 |
| Marcus Wockel |
Honesty and gratitude are two important values of a person. Being honest not only to others, but also to oneself. This value is manifested in different ways on different occasions. Returning lost items to rightful owners and admitting one’s fault are just some of the examples of honesty. Being honest to yourself and to others does not diminish our self-worth. Instead, it increases our credibility, integrity and reputation.
On the other hand, gratitude is expressing one’s appreciation to things given or extended by others. We can also express gratitude to ourselves and to the Almighty for the Divine Guidance and protection He has given to us. Like honesty, gratitude is expressed in various ways at any given time or situations. Being grateful to our friends, loved ones, neighbors, classmates and even strangers.
Manifestations of honesty
Filipinos have proven their honesty in many circumstances like returning bundles of paper bills to authorities(usually in US dollars) found by airport or seaport cleaners, cash left by a passenger in haste inside a taxi, a bag of paper bills mixed with trash found by street cleaners are just some of the manifestations of Filipinos’ honesty.
To humans, being honest to ourselves is the highest form of honesty; and it is hard to do. Without any witness to our good deeds, but ourselves. There have been times in our life that we are unconditionally honest. Driven by our conscience, oftentimes, we overcome temptations and be honest with ourselves.
There have been times that people are brave enough to be honest with others. In the Philippines, I have witnessed numerous times jeepney passengers tell the driver or conductor that they did not have money or lack of fare. Indeed, this act of honesty requires courage and bravery. Or a passenger asks for coins from pedestrians as his/her fare is not enough or he does not have money for fare.
 |
| Nasim Didar |
But do these acts diminish the worth of these honest persons? Absolutely, not. Instead, these acts of being honest with others added value to their integrity. With these acts, these honest persons also gain empathy from others.
Dishonesty
Once in a while, we do things against our will and against societal norms for we are just humans. The irresistible urge to be dishonest with ourselves would sometimes prevail. We are all guilty of dishonesty.
Cheating in examinations, not returning loose change to our parents, not paying fare in public transportation, and backstabbing others are just some of the manifestations of dishonesty.
Gratitude
Many of us may not give importance or value to this particular value, and oftentimes it is overlooked by many of us. But among the values, gratitude is one of the most important as it will reflect our true personality.
People judge others by the way we respond to a particular situation. When we return borrowed things and fail to express our gratitude, people may prejudge us by being ingratitude. No amount of explanations or persuasion would change their perception towards us.
It’s a fact that people will give more weight to our acts than the words we utter. We will be judged by actions more than our words. When we claim that we are being honest and grateful, but we are manifesting the contrary is a complete irony.
Expression of Gratitude
In the Philippines, Filipinos express their gratitude even on the smallest thing or favor extended to them, like appreciating the food given by a neighbor because his/her youngest daughter is celebrating a birthday, or a classmate expressing her/his gratitude because his/her classmate lent a ball pen or paper during examination.
Or a mother expresses her gratitude to her neighbor because the latter let her borrow money for the final examination of her daughter in school. Or a mother expresses her attitude to her friend for a borrowed costume worn by the daughter of the former during the acquaintance party.
The aforesaid are just some of the countless occasions where Filipinos express their gratitude.
Why are these two values important? Or are these two virtues still valued and relevant these days? Being honest and grateful transcend time. Being honest and grateful to others and to ourselves never chooses time.
 |
| By: Samuel A. Escabarte samuelescabarte@gmail.com |
