I have a story about a Father, who received a letter from an organisation about an award for outstanding son or daughter. He has two sons and three daughters, one of them was adopted. His Adopted Child, known as good and respected in their community, also received a similar letter.
The Father decided to nominate one of his daughters, whom we will call Daughter B. She is a good citizen. She helps the Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars in feeding programs, conducting Nutrition Month celebration, doing surveys, and others. She graduated in college with high grades, though not enough for a Latin honour.
Since the award is for all the eligible sons and daughters of the province, the people close to the Father thought he’d nominate Daughter A. The one who has always been bringing pride not only to the whole family, but to the entire village. She graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious university in the metropolis. Everyone wants to be her teammate in whatever work because she gets everything in place. She delivers spectacular outputs. She always gets the gold. (The Mother knows that the Father was never supportive of adopting Daughter A.)
The nomination of Daughter B baffled everyone. Why did the Father chose to nominate his second-rate real daughter over his first-class adopted daughter? Why settle for less?
Is the Father jealous that Daughter A is casting a shadow over him? Is the Father unhappy because he could not fully claim the victories of Daughter A as his own just because she was adopted? If yes, then he forfeited the chance of having a trophy in his living room. He forfeited the chance for their village to be known.
He failed to realise that the award is not an honour for the recipient or his family only; it’s a recognition for the whole community. He let envy and pride covered him in darkness.
Let’s make it non-fiction from 8AM to 5PM.
DEXTERIFICATION 