LESSONS FROM LIFE

LESSONS FROM LIFE 

I am not what I used to be -- my old self which worried at every nitty-gritty detail of a mess-up, mine or somebody's else's. I don't fret if the house is a mess, at least not anymore. But cleaning up goes on normally as it should. I save not for a special occasion because I've learned that everyday is a special occasion. So then I would buy ice cream, cakes, pretty clothes, shoes, bags and use them for no special reason. It doesn't have to be my birthday to look pretty or be happy. 

Flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, or differences displayed by other people now amuse me rather than annoy because I have understood that we are all different and that being so does not make one person better or less than the other. It just makes us different. People's foibles are now better understood and forgiven, including mine. I draw close to people I like.. and if I don't like someone I simply stay away and forget that person. No point in having someone like that stick around to ruin my parade. I try not to go crazy when plans bomb out or when appointments are missed. Because if and when they do, certainly it must be for some reason. Eventually something much better takes its place. It always does. Better to see it with a positive eye, otherwise it's bound to cause more stress in trying to figure out what happened.

I believe in miracles and blessings which certainly come plenty if one takes pains to find out or see it. I indeed seek for blessings because my mom said I should. You see mom would always tell me that .. "there is always one when you come looking for it... and sometimes even when you aren't looking." -- Blessings though don't always come wrapped in gorgeous ribbons or other fancy trimmings or make a huge dramatic entrance into your life. Nope. Sometimes it's just there beside you or within you making you feel... peace calm serene joy hope strength courage inspiration faith... Something you thought you'd never experience as the rest of your world comes tumbling down or has already.

I am happy where happiness finds me.... and if sorrow should come I'd probably cry too. Oh yes, probably hurt and ache, grieve, be miserable... but I know better now that these things are fleeting and would easily pass just like all of life. Besides things which I have no control over are no longer mine to worry about. Troubles are plenty it's true; nobody's spared of it, but we can choose how to face them. Thus if solutions seem nil, then I leave them at the foot of the Cross for God to handle. He's better at it, you know. So much better. 

Much learned at 75..... with still more learning up ahead.  And know too that sometimes in life you'll get to learn..relearn..unlearn...until wisdom finally gets you. Also...mistakes are okay, they're there for a reason -- as tools for learning. 

I owe much to the big guy upstairs.⛪ Thank you, Dad!!!

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----- YET YOU'RE NOT DONE GROWING

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There's an advantage in having or rather living close to the street. In fact, my patio is just about a few feet away from the road. That's how the residences are constructed in my subdivision area. Not complaining because it works to my advantage as it provides me with a vast source or inspiration for the writing. People, particularly, with their human quirks and uniqueness, make for a rich deep well of interesting thoughts, ideas, observations, and learning.

So one day while watering my thirsty plants on the patio two middle-aged ladies sauntered down my side of the street engaged in earnest chatter. In their unhurried pace easily I could hear snippets of their conversation trailing down to my ears. Also because Pinoys have this not-always-pleasing-sometimes-irritating habit of talking in very loud voices I wasn't missing anything at all.

Lady 1: ..Uyy alam mo bang si Selya ay kumuha ng cooking lessons? Ayun, twice a week ata ang class niya. Komyut pa siya puntang Makati para lang diyan. ----- (Hey did you know that Selya's taking up cooking lessons? Commutes to Makati for her classes twice a week.)

Lady 2: Ano ba! Pinag-aaralan pa ba yang pagluluto?! Aba eh sarap na nga yang puchero niya eh. Walang tatalo din sa kanyang lech flan. ----- (What for?!.. she needn't take cooking lessons! Her puchero's superb and her leche flan's unbeatable.)

Lady 1: 'Sabi niya marami pa daw siyang dapat matutunan sa pagluluto. May balak yatang magtayo ng carinderia. Tapos restaurant din balang araw. ----- (She said that there's so much yet to learn. Plans to put up a carinderia and perhaps a restaurant one day.) - A carinderia is a small local eatery in the neighborhood selling and serving food.

Lady 2: Ay ewan, aksaya lang yan ng pera at panahon! Yang si Selya oo, di na makuntento. Tsaka, tanda na niya para mag-aral pa noh! ----- (Gosh, that's simply a waste of money and time! That Selya has never learned to be content. Besides she's too old for that.)
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And the rest of the conversation trailed away as they walked farther and farther from my house.

