The House Feels smaller than it used to.

Its four walls, which used to make me feel safe and comfortable after a long day, are now pillars of a barricade, cutting me off from a life that I had no idea would come to a momentous long pause, due to a quiet, creeping Threat that has destroyed more lives than it has taken.

Despite my being inside these walls, the threat still strives to break spirits. My heart is a freighter in troubled waters, constantly tipping between rage and despair. I know you hear them like I do, weeping in their homes and in the streets, from the cruel disposition the universe has chosen them to have: starved of sustenance and basic human compassion.

The house feels small. Incredibly small. And I realize an important truth: the walls aren’t closing in on me, but the opposite. I suddenly think of a Grow Monster dipped in the bath, constantly expanding until it took its true form. The threat hasn’t succeeded in breaking my spirit – instead, I grew enough to want to break these walls. I can’t just wait out the storm; I need to use this rage and despair as fuel to navigate this freighter to a productive good.

I’ve done my part – though I’m not here to pat myself on the back – but it will never feel like it’s enough. And I guess that’s just part of the beauty of helping: since it’s never going to feel enough, you’ll never want to stop.

At the end of the day, these walls are but physical barricades. Don’t turn a deaf ear to the cries – let them be your water. Let’s outlive this threat to see a world where everyone broke their walls, and compassion is alive and well in the streets again.

If you are interested to also help/donate for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic here in the Philippines, here are charities and programs that can use your help:

• Tulong Kabataan – UP Manila

• Philippine General Hospital

• Caritas Manila

• Angkas Donation Drive

• Salamat PH Healthcare Heroes

• RiceTop (Food for Healthcare Workers)

• #MayTwentyAko

• #TaraTulongTayo