In light of our family’s firsthand experience with Typhoon Ondoy, I find myself looking back at the past month and thinking of all the things I am thankful for, and things I learned from the whole experience.

Learnings and Realizations:

1. Much of what we consider important are not really essential for a happy life. We tend to accumulate so many things in our journey through life, but these often end up as clutter – as waste.
2. Before spending your hard-earned money on anything, think “Do I really need this now?”, “Will I really use this?” and “Is it really worth it?”
3. It’s really by the grace of God, that it’s during times of tragedy and trials that we are able to catch a glimpse of our own hidden potential. We often underestimate our own abilities and capabilities, but it’s when everything is darkest, that we can take the opportunity to shine more brightly.
4. We are more connected to each other and to our world than we realize. Everything that we do to our environment and the people in our lives will ultimately come back to us. We should all do our share to live life more consciously, and do our part in the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – and think green (environmentally speaking)
5. From a practical standpoint, I learned a lot from the experience. I found out what we should do during a flood, the behavior of floodwater as it rises and its effects on furniture, how to tell good quality furniture from those that are not. If nothing, I think we will be better prepared now if and when the next flood will come along.
6. Family and loved ones are more important than possessions any day, and lastly…
7. The countless little things that get to me everyday and cause me stress will not wear me down and crush me with their weight. It’s good to put things in the proper perspective. If we can survive Typhoon Ondoy, we can survive anything!

Things I’m so Thankful to God for:

1. The flood only reached hip-high, and the heavy rains stopped by nightfall, so the flood subsided quickly.
2. Our family, including our pets (not counting the fishes that swam away from our pond), were safe and healthy.
3. Our cars were not damaged by the flood as we were able to transfer them to higher ground in the nick of time.
4. Our neighbors generously let us take refuge in their house when we had to leave our home because of the rising flood waters.
5. Warm showers and comfortable beds. We are so fortunate to stay at a small hotel for a week while we tried to make our house livable again.
6. Friends and loved ones who helped us by stopping by and sending over food, sacks, cleaning supplies, maids and workers to assist us with the cleaning  and heavy lifting.
7. Electricians, contractors, sofa/bed suppliers,  village guards, garbage collectors, and countless others who helped us out in so many different ways.