PUSHING OUR CART THROUGH LIFE

You see that guy in the picture? A common figure in the tapestry of life... the bigger and smaller tapestry of our collective and separate lives. Aside from the apparent message it pushes out to our brains i.e. dignity of labor... it holds a far more stronger symbolism of ourselves.

That's us pushing our own cart and inside our cart is heaped a dozen or more of our hopes, ambitions, goals, aspirations, or dreams and the nitty gritty details of having them. We carry these with us in our cart pushing hard along the path of our journey. Pushing hard, harder, hardest.

You think that we'll make it?

Unlike the guy in the picture who won't think of losing any of the contents of his cart for some apparent reason I would presume, we can and must do better than that. Cause certainly that's a heavily laden cart we're pushing through life. And it's a long tough journey we're taking no doubt.

So then what's to do? The logical thing.... meaning relieve some of that burden or load.

You see, not all of that load is necessary. Some in there are just there for the ride and then some pretend to be important and again some are downright extra baggage. So you sort through it all and extricate those you don't need or which tend only to hinder your progress. Now this is the part when you have to think... and think hard. What you don't need is the wrong attitude... lack of discipline... hanging on to old comfort zones.... unwillingness to adapt.... fear of change.... weak faith... and other unessential stuff or undesirables you are better without. You know them all.

Because unless you lighten your load it's going to be a huge struggle pushing a gigantic cart with only your mere puny strength.

And when you have done all that and still the pushing is hard. Well, there's nothing like having a good strong friend to help you push. And that's what God is there for. Bring Him along; you won't regret it.

Note: Picture is courtesy of a friend. Thanks, Perry.

PATIENCE IS WHAT YOU DO TO YOURSELF.... WHEN LIFE BECOMES DIFFICULT

Nobody can give you patience. You give that to yourself. Nothing can make you patient. You train yourself to be one. Many things will go wrong in your day or your life. That's a fact. Nothing will and can assure you of a hundred percent outcome according to your expectations, requirement, or plan. Things can and will go wrong at some point or another, like it or not. That includes people. You can't heap on them your expectations, goals, or dreams and expect them to run it through with precision and exacting detail. Well, maybe in some but then that does not always happen; it won't happen. Always something somewhere would go crazy. Different folks; different strokes.

Life and people are both unpredictable and ever changing. If you tend to be steady, unbending, and resolute in your dealings with everything and anyone crossing your path, expect to be disappointed because your expectations will be dashed to the ground eventually. Not because they failed you but because you have failed yourself. Impatience rises from your utter frustration of not getting what you want or of seeing that you are losing your desired control of situations or people.

Because that's the way the cookie crumbles. Your cookie.

Unless you understand and learn that you need to develop patience. The kind that is nurtured by self and shaped by a broad understanding of how things work with life and living. The kind that allows you to think the matter through and not allow emotions to lead you. The kind that can afford to give generously to seeking the greater good thus making allowance for imperfections and human flaws. The kind that does not insist on self-satisfaction first and last. The kind that believes and trusts in the power of God to work things out for good.

Patience is what you do to yourself when things around you don't go the way you want it to. Patience is knowing in your heart that there is a bigger Power at work and this power makes things right for you and everyone.... sooner or later. Just believe.

God is very patient with us -- how can we be anything less than that??

SUNRISE - SUNSET

Every time I see a sunset or think of one, my soul soars high up in the clouds. Might even take me higher to heaven's gate. I can't imagine how something as magnificent as a sunrise or sunset could go past our senses or being. It's magical. But why must it be so fleeting? Would it not be wonderful that it stay and wrap its magical glow around our souls forever. I'd like to be in that moment for a lifetime. Wish!

Fleeting.... that's what it's saying. Like everything is fleeting. Life is fleeting.... the good, bad, sad, joy, grief, fear, worry... and everything else laid down on our plates. Everything that comes to us come for some reason but certainly and sadly not to stay. When these things of life - love - experiences have done its job it moves on to touch other lives too. But unfailingly leaves behind those precious memories which hold us close to life. Memories which hold a promise.... Like a sunset assures us of a new morn... a new day... a new life... a new you.

Cherish the sunrises and sunsets of your life.

Blessings to everyone.

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL A ROSE

A rose is such a beautiful flower that standing inside a flower shop amidst a myriad of roses makes my senses swim in sweet confusion and delight. Comes in different sizes, colors, varieties, and numbers. Yes numbers, take three red roses and it simply says 'I love you'.

Makes me think of friendship ..........

Good friends and friendships are there in times of joy and sorrow, success and failure, sickness and health, love and hate, wealth and scarcity, strength and weakness, smart and sometimes when you're just plain being silly or stupid.

A friend knows much about you and sometimes even more than you know yourself. Can read your mind and the secrets of your heart. Knows when to be silent or be such a nagging freak to you. Understands when others have ceased to be or don't care.

A friend stands by you when others choose to be somewhere else. It doesn't matter if you're walking on one leg or see with only one eye or have this uncanny knack for doing the wrong things 90% of the time. But of course to this, a friend would find the biggest hammer to bang your head with and knock you back to your senses. The rest would be up to you.

A friend, as that lovely old song goes, is often the wind beneath your wings.

Friends come in different sizes, color, creed, culture, education, breeding, orientation, and other things besides. But.....

a friend by any other name is still a friend. Just like a rose by any other name is still a rose.

Cherish your friend or friends -- those who truly matter in your life. They matter.

