A TRIBUTE TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS

---- A pet dog loves you for whoever you are... whatever the color of your skin... the race you belong to... whoever you pray to. It don't matter if you are blind... crippled... deaf... mute... single, married, divorced, or betrayed, brilliant or intellectually challenged.  It won't matter if you feed him steaks or food scraps. Your anger or ugly mood won't stop him from loving you. He follows you everywhere you go, content and happy in your company. He won't leave you not even for the slightest reason or whatever his mood is. He is happy when you're happy; sits close beside you when you're lonely and blue. He protects you and your home from strangers, rushing to your aid at the slightest sign of threat. He has no issues with whether you are rich or poor..... a high and mighty king or a lowly street-sweeper.  He doesn't care a hoot if you are the CEO or the janitor of the company. Those things mean nothing to him. All he knows is that he loves you --- and that's forever!!
.
If humans could do those things, too....... Imagine how good and wonderful this crazy world of ours could and would be!!
.
Meet Maxi, my adorable companion (shown in picture). I love her, too .....and that's forever, too. And in case you would wonder, more canines and felines have made our home their home, too. Ain't that just crazy?!?!
.
Enjoy a great weekend up ahead, folks. God bless you!!

THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ARE........

---------------
I was on the phone with a friend who suddenly appears out of the blue after several years of absence in my friendship world. Been missing this girl for a long time.
.
''Been busy with life", she says with a chuckle.
.
"Well, I'm pretty sure life has been pretty busy with you, too. You sound happy", I kidded back at her.
.
"Well, not a bed or roses I'll tell yah.... but they can throw at me all the bumps, bleeps, and bang but not enough to mess up my world", she replied back with a merry lilt in her voice.
.
I believed her.
.
You see, my friend (let's call her Jane) is quite unique. She's not like many of us puny little human beings who easily buckle down with every test, challenge, trial, or difficulty. But oh sure problems do assail her...... makes her rage, worry, stress out, and cry. So much the human reaction, right? All of that in the moment it hits her... then... wait a minute... she becomes still. And then the transformation takes place.... followed by...
.
"C'mon, let's get ourselves a burger! I'll race you to the car.." And off we fly!
.
Yeah I did once thought if she was an alien or something. But I must admit that she's one happy human being.. regardless.
.
I only really understood when one sweet day I stumbled on this quote....
. "The happiest people I know are the ones who have learned how to hold everything loosely and have given the worrisome, stress-filled, fearful detail of their lives into God's keeping." --- Charles R. Swindoll
.
That's Jane's secret. She connected with her God. But it's not a secret. We all know that, don't we?
.
(Once more, thanks to the internet for these wonderful images)

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CAN DO UNTIL YOU STAND UP AND TRY

----------------------
Was changing channels with no idea what I wanted to watch when I stumbled on "Dave". It was running half through the movie at that point. I know because I have seen it for the ___th time having a CD on file somewhere. It was at this scene when President Dave spoke the lines......
.
"You'll never know how much you can do until you stand up and try."
.
I like that. It should be our battle cry in life.
.
We're not junk. God does not make junk. Everything that we need is given us in terms of talent... opportunities... our free will... and life. We're programmed for success. Believe it or not... we are!
.
The thing is ....our perceptions of self-worth are so screwed up. Just when did being beautiful, thin-tall-white skinned, being well-connected, having more money, having an expensive car, living in a luxurious mansion, being in a circle of wealthy friends, knowing somebody powerful in high government be the benchmark of success?
.
Well, those things have their uses, too, but they don't guarantee success and happiness where it matters most. It matters most when you can look everybody in the eye and say..... this is ME .... imperfect but definitely unique and one of a kind.
.
Being me means that you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do with who you are and what you have to help better you, your tiny part of the world, or of the bigger world outside. You may not achieve the big successes by the world's standard in your life time but .....you can be the success that which you are to yourself since day one of creation.
.
It is what you think of yourself.... or what you actually do.... which truly defines your life on earth. And there is no benchmark to work with. You are your own benchmark. You compete with yourself. You travel at your own pace... at your own time... with your own set of talent.
.
And God who sees everything makes sure that you get the corresponding complement of tools that you may be needing to help you along. But you have also to remember to ask Him for those or if you feel that you need more help. Do what you have to do while putting your faith and hope on a God who truly wants you to be happy and successful.
.
Further, you can't achieve anything just sitting there on the fence trying to figure out how the universe operates. That's not the way it goes.
.
Understanding that, you then can move along confidently to being the big success you were truly meant to be. You will 'soar like wings on eagles' and 'not grow weary or be faint'. By God's design.
.
Don't settle for less. There's so much you can do.
Blessings, everyone.

