Slip of the Pen
ptaruc@theguidon.com
A peculiar characteristic shared by many Filipinos is the bahala na mentality. This attitude entails a view of existence as being largely influenced by destiny. To them, life becomes nothing more than a puppet of the hands of fate. Perhaps it is not surprising that a countless number of people are familiar with songs such as The Beatles’ Let It Be or Doris Day’s Que Sera, Sera.
In the university, for example, many students would give up studying for their oral or written exams due to the conviction that their grades are already predestined to begin with.
This disposition is also shared by individuals who go on a relentless pursuit to find their one and only soul mate, or by couples who break up and never even try to get back together for the petty reason that they were never meant to be.
To a greater extent, Philippine culture has not been free from such an outlook. Take for example the belief that God would grant one’s Christmas wish if he or she would complete the masses of Simbang Gabi. The same holds true for those who believe that the trials and tribulations of their lives occur simply because it is the “will” of God.
The irony lies in the fact that if the world did function according to God’s will, it would have already been in a much better state compared to where it is today. A principal concept taught to all Ateneans in liberation theology is the existence of social sin.
This discourse requires us to not only reflect on the personal dimension of our actions, but also to scrutinize the environment where we exercise such deeds.
We exist in a world that naturally orients us towards imperfection. It is a world of individuals with different and oftentimes conflicting interests and priorities.
There is injustice, poverty and greed in this world not because such is the natural order of things. They exist because of both what society has done and has failed to do. Hence, the social conditions that we are born into necessitate that we maintain an agentic outlook towards life instead of a largely fatalistic one. Be it in the quest for success or the pursuit of someone’s heart, one cannot depend on destiny. It simply does not exist.
We often tend to underrate ourselves. To borrow from Plato’s analogy, we limit ourselves to see shadows in a cave when in fact we have the capability to see the sunlight outside of it.
The human spirit has the immense potential to do great things. That is the beauty of existence. That is the beauty of being alive—to accept and live with our imperfections, but to dedicate each day to the act of surpassing them.
Such is manifested in different ways. It is present, for example, in our knowledge that our capacity to love someone exists beyond the plane of time, though we all face the inevitability of death.
It also rests in the realization that love is something that doesn’t just happen. You have to make it happen. Likewise, when we volunteer in organizations that serve the common good, we become agents of change for a better future–a future shaped by us and not by the status quo.
Rather than having faith in the universe, we must have faith in ourselves.
