♥ aftermath ♥

Monday, October 5, 2009

It's been one week since Ondoy (the Super Bagyo) left my country. Last Wednesday, i was able to establish contact with my family, thank God they are not affected. I then texted some of my friends and officemates, to my gladness, they are all safe. Just one more person... my bestfriend who lives in Marikina, I still could not contact her. We usually chat on weekend nights but this time, after her log out on Sat AM (Ph time), we no longer had any communication, until Sunday, 1 week after Ondoy. She and her family are fine. They're safe although floodwaters entered their house.

A month ago I was yanking and troubling myself about loosing our savings because of migration which I later realized am not yet ready for, hence a plan to go back home. I wont mention how much but recent cruelty of Ondoy had enlightened me. It reminded me that material things are just like that. it aint really a treasure. It could be gone any minute. I had to be thankful that mine was gone through spending (irrelevant wether wise one or not) and not through any bad happening.

Another blessing I had to be thankful for is that our local parish indeed offered a prayer to Ondoy victims as well as to the victims of tsunami in Samoan Island (inwhich 1 Filipina died). The Caritas of NZ also donated $25,000.00 for both countries who suffered so much from different natural calamities.

To my dear God, Thank You.

I remember when I was a kid, when brown-out is staple in our lives, sperma candle and a matchbox were my security blanket. We could not afford to buy a mini flashlight for a kid like me. I used to save my money from school allowance just to buy candles. We used to be flooded and when there's super bagyo like Rosing, they cut the power off to avoid more damage/casualties. So, our house was flooded and dark.

♥ ♥ ♥

Ondoy has an aftermath and my mind has too.

♥ Yes, I know the places that were greatly affected by the flooding (atleast the residential) but I got more interested in places that were not affected. Eyeing for a place to live eh? Place like ours in Tondo, URCI Las Pinas and greater Caloocan.

♥ Time to relive my childhood attitude - preparedness in times of emergency.
yeah, I forgot all about it. I doubt if we have candles inside the house enough to last for 2 days. However, personally, in terms of food, charger, flashlight and other important thinngs including docs, I am a bit prepared. But I need to replenish my badly depleted savings and establish an emergency and charity fund.

♥ Filipinos' good values and culture like kindness, hospitality and bayanihan are not yet extinct! maybe, just hidden. Stories of heroism and kindness and volunteerism are just overflowing and overwhelming. Yes our country is not so much safe, both from human and nature dangers, but Filipinos definitely make the difference. Indeed it brought the best and worst in everyone, but forget the negative vibes and focus on the positive effects.

♥ Know what I think about Ondoy? Its a child of human's abuse of mother nature. Sad but true. Mother Nature just spank us and it hit harder than we thought, maybe because we're more hardheaded children. I love nature and I try to be Pro-Mother N. as much as possible but what just happened in my home country is an eye opener that we're not doing enough. We have to do more and do it quicker before the next spanking strikes.

♥ Invest not just in the bank. Invest in people and in random acts of kindness. This is an opportunity to help and reach out and share one's blessings without the hype of Christmas season. Let's make each of us as Filipinos proud. Let the world see how we survive and rise-up afer being doomed.

♥ Aside from taking Mother N issues seriously, this is also the time for us to hold on to our faith. We need to pray more, not just for wishes or help but for guidance and gratitude as well. When we are weak, we are strong for He is on our side. I know it's hard but they always say that in times of hardship we have to be more thankful because that is the only time we could experience the greatness of the power of His Love. =)

It's been a week since Ondoy devastated our country, wreck our homes and broke our hearts in just one day but we have tomorrows to rebuild our lives and heal our spirits. We last longer than Ondoy.

The spanking is over, hope we learned our lessons well.

All Love,
Miss Sachi