LIFE IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU -- IT'S ABOUT OTHERS TOO

The homily at mass today was one I consider among the best I have heard. Delivered by a Filipino priest, it was so simple so much that it was easy to grasp. Unlike some other sermons delivered which tend to fall on the wordy nerdy side of telling, this one talked straight from the heart to other hearts.  Others failing this criteria will find me appreciating the architectural details of the church or chapel more rather than on God’s servant on the mike telling me how to be a good Christian. Oh but I do find others with their own ways of coping with a boring bland delivery… they doze it off or walk out to smoke their cigarettes. (This doesn’t happen with Bishop Soc Villegas with his homilies. In ten minutes, you get the right dose of medicine for your soul. You come out of church happy that you went in.) In this article he talks about ‘homily abuse’……..… 

http://www.rappler.com/na…/88758-bishop-warning-homily-abuse

Today’s homily in essence says about living a life not simply for ourselves but for others, too. Further down the narrative the priest tells of a story of new graduates for the priesthood. When asked how they see their future in about 5 – 10 years in the midst of the political and social problems of the day, the common reply was ‘I’d be very successful… get to a high position… storm the Vatican with my brilliance…’ Then the priest turned to us and said ‘Nothing wrong with all that. But what will you do with what ails your country and people?’

These are times when one is called to be more for others, too. Sadly this is not much understood in some. I have read this somewhere...a writer remarked that the present generation is called the ‘me generation’. The question topmost in one’s head when something presents itself is ‘What’s in it for me?’

Observe our politicians today as they gear themselves for the coming election; notice their gestures, mannerisms, their beliefs, thoughts-words-deeds. Do they seem familiar?

A wise man once said that ‘People are mirrors of you and me. Their good and their bad.’ Thus, they are not just bad politicians to whom we entrust the leadership and management of our country with, we are bad voters too. Is that right?

Selfishness. Selflessness. Two words poles apart (i.e. North Pole, South Pole) in meaning and intent. As defined by Webster…. Selfishness is the quality of being selfish. Selfish is lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure. Selflessness or selfless is having or showing great concern for other people and little or no concern for yourself.

Like mom would often say…. ‘Honey, life is not all about you. It’s also about others, too. Life is about being in this together.’   By God's design.

Let's be kinder. God bless you and your loved ones.

LIFE IS ATTITUDE.. HEART.. PRAYER

Musings on a surprisingly sunny day! The storm threatening our shores must have passed. Did somebody say it's paying China a visit? Be safe, China.
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To quote... (oh you know already which book I'm quoting...)

LOOK TO THE GOOD
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"Look only to the good,. Look only to what you have, to what God has given you. Do not let your eyes come to rest upon any other thing but the blessings and peace of Christ. Do not fix your gaze upon the negatives, upon the past or the future. Remember, your life is hid with Me. By now you know that I can be trusted and that I have all your affairs in My hands. Not one thing escapes My attention."
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Unquote.
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But first..... I get this tiny suspicion that many of you do wonder why I often quote lines off the book 'Good Morning... God'. The answer to that is simple.
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I am a mere mortal running the course of my allotted life and time on this beautiful planet. Many things cross my path... some good... some bad. I cope with the best I can manage with the inherent skills God has wisely equipped us all with. Sometimes I win... sometimes lose. When times get tough... or when I forget who I am... or when utterly get lazy - crazy - bored - sad - lonely - scared - confused - unbelieving - suspicious - furious... or when simply at a crossroad ----
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The need there is to energize.. recharge.. renew.. reconnect.. reboot my soul. What better way to do that but with the Source. Prayer does a great thing.. and supporting that is a tiny (and perhaps trivial to some) humble book waiting beside my bed. It encapsulates or sums up simply and beautifully my thoughts on life which are humbly presented to God. In turn, God imparts His wisdom to me. He does that to anyone and everyone who stops to listen. Oh let's remember that God works through people, places, events, and things. That's the way He operates.
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And... I sincerely hope you won't or don't mind when I share these treasures with you every now and then.
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Now back to the musings.......
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Positives and negatives... life is full of both. We have no problem with dealing with the lovely positives of life. In fact, we often wish life was only made up of those. Heavenly, right? - On the other side of life's coin are the negatives. Oh brother! these can surely tear down everything you may have built! And you know what I mean.
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But only if you let it!
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So how do you do that? "Look only to the good"
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Yes, I agree it's not always easy. Life's troubles are such that they sure can prick you hard and hurt you harder. But that is when you are asked to fight your battles hard, too... and hardest! Look for the good in your life. It's there.. maybe under some cover... but it's there! Fight the bad with good. Turn the negative into positive. It all takes the right attitude to beat the odds and come out winning.
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Life is ATTITUDE... HEART... and PRAYER. Nope, it is not magic nor is it an instant formula to banish your cares and woes away. It's even better. Because it sure can give you the best chance at winning. And winning..... is God's design for our lives.
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Look to the good. There's plenty if you look hard enough.. or truly seek it with your heart and mind. Frankly, no other better way to live life.
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Blessings, everyone. God sprinkled plenty in your day.. your life.

