ORDINARY IS SPECIAL IF PASSED THROUGH THE HEART

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I don’t quite remember who said this…. “Ordinary is special if passed through the heart.” Or maybe I simply forgot to write down the name. I found this quote on a small slip of paper as I sorted through old files intending to remove stuff which no longer serve its purpose. It’s regularly done to keep files down to the minimum because I don’t have much space to hold things and stuff in the house. Having the penchant for taking down notes or anything worthy for the writing (done 24/7 anytime-anywhere-anyplace), I would say to you yeah indeed ‘have gathered so much to fill up several plastic bins which have made our limited store room space its permanent home. So before the room explodes to the rafters like a paper bomb, I might as well make serious effort to trim it down to manageable levels. Thus the frequent sorting.

Now back to the quote…..

It made me think…..

Firstly, several things are rendered or labelled ‘special’. Those could be experiences, moments, things, possessions, places, and people. Maybe a particular song which brings back lovely memories every time it’s played on the radio. Or maybe there’s a particular brand of car which you hold dear to your heart because it was your first car bought with your own pay check. Or you consider this particular person a very special friend because he or she has stood by your side through thick and thin through the years. Or you simply can’t make yourself discard this sweater which apparently has seen better times because you wore it on your first date. 

But have you thought about this, it’s not really the thing per se which makes it special. Although some things are regarded special by some people for its artsy design, high monetary value, or being itself exotic and rare. 

A song is just one of many thousands composed... a car one of several brands on the market… a friend one of dozens in a select group you’ve bonded with… and the sweater one of three items you wear to fight off the cold on occasions. Just the ordinary usual familiar everyday things in our life journey. Which usually are commonly ignored or taken for granted. They're just there.
Until…..
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..These things pass through our hearts ...touching it ---creating experiences, milestones, moments, memories. We are made happy or sad by it. But each time we would respond to it too…with our hearts.
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That, in any language, makes it special. Very special.
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Have a lovely weekend, friends. God bless you. I SEE you. YOU are special.

DIVERSITY IS ON THE BLUEPRINT OF GOD’S CREATION -- That's You and Me and the rest of mankind

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A good friend of many years was ranting on the phone apparently pissed off by another friend’s behavior. She sounded hurt and angry. But to know what to say to her I had to get to the bottom of it first, I had to ask why. Well, if she called me then she would be willing to tell that much, right? And so I asked.

The gist of the problem was that the other friend didn’t respond positively to my friend’s dilemma as the latter expected her to. To cut a long story short, the matter wasn’t thoroughly resolved as I had found out later as emotions were still running high on the emotional chart but at least she left our chat with a few things which perhaps and I hope would help shed some enlightenment or learning.

That can be quite a problem to many of us. We each deal with the world and with life through our own eyes, understanding, and perception. We heap on a lot of expectations on a lot of things. That’s the human way as we’re often told. We see the world and people as we are and not through somebody else’s eyes. Now that means there are millions of --'as we are'-- out there colliding in this same world we all share. But diversity in our world is an interesting and wonderful thing as it lends color to our existence. Imagine without it how boring life can be.

Yet that can also create a problem or two when it runs against individuals who are typically diverse in character and personality, when they unexpectedly find themselves in an unpleasant situation one day. Like my friend had just experienced.

All around us every day we see a continuing exchange or interplay of everything that is human interaction.. such as diverse situations, personalities, experiences, events, dealings, connections, relations, associations and even so much more. We get so involved in it. It can be quite overwhelming sometimes and can drain the senses down to low... very low. Thus our coping engine will and would sputter or gasp or maybe even breakdown. But as human flaw would dictate it we would lash out in the only way we know how...through our emotions. I know because I do. And experience tells us that in most cases it’s an easy formula to fail.

And so I have learned that life is not always about me. Nope, it’s not about you either. It’s about us... trying to live this life in the best way we can, individually and collectively, by truly learning to understand each other....you have your own mind, beliefs, preferences, and conditioning as I have mine, too. All is valid. Embrace differences as we embrace likeness. Peace in the midst of such diversity can be beautiful, too. That's worth trying for, don't you think so too?

Diversity... One of God’s special talents. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Here's something I saw online..... to quote (no author mentioned)
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"If you feel hurt, angry or upset at the actions of others, realize that every individual is acting according to his own mind, with its prejudices, beliefs and conditioning. Each person would have acted that way even if it were someone else instead of you. Thus, do not take their actions personally."

Unquote.
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Have a pleasant and blessed weekend, everyone. God bless you all.

