Are just unnecessary baggage to carry with us everywhere and everytime. What are we afraid of and what are we worrying over?
We know the do's and donts of good living, but we have difficulty implementing it for our own classified reasons. We have complaints and excuses that stem from our worries. A flip side is that, complaints, excuses and procrastination lead to fear and worry also. If you do what you gotta do at the right time, what's there to worry or be afraid of?
Worry and fear - lifetime guarantors of "good life erosion", it will eat into you and everything close to you and all will be lost.
Have faith in yourself, have conviction in what you do and do it well. Believe that you are neither superior nor inferior to another man and that you have been blessed with all your emotions, intellect and heath in all the required proportions suitable for you, in order to serve a purpose on this earth. Now, don't start scratching your head and ask yourself "What's the purpose of my life?" - living well is a good purpose you know !
Discover who you are, what you can do, take up lifelong learning and be humble about everything. Refrain from gossip, bad habits and bad company and get rid of your ego. Live respectably and show respect. Accept that some things are out of your control.
Pray for your families, your children, that they may become owners of good and healthy minds which will work towards all that is good and prosper.
Goodbye fear and get lost worry.
Monday, November 12, 2012
I, Me !
Are first and second person pronouns – two words that make up a good portion of our daily conversation.
Children today are significantly more aware about themselves, their tastes and have strong opinions too. It’s not uncommon to find a toddler who argues with his parents, speaks emphatically like an adult ….something on the lines of
‘I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to do it !!’
I can speak safely for my generation as being taught to have mindsets to share, to include and to be concerned about others and their wellbeing. We were taught to adjust, to compromise, to forgive, to let go, all with the intention of maintaining peace for all.
‘I don’t care’, ‘Doesn’t work for me’, ‘I don’t have to put up with it’ ….so many ‘I’ s in our vocabulary. What is this obsession we have for ‘I’?
We are so lost within ourselves, we don’t seek out for anything beyond ‘our own person’ (coz it’s not worth it?), we don’t enquire about another (coz we may be intruding?), we don’t get together in the name of fellowship (coz it’s just a waste of time and money?), we are too engrossed with our day-to-day, monthly and annual plans and targets, we forget we need each other and fail to recognize one’s worth, we forget to say thank you to them (coz we think they owe it to us?)
If we can replace ‘I’ and ‘me’ with ‘us’, there is inclusion of ‘everyone’ which is perhaps more meaningful and sustainable. We must acknowledge others and what they do for us with at least a simple thank you. We must help and protect one another (not just because it is part of social responsibility), but it is essential to living long and living well. We must lend a helping hand to our less fortunate brothers and sisters (because it is the right thing to do). We must be more humane (not just by textbook standards), but because we owe it to each other.
Heal the World. Make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race - MJ
Children today are significantly more aware about themselves, their tastes and have strong opinions too. It’s not uncommon to find a toddler who argues with his parents, speaks emphatically like an adult ….something on the lines of
‘I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to do it !!’
I can speak safely for my generation as being taught to have mindsets to share, to include and to be concerned about others and their wellbeing. We were taught to adjust, to compromise, to forgive, to let go, all with the intention of maintaining peace for all.
‘I don’t care’, ‘Doesn’t work for me’, ‘I don’t have to put up with it’ ….so many ‘I’ s in our vocabulary. What is this obsession we have for ‘I’?
We are so lost within ourselves, we don’t seek out for anything beyond ‘our own person’ (coz it’s not worth it?), we don’t enquire about another (coz we may be intruding?), we don’t get together in the name of fellowship (coz it’s just a waste of time and money?), we are too engrossed with our day-to-day, monthly and annual plans and targets, we forget we need each other and fail to recognize one’s worth, we forget to say thank you to them (coz we think they owe it to us?)
If we can replace ‘I’ and ‘me’ with ‘us’, there is inclusion of ‘everyone’ which is perhaps more meaningful and sustainable. We must acknowledge others and what they do for us with at least a simple thank you. We must help and protect one another (not just because it is part of social responsibility), but it is essential to living long and living well. We must lend a helping hand to our less fortunate brothers and sisters (because it is the right thing to do). We must be more humane (not just by textbook standards), but because we owe it to each other.
Heal the World. Make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race - MJ
Thursday, November 8, 2012
"There's just no time" .....are you serious?
Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to...just everything about everything is just so busy...or is it just all just a thin veil hiding nothing?
