EVERYDAY IS A NEW DAY OF LEARNING

‘Everyday is a new day of learning’ – I like that line. Each day brings with it the wonder and awe of new things. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to know them, savor them, and enjoy them-- To be there side by side with it and to know that by its experience our lives are further enriched. To know that learning transforms our minds and hearts; thereby leading us to becoming better versions of our old selves. To discover too that even in the nothingness of a day there is a tiny seed of learning somewhere there that is simply waiting to be unfurled.

Don’t we go through all lengths to better ourselves through education, a thriving career, lofty positions, or a string of achievements or connections – so then why don’t we use that same energy to better ourselves in the arena of our humanity? Wealth or the best of schools does not necessarily produce people for the world but people of the world.

It’s not who we are or what we have but rather what we do with ourselves or of our god-given talents which define us. Because who we are or what we have do not really belong to us although they seem to -- the truth is it is not given us for our sole use alone. But rather it’s given us to serve others with and to try making our world a better place. In the end it redounds to making our lives better (within) enabling us to create a happier world (without).

Behind every new experience is the opportunity to grow even bigger and better, to like and know ourselves more, to appreciate our gifts and to understand how better to use it, to see and appreciate the work of God’s hands in everything around us, to be kinder and compassionate to others, to appreciate the beauty of a person regardless of color, race, or creed and to respect that person for his contribution to life and to the world, and if I may add, to appreciate his contribution to our own little corner of that same world. Those things can come with each day God brings to us.

Let’s seize the day not because life is precious (It is!) but also because the day contains tremendous learning treasures for you and me. For to help us better understand our rightful place in the bigger scheme of things, is by God's design.

Blessings to you all.

LEARN WITH YOUR HEART

I was going through my old stuff.. notes taken down some time back meant for writing but never got down to that point I don't know why. Well, I believe that everything has its own time, including scraggly notes that seem not to hold any meaning when first taken.

Anyway I saw this one, a quote -- with snippets of words I've written down below it (but won't be shown here)......

"If we learn to open our hearts,
anyone, including the people who drive us crazy,
can be our teacher."
---- Pema Chedron

I've discarded the snippety words but the quote I bring here. Because it is true. Through the years I have had a huge number of 'teachers'. And they all come from unexpected places, sources, events, situations, and characters (the good, the bad and the ugly).

All these have given me my life lessons, well, part of. Because truthfully a huge portion were lessons from Big Daddy above (and he is not done with me yet). I have learned what to like and not like (being true to myself).... what to believe and not believe in the multitude of opinions presented.... what to appreciate or not of the myriad of diversity of choices.... what my limitations are and what I can do to nurture my own god-given potential (bestowed on all people by a wise God). They, both the living and non-living things, have shown me that not all good things come from great packages but it too can come from the tiniest thing in creation ---- a tiny seed planted in my small pot and which has grown into a lovely flowering plant delighting my heart all through the day. All have taught me that as much as everything is essential to life and living, there is ONE who stands above them all on which my life totally depends on.

These were and are my teachers and always will be because their work continues in me -- a work in progress (just like everybody else is). Life, as they say, is simply one huge university and we its eternal students. It's the wheel of learning that continues to turn..... learning, unlearning, relearning. That, my dear friends, is by God's design. It never stops.

But mind you it will..... if you close your heart.
Be blessed and stay blessed.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE LIFE

Whether you're 16, 46, or 60 there's enough learning you can do to fill up your lifetime. In fact, to learn them all you will need a thousand... naye ...a million lifetimes.

I like that idea. I think life is one huge basket of lessons that very well teach me bout things, people, nature ... it shows me how an angry sea would lash out at the shore, or why people cry at silly things sometimes, or why poking your nose in other people's lives would get you a black eye lols! It tells me that in all things there is an ebb and flow which cannot be avoided or ignored. That people are born, live, and then die. That life can be both a burden and a blessing or one and not the other, but that is all up to you. That we have control of our lives and that if we allow others to do it for us, things can go crazy. That we may look different, behave differently, believe in different things and stuff, but in things which truly matter we are basically very much the same.

But even if I may know all of that there is still so much more I'm so ignorant of. I can't fathom nor imagine the mysteries of the universe... and too wonder about the secrets of the immense span of space or the depths of the oceans and seas. I can't see what feelings are written in a person's heart or the myriad of memories and thoughts interspersing in his mind. I can but only guess. That is not always enough.