STANDING IN AWE OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING IN IT

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Back at my laptop again after an early morning's walk.😍
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This morning's walk took about 30 minutes around the village up and down the mountain.... seeing green trees swaying to a mild refreshing breeze .... hearing the chorus of chirping birds, roosters crowing, and dogs barking their morning greetings.... and walking the streets that has seen its good days and bad (so much like life aye?). Of course couldn't ignore the flowers blooming their brightest from several gardens in the neighborhood. Each looking like new everytime I pass through the place. Amazing! Everything under a huge canopy of spotless blue skies. The bluest of blue -- it never fails to take my breath away.
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And ... rounding the bend I come across my good neighbor who lives about three houses away from my house. Probably in his eighties and a really kind friendly person. We chatted though but briefly as I had to take my leave to finish my walk while he was already at the tail-end of his.
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It is in moments like this that you stand in awe of the total tapestry of life. The birth of new plants and buds .. and the decay and withering away in its own allotted time. Everything is and has its own place and time. Same way in the world of humans.
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Everything in its whole and in its every nitty-bitty detail points to a magnificent Creator. One who is aware of our comings and goings. One who is constantly there for us. Who continually loves us, sinner or saint, unconditionally.
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Yup, and that includes the gorgeous smile of AJ as  he saw me coming in through the front door.😍
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Have a great and blessed day, friends. Pay kindness forward. The world needs plenty of that. God bless you.

BACK IN THE WRITING GROOVE AGAIN

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Sometimes writing becomes a struggle between ‘will I’ or ‘will I not’. Yet it really doesn't take much (as anybody would know that) if a bit of passion goes along with the writing. It comes easy when you love what you’re doing. As in other things whether that be cooking, singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, traveling, reading, teaching, painting, and many more. Not even a hundred horses or a thousand can take you away from that, right?

Yet sometimes too I can think of three good reasons NOT to write….

Top on that list ----- the absence of an idea for writing or in more romantic terms – an inspiration. Some call that the writer’s block. There may be dozens of ideas churning inside my head but nothing seems to stay still long enough to make some sense of it. That’s why inspiration does play a great role (to my mind at least) because it is able to sort out things and knit them together to form a better-understood-whole.

Secondly ----- the excruciatingly hot weather makes it impossible to sit on the chair longer than I can say the word ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’. And I don't even know if I spelled that correctly. My butt’s on fire more often than I want it.

Thirdly ----- there’s something I’d like to do too. Have you an old pair of jeans lying somewhere inside your closet? I do. So why not sew a bag out of an old pair of denim pants. Yup an idea that caught my mind when one day I saw that I had about 3 or 4 worn out denims lying inside the closet for ages now. Since ‘tote bags’ is another passion, I decided to put the denims to better use and at the same time find out if Mom's creative sewing talents rubbed off on me. Been toiling at it on certain days... the measuring, cutting, and the final sewing – by hand and not with a sewing machine. I have a portable sewing machine here but I prefer not to work it. You see, I'm bad with machines although I have managed to drive a car before. I hope that counts. Well, the bag is now ready with only the zipper and the handle to attach. Now I'm figuring out how to do the zipper because it looks like a tricky thing to do on a bag. Or maybe use Velcro instead of a zipper...... hmmmmm... (Took the photos below of the finished items for you, ladies, to see that you can do it too.) 😃

But there's a fourth one ----- Oh well, it's got something to do with great movies and TV shows – if there's a good one in town my family and I go see it. Too on television there's The Voice, CSI, NCIS, The Good Doctor, Hawaii 5O, MacGyver, CNN Philippines (and our local news too), Discovery channel, How'd They Do That, Amazing Race, Ellen DeGeneres .. And all those other interesting stuff like reruns of great movies (old and new) which gets your eyes glued to the box. And along with that perhaps a nice cup of coffee, or maybe iced tea, then again a lemonade, or some ice cream and chocolate cake while sitting on a nice comfy couch.... and too have your family around you.

And a fifth one ----- read a book! Oh never mind if it’s an old one, if it’s good I will take it down from my tiny library and read it again. And again if need be. There’s The Purpose Driven Life, 1000 Stories, Tuesdays with Morris, Dare To Fail, Laugh Again, All I Really Need To Know I learned In Kindergarten, Jacob the Baker, The Alchemist, The Aladdin Factor, Traveling Light, and other books too that didn't make the best seller list but are just as engaging to read.

 

So maybe what I'm trying to say is there's life outside the writing and blogging. And truthfully, I'm saying that I'm having the best of both worlds. The writing gives me so much pleasure indulging in such a rewarding activity with the added bonus of wonderful friendships found in that journey. It’s a good life and creates my greatest of blessings. Huge thanks to the Big Guy upstairs.

I guess it would be alright to say that with this post I'm back into the writing groove again after a brief hiatus. Love to be here with you again, lovely people. Sending you big hugs and generous blessings from the heart of God. ❤️🌹