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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There's SOMEONE Bigger Than You and Me

🤓
When you think nothing is happening, think again. You might be in for a big surprise. The Big Guy upstairs loves dishing out surprises. Though sometimes it may not be what you want. But definitely it's what you need. You can't know any better. HE DOES!!👼

YOU MATTER - DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY

 

- Saw this in a flower shop... it stood out from all the rest. In spite of the others ablaze in brilliant colors, this stood out in its awesome simplicity.🌷

Sometimes it's the same with people. While others huff-and-puff so hard to make an impression, someone just shines thru as it stands confident and sure in its own true worth...and yet humbly so.

You matter. Maybe quite flawed and imperfect as the rest of the world or humanity is... but you matter. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Don't let people bully you into thinking you're not enough. Of course, you have your own personal glitches in character and personality, so what? So does everybody else. They who think they're perfect and have it all is and are just a tiny box in this huge tapestry of life and living. They're there for a reason, too, which Somebody up there alone knows.

Meantime, be that wonderful person God created. Fill up your space with beauty... love... joy... positivity. Use this to connect with equally wonderful people around you and to the bigger world outside.

Shine with your light. While you're at it, help make the world - our world - a better place

God bless you

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.)

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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 ...
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"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
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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;
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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.'
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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.
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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.
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So.... the choice is there for us to make:
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Shall we step along with life's parade........ or remain where we are and have always been since god-knows-when.
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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.
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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.
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God go with you in your journey. As I pray too that He does in mine.

THOUGHTS -- WEEDS OR FLOWERS?

 

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I wasn't planning on writing today. Just felt like cruising casually on the internet boulevard not stopping for anything... just enjoying the view, so to speak. Until I stumbled on this, to quote...........
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Your mind is a garden,
Your thoughts are the seeds.
You can grow flowers
Or you can grow weeds.
--- Rito Chatourey
(Unquote).
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Just couldn't let that one pass me by. Besides my thoughts were quicker than my reflexes and sooner than soon found myself pounding on the keys. Habits die hard, it seems.
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The mind is a garden -- I agree. What you think into it defines the quality of your thoughts ...and words ...and deeds. I remember mom say.... 'You think trash, you speak trash; you think good, blessings come out of your mouth.'
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Almost always the two are connected... the thoughts come first but it must travel. It's not meant to be a static thing. Words are to be spoken and spoken means communicate. It has to find its expression, it has wings that make it fly. So where and how does it do that? Easy. It flows out as speech through the mouth and flies out to the world and the universe doing its work. What is its work? To affect, to move, to influence, to initiate change, to join that which welcomes it.
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Can you imagine what effect it has if the words we put out there are words of destruction, defeat, fear, cowardice, hopelessness, or any other kind of negativity??
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Can you imagine too what potential for good we can create or cause to be if the words coming out from us speak of what is --- good, true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of virtue, of praise? Words that build lives and not tear it down. (Refer to Philippians 4:8)
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Thoughts are the seeds which dribble, percolate, simmer in your brain. Good thoughts grow into flowers which brighten the landscape of life. Bad thoughts grow the weeds which alter beauty even in its purest form. We have seen what it does around us in this huge spectrum of life.
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Yet sometimes we can turn those weeds into flowers -- if we but sprinkle or nurture it with positive water. Also, on the other hand, those flowers can wither and die if we so neglect it or feed it with negative intent. It's all up to us really --- the gardeners --- tending the garden of our thoughts.
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Still, here's a tiny thought, weeds can be gems in disguise if we try to peel off its ugly layer to reveal the flower within. There's no such thing as a hopeless case. It could be lots of hard work for our puny strength but maybe it could be worth all that trouble in the end. God did it first.... with us -- weeds in the bigger garden called earth. HE never gave up on us. Maybe we are asked to do the same?
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Wishing for you all of God's grace, peace, and light.

