I am a martial law baby and have shouted my share of chants at rallies and demonstrations as a student, but what I know of Crispin Beltran are only what I read in the papers.
Today I find myself deep in thought at the life of the lawmaker who fell yesterday to his death while repairing his roof, with merely P50,000 to his name and two barong tagalog, a pair of eyeglasses, cabinet shelves and t-shirts listed as personal assets.
Was Crispin Beltran poor? What does it mean to be poor?
There are times in life when you find yourself and your whole value system challenged by a thought, an act, a single event. Ka Bel’s death challenged what I know about being poor. In personal finance, we talk endlessly about being frugal and saving coins in a jar. We hem and haw about where to put our P20,000 windfall and whether we can grow that into P1 million … eventually ☺. We debate with ourselves whether the rollercoaster ride in the stock market is worth the headaches.
At the end of the day, is it just about how much we make and how much we keep? Or is it about how we live our lives, using whatever we have?
I came from a poor family but strangely enough, I didn’t feel poor until I became a moody teenager. I know of another person who, because of poverty, hoarded food in her cupboards even as a successful businesswoman because she was scared of the painful pangs of hunger. Those who had gone through much financial suffering are marked by that experience for life. But take a look at this paragraph in The Philippine Daily Inquirer article on Ka Beltran:
“Despite millions of pesos available to him as a lawmaker, Beltran lived a simple life.”
We all know about “those millions”. In my mind, choosing to be poor that way is noble. In our lives, we will probably come across those kinds of crossroads. Hopefully when it’s my turn, I will have the moral courage to take the path he chose.
There are other kinds of choices that can help us live fully and nobly while reducing the chances of suffering financially. The choice to be responsible with debt. To live simply and save more grandiosely. To delay gratification. To check this blog from time to time. (heh)
Kidding aside, at the end of the day, better money management can also help us do more, serve more, laugh more, and spend more time with family and friends.
I do not know everything about Ka Beltran and his life. But assuming everything that was written about him in the end are true, then he knows something about being poor and being rich that many in this world don’t. I’m inclined to think his was the better choice.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
sometimes people tend to romantized , philosophized and even spiritualized the word poor. who says its a choice? is there anything noble being poor? have you ever experienced being literally poor? were you able to feel how they feel? they are the most exploited people- unlesss you do something to them to alleviate their suffering just like what Jesus and mother theresa of calcutta did - then you who have the right to say that indeed blessed are the poor.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Salve, let’s go back to Philo 101. Money is nothing more than a figment of the human mind, created to lubricate the wheels of modern commerce. It’s what you do it which matters in the real world - feed your family daily, educate yourself, share with others, feel good and secure since you don’t have to rely on others for daily sustenance…
Ka Crispin may be materially poor but is extremely influential to many as a politician and an ideologue. Even P 1 billion can’t buy such! No need to pity him, exactly, except possibly for the financial implications of his demise to his dependents.