A MIGHT HAVE-BEEN HAS NEVER BEEN, BUT A HAS WAS ONCE AN ARE

 

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I was sitting by myself with green tea frappe (but of course!) just watching people walk in and out of Starbucks (again but of course!). Why alone? Well, my daughter was running errands inside the mall. Now as I have told you before when in the midst of people I always turn-on my radar. The reason? People make for an interesting subject anytime anyplace. Perfect feed for the writing.

Not far from my table near the wall sat two friends engaged in serious conversation. Looking like in their early thirties and holding corporate jobs (their clothes tell me that). Of course accompanied by the usual laptop and cellphone. Funny thing is they spoke in voices loud enough for everybody to hear. I looked around but good thing though that the coffee bar wasn't that full yet with just four tables occupied. 

So couldn't be helped if snippets of their conversation trailed to my table and which immediately my dependable radar picked up (as expected heheh...).
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Friend #1:    Ginawa ko na ang lahat pero mukhang walang nangyayari. (I did everything I could but nothing seems to be happening)

Friend #2:    Cool ka lang! Mararating mo din ang mga pangarap mo balang araw. Tiyaga lang, pards. (Cool it! You'll get your dreams yet one day. Patience.)

Friend #1:    Kelan pa!? Inip na 'ko! (But when? I'm getting impatient)
.....

I turned off my radar at that point. No sense in leaving it on. That seemed to be the gist of their conversation anyway.

That person is just like anybody else anywhere in the world aiming for a dream or reaching for a star. Putting in blood-sweat-and=tears into the effort, into each day, into the fight.. A cliche would be apt for this....... 'crossing the highest mountains, sailing the seven seas, braving the fiercest storms' and what other hurdles or obstacles may face him at every corner or bend. The going gets tough and long and tedious but then sometimes it would seem like getting nowhere with it at all; like time drags. Just like friend#1 must have felt.

I can understand that. My younger brother had a dream but the dream died with him. At some point I think he too got frustrated by the slowness of things. I have mine and I don't know where the journey is taking me or what roads I would be traveling but its beautiful flame persists to glimmer. I am glad that it does. But of course I too sometimes wonder.

I know there are many others out there like me. Yup, been there-done that.
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Here's something to say to yourself when the temptation to give up creeps in............... keep punching, keep hammering, keep moving, keep believing, keep dreaming. Image the dream in your mind, feel the thrill and excitement in your heart, and look up to the heavens and say...... "Thank you for this dream!" And you know what else ----- HE just might say "Hmmm... I think I'm going to let her (him) have it!" with a hugely divine smile. That's awesome!!
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God loves you more than you'll ever know. God bless you.
Have a wonderfully blessed day, friends.

DON'T GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS

So you think that dreams belong only to the very young? When they arriving at this special point in their lives begin to think that the whole world beckons to them to experience its adventure, mystery, enigma, wonder, and new surprises? It's commonly the idea. It's a world of many firsts -- the first job, first major project, first recognition -- these and many more fire that passion in the heart. And truely off would they fly in pursuit of those dreams.

But.....

What if something unexpected takes you off that road? What if you are made to surrender or give up those dreams? What if you lose control of your destiny and somebody holds it in his hand? (we're not referring to god or religion this time)

You may feel that there is no reason for wanting to go on, that the chase would be pointless or useless anyhow, that life wants you to do this and not that, that when the dream has broken into bits and pieces it would be too late to put it back together again at anytime. So you resign yourself to your fate.

Are you sure?.....

Because I don't buy that. I know that dreams don't disappear. It's still there tucked up somewhere inside of you. Maybe pushed to the far back or corner, but it's there. And it's simply waiting to be resurrected, to be championed once more. It stays there with its small warm glow of hope and faith that one day YOU will come to your senses and pluck it out of the darness and bring it to the light where dreams truly belong.

