The MRT

During my one month stay in Manila for my on-the-job training at SGV & Co. Makati, the MRT is how I get to and from the office every day and also when I go out and meet with my friends. As you might expect, it’s crowded. It’s way weird standing so close to strangers and when I say close, I mean skin to skin. What’s so great about it is that you get to actually experience Manila. You learn what people here actually go through. What’s greater is that you learn to be equal with everybody else. You understand the discomfort felt by the stranger next to you. You understand how everybody else is also in a hurry just like you. So, you don’t get mad when you get pushed and you don’t expect special treatment just because you’re late for work or school or whatever. Like everyone else in the train, you have to endure the feeling of being like a headless fish in a can of sardines and be patient with the long queues in the entrances and exits.

(Photo grabbed from the Internet)

I also happened to witness some RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) like when a middle-aged woman offered her seat to an old man with a cane. At other times I myself have been the receiver of these RAK like when I was already stepping on the yellow line, which is dangerous according to MRT authority, and then the lady queuing next to me held me and stepped a little behind. See? She understood how I was scared of stepping on the yellow line.

However, I can't remain to be just a spectator or a receiver, I would have to pass it on. One thing I realized is that you need an opportunity to practice RAK and you would never have that opportunity when you always keep to yourself. So go out and be kind to the world. Another thing I realized, though I’m not so sure if this always holds true, is that it’s easier to do RAK to strangers plus there’s an I-feel-good-about-myself factor to it, don’t you think? I just thought that (perhaps, based on experience) when you keep being kind to people close to you, they might get used to it and you end up feeling abused when it’s not voluntary anymore. Just a thought. Anyway, so that’s what I learned from the MRT.