JEALOUS? INGGIT?

Jealous of Who?
(Inggit Kanino?)

During Dolphy's wake, Bibeth Orteza, who wrote Dolphy's Biography, had this to say about the Comedy King....
"Tinanong ko si Mang Dolphy, sabi ko....Mang Dolphy, bakit po kahit ang dami niyong nagawa, hindi kayo yumabang?"
(I asked Sir Dolphy....Sir, why is it that inspite of your numerous achievements, you never became proud or arrogant?)
.....and this was Dolph

y's answer...."Mahilig kasi akong maglakbay, at marami na akong nakita...kapag nakikita ang mga nilikha nila Michelangelo at Da Vinci, sino lang ba ako kumpara sa kanila?"
(I like to travel, and I've seen a lot...when I see the creations of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, who am I compared to them?)
...and until his death, with praises and accolades from almost everyone...he kept his humility and his feet always planted firmly on the ground....
and he was love and adored for how he good he was as an actor and who he really was, as a man.

I decided to start this piece with Dolphy's words and how he lived and conducted his life...because truly, many of us could learn from him.

Several years ago, when we still had a Drug Store, one of our employees, was complaining to me and my wife about how their neighbors have been talking about his son.
....a little background....her son was hired as a driver by one of these government agencies who gives absurd salaries...and within a month of his hiring, the mother and the son had spoken non-stop of everything they had purchased......
These were her words....
"Nakakinis pag dumarating ang anak ko sa lugar namin, lalo na kapag dala ang bago niyang kotse, at suot ang mahal niyang damit, nagtitinginan at nagbubulungan ang mga kapit bahay namin....akala nila hindi namin alam na kami ang pinag-uusapan nila....bakit hindi na lang sila matuwa sa pag-asenso ng anak ko at ng buhay namin....bakit kailangan mainggit sila...utak talangka sila,....mamatay sila sa inggit!"
(It's so irritating, when my son visits our place, with his new car, and wearing his expensive clothes, our neighbors would look at him and whisper and talk about him...we know that they are talking about us...why can't they just be happy for my son and for us....why do they have to be jealous....crab mentality...I hope they die of jealousy!)....
I walked out very politely after a several minutes of endless lamentations from my former employee.....
after a while I told my wife that I had a hard time stopping myself from saying what I really wanted to say, and these were what I wanted to say....

"Una, paano ka nakakasiguro na pinag-uusapan kayo ng anak mo?

Pangalawa, bakit naman maiinggit sa anak mo? Ano na bang natamo ng anak mo na napakabigat na dapat kainggitan?

Pangatlo, hindi mo ba naisip na baka ang nararamdaman nila ay inis dahi sa yabang ninyo at dahil hindi na kayo natinag sa pagmamalaki ng meron at nabili nyo?

Pang-apat, at matagal na akong asar dito....alam niyo ba ang kahulugan ng utak-talanka? yun yung inaapakan ang kapwa para umangat....may umaapak ba sa anak mo..eh hindi naman mataas ang posisyon ng anak mo, na kapag inapakan ay may mapapala yung aapak.

("First of all, how sure are you that people are indeed talking about you and your son?

Second, why should anyone be envious of your son? What has he achieved that is so great that people would be jealous?

Third, Had it never occurred to you, that what people felt was irritation because your son was so arrogant and you both could not stop talking about what you have and what you've bought? Why should people care about that?

Fourth, and this is a pet peeve of mine.....do you know what crab-mentality means? It means stepping at others just to get to the top, has anyone stepped on your son...and your son has not reached even a fourth of the top position for anyone to want to step on him.")

I didn't say anything though....but as a post-script to this story, my former employee and her other children and grandchildren still live in the shanties, only that particular son moved out....he is now also in danger of losing his job, as government are now auditing these government agencies.

We've heard this so often, even from other people....even here at FB....
"Mare, maiinggit na naman sila sa'yo." or "Pare, inggit lang yan." ("They will be jealous of you again") or ("They're just envious!")

Kung kay Bill Gates, kay Obama, kay Henry Sy, kay Lucio Tan, kay Dolphy, di tayo naiinggit, bakit naman tayo maiinggit doon sa kakaunti pa lang naman ang natatamong tagumpay. Minsan nga yung tagumpay ay nasa sariling pananaw lamang. Tandaang hindi kayamanan o magagarang pag-aaring materyal ang basehan ng tagumpay para sa lahat ng tao. Mas marami pa ring hindi sa pera nakukuha ang kaligayahan nila.

(If we are never envious of Bill Gates, Obama, Henry Sy, Lucio Tan and Dolphy, why oh why will we be jealous of those who have achieved so little..sometimes said achievement are in their minds only. Remember that not everyone looks at money and material things as the source of their happiness.)

So to my former employee and her son....to Willie Revillame and his cohorts.....to the others there who may feel slighted by this piece.....think again......

Naiinggit kaya talaga sila....bakit naman....sino ka na ba?

HUMILITY IS ONE OF THE MOST ADMIRABLE QUALITIES!