Independent (in a sense) and foreign, it is a film that portrayed powerful messages beautifully with emotionally piercing realities.
The story leaves one with a lot of room for reflection on the world, or more personally...one's own life. The measurement of how much one appreciates the blessings of life obviously varies from person to person, depending on what life-enlightening experiences they've lived through...
There's a difference between walking through a landfill and actually having to make a life out of the harsh living conditions. This was something that hit me hard as I felt my feet sink into the polluted mush of blackened garbage and urban washoff. When I visited the Philippines for the first time in the summer of 2007, I ventured through places I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to come across...
The virgin forest of El Kabayo Falls; the pristine waters that were once occupied by turmoil at Subic Bay; the cool and rugged mountains of the Kordilyera region and the warm crystal waters at Boracay...the picturesque beauty of each location made me feel as if I were looking through the pages of a story book...
Aside from the aesthetic appreciation I had for each locale I visited, however, I surprisingly began to develop appreciation for lifestyle that was present at those sites. I visited the farming community (pictured below) of Tungkol Mangga...where even the simplest fruits of mother nature was just enough to fill the spirits of the children growing up there...with happiness. Living off of so little, everything was a blessing...and the hardships were battles that made them stronger than any of the little girls and boys who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths.
(still reflecting...)
(to be continued)
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