LIFE CANNOT BE LIFE WITHOUT PEOPLE IN IT

I was on my way down the hill at the tail-end of my morning walk when this silver-haired gentleman-foreigner heading my way from the opposite direction on seeing me slowed down and greeted me with a huge friendly smile and a question... "How many times do you go round the neighborhood?" I replied "Twice, most times." To this he smiled even more and said.. "Good for you!" And walked past me still wearing his big wide smile..
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Apparently he too was doing his usual morning routine. And so were other Filipino residents of the neighborhood at that early hour. But one thing looks quite clear to me.... Filipinos are shy .. in fact, just too shy to jump on an opportunity to make friends or simply share the good vibes of the moment. I remember Mom said this long ago....... "The art of giving and receiving does not come naturally to many. But it can be learned. Start with loving yourself, life and everything in it."
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Life without people would be similar to one landscape of meadows, mountains, rivers, forests running endlessly beyond the horizon and even farther. Magnificent but somehow incomplete.
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People, on the other hand, bring into life those thousand-and-one things which make it come pulsatingly alive. Challenges... perceptions... insights.... excitement... adventure... joy and happiness... creativity... productivity... emotional diversity... development... growth, etc. Add to the same pot the worrisome and wearying disputes... arguments... sorrows... questions... destruction.... conflicts... negativity... and other things more which make you want to bang your head on the wall. These things happen between man and man interacting and colliding in a manner they alone best know how.
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Life cannot be life without people in it.
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Wishing for you and your family God's blessings beyond measure.

LIFE IS ATTITUDE.. HEART.. PRAYER

Musings on a surprisingly sunny day! The storm threatening our shores must have passed. Did somebody say it's paying China a visit? Be safe, China.
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To quote... (oh you know already which book I'm quoting...)

LOOK TO THE GOOD
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"Look only to the good,. Look only to what you have, to what God has given you. Do not let your eyes come to rest upon any other thing but the blessings and peace of Christ. Do not fix your gaze upon the negatives, upon the past or the future. Remember, your life is hid with Me. By now you know that I can be trusted and that I have all your affairs in My hands. Not one thing escapes My attention."
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Unquote.
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But first..... I get this tiny suspicion that many of you do wonder why I often quote lines off the book 'Good Morning... God'. The answer to that is simple.
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I am a mere mortal running the course of my allotted life and time on this beautiful planet. Many things cross my path... some good... some bad. I cope with the best I can manage with the inherent skills God has wisely equipped us all with. Sometimes I win... sometimes lose. When times get tough... or when I forget who I am... or when utterly get lazy - crazy - bored - sad - lonely - scared - confused - unbelieving - suspicious - furious... or when simply at a crossroad ----
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The need there is to energize.. recharge.. renew.. reconnect.. reboot my soul. What better way to do that but with the Source. Prayer does a great thing.. and supporting that is a tiny (and perhaps trivial to some) humble book waiting beside my bed. It encapsulates or sums up simply and beautifully my thoughts on life which are humbly presented to God. In turn, God imparts His wisdom to me. He does that to anyone and everyone who stops to listen. Oh let's remember that God works through people, places, events, and things. That's the way He operates.
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And... I sincerely hope you won't or don't mind when I share these treasures with you every now and then.
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Now back to the musings.......
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Positives and negatives... life is full of both. We have no problem with dealing with the lovely positives of life. In fact, we often wish life was only made up of those. Heavenly, right? - On the other side of life's coin are the negatives. Oh brother! these can surely tear down everything you may have built! And you know what I mean.
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But only if you let it!
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So how do you do that? "Look only to the good"
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Yes, I agree it's not always easy. Life's troubles are such that they sure can prick you hard and hurt you harder. But that is when you are asked to fight your battles hard, too... and hardest! Look for the good in your life. It's there.. maybe under some cover... but it's there! Fight the bad with good. Turn the negative into positive. It all takes the right attitude to beat the odds and come out winning.
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Life is ATTITUDE... HEART... and PRAYER. Nope, it is not magic nor is it an instant formula to banish your cares and woes away. It's even better. Because it sure can give you the best chance at winning. And winning..... is God's design for our lives.
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Look to the good. There's plenty if you look hard enough.. or truly seek it with your heart and mind. Frankly, no other better way to live life.
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Blessings, everyone. God sprinkled plenty in your day.. your life.

THREE FAVORITE THINGS --- AND SOMETHING MORE

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When the muses are quiet and no inspiration pushes the pen or laptop keys.... or when some days are lonely... or when saddled with cares and woes... or when days are even boring... I turn to three favorite things. One, I go out to the garage and have a nice chat with my three dogs -- Lucky, Buddy, and the new addition Scruffy. (There's a fourth one Maxie but she prefers napping on the couch in the living room.) Or.... two, I get myself a cup of yummy ice cream (if there happens to be one inside the freezer), sit on the couch and watch my favorite show on TV. If nada on the ice cream thing, a peanut butter sandwich takes its place with a glass of iced tea... and eyes still glued on the TV screen. Or..... three, my daughter and I go out to the mall to watch a good movie or have our favorite frappe at Starbucks. 

And...... Oh by the way, also squeezed in-between those three are the one-and-a-thousand details of things we usually do around the house. Plus.... the different roles a mother plays to her children regardless of their age. Plus.... the things done for 'me-time'... listen to music, paint, read a good book, sew a bag from an old pair of jeans, call up a friend, sort through old files for some hidden 'gold' to feed the writing, etc.
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Now I almost forgot this. After listing down the I, Me, My, Mine of being human and was set to move to the next thing to write ---- I remembered this >> Plus..... this precious life nurturing-connection.... Being still to acknowledge God's presence in my life. The wonders of His Magnificent God-ship. Those should be etched in the heart for nobody would last a day or a second without Him. All that we are -- our brilliance, intellect, talents, wealth, beauty, successes, achievements, acquisitions, titles, positions, or greatness -- everything comes from His goodness, love, compassion, and mercy. Gifts from His divine heart. The magnificent I AM. Thus if I have the 'me-time'.... this one's called the 'HIS-time'.
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Now why am I telling you this? Because I have learned something very important which I'd like to share with you. It is this........
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"Look only to the good. Look only to what you have, to what God has given you. Do not let your eyes come to rest upon any other thing but the blessings and peace of Christ. Do not fix your gaze upon the negatives, upon the past or the future. Remember, your life is hid with me. By now you know that I can be trusted and that I have all your affairs in My hands. Not one thing escapes My attention." --- God 

 
(Yes, those lines are from the book 'Good Morning... God')
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Nice, aye? Give it a try. You might like it, too. Furthermore you will soon discover that trusting God gives you more time to be you.. with your life... with your gifts.... with your God.
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God bless you!