by Donald Sevilla
Dateline:Tokyo
CARVE YOUR OWN DESTINY
In between rides, looking at the throng of people going about their daily routine, makes me wonder what’s in store for us as a society.
We have been blessed, perhaps too blessed that we have squandered away, taking for granted those that nature has generously given us. The Japanese are a hardworking people and you see it in their work ethics and attitude.
People take care of their own rubbish, oftentimes bringing them along until when they can be disposed of. Hardly can you see garbage bins everywhere and if ever there are any, they are unnoticeable, inconspicuously tucked away.
The streets are generally clean yet surprisingly in the dead of night when people and traffic have ground to a halt, the subterranean city dwellers regain their turf.
Rats are urban dwellers, too, and for sure live everywhere in major cities around the world. While they manage to stay out of sight during the day they are there to remind us of our gory existence no matter how clean we profess to be.
This just shows the darker side to us which we cleverly hide away from others. Men no matter how we try to project ourselves clean have imperfections that define our humanity.
While we must not dwell on our shortcomings we must rise above them and challenge ourselves. We must take a break from the rat-race of our lives and make time to feel and appreciate the beautiful things around us. We need time to recharge ourselves before we get back to the reality of our existence.
Society’s problems and ills will always be there. Good governance is always wanting and so is a vigilant citizenry. Yet, we must not give up on our goals and aspirations.
The quest goes on though how frustrating it becomes. As we ponder our fate let us not lose hope. Every day is a new opportunity to become better and to improve ourselves.
Our leaders may seem to fail us but we must live on. Our fate does not solely rely on them but in our hands.