 

FOR THE MOUTH SPEAKS WHAT THE HEART IS FULL OF

 

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Was cruising down the Timeline, just watching a part of this great humanity go by in this little corner of the social media world. It's a huge crowd going to and fro and certainly leaving their footprints, knowingly or unknowingly, on the internet forever. No delete... no erase... no taking back. So be careful what you do on FB.
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Went further down the bottomless timeline page (or so it seems) and stumbled upon this.. "Stop destroying your own life with your own words." ---Joyce Meyer.
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Now that is interesting, isn't it??
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Made me stop in my tracks. Made me think. So just what are those words which make us self-destruct?
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I can cite a few, for instance when we say......... 'Mamalasin ako nito ah!' (This is bad luck for me.) -- 'Masisira diskarte ko nyan!' (This ruins everything for me.) -- 'Nawala na ang pagkakataon ko!' (I lost a good chance there.) -- 'Ang hirap naman umahon!' (Tough to get over this slump.) -- 'Hirap maghanap ng trabaho.' (So hard to find a job.) -- 'Sino ba ako?!! Isa lamang hamak na bubuwit laban sa kaniya!' (Who am I?! Am just an insignificant bloke.) -- 'Bobo ako eh!' (I'm dumb! or I'm stupid!) -- 'Tinatamad ako!' (I'm feeling lazy.) -- 'Wala akong pera.' (I'm broke.) -- 'Na-depress ako.' (I'm depressed.) ------Familiar to you, right? Many more out there unleashed without a thought.
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Amazing what we do to ourselves... just by the mere words that we speak. We can create our good and our bad by the words that come out of our mouth. Listen to a person to what he says and you will know in good measure what his thoughts are. And those thoughts speak from the contents of his heart. When he feels it first in the heart... he thinks a lot about it in his mind... and to give way to expression he then talks about it. Whether with self (self-talk) or with others. The potential is all there to build up or put down.... to create or destroy.... for good or for bad whether self-inflicted or upon others. The power of our words.
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'Garbage in, garbage out'... that's what a computer does and it all begins with what we put into it. And these verses come to mind, same principle with what God says to us...... - "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Luke 6:45).
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And we do know that ....'Whatsoever you shall sow, so shall you reap.' --Galatians 6:7
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So maybe we should be careful with our words. Same with the heart and the mind.
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Thoughts of blessings to you, my friends. Be blessed and stay blessed.

SOMEDAYS YOU JUST HAVE TO CREATE YOUR OWN SUNSHINE

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"Life is a smile so find it
Put your face behind it
Get it straight in your mind
You gotta make your own sunshine
..... It can't be so hard to find."
(Anon)
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Even if life throws you a sour ball and you get it smack on your face......... that only means that you have to practice your ducking skills some more!
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And if life plays a sad bad tune and expects you to dance to it......... say 'thanks but no thanks' and go ahead make your own music and dance loco to it.
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When you get spoilers to your day of things and people......... show them the door and slam it hard behind them.... gleefully!! Bwahahaaaa......
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When something goes wrong to your favorite plan or project......... take that as a cue to ease up, lie down, or hit a ball or two on the tennis court or check out your better idea to unwind. Or better yet clear the cobwebs in and on your mind -- There must be a huge ugly super-pangit spider somewhere in there picking on your creative cells for lunch.
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When you feel that you could kill this jerk because he IS a big jerk......... think of how our jails are hopelessly congested you have to queue for hours to use the toilet.
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When no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to find that elusive sunshine......... i-drawing mo na lang yan! Draw your piece of sunshine with crayons and paper. Yeah, Go ahead!!! .... and rainbows and stars and roses and angels and moonbeams!
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When you feel that your prayers are hitting a huge blank wall......... it's just the devil making you think that way. So direct your prayers to the villain with this: In Jesus' name, go smash your ugly nauseating excruciating obnoxious villainous head to that wall there!!! ... Then go back to your conversation with God.
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Yes, I get bad days too just like everybody else and sometimes my sunshine goes shy. But I have learned to buoy up my sunshine with some wee bit of effort and a truck-load of prayers. You just have to try. Don't let a lovely day go to waste.
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Wishing you a lovely day of blessings. Shine with your light! God bless you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015 - STRENGTH UNDEFEATABLE

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To quote....
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"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)
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Unquote.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Life is what you make it.
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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.

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POSITIVITY - IT'S A WINNER ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT IT

"Life is a grand  party where no one gets to meet the host or stay to the end."  --- Robert Brault 

A very positive and optimistic point of view on life which I honestly don't get to hear often. But we do know by experience that life is everything but a grand ball. And yet, it can be the grand party you may wish it to be if you so choose it. Just a matter of attitude and a huge dose of positive thinking. That's what it said in a book I had recently read.

Life is tough as we hear it often said and as often as we have been told about it. Consequently we get to experience it ourselves as we get down to the real thing in our respective lives. While many would groan and whine going through the fire, there are some amazingly who would simply dance through the flames. And what may be the difference there? Yes, you're right, it's attitude... a positive attitude towards life.

