On the day I honor my father and the marytyrs and heroes who fought against Martial Law, a callous and ignorant person had the gall to throw sh*t all over my post. Instead of empathy and compassion, he chose to be rude and condescending. He chose to victimize me. I do not even know this person. We do not have any mutual friends.

I was angry. But my anger has turned into profound sadness and pity.

Sad to say, he represents just one of many Filipinos who continue to choose ignorance, who continue to be prisoners of propaganda and lies. It is emotionally exhausting and intellectually taxing to deal with these people. But we must. Otherwise, we fail to honor those who sacrificed their lives.

Open your eyes. Free your mind. Do not allow yourself to be limited by your own experiences. The world does not revolve around you but it is yours to explore and learn more about. Do not be enslaved by what is in front of you. Listen to people. Converse. Read. Be educated. Develop a critical mind. 

Most of all, use your heart. Be compassionate. Choose kindness even when faced with callousness and hatred.

And to that person who challenged me today, thank you for the opportunity to be better. Today you taught me that I can always go beyond my anger. That when people are rude the best thing to do is to be better, not to be condescending but to practice patience and exercise temperance.

Faced with overwhelming callousness and disrespect, overcome with anger, I learned that I can be compassionate and can be empathetic, something I have to practice and do more of.

Madali maging tao, mahirap magpakatao.

Live. Love. Learn. ❤️