By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
While I was being hooked up to the dialysis machine, one of the nurses undertaking the process said to her colleague that the season did not feel the way it used to be. That there was no money exacerbated by the inflationary prices of everything. In short, there was not enough money to buy the things we would like to—in the spirit of the season.
Then I butted in. We should think positively. “Maski marami kang pera kung nakasimangot ka naman.” Useless. We should be happy no matter what. Look at me. I am happy despite the fact that for about a year already, my time is being spent coming to this center 3X a week which actually prevents me from doing any meaningful work. Still here I am, I can still crack a joke with you every now and then.
Yes. Whatever condition we are in, we should be happy.
After all, that was the intention of our beloved creator. So he is taking care of us all the time. At times when we are in pain, or when our wallets are empty, we just have to trust that “for everything there is a reason, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
There were even times these past weeks when I was suffering from a number of illnesses, though not terminal or serious, the pain caused by these at the same time, can make anybody think of dying as a better alternative. On second thought though, there is nothing permanent in this world. That bad times will pass and things will become better. That the reasons for our suffering, be it be bad karma or whatever, will be exhausted later to make way for better times.
That material things we really need will come our way and that we should not be materialistic during Christmas. For happiness, the real thing, is not dependent on what we have. It is on what we usually forget, spiritual thoughts and efforts.
Thus, a monk meditating cross-legged or in deep prayer, with nothing luxurious about him, is genuinely a lot happier than a materialistic somebody in a comfortable mansion and expecting a sumptuous dinner a few days from now.
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