WHY DO YOU CARE?

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A friend in the blog told me something which made me think and think twice. ----- 'Why do you care?'

I replied ----- 'Why should I NOT care? Seriously, why NOT?'

This is not a life or world meant for solitary exclusion..... even if it looks that way as each goes his or her own business living it. We all stand connected, like it or not. If the people next door to you are wasteful or inconsiderate or mean or selfish, those actions or thoughts will create a ripple that will eventually touch your part of the human pond and even more creatures as the ripple travels down and on.

If it were good ripples, then you are so blessed by it. Otherwise, your life in the pond will be as miserable as that who has caused the bad ripples in it. You cannot escape it because you live in the same pond.

So I care what happens on my street - in my neighborhood - in my community - in my city - in my country - in my world! My ancient achy legs may not take me there to where the action is but I can write about it. If the writing makes at least one person think or be nudged into awareness ----- then the writing has served its purpose. The ripple of good shall move along as it will by its very nature of movement.

C-A-R-E. Care for millions of children hungry in Africa or the girls taken away from their families and homes. Care for the poor in our own slum areas. Care if justice is slow, unfair, or denied. Care if you see your government officials enriching themselves with our tax money. Care if you feel that our streets are no longer safe from bad people and even bad cops. Care if prices are rising unreasonably high and higher. Care if you hear of mismanagement issues of Yolanda donations. Care if media is feeding our children with crappy news. Care if things go wrong because of somebody's neglect, or some organization, or some official, or even of your president.

Care because that is what we are here for.... to care for one another. Use your God-given talent to show or promote peace - awareness - hope - faith - love - and care in whatever way your talent leads you. Use your talent to care. Our God-given job is to build up and not tear down nor destroy --- to care and not ignore.

Incidentally, the message in yesterday's homily (St. Therese of the Child Jesus Shrine and Parish): Two things: Love God with all of your heart... and .... love one another. ----------- Love and care come in together side by side. Doesn't that look like the blueprint of our earthly lives?

So to you my friend in the blog, try caring and see how much life can be beautiful or made beautiful with it.

Have a pleasant and blessed Monday, friends.

A BETTER VERSION TODAY THAN YESTERDAY

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How I wish that every insecure unsure child or adult could read this.........

".....When you measure your growth, make sure to only measure your today self by your past self. If you compare your relationships, your success, or your anything against anyone else, you are not being fair to you. Everyone has a different path, a different pace, and different challenges to face along the way."   --- Doe Zantamata

Here's a little story, it's about a friend. We were buddies at work. She was pretty, bright, friendly and yet when conversation came down to achievement and dreams I would see some sadness in her eyes. She would evade the subject. It seemed that there was this room where a door stood shut with a sign which said --  'do not enter'.

One day I could not stand seeing her sadness one more time and so point-blankly asked her 'what's wrong?' I guess the key to that forbidden door was simply to ask the question.

Long story short, she never felt that she would be anything or anyone in her life. She tried and failed and this was taken up against her by her father who  would say .....'wala kang kwenta! (you're no good) every time she failed. "Mabuti pa si____ sa'yo ... malayo na ang narating." ( ____ has done better than you; she's gone far).  So finally, at long last, I understood her sadness. 

This is as much as I can tell about her story. Oh she's fine now; she's learning though learning can be slow at times. But she'll get there one day soon and be the better version of who she was yesterday.

'Wala kang kwenta' 'You're no good'  ----- Never say that to anyone, especially to your family. And when somebody says that to you, be they family, friend or foe ----  Don't listen! 

You are who you are and have become what you planned for by your own effort and dreams. You are a different person today positively from your old self of yesterday. That is success! Although some struggles may still be there and the journey sometimes slow but the magnificent work is continuing. Somebody up there isn't sleeping. Remember that you are a work in progress...  and that is good! And one day  ---- you will hold the stars.. your dreams.. in your hands. By God's design.

ESSENCE IS WHERE YOU ARE AT NOW

This is a repost for a dear special friend who needs to hear this again.  Meet up for lunch again soon.
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This piece was written inspired by a conversation had with bosom buddies over lunch. My pretty friend, in-between bites of roasted chicken, bemoaned the thought (and fact) that she was turning 60 by the end of the month. Oh we comforted and consoled her as friends always do....... with more chicken and pasta and a scrumptious dessert to boot. It works all the time! Anyway, here's the piece.....

SO YOU'RE TURNING 60!

