KNOW YOURSELF

 

 

http://ellen-inretrospect.blogspot.com/2013/05/know-yourself.html

A good friend for some reason I don't know couldn't access the other blog, so am bringing this here with the hope that perhaps this time she will be able to. (Let me know, buddy.)

THE POWER OF E-COMMUNICATION

                             

Just here for a bit. I was reading this book in bed ... Well, you have to think of something to take your mind off your helpless self ... and there's nothing better than a good book to do that. Here is one I would like to share with you. Found good stuff in it but I was struck particularly by these lines which I quote. Maybe because I have written something about it months ago. The book is 'The Power of Kindness' (the same editors of Random Acts Of Kindness) ..... Chapter 5 - The Transformative Nature of Community ... an excerpt from page 158, to quote:

" ..... Maybe because of vast number people you can communicate with, most e-communications are just dabbling. A little chit-chat, back-and-forth questions and answers about incredibly superficial and meaningless things and then Poof!, people disappear.

It amazes me how often and suddenly people just drop out of sight. You think there is something real going on and then complete silence, like it never even existed. No explanations, no goodbyes, just silence. The more I checked in with friends, the more I had to conclude this was the main mode of e-communications ----- a brief flurry of e-mails and I-mails going back and forth, the illusion of connection, and the trickling away. "     -- Unquote.

I am sure that many of us have thought about this 'disappearance' ... have observed it on your fb or blog page, respectively. As much as the article above is true, one cannot simply brush off this explanation that people (that's you and me and others more) have lives to live and that life more often than not does take them in other directions too. Sometimes too fast-too soon leaving no room for goodbyes or simple courtesies. Life I think behaves often in that seemingly heartless manner -- you may want to do the right thing but it won't let you thus affecting your life and the people around you in some great or greater manner.

If some people perceive the online community lacks depth, I'll say maybe yes and maybe not. The realities of e-communication are there for one to understand both personally and impersonally. The thing is you can make a difference with your online community in a way which reflects you as a person in real life, in real time. The idea is be yourself.... your best good self the one which God meant you to be by Divine Design. Whatever it is that you do, you can't be anything less than that Divine Plan. The blueprint of our earthly lives, with or without e-communication.

Gosh, I hope this wasn't very long for you. :-)
By the way, see this photo above? So pretty and refreshing to the eyes and soul. Enjoy it as I did. Take care now and blessings to you and your families. God loves you... you know HE does!

THE HEART RULES BY GOD'S DESIGN

Let's see this.....

From -- Freaky Facts (Hinkler Books Pty Ltd 2009) --

"It was widely believed in the Middle Ages that the heart was the center of human intelligence."

Psychology-wise or anatomy-wise we know where it is, by design. But curiosity now dictates me to ask what if you believed just like them in the Middle Ages that it is indeed in the heart, how would you rate your past decisions or experiences or encounters or deeds? We have always regarded the heart as the core of our feelings or emotions. But many people consider the heart as dumb with regards to problem solving. Yet if it was the intelligent heart which moved you, how would you have fared with it?

Just a playful thought as I flipped through this small book and stopped at page 136 for this freaky fact.

Oh! one more thing before I go on with the rest of my God-blessed day, God looks to the heart........ HE doesn't care about how brilliant or intelligent or witty we think ourselves to be in our minds or puny brains. But if we respond to HIM intelligently with our hearts, don't you think that would make GOD smile lots? We may have been missing this all along -----  The key to HIS HEART is right there in our hearts.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. Tons of blessings await you. Just open your eyes. Think with the heart  :-)

MAYBE IT'S JUST ONE-FOURTH OF A RAINBOW BUT.....

(I'm bringing this here from the other blog.. for a special friend. God bless you.)

Today is January 4, 2013, Friday...........

The overcast skies above failed to dampen my resolve to get on with my usual early morning walk. Glad that I did because just about a few minutes into my walk I saw this lovely rainbow.... not a full one, not even half of it, but just one-fourth of a rainbow! But it was enough to bring a song to my heart. Because that's what a rainbow does, at least to me. It tells you so much what life is all about.... colorful, vibrant, diverse... it reminds me of newness, potential, possibilities, hope, dreams, and of God's promise that the best is yet to come.

No, it doesn't say that troubles are over or no more. What it says is that troubles will come as it always will in life but it will pass as surely as the night turns into day. And that we can breeze through the transition armed with courage, determination, perseverance, confidence in self, and a steadfast belief and faith in GOD. Rainbows come to seal that glorious promise of rebirth... of hope... of a fresh new beginning.

We should learn from the past and learn well that always at some point or other in our lives we go through --- change, transition, progress, creation and recreation. And always the movement should be forward. FORWARD. No turning back, no dwelling in the past, no looking back except to pluck out the lessons essential to our present journey.

Well, the rainbow disappeared with the rising of the glorious sun. But it succeeded what it had set out to do.... bring the song back to my heart.

I hope the first week of 2013 gave you a glimpse of the best waiting for you up ahead. If there's none yet, create it. Or just wait a wee bit more. God is definitely working on it. Believe.

Blessings to you all!

IT ALL STARTS FROM ..... ONE

-----------------
"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn"  

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A single acorn. And if you expand your thoughts to include......

-- one prayer can create miracles
-- one smile can create a thousand happy hearts
-- one random act of kindness can create good
-- one word of hope can dispel  a thousand doubts
-- one positive thought can create an avalanche of other positive thoughts
-- one soft gentle song can ease numberless weary minds
-- one word of thanks can warm unsuspecting hearts
-- one helping hand can restore trust in the Divine
-- one understanding heart can heal the wounds of suffering
-- one willing mind can infuse other willing minds to create change
-- one fearless stand can move others to unite for a worthy cause
-- one act of caring can help make this world a better place

.... and many more. It all starts from..... ONE!

