YOU ARE LIMITED BY HOW YOU SEE THE WORLD. SEEK TO GROW.

 

  (This is from the other blog but I'm bringing it here too to share with you.)

 .....

 

What's on my mind today. Well, I was sorting through my files awhile ago and saw this piece of paper with a quote on it ... halatang luma na ... written from so long ago it seems. It says and to quote ...
.
"Interestingly, koi, when put in a fish bowl, will only grow up to three inches. When this same fish is placed in a large tank, it will grow to about nine inches long. In a pond koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, koi can grow to three feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world." -- Vince Poscente
.
Imagine these.....................
in a fish bowl = will grow up to THREE inches;
in a large tank = will grow to about NINE inches long;
in a pond = can reach lengths of EIGHTEEN inches;
in a lake = can grow to THREE FEET long;
.
Now why did I have to repeat that? Simple. It's to stress a very important point ... (and it's also for my own understanding and learning. Some lessons are worth learning again and again.) ...... which Vince Poscente summed up very well ------ 'You are limited by how you see the world.'
.
He is right. If we content or restrict ourselves to just our neighborhoods, or to our towns, or to our cities, or to our tiny corners of life alone, or to the I - ME - MY - MINE of living .... that certainly gives us no room for growth. Our likes and dislikes, preferences, insights, perceptions, attitudes, habits, store of information and knowledge will be as it all were maybe ten or twenty years ago.
.
But life keeps moving on; the world keeps on turning; people develop and change; systems are discovered and rediscovered every time; the beating of the drums call for progress; even Mother Nature renews herself each season. The children of our times are a far cry from the children of our forefathers and so will the children of our children be different from their fathers in their own time.
.
So.... the choice is there for us to make:
.
Shall we step along with life's parade........ or remain where we are and have always been since god-knows-when.
.
Break down the old barriers and walls now; junk the negativity of some people (and our own negativity, too) ... and then create new bridges and new roads to an awesome life. Let us then see the world with fresh new eyes.... minds..... hearts and work towards our highest potential and become the persons God designed and meant us to be.
.
And the time to start it is now. There is no eternity waiting for us in this life; what we have is today. Begin today.
.
God go with you in your journey. As I pray too that He does in mine.

BRAVE IS WHAT HUMANS DO

 

  

------------------- .

Brave is what humans do. Brave for a diverse dozen or more reasons.... visible and invisible. The visible ones we can easily understand -- it's all around us.... broken relationships, single parents, widows, orphaned children, army wives with spouses away in battle on the other side of the globe, abandoned elderly, losing jobs, not making it on the list of graduates, a father holding on to two jobs to send his children to college, losing fortunes, illness, death, etc.
.
The invisible ones are just as many, perhaps even more. A choice many of us choose to hide from the world --- the burden or suffering of an illness, the quiet hurt or pain of betrayal, the hidden tears and grief over something lost, the deep fear or disappointment or frustration over things beyond control, the pain of a mother seeing her child's life go wrong, the heartache of a girl prevented from marrying the man she loves, desired answers to prayers taking too long in coming, and those other things we feel be kept away from prying eyes.
.
Oh both lists can be quite long. Where there are trials in a life, bravery can't be very far behind.
.
A friend once commented as she scrolled down her list of friends.... 'Buti pang mga ito ..Ganda ng mga ngiti noh? Mukhang walang mga problema.' ------ (Look at them smile.. like not a care in the world ever existed!)
.
I looked at the faces she was pointing at... I don't know them; oh maybe some will be my friends one day but I know those smiles. Smiles of people -- brave people -- living brave lives. How do I know that? Because everybody has a story... is a story... and where there is a story you'll find bravery in it. Brave is what humans do.
.
Blessings, everyone!! It's just there... open your eyes and hearts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015 - STRENGTH UNDEFEATABLE

--------------------------
To quote....
.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." ------ Helen Keller, Let Us Have Faith (1940)
.
Unquote.
.
It is that time of the year .. again .. when we reassess, reevaluate, review, or look back to the year that has passed. The highs and lows of it, its triumphs and failures, its joys and sadness, its successes and bloopers, its dare-do and dare-not, its friends and enemies, its good and its bad. Life!
.
There may be things in there which we would like to change ....and then again some which we may hang onto quite stubbornly, whether it be good or bad. And then again some who believe that life is just what it is, that it can't be changed.
.
Well, whatever your belief is.... life is what you make it, good or bad. Nobody can tell you what to do with it; nobody has the right to. You are your own author... you write your own story.
.
You can make it an adventure.... or an endless chain of excitement.... or an endless round of merriment.... or a pocketful of challenges.... or buckets-full of tears.... or a hopelessly boring one........ The choices are all up to you.
.
Savor the triumphs achieved but please don't try to heap blame on things, circumstances, and people when life suddenly turns sour. Because life is all about choices. Even in bad situations you still have a choice. Stand up to the choices you have made and make.
.
Life is what you make it.
.
Let's look forward to the best year 2015 can be for us all.

  HAPPY  NEW YEAR!!! 

 Be blessed. Stay blessed.

Love you all. 
 Thank you for being with me through all the writing.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

DESIGN YOUR OWN LIFE PLAN

This is a beautiful thought. I remember falling into this trap long ago. And what it says is true. The good that came out of that unfortunate episode of my life is that I have learned what it was that Someone above wanted me to learn.

Give it a good thought, folks!  Big thanks to Jim Rohn and to Sudhir Krishnan for sharing this precious piece of wisdom. 

