The Cebuano people’s secret to living a happy, contented life

A Cebuano could light a candle and says his prayers to God.

Cebuano people must be having a secret. It is amazing how they can easily cope up with whatever diverse challenges life has to offer on a daily basis.

And you will be surprised to find out that some of these people are living in extreme poverty, with every reason to despair, yet are the same ones to quickly flash a smile at the slightest crack of joke or pleasure.

So what do you think is their secret? Taking a look and a close observation of their lives would give you some clues, if not the actual answer.

Deep spiritual faith

Cebuanos are a deeply spiritual people which sometimes lead to overly expressed fanaticism. Their great devotion to God (especially to the Holy Child Jesus) however, is expressed in such a way that will motivate them to be so optimistic of whatever comes their way.

Cebuanos braved the sun just so they could attend mass.

And yet no matter how deeply religious these people are and become, it is balanced by their unique way of understanding such a dogma as something that will allow people to have the freedom to celebrate and express of their joys. This is the reason why the Philippines and Cebu, in particular, are dominated by festivals with a religious attachment to it.

It’s in their genes

If you’re a genetically dour person, you will remain dour no matter what a luxurious life you are leading to live. Happiness is a mental attitude and that the genes contribute a lot to create such a kind of mental attitude. For a happy people, problems, no matter how big, are just part of living. And there’s a great sense of joy and satisfaction to be felt once these problems are solved.

A sense of acceptance

Acceptance is what leads you to feel the satisfaction with whatever it is that life throws at you. This is one reason why the Cebuano people (the Filipino people in general) are one of the happiest of people in the world.

Of course, they will try to do their best to get or achieve what they want. But that’s not only about doing the best and what’s best. It is also about, most importantly, striving for realistic goals that will permit them to readily accept things (good or bad) as they come.