TODAY and tomorrow – Saturday and Sunday – are the zenith days in the first ever open celebration of the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City. Meaning, people can freely move around the city, attend the various activities attendant to the revelry and savor to the maximum the ambiance of whatever amenities there are in the course of the festivities. The only very minor bar – or call it inconvenience – is the mandatory wearing of mask by everyone who wishes to be out of his or her house and be counted as among the revelers. As to the social distancing protocol that is encouraged, consider it totally impossible to comply in this kind of celebration that was hardly felt during the pinnacle of the CoViD 19 pandemic.
In other words, today and tomorrow we can expect that we Davaoenos and those who come from other places to witness and join the long-missed in-person celebration will most likely be enjoying our lives as if we are already totally out of the mess that the deadly pandemic that has put our lives in a standstill.
As we ponder about this newly recoup freedom to enjoy life to the fullest regardless of anyone’s status in life, we feel that it is worth sharing this beautiful yet relevant message that could guide us in opting for the course of action we want to take for the betterment of our lives and conscience.
This was posted on Facebook and was shared to us by our boss while we were still working in a government agency several decades ago. We are sharing this also to our readers hoping that in the midst of their enjoyment during the Kadayawan Festival, this can remind them of something that has to be done in our lifetime.
Here is this beautiful message:
“A rich man looked through his window and saw a poor man picking something from his dustbin…He said. Thank God I am not poor.
“The poor man looked around and saw a naked man misbehaving on the street…He said, thank God I am not mad.
“The mad man looked around and saw an ambulance carrying a patient…He said, Thank God am not sick.
“The a sick person in the hospital saw a trolley taking a dead body to the mortuary…He said, thank God I am not dead.
“Only a dead person cannot thank God.
“Why don’t we thank God today for all our blessings and for the gift of life…for another beautiful day.
“What is life? To understand life better, we have to go to three locations: 1. Hospital; 2. Prison, and 3. Cemetery.
“At the hospital we will understand that nothing is more beautiful than HEALTH.
“In the prison, we will see that FREEDOM is the most precious thing.
“In the cemetery, we will realize that life is worth nothing. The ground that we walk today will be our roof tomorrow.
“Sad truth: We all come with Nothing…Let us therefore, remain humble and be thankful and grateful to God at all times for everything.”
Yes, with the opportunity given us to enjoy all the amenities the Kadayawan celebration is offering, we have to thank God for the life; for His having spared us from the wrath of the CoViD 19 pandemic that has taken its toll to a number of people both from the city and outside.
Perhaps, if they were still with us they too must be among those who are currently enjoying the in-person Kadayawan celebration.