YOUR PRESENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION

Oh I know there are times in our lives when 'tough' isn't always a lovely go-to word. Sometimes that cliche is not a bit comforting to the weary mind and heart. Sometimes we need more than just that.
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The thing is we won't get any other kind of comfort elsewhere. The real kind of comfort can be found from within ourselves. It is right here where we are-as we are. It is in trying, and I mean really trying, to understand that life is not the villain but just a vehicle on which rides the lessons we should be learning. And learning is what we are supposed to do on this planet.
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Life will happen as it happens to us... mean, hard, nasty, bad, unfair, scary, desolate, dismal, biased, unkind, sometimes hopeless. Yet no matter how easy we may possibly fall into its trap or fierce grip, it cannot really snuff out the spark within that struggles to shine bright and even brighter regardless. May I nudge you to the thought that God knew we needed something to help us along with life and living, so He put that tiny spark there to help us through.
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You see, I have learned that if the story of our life be bad, terrible perhaps, and that the common perception is because it is bad it will therefore mean it will also end bad...... Well, that isn't always the case. It does not have to end bad.
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It is not what happens to you, them, us..... but how you respond to it that truly defines you. What we do with life is who we are. Allow that spark within to shine bright and even brighter out to the world.
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As the cover photo says..... "Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come." And that, dear friend, is by God's design.

GROWTH LIES OUTSIDE OUR COMFORT ZONES

No matter our efforts or intent to change and even if that prospect of change would largely improve our selves or our lives, still we hold on fiercely to things which comprise our 'comfort zones'. The CZ (comfort zone) varies from person to person. It could be every reason, smart or silly, brought forward by each of us to protect what we each perceive as essential to our existence. Even ready to every extent at defending it. In some it isn't even considered as a CZ because it has become so much part of character and personality comprising the whole package of being individual and human. It no longer is recognizable.
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A teacher from long ago once said.... 'No amount of teaching or learning will progress if a person doesn't first learn to let go of comfort zones'.
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That made me think.................
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She may be right. A CZ can be, by all appearances, sometimes cute... hip... attractive... comfortable... but is undeniably an ego booster... a people pleaser... a band-aid to insecurities... and a superficial guarantee of stability and worth. A comfort zone is just that ----- a place or state of being where you are most comfortable with who or what you are that you don't or won't want to change it.
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Yet, my teacher further added..... 'Being comfortable with who or what you are does not necessarily mean it is good.'
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The sole purpose of our lives, she says, is to grow... improve... to work at making ourselves better if not the best. This process would require shedding off layers in our character which hinder -- stunt -- delay -- or get in the way of growth. Human nature tends to incline towards what is easy... safe... comfortable. It veers away from strife.... struggle... harsh realities... fierce challenges... and change. Anything that suggests any one of those is a bane (nuisance) to a stubborn mind.
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That, by the way, is where our biggest battles are fought. Man, indeed, is a child of comfort zones.