This is you...... "Here I am with lines creeping where I wouldn’t want them to (laugh lines is a nice way to call them), a spreading middle (girdle now being overtaxed and overstretched), silver streaks peeking out of once glorious dark tresses (her favorite beautician texted her one day.... 'ma'm, it's time to die' .... dye Yikes!).

I guess women who find they are blowing out 60 or more candles on their cake would consider those in serious retrospect. And looking at the youthful glowing skin, lithe figure, and silky black hair of gorgeous models on the cover of glossy woman magazines or ads serve only to feed that quiet unease.

But wait, consider this! See these women in your ordinary everyday neighborhood .......... the middle-aged woman selling fish and vegetables in the market; the government employee who sells beauty products on the side; the ordinary housewife who does her chores with clockwork precision each day tending to a rowdy brood of five while a husband is away in Saudi; the rural teachers who patiently trod to their classrooms on gravel roads rain or shine... just to name a few.

All these women are real ------- as real as ice cream cones and pizza pies. They may do a hundred turns before the mirror behind closed doors tremulously tracing age’s progress on their faces and skin, yet they don’t fuss and fret over beauty jars and trips to the gym, beauty clinic, salon or spa. Instead, they get busy as mothers, wives, grandmothers, nieces, aunts, office mate, friend and other more roles laid out before them each day.

Then a friend blurted out this question ............... What if those would be gone one day? (and we know it will) -- When age finally creeps in as bones and joints go stiff and ache --- plus other aches and pains that find you though you try not to be found; skin crinkle with defiant lines; eyes strain to read small print; sleep turn erratic; appetites change; visits to the doctor more frequent; and pills nestle permanently in one’s purse.... When loneliness glides into each day furthermore heightened with the children planning careers and lives away from home...... When all that’s left is an aching void within and without. What then is one supposed to do with all that?

Here's what is true....... Lessons learned from life ----- Life does not stand still for those who enter through this portal. But one does have to make a choice --- to move along in step with the changing times — or stay where you are by your lonesome miserable self.

Life is this........ Rising from the hurts, pains, bruises and bumps of a journey through life’s dusty and more often grueling path of challenges, one should be transformed into a better version of that person of yesteryears. Honed by past experiences and having learned them well, one should be better equipped to see life and the world anew with fresh new interest, appreciation, understanding, and wisdom. This new wisdom tells you that there can be no void where one does not allow it. And if you have paid good attention you will know that to move along is the better option.

Look back often to see what’s gone past or what’s left behind. The past, cruel in some and brilliant in another, have created your passions, desires, expectations putting it all together in one package that people see, interact with, and relate to each day. You were able to give back to life because life has filled you well. Your cup overflowed with a continuing play and exchange of receiving and giving. Times when you dished out master strokes and savored much deserved victories. Euphoria! Then again in another moment you would hit the gutter with sloppy aim and find yourself pulling at your hair in utter disbelief, disappointment, and exasperation. Defeat!

Success and failure, bitter and sweet, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, smart and stupid, joy and sadness, high and low, have and have-not --- you will often find yourself at one end or the other of that broad diverse spectrum. It is a rich life, definitely flawed and imperfect admittedly, .. but totally rich. Learn that what goes on inside a person lends to its richness.

Stay rooted to your history and yet open to the challenges of new things ---- new friendships.. new possibilities.. new awareness, new passions or creativity.. new dreams.. and perhaps a new set of clothes (there's no excuse to be frumpy).

Essence is where you are at in the now. And thank God for such a lovely gift.

Life still can be and is beautiful at or with 60 (or more) birthday candles notwithstanding! A happy birthday to friends celebrating their birthdays this month. Never mind the age.... it's just a number! Happy Birthday! And blessings a hundredfold!

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

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I wasn't meaning to write this morning;  I had a book to read. But a question popped up in my mind. A simple one and maybe some would think quite stupid. The question was this...........


"What are your thoughts?"

We hear that often, don't we? I do, more in times of argument or confusion or censure. But then if you think hard about that, it is a good question.

Why?

We in our day to day lives are more inclined to see things from our own standpoint or point of view. We come to judgement or conclusion filtered through our own benchmark of thoughts, insights, experience, preferences, or perceptions. We do that; I do that.

Consider this.

