It was a cloudy afternoon and we were resting just after a heavy lunch.
We still had a few minutes left to rest, so I went inside the van to get a whiff of cold air before the shoot resumes.
The two boys, M and A, were already inside the van digging their pockets for the toys given to them by some fans. It was not unusual for them to receive gifts or give-aways from people we meet when we go out on shoots. Though they were not famous stars, they were regarded as celebrities and people seem to take delight in giving them things.
For this shoot, the two boys seemed to have attracted some fans: kids from the less privileged parts of the neighborhood.
Just then, there was a faint knock on the van’s window, it was one of the neigborhood kids with a miniature plastic basketball set in hand. The kid reached inside and gave the toy to A, “Ito o, sayo na lang. (Here, I want you to have this toy.)” A thanked the kid and closed the window.
Minutes later, there was another knock on the window, this time it was a kid with a handful of marbles. “Para sa inyo ‘to. (This is for you.)” the kid said while handing it to M. M smiled heartily, thanked the kid and closed the window.
The younger boy said, “Siguro kaya nila binibigay ‘to kasi wala nang halaga sa kanila. (Maybe they are giving these to us because these things are already useless for them.)”
The older boy said, “Hindi. Kaya nila binibigay ‘to kasi mahalaga ito sa kanila. Remembrance nila ito satin. (No, they’re giving these to us because these things are important to them and they want us to keep these as remembrances.)”
What seems to be an innocent conversation between two children struck a chord in me. Both of them received toys from kids who probably had so little to give, but only one of them clearly understood the value of giving and receiving.
It made me look back at how many times I’ve actually given something valuable to me and how many times I’ve received gratefully realizing the value behind the gifts.
How do you give and receive?
