...we are poor but we are happy...
By jeanneyvonne
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
Philippines
June 25, 2011 10:40pm CST
This is usually the typical description of a Filipino to the world. We are poor, hard-working people but despite all the wrongs in our society plus the natural disasters that come our way, we still know how to smile, laugh and make fun of ourselves. Some may call it defense mechanism and others will say it's our coping mechanism and sometimes, it's just our nature.
I once read an international magazine's piece on happiness. The Philippines and the Filipinos got a special mention when a Filipino contributor wrote a piece about Filipinos being 'content' and easy way to get to that state of contentment. The article further explored the topic of happiness the Filipino way by being happy at small blessings and being enduring at the worst and trying times.
This made me to think that perhaps sometimes we are striving for small things and not the big ones. Many of us wish that our country should at least be economically stable but we don't strive for it. In contrast, we just accept the situation and smile, like we are sharing a private joke of some sort.
I am not undermining the Filipino way of happiness or our tradition of smile (hell, it's one of my defense mechanisms). What I am suggesting that we already have the capacity to endure and we should start aiming for more that we are capable of. Perhaps we can really achieve contention and happiness if we can see ourselves and our country as prosperous and at tehs ame time, happy.
Your thoughts and views...
3 people like this
11 responses
@whitewingspeak (888)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
I admire you for being so positive in your own way. It is true, you know, not all happiness can not be bought by money, and not at all time money can solve our problems. I even believe that true happiness is priceless.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
I will agree that happiness is priceless. However, I do not want to see my country or my fellow countrymen being stagnant and rely on what fate brings us and be comfortable about it. I don't ant to be complacent if I have methods or the ability to make things better either personally or when it applies to my country. I just want to think that if my country has a potential and we weren't using it as we should. we might be happy but happiness is never constant and never lasting.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
I guess not. However, I ma still willing to bet that at some point, some people will break out and try to to change. If we are pushed to the limits, it might happen. Human are unpredictable creatures and as Filipinos we belong to that species. We don't know how the future will be but we need to constantly adapt and break things, if need be if we want to have a good life.
@whitewingspeak (888)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
You know jeanneyvonne, you can not chance an attitude of a man, not on his adult age. Being a hard worker, is taught at home. Parents should be the model to the children, so, how can a child become a hard worker when he is a beggar since birth? It becomes a system to them, it already a lifestyle to them? We are Filipinos too, but we grew up in the province in Mindanao, and i see no beggars here, it is because the parents trained them to work as early as school age. Now, it is up to us which life we are going to live.
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
Hello jeanne
,
To be honest, i see the advantage of being poor, and that is you don't see pretenders lurking in your circle 
(of friends). I'd rather be classified as a poor because you will see real people that is really been with you for years.
We do have a commercial business space now but i still classified myself as poor because i don't have a job. it will take a few months or a year before we started earning money from the rents because of the advance rental pay that they contributed from our last phase construction and not to mention it's part of the contract.
.
I don't want to be SEEN as rich as i have gotten used to this stage...
,
To be honest, i see the advantage of being poor, and that is you don't see pretenders lurking in your circle (of friends). I'd rather be classified as a poor because you will see real people that is really been with you for years.
We do have a commercial business space now but i still classified myself as poor because i don't have a job. it will take a few months or a year before we started earning money from the rents because of the advance rental pay that they contributed from our last phase construction and not to mention it's part of the contract..
I don't want to be SEEN as rich as i have gotten used to this stage...@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
I have no qualms of being 'poor', no matter what the definition of the term is. And I don't see myself as 'rich' no matter how many people view what rich is. I agree that there are some advantages of being poor but what I am trying to point out is that we should strive something better for the future. We cannot always be smiling and happy about the bad things and things that went awry. we should do something about these kind of situations instead of being just complacent and taking all things without reaction.
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
you're talking about something national but am just stating my own experience. that's something "others" should be making their decisions with. some are happy and doing the best they can, i see it.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
Yes, I am talking about the national scene. Perhaps I just want to air my concerns about this happiness thing. At the end of the end, despite being 'poor', we still have some happiness in doing work and being productive comapred to others who just accept and accept and not striving for anything.
