Trying to be Honest in times of Needs...can be more fruitful
Posted on Saturday, 27 December 2014
Trying
to be Honest In Times of Needs
…can
be more fruitful
By Apolinario Villalobos
When we are in our direst needs, we try our
best a hundred times to survive. When such times come, some of us exert effort
to make cover-ups, too shy to let others know the real situation we are in. By
being honest, however, does not mean that we are soliciting help. We can even
gain respect and admiration, by showing others our endurance during such trying
needs. The respect and admiration, as the fruits of our effort are sweeter,
than the casual reaction from others whose view of our real situation is
obstructed by hypocrisy.
I have a friend who used to hold a high
executive position in a company. Despite such opportunity, he was unable to
save much needed cash for his retirement because of the regular trek of
acquaintances to him, to seek his financial help. To make the story short, when he retired, he
was left with a meager social security pension, not even enough for his maintenance
drugs. Every time I visited him, we would talk about friends who became
successful in their jobs. His statements were always punctuated with “ I am
thankful that they made it…”. Truth is, he had been instrumental for those
friends’ success. Some were his subordinates whom he pushed with deserved
promotions and guaranteed referrals.
Because of ailments that came with
advancing age, he lost weight which practically changed his physical appearance.
Despite the transformation, he could still muster a smile, as if nothing had
changed. Today, he is financially handicap, but he does not show it. He just
profusely expresses his thanks every time I bring him a small jar of coffee,
wheat bread, and honey. When former colleagues learned about his situation,
they visited him and brought him presents, for which the same sincere thanks
are expressed with a smile.
My friend gained much respect because of
what he honestly showed, reaping admiration in the process. His effort proved
that time may have changed his physical make up… his appearance. But it did not
change his image that exudes contentment despite his obvious material
needs. He humbly appreciates the
respect, enhanced by admiration, as shown by his smile while waiting for the
flicker of his life to finally die down.
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