PARENTING & LIFE LESSONS FROM A PORTABLE CHARGEABLE FAN

The other day, when my son Izel and I rode a fully-packed and totally hot jeepney heading for Colon, I handed him the portable chargeable fan to help cool him down as he was sweating profusely.

The fan gave him comfort for a short while until it stopped working due to a drained battery.

At this point, I saw a perfect teaching opportunity that was too good to pass. A lesson in stewardship, proper use of our resources and consequences of actions.

We had gone over to my sister's house that morning and he watched videos alongside my sister's kids and he had used the portable fan even when there was a big fan already doing the job.

I told him that the fan stopped working because the battery was drained and it was a direct consequence of his actions earlier in the day. I told him that because he failed to conserve that resource earlier, he now had to suffer the effect and that meant he would have to take the heat. (literally)

He had the portable fan as a spare for when the need arises but since he squandered this resource when he didn't need it -- it got depleted and could not be used during a time he needed it the most.

Sounds like a childish and immature mistake that only kids can make right? Ironically we ALL make this mistake even as adults and we're not even aware of it. We believe we are mature adults making adult decisions but in reality, we're making some childish ones.

And we do this for many different resources we've been given stewardship over - MONEY, HEALTH, ELECTRICITY, WATER, RELATIONSHIPS even FOOD!

How so? Consider these:

MONEY 
Whenever we have spare money, we're out buying unnecessary things and spending our money on wants like the latest gadgets, trendy clothes etc. Oftentimes, we're even spending more than what we're earning and with not even a peso put away for savings.

HEALTH 
When we're young and healthy, we squander our health by eating junk foods, drinking too much alcohol, partying all night, smoking, not exercising, etc. Then when we're older and our body starts sending us the bill for our health "use and misuse" we struggle and do last minute changes to our diets, habits, etc, but most often than not, it is too late as the effects of our small but consistent bad habits have caught up on us.

ELECTRICITY 
When electricity is just a push button or one plug away, we do not unplug them even if they're not in use. Sometimes, our wastage of this resource even causes fires to break out because of overheating or overcharging.

WATER 
When we have abundant supply of water, what do we do? We let the water from the faucet run down the sink without catching it with a basin when we're washing our hands or brushing out teeth. Most of the water we use in our household are single-use recyclable water that we just let run down our sink and pipes even if we could potentially use them to water plants or use it for cleaning. Then El Niño comes and devastates our livelihood and we suddenly are reminded of how precious and finite this resource is.

FOOD 
During parties, when there is so much food available, what do we do? We put way too much on our plates but we don't consume all of them. We watch the clean-up crew as they haul our plates with so much untouched food in them and put them in garbage bags for disposing. It may not seem noticeable but parties are definitely major contributors of food wastage. Such a waste when there are many out there who can barely eat a decent meal in one day.

ABUNDANCE is a time to be grateful, yes, but with it also comes the responsibility and our accountability to conserve our resources WHEN and WHILE they are still available and not to wait for when they are scarce and depleted.

The time to save and invest is when we have the capacity to earn because sooner or later, we will become unemployable due to age and our earning capacity stops. The time to invest in our health is while we are still healthy and not when we've started to see our health deteriorate. The time to save on electricity, water and food is when there is much available and not when it is scarce.

I don't know whether or not Izel will take the lesson I imparted on him that day seriously but I do know that as a parent, I owe it to him and to myself to tell him these things and leave him these life lessons because if I don’t who else will?

The story doesn't end there though, because this is what he says to me after my "this is a result of your action and you must accept it" lesson, he tells me this…

"Ma, isn't air nature's biggest fan?" (in Cebuano) This is, by the way, the type of conversations you hear and feedback to expect when you raise a child to be critical-minded and smart.

This is what I told him. "Yes, but you can't just rely on nature always because sometimes it just is not enough."

What we have been given stewardship over, MONEY, TIME, HEALTH, RELATIONSHIPS, etc - - these are gifts that we should manage carefully because they are not infinite resources and sooner or later, if we continue to squander these away, we are the ones who suffer the consequence.

Have a blessed Holy Week to all!

***** 

"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." 

~ Matthew 25:29