands. Indeed the point — the typhoon that caused damages was the same typhoon that gave gains. And, during this calamity, we had proven how strong we are and our province is, particularly our government for its good risk reduction management.
Many times, some weaknesses equate to strengths; the things that hurt are the same things that empower; the least valued by one is another’s most treasured; the ending of one turns to be the beginning of another; and vice versa, and so on and so forth for all these ironies.
That leads me to realize that our problems (or our glories) are very much, if not solely, dependent on how we react to things, to happenings. It’s all about perspectives.
For instance, I hate the rain for myself but if I look at the ‘rain’ a farmer’s view, rain is such a blessing. Or when someone always rants about many things — about life, places, and people around — then that someone would most probably take to life as something undesirable.. But if the person does otherwise and appreciates even the little things, finds goodness in everything, in every situation, then that person would likely enjoy his or her existence way better. If we always try to find fault in people, on things, then they’ll show a lot of flaws, but if we attempt to see their positive characters then we’ll find them generally nice. In other words, all the seemingly negative things always have good points. There’s at least a silver lining in all these “negatives.” They may not be apparent right away but in time, they will make perfect sense.
My disliking the rain doesn’t say much about the rain, rather, it says more about me. The “problems” we have wouldn’t be problems unless we consider them as such. The achievements would mean nothing if we wouldn’t recognize them. It’s not the occurrences in our lives that define our lives, it’s us and our actions and reactions toward these events. We are the ones who give meanings and values. We are the ones who live our lives, and not the other way around.
Life is a great paradox, yes. It offers us “disasters”. It offers us “blessings”. Bottom line is, it all boils down to us. We can choose which part of the equation to linger on, in which way to respond, in which manner to live our lives.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
