Truth is, it is not always heaven on planet earth. The outside world has its monsters ready to devour us if we remain our naïve, oblivious and nonchalant selves.
Today, I commemorate my anniversary with Gibo and the last episode of my monster encounter. I have managed to keep myself safe from harm for the past two years, following a seven-year curse with the Scratchers in the world, being successful at keeping what little possession I have left. (Hmm, remind me, have I broken a mirror nine years ago? :O)
I have survived, err... still surviving. But I have not gained any superpower. My survival is simply due to the fact that I have not encountered enough Scratchers, or to the reality that I am not yet strong enough for challenges greater than what I have dealt with so far.
The seven years of exposure to snatchers/hold-uppers/robbers and their amazing strategies simply increased my awareness of the harmful and dangerous world. The whole experience* has activated my innate alarm system – heightened my sensitivity, widened the scope of my consciousness (or lengthen its duration for times when sleepiness fails me), and brought me to an alert state (not to fight but to flee). If ever they cross my path again (hopefully not), I still would not know how to fight. I would just skip to the side and be mum, and try with all my might to be camouflaged.
Every encounter with the Scratchers brought unique experiences, new lessons, more realizations on reality and a new set of take-care-I-told-you-so reminders. I have been ambushed, affronted, tricked, harassed, held up, hypnotized. I have cried, was shaken to the bones, had been traumatized, and shocked beyond compare. Paranoia has not left me since the very first encounter. It has gone from an unknown feeling to a dormant state easily activated by mobs or a crowd of men riding the same public transportation vehicle with me, or by any dubious appearance which sometimes makes me guilty of judging.
I lost things.
I lost treasured possessions.
I lost sense of security.
I have shown enough doubt to seem to have lost faith in the innate goodness of a person.
I even lost patience with the Maker for seemingly picking me out of the crowd to be the guinea pig for testing how successful Scratchers are in their various strategies and schemes.
I wanted to fight back. I desired justice so bad that I wished Scratchers to be ill for all eternity.
I have been a prisoner of the madness caused by successive, successful attempts at forcefully taking away my most-valued belongings. Who wouldn’t be?
But as the common adage expresses, what goes around comes around. So to say, I have gained more than what I lost. I have not fully regained the strength of my safety net yet but I have learned to let go, forgive and forget. Scratchers’ last performance through Gibo was the final straw. I still vividly remember what my mom told me when I arrived home that fateful day. “Ganyan talaga anak, mahirap ang buhay ngayon. Isipin mo na lang, gusto lang din nilang mabuhay. Isipin mo na lang tinulungan mo sila. Tsaka, okey ka naman di ba? Gamit lang yun. Mababawi mo din lahat.” (sigh)
It would have been so hard letting go. It was not so easy digesting what my mom said. But I prayed. I thought hard about things I should be thankful for:
>Because of Gibo, I witnessed how my best friend dropped everything (she was at work during an important event) and rushed to that unknown street corner to rescue me. Her assuring words, her protective hugs, her readiness to act to save me…even the most expensive gadget could not outdo that!
>Because of Gibo, I was able to refresh the bond with my parents and my family. Normal days would have not made a difference, distressful days rekindled the warmth of care and concern.
>Because of Gibo, I have finally proven that I do not know all. I was a naysayer of gullible people I hear about or see in the news. It thrilled me (seriously) to have been under the strong suggestibility power of the hypnotism of Gibo. It was like “whoa! So it’s true?!”
It was an arduous task all in all. But I was able to go through it. The kind words melted the fury for being chosen again, the hugs erased any hint of the feeling of injustice, the unique experience replaced the pity of self being victimized, the state of being alive overcome the grief over the loss/es.
Yes, the Earth has long ceased to be the Garden of Eden. But truth is, the heart remembers all special moments when goodness made a difference. And for always, goodness triumphs over evil.
So today, I pray for Gibo and Scratchers, may the love shared with them by others bring them back to the goodies they initially were. Happy anniversary, Gibo! May you be the last one I’ll celebrate such anniversaries for.
Assignment: (for your safety and protection)
>>avoid places where snatching usually happens (only as much as possible)
>>get to know the best practices of Scratchers (and learn from them, not to join them but to beat them)
>>learn the best observed tips for saving self from harm (it all starts with awareness)
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*Gibo = the form taken by Scratcher during the last encounter; he was dressed up and looked like Mr. Teodoro
*Gibo = the form taken by Scratcher during the last encounter; he was dressed up and looked like Mr. Teodoro
*experience = hold-up + laglag barya gang attempt + budol-budol gang attempt + home robbery + hypnotism + sister's riding-in-tandem experience + sister's jeepney snatcher experience
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