And too I have so many questions unspoken and real which answers I have yet to find. But whether I find them or not, this journey I am taking is even far more richer than the end-all of it I begin to realize.

Now I know that this huge basket I so speak of is one bottomless vessel of precious treasure ripe for the picking. Then maybe... just maybe... I can pick those I want and discard stuff I consider trivia. But you know what, in some mysterious way these unwanted lessons I've chosen to ignore find their way back to me again and again until -- I become more inclined to learn them well, like it or not.

Nope, learning does not stop.. ever. I'm glad it's that way. Because life is measured not by days, weeks, months, or years... but by how much you have grown closer to that person you were meant to be --- by God's design. How do I know that? Easy. Life taught me.

(Picture forwarded to me by Parth)

WE DON'T HAVE TO BE SOMEBODY ELSE'S CROSS

When your bones ache, or your head does, or your insides rock and your limbs feel like crumbling... when nothing comes close to easing your pains, you feel like screaming your lungs out -- and you do! Well, maybe not literally but it finds its way in fury which is often meaninglessly and unnecessarily heaped upon the person or people near you or who by chance happen to be in its way. That's sad, because you have not only added to your misery but made others miserable too by yours.

Suffering in whatever form and of any kind is difficult. It is hard to imagine what goes on in that person's mind or what is being felt in the heart. Physical or emotional pain is a burden that runs deep and intense that it upsets everything else within and without. The strong are reduced to putty and the weak are made even weaker. The world seems to crumble down with that person along with it... or so he would think.

I will not venture to give advise on this matter because the lesson here is better understood when one has already mellowed in years and gained much in wisdom. But there are some though young are so blessed and filled with the spirit who would understand -- as the saints have shown us.

So what am I driving at here?

I am simply sharing an observation --- that people who suffer pain tend to vent their frustration and helplessness in serious expressions of anger. And this often leads to hurting others more than we imagine. But there is no point in bringing in other people into your suffering. They, just like the rest of humankind, have their own crosses to bear too. We all have and all do. Thus it would be best to remember what Maya Angelou once said.....

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one..'

BELIEVE IT'S ALL FOR A REASON

I said this to someone recently who was suffering a setback:

"Nope, you don't always get what you want in life. Not always. But when you get the chance, try to you look hard at what's happening, you'll see that it's for a very good reason.

Oh maybe you won't understand why now, but at some point in the future when the dust has settled and you look back to today... you will see and understand. Because by some Divine Design, it always works out well for your good in the end."

You know, it always does. By some strange design, everything has its reason for being. Everything that goes on in your life was put there for a reason. Yeah, good and bad. But the lessons are there for us to learn. And learn them well, we should.

MY NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE PEOPLE AND ME

My neighborhood is an average one and small. This is a subdivision settled at the foot by the side of a mountain range in my city that nestles atop it - Antipolo. Here, where I have made my home, one sees about dozens of modest houses sitting side by side and housing families within carrying on with the regular routines of each day. A paved road ragged in some areas winds round the neighborhood up hill and down and leads out to the main gate passing the guardhouse where a sentry stands watch day and night. And mingled with the houses are trees lush and green dotting the place everywhere you look. Adding to the green landscape are mini gardens fronting almost every home lining almost every street. If not a garden, in lieu would be potted plants neatly set in a row. Nice and green.

I love this place. And I wish that life and people were so much the same – serene, calm, and peaceful. But it isn’t. Life as we know it is an interesting tapestry of ecstatic moments, surprises, near mishaps, misfortunes, fragmented dreams, and challenges. And people --- are just as diverse as that fascinating mix we call life.

So I like studying people. There is so much I can learn from watching them. They teach me things and stuff I would have not given any thought to at all; they inspire me to be better than I could ever be; they show me how to understand my own weaknesses and strengths by looking at theirs; they tell me what hope is by their show of courage and faith through trials; they increase my knowledge and wisdom by their own display of wit and intelligence; they remind me to laugh by their humor and delight over mundane things; and too understand my own foolishness by watching them stumble with theirs. When I see them in their human form, the complete package of mind, body and soul God so designed --- I see me, myself, and mine. And I begin to understand that we are each at best both teachers and students to one another.

