The grass says yes

Netnet Camomot

THE grass across the street is now green. One minute, it was dead. The next, there it is. Voila! Thanks to the rainy season that could still be as hot as the most humid of summers.

If only I could be as determined as that grass to grow. Determined to write, that is. Instead, there I was, playing with the Clumsy Ninja and earning coins in Pearl’s Peril. It’s called procrastination, and apparently I’m not the only one with this dilemma.

We can always postpone doing something while its deadline is not yet looming overhead, believing there’s still plenty of time. But then, the days go by so fast and before we know it, it’s already The Day. The day for emailing a piece to the editor.The day of submission for a form.The day for delivering a speech. Like the grass that we thought grew overnight, a deadline could also arrive, making us wonder, How did that happen?

The world doesn’t stop for us. The sun rises every morning, sets every afternoon, and is there even on cloudy days, to make us understand that life can go on while our own personal clouds are darkening our days. If only we can see beyond those clouds, but we don’t. Motorelas, jeepneys, and taxis go rushing by while we’re stuck with our woes, unable to move forward.

Thus, it’s better to do whatever we can today. Let’s not wait for the time we can see the sun above the clouds–for we’ll need an airplane to make that possible. Unless we fly daily, our next plane ride can be next month yet, or next year! What to do while we wait for that? O my gas.

Learn to focus on what’s there rather than on what’s not there. For example, if Mr. Frozen is the only one running for president, you can’t vote for no one but him unless you’ll leave your ballot blank and let his people fill it up. Oops. That is, if he has people who are so thick-faced, they’ll do anything to make him win. But with no one daring to run against him, there will be no need for his people to cheat, that is, if they’re that kind of people.

But once depression sets in, it will be difficult to focus on what’s there, even if Mr. Frozen is knocking down, er, knocking on your door every hour on the hour to ask you to vote for him. You’ll wish upon a star for someone else to please run, with your mantra now on instant replay with, Anyone but him.

Nope, there’s no proof that Mr. Frozen’s journey to Malacanang is making anyone depressed. His people are even happy that their view of Malacanang is becoming clearer as each day passes with PNoy still not choosing a presidentiable for the administration.

Real depression, however, can be unfathomable and doesn’t depend on who’s running in the presidential election next year. The depressed won’t even care. He’d rather stay home and sleep the whole day, with no appetite for anything, not even food. The same thing can happen to stressed people whose brains have no more room for more, so that they stop functioning efficiently and are now reduced to staring at the wall while trying to finish their to-do list for the day.

And then, there’s that certain type of person, the kind who can’t say no but is also not saying yes. He’s in-between, always going for maybe and perhaps, unaware that his replies have been making his colleagues hopeful that one day he’ll go for yes. Fortunately, people around him learn fast and are now aware he can’t be relied on, so they move forward without waiting for his yes. He’s now branded as the person to be avoided especially for important matters that need to be accomplished ASAP. Again, focus on what’s there, and not on what’s not there. Focus on who’s there, and not on who’s not there. If you still want to call and text the person who’s not there, go ahead, unmake your day.

There’s no more chance for you to go back to no once you say yes to a responsibility. People are now relying on your yes and the promise it brings. You should have said no when you had the chance. But you said yes. Oh well.

Makes you wonder if grass can say no to the chance of growing again, if it can become stubborn and declare it has had enough of this oh so cruel world. So, you tell the grass, Make this world look fresh with your greenness! But it replies, Nope, not growing! Hmmm. Lawnmower pa more?

There’s this proverb about the grass that’s always greener on the other side of the fence. Well, ain’t that true? We wake up early in the morning, envying people who don’t have to wake up early for their post-lunch shift at work. We’re preparing the minutes of a meeting while thinking of those lucky enough to have staff who could do that for them. But then, it could be worse–waking up with no food on the table, or with no educational background to enable us to write those minutes. I guess the secret then is to focus on where the grass is greener?

And it’s right there across the street, “the green, green grass of home.” Tom Jones ang peg. Hehe.