And as I have learned, a positive attitude springs from a positive mind. But how does one describe a positive mind? I think it's one that believes in possibilities, in potential, in hope, in faith, and in believing that there is ONE up there who cares what happens to you down here. So if HE CARES, what could hold you or us back from anything good?!

An ounce of positivity is a pound of _________. So you fill in the blanks according to what positivity did for you. Maybe somebody out there needs to hear it. :-) Pass the positivity around. It's a winner any way you look at it.

(Thanks, Mr. Quote Man, for the quote. And thanks to the internet for the wonderful images.)

Blessings, everyone!

HELP DON'T HURT

 

 

See that??? LOOK FOR THE HELPERS! ... instead of sitting on your high chairs and checking out for flaws. Get down here and get your hands dirty too, brother and sister! Or if you can't go physical for some reason or another, then >>>> SET THE SPOTLIGHT UNTO THE HELPERS (by word or print or get your cameras working and post them on social sites online) ... they are many! Bless 'em!!!

Let's drown out the negativity around us with POSITIVE IMAGES OF POSITIVE PEOPLE --- hearts and souls regardless of age, gender, race, color, or creed --- joined in one common NOBLE cause!!!

LOOK FOR THE HELPERS! THEY ARE THERE!!

 

The post below is an eye-opener ..............

Maria Maricel Osin Escuro's status.

about an hour ago ·

 

From Rob Crilly, a journalist, who was in Ground Zero in Tacloban:

But I have been shocked to see that the story for the past few days has been dominated by criticism of the relief effort.

These things take time. They can never, ever move fast enough when ships are the only way to deliver the colossal amounts of aid needed. No-one predicted that Typhoon Haiyan would be quite so lethal. And there is little left in the way of local government.

And you know what? One of the least reported aspects of this whole crisis has been the patient stoicism displayed by the victims. Most of their help has come from extended families. Relatives are looking after each other, pooling resources and sharing what little food they have. Those who have homes are taking in the homeless.

To lambast the international aid response and the local authorities is to misunderstand how humanitarian relief operates – and to overlook the humbling charity already on offer from people who have little to give.

 

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LIFE IS MADE UP OF THE LITTLE PRECIOUS THINGS TOO

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One of things in life I have learned is that..... to quote

"Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things,
in which smiles and kindnesses, and small obligations, given habitually,
are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort." -- Humphrey Davy
Unquote.

The great sacrifices and duties of life that each of us do are not always a source of peace and comfort. Sometimes, and I say sometimes, they heap unhappiness and sadness within us which does not always translate to a life we would rather have or have imagined in our dreams. These are the secrets in the heart which some of us or maybe even a lot us keep. But we deal with it in each our own way. Most of them find their way in prayer.

That is why I like people and admire human beings. Oh I know there are jerks scattered in there but everybody is a someone for a reason. Both the good and bad are because of a reason or reasons good or bad. You are who you are because something made you that way. Even God does not condemn a sinner but only the sin. Oh yes, bad can change but that would take for another post. As for the good, keep on being good because that is a big winner however one may look at it.

The little things... ahhh but this one is different. You know what, my preferences have changed as I grew older. I would rather have the tiny sincere gesture of kindness, a thoughtful concern, a comforting touch, a considerate word or words, an understanding look, a smile that says I'm okay and everything will be fine, an unexpected Hello, gifts of time and presence, and all the tiny kind nice heart-based gestures or things which truly create the precious treasures of life and living. These I like to see in my day with family, friends, people. These I live for because without them life is nothing but a wound-up clock ticking time away.

:-) I hope you're all having a lovely weekend.
Release the power of love and positivity around you
and to the universe. The universe will surely remember
to give back to you a thousandfold more.

Oh by the way, God is watching and blesses you all.
Have a great weekend!

(By the way, thanks to Mr. Quote Man for the lovely quote above.)

ATTRACT POSITIVITY TO YOUR LIFE

I've read this in a book long ago. Yes, long ago but these lines I will be quoting to you have stayed in my mind through my learning years. It plays an important role in our desire to grow, progress, improve, or change for better and best. Here's what it says, to quote...........

The Law Of Replacement

"There is a law in psychology that says --- you cannot get rid of one thing without replacing it with something else. --- Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we just try to eliminate the negative without replacing it with the positive, the vacuum created will eventually suck the negative back in. If we are not careful and conscious, we sometimes end up just replacing one negative with another negative."  (The Aladdin Factor, Canfield and Hansen)

Unquote.

