IT'S THE SMALL THINGS
It has been almost two full weeks since the elections took place. We have our presumptive president and vice-president. Senators and local officials have been proclaimed. Our government is officially in a transition period as it gears up to turnover to the newly and duly elected officials come June 30. In that same whirlwind are people – celebrating, rejoicing, others still trying to move on from a loss, and all of us, in the midst of processing some sort of emotion more, or less. It has been quite the roller coaster ride to say the least, but after all has been said and done, reality hits, and here we are: there are winners, and there are losers. And as difficult as it may be for the latter, life goes on. Harsh, but it does.
With life going on, it does not mean however that one is not entitled to process his/her feelings. In fact, on the contrary, I feel that for one to effectively pick-up, and albeit the fact that we all have different coping mechanisms and processes, I am a firm believer that one must feel it all – the happiness, the sadness, the pain, the grief, the betrayal that comes alongside it all, the victories, the triumphs, the list goes on. It is only when we experience our emotions at its purest and most raw do we become vulnerable to the truest essence of our very core and ourselves. And oftentimes, that is where we are able to draw our inner-most strength from.
That strength is crucial to achieving acceptance. It is from that very strength as well that we are able to progress and see the change we need to do, and be – not only for the betterment of ourselves, but of the community, and the world as well. The war of the colors is over, and we all now stand under and carry one flag. We all now seek a common goal and have one vision: a better Philippines. We are now all Team Philippines!
And while we are all in different places and paces in terms of recovery, let us not forget that the best thing we can do right now is to carry-on with grace. Let us stop the hate, let us let go of the negativity and the bitterness. Let us move towards working on wanting what is best for all of us, and accepting the fact that our newly elected leaders will carry — out what we voted them to do. Let us be grateful for the democracy we have been blessed with, and the freedom to express our voices through votes. Let us stop condemning the choices of others, and the volume at which they choose to share their thoughts. Remember, in voting, we were equal. No vote weighed more, no vote weighed less.
Let me end this with a cliché, but most true saying that we should be reminded of in times such as these when everyone seems to be in a different mode, state, pace, or place. “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”