Small important things

There are many things that have caught my attention that used to be ordinary, non-issue concerns. In short, they were normal ways of conducting life. Now it seems that they are slowly seeping away.

Take the everyday walk on the street. By the road, some parents no longer seem to care that their children are the ones at the wayside. From the point of view of a driver, it is hard to see the child, who is small, at the edge of the road thus the kid is more prone to being hit by a vehicle. Are these basic things no longer practiced?

On the road again, we find people still not giving in to some vehicles who need to make a turn, causing more traffic. Instead of simply allowing that one or two vehicles to pass to avoid longer blocks, some drivers just don’t care and block the passageways until another allows the other vehicle to pass. Sigh.

Of course, there are those who simply cut in and do not toe the line in roads that converge. Common courtesy dictates that they have to wait for their turn in order not to create an accident. However, it is also imperative for those in the line, to allow entry at a point where the other vehicle already creates traffic, so as to ease the flow on the road. This is where it takes a better person to just give way.

My own character has been put to test a lot of times when driving. Being in a smaller car, I find myself at a loss to larger and higher vehicles when they follow me on the road with only two lanes. In this situation, I cannot let them go ahead. Sadly they insist on blaring their lights to indicate the need to pass. The reflection on the mirror is blinding at times and I am tempted to just stop and linger to make a point. But my own sense of rightness overcomes me when I note that there are others following too and they do not deserve to be the brunt of the treatment I am getting. So, I move on.

Another thing is waiting at the elevator. This happens especially when the elevators are few and when people are in a hurry--- or even when not. They crowd at the mouth of the door, waiting for it to open, and insist on getting in while passengers are unloading, ending up with more lost time, and more frayed nerves.

Are these seemingly lack of ordinary and common courtesies a result of our lack of human interaction?

At home, we find parents grappling with ways to keep their children at bay as they struggle to do chores or to earn their living. Since good help is hard to find, children are more engaged with computers and their cellphones so that they will keep still. In the end, we bring up children who find it hard to relate with humans and who no longer play in the fields, or appreciate creating games that are born out of their own imagination and view of life.

I seldom see children playing house now. They no longer do dodge ball, or hop scotch or even the hula hoop. They no longer know what the game jackstone is and some have even been deprived of learning through the adventures in a book.

Things have greatly changed. And at the risk of sounding “traditional” I would like our influencers to look into this angle, of sharing more personal interactive and engaging activities that children will enjoy.  Piko, sud-sud, tubig-tubig, skipping rope, kayokok, syatung, bagul, Chinese garter, bato-lata and the like should be revived. These encourage sweat, wit, strategy and creativity and bring out more personal interaction that grows a child’s humanity. It involves decision-making, competition, conflict management, forgiveness, patience and gentleness in the spirit sportsmanship. And it brings out that depth of being a person that is greater than AI.

This is what we need now!