Wishing you all a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a very BLESSED ONE!

WHEN GOD ASKS YOU TO GROW... THEN GROW

-------------------
And now the dust is slowly settling down and we are back to our normal lives. Or trying to. Many thoughts have come to my mind throughout these past events. This particular and final episode in the life of my brother was mercifully short. This is where you get to understand how God truly is a God of mercy and love.

As I sit alone by myself I began to gather these thoughts and sorting them out to make some sense of it or discern lessons where there might be. Stuff which I've heard long ago through my Mom. And here it is again as a gentle nudge lest it be forgotten. Useful in our everyday lives I'm sure. Here they are as written by the heart......

-- life is short so don't waste time on foolishness and non-essential things. It's not a forever thing. Remember, life is a candle in the hands of the Divine.

-- laugh when the moment asks you to; in fact, have many such moments of laughter and joy. Live.. love.. laugh!

-- tell someone you love.. 'I love you' ..a thousand times each day. Say it... say it... SAY it!!!

-- treasure your FAMILY no matter their imperfections. Only a family will and can stand by you through thick and thin.

-- speak.. talk..communicate; people are not mind readers.

-- know when a moment comes whether it is your moment or not. Sometimes the event is not at all about you no matter how it may seem to be... but of someone else or of someone you love. Respond properly and accordingly.

-- Don't make room for half-hearted choices or decisions. Clarity avoids confusion or distress.

-- when God asks you to grow -- that's what you should do... GROW.

-- believe in the power of PRAYER.

-- seek and see blessings with a prayerful and grateful heart.

-- pay kindness forward. Just do it!

-- see life in its huge tapestry and not just a small thread of it. Appreciate your little corner of it and also being an integral part of the whole. Respect others who are there too.

-- God never fails. God is hope.

..... and many more.
Blessings to everyone! Have a happy week.

A HUMBLE REQUEST FOR PRAYERS

--------------

I now have lost a brother and his family lost a husband and father. He passed last December 01 after fighting a fierce battle with cancer at Cardinal Santos Hospital. May I humbly request my friends in the blog for prayers for the eternal repose of his soul.

Thank you. Blessings to you all.



 (Won't be around for a few days. Back soon.)

WORDS DERIVE LIFE FROM THE HEART

WORDS --- They can build you up, take you down, disappoint, make you happy, hurt and sad, wonder, and too scare you. In short, words are powerful. Putting it to the test, I paid attention and listened intently when people talk to me. Indeed, words alone have no life, but derive life from the content of the heart. Goodness rooted in the heart translates itself in words one uses -- these words which fly out on virtual wings of compassion and truth. On the other hand, bad intent makes even the sweetest word ring untrue as it operates under the shadows of venom nestled in the heart. It stings hard and deep.

Be careful the words you use with young children. What you say will determine the attitudes they will be carrying with them unto their adult lives. It will influence their perception of the world and the people in it, shape beliefs of right or wrong, their relationships, work habits, ambitions and dreams, and how they would relate to their God. It will definitely define their personality and character. So be careful the words you use with them - it makes a big difference in their lives. And, will eventually redound to yours, too. 

Be careful what you speak. It can mean the world to another person. It can make or break him. Be careful what you write. It can influence great minds and poor minds alike. Both lives will be affected in some way you will never know as their minds 'wrestle' with the words or the beatings of your heart. 

Someone wrote a nice quote which in essence says - 

'Be wary of what comes out of the mouth as it would always spring from the heart. The content of the heart determines the genuine quality of words spoken.' 

IT’S SELF-LESS – NOT SELF-MORE

And do you know why? 

Because they give of their hearts, with their hearts. While the rest of us hang on fiercely to it and everything else which we think give us meaning in life or to our existence. We go to every extent to save it, protect it, prosper it, commemorate it, and marking it 'mine'. But nothing can do that. The stuff we gather through life is just stuff and will be left behind when it's time for us to go. Why don't we instead make this journey worthwhile? Why not try to create places in the hearts of others where we will be remembered not for what we have, but for what we are in the heart. Why not put aside race, color, or creed and the big social divide, just simply connect or reach out with our basic good which has been there all along just waiting to be called forth to do its job. God put it there, but we keep forgetting. 

We also forget that life as in love isn't until given away to serve the greater good. We limit ourselves by thinking 'inward' all of the time. When the biggest potential, adventure, joy, wonder, miracle, and blessing is 'outward'. The flow of life is ... outward not inward, self-less not self-more, giving not keeping, sharing not hoarding .... these are the stuff heaven allows and truly blesses abundantly. 

Flowers in the hands of an old wrinkled simple man is the true meaning of life. This is the key to open the gates of heaven. 

KALEIDOSCOPE

I like this....... 'Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope- a slight change, all patterns alter.' -- Susan Salzberg

Slight change -- huge impact. That's the goal. Specially if life is giving you such a tough time. Another word for it is incremental changes. Small vigorous measures which can greatly resonate within and without of your life. You see, it's like marbles placed in a glass. Try moving one or two or several and watch the rest remaining inside the glass shift, adjust, adapt to the space created. Or try throwing a pebble into a placid stream and notice the ripples created by the pebble when it hits the surface. The water shifts, moves, adjusts. It's not its old self anymore. Something has changed it. The same thing with life when you try to inject some measure of change. It moves old thoughts and habits, shakes up comfort zones, stirs up long forgotten passions and dreams. You are never the same again. Life has changed. And this moves you forward steadily towards your desired goal.

Try it. Shake up your kaleidoscope of life and living. Make it sparkle and shine even more. You can do it with small steps but steadily. There is power in small.

Have a blessed day! God bless.