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.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:38 am
I still believed I will take the opportunity if it comes to me… remember one of the sayings or principle of Lucio Tan ” When that chance comes, Masama o Mabuti ,Grab that chance…. This may not apply to anyone but without money we are just a piece of garbage.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
@chris, nicely put. “lust for cash” you’re giving me a good idea for a future post!
@griffin and ria, nicely said!
@emma, thank you very much for the compliment. much appreciated!
@DB, that’s a nice piece of information. thanks for sharing
@leon, there are many ideologies in this world that unfortunately lose their beauty when implemented.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
@jeff, thanks for the link. i agree with everything that you said. being poor may also mean you have to do what you have to do, even if you don’t like it. at least, having some savings means you can quit your job when you know it doesn’t fit what you want to do in life and not being scared that you won’t have income for months!
May 30th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
@ferdskhan, i get what you are saying. i was once invited to be one of them. i didn’t like it. i turned away. but i also admire any man who will live simply if it means fighting for his ideology so long as he doesn’t use the ideology to be lazy. sorry for the others who interpreted that to mean they can be idle, live on the hard work of simple farmers in the area, and call that fighting for their ideals. My maids would tell me why they cannot raise more than two pigs. the men with guns tax them by taking the pigs.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
@zeitgeist-freud, are you talking to me?
i’ve been there. not homeless-type poor, but i know what it is like. and i know that, yes, it can be a choice. just like the businessman who has the opportunity to grow really big but chooses to grow only at a certain rate so that he can stay grounded and he can balance his life. yes, it can be a choice. just as it can also be a choice to aim for financial success and yet be simple in one’s lifestyle.