There was once a guy who was scolded hard by his boss – for not doing the job right, yet he came out from the room smiling, and cheerfully thanking his boss.
A lady was in despair thinking how to survive with a minimum income and tantamount expenses, yet she can still laugh.
My Arab friend once asked me, “why Philippini, always happy.”
Many Filipinos, despite of daily challenges and struggles, live with a “feel good first” mentality. They can smile in the middle of chaos. They don’t wait to achieve something before they feel generally happy about themselves.
There are some people who only feel good once they reach some goals. The problem is, it might never happen. The more they dread the road without happiness, the more it becomes challenging to achieve the goal.
Steve Chandler said, “By linking happiness to something you don’t have yet, you’re denying the power to create it for yourself in a moment.”
For many Filipinos, happiness does not only happen when they achieve something. They claim it and use it to make the journey fun all the way, not just fun at the end.
It is also a feeling of joy.
One of my favorite messages in the bible says, to “consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because the testing of our faith produces perseverance.” Then it adds, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.“
Through our faith, we endure all these trials because we believe that it will bear fruit as long as we remain in Him.
It’s the joy in the journey, not the destination… and not the Filipino genes. Joy is for everybody.
–