“Look at the bright side.” I once had a teacher who loved to quote that to us whenever things seemed to go wrong. I now think we were not very supportive of her, whenever she quoted it when a problem came up, but now I have learned to appreciate her and her outlook on life. Somehow, if you try hard enough, you will see that bright side, even if it takes a while before you see it. Indeed, that bright side could be eclipsed if you focus on the negative, but you will see it if you try hard enough!
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I wonder, though, if Taiwan can see the bright side in the moves of China to make it part of its country. I hear that the people of Taiwan are not in favor of the move, but when push comes to shove, as some wise alecks like to quote, does it have enough power and resources to stop it? And if that supposed “shove” does come, does it have the resources to stop it? I guess that is a great problem for the people of Taiwan, and which foreign powers will come to their aid when they reach that point?
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I think that is what our people felt when Japan started to show interest in accessing our country. For a while, Japanese soldiers and executives seemed to have the upper hand, but our people then relied on the promise of General MacArthur, then the top man of the American army in the Philippines who pledged “I shall return”, before he escaped and planned out his strategies for rescuing our country from the Japanese invaders! His famous words “I SHALL RETURN” rang out in the ears of Filipinos who believed he meant it.
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And he did. It took some two – or was it three? – years before he was able to come up with the manpower and armaments he would need, but he kept his word. That is why, even if some of our younger generations do not seem to feel any appreciation or gratitude to the Americans those who were of age at the time will never forget what we owe to America. Had General Douglas MacArthur failed to keep his promise, what medium of instruction would our school be using today? That is why, we who belong to the generation that went through those times, can still sing “God Bless America” during the flag ceremonies in school then.
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In the meantime, our economy is slowing inching back to how it used to be, but no one can predict how much time will have gone by before things return to how they used to be. That is why we need to pray for our officials, both in the national and local scenes, to be granted the ability to think, and adopt means that could bring us to a better economy and grant us inspired leadership from those we will choose when election times come around. Otherwise we may never recover from the slump we seem to be in now.
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Let us also remember to pray for our country and people because present signs do not seem to favor our economy. But we should also give thanks for being able to acquire the vaccines that have meant a relief from the present scourged brought by the virus from China that was first found in the province there called Wuhan. While we in Bacolod and Negros are thankful at having access to the vaccines that could stop the virus in its track it is still not available to our entire population. I wonder if our other cities and towns all have access to it by this time?
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Now it is Mother Nature who seems to be showing her might with a lot of towns, cities and regions experiencing floods that have struck several areas in Luzon. Some provinces in Luzon have reported floods that have risen to depths that reach the armpits of fully grown adults. Residents of some areas have been advised to evacuate when floodwaters were seen to reach the shoulders of grown-up men and women. No wonder there were also reports of children missing! I suspect that those kids had been playing, in the flooded areas, unaware of the dangers of doing so.
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We are now in the middle of October, and in a couple of weeks, it will be November, the month when we make visits to the graves of our departed loved ones. I heard, though, that cemeteries and memorial parks will be closed on November 1 and 2, the dates when we go to visit the graves and pray for the souls of our departed loved ones. Since there is due notice that such areas will be closed, it will be wise to make those grave visits BEFORE November 1 and 2, or on the days after. I am sure the dead will understand that we have to avoid being in areas where there may be infected people who may contaminate us and make us join them earlier than we should. The Lord will listen to our prayers, wherever they are said.*