What if we knew a person's thoughts? By trying to ferret out what the other person's thoughts are about something..... the issue at hand, the thing facing him or when just being still ..... we could gather fresh new helpful insights. It could be something as confronting a huge drama in his life or it could be just a simple thing as tying his shoe ....  new interesting discoveries could unfold to us. It could perchance lead us to a better understanding of that person and his situation. It could tone down our judgement, bias, opinion, and our feeble attempts at writing his story ourselves. It could lead us to some new learning or adventure.

A bigger picture lies somewhere in there. He is writing his own story; living it. Or perhaps talking to his soul. We are but spectators. We need not participate in it .. unless we are destined to.

But we must at least try to understand his thoughts. Better understanding brings out better responses. We each may live separate lives but we all stand connected. His thoughts, right or wrong, can or may in some measure, impact our lives.. directly or indirectly. If something creates ripples in a huge pond, those ripples travel through the rest of the pond touching it in every which way whether the creatures living in their own side of that same pond like it or not. It's the same in the human world. Someone may make your day bad or good without even trying to. It just is. He is just is. Understand.

With better understanding we can make better responses. Better responses can thwart off whatever unnecessary stresses could threaten our own tiny space and too its peace though we stand connected to the even bigger tapestry of life.

Now off I go to my date with a book.
Have a great day....  live in the moment.
Blessings, everyone!

TURN ON THE LIGHT OF HAPPINESS

Today one tiny thought................

You want to be happy??

You need not seek far and wide. Look hard into your day. Sift through the huge pile of bits and odds. Junk the ego. Zero down and in on that one special thing which connects you to the Divine. The Divine within yourself..

Peace.

All happiness is peace within.

How do I know that? Simple -- Life has taught me well. But it doesn't have to mean that I'm never sad. It's just that I try not to stay that way too long.

Blessings, everyone. Be happy and stay happy.


And a wish for Mother's Day  ----- a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to -------  mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, single mothers, and to every woman regardless of race, color, or creed who with loving motherly care and attention watches over the little ones under her care....  may you all be blessed by our loving Blessed Mary, our Mother who continually intercedes for us to our Father in Heaven.  Bless you all!!

A DOGGED PURPOSEFUL PITCH

 

So what's a relationship?

Mr. Webster says  it's..... 'the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.'

Oh yes, we get that a lot in life. In fact, it rules our life from birth to the grave. It allows us opportunities to ....  laugh or cry, celebrate, dream, succeed or fail, create or build.

It can be your joy or your sorrow, your rainbow in the sky or the thorn in your side.

We can be in good relationships or in bad ones.

Some relationships make you feel chained down, or feel being trampled on, or is something akin to a huge obstinate wall which won't budge no matter how you try.  Don't lose yourself in it. Don't let something like a bad relationship take control of your life. There's no excuse not to even try. And if you fail once or twice, remember what your mother said .... 'if you don't succeed, try again'. Heard this before? --- Drops of water dripping down steadily-continuously-consistently-regularly upon a piece of solid rock will, in time, create a hole in it. Finally.

People are not like solid rocks; they are.......

soft (easy to mold, cut, compress, or fold; not hard or firm to the touch)

fluid (again Mr. Webster defines this as -- 'a substance, as a liquid or gas, that is capable of flowing and that changes its shape at a steady rate when acted upon by a force tending to change its shape'

pliable (easily influenced)

Although yes they can be quite stubborn but essentially, they change. Make them WANT to change.

Just as a salesman tries to win over a potential client, make your dogged (purposeful) pitch. You might succeed or you might lose. But whatever or however it comes out as a result of your effort, know in your heart that you tried! And that in my book or in anybody's book is a ..... thumbs up!

And that's a good one for a smile. Keep that smile on your face. A blessing rolls out for every smile you give or receive. Life is too short not to smile. Bless you!

DO WE BELONG HERE?

So what's on my mind today?
Just a question..........

Do we belong here where we are now at in life?

The eternal longings of the heart cannot be appeased.  Always it seeks a better place, person, circumstance, fortune, day.

The Divine tells you this is where you should be. He placed us here.

So then try to seek and find that understanding which might or could lead you to better appreciate your place in the Divine Scheme of things. Because definitely there is something bigger than us.

Until you find it, you will continue wishing you were elsewhere or wanting something else.  But when finally you find it, live-love-laugh-or cry within your divinely allotted space. I know because I do. Perhaps to the human mind it may not be the best place in the world. Yet it's for a reason.

And before you forget, you are a BLESSING - everybody is --by God's design.