That got me thinking.................

Tell me, is it really a waste of time to seek further growth.. improvement.. development.. more education?   Should one be content with what he has achieved this far?    Does learning have to stop at some point in our lives?   Cannot one build new goals, ambition, or dreams?   Or perhaps pursue old ones that yet haven't found its day?   Does age have to stop you from learning?

Well, while going through my old files I found this one (though how I wished that I knew who wrote it) and probably is the answer to those questions.........

"NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU ARE -----
YET YOU'RE NOT DONE GROWING." 

Have a great Sunday, friends. Don't let anyone stop you from reaching for the stars. God bless you.

(Big thanks to the internet for these wonderful images.)

STRESS CAN BE A NUDGE TO GROW

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This Tuesday morning is quite different from other days only because this time two carpenters are working on the rain gutter (alulod) on the roof. So that means a lot of hammering is being done up there and this in turn affects the residents of this household. That is even saying it in milder terms. Because as far as I am concerned I would gladly fly up to Jupiter for the duration of this alulod project. But since I can't.... I decided to cruise down the blog world in a leisurely manner to amuse myself with the writings of fellow bloggers while hoping to myself that time would whiz by as a rocket does!
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Anyway.....
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Glad that I did because I stumbled on these two lovely lines which I would like to share with you.
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"STRESS IS YOUR CHANCE TO SOAR"
--- JasonTourville, Building Champions 4 Life
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"TIMES OF STRESS ARE SIGNALS FOR GROWTH"
--- Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, on JasonTourville's blog
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Have you ever considered stress in that manner?
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When I was younger I had buckets-full of stress (oh not that I don't have any right now but somehow I've learned some lessons) ... So then stress was there even for the slightest reason as not finding a cab under a heavy downpour just when something important was waiting for me. Then followed the stresses of wifehood... motherhood... parenthood... and of course adulthood. They come one after the other, sometimes all together. No place is sacred because it happens in the home, at work, or even in church when unruly kids scream their hearts out in play all throughout the mass, at the mall, in a party, in a meeting, shopping for the right birthday gift, applying for a job, or with carpenters' non-stop hammering on the roof!
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On looking back I now realize that each time I made to address the problem some new or additional skill or ability surfaced which helped me deal with the issue at hand. Or better yet it pushed me to learn new skills or abilities to deal with the issue and in turn resulted in diminishing or eliminating the stress. New skills or new abilities always lead to growth, right? So it also follows that with the solution of a problem comes the feeling of exhilaration -- you feel like soaring up in the air with happiness! I was growing..... I was soaring.... I was happy.
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So I guess that's what stress does to us --- it gives us the DESIRED OR NECESSARY PUSH to try --- to do things better or best..... to respond to it in a smarter way..... to develop..... to improve..... to progress..... to adjust..... to learn..... to think better..... to mature..... to grow. PLAIN SIGNALS TO GROW!
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Amazing, isn't it!?!

LIFE IS BUCKETS FULL OF TURBULENCE - BUT ONLY BECAUSE WE NEED TO GROW

"The heart has its reasons and they aren't debate topics." 

 --- Robert Brault (American writer)

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When I saw this in my email this morning from Mr. Quote Man, but of course, immediately it resonated inside the walls of my brain and my heart. How many times in the past have I done this or that and to which I was pressed for an explanation or was imposed on with an argument. Words which didn't have to be there in the first place, if only they thought more on that my life was running its own course and story and that it really didn't have to be theirs, too. The heart more often than not moves in the direction of least resistance. I myself am not one for debates on any subject or for any reason.
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Life, as I now know it to be, is buckets full of turbulence or commonly called conflict, confusion. But we are asked to grow in its midst, like it or not. Yet we cannot if people around us stand as obstacles or hindrances by imposing or poking their own life stories upon us. Life is so designed by a bigger Authority above to be a perfect fit for every person who walk it...... male and female, black and white, rich and poor, young and old, and whatever your race and religion.
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We each have our own tailor-made set of experiences... successes... failures... dead-ends... mistakes... challenges... and the peeling off of layers in our core and character which do not belong there if we are meant to grow. And grow is the big thing on the agenda of life.
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We are continually asked or made to grow in the little and big things in life. The reason why stacks of problems are sent our way. Sometimes we understand it and sometimes we don't but the command still remains...... grow!
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Then the big questions come out to the fore..... What is it that we need to do to improve the self?... Why are we asked to change?... Where should we start?... When shall we begin?... Who can best help shed light to the path we need to be on?... How will we work things out to achieve the goal?...
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And this is how we begin to write our life story.
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May God bless you and your family. Stay rooted in your dreams.
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(Thank you, Mr. Quote Man, for the lovely quote.)

