#Teardrops: Paddling for a living

I took picture of this man when we had our island hopping in Cebu, Philippines. He is a diver, fisher and a father. Along with his green boat are basket and plastic basin where he put all the fishes, shells and sea urchins he got deep down the ocean. He sell it to the tourists in the beach who like to eat raw shells and sea urchins and fresh fish. Shells and sea urchins or seaweeds are really indeed delicious and nutritious. But what strikes me most is the good quality he has as a person: hardworking, responsible, persevere and simple.

• HARDWORK. Fishing and diving is his way of living. He wakes up early in the morning to catch more fishes, collects sea shells and sea urchins under the heat of the sun for his customer who will be coming at noon. He works hard to sell what he got before sunset.

• RESPONSIBLE. Diving and fishing is not an easy job to do, yet he did it everyday just to make a living for his family. Unlike other people, they just stay home, wait for the other member of the family to work for them. Doing nothing to improve his life.

• PERSEVERE. The ocean is so deep, yet, he never lose hope to have a great catch everyday. With his skills in diving and fishing, he is determined to provide his family a better living.

• SIMPLE. For as long as he bring food back home, bring a little amount of money everyday is already enough for him. What is important to him is he has enough income to sustain the needs for his family. He never dreamed of luxurious cars and other material things. What is important for him is he has a noble job, gets income for a living. He never gets jealous of the people around him.

Aside from these great value as a person, contentment is also a key in order to be happy in this world.