Monday, April 28, 2008

TODAY'S POTPOURRI OF THOUGHTS


Sometimes on some days I can work up a good piece for writing. But then again at some other times I work out not just one but several inspirations for writing. Thus you’ll see that I have posts wherein several thoughts are gathered after every favored quote listed. Why do I use quotes? It helps crystallize the idea forming in my mind. And where there are several ideas all wanting to be written, I need those quotes to get it all sorted out properly. Then writing becomes easy. Give it a try; I know that others have already. So then let's get this rolling. :-)

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"The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else." -- E. E. Cummings

I had this frustration every time an aunt or uncle and family friends would come up to me in our family reunions and wonder why I am not this or that, like everybody else. They wonder why I am not a doctor or a lawyer or a businesswoman like my cousins before me or are into right now. Know what I’d do with that? I’d look them in the eye and say ‘I have my own interests and inclinations and doing quite well with it, thank you’ --- And my mom, who could overhear the chat (wherever she was in the room. Weird lols), would simply nod and smile in my direction. Well, at least she was on my side.

So I went on to be me. It may not suit their expectations of grandeur success or opulence but this was me, I would tell myself and which I had to remind myself lots of times because there was seemingly no let-up on their assault on my individuality. Mom would always remind me that --- ”we aren’t made into one mold; each is a separate unique creation – and that whatever we do with ourselves and with the talent given us whether it be as an astronaut or a lowly sales clerk – would still be worthy. Do not belittle a person’s honest effort. She stressed that one should only be true to one’s self and that one must be loyal to his or her passion in life. Because doing what you love best is what gives genuine satisfaction. And that is essential to true living. Success is not about what you have done but in what you are happy and content about inside you.”


“It’s important not to define yourself by what you are, but by who you are.”

This line I heard in a home movie long ago. It’s easy to know WHAT we are, right? – A doctor, truck driver, judge, cop, teacher, street sweeper, CEO, inventor, scientist, parent, son or daughter, and many more. It’s a profession or an occupation and we do things naturally required of us in those roles we play in life, individually or collectively.

But WHO we are is the tough question that we also must deal with. Who are we as a person? What makes us tick or not tick? What do we do with life’s crazy things posed to us at some point or another? What values form our thoughts and feelings and which define our relationships in our tiny spaces or with the bigger world outside?

As a competent surgeon for instance, the WHAT in me would make me do an operation with astounding success as expected of my surgical competence of course. But in another case, when it comes to telling the family that a procedure would be a high risk one for the patient, the WHO in me would tell me to say it gently, with careful sensitivity and consideration for the feelings of the much beleaguered family.

Thus I would think that the WHAT is rather clinical in approach; the WHO – much human and humane.


"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." -- Alvin Toffler

That is simply what life is all about. We must do a lot of learning in our journey through life but there is never enough time to do it because Life is short. Too short to learn everything there is to learn. But if life should mean anything at all, it should be how well we do these three things ---

LEARN. We are taught our new skills, new principles to serve as road map in our transactions, new information and abilities to enhance our enjoyment of life and living… of people and the world of things around us. Still there is so much more to learn. The well never runs dry.

UNLEARN. Useless mind sets, thoughts, ideas, perceptions which don’t do us any good at all - These things which mess up our life or have outlived their time or even stand in the way of our progress maturity growth and development -- should be but definitely destroyed and annihilated permanently.

RELEARN. Those things which lessons we still haven’t fully understood or grasped will never go away but keep repeating itself. Ever wonder why life keeps throwing back at us the same problems and people we’d rather do without? Well, it does that until we get its message clearly, until the idea pierce our dumb heads and numb hearts, or until we see truth and not the illusions we’d rather see and believe.

Well, this is all for now… today’s potpourri of thoughts, more next time. Bye for a bit.


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

FAITH IS WHERE THE BIGGEST BATTLES ARE FOUGHT


I need not go far to write bout this subject. This is right on my turf. It’s not that I have become an expert in this. Rather that I have fought so many battles on its front. If I were to sum up the whole of my life I would do it in just one word --- FAITH. Because that’s what it was then, is now, and always will be tomorrow and thereafter. It is how I connect with people, family, do my job, and manage myself. And I look to the universe believing that it would do what is best for me arranging the odds and ends of my blotched life so that it would make some sense to me at least.

Now you probably wonder, if faith is already there so then where would the battles be fought in all that?

The battles fought are in trying to keep the faith.

Those times when the pricks and thorns of life hit us at every turn, when people we trust suddenly are unkind and betray us, when we stand correct and yet still be misunderstood, when we are beaten down on the ground and nobody stops to pick us up, when we lose our fortunes homes family and then friends suddenly are nowhere to be found, when opportunities are nil and we stand on flimsy chances, when our health fails us and strength slowly ebbs away, or when our own thread of faith slips away and we begin losing faith in self --- these are the battles where faith is put to the test. Or maybe it should be said this way --- these are the battles where a person is put to the test. Sometimes when things get so rough and tough and there’s nothing or no one in sight to help us stay on track… faith fizzles out. That’s when we need a good boost quick. And where will it come from? From that tiny voice from within which says that all is not lost. And that all that’s needed is to set our gaze unto heaven and there we will find help and refuge. Yes, it’s that steady flame of faith – the mustard seed of faith just waiting to be summoned to the fore of our lives.

