Wednesday, November 7, 2007

YOU CAN BE GREAT

A man isn’t if he doesn’t have at least one burning desire or dream or ambition in his heart. Without it you simply exist and not live as you should.

I have a dream, it’s a tiny one kept here in my heart. It’s been there for many years and maybe many more I don’t know. But what I do know is that this tiny spark within keeps me focused on one bright hope that someday I may yet have that dream come true. So my everyday becomes a trek towards it. But there are no illusions set on that journey because I know very well that it’s not a smooth paved road I’ll be traveling on. I’ve been told that all roads leading to one’s dream is always beset with stones, gravel, steep hills, thick bush, and strange creatures lurking on the side. Of course you know that I’m referring to the difficulties and hurdles one usually come across on that road less traveled. But that’s okay; I will take it one stone, one hill, one bush, and one strange creature at a time. It may hurt me some and may even be coming out of it much battered and bruised but… as long as I keep my feet standing above ground and not buckling under, I promise that I will be slugging my way through and up. Time? Oh I don’t know for how long but even if it would take all of my life working towards a dream, you will still find me there throwing my best punches till the sun sets so very tired of me. :-)

You see, life is primed for making things tough for us. Primed but we know for a definite reason and we’ve taken this up in earlier blog posts. But if we learned our lessons well and take the bull by its horn, tough times certainly can’t hurt us. We remove its capacity to hurt us by taking charge of our life instead of meekly following behind hanging on to its tail.

There are many I see around me doing the good fight. They trudge on in many diverse roads and in creative ways that would shame a lazy bum simply content watching on the sidelines. And if that wasn’t enough, these unproductive dark creatures would taunt or belittle the efforts put in by those who strive and struggle to make their dreams come true..

I’ll put my foot down on that one. Don’t let those types block you from taking that road and making good progress. But remember too not to fall into the trap of reacting to them on that same turf they’re operating on – negativity. Better yet stay clear out of their way; leave them where they want to stay and where they belong in their own dark realm of unenlightened understanding of life’s rules and laws, one of which is that ‘in life you move with the flow of the universe… or be left sorely behind’. And if you have the mind for it, use their negativity to fuel your fire or drive to push you farther and faster towards your goal. Funny but sometimes it works that way – a slight irritation can push you out of there quicker in a way working to your good advantage.

And to those you make it through to its successful end… great job, great YOU!

“Keep away from those who try
to belittle your ambitions.

Small people always do that,
but the really great make you believe
that you too can become great.”
(Mark Twain)


26 comments:

  1. Hi ellen,
    It was a very inspiring write up from you. You rightly said that the path leading to fulfillment of our dreams is paved with difficult situations and that the best way to avoid these situation is to face them :-)

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  2. Very inspirational.

    Indrasish.

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  3. Hi JustCurious,

    You got that right on target. :-) so nice to see you again here. Hope all is fine at your end. Take care, my friend. God bless you!

    Hi Indrasish,

    Glad you found time to drop by today. It's always a pleasure to see friends coming to the blog. Always take care okay? God bless you!!

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  4. Hi Ellen,
    Awesome post. And I love the quote at the end!
    Blessings!

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  5. Thank you, Regina. The quote is one of my favorites too. Take care pls. God bless you and your family with peace and love.

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  6. Hi Ellen,

    So I got my morale boosting tonic on this monday ... to take on the lengthy week ahead :P Thank You..

    Apart from the gravel traps, hills, bushes and scary creatures, you have to believe that there are some pleasent flowers, beautiful orchards, pile of sweets and some good friends on that same road as well ... which god has laid down to make our journey smooth and fruitful ... and just when we find one of those our strength and will to take on that path becomes even stronger ... wat do you say ??

    Cheers n Keep Smiling !!
    Sumit

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  7. Hi Sumit!

    You hit that right on the head. That's is why I treasure friends and friendships so much. You and the rest have given me strength when I needed it.

    And honestly, I am needing some again now... because my husband had another heart attack and was confined at the ICU. Can you please help me pray? thank you so much.

    Take care. God bless you and your family.

    ellen

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  8. Hi Ellen,

    I was on a short vacation so I didnt find time to post a comment but I did read your blogs which I always do.

    Just read your reply to Sumit.
    You have given me strength and inspiration to face life through your blogposts , I hope God gives you courage to wade through this difficult phase of your life and bestow peace in your family.
    As your friend I will definitely pray for speedy recovery of your husband.I am sure god will answer my prayer.

    Hope your husband recuperates asap.

    Take care,
    Love,
    Chunks

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  9. My dear Chunks,

    It is such blessed comfort to see you here. I pray that the Lord pour out his blessings upon you bountifully.

    Thank you. I know that God answers your prayers. He sees what's contained in the heart and replies to that.

    Take care always. I may not be coming here as I used to cos I would be at the hospital, but will check out messages every now and then to reply to it all.

    God bless you always.
    Bye for now.
    Ellen

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  10. Hi Ellen

    How are we doing today? I pray that the hubby has a speedy recovery and is fitter than ever before.

    Thanx for being through my blogs. I am thinking of closing them down to just one. It would make more sense considering I don't seem to find time to even visit my own blogs nowadays.

    Thinking about the picture suggestion.....

    Luv and God Bless.

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  11. Hi Ellen,

    Its sad to know that ur hubby has another heart attack.. Don't worry, he will come out of it hale and hearty.. My prayers and best wishes are with you and your family.

    Take Care and don't worry.. this phase is tough but it too shall pass..

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  12. Hi Ellen,

    I am sorry to learn that your husband has had another attack, Please be assured that my sincere prayers go out for his speedy recovery.

    Take care and be strong ... will check back soon.