So does that not give us an idea why sometimes things don't seem to happen the way we hope or want to in spite of eliminating what we may have thought was the cause? It's because we did not have a fitting replacement for what we have eliminated or removed from our lives. If something causes us so much pain or misery (a negative), we pluck it out of our system or existence... And a vacuum has been created. So what then have we filled it with next?

Here are familiar snippets of life which put that principle into play........

- A woman is in a bad relationship but instead of getting into another relationship which may or may not guarantee happiness comes to decide to free herself of the negative presence in her life. And having learned well the lessons therein replaces it with renewed maturity, fresh courage, much wiser, and determination to build her life anew and move on with it by her lone new self. 

- A man is in a dead-end job but instead of feeling sorry for himself kicks the bucket of negativity and resigns from the job. Then gathering strength which he thought was non-existent learns from mistakes, boosts his confidence and sets his eyes on a fresh new approach to job hunting.

.... and many other similar situations we will surely find in life if we open our eyes and pay attention.

The lessons is simple....  life should be lived with positivity. Although I admit that sometimes staying positive serves such a huge challenge too. But if we persist with it and learn well the rewards are far greater than we can imagine. So why don't we give it a try? After all we all desire better or the best for ourselves. So let's give ourselves that chance.

Blessings, everyone!

PRECIOUS MOMENTS OF OUR LIVES FOR A LOVELY DAY

Back from my early morning walk I went straight to my tiny patch of a garden. Looking at how the weeds were having a huge holiday camping in and round it I decided to end their pleasure with a pair of garden shears. Straight to the task I went about snipping here and there. I was pretty hard into the chore when a friend from another street who looked like she was also into her routine morning walk came by with a pleasant greeting. Glancing up I nodded with a smile. This led her to stop (Good Lord!) for a chit-chat much to my annoyance, disguised irritation. But it was such a lovely morning to even try to be ‘mean’. Yet looking down at my work I saw that I was only about two-thirds done with my weed-destruction mission and Old Sol was getting hot. I was faced with a dilemma.... be honest with being annoyed... or be kind. Yeah you guessed right... a little bit of kindness won’t hurt. So I turned towards her with ‘Musta?’ (How are you?)

She smiled even bigger with ‘Ganda ng araw noh?’ (Lovely day, isn’t it?)

To which I replied ‘Ay sobra!’ (Indeed it is!)

‘Wag lang umulan’ came her reply. (Hope it doesn’t rain)

She continued....‘Hay naku, maglalaba pa naman ako mamya. Kainis noh kapag ayun may sampay ka tapos biglang bumuhos ang ulan’   (Gosh, I intend to do the laundry later. It would really suck when you have hung up the laundry to dry and then the rain pours.)

I looked up to the clear blue skies with nary a cloud in sight and said.. ‘Maganda ang sikat ng araw, sapat yan para matuyo ang mga nilabhan mo maghapon.’   (The sun’s shining brightly enough to dry your clothes the rest of the day.)

‘Sana...’ she sighed. (I hope so...)

To this I said with a smile ... ‘Naku kung ganyan ang iniisip mo eh di simulan mo na siguro...’ (If that’s how you think about it, why don’t you get started then...)

If that was a disguised push for her to leave, I agree. I simply can’t stand negativity from anyone, especially if it stands to ruin a lovely day for me. And if she can’t appreciate a simple blessing as a wonderful day, there’s nothing much I can do about that but I hope she gets to understand what she’s missing.

When you’re having a lovely moment or day, enjoy it for what it is. Savor it.... the place, the people, the sights and sounds of it, and more. Don’t let anyone or anything take you away from such pleasure or delight. Neither should you allow any hint of negativity ever to douse your precious experience. Negativity is a joy-killer.

We live for the moments of our lives. A brightly shining morning sun, the soothing calm of a clear blue sky, the whirl of the wind, a baby’s angelic smile, the loving look in your lover’s eyes, a promotion at work, an unexpected fortune, a wedding or a baptism of a child, and even the falling of soft rain on your face. Wondrous moments of pure joy, of awesome discoveries, of intense living, of blessed experiences, of eureka moments, and of freeing your light to shine through and out to the world.

Think positive, think life, think blessing. And remember to thank God for it all. Oh yes indeed!!

Blessings, everyone! Have a nice weekend up ahead.