Blessings to you all!

ONE WINDY MORNING

Outside my window I see a sunny windy day, blue skies and playful clouds. This got to my mind a phrase an old friend was fond of saying... 'go where the wind blows'.

So I looked out the window observing because I wanted more of this gorgeous wind (silly thought yeah). But nada... because it was blowing everywhere that there was no direction to it at all. Well, not today at least it seemed. Sometimes I would see it blow in one strong direction until another strong gust blows it into the opposite direction and then another stronger burst splits it in the middle! It simply blew... and blew... and blew... (kaya nga windy eh!) But it was pretty. You think that if I did figure out its direction that I would hie up to there for more of it, you think wrong because I would not! There's no guarantee what I'll find. Oh yes maybe more of this wind but which already is what I am getting right here where I stand-where I am.

'Go where the wind blows' ... I think means being quite flexible or adaptable to certain life situations which sometimes you perceive to be insurmountable. A temporary thing while you haven't a better solution in mind yet. My friend wisely or unwisely did that in most everything.

But my other friend would not. She would rather stop and think. 'I want to see it now for what it is and not just what it shows me on the surface.' (Wow, and lalim ah!) So she studies the situation or circumstance. Weighs her options. Images possibilities and potential. She does this while all around her people are scrambling in chaos, with undirected bursts of energy, and high emotions. Then... she finally makes her decision as those around her are now down to the ground with the wind beaten off their sails. With this kind of approach to problem solving she averages about 80% success while the remaining mostly delve on stuff beyond her control.

Nice huh? Sometimes it pays to be just cool and sane. The winds of life around us may blow crazy but it does not have to mean that we go crazy too.

It will help to remember too to ....... 'Be still and know that I am GOD.' - Psalm 46:10

Hope you're all having a great Monday to start the week with. Blessings to everyone! Now I'm going out to the patio and enjoy my windy day :-)

LIFE FOR WHICH YOU ARE THE EXPLANATION

"I say to my child, I will explain to you as much of life as I can, but you must remember that there is a part of life for which you are the explanation." -- Robert Brault ---

Beautiful and true. Parents after giving the child his or her best.. can only do so much. The rest is up to the child or soon enough the adult. If the child now adult misbehaves or messes up his own life, do not be quick to blame it all on his parents even if they indeed have played a vital role in his formation.

Because every person is equipped with a free will and the exercise of it is solely his own responsibility and accountability. He decides his own fate or destiny as a grown-up -- as an individual person. He writes his own life. He now makes his own choices and decisions, good or bad. At times shortsightedly and foolishly disregarding even a parent's plea or the gentle nudge from the Heavens above to get back on track again if he loses his way. How can we stop this kind of self-destruction? We can't. We simply sit back and watch and earnestly pray. But.. as parents we will always be there when he needs us. It's who and what we are to our children. And our children will be who and what they will be..... by choice.

CHOICES - MAKE IT GOOD

It's a sunny morning. I can choose to be irritated by it -- or go outside and enjoy the blessings of a lovely day. Anything and everything in life has choices attached to it. Choices. Therein lies the potential for both good and bad. My grandma would always say 'be careful what you pray for - it might come true'. In the same vein, I say now ---- 'be careful what you choose - the wrong one could make you lose your smile'. :-) Choices - make it good.

(Pictures here were taken by Amchit with her cellphone.)

It's DO or DO NOT

Have you been through this situation -- when you come up to something so hugely confusing and mind boggling that it leaves you stunned not knowing what to do. Then suddenly something kicks you from behind and makes you say ‘Okay I’m going to DO this. No wait, I should NOT do that!’ Well, I hope that you stood your ground whatever it was you chose. You can’t backtrack if you chose the wrong one. But then as the old folks would say -- ‘one step backward for two steps forward’ – have hope.

Anyway, let’s look at these things which I have had the wonderful privilege to, see, hear, or observe. It’s also about ‘doing’ and ‘not doing’ something.

- Do make up your bed before going down to breakfast. Do not expect your mother to pick up after you every time.

- Do put on your cheeriest smile before coming into the office. Do not bring your problems to the office or vice versa. Leave problems behind.

- Do give your seat to the elderly or the handicapped on the bus. Do not expect courtesy when you don’t know how to give one yourself. Remember that people around you mirror you, good or bad.

- Do stop awhile to smell the roses. Do not ignore Mother Nature’s display of awesome beauty meant for your pleasure and enjoyment.

- Do give your job the best you’ve got. Do not regard work as the only thing there is in life. You simply are half alive if you do.

- Do humbly think of yourself as God’s special creation. Do not regard yourself as so special that anything or nobody else matters. Not even God. Because people know that isn’t true.

- Do respect all people regardless. Do not believe that your color, education, riches, talents, culture, or religion is the best. It’s what you are and not what you have or born with that people acknowledge and respect and admire.

- Do be honest, truthful, and sincere in your dealings with everyone. Do not make the other person look bad or make him feel inadequate or lead him to hate himself. How would you feel if you were in his shoes?

- Do stick to your values. Do not follow the fad or trend just to be in with the popular crowd. It’s the good man who’ll be the last man standing when everyone else have fallen to the ground.

- Do live in the present. Do not heap on all your hopes and dreams in your tomorrows. You can also do them today.

There you go. There's more of course. Say maybe you can add up with some yourself. But I have to end up here for now because I see a lovely morning outside my window and I sure would love a piece of that sunshine and that gorgeous breeze. See yah! :-)