 

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of 

letting go and holding on."   - Henry Ellis

I hope you all are having a pleasant week, rainy weather or hot notwithstanding. Take care and God bless!

 

(Thanking Mr. Quote Man for the wonderful quote mentioned above.)

 

 

MAKE THE CHASE MORE PRODUCTIVE

"You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need." -- Jerry Gillies
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I remember young hopefuls I’ve interviewed for a job before. As I listened they tell me of their frustrations..... that they have so many plans, so many dreams, and yet never seem to know which one is the right one for them. Confused and bewildered they keep on hammering at a wide range of choices believing that the right one will eventually surface and that somehow things will break and they will hit gold. Well, maybe and maybe not. I’m not convinced with that method.
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It’s not always smart to spread yourself thin over a wide range of prospects.... quite unthinkingly. 'Suntok sa buwan' as a local phrase calls it. Besides that will wear you out faster than you can ever recharge yourself after. Pretty soon you will find yourself simply dragging your feet from one place to another with nothing much achieved. That’s a candidate for frustration and disappointment and a waste of precious time and talent – one which you can’t afford to lose.
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On the other hand, I have seen others take on a well-thought out and planned approach. They start out with a well-defined and definite sense of self and purpose..... equipped themselves with the proper education and training..... studied their prospects..... sorted out those which they believed will be a sure fit. They don’t bother with anything which would not fill the criteria they have set down. In such a way they succeed to narrow down the choices to the best of the crop. (This is what employers do, too) Once this has been decided, then and only then do they gear up for the pursuit and journey. Armed with a clearer vision of who they are.... what they have and.... what they hope to achieve thus the chase becomes more productive.
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Amazingly, the required enthusiasm energy and imagination needed to see it through did spring out or burst forth in unexplained measure. Sometimes even surprising one's self. And further down the journey the same enthusiasm energy and imagination would gain even greater momentum as the goal becomes closer and closer to one’s view and reach. This serves to affirm and confirm that you are indeed on the right track.
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Think. Plan. Hope. Believe. Execute.
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"Start believing now that we can be who we are." --- (Anon.)
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God bless you and your dreams.

TALENT CAN HELP YOU BECOME A LOT MORE OF WHO YOU ALREADY ARE

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"Ala.. ala ako niyan." (I don't have that.) My friend was referring to 'talent'. With an apple in one hand I was on the phone with her listening intently to this morning's whining. It was only mid-morning but already she felt so bored with her day. (Oh but I can understand that. I also have my boring days. Everybody does, right?) So I suggested a hobby or something else similar which she could do to ward off boredom. And she gave me that reply..... "Ala ako niyan." Well, to cut a long story short, the chat ended with her boredom unresolved and it led me to my laptop.... thinking.
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No talent? I don't buy that. Aside from the god-given gifts of abilities and skills used for life and living we also are equipped with talent. My friend has talent though she doesn't know it yet nor have tried to find out. I hope she does soon.
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Life has taught me that talent or aptitude, capacity, knack, flair or other similar names it is called can be or make that difference to your day and life. The combined work of your ideas, energy, effort, and time can renew that sparkle in your eye.... recharge your spirit.... and rouse other interests for creative effort. It helps ease the weariness and seriousness of daily life. It's an equalizer which gives you that feel-good feeling in spite of worrisome concerns of the day or of life in general. It helps clear the cobwebs in your mind..... allows rest for your physical body..... and peace to your weary heart.
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It's all the good reason to want to indulge in it.
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So how do you know that you have talent?
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First off, believe that you do!
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Then, seek it doggedly until you find it. It's like job-hunting knocking on many doors until one is opened to you. Talent is just there inside of you waiting to be found... waiting to be released out to the universe. So find it... and
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When you find it, know that it is uniquely yours; appreciate it as God's wise gift to you.
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Then work to hone it, expand it, harness it. In return the universe will happily respond to your effort and help you blossom to bigger and better things... to a better you.
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Whatever God gives us is meant to make us better; better than we were yesterday everyday.
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Blessings, folks! 

