hope, hope and away...

I read a news article last week regarding a Pulse Asia survey saying that 8 out of 10 Filipinos, even in the face of a global economic crisis, remain hopeful that 2009 will be a better year for them. Even when the prices of basic commodities went up while wages did not, even when more and more OFWs are coming home after getting laid off from work, even when more and more employable workers are unable to find work here, and even when prospects of investing in our country are dim, more than 60 million of our roughly 80 million population continue to find a reason to look forward to a prosperous new year.

This speaks well of a Filipino quality that we are truly proud of, our being resilient. We have the capacity to bear tough times well. Unlike in the US and other countries, suicides here are still considered an oddity, meaning that even the darkest circumstances are not enough to force us to end our lives. For no matter what happens to us, we continue to remain hopeful that better times are still ahead of us. But could this virtue also serve to be our bane as people?

I hope I am getting this wrong, but my honest observation is that while we are able to survive even in the direst conditions, we exert too much of our efforts, thoughts and emotions on achieving that, causing us to lose focus on the possibility that life could offer us so much more than we currently have. Our resiliency leads to complacency. In our drive to merely survive, we lose the ability to live the best life that we can have.

I am not downplaying our trait of resiliency, for it is indeed an admirable strength of most Filipinos. However, I cannot hide my concern that this is causing us to be merely content in just getting by each day, perhaps so much that this is holding us back from striving for more comfortable lives.

I am not saying that we have stopped dreaming for a better future. On the contrary, Filipinos continue to nurture lofty dreams. But it seems that we are unwilling to put all our efforts to achieving those dreams. Maybe that is why so many of us are attracted to the lottery, gambling, and multi level marketing. We all seem to know where we want to go, but we have no idea how to get there.

It’s high time that we change our mindsets about this. There is no short route to the top. Honestly, it is actually better that way. As Thomas Paine said, “That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value.”. We tend to appreciate more the things that we truly worked hard for.

It will take time, and much effort is needed to get where we want to be. It will not be easy, but with God’s help, we will get there. So let us continue to hope, not just for the sake of hoping, but because we believe that if we work hard enough, if we direct our efforts toward the fulfillment of our dreams, then everything is possible.