“There’s a calm and serene dignity that envelopes those who rise above the pettiness of minding others’ personal affairs.

It has been almost five months since our move to our new city and to be completely honest, we are still adjusting.

We already have our favorite bakery near our home. They sell delicious monay, pandesal, egg and other breads. A few shops away is a pharmacy — one of our often-visited stores, unfortunately, since our transfer. Just across from the drugstore is a supermarket. They keep a good stock of my favorite boneless bangus or milk fish. By car, that grocery store is four minutes away from our home and the nearest fast food joint a mere three-minute drive. My husband and I have found our respective barbershops and salons. Those are the easier parts of the move, I suppose.

The harder part is the getting used to the heat.

The heat from the weather and the heat from people sticking their noses in others’ business as if they didn’t already have their own issues to deal with themselves. Or maybe it is precisely because they have a heap of problems that they feel they need the distraction of others’ travails to amuse themselves momentarily.

I have at least three solutions so far for the soaring temperatures, find cool, shaded and windy areas when outdoors, staying away from direct sunlight when possible and turning the air-conditioner on. The last one is a sanity-saver but I am finding it hard to reconcile that it’s not the most environment friendly solution.

With the heat from gossips, I try to steer clear of them as much as possible. It is a bit difficult when conversations arise and you have nowhere else to go except to stay put, whether it be at a gathering or at a party. One way around it is to not say anything to add to the rumor that has been mentioned. Another is to start a different conversation with someone seated next to you if you’re with a big group. A third way is, if you know the gossip to be utterly false, correct it right then and there.

There’s a calm and serene dignity that envelopes those who rise above the pettiness of minding others’ personal affairs. I have the utmost admiration for those who choose to not give in to rumor mongering. In a country with over 100 million people, it would be rather toxic if we concerned ourselves with everyone else’s excess baggage. A small step at not fanning the flames is significant.

My family and I are still adjusting to the heat and I am grateful that we are finding ways to keep our cool in more ways than one.