 

 

 

LIFE IS BOTH THE SMILES AND THE TEARS

-------------------
This morning good friend, Mr. Quote Man, sent me this quote. And I liked it. Because I know that it would ring a bell in many hearts out there. It speaks to your memories of how life happened to you then and as it continues now.

That's what I have learned, too. Back then, I was waiting to be happy because I thought that life was meant to be lived happy. And it did not begin until I felt happy. But I was proven wrong many times. Then I finally got it.. That the pain, hurt, fear, confusion, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, weariness, defeat, and even so much more which made my heart cry ----- were also called life.

Here's the quote:

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin.....
But there was always some obstacle in the way,
something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business,
time still to be served, a debt to be paid.
Then life would begin.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

---- Alfred Souza

Beautiful, isn't it?
Remember, folks..... Smile and the world smiles with you.

KNOW YOURSELF

I found this in a book just recently. Wisdom right there in every line. So I'm sharing this with you. Listen well and listen with your heart.

To quote...

DON'T EVER DOUBT YOURSELF

You have so much to offer,
so much to give,
and so much you deserve to receive in return.
Don't ever doubt that.

Know yourself and all of your fine qualities.
Rejoice in all your marvelous strengths of mind and body.
Be glad for the virtues that are yours,
and pat yourself on the back
for all your many admirable achievements.

Keep positive.
Concentrate on that which makes you happy,
and build yourself up.
Stay nimble of heart, happy of thought,
healthy of mind, and well in being.

-Janet A. Sullivan
Unquote.

Don't let anyone make you feel small. You are so much more than you think you are. Your power is right there in you. It's not in external things although people will tell you it is. Agreed that money, power, position have their uses too but it waits for the right person to take it to even greater heights. It is a willing slave to a worthy master. It will definitely need someone worthy to work it to good use or serve a better purpose. And you have the power to do that. If you see something which you must do to improve your life, other people's lives, or make this world a better place (which we all pine for), then do it. Don't wait for someone to do the job for you.

Believe in yourself... believe in you.

FILL LIFE WITH MOMENTS

A wonderful gentleman and friend Parthasarathi sent me this in email recently -- "Life never seems to be the way we want it, But we have to live it the best way we can. There is no perfect life, But we can always fill it with perfect Moments..." Thanks, Parth. -- Lovely, isn't it? And I particularly loved this line.... 'There is no perfect life, But we can always fill it with perfect Moments...'

That seemed to be my guiding principle when I started in retirement. When one comes to a close in one chapter of one's life (one of several chapters, of course), he has then to change gear and move in another direction to fill in the void created. Because there is a lingering void or a brief spell between chapters of life. It's like a landing on a long flight of stairs wherein one is given the chance to catch his breath and energize for the next flight up that stair.

I took that chance to rethink my directions in moving forward. The plans I had before seemed insufficient now and irrelevant with some things taken away and some more added which I didn't plan for. This made me think how fragile life can truly be. So I decided to scratch off 'forever' from my dictionary and resolved to live in -- moments.

Moments cannot be bought or bargained for, I thought then that I will and should create my own. But it turned out that I was going to be blessed far more that I expected wished or prayed for!

MOMENTS.....

-when my youngest daughter surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on Mother's Day

-when my second daughter gave me a surprise treat on my birthday by taking me to lunch in Tagaytay City overlooking the magnificent Taal Volcano

-when my eldest daughter gave me a fantastic massage on my back which pain made my day grumpy

-when my pet dog came to me as I sat on the sofa watching TV and lovingly nestled her head close at my side

-when the soya vendor with a warm smile added two free packs to the ones I bought

-when I watched the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen

-when I heard a tiny bird somewhere up the treetops singing his tiny song and a gentle breeze nudged the leaves to a dance

.....and zillions more through the years!

What I'm trying to say is --- FILL LIFE WITH MOMENTS, PERFECT OR IMPERFECT; THAT DOESN'T MATTER. WHEN IT MAKES YOU SMILE... THAT IS PERFECT.