@xtedaxcvg (3189)
• Philippines
28 Jun 11
I guess it's just our nature to be content and happy even at desperate and evil times. I'm not sure but I guess it can also be attributed to our strong religious faith. It's both a good and a bad thing but I think we just have to live with it.
@diogz22 (516)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
You know what. I think Filipinos always settle for less. That is why the Philippines is still where it is now. On the other side, This might also be a good side since Filipinos always find ways to be happy even if there going down the cliff economically. Now the question is what is better to be caught up with economically rich community with problems on security? Or settle in a poor community with a lot of friends near by?
@whitewingspeak (888)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
You have a point here diogz22! You know I am a mother, and i really want my son to have a good life ahead, i think that is a mother's aim for his children. I do not allow any government system, or politics to come along the way to my children. If they wanna settle abroad in the future, then i support them, if they wanna stay if they wanna stay in this country then fine, but i advise them not to go affected on political issues that will hinder their success. Philippines is the very nice place to live but if you wanna get caught by systems in the country, then you are sorry. For me, just work, earn, pay your bills, laugh, love your family and that's it!
@EdnaReyes (2622)
• Philippines
28 Jun 11
This is how we are forced to perceive our selves by our colonizers, that we are happy despite we are poor so we must not strive for greatness or at least think of breaking off from them. This thinking has been embedded in our subconsciousness and the results is forever vowing to the yoke of boundedness. I think until now most Filipino would rather eat a little than to eat nothing and risks everything for dreaming and aspiring for bigger than what they have.They are not shaped and honed for that kind of thinking and should only be contended to what's going on around to have perpetual peace and security. It is a sad thing but this is what Filipinos are and it would take a long long time before we can be free of this boundedness. Until someone or the youth of today will make a drastic change of our mindset.
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
27 Jun 11
hello, I think we are a happy and smiling people because that is our nature period. I think being poor is different, ask any poor people if they are happy and I'm sure they will answer in the negative, please do not get me wrong, I think wealth will never bring happiness and I am not anti poor but life would surly be better if there is less lack, perhaps majority just become contented with what they are and the helplessness of the situation so they give off an aura that makes it seem that they are happy. I just wish the Filipino will be known more for discipline, honesty, innovation, self reliance, patriotism,generosity, and like what you mentioned " hard-working " (which we are) and add that happy and smiling nature, then perhaps we could achieve a higher sense of happiness as a people.
@rog0322 (2829)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
27 Jun 11
Hi jean,
Tell that to the hungry child on the dump site or on the streets and you would get a different response. For them, happiness is having a lot of good food to eat and not having to struggle through the hell of garbage and the heat of the pavement or the cold rains in a makeshift shelter at night.
The only sign of happiness I see in them is when I hand them something to eat. The flicker of a smile can be seen right on their eyes as they look at you with a mixture of emotion running through the gamut of amazement, shyness, hesitation and downright acceptance of what is being offered as the instinct to survive takes over.
I know the feeling, I was once one of them.
@iklananda (1202)
•
26 Jun 11
Wew being Pinoy is quite hard according to your story there. Is there a lot of natural disaster there ? I cannot imagine if you already collect a lot of money good house and suddenly disaster come and destroy everything. So it must be very hard coz it very lazy to started from the beginning. It must be hard work from the beginning and started again. Is it often happen there natural disaster ?
@Malingkatka (101)
• Philippines
26 Jun 11
I think it was just our nature to one of the happy people in the world.It could also be a defense mechanism for others just to hide the feelings of suffering from poverty.I agree whatever the reason why we Filipinos are happy we should strive hard to rise our economy and help our country.The number one problem in our country is the corruption and the justice system as well as the violence or war here at Mindanao.I don't think our country can solve the problem of corruption in our country.It was the main reason why our economy could not rise.It hinders the progress of our country not the nature of us Filipinos as a happy people.
@prawnie008 (12)
• Malaysia
26 Jun 11
who said rich can't buy happiness? is just you used it the wrong way, manage your life, make it balance, you will find your own happiness