ACTUALLY WE KNOW VERY LITTLE

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Browsing through an old book found in one of the file boxes under my bed,  allow me this tiny bit of wisdom which grabbed my attention on this fine although still hot morning..... to quote
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"Que Sais-je?"  ("What do I know?")  was the motto of Michel de Montaigne, the sixteenth-century French essayist whose amiable good sense still endears him to many readers today.   His question was intended to remind him that knowledge was there to be tested and tried.  But it was also a reminder that he, an educated and quite wealthy man, well-read and with his own library of books,  actually knew very little.  ----- Lifted from the book Pearls Of Wisdom by David Ross
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Unquote.
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This made me think............
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'Actually knew very little.' -- No matter the great knowledge or wisdom each of us may have gathered for himself through the years, the truth is there is still little we know.  No man can hold all the information or knowledge or wisdom in and of the world all by his lonesome self.  It would take a person a million lifetimes to acquire every information about life, people, the world, mother nature, the animal kingdom, inventions and technologies, the universe, and etc.  But we all do have our individual store of those although minute in measure and size.  Furthermore, easily observed is that one person may know something the other does not, and in turn this other person knows something nobody else does.  No one person's monopoly of knowledge there as you may have noticed.
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So a little bit of knowledge can be ineffective... dangerous... superficial... and cannot or shouldn't be passed around as sufficient.  As such it will be a terribly  lame excuse for engaging in a blown-up ego or pride which would mean nothing to those who know.  Yet sometimes we see many or few strutting around the universe with their heads bobbing as big as their mouths....  they who my mother would call  'Mr/Ms Know-It-All'  with much amusement.  And yet they need to be understood just the same.
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A dear friend has this special way of dealing with that with one question:  "Really!? Tell me more......"  without batting an eyelash.  Almost always this makes that person stop dead in his or her tracks because he or she cannot tell  'more'.  Like a bank ATM messaging you with  'Insufficient funds'....  this one fails with  'Insufficient knowledge'.
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We are here to learn.  But when at some point you would think to stop awhile to evaluate your progress,   you will see how very little you have in your store and how so much more there is yet to gather, gain, and learn.  On the other hand when you have so much in your store,  keep your feet solidly anchored on the ground.  True humility gives you more mileage in wisdom and admiration  from all points of view ...without the floss and frills which come with pretense.
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The whole point of the story is DON'T STOP LEARNING. Just learn all that you can with who you are and with your God-given talents. With what wisdom you may have gained through it all, consider it your treasure but... not solely for keeping. It should be used as tools to grow yourself with and too to help others grow in their own journey.  Better yet use it to better our world......  or if this is too big for our small resources,  aim to help improve at least one life.  Let it be said that one life was made better by having met you.  Let's try to be what this beautiful quote says about ....   being the 'rainbow in somebody's cloud'.
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Blessings, everyone! God bless you.

EVERYTHING YOU GO THROUGH, GROWS YOU

 

 

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A friend asked me this question.............. 'What do you do when bad happens to you?' .I looked at her and said.. 'You've been hurt bad?' .. 'Hey, I'm doing the asking here.' she retorted in jest.
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As every person is a story you can be very sure that hurt and pain along with other things complete a person's personal history. Each bit did its part to shape the person for better or for worse and this definitely will impact people who come close to the territory or happen to be near it or get drawn to it by some unexplained circumstance. People collide with one another by some mysterious force but its reason not fully or always understood. Not yet anyway. This human collision does get us bruised.. battered... shaken up... wounded and scarred. Unhappy memories are then created which sadly can still prick even long after the experience is gone. Some may say forgiven, but many more will say not forgotten.
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Bad can hurt. We all know it as it comes to us in many different forms, ways, means, intensity, appearances, reason or intent, sometimes unintended, sometimes disguised, but with the sole purpose of hurting us and turning our world upside down--- rewriting our story in its entirety or in part. It doesn't draw a pretty picture, particularly if you can see it in the heart --- torn, tattered, messed up, beaten, weary.
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It made me think ......
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Maybe there is no answer. Maybe one just lives through the experience..... try to respond to it in the best manner possible..... draw strength where strength can be found from within or from without..... become the change which is eventually going to happen anyway like it or not. But something within, something bigger than yourself, makes you want to try to transform this experience into a treasure - your treasure - that would matter for a very, very long time. For you... for your life... Because, truth is, you owe it to yourself to do just that.
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My friend threw me that question but I think she didn't expect an answer. The answer which, I believe, she wasn't seeking but one which she already knew ------ Bad has its way of making us grow.

