Perplexities attack men. They are inevitable. Yet, there is always a solution to every problem we encounter in life. The writer of this essay pointed the similarities between man and the river. Sometimes, the river could not fulfill its duty because of obstruction, This obstruction could be a debris from a past cyclone wherein people also are sometimes trapped in a labyrinth of life. But due to positivism and persistence to exude from pain, one can surpass this trial. BE POSITIVE!

1. The River in Me
By: Gladys A. Pelotin
No one attempted to crack the silence. Even the small birds in their revelry took their farewell banquets
without chirping and frolicking from brick to brick and tree to tree. The trees made no reaction to the
whispering of the wind. The frog which is on its height of eagerness to leap on its breast suddenly
stopped. Annoyed and immediately turned its back away from it without even reaching its threshold.
While I was seated on a sturdy rock nearby, my sense of curiosity awaken though my consciousness
doesn't want to be affected with such event that I witnessed. yet, Time passed by, another inhabitant
that usually enjoys gulping its nectar seemed despondent. The lily floated miserably with its leaves
seemed apart from its stalk. The intensity of my desire to grasp the inexplicable circumstance around
bothered me much. Without a second thought, I took a move and decided to be vigilant of what was
happening. As I got near, my ears were deafened with the sound of silence. No one could break the
stillness of the river. I wondered why... I waited for anything to stir this silence. I was dismayed...
nothing happened.. after a few moments of waiting and observing, a quick idea ran into my senses. I
leaped into yet while doing it, my tears started to fall which stirred its serenity. Its lifeless flux muttered
our resemblance. At first, my mind was a tabula rasa. I really had no idea about this resemblance. At the
middle of exploration, I was dumbfound, the main reason of this deafening silence. Not far from where I
was standing was debris of fallen robust tree which impeded its nectar to flow generously. I couldn't
hold back my tears falling down on my cheek. My lungs seemed deflated that helped me not to breathe
well.
I burst out my agony anyway, nonliving creatures could hear me, I was wrong; I felt its current tapping
my leg telling me that I'm not alone. Yes, the situation of the river shows an undeniable fact that there
are many trials and difficulties that one encounters in life. Sometimes these are negatives which
shatter our dreams. The debris of a tree from the past cyclone obstructed the joy of the river to pursue
its excitement to flow and fulfill its obligation to bring refreshment to other beings. Most of the time we
are likened to the rive, we face obstacles, se don't know how to deal with them yet we must have
patience and endurance to hurdle testing. Sometimes we get easily discourage leading us to surrender
or retreat. As I went on observing the river, I was surprised of its persistence to clear its way and console
itself. It was so determined to remove the debris so that its joy of serving others will be restored and
spotted again.
My tears gradually faded. My idea of being trapped in a labyrinth of life was carried away by the river. I
realized even without submerging into it, I am always refreshed because of the determination and
optimism it had to overcome trials.
Looking back at the persistent river, it stuck to the fight. It successfully removed the hindrance of
fulfilling its duty to bring joy to others. It became the oasis of the heavy laden and satisfies the thirsty. If
the river that is devoid with feelings, fulfills its duty equitably, how much more for me who was created
by God in His own image with feelings and intellect? Certainly, I should have the optimism to reach my
goal and possess an outlook in life not in pessimism but in hope no matter how difficult the situation is.
No matter how rough the road of life I would take I must not quit.