HAPPINESS AND CHANGE ARE CLOSE COUSINS

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The shortest distance to change is knowing that you are unhappy. You start from there. Then some action would come from that maybe not overnight but eventually. It could be anger, pity, frustration, depression, and others more that would make you even feeling worse. And worse it is but.....

as a good friend further added --- it makes you feel so bad, revolted, and darn fed up with it all that it pushes you to a firm resolve to have no more of it from now on! She should know... she went through that kind of hell.

What did she do next? Simple. She picked herself up, determinedly shook off the dust, shut rather slammed the door of her sad past.. locked it, threw away the key and never looked back since. And now she is one happy lady moving on with her life, having lots of good people around, happy with family, enjoying a good job, and thanking God for making her see that she was unhappy and was needing to change.

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? Admitting you're unhappy. But that's just half of the battle and solution. The other half is having the courage to change. But admitting that you are unhappy is the first step towards the change you want for yourself. Unless you see it for what it is instead of creating so many excuses to ignore it, you will never make that big start. Seeing things honestly and where you stand in it does set you down straight on that desired road without a moment's waste. Then you can get moving!

LIFE IS A JOURNEY OF FAITH

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This morning I got this nice email from a good friend. Let's leave the letter alone in respect to a wonderful person and friend.

But, let me tell you my story.....

I was in a similar situation in my life.. Doing something important and yet not what I really wanted. Yet keeping the hope alive that God would finally send me something right up my alley in passion and interest. My fond dreams materialized.

I was bored with that and although I gave it my best shot it wasn't really me. While in it something got me to thinking ... in retrospect. Maybe God wanted me to be simply there for the moment... maybe there was something God wanted me to acquire in skill or ability or spiritual attitude.... maybe there was special work God wanted me to do for Him right there with who I am, with what I have, and with whose company I was.

So to make a long story short, I refocused and realigned my sight to the realities of the moment. Knocked my head to tow the line and kicked my heart to stop it from wandering elsewhere. My prayers became different. --- I simply posed one question to myself: What is it going to be, faith or no faith?? I made the decision of faith... apparently a not so easy decision or choice. But I did what I thought God wanted me to do --- DECIDE to have faith... and like He said even the size of a mustard seed. And the rest is up to Him.

Did my life improve? Far beyond my expectations. Nope, I'm not rich yet......... hahahah. But in matters most essential to life, heart, and living, I think God is so generous in His blessings. Transformation wasn't done overnight.. took some years.. and struggles or battles of faith. A roller coaster ride, so to speak. One thing I learned from those struggles... when one decides to have faith -- God will make sure that you will keep it. One other thing I learned -- faith is a journey.. small ones, big ones, one or two or several.. which we take day by day, every minute, every hour. A life of faith is what God requires from His children. There is no other option.

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May your own journey of faith be a blessed one. Keep the faith. Trust HIM.

GOOD BATTLES ARE FOUGHT BY GOOD MEN

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This quote caught my attention today.....

"A lot of life is dealing with your curse, dealing with the cards you were given that aren't so nice. Does it make you into a monster, or can you temper it in some way, or accept it and go in some other direction?" -- Wes Craven

Don't we sometimes find ourselves in that same boat at one time or another in our lives? Not nice, aye?! But the wonder of it all is that we survive. We do our best with what's laid down on our plates, good or bad. No, not everybody is turned into a monster by it. Maybe a scanty few but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. We suffer yes ... does cause us a lot of pain. Ofttimes in the middle of the night we shed buckets of tears like an unstoppable stream. But when the morning comes we rise and wipe our eyes dry and bravely step out the door to face our challenges anew. That's how tough we are.

There are many ways to fight our battles and we sift through those and find something that will work for us. Although there's no guarantee that the choices we make would be the right ones... no guarantee that we wouldn't fall not just once but again and again... still we hang in there fiercely and believing that one day everything will work out just fine.

Because they will... maybe not today but eventually they will.

Good battles are fought by good men; nobody can put a good man down easily. He always wins... sooner or later... but he wins!

BUILD WALLS OR BRIDGES?

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Just finished with breakfast on this gray rainy morning when I thought that I should be checking my inbox for mails. And clear it of junk too which I do on a regular basis. Well, I got this lovely forward email from a good friend which contained a list of quotes. All good, some I've seen before, and a few I've used in my writing. But I was drawn to this particular quote which struck me as inspiring. Here's how it goes.....

"SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS THROW STONES IN YOUR PATH. IT DEPENDS ON YOU WHAT YOU MAKE WITH THEM..... WALL OR BRIDGE?? REMEMBER YOU ARE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR LIFE." -- Anon.

Criticism ... nobody wants that word, it sounds so negative. It's unwelcome. Most would, on receiving criticism, take it as an affront offense or hurt. Well, that depends on intent. But we can separate good criticism and bad criticism easily by this simple measure: bad criticism destroys ... good criticism builds. While bad criticism blocks creativity, good criticism inspires it.

Life though is never without one or the other. In fact both are laid down on our plates just like Yin and Yang.

So then what to do with that will depend on how we understand things. Knowing ourselves well gives us an edge simply because we know both our strengths and weaknesses. Faced with what is true in both aspects we tend to respond easily with grace and open-mindedness. What should come after mistakes and being criticized for it is -- growth and wisdom.

And when people throw 'stones' at you, understand that it is not because they are more knowledgeable than you are or smarter or educated.... but rather because they have understood so little of what's happening to you or something. They didn't bother to know at all. And that already is a huge stone hurled back to their faces without you helping it along.

In fact you should be thanking them --- those who throw these stones at you. Why? Because they have, without aiming to, given you all the tools you may need for building or creating better things with it. Foremostly, they empowered you to be your better self.

As it's been said ....... It all depends on what you make with them; you are the architect of your life.