If you are not familiar of the story of the spider in the urinal, let me tell you about it.
Once there was a professor who noticed a spider in the men's urinal. He has noticed that same spider in the same spot in the urinal. The spider had to endure the discomfort of the urinal and so the professor decided to rescue the poor thing. Moved by the situation, the professor took a toilet paper and removed the spider out of the urinal. He placed him in a corner on the floor thinking of letting it go. He felt good about it but when he had to use the same toilet for the next few days, he noticed the spider in the same spot he left it. It didn't move an inch. After some days, it died.
Lesson says that an act of kindness for one may actually be not kindness to another. Today I would like to talk about two things I have learned from the spider.
One: What standard do we use in judging the situation of a person?
Two: What is our real motivation in doing good to others?
Let us start with the first one. The professor thought that the life of the spider sucks because of the circumstances he saw surrounding it. The spider is being peed on constantly and it could be flushed into the drainage of the urinal if it wasn't careful. Unfortunately, the result of his action proved him wrong. He used his situation in judging the spider. Well, it is understandable because the spider couldn't talk and tell him he actually is comfortable in his situation.
For instance, I have a friend whose husband is addicted to gambling. She has been working for years in another country while she took care of her daughter who was just 5-6 years old then. It was a good thing she was able to manage things. Her better half who is no better on the other hand, was wasting all his money to gambling while also working in another country. It could be very acceptable if I tell her to just leave the man because he is irresponsible. But how could I? How would I assure her that her life and her daughter's would be better without the husband? Am I even sure that her life would indeed be better without him? Up to now, she would complain about her husband but in the send she would say that she has to hold on for the sake of their daughter.
Second. The professor's motivation in getting the spider out of the urinal could be pure but that is not always the case in real life. I am reminded of the famous community pantry that is becoming a trend in my country. It has also reached my barangay. Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the motivation of the people spearheading the event in my small community is insincere because I believe that the intention of the event is indeed to extend a hand to those in need. However, sometimes I have doubts. I say this because like any event, the community pantry could become an avenue for political agendas. There is a pressing problem on the collection and managing of garbage in my community. It is a very big problem which cannot be solved by mere discipline from the people. But what angers me is that the one elected to manage problems on the environment is the first one I see in those community pantries. I don't want to judge him just because of his habitual appearance in those events but I think there are other pressing matters that he has to focus into. Elected officials are I believe given tasks to do and that is what they should work on. Again, I am not saying that it is wrong for him to be there every time but there are other problems concerning him that he also has to notice. The rainy days are fast approaching and still the management of garbage is not made efficient. I think I will have to look forward to more floods and clogged drainages when time comes.