LIFE IS STILL A GOOD MIX

 

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Was in a conversation with a dear old friend on the phone... which after a bit was leaning towards loneliness and depression. Hers, that is. She's been through a lot; had her share of ups and downs.. missed chances and successes. Just like the rest of us. Yet she feels that she could have done more and because she wasn't able to now feels remorse over it. She rattled away with things she would have wanted for her life.... the things she would have loved to do. I sensed that every 'should have' and 'would have' simply fed her loneliness and bitterness even more so
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I will not talk about her further; I've said much already. But her problem is one which we all are familiar with... or maybe have gone through in our own individual journeys, too. There is no perfect journey for any of us. We mess up some things along the way.... bungle up opportunities.... scare away good relationships and people.... at times refuse to grow.... at certain points get so puffed-up by our own perceived importance.... then too become humbled by truth.... made fools of ourselves.... and so much more. All those failed moments leave a bitter taste in the mouth and create in the heart a void.. a deep jarring hurting haunting void.
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I know; had my share.
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But we also have those sparkling wondrous breathtaking gems of joy. Those moments.... that lit up our faces... that bring the stars to our eyes... that shake up our whole being with laughter... that drench our souls with magnificent peace... that pour upon our lives the bountiful rewards of success and good fortune.... moments which make us feel good about ourselves, about the world, about people, about our life, about God!
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It's a good mix. No matter how you may think or feel to the contrary, it's still a good mix. Because if you look hard enough and pay close attention... you will understand that all of the bad made you grow and all of the good made you wrap up everything in one good bag. That's who you are. It's made you who you are.
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And if still that doesn't make you feel better.... read this quote -- "Don't look at how far you have to go, look at how far you have come." (Joyce Meyer)
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Also, remember that there is Somebody up there who is running the whole show of our lives. His objective is and always will be that we grow better in character, better not bitter.
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If we must work harder, let it be in learning how to see ourselves and our lives through the eyes of God.
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Take care, my friends; and God bless you, your family, and everything else good about you. And that is great!

TASKED TO BE BETTER AND BEST FOR SELF AND OTHERS

 

A friend shared this on his Fb timeline. I like it. Truth is, I like every post shared on his page. If it isn't about lovely pictures of the Pakistan landscape or some other place he so beautifully highlights, it would be words of wisdom such as this shown above. Wisdom which admittedly we often overlook, ignore, or scuff at because we think we know better. Do we really know better?

One other reason that I do fb is because it allows me tons of opportunities to learn. Particularly from people. People make for an interesting study. Myself included, if I were to learn seriously. Studying people gives you a glimpse of what life is all about. Life is all about people. It's actually people creating life, not life creating people.

People make up a huge kaleidoscope of color, emotions with its good and bad, vibrations, diversity, energy and the lack of it, opinions, insights, impressions, contradictions, biases and prejudices, preferences, choices and decisions, moods with its highs and lows, and certainly not the least experiences of both right and wrong.

Looking at everything one can easily say 'flawed'. Yes we all are flawed. Perhaps the reason why God left it at that is because He wants us to grow some more. This He shows us how to do by utilizing not only our brains and hearts but also our body parts. The bottom line is we are tasked to love one another and help create a better world.

And to do that we start with the self. That, my friends, is by God's design.

My God pour out His grace, light, peace, and love into your lives, families, and homes.

LIFE IS A PROCESS - TIME IS THERE TO SUPPORT LIFE

 

 

LIFE IS A PROCESS                                      

... and that takes time.

