Exceptional

Writing yesterday's post I was wondering whether to make some reference to the typhoon that hit parts of the Philippines over the weekend whilst I was talking about the flooding in Malaysia. I didn't make any such reference since I suppose I felt it would be over-doing the doom and gloom to do so and might add to my already uneasy sense of almost gloating over my own good luck in having such a peaceful life. 

Today I was mightily reminded of the closeness of the typhoon in several senses when Peter messaged about the damage it caused to Lia's hometown and other places. Fortunately it wasn't utterly disastrous for them, though worryingly there's some uncertainty concerning the welfare of one of Lia's brothers in another area that was badly hit. I was very struck by Pete's comment about the reactions to these events of Filipino people in general; he applauded their extraordinary mindset: No wailing or gnashing of teeth but calm acceptance, even humour, and the will to just rebuild and carry on.

And here's the strange thing. Just a few minutes after he'd posted those words I went out with Noi to do some shopping. As I was driving she was checking some of the videos appearing online related to the floods in her homeland. One featured a bit of a commentary by a guy who'd been visiting KL from abroad and he was praising the attitude of the Malaysians he'd encountered in terms very close to Peter's, talking of the amazing cheerfulness of those dealing with the misery and murk and mess of the flooding.

In all honesty, I get bothered by the smallest thing not going exactly as I want it to. It's humbling and embarrassing to reflect on the difference in attitude, though I'm not sure I can find the wherewithal to deal with this, except in trying to hide my lack of real resilience - and sensibly admiring the remarkable people who live in this part of the world.