Blogpost # 6 The Power of a Happy Juan

A little smile goes a long way

During Typhoon Ondoy, some people would actually take pictures of them smiling while doing all sorts of ridiculous things while being soaked in the rat shit infested waters they were swimming in. After the Hostage massacre, a few police officers took pictures right next to the bus as if it were a tourist destination. Happiness has it's good and bad effects on us but we cannot doubt that being happy and optimistic is very crucial for mankind to survive and keep striving forward. Tragedies have happened but we keep looking forward for a better tomorrow, many unfortunate people who live in the slums have excessively slim chances of getting any higher a social position than the ones they are currently stuck at. Yet many of them still strive to get an education to help their families and someday break free from the chains of poverty (how poetic).

I've been in many exposure trips in highschool to know that no matter which slum area I had been in, it never looked like the miserable dump that most people imagine it to be. It's bustling with activity, children playing, parents working and everyone is happy. Amazing isn't it? Though there is one key component on keeping the morale of these people so high, According to the article "What makes Filipinos happy?" by Reynaldo C. Eltugu Jr. found on the website Manilastandardtoday.com

"Filipinos are always laughing, because we have entertainers everywhere. We have singers, dancers, movie stars and comedians. Having earned accolades on international stages, many of them are world-class artists."

Several times in my life I have bashed the media of the Philippines for being manipulative and lacking in values. However I cannot forget that without these charity shows, these amusement channels the Philippines wouldn't be as happy as we were before. As of current my mother is pregnant yet she still works around our house to clean things and arrange our messes. Normally a woman of her state would be considered depressed, and I can't deny that there are some moments where I feel sad for her for breaking her back to work so hard. Yet when she gets on the sofa with our baby sister and watches those game shows like "Game Ka Na Ba?" or "Eat Bulaga!" she's happy as a clown! smiling and laughing all the way to jokes I can't understand or don't find funny at all! This is a miracle, while researching I have actually gained a new respect for these TV shows and our entertainers, we are a talented country with so much to root for. If only our politicians were as fun...

You will always be remembered good sir!

There's an old quote that goes "Laughter is the best medicine" and there have been many occasions where simple happiness had cured people of extremely dangerous diseases. In Dale Carnegies book, he mentions that a friend of his was diagnosed with cancer. On his last days he wanted to live off his life in ways he never could. He ate dangerous foods, he partied hard as he could, he did everything he always wanted. Then as if touched by God, his cancer was lifted. It taught him (and me) the value of happiness in our lives. There is really no need to worry as worrying never does anything to the human mind but add pressure. According to the article "Happiness improves health" writteb by Ed Deiner found on the website www.Sciencedaily.com

"Laboratory experiments on humans have found that positive moods reduce stress-related hormones, increase immune function and promote the speedy recovery of the heart after exertion. In other studies, marital conflicts and high hostility in married couples were associated with slow wound healing and a poorer immune response."

So not only does happiness take a psychological effect on people but according to this article, it has a biological effect on us as well. From my childhood growing up, I started observing my grand mother and grandfather from my moms side. Grand pa was always cranky and often kept his emotions to himself, he was naturally an introvert and often did not speak that much. Grandma on the other hand was always laughing always happy and would normally come with us to malls, parties etc. It's sad to see that now Grandpa is beginning to develop Alzheimer's and cannot even remember most of his children anymore. And grandma, though she is suffering certain health problems because of being over weight. Is still fun as ever.

Most of us Filipinos are generally very happy, I can't disregard that and normally it doesn't really take that much effort to bust our funny bones. We've been recognized as a happy people, a race of daredevils who laugh in the face of death. And this is a good thing (in my opinion) after all, when death looks you in the eyes they only way you can not lose to him is to smile and tell him "I'm ready".

That's the spirit brother!