If there is anything which test my patience it is going through a process. Any process whatever its size, shape or form, or for whatever reason is not going to get a big smile from me. I hate long queues, government offices, clinics or hospitals, ticket booths, or any waiting line created just because somebody behind the window up ahead is sorting out papers, signatures, and your reasons for being in line. 

I stand there fidgeting I summon up in my mind diverse things to say, brilliant angry stuff, to rouse guilt on the person who is taking all of eternity to get to me. And then finally I get to the window... and there looking at the person working on my papers I feel every mental and physical muscle and energy in my body suddenly drain out of me and drop to the ground. I watch the person leaf through the sheets, punch something on the computer keys; seek out a particular rubber stamp on her desk; leave the window to seek out somebody whose signature should be on it; return to the window again and then push the papers out to me pointing at a dotted line with a pen. I sign-receive my copy, and I’m off. Relieved, not so much happy, but relieved releasing a big resigned sigh to the Universe that incidentally sees it all and is rolling on the floor laughing. 

Life is a process. Whether it is giving birth, getting married or a divorce, having your hair fixed at the salon, driving somewhere in your car, cooking for dinner tonight, learning in school or college, holding meetings in the boardroom, sweeping the yard, getting a health check at the clinic, arranging funerals, flying to some country, taking a bath, paying your bills, and more. There are no short cuts. In life when you go through strife struggles or challenges, you simply go through it albeit reluctantly resentfully grudgingly fearfully lazily tearfully but, this I tell you, there is neither an easy way out nor escape for you to grab on. You might want to pull at your hair, gnash your teeth, rev up your ugliest horrifying snarl at anyone or anything hoping to scare it away, but you still have to go through it just the same. And that’s final.

But .....

Mind what you think through the long process. Those thoughts which simmer or seethe through your brain will determine the end result you desire. Be kinder, more compassionate, understanding, observant, patient, perceptive, insightful, and open to learning whatever there is to learn from the challenge. You just can’t beat the process; it will roll out just as it should and not minding whoever you are or whatever you do. Time is there to support life.

It’s there for a reason which I am inclined to believe is by God’s design. And God’s intent, as I understand it, is always to make us grow. Therefore GROW ...we shall!

God bless you.

YOU GET TO CHOOSE

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Saw this in my inbox....

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose."    -- Wayne W. Dyer

But don't we always choose life or that of moving forward? Survival is the name of the game. But sometimes it doesn't always mean that growth or learning or progress would follow. Sometimes a man just turns round and round and then too go back again and again to the same place of misery where it all began. Then utterly defeated he begins to wonder why things keep happening the way they do.

This was the subject when I was with friends not so long ago. A friend called it ...'bad luck' and another called it ...'karma'. Followed up by another friend who said ... 'Sow good, reap good; sow bad, reap bad.' And a third friend quoted a law of the universe which says that ... 'nothing happens without reason'.  Then all four chimed in with .... 'Isn't life all about choice or a series of choices good and bad?'  (Yup, nice chorus you guys got there!)

I got to thinking. So, how a person chooses to live his life is all up to him. If that person sees life as one big ball of darn things... it's going to be darn things and his decisions messing up his life even more.  But on the other hand, if that same person decides to take his challenges positively and would determinedly aim for success, growth, hope, satisfaction, improvement, learning, opportunity, happiness, fulfillment .... he will soon in good time discover a better quality of life for himself. Whether he gets there in slow-mo or on a fast clip ... he will get there. He chose it, decided for it, aimed for it.

Being captain of his own ship he best can steer it to where he wants it to go. This decision lies with him and not with anyone else no matter how brilliant the course others may have mapped out for him. He creates his own destiny. Whether he fails or succeeds is his own burden or blessing. 

Everything is a choice, good or bad. We can choose to move forward or remain behind, progress or stagnate, win or lose, build or destroy, be informed or be ignorant, be kind or be mean, be strong or be weak, be compassionate or be indifferent, be good or be bad, and  who we want to be, friendships we want to keep, chances we want to take, lives we want to build, careers we want to shape, dreams to make come true ......... or paint the sky with rainbows, dance to the wind, walk barefoot in the rain, or lay down under the shade of a tree in quiet peace and tranquility, content and happy.  All is a choice.

Indeed  '...Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.'    Thank you, Mr. Wayne W. Dyer.

