Today, in the reckoning of time, we are latently tested to see how far we can go with that resilience and compassion. Will we serve the common good, or prioritize only ourselves and our family to maybe live a little longer than the rest?
If we were to distinguish essential from the non-essential from our lives’ inventory, will we have the capacity to discern the whatnots? 
It is not a million-peso question. It may not make so much sense either. But it is a timely one to catechize ourselves with the recent crisis that we are facing. It may also spark this question: aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, are we also suffering from the epidemic of hatred and divisiveness? Here, in our very own country who used to pride ourselves on close-knit harmony and high moral standards?
But for a country like the Philippines with hard-set structural problems, everything nowadays is being put into testing waters.
The year 2020 opened up a weathering storm that threatens all aspects of our human lives. The COVID-19 pandemic does not only place the community’s health and economic status at high risk. It does not only test our leaders’ political willpower, our individual religious beliefs, and unified social diplomacy. It does not only mess up with our work-life balance and piles up our psychological distress.
The crisis messes up with everything – even with our own conviction, unity, and compassion for humankind. And its effect, probably, will be felt for the next generations to come.
It was a long-known fact that we Filipinos are resilient and compassionate. Resilient to rebuild our pillar with our own sinews after every downfall. Compassionate to lend a hand and empathize with people as our inert social responsibility.
Today, in the reckoning of time, we are latently tested to see how far we can go with that resilience and compassion. Will we serve the common good, or prioritize only ourselves and our family to maybe live a little longer than the rest?
We are not only watching and waiting for death figures of the pandemic or something. We are all here watching a rash of crimes, injustices, discrimination, and slanders happening right in our front yard. The moment we offensively argue about people’s race, sexual orientation, and personal opinion, we are already motivating hatred.
Something is stirring hate among us all. Something is willing us to fight each other. This is not the “sign of the time.” It is a sign that we are wavering on our conviction as Filipinos to help our brothers out.
We all are a part of a greater story, and ours are told in but a part. What we care about is validating our opinion and invalidating other’s stories because they are not ours. We are emotionally disrupted and exhausted. We are all confused and in collective disbelief. But let us not let all of it crumple the unity that the circumstance is willing from us.
Our part is not to decide the essentiality of things. It is to expound our common sense, to empathize, and make prudent judgments. Mainstream society always finds an opportunity to cultivate anger and aggression. Let us step back from it and become human once again by understanding and preventing oppression. Besides, we are all just victims no matter which part of the social scale we think we belong.
So, if some people want their lugaw, let them eat their lugaw in peace. Then, let us leave it at it and move on so that other people can also continue living in peace./WDJ