It doesn't matter how much you have lost, or how much older you are now, or how strange or foolish it may look to others, or how much people will tell you that it will never work out. It doesn't matter. What matters, and you should etch this in your heart, is that you have picked up the shreded bits of your broken dreams and pieced them back together again. Oh it's true that you may or may not succeed but it's alright. Who cares?! (Lols, I'm taking my dream one tiny step at a time and I don't even know if I'll get there or not.) I think that the wonderful sense of joy and adventure would be enough to restore the glimmer in your eyes, brighten your smile, and put back that long lost bounce in your step! That makes it all worthwhile. Because, believe me, from there... tomorrows could be beautiful. Besides, God is delighted by dreamers with a lot of spunk.

"When you find a Dream inside your heart
Don't ever let it go
For Dreams are the tiny seeds from
Which beautiful Tomorrows Grow"

(Thanks to Parth for this lovely quote, author unknown.)

NO DAY BUT TODAY

Have you seen the movie 'Rent'? It's a Broadway musical turned into a movie. If you haven't yet, then go see it or get the cd. You won't regret it.

"No Day But Today" is just one of the several beautiful songs in it. This one is on my list of all time favorites.

You know why? Because it tells me this...

No day but today......

...to follow your dream
...to take dance lessons
...to finish that book
...to paint that masterpiece
...to get a sauna with your wife..or husband
...to treat your kids to Disneyland
...to be friendly to your neighbor who hates your red hair
...to write to your congressman about misfits in the government
...to give away your old stuff to people who might have need for it
...to pray - and pray - and pray not just for yourself but for others too
...to believe in yourself - there is only one you
...to forgive and be forgiven
...to sleep under the stars
...to hug your parents and grandparents
...to be kind to your household help
...to be a friend in both good times and bad
...to teach your child how to bike
...to buy yourself a bouquet of your favorite flowers
...to write that long overdue letter
...to eat healthy foods and stay with it
...to exercise regularly and stay with it
...to believe in God
...to not wait for a special occasion to give
...to say thank you
...to do a good deed
...to say 'no' when you should
...to say 'yes' when it's good
...to get down from your ivory tower and get down to real life and true living
...to plant a tree -- lots of it
...to love and take care of Mother Earth
...to recycle garbage
...to not throw garbage into rivers and streams
...to clean up your clutter
...to listen to reason and good intentions
...to get a job and not bum around anymore
...to use your college education to better lives... yours and others
...

There's more, much more. So how about adding to this list? Or create your own in your blog. Let me know 'cos I'd love to visit. Or maybe share here what list you have now. I would be interested to see it and I'm sure our readers would too.

PERFECTION IS ITS OWN END

What’s perfection? It’s an end. Maybe somebody else’s better description of perfection will come to mind but this strikes home for me.

Doesn’t perfection also mean excellence, faultlessness, flawlessness? That’s quite an attractive bunch of words indeed and it seems to have a power of its own the way it pushes many to want it for themselves. At all cost sometimes.

Is it good? I don’t know. People will have their reasons to want it; it’s all a matter of choice. But I think that it’s nothing more than the end of a challenge, a dream, a goal, a journey, growth, learning, ambition, of life.

Perfection when achieved would put an end to countless long hours – days – months or years of toiling over data and reports, the excitement of putting together an impossible project, of hearts pounding wondering if you’ve made it or not.. and so much more. All those things would be all gone because everything would be in its perfect place. What else would there be to do? In short, it ends the chase and everything it would entail for a person after a dream.

What challenge is there left in or with perfection?

Even a perfect human being can be quite a bore. There would be nothing more to discover, to be surprised with, or to be interested in anew. There would be no learning; he (or she) would be so predictable. Even in relationships. And God for him --- would be nothing but a comic book character like superman.

That could be said of things and stuff too. If things we used in our daily lives were perfect, what need would there be for invention, creativity, innovation, vision, imagination, improvement? What need would there be for dreams?

"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person." -- Dr. David M. Burns