    Sumit

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  13. Hi Ellen,

    My friend also said that she would pray for speedy recovery of your husband..

    he would be back to normal by god's grace..

    take care
    Love,
    Chunks

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  14. My sincere thanks go to the following wonderful friends:

    --Phoenix
    --Kamesh
    --Sumit
    --Chunks and friend

    Thank you for your prayers. It's all appreciated. We're back home now and he is recovering. But the dialysis is now a regular at twice a week. And an angiogram for the heart is a possibility. I hope your prayers will accompany us in this concern too.

    Again 'thank you' sincerely. The good Lord will bless you a hundredfold for generous effort in prayer.

    Will see you around. Bye for a bit.

    Ellen

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  15. Hi Ellen,

    I am so thankful to God that he brought your husband on the path to recovery. I can understand what you are going through as I myself have endured great pains in my life.

    But the one constant thing is that I always keep faith.. both in good times and bad.. and it stands me in good stead..

    Be assured that our good wishes and prayers are with you always. I am sure our collective prayers will be answered well and your family will be back to happy times once again.

    Take Care!

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  16. Hi Ellen,
    Come by my spot,I have something for you.
    Blessings, Regina

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  17. Hello Kamesh,

    Thank you for those lovely words. You are right 'keep the faith'. It was what kept us going through those difficult times. The prayers and good intentions of concerned friends (like you) did its huge part in lending me strength where at times it seemed to fail. Thank you so much.

    You take care too pls!

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  18. Hi Regina,

    Glad to see you again. I went to your blog --- gee, that was a sweet thing to do. Thank you so much! It warms the heart so. :-)

    Take care and God bless you!

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  19. Hi Ellen,

    good to know that your husband is back home and recovering .. I wish his speedy recovery.

    take good care of your family, and keep smiling.

    Sumit

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  20. Thanks, Sumit. It sure is good indeed. There are still some hurdles to overcome but all in good time --- God's time.

    Your good wishes and friendly concern despite this huge distance between us is so much appreciated. It shall always be remembered. Thank you!

    Always take care. May God continue to bless you and your dear family.

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  21. Hi ellen,

    Its really good to know that your husband is back home!!!
    God has answered our prayers!!

    Take care,
    Love,
    Chunks

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  22. Hi Chunks,

    Do you know that this, among other noble things, is what helps a person go through his/her trials in life courageously --- the warmth of friendship. You may not be here physically but certainly you are in the spirit of true friendship. We have never met in person and maybe never will, but as far as I'm concerned we don't have to. For me, it's enough that despite this huge distance between us -- you connect from your beautiful heart to mine. That, in any language, is what real friendship is all about.

    Thank you, Chunks, and do pls thank your friend for me. Wish that I knew your friend's name too. :-)

    It's appreciated much that you drop by with lovely messages; it helps make me feel better.

    Take care now.
    God bless you and your friend,
    along with your respective families.

    Sincerely,
    Ellen

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  23. Hi Ellen,

    It was really warming to see this message.
    As you said we may never meet yet we conect to each other in spirit of true friendship and love the force which binds people across the universe.

    Just to brief you on myself and my friend:I am chunks(changed), 25years old girl,working as a software engineer in bangalore,India.My friend's name is sneha, she's also working as a s/w engineer in a private firm.
    We both are huge fan of ALL your posts:) I love your pets too:)
    sneha is very busy and hardly gets time but I always try my best to find few minutes post my lunch break to read ur blogs.(all your posts rejuvenates me pump in calories of mental strength).
    If mail your post to sneha so that she can read it as and when she finds few minutes amidst her busy schedule.


    I hope your husband is quickly recovering back to normalcy


    catch you on next post
    Love
    Chunks

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  24. I'm so glad to read your lovely note, so very glad, Chunks. :-)

    It is so nice to get to know you better. So how's work getting along? I get this impression that you are such a diligent and hardworking young lady. Wonderful.. just don't forget to give time for yourself too. :-)

    Same goes for friend, Sneha. Tell her too to learn to ease up a bit. I'm not telling you both to take work lightly.. oh no! Just trying to remind you, pretty ladies, to incorporate some good balance in your life between work and living. Don't grow tired and weary before your time. lol :-)

    Heyy, that's a lovely thing to say bout my blogs/posts. Thank you so much for appreciating it. Honestly -- my blog takes its life from wonderful friends like you -- who come by and leave warm and encouraging messages. I love it every time you tell me that you liked something that was written .. or you would express your own viewpoints/insights on the subject taken up. Lol..how about putting in some critique too cos I don't really expect everyone to agree with everything that i write. :-D

    That's a good idea to send Sneha a post/s but I will be needing her email ad for that. Think you can send it to me too?

    I do wish you all the best. My prayers go with you wherever life takes you.

    Take care and God bless you & Sneha.

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  25. Hi Ellen,

    Hope you and your husband are doing well!!

    Its really good that you get an alert on gmail whenever we drop a comment!!

    sneha's email ID is munni321@rediffmail.com

    I have a report to be completed by this friday so I am working extra hours, I will try to mail you in the weekend!!

    Until then take care!!

    Love,
    Chunks

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  26. Thank you for Sneha's email ID, Chunks. :-)

    Oh yes, I remember when I did reports too a couple of years ago before my retirement. Quite a bundle I had doing mine and that of my boss the VP. Aaarrgh! :-D And deadlines are such huge monsters!!

    I hope you'll get it all done in time... though I know you would. :-)

    You take care too pls. God bless you and your loved ones.

    Ellen

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:-) Here's where I warmly welcome you and where you leave your footprints behind with fond memories attached to it of wonderful chats and friendships. Thank you for your comments. Or send your comments to ellen622@gmail.com. Will be seeing you in your blog too. God bless you!