Juan for a Juan

(OMG! Sorry for including this article so late. I forgot to post this! Anyway, I think it could still be valuable.)

As I was having fun viewing profiles on Facebook, I found very significant information:

“Juan has been regarded by the Philippine Red Cross as the "biggest typhoon in the last 20 years" and described it as a "Category 5 Super Typhoon." International reports have said Juan was the strongest tropical cyclone of 2010 so far.”

October 11, 2010; without any warning, the whole country was alarmed again for the damaging hurl of a typhoon. The winds blasted the roofs of many homes at particular provinces. Much more, rain poured and sabotaged various jobs, classes, and businesses. Truly, such calamity was a burdensome circumstance. One may never know when it comes; one may never know how to intercede in order to survive and have a chance to live properly and safely.

Living in a jam-packed modern world, anything is possible. As obvious, people are intelligent enough to make innovations. They can discover and invent everything what they can think of. Breakthrough hastens in a greater extent. Regarding this, is there a point in your life (considering Juan) you imagine people finding a specific approach to prevent calamities such as typhoons? Actually, keeping them from happening is impossible. Nonetheless, there are causes that we should be aware of and we should try to get rid of completely. Global warming, as known by almost all of us, is a major cause. Global warming makes typhoons more powerful, disparaging, and hard to predict. If it’s the underlying cause, then what we have to do is to thwart it from occurring. How? A lot of factors are considered – burning, fossil fuels, deforestation, abuse of Earth’s resources, unsustainable way of life, etc. Also, if ever we can’t remedy the increment of it that may lead to calamities; we have other ways to minimize the harmful effects. The answer is caring for our environment. And we can care for it by simply having DISCIPLINE. Yes, we are living in a modern era impacted with knowledge and dexterity. However, we should know our limitations. We should not abuse what God gave to us. This world is a gift from Him and we should know how to maintain its beauty and use.

Others say that the occurrence of natural phenomena or catastrophes is a punishment from our Almighty God and is inevitable. Well, differently, I think, God gave us a wonderful world not to let us suffer from misfortunes or extreme privations. We have the capability to influence it. As I had read on a blog, God is love and not destruction. It’s not true that tragedies are punishments. These are lessons that wake us up and let us realize that we are forgetting our responsibilities as humans in earth. Let us compose a move that will respond to our Mother earth’s dilemma.

As Filipinos, we’re already used with these detrimental devastations. A number of calamities wipes yearly in our country. It really is ironic how we can still smile after those tragedies. We don’t lose hope. We still try to build a new beginning. And as Juan tested our strengths as Filipinos again, let us stand once more and shout that typhoons or anything like Juan can’t divide and wreck the whole race of Juan. J