THE DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE CHOICES WE MAKE

We all get the same stuff in life. I'm referring to those things which make us happy, cry, angry, love, lose, succeed, bitter, foolish, brilliant, or just downright stupid. Because you and I are the same. You may not fancy the green bitter gourd I eat but you have your own idiosyncrasies about food like a peanut butter and mustard sandwich. I like walking boots anywhere I go and you like dark leather jackets in rain or sunny weather. I like soft soothing music to calm my hassled nerves at night while you like the loud ear-screeching sounds of an electric guitar to wake you up mornings. I guess we can put up with all that because we know that we're so much different with each other as we are so much the same. 

But in things which matter in the course of trying to live a life the best we can, it would be wise to pay attention to certain things. We all aim for happiness and success. But to get there in the best possible time and in top form we must learn what or where we should put our emphasis or attention. Why? It’s because so many things could and would encroach on our territory thereby taking us off the track or derailing us from our goal. But we can do something about that. 

If our emphasis is on ...

...hard work, responsibility, determination, excellence, persistence, consistency, accountability, knowledge, self-confidence, respect, hope, faith, the willingness to learn, the ability to bounce back from a disappointment or failure, and the passion and love for doing what is right --we will get there no matter the road we take or challenges we face. If we put in our best effort into our goals, the universe can do no other but grant our heart's desires.

On the other hand, if we engage in ....

--lackadaisical effort, are content with mediocrity, are lazy, can't leave our comfort zones, can't make commitments, resent authority, prone to moods of procrastination, evade responsibility, and would opt for the shorter easier (yet not always the smarter) way to do things--we won't get there, that's certain. We'll simply end up as miserable as we started - Perhaps twice as miserable. To this the universe will simply say to us -- 'Buddy, you've got a problem.'

Both kinds of activity use up the same hours, days, weeks, years and energy put into it. What would make the huge difference is on deciding which road we would choose to travel -- the road to joy or the road to misery. The choice is solely ours to make.

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable,or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." ---- Carlos Castaneda


 

NO DAY BUT TODAY

Have you seen the movie 'Rent'? It's a Broadway musical turned into a movie. If you haven't yet, then go see it or get the cd. You won't regret it.

"No Day But Today" is just one of the several beautiful songs in it. This one is on my list of all time favorites.

You know why? Because it tells me this...

No day but today......

...to follow your dream
...to take dance lessons
...to finish that book
...to paint that masterpiece
...to go sailing or canoeing
...to get a sauna with your wife..or husband
...to treat your kids to Disneyland
...to be friendly to your neighbor who hates your red hair
...to write to your congressman about misfits in the government
...to give away your old stuff to people who might have need for it
...to pray - and pray - and pray not just for yourself but for others too
...to believe in yourself - there is only one you
...to forgive and be forgiven
...to sleep under the stars
...to hug your parents and grandparents
...to be kind to your household help
...to be a friend in both good times and bad
...to teach your child how to bike
...to buy yourself a bouquet of your favorite flowers
...to write that long overdue letter
...to eat healthy foods and stay with it
...to exercise regularly and stay with it
...to believe in God
...to not wait for a special occasion to give
...to say thank you
...to do a good deed
...to say 'no' when you should
...to say 'yes' when it's good
...to get down from your ivory tower and get down to real life and true living
...to plant a tree -- lots of it
...to love and take care of Mother Earth
...to recycle garbage
...to not throw garbage into rivers and streams
...to clean up your clutter
...to listen to reason and good intentions
...to get a job and not bum around anymore
...to use your college education to better lives... yours and others
...


There's more, so much more. I'm sure that you have your own list too. No time like today for it.

LOVE WILL TURN THE TIDE

I would like to do something here just so to let readers know that am very much around and blogging. This post is from the other blog. Am taking it here now and hoping that some would leave me a message or two to let me know they're there too. :-) Thanks.
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It's quite easy to turn your back to the misery of others. But not so when misery hits you. Then you wish that friends wouldn't turn their backs on you.

-"Love one another as much as I love you." - I've heard this spoken so many times, read it a thousand times over. I have realized that none can be more truer than this. God in His magnificent love has given us all of the earth... land - sea - air... under our care and management, for our living joy and pleasure. And too each other to love and care for. Every individual does not stand alone no matter how he says he does and can.. or tries. For no man is an island, each one is dependent to and on another for many different things. I need you as much as you need me. So how is it that we can't... love?

Love will turn the tide. Believe coz it's been done for ages, by many, in different circumstances, with the smallest or greatest of hearts and hands. Love breaks down all barriers -- real perceived imagined.

Don't make it difficult for yourself or for the next guy beside you or for the rest of the world. Love... and you will make a reality your and everybody's wish that the world were a better place . It'll start with you, me, them, us.

CLOSED DOORS and OPEN WINDOWS

WELCOME 2009!

The previous year for the world was a mix pot of odds and ends, tumultuous at some point and ecstatic in another and even so diverse in-between. The world is because everything good or bad must run its course -- helped along in most by mortals. Well, can't complain (Oh maybe a whimper? lols -- loudest when doors closed to my face) as far as my own life is concerned, not now anyway as I look back to it. You see, I have realized that everything that was in my 2008, good or bad, was my life and it helped form me in more ways than one. And leaving out something no matter how bad or unpleasant it was would create a void in my life tapestry. I understand now that those things were necessary for a purpose only Somebody up there would know. I didn’t know that then when I was hurting. But now I want to think that I did and have learned, grew, matured into wisdom and becoming albeit one painful bit by bit the person I was meant to be in the first place… as predetermined by the Heavens. And the learning still continues.

I believe that goes for everyone too. We’re all the same no matter the race, color, or creed. Basically we have the same needs, wants, expectations, hopes, and dreams. And we with our temporary lives are all travelling the same road to Heaven. If there was really a serious attention to a New Year’s Resolution… maybe it should read

I SHALL ... LIVE MORE, LOVE MORE, LAUGH MORE, CARE MORE, BELIEVE MORE, TRUST MORE, HELP MORE, GIVE MORE, AND PRAY MORE.'

We can do that… bit by bit or one tiny step at a time in our lives day by day. Who says it can be achieved in just one sitting. Nah, that’s not how it’s done. It may take awhile to change or develop new habits or shift one’s paradigm of thinking but it can be done. Leaving our comfort zones may be the best thing to happen to us yet. And come to think of it, maybe that would take care of the ills of our world too. --- God bless you.