Community is our greatest strength

IT’s been more than a year since we have started feeling the harrowing impact of the devastation brought by the pandemic. Cases are surging at an unprecedented rate in our country with over 10,000 new cases recorded every single day. More than a million cases have now been tallied, and the days ahead of us seem much bleaker than before. Grief, despair and loss have inhabited our senses, making us feel empty and unable to see any future in this current life — more so in feeling anything at all. The author Adam Grant in the New York Times poignantly explains such emotions and feelings as languishing. A sense of stagnation and emptiness as he describes, which many of us and I feel every waking morning. When will this madness end? Is there even a future when everything that mattered has been taken away from all of us. Our jobs, our passions, our dreams and for some, even their lives.

In these times of emptiness, the demand for our labor and efforts is continual, that we should reach maximum productivity and efficiency despite knowing our close family members and friends have succumbed to this deadly disease. Often, people are left with no choice but to stagger on with the burden for no toil can mean having nothing to eat for the day. The past weeks have shown that survival is indeed a luxury for those who do not need to toil as thousands of people have nowhere left to go for help and support but now depend on the individual good of their neighbor due to the failed responses to the pandemic. Community pantries have sprung from each corner of the country to give food and aid to those that need it the most since the government has nothing left to give — or to phrase it better, has so much to give but does not want. “Give what you can, take what you need,” the sign that is hung on tables filled with goods and bounty springing up in sundry corners of many towns. A noble initiative that is being vilified and red-tagged by the very people meant to help us feed ourselves. A pathetic move to politicize the kindness our communities have shown. Despite such unnecessary burdens and despicable criticism, it is these noble acts of kindness to help our fellow Filipinos that show the true strength of our people. Community is everything, and community is the venue where we will fill the void and emptiness that we have collectively felt and shared. A sense of strength that should not be confused with the outdated description of Filipino resilience, but rather as an inspiration that we deserve better as rightful members of our community and citizens of our country. Each Filipino should have something to eat on their tables for today and a better future that they can see and live for tomorrow. The shared vision and dream that many of us have demanded and have yearned for years before.