IT'S YOUR RACE -- DO IT YOUR WAY

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The place overflowed with customers so I made to leave but Thor motioned for me to wait and pointed towards the corner table. The customer there was just leaving as she gathered up her books. As soon as she was out the door, Thor went to clean up and prepare the table for me. And before I could speak, Thor said

“A hot cup of cappuccino and a slice of apple pie, right?”

I grinned with amusement quite pleased that he hadn’t forgotten because I really hadn’t been here for some months. I then leaned back comfortably in my seat and while waiting for my famous duo I looked around to see if I might see a friend in the crowd. It’s not impossible to stumble among friends at the mall or coffee shop. -happened several times to me. A small group of corporate men in boring ties occupied a table to my right. Four young attractive ladies filled up the table to my left. And facing me were two men in tennis garb with their rackets lying on the floor under the table beside their Adidas sports bags. Without meaning to, I gathered snippets of conversation which trailed to my table and reached my innocent ears.

“He’s president of the company at 37! I’m going to rake in promotions and get there at 30, you’ll see. I’ll build my own connections now and fast to beat him at his game.”

“Oh but she’s smart, well-dressed, and sexy. Mark is going to fall for her, that’s for sure. But she’s going to be yesterday’s fashion when she sees me!”

Couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It’s all about this mad-mad race against someone or something. But noting down their serious faces and the resolute tone of their voices, they were undoubtedly serious.

But.....

Why must the lifestyle of a neighbor down the street be the gauge for one’s effort in his own? Can a person be truly happy with choices which only echo somebody else's?

It's possible that the persons referred to by the groups above may have deserved to be what they have become and what they have acquired. Perhaps they earned it by sheer hard work, brilliant planning, diligence, and self-improvement. On the other hand, it may also be that their good fortune were acquired in not so pleasant a manner. There's always a story somewhere there.

So what is this telling us? It’s simply this - do things your way. Never mind the guy next door (or in the next cubicle) who apparently is doing things his way too. He’s actually running his own race.

You are your own benchmark, standard, yardstick, motive, incentive, stimulus, purpose, point of reference, or whatever else it's called. Everything that you want to achieve or hope to become one day begins with you, continues with you, and finishes with you. It’s not some John Doe or Jane Doe who will provide these for you or decide the pace at which you should run the race. This is YOUR race, not theirs. YOU are in it, not them. And YOU are your own reason for running it. Work for a better you.

If you must compete -- compete with yourself! ..... And watch your dreams come true quicker. Good luck and blessings!

BE OF GOOD JOY

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It's a hot hot Saturday evening, but something's on my mind.

This.....  Be Of Good Joy.

'Be of good joy' --That must be hard to understand when your troubles are up to here. When anywhere you turn trouble just stares you in the face.  I'm not going to say ... ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’... but I said it anyway. Nope, we’re not going there this time.

Trouble as often we have been told is heaped on everybody's plate. None spared.. that's a fact. It comes in all kinds of shapes, sizes, persuasion, cause or reason, and at odd times when we need it the least. Its timing is always off.

So one unhappy friend once asked ... 'How in heaven's name can anyone take on a Pollyanna song when pricked from all sides by trouble's darts, pins, and needles?' And further added... 'You can sing your voice out with ... 'the sun will come out tomorrow.....' but that isn't going to make you feel any better.  Because you'd be down there groveling on the ground beating your brains out over your miserable lot which that sweet Pollyanna positivity can't even help.' 

He must have seen the movie too. Apparently the merits of that wonderful movie seem to have been lost on him.

I adored the movie. Children are wonderful... innocent, trusting, believing, positive, full of wonder and awe ... the world to them is simply one big playground. And if perchance they stumble and fall and scrape their elbow or knee, all they ever do is get up pronto, shake themselves, and get playing once again. Oh sometimes they would cry being hurt but it's just for awhile.Then you'll see them running about again with a huge smile and a happy glow on their ecstatic faces.

I have a question though ..... Is that so hard for (us) adults to do too? To stand up each time we fall? To rise with an even much bigger resolve to do better given a fresh new start? To choose to be happy? To focus on our blessings more? Because honestly, our blessings are far more than our troubles. The reasons are so many to be of good joy! Being alive is one reason..... with still so much more.

Childlike joy is but the precious confidence of knowing there is a blessing or good in the midst of trouble or strife. It's to have learned that life is a mix of both the good and the bad ... to understand that our response to one or the other will certainly define the life we live... to believe that Someone up there keeps watch over us.

So how about counting blessings instead of tears ...or fears. Be of good joy. 

 

May God bless you and your loved ones with everything good.