 

 

 

A FAMILY IS NEVER PERFECT - BUT IS GOD'S PERFECT GIFT TO US

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Just got back from my early morning walk. Actually, it's already 8morning now and I consider that quite late for a morning walk. The Philippine sun is already out from behind the mountains of Antipolo which does not entirely contribute to a comfortable cool walk around the village. Plus the fact that the village dogs are already out on the streets also getting their morning exercise.... vocals and paws. Maybe next time I will have Scruffy my pet dog along to ward off these pesky four-legged bullies. Now that seems to be a good idea!
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This weekend that passed was spent in the lovely home of my daughter and her husband. It was a pleasant stay made so by the couple ... the loves of my life. Another love (youngest daughter) was there with me and another love (oldest daughter) stayed home with the pets and a much deserved me time. That is smart. We all do need ‘me- time’. I do. Yes, four loves of my life. My family.
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Old folks say that you can’t choose your family. Some families tell of dysfunction within the home which cause so much pain and heartache to its members. Others add to say that you only get the family you deserve. That could perhaps also be true. Everybody is a story and has a story for us to listen to – tales of happiness and woe. And, life being what it is, shall continue to send us lessons for our learning. Much of these lessons are learned in the home with family.
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Mother said these long ago….......... ‘A family is not perfect. It never is. Because each one (in it) is a different person... of different temperament... is shaped by its own acquired set of experiences- insights- perceptions… with his or her own good and bad… traveling his or her own road… and creating his or her own life story. In the natural nurturing order of things, they will expand or develop and in that process increase becoming finally their own person.... one day by Divine design.’
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Now we know why God created families. It is the perfect environment for growth and the only thing that can bring this about is … love.  Where else in this big wide world can this great love be found... but with and in the family.  It's the greatest love of all. Truly God's perfect gift.
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God bless all the families in the world!

 

 

 

GRATITUDE AND THANKFULNESS - THE GRACE OF SEEING GOD BEHIND EVERYTHING

 

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"We don't need more to be thankful for,

we just need to be more thankful."

Author Unknown 

Gratitude as defined is .....
the quality of being thankful;  readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Thankfulness is .....
warm friendly feelings of gratitude, appreciativeness, gratefulness, gratitude.
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As you can see, they are close cousins and run on the same engine of appreciation. I still recall what my mother pointed out to me some years ago when I was just a kid in pigtails with a glaring gap up my front teeth... she would say ----
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"Always be thankful, not only because you have to, but because you see beyond the gift --- to the true Giver of the gift."
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Thank you is not just a word nor a show of politeness and good manners. It is understanding and seeing far beyond the person standing before you doing the good you receive. Because in truth, he is simply the carrier, conduit, or channel of good and blessings and miracles which a Higher Presence wants to gift you with. Thank you is acknowledging the power of the Divine.
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And because we also know that the same Higher Being works in ways beyond our limited knowledge, so when things come to us wrapped in awe and magnificence way beyond our human understanding, these entirely and without a doubt point our eyes, minds, and hearts back to Him. Gratitude is the grace of understanding His magnificent work in our ordinary tiny mundane lives.
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As mom would simply put it --- 'We are simply tools for good in God's loving hands.'
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On this note, I would like to thank you -- my blogspot family and community -- for being there and tirelessly appreciating what I do. I hope that you enjoy the writing as much as I do writing it.
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May God bless you and your family with everything good far more than your hearts can hold. In Christ I pray. 

TODAY IS EVERYTHING. LIVE IT WITH GRATITUDE.

