help others, be an ass

When I was younger I used to be very expressive. Very vocal as one would say. As a matter of fact, back in first grade, my adviser wrung my right ear for being too talkative (when it was my seatmate who was noisy, I swear). It was freaking painful, she had hooker nails for Christ's sake. I came home with blood trickling down my neck. My mom interrogated me and I told her the story. And in five minutes, the entire barangay was breathing down the neck of my adviser and the Mother Superior (principal). They were of course very apologetic. Adviser didn't realize who she was dealing with. The following year she was pulled out from the grade school and placed to handle the pre-school kids. And she remained there until I graduated.

But that anecdote is just a segue to my point. Until my college years, I have been known to be overly opinionated. I've had my fair share of Petra moments, wherein I would utter the stupidest remark thinking that it's smart when it actually isn't. Those moments are quite hard to get out of one's system, and there are times when I would subconsciously recall those shameful memories and cringe.

So I have learned to keep my mouth shut when the need arises. It is sometimes better to keep silent and hold one's opinion than to voice it out and sound idiotic. Since then, I usually think and analyze what I ought to say first whenever I'm in a conversation. And eventually, I think I perfected its art.

I have to say though that a bigger percentage of my enlightenment came from learning from the actions of other people, be it a complete stranger or one of my friends. It's one thing to learn from our own blunders but it is way better and least "expensive" to learn from the mistakes of others, in my opinion.

And harsh as it may sound, I just realized that sometimes, bad things happen to people so that they can be an example to the rest of the world.

Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others. And if he doesn't, then he's worse off.

*******

The Lion, the Fox and the Ass entered into an agreement to assist each other in the chase. Having secured a large booty, the Lion on their return from the forest asked the Ass to allot his due portion to each of the three partners in the treaty. The Ass carefully divided the spoil into three equal shares and modestly requested the two others to make the first choice. The Lion, bursting out into a great rage, devoured the Ass. Then he requested the Fox to do him the favor to make a division. The Fox accumulated all that they had killed into one large heap and left to himself the smallest possible morsel. The Lion said, "Who has taught you, my very excellent fellow, the art of division? You are perfect to a fraction." He replied, "I learned it from the Ass, by witnessing his fate."
- Aesop