MEComposing

OF HONEST MEN AND THE HUMBLE WATER

This has been long due, but i've really been meaning to write about Mr. Sulpico, a Filipino I am really proud of.

Not that I want to sensationalize the deed that I believe he made without dreams of adulation, but after the hoopla over Angelo dela Cruz (with whom Mr. Sulpico shares the desire of wanting to provide a better life for his family like all other OFWs), he was truly a welcome breath of fresh air.

Angelo dela Cruz, for all his fortunate and unfortunate luck, did nothing heroic aside from braving working in a foreign land. The Angelo dela Cruz story seems to me to be ridden with hypocrisy... from the government's end. He was a pawn they used to come off as principled. I see no 'principle' and 'consideration' and 'wise judgment' from a government that continues to let its officials plague the country with their greed. And I don't see anything right with "standing for something" when it is ridden with so much inconsistency. After all, the government didn't extend their graciousness to those other OFWs who came home missing limbs from mines/bombing accidents.

But Mr. Sulpico did the right thing. He is allowed to have had hours of fantasies on what to do with the loot, because he still returned what was not his. He is entitled to whatever monetary rewards strangers may deem fit to bestow upon him, because in a way, he earned them by being honest. And because of what he did, not only did he make sure that he will keep his children's respect for him forever, he also got gracious rewards from others... and deserved it.

How his kids must be proud of him. And how thankful I am, as a Filipino, to have him redeem our name, even if only for a while.

*~*

The priest yesterday talked about humility, using water as an example.

There are a lot of drinks that we all love today that comes from adding something to water (it sounds like a really stupid sentence but I have to make this point). Certain powders are added to make the instant juice drinks or iced teas that refresh us after exercising. Certain powders and syrups and beans make up the fraps we sip as we end our dates, dinner, or hectic days at work. Certain processes are done to water to make them into the poisons we order in bars as we party with friends. In short, we make it complicated to have another/a different use.

But when we make it complicated, we also start limiting its uses. Somehow, certain capacities are lost in the pursuit of something else.

And true enough, you don't use gin to mix cement. And you don't use capuccino to water plants. Not only will such be more expensive, but it may also do more damage than good.

And so the priest warned us to remain simple and basic as plain water, which has a lot of uses... rather than aspire to be just this one special(ized) beverage, with limited possibilities.

I don't think he was discouraging self-realization either...