niche

the sun's soft rays pierced through the wee slits of my blinds.. still i decided to curl up in bed and willingly let the arms of morpheus embrace me again. it's early morning. i was enjoying a rather light slumber when suddenly...

"PAYONG REPAIR! PAYONG REPAIR!" came the ominous voice of the guy down the street. i suddenly sat up straight in bed. thinking. the world's awake and there i was letting precious time pass me by. a few moments later, cold rain started to find their way to the earth again. and i thought this would be a sunshiny day all throughout. it's been raining for more than a week already. the umbrella repair guy quickly dashed to the nearest store for shelter.

and i'm thinking.. we all have roles to fulfill in this world. no matter how small. we're all part of this great cosmos. and sometimes, without realizing it, we fill important places in each other's lives. the umbrella repair guy sharing his prowess on mending broken umbrellas, the store owner offering shelter from the rain, the fish vendor bringing us fresh seafood each day, our household help, our neighbors, our friends... they're the good people who are always "there", who can be relied upon in small, important ways. people who teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the dailiness of life. we never tell them. i don't know why, but we don't.

and as robert fulghum said, of course, we fill that role ourselves. there are those who depend on us, watch us, learn from us, take from us. and we may never know. don't sell yourself short. you may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think.

an old sufi story told about a good man who was granted one wish by God. the man said he would like to go about doing good without knowing about it. God granted his wish. and then God decided that it was such a good idea, he would grant that wish to all human beings. and so it has been to this day.

and so, i'd rather be up and going. fill that niche. you do that too.