The Fart of a Fly

Mabuhay

Mabuhay

If I point at the sky and tell you that you should not trust everything you see you might not believe me. If I tell you that the star I used to call home can still be seen though it is no longer there, you will think I’m crazy but I can assure you I am not; I come from another galaxy. What you see is the light travelling in space long after my world disappeared into the nothingness of the universe. In other stories you will learn a lot more about me and hopefully, about yourself.

As an astral traveler with the power to move in a split second to distances beyond human comprehension, I can be anywhere I want in the universe before you can count to three, but not while I am on a mission. I’m empowered to blend with the inhabitants of your world by taking any living form I wish in less time than a human eye can blink and I can become invisible.

I have so much to tell you, but first I must describe the warmth of your people that I felt with the first word I heard when I reached the Philippines: Mabuhay. It happened like this: Walking around as a human being, I arrived at a house pretending to be looking for directions and the host invited me, a total stranger, to partake of the family meal with a sincere Mabuhay. I was able to translate it instantly into Unfinitum and was touched to hear it is a greeting full of friendliness, something like Welcome or even a warm hello in your English language. It sounded like music to my ears and was followed by the most memorable feast of steamed rice and dry fish with boiled vegetable leaves that made me feel like the most important person at the dining table.

A quick scan of Philippine records (which took me but a fraction of a second) showed me that Mabuhay is not used now as much as it used to be. Please do not let this expression die like so many good social habits, work ethics and traditional moral values that seem to be slowly disappearing from your daily lives. Keep Mabuhay to greet family and friends, coworkers and even strangers, at all times. Do not let bad habits kill Mabuhay for, if you allow that to happen, you will kill a part of good traditional lifestyle.

We quickly learned on Unfinitum the great importance of holding onto our culture, even though we had just moved to a new planet; in fact, it was very important in helping to keep the bonds between all our peoples. It is the same here; home is the first classroom in your life and it is up to you to make it the best learning place for your family and for you. That is the best legacy you can leave to your children and the children of your children.

Keep in mind that when you arrive at work, your greeting is so powerful that it will gather strength from the mighty forces of the universe before it bounces back onto the recipients, as did the lively Mabuhay you greeted me with upon my arrival.

Batuto and Jay practice what they preach and because of that, they know with certainty that of all the beneficiaries in any form of greeting, no one can be luckier than the giver.

And if you are really thankful for what you have and treat your brothers and sisters and nature with love, well, you might just be spared from future disasters in both your personal life and in the world around you.

May the forces of the universe bring balance into your life and remember this: if something does not happen as per your original plans, don’t give up on your dream; persevere instead, always with love, and one day your dream may come true. Believe it or not, we are all just one big family across the whole of the universe. I will tell you more about that in the last chapter.