LIFE’s SIMILEs & METAPHORs

the FRUIT of LIFE

the COCONUT is edible and a source of livelihood from roots to leaves thus, coined the TREE of LIFE .

it’s ROOTS are used for manufacturing beverages, dyes, oral care and medicine for dysentry.

it’s TRUNK is used as wood for infrastructure and furniture as well as resources for paper and a habitat for other living things.

the BRANCHES can be used as switch (read: pamalo para sa mga pinapalo!  heheh).

LEAVES can be used for roofing, weaving mats, making quality paper, brooms, hats, trays, waster baskets, fans, decors, shades, bags, cooking skewers, kindling arrows, producing lime from burnt ashes.

it’s FRUITS are oftentimes used for as ingridient for salad, halo-halo, sweets and pastries.

the MEAT can be used fresh or dried for flour, desiccated coco, milk, chips, candies, copra and animal feeds.

WATER provides isotonic electrolyte balance for nutrition.  from it, we can manufacture vinegar, wine, laxative, a substitute for dextrose and a cure for renal disorders.

MILK is used to produce virgin coconut oil and as a common ingredient in many tropical cuisines.

the OIL is used in cooking, medicines, cosmetics and as replacement for fuel.

the APICAL BUD (ubod ba!) is used as an appetizer and a salad ingredient.

INFLORESENCE produces fresh beverage, alcoholic beverage (tuba), vinegar, sugar and yeast.

the HUSKS are used to make ropes, mats, brushes and boats as well as good for stuffing fiber and bunot.

SHELLS are most saleable household products and fashion accessories.

the SOCIETY

CULTURE has been called “the way of life for an entire society” thus as a summation, it refers to tradition and religion:this includes the usual pattern of living as it has been handed down from generation to generation, as it starts with the family and escalates as one ventures into the outside world for formal education and livelihood

POLITICS uses the concept of “reward your friends and punish your enemies”.

it pertains to the law of the land:
    this is otherwise known as the rule by which tradition and religion are executed or carried out.
    if you abide by it, you are cosidered an ally and rewarded.
    if one opposes it, he/she is punished through persecution by the public or the government
in other words, it refers to the seat of power.

ECONOMY is the realized management of the society’s resources which output are  services and goods.
whoever controls the seat of power dictates the method by which society’s valuables are tapped for production and distribution

in other words, ECONOMY’s terms are dictated by those who have the POLITICAL WILL to dictate the NORMS of the society.

the SOCIETY is like the fruit of life, the COCONUT.

to wit;

the HUSK is the CULTURE that wraps and conditions the minds of the society to conform to the regulations that the LAW of the land dictates.
    it moulds the minds of the people that a certain practice/s is acceptable and civil

the SHELL is the POLITICS that protects the coconut meat thus, controlling the economy of the land
    it must be hacked so that the distribution of a society’s wealth will be regulated

the MEAT is the ECONOMY that feeds a family and sustain’s the society’s welfare and development
    society owns it,
    society manufactures it, thus
    society must reap the fruit of it’s toil!

PHILIPPINE SOCIETY in relevance to the TREE of LIFE

the philippine society is on the verge of madness.  the people, which inherent rights to live and to better themselves, are at the bottom of the pyramid while those who are on top are only a tiny percentage of the population.  those at the middle, who oppose the tyranny of the rich are near collapse by which sooner than they expect, will join those at the bottom.  but, those who choose to kiss ass are slowly gaining their way up the ladder. 

the Filipino people, also known as the masses, are the ones who tap our natural reasources greatly contributing to the production, manufacture and delivery of food, commodities and services. but very rarely do they get justly compensated, if at all.  at a young age, the filipino awakes at sunrise to walk barefoot and survey the paradox of nature’s blessings.  the boy joins his “tatay at nanay” in planting rice which field is owned by Don Haciendero.  the family’s daily toil is not sufficient for food and other basic commodities.  their debts to the Haciendero family pile up as years go by that even the child’s education is just a distant dream.  the boy soon grows up to be a “tatay” himself and their family succumbs to poverty, generation by generation, while Don Haciendero’s heirs fly to foreign lands to be educated with the ways of the world. 

that is how a farmer’s life is depicted in teleserye’s and teleradyo’s but this isn’t so far from reality as it is happening at present.  even in history books, farmers are mere tenants to the capitalists’ haciendas as an irony to where life begun- Adam and Eve being conjugal stewards of earth’s abundance. sons and daughters who were fortunate enough to inherit land end up trading such to work in plantations to suffice for first world contries’ needs for raw materials.

education manipulates the minds of the children, whose parents are able to provide for such needs, to be accustomed to such sad plight of the masses.  religion teaches the dogma of the patriarch-that the voice of whoever leads the family is authoritarian.  at home starts the passive upbringing of the society- that the child must listen in total respect and pure obedience to what his elders will say, with no concensus.  when they decide to protest the oppressive system that the “powers that be” claim to have been “created by and for the filipinos”, they are bushwhacked by the police and military who swore to “protect and to serve the filipinos”. 

those who were brave enough are and will be put behind bars or buried on shallow graves with no tombstones. 

consider these- are they not the filipinos which the philippine government swore to protect and to serve?  are they not worthy of partaking in the fruit of their labor? are they not  who the constitution was penned for?

simply put, the majority of filipinos has the least voice in this present state of chaos and poverty.

shall you turn your backs on them? will you turn a blind eye even if you see them murdered in cold blood?  shall you not hear their pitiful and anguished screams for justice?  shall you turn a deaf ear when their bellies crumble of hunger? 

it’s about time to re-educate ourselves- that whoever has life has a voice that must be listened to.

it’s time to grab that bolo and start peeling the coconut husk away. 

moreso, it’s high time to whack the coconut shell to get to the meat, to finally be equal with those who we sit , stand and walk beside with.