I first encountered, and liked for the first time, inihaw na panga at buntot ng tuna in Davao. The story, probably true but also possibly apocryphal, is that these parts of the fish (the head and the tail) used to be thrown away as discards by big fishing boats that docked at the Davao port. Some enterprising Pinoys thought of grilling these and they instantly became a local delicacy.
I think of how God can also turn into good whatever man does in his sinfulness and wickedness; how he can turn turn dust, okay stardust, into conscious breathing and loving human beings; how nothing in His creation is even wasted or unwanted. There may seem a lot of rot and decay on earth; but even out of these, something good or some new life eventually emerges.
The universe might seem like a chaotic and random place what with all galactic explosions and inflationary expansion. Yet, in all of those spontaneous bursts of energy there is a certain rhythm, a certain pattern that makes sure things happen as they should happen. Events unfold as they should unfold and life emerges out of all that chaos and randomness.
Sure, pain and suffering and death are part and parcel of the human experience. But so are love and caring and joy and freedom. And all these are often intricately interwoven with one another. Isn’t this an awesome world and a wonderful life?