Faith is never lost. Because faith, I believe, is always there inside the person. But alas man is more often unable to summon faith when and where needed. Always it’s a struggle with rousing that tiny bit. Maybe it’s because we have so little confidence in our selves or we don’t trust our fellowmen enough. Maybe we’ve been wired to believe only those things we can see, touch, and hear. Maybe we don’t fully understand our God? Maybe we aren’t truly convinced that He can do something with so little? Sometimes even with nothing at all. Are we not often coaxed to muster up faith even the size of a mustard seed? That shouldn’t be hard to do, right? It’s only a teeny weenie size of faith and not a huge dramatic portion to bring forth our prayed for desires hopes or dreams. It must have been us being referred to with these words ‘O ye of little faith’ –thus spoken in utter frustration but by a very patient God. Wow, He sure loves us so much to put up with our foolishness and stupidity.

I am that stupid fool too but I have learned through my battles that I can’t live without faith --- Can’t go around disbelieving, not trusting, not hoping nor ignorant of possibilities that could happen anywhere anytime with anyone or anything that’s out there just waiting to be tapped or called forth to serve its purpose in my life. Faith is here simply within me in the core of self lit like a small candle in the dark… steadfast in its glow, unbending undimmed. It’s all up to me then to bring it forth and make it shine. So can you.

So then let it shine --- in all of our days, on everything we touch with our own lives, with every little word that comes out of our mouths, or every new thought born in our brains. Let Faith illuminate the space or every nook and cranny of our being… drench our souls with its sweet fragrance. Henceforth let’s make this faith ours – and a worthy offering to a patient loving merciful God.




Wednesday, April 9, 2008

THIS ONE's FOR JIGYASA

THE TAG OF EIGHT's
It's a tag game and I've been tagged by good friend Jigyasa. :-) I'd like to do this especially for her.

EIGHT THINGS I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT

  1. WRITING - since that day my tiny contribution got published in the Rotary Club Newsletter, I was hooked for good.
  2. MORNING WALKS - frees my mind of toxic thoughts and memories as I release them to the wind and to the universe that it do what it thinks is best for them.
  3. NATURE - Ah for peace and tranquility!
  4. MUSIC - It’s a feel-good feeling.
  5. TOTE BAG - Versatile, spacious, and sturdy. Goes anywhere with me.
  6. HOME - Is where my heart is!
  7. FRIENDSHIP - Good ones are treasures worth keeping.
  8. TRAVELING - It’s the journey which I enjoy most.
  9. SKETCHING - Someday I’ll have the four walls of my room filled up with sketches. Then the dining room…. And the living room… And etc……. LOLS!
:-) Sorry, couldn’t stick to just 8.


EIGHT THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE

Hmmm, let me think…

  1. Have done the tour of Central Europe with my husband.
  2. Wrote articles for a woman’s magazine published nationwide.
  3. Raised god-fearing, responsible, well-mannered, and talented children.
  4. Bought my own car.
  5. Learned to drive.
  6. Build a bigger home for my daughters.
  7. Go on a trip to Hawaii with my girls.
  8. Contribute to Gawad Kalinga to build a home for the homeless poor.
  9. A secret dream I’m not ready to divulge yet. :-)

Oh gee, can't stick to 8 again. lols! So it’s the last four which I hope will materialize in good time. By the grace of God.


EIGHT THINGS I SAY OFTEN

  1. ‘No kidding!’
  2. ‘C’mon!’
  3. ‘Hi!’
  4. ‘Take care’
  5. ‘So delighted…’
  6. ‘You make me smile’
  7. ‘God bless you and your family’
  8. ‘Blessings to you!’


EIGHT BOOKS I’VE READ RECENTLY


Just 8?!! But you know it’s not always that good books are done by famous authors. Sometimes one can get lucky in finding a gem of a book by some unknown writer.

  1. Laugh Again (Charles R. Swindol)
  2. A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Canfield – Hansen)
  3. Today Can Be The Best Day of Your Life (Sala)
  4. Good Morning God (Steinke)
  5. Notes To Myself (Hugh Pratner)
  6. The Alchemist (Coelho)
  7. The Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
  8. and still counting!


EIGHT SONGS I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER

  1. Smile (Tony Bennett)
  2. She Believes In Me (Kenny Rogers)
  3. How Can I Not Love You (song from the movie ‘Anna and the King’)
  4. Feelings (Morris Albert)
  5. Vincent (Don McLean)
  6. You Needed Me (Anne Murray)
  7. The Way You Look Tonight (Michael Buble)
  8. Through The Years (Kenny Rogers)

And more, like That’s All I Ask Of You (from the movie ‘Phantom of the Opera’), Fixing a Broken Heart (Indecent Obsession), Don’t Fade Away (Scott Russel), Honesty (Billy Joel). Oh yes lots more!!

EIGHT THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY BEST FRIENDS

I'd rather talk about ‘what I like in my best friends’, then it would be those traits which I see and admire in their character and person --

  1. Honesty in work and relationships
  2. Sincerity - says what he means, means what he says
  3. Transparency – wears no mask or pretenses
  4. Respecter of all people
  5. Broadminded towards life’s craziness and surprises
  6. Good listening and conversational skills
  7. Unprejudiced by any culture, race, or religion
  8. Sense of humor -- can laugh even at self

Cause if asked bout ‘what do my best friends like in me’ – Lols I’d rather that this question be answered by them!

Thanks for tagging me, Jigyasa. 'Had fun doing it! As for passing on the tag, I think that this has visited my friends already. So then, anyone feel free to take this up when the mood strikes you. It's a good fun game! :-D