MANILA! … She is referred to as “The Pearl of the Orient”. There are 22.5 million people in the “Greater Manila Area” … that’s more than the New York Area. Manila ranks as the 5th largest metropolis in the world ( http://www.newgeography.com/content/002808-world-urban-areas-population-and-density-a-2012-update ) .
This is a wonderful city which I grow to love more and more every day. One of the amazing things here is the transportation. There are no speed limits – no (or very few) traffic lights … no stop signs. People seem to stay, for the most part, on the right side of the road. They do drive very close to each other (literally inches) & there are a lot of horns honking … which is not out of anger but rather a form of communication & everyone seems to remain quite calm. The interesting thing is that in the year that I lived there, traveling throughout the city at least 3-4 days a week, I did not witness one accident. In the city I came from in the United States (population of 800 thousand) there was rarely a day went by that I wouldn’t witness at least one accident.
One day I asked my driver about this phenomenon and he simply replied “It’s called Give & Take”. “Give and Take” … I have heard that term many times in America but I think we have forgotten what that means.
The dictionary defines “Give & Take” and “The practice of making mutual concessions”. WOW … what an awesome practice which, I think, somewhere in our culture we have forgotten. Whether its traffic … work … relationships … or life in general … I think we have lost that art of “Give & Take”
In America, the greatest nation in the world, we have traffic lights, stop signs, speed limits, and many other “laws” in an attempt to regulate our behavior … AND YET … we have accident after accident. I’m curious … is it because we have forgotten how to “Give & Take”? We are all about “Taking” … “MY Rights” … “What do I deserve” … My “Entitlements” … and, as a result, our lives … our families … our society has become one big wreck.
GIVE & TAKE … it’s a simple principle! I wonder what would happen if we all started doing that? It begins with ME! Am I willing to start the practice of making mutual concessions? Learning to Give & Take … along with “communicating our needs” (honking our horn) … AND … remaining calm as the process runs its course could result in rewarding changes in our lives.
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