Worlds apart

I had lunch at Adelfas, in Matanao. I was served a big portion of paksiw na buntot ng bariles. After seing the bulge in my stomach, the tindera thought I could devour anything. Hahaha. I proved her wrong! I was already full, but a big, tasty chunk of the bariles was still left.

I noticed a small girl watching Wowowee, and holding the peanuts and chicharon she was selling. I told her to sit down, and, when I learned she didn't have lunch yet, I ordered a cup of rice for her and got her a glass of water. The girl is 11 years old and not in school. Her mother is dead and her father sells chicharon too.

She is as old as Althea but they are living entirely different worlds: My pamangkin downloads songs from the internet to copy into her mp3 player, uploads photos of her classmates (at Stella) into her friendster account, and excitedly waits for Highschool Musical, the Movie to be showned at SM. This kid, on the other hand, wonders if the man facing her now and giving her free lunch, will also buy some of the five-peso-per-pack peanuts she is selling -- so that her two younger sisters at home could have a decent meal.

I felt sad for the girl's plight. But I believe, no matter the circumstance, her future is still unwritten; and it's up to her to fill the pages of her life with whatever stories she desires.

I am glad of the huge portion of bariles served to me. I'm sure, had I been given just enough, I wouldn't have thought of giving anybody a free lunch.

As I left Adelfas, this thought, which I heard from Tony Robbins, crossed my mind: When you give love, it immediately comes back to you. I get what he meant, and it's just so true. Love is the only thing where I immediately get back, the moment I give it.

The warmth, kindness, and love I felt, as I watched the kid silently eat her meal, profoundly strengthened my commitment to help those who have less in life than me. Death is inevitable for all of us, the material things we accumulate on earth will simply vanish. Therefore, Wayne Dyer said, the purpose of life MUST be to GIVE what we accumulate.