WE'RE NEVER ALWAYS THE SAME PERSON REALLY

Meeting up with my close friends is a joy and such a bag of significance. The hours spent with them will end up revealing something odd or new but which never fail to tweak my interest. It amazes me no end to see a ‘different’ person coming to the lunch table every time and sharing her world with the rest of us. At one time I will be seeing starry eyes, deep smiles etched on sunny faces, or an amusing bounce in their gait. Then on the next get-together everything is replaced by furrowed brows or drooping mouth or attitudes gone stale.

Is that strange? - Maybe, maybe not.

What may appear to be ‘different’ may be simply life happening to that person -- The peeling off of unwanted layers of one’s existence. Life always does that – shaking off what needs to be discarded i.e. old thoughts, opinions, perspectives, perceptions, experiences, feelings. When these no longer have any use or don’t work as well as they used to or have worn itself out, then it should be rid of immediately. Otherwise it will only hold us back to where we want to go or where life wants to take us. Life will nudge us to learn new things which hopefully might help bring us to our better selves and too ease our continuing journey down the road of life.

We’re never always the same person really. That is, if we pay attention to the lessons life sends our way each time. And learn them well.


"All of us every single year, we're a different person. I don't think we're the same person all our lives." -- Steven Spielberg

GIVING TO YOURSELF WELL - ALLOWS YOU TO GIVE TO OTHERS BETTER

I was at dinner one night with my two best friends. The place was nice, food was good, and so was the conversation. Until halfway through dinner, Jenny suddenly spoke up with a sigh ‘I feel so old and useless.’ That shook us by surprise. ‘Hey, what’s wrong now? “, May countered at the same time threw a quick glance at me. ‘Oh it’s this feeling I got yesterday. It feels like I’ve done nothing yet for me.’ Well, I won’t tell more about that night or about Jenny except that her words weighed heavily on my mind even long after that evening had past.

When I woke up early this morning I headed straight to my daughters’ bedroom to tidy up. I don’t know why they can’t learn to make up their beds before going to work. I’ve been trying to make them for years now. It’s all rush – rush – rush! Well, I saw this book lying on my daughter’s bed. It was A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Canfield and Hansen, authors. With nothing much to do I took it, sat on her bed and leisurely leafed through its pages … and froze on page 181. I remembered Jenny.

It read…

MILLIE’S MOTHER’S RED DRESS

It hung there in the closet
While she was dying, Mother’s red dress,
Like a gash in the row
Of dark, old clothes
She had worn away her life in.

They had called me home
And I knew when I saw her
She wasn’t going to last.

When I saw the dress, I said
“Why, Mother-- how beautiful!
I’ve never seen it on you.”

I sat by her bed
And she sighed a bigger breath
Than I thought she could hold.
“Now that I’ll soon be gone,
I can see some things.
Oh, I taught you good—but I taught you wrong.”

“What do you mean, Mother?”

“Well—I always thought
That a good woman never takes her turn,
That she’s just for doing for somebody else.
Do here, do there, always keep
Everybody else’s wants tended and make sure
Yours are at the bottom of the heap.

“Maybe someday you’ll get to them.
But of course you never do.
My life was like that—doing for your dad,
Doing for the boys, for your sisters, for you.”

“You did—everything a mother could.”

“Oh, Millie, Millie, it was no good—
For you—for him. Don’t you see?
I did you the worst of wrongs.
I asked for nothing—for me!

“Your father in the other room,
All stirred up and staring at the walls—
When the doctor told him, he took
It bad—came to my bed and all but shook
The life right out of me. “You can’t die,
Do you hear? What’ll become of me?’
“What’ll become of me?’
It’ll be hard, all right, when I go.
He can’t even find the frying pan, you know.

“And you children—
I was a free ride for everybody, everywhere.
I was the first one up and the last one down
Seven days out of the week.
I always took the toast that got burned.
And the very smallest piece of pie.

“I look to how some of your brothers
Treat their wives now
And it makes me sick, ’cause it was me
That taught it to them. And they learned.
They learned that a woman doesn’t
Even exist except to give.
Why, every single penny that I could save
Went for our clothes, or your books,
Even when it wasn’t necessary.
Can’t even remember once when I took
Myself downtown to buy something beautiful—
For me.

