What a life

Have you ever bothered to think of who the next president will be if GMA gives in to the popularity pressure? I am sure you have. As a citizen who is concerned about the destiny of this nation where our businesses reside and our lives evolve, I am sure this is a serious concern. And I am equally certain that you have been frustratedly asking if there really is anybody qualified enough to lead a people who live in a bubble of self-imposed poverty.

Why self-imposed? Because we love to talk about how bad we are, how poor we are, how corrupt our officials who we have brought to office are, how we are managed by cheats, and how we allowed ourselves to be cheated. We want to delve in the bad even if we have so many good things to offer as well.

Who will cultivate our country? Is there someone already born who could be the perfect administrator of the Philippines? Even those who are seeking the ouster of our chief executive can't seem to find one among them deserving of the highest position of the land.

Are we a good people to lead? Do we in fact deserve a good president? Will we know one when we see one?

In the recent presidential race, the candidates fielded had their own potentials but my bet is whoever won, we would still find something wrong with him or her. Our attitude takes on the "beauty contest audience syndrome".

By that I mean, even if you are the most beautiful in your place, in a contest, pitched against a bevy of gorgeous ladies someone will definitely find something wrong with you. If it is not your complexion it's your color, if it's not your shade it's your shape. If it's not your shape it's your weight whether it's the lack or the surplus of it. If you are a perfect Venus they will verify your intellect, and if you pass the interviews with flying colors, they will check on your heart. How kind are you? Is your honesty honest, and your sincerity sincere?

It is sad to live in the society of the suspicious.

Everything you do is viewed with raised eyebrows and an offer to assist meets a jaundiced eye. If you prosper you're corrupt. If you work hard, you're too ambitious. If you don't, you're lazy. If you're quiet they'll be cautious. If you're loud, they'll be wary. If you adjust to situations, you're trying to put in a good impression. If you don't, you're a snob.

We need people to be frank so we will know realities but if we state what we feel we are considered rude or unrestrained. If we keep things too ourselves we are selfish. What a life!

Why can't we start looking in. Unless we are in denial, we get to see the stark realities of our selves and verify things we can improve, change and altogether take out of our system. We must look for something good.

Sometimes I get to question our love of self. DO WE LOVE OURSELVES? Why do we persist on making a telenovela of our lives. Why do we nurture the negatives in our home when there are also a lot of positive things in our land we can take pride of.

We Filipinos for instance. When we work in other countries we excell. That means we are ABLE to make good and do good.

We are losing a lot of our good and qualified professionals to odd jobs abroad. The foremost reason is our inability to pay for the good brains that we have. So our good brains decide to keep a low profile and seek the bucks in the Big Apple and all its fruity counterparts.

I am reminded of the mansinitas in our backyard. No matter how hard my Dad tried to cut it, it insisted on growing. Its persistence made my father give up and allow it to mature. Its soft trunk now strongly cradles the crest of leaves and cozy hammock where I used to take siestas in, while waiting for the pearl-like fruits to fill my cup.

The tree is simple but its strength lies in its persistence to thrive in any soil, gleaning from the earth the nutrients that allows it to expand its territory, feeding on the elements that give health to its canopy. We thrive in any soil. What more if the soil were familiar and it had with it the important ingredients of family support, friendships and the challenging quest of limited resources. Except that the resources are not limited, only our sights.

We need to be more creative and strategic. We need to be more decisive and hopeful. We need to be positive and real. We need to believe that this life, in this place, has a future and what a beautiful life we have ahead!