Monday, October 5, 2009

Of man's fortitude and the indomitable spirit


How does life go on after a tragedy? How do you really cope the loss of something or someone? A decade worth of blood sweat and tears lost in just one tragic day? A picture of a perfect family now missing a Father, a Mother, both Parents, Sisters, Brothers or a family pet. A dream house now a faint reflection of a water-filled nightmare soiled with mud. After the recent typhoon the working Filipino man's way of life has endured yet another blow. How do we really start over?

I was channel surfing for a few days now to see how are we faring after the recent tragedy and I have seen people who continue to smile and some who try to swallow the tears of pain and suffering, sometimes even of hunger and cold. Though these people really do not know how to start their lives again or the answers to the questions i have posted above, I can see a glimmer, a faint shine of a spirit that never falters amidst all that has happened. It may be as simple as conjuring up the courage to bury a parent or in some cases their own children. There is no greater pain than to see a parent accompanying their sons or daughters to the last refuge, but it is one act of great valor to see it to the end. There are some who has not yet figured out how they will continue to survive but has decided to continue no matter what's yet to come and with no certainty of how they can live by the day.

I first heard of the concept of the indomitable spirit from the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. when i was doing me personal research on who he really was. In most of his speeches he refers to a spirit that never dies a passion and a penchant to fight for what is righteous and standing up after experiencing a life threatening blow and it burned deep in my mind. It best describes an underlying trait a Filipino has, which i thought did not exist or only exists inside heroes. But these ordinary people proved to me that we are capable of possesing that spirit. It inspired me to have one of my own and try to use it to be involved.

Truth is i was once "fashionably aware" as most of us are. There are some of us who express an air of charity and righteousness just to show that we are "In" with the times. Being really "involved" takes a great deal of effort from someone, you must feel what these people feel and try to invoke your real human nature. Not that of self-destruction nor self-preservation but that of brotherhood and kinship.

Those people whom i mentioned may have the spirit but the flame may fan out if the body endures too much. They need us or at least some help from us to get them through the day. Man's fortitude can only do so much but hunger and sadness can take it's toll. What can we really do? What can we really give?

Those are questions you will have to find answers for yourself...

(Xinhua/AFP Photo)