By Surf Reyes
Chairperson, Laboratory on Value Education (LOVE) Foundation, and member, LightShare e-Mail List Group
ONCE.I WAS in a cab on the way home, and as we started to go up a bridge in Cubao, I saw in front of us another cab being pushed up the bridge by the driver who was at the same time managing the steering wheel through the wide open door. He struggled to push his cab which barely moved forward, and I thought his effort was either heroic or desperate.
Suddenly, my driver turned to me and said, “Boss, I have to help this guy, ok?” And without waiting for my reply, he hurriedly drove past the other cab and stopped in front of it, jumped out, and got some rope through the side and back win-dows as he and the other driver tied the tow rope to both cabs, then my driver rushed back in and started the cab to pull the other. He said to me, “Just subtract this from your fare. The poor fellow will be charged a thousand five hundred pesos if caught on this main road.”
We pulled that cab into a minor street and he chose a convenient spot to stop. Eric, as I found out later was his name, then got out again to start removing the rope.
This time I myself got out and watched as he struggled to untie the rope. The other driver had an easier time untying the rope from his cab and walked toward Eric who was still in a squatting position working on his end of the rope.
He bent a little as he reached out a hand, clutching some 20-peso bills in front of Eric’s face as he mumbled some words of gratitude. Eric almost violently pushed away the driver’s offering hand, very emphatically saying, “No! No! It’s ok, it’s ok!”
illustration by ding reyes
On our way home, Eric was profusely apologizing for the delay caused me. It was my turn to talk, and I took the blessed opportunity to acknowledge his goodness, making him aware of the beautiful thing that he did.
Truly, it was a perfect example of the triumph of the human spirit, unconditional love realized on earth! This man who had little in life, spontaneously serves another driver whom he may never see again, refusing payment, and is even willing to get less fare from me for his act of love!
The concrete expression of love without expecting anything in return, is the experience of God in a man. 
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