“Except last year when I got that red dress.
I found I had twenty dollars
That wasn’t especially spoke for.
I was on my way to pay it extra on the washer.
But somehow—I came home with this big box.
Your father really gave it to me then.
‘Where you going to wear a thing like that to—
Some opera or something?’
And he was right, I guess.
I’ve never, except in the store,
Put on that dress.

“Oh Millie—I always thought if you take
Nothing for yourself in this world
You’d have it all in the next somehow
I don’t believe that anymore.
I think the Lord wants us to have something—
Here—and now.

“And I’m telling you, Millie, if some miracle
Could get me off this bed, you could look
For a different mother, ‘cause I would be one.
Oh I passed up my turn so long
I would hardly know how to take it.
But I’d learn, Millie.
I would learn!”

It hung there in the closet
While she was dying, Mother’s red dress,
Like a gash in the row
Of dark, old clothes
She had worn away her life in.

Her last words to me were these:
“Do me the honor, Millie,
Of not following in my footsteps.
Promise me that.”

I promised.
She caught her breath
Then Mother took her turn
In death.

By Carol Lynn Pearson


It’s quite a long piece, isn’t it? But it can’t be written in any other way. This in the way Pearson wrote it is pure gold. Tomorrow I’m going to give Jenny a copy. And I am going to tell her that she would be doing her family a big favor and would love them best if first she learned to “do something – for me”… and to do it here—and now.

LIFE ISN'T ONLY ABOUT WORK

There was a time long ago in my teens that I would think ‘doing nothing’ was a crime. So I was careful that nobody would see me idle or resting. Made it a point that I would be seen as ‘doing something’ ‘working on something’ ‘performing’ ‘taking action’ – even when it was not necessary at all. Weird, wasn’t it? Well, life was a struggle and I was made to do my part to keep the wheels turning. Mom worked, Dad too, brother did the same—they all worked their butts out for the family. It got so hammered into me that pretty long the idea of rest became an abomination to my young mind. I was no longer comfortable being at rest. I saw the world and life as w-o-r-k!

So it was then and still was when I joined the corporate world… even if the reasons I slaved myself for were no longer there. Oh I still toiled my bones out on some days like I used to – well, habits are hard to shake off. But by some stroke of providence (that would be quite another long story) I began to change. This led me to a better appreciation of work and life, activity and rest, of what I can or can’t do and of what I should do given the right chance or opportunity.

I began to enjoy the day, time, moments, events, people, and the world at large. To my new eyes and mind the sky seemed bluer, the trees greener, the clouds like billows of cotton, the river waters rolling down merrily. I began to notice everything there was to see – hear – touch – experience – because I took the time to rest from my labors. So if I would be asked again… Doing nothing sitting under the shade of a tree or dipping my feet in the waters by the shore or looking up at the star strewn evening skies – is time well spent indeed, believe me. I realized finally that life isn’t all about work and work is not life and that a good balance between work and rest gives us a better handle on life and on ourselves. And so much more – I learned to see God better and His work in my life clearly… and learned well to appreciate it with my whole heart. In turn He taught me how to appreciate me.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." -- J. Lubbock

LIFE WON'T ALWAYS GIVE US WHAT WE WANT - BUT BE READY FOR SURPRISES

“So why am I here – in this place in this time? Never planned it nor dreamed about it but I’m here. What am I supposed to be doing here; there is nothing I can see that would tap into my reserves or stack of knowledge talent or skills. I’ve trained for something else – this isn’t what I had hoped for but this is what I get.” --lines from a friend's diary... or somebody's too at some point or another.

Is that frustrating, disappointing, exasperating, maddening, annoying? It sure is. I know; those were my lines before too. But I’ve learned, oh yes I’ve learned. To quote Morgan Freeman ‘…..once you get wherever it is you are going, that is where you were going to be….’ Life is unpredictable, it’s full of surprises – ‘you never know what’s going to happen’ (Freeman said that too). Sometimes you don’t get what you want or hope for. But life moves you to a course where it wants you to journey, I think by Someone’s supreme design. Odd thing is, it pushes you to do the next best thing – give it your best shot whether for the challenge it poses or simply to survive. And what do you get for it? – a smarter and wiser you! Perhaps it was best that it happened this way, if you think about it -- Because would you have ended up this smarter or wiser or successful if you had things going your way? We don’t know that, do we? Ah life!