Blessings, everyone! Have a pleasant day.

OUR BEST TO SELF AND OUT TO THE WORLD

I'm bringing a wonderful quote here. It's a good one and I think we should be taking it seriously if we are to survive this century and those still coming.

Here it is.....  

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, 

but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." 

(Alvin Toffler)

 

LEARN -- UNLEARN -- RELEARN. That's what life is all about. We don't stop learning because we have finished with school with certificates hanging up on the wall to prove it ...or that we are the best in our chosen field ...or that people look up to us for our brilliance and wit. When we stop learning everything else which we may have gathered or acquired or achieved fall into a dead-end.. become irrelevant as new knowledge begin to replace it.. go stale as its time begins to pass.. diminish as muscles atrophy when allowed to remain still for a longer period of time.

We are not here to gather big mansions, bank rolls, flashing cars, trophies and titles although those are not bad in themselves because they are part of essential dreams or goals and can be blessings too. But life does not end there nor is it everything about life.

It's not what we get from life or for ourselves..... but rather what we give to life which makes this whole business of living truly magnificent. That can be achieved by continuously working on self for a better 'you'. We get the best from life -- the things which truly matter -- when we give it our best as a person within and without.

We do this by working hard at LEARNING new things -- UNLEARNING those which no longer serve a better purpose -- RELEARNING old things which we may have missed or neglected because we didn't pay it much attention the first time.

Life, as mother once said, is one big university .... and we its students. Learning is a lifelong activity and everyday has its lesson ready for us to learn. We are tasked to grow, to develop, to mature, to progress. The big goal is to become our authentic best so that we can give better or best out to the world. That, by the way, is by God's design.

Have a lovely day, everyone. Be blessed... and stay blessed... and bless others with it.

DISCOVERY AND THINKING ARE CLOSE COUSINS

A friend once quipped quite snootily I must say.. 'I see what you see, so what's the big deal?' -- Funny, if I hadn't remembered what Mom said to me long ago.. that person would have received a good verbal smack down from this ole little lady here that he'd wish he had kept his mouth shut... or... better resolve to make learning his quest henceforth. Kidding, of course!  I know.. we know .. that he just didn't understand. I have learned through life that much of knowledge and wisdom would simply pass you by if you don't learn to stop and look and listen. It's what you do with the information presented to you which makes the true mark. When you do that.. it becomes yours. But as in all blessings, make sure to pay it forward so that others may share in that blessing too. Because that matters.

'No two people are alike;  different folks - different strokes.' That's what Mom would always say. So let people say what they want. Because simply said  -- 'you catch a fish by its mouth' ... wisdom or ignorance reveals itself when a person begins to talk. Whenever good lessons are sent us by the Divine, we are expected to -- learn, process, internalize, probe, understand, toss it in our minds, and wrap it 'round our hearts. Because, by God's design, the goal is to grow in mind, heart, and spirit. And that is a big deal!

Here's a wonderful quote that sums it all up in one good bite.....

"Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen

and thinking what no one has thought."

(Eden Philpotte, England)

 Discover.. learn.. grow.. enjoy.. and thank God.
Blessings, everyone. Enjoy your lovely weekend.

A LIFE TO THE FULLEST

Why do we chain themselves to old worn mind sets, of severe thoughts that serve only to cramp our style and enjoyment of a full life. And you may ask 'what is meant by a full life?'

-- Simple. It only means that we see and acknowledge our blessings, recognize its Giver, realize our God-given spark, know and still like who we are and where we are at. Because as difficult as that may sound, that's what God intended our life to be. May not be a perfect life but it's ours. We and all that we stand for is the vehicle by which we grow, learn and become the person God meant us to be. That's what we're supposed to do. And it's there so that we may live life to the fullest.

LIFE IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU

I remember this from long ago when mom lectured an erring nephew - a total brat. ----

"Life is not all about you. The world does not center on you either. That's what babies do; they don't care about people but only that they are fed and nappies are changed. But fortunately babies grow and learn to connect with the world and everything in it. But not all; some turn out to be babies disguised as adults. When you remain in that mode of narcissism - that of being selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed - you will soon discover one day how lonely it is being alone. Because people can't and won't put up with such behavior. They may pretend to --- but not for long. So grow up!" ---------