Mindanao Advice

While scrolling on my Facebook feeds today, I came across some of my friends’ updates telling the world how pissed off they are regarding people who didn’t pay back private loans. I remembered that a friend borrowed money from me years ago, and I wondered what she would do if I kindly reminded her about it. I wanted a positive story to write about and was sure she would say sorry and pay as soon as possible. I was thinking that she would tell me about her daily struggle, ask for a little more time, pay me, and I would have written a story about the daily toil in my country: on how hard it is sometimes to survive, but without losing dignity by not doing things right.

I thought I had a good story within reach because she posted some days ago nice things that she had just bought. I was pretty sure that she would pay me back when reminded. Instead, she blocked me on Facebook, and my story changed to this little sigh from the heart.

It’s human nature to want to help others, especially family members and friends. If I have extra money, why not? It’s just that sometimes it backfires. My friend’s blocking action strained our friendship a bit, I must admit that. Maybe she got embarrassed and acted as a result of that? I don’t know, but next time somebody asks me for a loan, I will be more restrictive.

I want to help if I can because I was once in a difficult situation, and somebody helped me. I don’t feel depressed about the money, but our friendship could have been saved if she had just talked to me instead of turning away. Sometimes, when you help others, the ending is not always happy. Better safe than sorry is a quote that we often repeat, but without taking some chances, we will never know if we are right or wrong. So it is a question of balance, and to find it is a lifelong process, I believe 🙂