Naririnig Ninyo Ba Ang Mga Sarili Ninyo?

Reactions of my friends to this post.  If this is a final exam ... an imaginative teacher will suspect my friends were cheating and copying from each other. 

For one ... the answers were almost identical ... they were exactly alike and the answers had some close resemblance as to be essentially the same. 

Their answers were short ... but you could feel some sense of regret, repentance, and disappointment that this was ... in actuality happening. Here are their open-ended comments

1. Reality Bites ...

2. Reality Sucks ...

3. A Harsh Reality ...

4. Reality Check Please ... 

5. A Taste of Reality ...

I don't blame them ... at all ... if they feel shame or guilt ... and remorseful. So pinag-tagpi-tagpi ko ang mga sagot nila to come up the seering opening salvo for this post.

The last time we had REALITY CHECKED ... was when we found out the HARSH REALITY ... that REALITY BITES and that REALITY SUCKS. When we were given a TASTE OF REALITY ... it was too late to find out that when REALITY HIT US HARD ... a man-made catastrophe again showed its ugly face ... resulting in the loss of so many lives.

We know the evils of deforestation firsthand (and sorry to say this includes illegal logging). It is a known fact that as we move on from our glorious past into the modern present, forests have been balded to make room for modernization and to obtain wood for housing, manufacturing, and fuel. Deforestation completely changed the topography the terrain ... and the landscape of the discussion and debate about its pros and cons have been muffled.

But there are glaring facts that could not just be swept under the rug ... what with the constant barrage of news of floods and landslides on TV. The ill effects of deforestation were placed on the front burner - global warming, disruption of water cycles, biodiversity loss, wildlife extinction, habitat destruction, soil erosion, acidic oceans, greenhouse effect ... and the most important is the thousands of lives lost in floods. fires, avalanches, and mudslides acting as collateral damages because of man's stubbornness ... and their unwillingness to acknowledge their sins of omission and commission.

Tapos maririnig na lang natin na nangangarap ang tao to plant trees in Mars ... the same activity that we frown at hindi natin ginagawa sa Earth?

How ironical! And hypocritical!

Photo Story

Pagkatapos mong putulin ang lahat ng puno ... ngayon ikaw ay magtatago at nakikisilong?

Buti nga ... serves you right. Katulad din yan sa laro ng buhay. Kailangan alam mo ang diskarte ... para ikaw ay maka-survive. Bago mo kasi gawin ang isang bagay ... pagisipan mo muna ... bago gawin. At baka habambuhay mo itong pagsisihan.

Kung gusto mong mangutang ... tanongin ang sarili ... marunong ka ba magbayad? Kaya mo bang ikaw ay ma-eskandalo at inaabangan sa kung saan saan ... at kaya mo ba ang buhay na napapraning ka na anytime may dadampot sa iyo ... dahil sa pagiging sugapa mo sa utang? At alam mo bang may sakit ka na?

Kung gusto mo magdruga ... panindigan mong kaya mo. Kasama na riyan yong pagbabago sa katinoan mo ... ang pagbebenta mo ng mga gamit sa bahay ninyo (a Hallmark sign sa mga bagong recruits) ... ang pagwawalanghiya at pagtraidor mo sa mga kaibigan at pamilya mo ... at ang walang katapusang cat and mouse game mo sa mga police.

Kung gusto mong magsigarilyo at mag-inom ... dapat na magexpect ka that anytime soon magka-ulcer ka or magka-lung cancer. It doesn't take a rocket scientist para malaman ito. It is just a matter of time bago lumabas ang mga symptoms. Tapos kung kailan malala ka na ... gusto mo ang ora-oradang lunas? Blame it on yourself ... not anyone else.

Kung gusto mo ang pera by way of deforestation or illegal logging or sa pag-uuling lang ... huwag ka nang magtaka kung bakit bumabaha at may landslides ... kung bakit may climate change ... kung bakit bumubulaga sa atin si El Nino at El Nina ... mga phenomenon na wala naman noon pero taon-taon tayong binibisita.

Kung gusto mo pa rin ang mga maling akala mo in cutting trees ... be sure humanda ka sa mga possibilities katulad ng increase greenhouse gas emissions, fewer crops (di ba nagi-import na tayo ng crops from other countries from rice to onions or garlic)), poor air quality, soil erosion, animal extinction, and undrinkable water. Nakaka-alarma na.

Going back sa image ng taong nagtatago sa lilim ng kahoy ... wala kang karapatan ... you don't deserve the shade.