PINOY

I read this article about a supposed behavioral and psychological study done on Filipino Overseas Workers. The study supposedly shows proof that Filipinos are highly adaptable and are able to quickly assimilate the culture of the country where they are employed.

Furthermore, it said in the study that Filipinos show great resiliency in their new environment, and are quick to learn, and obey the local laws. The reason being that they know for a fact that disobedience would lead to arrest, or worst, to deportation.
Excuse me? Do Filipinos only learn how to obey the laws when they are on foreign lands? Is that what this study is all about? Aren’t we a law abiding lot?

I’m insulted by the insinuation that we Filipinos only learn civil behavior when we set foot on foreign countries. I am insulted!

Am I the only one insulted here?

BASAHIN ANG SULATING ITO SA WIKANG INGLES

C O F F I N

I'm scared of dying. I admit that.

Probably because of this stupid dream I've had since I was a kid where I wake up inside this dark, constricting coffin that's being lowered into a grave. MY grave.

I know it's foolish to be so worked up over such dreams. I've been told that there are far worst nightmares I should be worried about. Visiting in-laws are one, according to a married friend.

And besides, dead people these days are embalmed, which also means their innards are gutted out. So the probability of one person suddenly waking up during his internment is about close to nothing.

But what if I wake up just when the embalmer is pulling out my liver?

Death is probably the best selling point of religion i.e. any religion. It's because we want assurances that something of us, somehow, survives death and decay.

THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT BEHIND ALL THOSE RITUALS AND PRAYERS, RIGHT? O_o

We are scared s@#t of death because no one from our recent memories, or dead people whom we actually knew, has actually risen from the grave - complete with maggots, fungi, and slimy, decayed eyeballs hanging by a thread - to assure us that heaven, or paradise is actually waiting for us on the other side.

NOTE: with the exemption of JESUS CHRIST, but that was like 2,000 years ago. And we need faith to believe in that.

Every year, we hold this celebration in honor of the dead. And to make the subject seem less dreadful, or less morbid, we've managed to transform it into a kid friendly festivity.

In the United States, they give away sweets to kids dressed in ghoulish costumes. They ring up your door and cry, "trick or treats!"

Then, come bed time, they scare these kids green with delightful halloween stories like this witch holding Hansel and Gretel hostage in some candy store, intending to have them for dinner.

We know it's all for fun. But it scares us anyway. The dying and being cooked, and being eaten part.

Because we are scared of dying, because all assurances about the supposed great beyond is all based on... FAITH. The substance and proof of things not seen.

Is there a great beyond... beyond the grave?

If there's none, then some of us have wasted our lives being the stuck up, uptight, anal retentive religious folks that we are. We should all have just lived life to the very edge, in full hedonistic abandon. After all, the best things in life are the wicked and forbidden kinds.

But what if.. there is a great beyond?

And hell is true.

Then some of us are truly in for a big roast. We really ought to think seriously about preparing for it.

Believe me. The fear of death will always make religion relevant. And no matter what science says, there will always be those who will fear death.

As for me. All I'm scared of is being buried alive. It's a bummer to die slowly in a dark, constricted coffin where you slowly run out of air.

BASAHIN ANG SULATING ITO SA WIKANG INGLES

S Q U A R E

An older friend once told me that if I want to live a peaceful, fruitful and fulfilling life, then I ought to strive to live in a world without borders or fences.

A world untouched by bigotry born out of faulty myths, false religions, self serving ideologies and philosophies.

He was an agnostic. He probably still is.

Back then, I believed myself to be a well adjusted Christian, and I had no reason to question the fundamentals of my faith. Nonetheless, I was enchanted by the romanticized images of utopia that he conjured in my wild imagination. It was so much like the familiar images of heaven our own Sunday School teacher described.

A world no longer oppressed by the sting of death. A world filled with smiles and laughters that have successfully erased the tragic memories of wars, disease, and... many other evils.

"Hell is a reality we create for ourselves," he told me.

A few weeks after, he gave me the royal tour of hell.

I learned then that it's dangerous to live in a world without borders nor fences to protect you. You could fall into the lousiest of luck, and you have nothing but yourself to blame for not even having a lock on your stupid door.


BASAHIN ANG SULATING ITO SA WIKANG FILIPINO