I HAVE LEARNED THAT.... Part 6

Yup, I have learned that anyone who stops learning is -- old.

I just don’t get it whenever I hear people say --- ‘enough of learning’ ‘had my fill when I was in school’ ‘am too old for that’ ‘got better things to do’ ‘what Again?!’ Why? What is wrong in searching for learning and even more learning? Do they think that school is all the learning that one should do in life? That once one is done with that one can move on to other things? Oh my goodness, with a big wide world such as ours and with life containing a huge stock pile of experiences, knowledge, facts, adventure, mystery, wonder, diversity, and even more--- wouldn’t it be exciting to get to know all that? Yet my mother would say with a funny smile on her face ‘honey, we would need several lifetimes to hold everything there is to know and learn… and we only got one.’ But with a twinkle in her eye she’d tell me ‘who’s stopping you from trying?’

I got my cue from that, so I say don’t stop learning or wanting to. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s a waste of time. Truth is they are wasting their precious time sitting on their butts unwilling to let go of their comfort zones. So what I’m saying is get on with it --- Gather new information into your learning barn; pile up new recipes-new ideas-new discoveries-new adventures… Learn how to do things you’ve never tried before. Read on new subjects which you never laid your hands on before. Pursue new passions. Learn to ride a bike or a car if you’ve never done so ever. Just don’t stop learning. And please – no excuses. Life is too short to make any. I’m sure that you’ve heard that line before. Well, hear it and write it in your heart.

Okay, have to go now. Am trying out how to put in videos unto my blog.

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays young.
The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."
-- Henry Ford

TODAY'S POTPOURRI OF THOUGHTS

Sometimes on some days I can work up a good piece for writing. But then again at some other times I work out not just one but several inspirations for writing. Thus you’ll see that I have posts wherein several thoughts are gathered after every favored quote listed. Why do I use quotes? It helps crystallize the idea forming in my mind. And where there are several ideas all wanting to be written, I need those quotes to get it all sorted out properly. Then writing becomes easy. Give it a try; I know that others have already. So then let's get this rolling. :-)

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"The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else." -- E. E. Cummings

I had this frustration every time an aunt or uncle and family friends would come up to me in our family reunions and wonder why I am not this or that, like everybody else. They wonder why I am not a doctor or a lawyer or a businesswoman like my cousins before me or are into right now. Know what I’d do with that? I’d look them in the eye and say ‘I have my own interests and inclinations and doing quite well with it, thank you’ --- And my mom, who could overhear the chat (wherever she was in the room. Weird lols), would simply nod and smile in my direction. Well, at least she was on my side.

So I went on to be me. It may not suit their expectations of grandeur success or opulence but this was me, I would tell myself and which I had to remind myself lots of times because there was seemingly no let-up on their assault on my individuality. Mom would always remind me that --- ”we aren’t made into one mold; each is a separate unique creation – and that whatever we do with ourselves and with the talent given us whether it be as an astronaut or a lowly sales clerk – would still be worthy. Do not belittle a person’s honest effort. She stressed that one should only be true to one’s self and that one must be loyal to his or her passion in life. Because doing what you love best is what gives genuine satisfaction. And that is essential to true living. Success is not about what you have done but in what you are happy and content about inside you.”

“It’s important not to define yourself by what you are, but by who you are.”

This line I heard in a home movie long ago. It’s easy to know WHAT we are, right? – A doctor, truck driver, judge, cop, teacher, street sweeper, CEO, inventor, scientist, parent, son or daughter, and many more. It’s a profession or an occupation and we do things naturally required of us in those roles we play in life, individually or collectively.

But WHO we are is the tough question that we also must deal with. Who are we as a person? What makes us tick or not tick? What do we do with life’s crazy things posed to us at some point or another? What values form our thoughts and feelings and which define our relationships in our tiny spaces or with the bigger world outside?

As a competent surgeon for instance, the WHAT in me would make me do an operation with astounding success as expected of my surgical competence of course. But in another case, when it comes to telling the family that a procedure would be a high risk one for the patient, the WHO in me would tell me to say it gently, with careful sensitivity and consideration for the feelings of the much beleaguered family.

Thus I would think that the WHAT is rather clinical in approach; the WHO – much human and humane.

