I HAVE LEARNED THAT.... Part 5

I have learned that the search for success or value are two different roads.

What is a person of success? Is he one with dozens of plaques of recognition lined up on his shelf, numerous titles to his name, a huge fortune in the bank, or a string of achievements making the headlines in the papers every month? Does he drive a Rolls Royce and own dozens more, has several homes in other countries, is surrounded by a bevy of beauties everywhere he goes, and a wife who heads every charitable institution in town decked out in her diamonds and haute couture clothes?

What is a person of value? This I know. He respects the individual and acknowledges the right of every living thing to co-exist, believes in the basic goodness of man regardless of how he may have made an asshole of himself, believes in hope – progress – change – honor - justice - faith - innate abilities and potential, pursues right, defends truth, wishes good for all people and the world and puts in his two-cents worth to make it happen, has the ability to see through deceit–pretense–sadness–fear–hopelessness–greed… and understands that everything has its reason for being but that we have a choice to seek out the good and reject anything that would and could work to harm it.

A tall order you say? --Maybe and because some say that it would run contrary to a man’s human nature of self-preservation and self-pampering. Yes it would, it will but I will stake my bottom dollar on this idea that value far outweighs success. Because I think success will and can’t always buy you value where it counts, but value can ultimately and definitely lead you to success --- the kind which truly matters in life!

"Try not to become a person of success, but rather to become a person of value." - Albert Einstein

I HAVE LEARNED THAT.... Part 4

I have learned that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

Okay so that person has hurt you or robbed you of what you think is rightfully yours. If I told you that that does not count, it does not count for a reason to strike back at the other person – that wanting to get even may hurt him yes and which will make you in turn very happy bout it too yes again. But truth of the matter is – you’re the one who’ll be hurting most by it. Why? --Because you are making yourself quite open or vulnerable for a counter-strike again and again. You are giving him permission to hurt you repeatedly because apparently he won’t just sit there taking your punches too but will punch you right back in – cause he is the type who would. And you know what, in always thinking about your rage it would only serve to enrage you some more. That’s even hurting you more than you ever know. Your own rage will destroy you. So you see the other guy is winning over you without even trying hard enough.

But think about this --- can he be so sure that what he has stolen from you is the thing for him that it would work well for him too? You see, wanting something just because it looks good on the other person does not guarantee that the same thing would look good or will work well for you too. Nope, that’s not how it works. One man’s medicine may be poison for another.

So what to do? Well, leave! Your leaving will douse cold water over his fiery temper and greed. How can he be continually angry too when there’s nobody around to be angry with or at? There’s nobody or nothing that would add coal to the fire in the furnace…his furnace.

And what have you lost? If you seriously think about it, not much really because you can always get it back into your life again just the way you are. That's how you have succeeded in the first place.

Now it can be told

http://xtineslife.blogs.friendster.com/lifes_lemonade/2008/02/we_will_miss_yo.html


I didn't want to have this in my blog because of the pain it caused. But I think it is time to face up to that pain again -- maybe this time it won't hurt so much anymore. So here is the story as told by my second daughter Christine in her Friendster blog. I couldn't have done it any better. Their father passed away last December 9, 2007 after a bout of severe complications caused by his diabetes. The picture above was him -- in his last visit to his parents grave last year in November. He was buried beside them, December 14 same year.


Many dreams have been dashed to the ground, many hopes disintegrated in the air ---- leaving behind an empty space.. a void.. which no one nor nothing can ever fill. If there is one thing which my family and I have learned --- it is this:

THAT GOD is truly a Magnificent God. When He says that I shall not leave you, you bet your bottom dollar that He won't. When He says that I will move mountains and seas for you, trust that He will. When He says that it will be according to your faith when you believe, He proves it true. When He says that 'I shall carry your burdens', He does!

So don't be too hard on yourself - don't make things so much harder for yourself than they truly are. Help - love - life - joy - provision - miracles .... are simply just a prayer away -- even a small whispered prayer. God is listening 24/7 -- no jammed lines, no messed up connections, no missed calls. No false hopes or promises either. He is trustworthy dependable and reliable.

Just believe.

STOP BEING A GLASS -- BE A LAKE

Yes, that’s us -- we are glasses indeed – of different shapes, sizes, thickness, and colors. Interesting in its diversity but a glass is small and can hold only little water. So are we. We have such very small opinion of ourselves seeing ourselves as insignificant people undeserving and unworthy of good things. We hold so little of life in our hands because we do not give ourselves the chance to hold more of what life can offer us. We buckle down with the slightest problem when we could rise above it and cut its power to defeat us. We hold only a trickle of blessings in our lives when we could have so much more. We cannot give to others much – how can we from such a meager supply? We do not believe in a big God because our small minds cannot. We do not get what we hope and pray for because our small faith cannot handle that either.

Be a glass no more.

Rather be a lake --- A vibrant bubbling lake within which all of life runs through. It never gets ruffled by both the big and minute life forces which heap on it all of its burdens of living and dying. It doesn’t mind the stones and pebbles thrown on it because it simply lets it sink down to the bottom lost and forgotten. It savors the raindrops falling or the sun’s rays beating down on its crystal clear fluid face. It reflects all of beauty around it --- receiving and giving back freely. It gives and gives never running out never tiring of giving because it holds even so much more. It delights in being big – wide – immense – large – open - vast. It is there to give life, to teach life, to share life -- there for all the seasons of life unchanging, happy in receiving blessings God pours upon it, and literally opens its heart to anyone who seeks its genuine treasures.

And so must we be --- a lake. Not a glass. Life has so much in store for us if only we believe. God is simply waiting to bless us if only we let Him.