I think the comforts this generation are enjoying contribute to a person’s impatience. Lagi tayo’ng naiinip. We are always in a hurry. We are rushing things. Nung araw ang bagal ng kalesa. People rode comfortably. The automobile came and travel became faster. But autos started clogging the streets and now travel has become slower. The street congestion, the difficulty of driving two inches away from another vehicle, all this contribute to our agitation. We haven’t reached our destination yet we are already tired and in a bad mood. Agawan at awayan sa parking. People get killed over parking spaces.
Our world is getting smaller. Cars, trucks, tricycles, motorcycles, people, houses, buildings. We share a small space and it can’t be helped that our elbows and knees would knock on each other. New technologies that make our lives move faster shape our ability to endure inconveniences and tolerate day to day annoyance. We are all restless and impatient. We are angered by the slightest provocation.
A good example is what Edmund and I witnessed along EDSA. We left our house at a little past 7 am and we encountered heavy traffic at EDSA southbound. We spent an hour from the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue to Guadalupe. Meron palang banggaan.
There was a cream-colored car driven by a male which was tapped by a motorcycle. The driver of the car rolled-down his window and yelled at the motorcycle driver. He stopped and got off the car and since our Ford Explorer (plugging from Makati Ford Pasong Tamo) was right beside him, I saw the guy’s face and mouth. He said “putang ina”. he checked his car’s bumper, mukhang wala namang gasgas. Then he tried to tail the bus in front of him hoping to overtake to run after the motorcycle guy. That’s ridiculous. It was a bumper to bumper traffic and expect that your vehicle could be scraped by either the bus, motorcycles, by other vehicles. In situations like that you have to exercise maximum tolerance. Kung magasgas, mainis ka man, hayaan mo na lang. Take a deep breath and move on. Baka ma-heart attack ka pa sa galit eh matigok ka sa gitna ng EDSA. Kakalat pa sa social media na nakahandusay ka duon naghihintay ng ambulansya na hindi naman makasingit sa sikip ng traffic. so stay cool. PLEASE TRY. Kotse lang yan, pwedeng ma-repair, ma-repaint, or pwedeng bumili ng bago, pero kung ikaw ang ma-imbalido sa galit mo, hindi ka pwedeng ma-repair or mapalitan.