"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

That is simply what life is all about. We must do a lot of learning in our journey through life but there is never enough time to do it because Life is short. Too short to learn everything there is to learn. But if life should mean anything at all, it should be how well we do these three things ---

LEARN. We are taught our new skills, new principles to serve as road map in our transactions, new information and abilities to enhance our enjoyment of life and living… of people and the world of things around us. Still there is so much more to learn. The well never runs dry.

UNLEARN. Useless mind sets, thoughts, ideas, perceptions which don’t do us any good at all - These things which mess up our life or have outlived their time or even stand in the way of our progress maturity growth and development -- should be but definitely destroyed and annihilated permanently.

RELEARN. Those things which lessons we still haven’t fully understood or grasped will never go away but keep repeating itself. Ever wonder why life keeps throwing back at us the same problems and people we’d rather do without? Well, it does that until we get its message clearly, until the idea pierce our dumb heads and numb hearts, or until we see truth and not the illusions we’d rather see and believe.

Well, this is all for now… today’s potpourri of thoughts, more next time. Bye for a bit.

FAITH IS WHERE THE BIGGEST BATTLES ARE FOUGHT

I need not go far to write bout this subject. This is right on my turf. It’s not that I have become an expert in this. Rather that I have fought so many battles on its front. If I were to sum up the whole of my life I would do it in just one word --- FAITH. Because that’s what it was then, is now, and always will be tomorrow and thereafter. It is how I connect with people, family, do my job, and manage myself. And I look to the universe believing that it would do what is best for me arranging the odds and ends of my blotched life so that it would make some sense to me at least.

Now you probably wonder, if faith is already there so then where would the battles be fought in all that?

The battles fought are in trying to keep the faith.

Those times when the pricks and thorns of life hit us at every turn, when people we trust suddenly are unkind and betray us, when we stand correct and yet still be misunderstood, when we are beaten down on the ground and nobody stops to pick us up, when we lose our fortunes homes family and then friends suddenly are nowhere to be found, when opportunities are nil and we stand on flimsy chances, when our health fails us and strength slowly ebbs away, or when our own thread of faith slips away and we begin losing faith in self --- these are the battles where faith is put to the test. Or maybe it should be said this way --- these are the battles where a person is put to the test. Sometimes when things get so rough and tough and there’s nothing or no one in sight to help us stay on track… faith fizzles out. That’s when we need a good boost quick. And where will it come from? From that tiny voice from within which says that all is not lost. And that all that’s needed is to set our gaze unto heaven and there we will find help and refuge. Yes, it’s that steady flame of faith – the mustard seed of faith just waiting to be summoned to the fore of our lives.

Faith is never lost. Because faith, I believe, is always there inside the person. But alas man is more often unable to summon faith when and where needed. Always it’s a struggle with rousing that tiny bit. Maybe it’s because we have so little confidence in our selves or we don’t trust our fellowmen enough. Maybe we’ve been wired to believe only those things we can see, touch, and hear. Maybe we don’t fully understand our God? Maybe we aren’t truly convinced that He can do something with so little? Sometimes even with nothing at all. Are we not often coaxed to muster up faith even the size of a mustard seed? That shouldn’t be hard to do, right? It’s only a teeny weenie size of faith and not a huge dramatic portion to bring forth our prayed for desires hopes or dreams. It must have been us being referred to with these words ‘O ye of little faith’ –thus spoken in utter frustration but by a very patient God. Wow, He sure loves us so much to put up with our foolishness and stupidity.

I am that stupid fool too but I have learned through my battles that I can’t live without faith --- Can’t go around disbelieving, not trusting, not hoping nor ignorant of possibilities that could happen anywhere anytime with anyone or anything that’s out there just waiting to be tapped or called forth to serve its purpose in my life. Faith is here simply within me in the core of self lit like a small candle in the dark… steadfast in its glow, unbending undimmed. It’s all up to me then to bring it forth and make it shine. So can you.

So then let it shine --- in all of our days, on everything we touch with our own lives, with every little word that comes out of our mouths, or every new thought born in our brains. Let Faith illuminate the space or every nook and cranny of our being… drench our souls with its sweet fragrance. Henceforth let’s make this faith ours – and a worthy offering to a patient loving merciful God.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WORLD OUT THERE

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

Although I’ve heard it (It's by Robert Frost) thousands of times before and lived that experience at numerous times in my life, still those lines stick out like a tree amidst a flat meadow of grass and stones. You just can’t miss it!

