MANILA, Philippines--At the height of storm Ondoy, a man and his driver were stranded in the middle of Marikina bridge. The man said, ?Let?s swim to the house and leave the car here. Our house is nearby.? The scared driver opted to stay. The man swam, reached his house and secured his waiting family. The driver, on the other hand, perished when the car was washed away by the raging waters. This wake-up call comes with basic lessons:

1. This world has no perfect shelter. Expensive cars, homes and office buildings are flimsy straws that are subject to destruction. So, always seek shelter in the Supreme Protector Who is everyone?s ultimate Hero and Well-wisher.

2. All material things are perishable.

Knowledge

3. Disasters can strike anytime, anywhere. Prepare spiritually to face each calamity with courage and wisdom. When it?s time, we can make our exit without fear because of our knowledge about our eternal nature and home.

4. Disasters are wake-up calls that make us realize the important things in life. In the face of death, fashion accessories, parties or movies have no value. Anything temporary can be easily forgotten.

5. True brotherhood is manifested during a crisis. The walls that divide us?organizations, political parties, company hierarchy or social status?crumble down as we experience the same difficulties. We are one family, and we need to help one another.

We can grow from any crisis in our journey to self-realization. We profit from the valuable lessons we learn from our losses.