Today is a new day .... literally a new day. Yesterday is gone ... no matter how much you may want it to stay because you had a great time with it ... it can't because it's time is done. Like everything else in life has its own appointed time and too has its beginning and its end.
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But admittedly we live our days like we own it and behave such that if it should end it will when we feel it should. So thus we continue to ... waste time instead of organizing it... waste resources instead of building upon it... waste opportunities instead of nurturing it... waste moments instead of making it count... all with and in gay abandon. Parang wala nang bukas. Que sera sera.. whatever will be, will be. Our wrong. Our bad.
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Maybe nice because, as many believe it, it can relieve us of a few if not all unnecessary and perceived stress and anxiety over the unknown future which we fear so much. Yet have you ever tried to think that those worries and anxieties of the past are no more in the present? Check it out; you'll find most of them gone. Though some of them may be valid when it comes to life's basic needs but the rest of it .... just plain worry and anxiety creating mountains out of mere mole hills.
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Life and time stops for no one. It moves on and along with or without you and me, like it or not. But it does leave the big choice to us whether we want to come along... or just stay where we are and as we are. A friend once said to me that it is something we have no control over. Agreed but only on things which require age or aging. But in the area of growth, development, progress, and maturity is a choice which we each have to make for ourselves alone. How often must we be told that?! Nobody can do it for us. Time won't do it for us either because it is not its business to make us grow inside out .. as we are expected to by a higher authority and divine design.
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So what's my point? What I'm trying to say is this.... hold on to your today with your best! Treasure it... savor it... relish it... love it... make it count... be grateful for it... fill it with worthy things... learn whatever there is to learn from it... create good memories... be the best person you can be TODAY...... for yourself and for others, too. We do not live solitary lives; we all stand connected in many ways, tangible or intangible.
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Allow me this quote from my favorite book (as you all may well already know -- 'Good Morning... God') ......................... "The heart of gratitude is one of My most priceless treasures. The heart of simple childlike thankfulness. How I respond to such a one. How I delight in doing all things well for that dear person. The one with the grateful heart!"
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Also .. Philippians 4:6 reminds us.............
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
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Unquote. 
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Today is a gift.... God's wonderful gift. Let's do with it what we usually do with something we love...... handle it with care!! Love it for it may never come again. Today is for today, not yesterday nor for tomorrow.
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God bless you and your dearest ones.

OF BLOGGING... STORIES.... AND STORYTELLERS

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There is a diversity of reasons why people do what they do. In every area of our lives -- the whatever-however-wherever it may be -- is what makes up your story. Every bit and piece in it is everything that tells the world who you are. Because everybody is a story.
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But -- that is just one part of the whole..... Completing that is the listener. One is nothing without the other. Somebody tells -- somebody listens. Somebody writes -- somebody reads.
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Try cruising down a blog site, stop awhile and visit a blog or blogs and you will know what I mean. You will begin to appreciate such display of diversity, of interests, and the wide range of expression in telling it. The thing to remember is that it's not just all about words or pictures but it's all about people and their stories. and how it's told.
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Some people, as I have heard them say, remark that it's a frivolous or flippant world and is such a waste of time. I will disagree to that. If some blogs do appear as such it does not necessarily reflect the site or the activity itself but rather it simply points you to the person writing it. The work is reflective of its creator.
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Each day adds another page to our life story. Make it count, make it matter. Learn whatever there is to learn every time the learning comes to your doorstep. Recognize and appreciate the carrier of the lesson -- acknowledge its presence... the person who is simply sharing his or her own story. As you have yours and share it too in your own special way in your own corner of the world and universe.
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Blessings to you and your dear ones. Great day ahead; enjoy! God bless you.

 #learning   #writing   #blogging   #storytellers   #blogworkshop 

 

The What:  Blissful Blogging Workshop

  

The Where:   Tweedle Book Cafe

 

The food --- but of course!

  

The organizers.. and speaker.

 

The storytellers.

 

 

 

New friends.. seatmates.. teammates.

  

#TheLearningJunkies