Life goes on – mercifully it does.

You know, I’m glad that the sun continues to rise at dawn even if in other parts of my world fortunes are tumbling down or houses are robbed clean. It’s also a great feeling of rain on my face even if my neighbor just lost his precious car to a mortgage and many lives are eaten up by cancer. It makes me smile every time that I see the cherubic face of a newborn child even if people elsewhere are burying a parent, husband, son, relative, or a friend. And I still tend to my tiny garden every morning even if the daily news tells of bombings, shootings, coup de tats, killings, scandals, divorces, floods, pestilence, and drought.

Life goes on – mercifully it does.

You know something else too, I will be sad, angry, unhappy, miserable, frustrated, disappointed, afraid, cheated, betrayed, will suffer, and what else be added to that heap life throws at us… but I will not linger in that sorry state. It might break me and crush me to the ground, or hurt me deep and leave me with scars to show for it – yes it might. But it cannot destroy me or what I stand for to myself. No, because I know that those things don’t stay there forever. But it’s there for a reason. When it has exhausted itself, done its work and is satisfied that I have learned my life lessons well, it will move on and head for another human being another life. It moves on with the same bag of tools because Life is -- a teacher too.

And I will continue to hope, trust, have faith, believe in a constant and merciful God, build dreams anew, pursue destiny, seek new learning, create new passions, conquer new horizons, and maybe learn to reinvent myself too. Who says a person can’t?!

My life will continue to turn even if the rest of the world wrestles with issues and burdens and continues to fight big silly wars. Life goes on – mercifully it does.

And to the rest of you out there going through tough times in your life, acknowledge those pains and trials – cry if you must but only for awhile - Because you will soon discover that precious time waits for no one Oh No! And that life will move on with or without you. So gather yourself and decide --whether to move on along with life or stay behind in the company of your own misery. It’s your choice. But listen, it’s a beautiful world out there and with enough opportunities adventure blessings and joy for everyone, so then why not grab some for YOU? I think that’s what God would rather that you do too.

DON'T STOP LEARNING

If there is anything which succeeds to exasperate me at any time is the utter refusal of someone to learn. I’m sorry but I just can’t understand why some people when coming up to a certain age or point in their lives would simply give up on learning. I can’t believe that some people would be content with what they already know or have learned and wouldn’t care to learn anything else new anymore. This does not refer to scholarly pursuits although that too is a very good idea. What I’m driving at is the learning or to put it this way… the gaining or acquiring of new wisdom - information - facts - understanding - insights - perception or self-knowledge as we go through life.

To my mind when God created us He created us complete but it doesn’t stop there. Complete yet not perfect. The ultimate goal set for us is to someday be with Him in our final home where everything is perfect. So then being in an imperfect state as we are now and to be worthy to enter heaven’s doors, we must go through the process of ‘refining’ -- a constant shedding of old useless layers and the growing of new ones. The sole intent of which is to transform us into the perfect creatures we were meant to be. But you know what? God didn’t plan to do that all by Himself. How do I know that? It’s putting one and one together, meaning don’t we always find ourselves up against a constant barrage of challenges in life which always draw out from us a myriad of reactions decisions perceptions? These in turn define who we are and what we can become? So seeing the potential in the midst of all that misery makes me think that surely it’s there for a reason and somebody is directing the whole show. Thus using our free will to respond to each and every situation is undoubtedly our participation to God’s plan – He being that someone directing the whole show! Thus we’re in this together – God and us.

We must do our part in our own transformation. How do we do this? We learn and learn… and learn some more. The process is something like this…. LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN. We learn all that life has to offer us– experience, lessons, education, instruction, mistakes, 0coaching. But whatever we find in those things which do not serve or contribute to our well-being and growth – things which only serve to hurt and harm us, we must shed or unlearn it – run it through serious thinking, discover what does not work, go back to the basics. So we start relearn things again but in a much better light and understanding than what we had before and with this new learning grow higher into knowledge maturity and wisdom. If you think that the process ends where it ends, it does not. The learning continues all through our lives with each new step taking us closer to our goal until we finally reach our destination. All of life is learning. So don't stop learning, it is a task but a joint undertaking with your God. You will come out of it fully rewarded, that's for sure. That's God's plan for you all along.