A good life

We've heard the line before.

And each of us has our own story to tell.

Some may have been born with a silver spoon on his mouth. Others need to slither through the hardships to achieve our dreams.

Which is why I have always detested the commercialism of selling the concept of "poverty" in order to win popularity. And I am not only talking about the upcoming elections where some of the candidates claim that even someone who "rose from the ranks" of poverty deserved to become president. Or that a commercial like Coca Cola will try to sell the idea that opening a bottle of soda will bring out happiness in the midst of dire need.

So we are a poor nation. It does not lessen our dignity by admitting it. But prostituting it, is a different story altogether. It stabs at our inner most weakness and ironically, the concept actually sells. It sells because more than 70% of the Filipino people live below the poverty line. But being poor is not an excuse to be stupid or lame or without a dream. Life has it's own storm. We need the rain and snow to see and appreciate the beauty of sunshine. We need the heat to appreciate the cool weather. We cannot have everything on a silver platter.

No one ever said that life should be fair.

My pride comes from my own story and struggles in life. While my grandparents were filthy rich, my family bears the story of riches to rags. My parents had to struggle to send me and my sister to school, to put a house over our heads, to put food on the table. And we were not spared from health problems.

My family does not share an exceptional story. Tragedy would strike us at the most vulnerable time and sadly, we would have to give up some of our prized possessions in order to survive. But with each other, we would survive. And that is life - in all it's glory and sorrow.

The Filipino family is a survivor. Each OFW has his own story to tell. And there will always be poignant tales of strife and pain in the midst of success.

We are all entitled to a good life. But a good life can only be attained not by dole outs but by real struggles in the midst of adversity. Which is why many of us have our own stories to tell, our own pain to bear, our crosses to carry.

Every good thing in life takes time and there is no limit on how much time it might need.

Maybe a week, a month or maybe even a year or your lifetime. But see, none of that matters...because if it is meant to be...

it will happen...