Life's Too Short for Pettiness and Too Precious for Miserliness

by Roger B. Rueda

Let us be brutally frank, like that one friend who doesn’t sugarcoat your questionable life choices. Envy is as pointless as trying to argue with a toddler. It drains your soul, wrinkles your forehead, and worst of all, makes you look like you just swallowed a spoonful of ampalaya. Instead of wasting time peeking over the fence at someone else’s greener grass, why not water your own patch? Or better yet, plant something useful—like humility.

 

Tolerance, on the other hand, is like wearing comfortable shoes. You don’t always need to agree with everyone, but it helps if you don’t step on their toes. Besides, enduring life’s minor annoyances with grace is far better than turning into that perpetually irritated person whose blood pressure is higher than the cost of onions.

 

Generosity is not just a virtue; it’s your ticket to heavenly VIP status. God, in His infinite wisdom, blesses the giver—especially those who give without the expectation of a five-minute standing ovation. Give with a heart as open as the EDSA traffic jam—generous, unending, and occasionally exasperating—but never like you’re surrendering the last slice of lechon at a barangay fiesta. That’s not generosity, that’s emotional martyrdom.

 

And please, for the sake of world peace—and my sanity—stop hyperventilating over trivial matters. The random human who cuts the line at the grocery? Let them have their moment of fleeting triumph. Trust me, their karma is already stuck in an eternal ‘loading’ loop. Focus on the bigger battles—like safeguarding your mental health from being hijacked by life’s daily annoyances. After all, if we reacted to every little irritation, I would’ve declared war on half the Philippine bureaucracy by now.

 

Also, minding your own business is free, and yet so few can afford it. Other people’s lives are not episodes of a teleserye for you to binge-watch. Concentrate on your own plot twists; trust me, you have enough drama to keep you occupied.

 

Rejoice when others succeed! If someone gets a promotion, don’t roll your eyes like they stole your dream job. Clap genuinely. Celebrate their win. After all, life isn’t a zero-sum game—their success doesn’t deduct from your potential.

Life is short. Too short to be wicked, bitter, or perpetually stressed. Relax. Breathe. Enjoy that cup of coffee, that sunset, or even that turo-turo special. Savor everything with gratitude, because no one gets out of here alive. And when the end credits of your life's telenovela roll—hopefully not with me delivering the eulogy—you’d want to be remembered as someone who lived with joy, kindness, and the rare, almost mythical wisdom to let go of nonsense. Trust me, no one wants their legacy to be, ‘Here lies insert your name, whose greatest achievement was holding grudges longer than a teleserye plot twist.’

So, go forth! Be generous like a politician during election season (minus the ulterior motives), be happy like a Filipino spotting balikbayan boxes at the airport, and for heaven’s sake—don’t be a walking bad mood. The world already has enough problems without you adding ‘human version of a traffic jam’ to the list.