‘Less is more’
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2019 16:20:12 +0000
MY father’s parents lived during the period when people relied more on the barter system and hard work. I never heard them mention the word “credit”. They worked for the things they needed. They lived within their means. They were never idle… and they always had a harvest of fruits and vegetables. They had squash, sponge gourd, bittermelon, winged beans, garlic chives, atsuete, moringa, and coffee in addition to fruit-bearing trees! They also raised pigs and native chicken. They were simple, ordinary, and hardworking individuals who also received support from their children and grandchildren, but were never completely dependent on the latter.
My grandparents kept themselves busy even when they were already old. They were frugal individuals who cooked their meals and never wasted anything. They were self-reliant. I never heard them make any demands. I don’t remember seeing them assisted in doing anything, except when they cooked in preparation for our family reunions and town fiesta.
Their meals were simple (mostly fish and vegetables, except when there were celebrations). They always prepared “pinangat”, adobo, “burong mangga”, “burong labanos”, and “atsara”. Once in a while, my grandmother cooked “pininyahang manok”. I don’t remember seeing them prepare any highly processed or canned food. There were various plants and trees around the house, so they always swept the yard because of the falling leaves. By the way, “isis” leaves made their stairs clean and banana leaves made their floor shiny! I think you can guess what they used to scrub the dishes – what else but loofah!
My grandparents were always busy with something… always vigorous and not forgetful, although arthritis often gave them body pain. They had money for transportation, but they preferred to walk! I never saw them take any maintenance medicine. They had good eyesight, too!
My grandparents were active, simple, self-reliant, contented, and frugal. These qualities helped them live happy and healthy lives.
If today’s generation would only learn from the values and discipline shown by our grandparents, life would not be as complicated and stressful as it is. “Less is more.”
We seek health and happiness in a lot of things, mostly unnecessary. How about going back to the basics?