The buzz phrase at work, at home, just about any place, even the beach....."God, it's just SO busy, I can barely keep up with the voicemails, the emails, the kids' homework, the husband's schedule, my work, the house......" ; it just goes on from there.
Just before you can manage two words out, you get "Oh, I don't know, there's just too much going on". Even the homeless guy on the street quips "Just go away, I've got too much on my mind....just leave the money here"
I tried to make an inquiry about a charity donation event to a fellow church goer. All I asked "Do you know where I can find some information about.....? to which I get "there are just too many of these programs and events, so hard to keep up ....I don't know (with the "it's the least of my worries" look on the face)......and hey you didn't hear me say that !!! '
Really???? Are we all just so busy or trying hard to stay in the race?
Even God took a day off when He was busy creating the world - the day of the Sabbath.
It's important to take time off to just reflect on what's really important - the what and the who. There is a good portion of chapter 3 in the Book of Ecclesiastes dedicated to "A Time for Everything". It's a passage loaded with plenty of truth - the key aspect being that whatever time should be allocated to whatever activity, is ultimately decided by God.
If you have inner conflicts about how to spend your time, on what or with who.... just take a read.....and trust me ....you'll feel better.
End of the day, there is no such thing as "no time", you make the time for what's important. There is no easy answer to this time shortage - we just need to pick and choose how we use our time a little more wisely, without throwing away what's truly valuable.....but again.....we come back to same problem....how to make that wise choice??
This time problem is indeed a vicious circle !!
The buzz phrase at work, at home, just about any place, even the beach....."God, it's just SO busy, I can barely keep up with the voicemails, the emails, the kids' homework, the husband's schedule, my work, the house......" ; it just goes on from there.
Just before you can manage two words out, you get "Oh, I don't know, there's just too much going on". Even the homeless guy on the street quips "Just go away, I've got too much on my mind....just leave the money here"
I tried to make an inquiry about a charity donation event to a fellow church goer. All I asked "Do you know where I can find some information about.....? to which I get "there are just too many of these programs and events, so hard to keep up ....I don't know (with the "it's the least of my worries" look on the face)......and hey you didn't hear me say that !!! '
Really???? Are we all just so busy or trying hard to stay in the race?
Even God took a day off when He was busy creating the world - the day of the Sabbath.
It's important to take time off to just reflect on what's really important - the what and the who. There is a good portion of chapter 3 in the Book of Ecclesiastes dedicated to "A Time for Everything". It's a passage loaded with plenty of truth - the key aspect being that whatever time should be allocated to whatever activity, is ultimately decided by God.
If you have inner conflicts about how to spend your time, on what or with who.... just take a read.....and trust me ....you'll feel better.
End of the day, there is no such thing as "no time", you make the time for what's important. There is no easy answer to this time shortage - we just need to pick and choose how we use our time a little more wisely, without throwing away what's truly valuable.....but again.....we come back to same problem....how to make that wise choice??
This time problem is indeed a vicious circle !!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Citizen of the world
We have witnessed how in the past century our globe has contracted, with respect to our ability to reach, thanks to advances in telecommunication and transportation (electric technology). We are all inhabitants of the one and the same global village. The speed of information search, synthesis and transfer has made it amazingly easy to virtually transport oneself to different countries, cultures and languages in an instant. We have come to an age where no information seems impossible to obtain.
Yeah, about the above paragraph, that was sort of the background for the theme I had in mind. But let me tell you what I really want you to know.
T and I have had the good fortune of being placed in different countries, during our growing and late years. Little did we know how that would impact us. Our journey thus far, has been very humbling to say the least. More than anything else, our intellectual understanding of "our differences" (referred to on a global scale) have been superseded by many undeniable truths that now abide within our hearts.
And they are....... we, people, are all one and the same, with the same needs and necessities, the same fears and frustrations, the same desires and delusions, the same pains and pleasures....end of the day we are all just human, with the same fallibilities. We are not superior or inferior to the other. We just have different appearances, speak different languages, hold on to different ways of life. Our invaders of yore, brought the division and distinction that has stuck for centuries in our mental construct. Let them have their credit for the sake of preserving history.
Point of the matter - if we are able to shed those conceptions of race, color, language, just for a moment, there is that unadultered and inexplicable liberation we experience, when we are embrace our differences .......and the feeling of empowerment that unity brings !......so hard to explain in words.....
But once that happens, it is indeed difficult to contain ourselves to our specific countries for suddenly our boundaries have become blurry......
We know in our hearts we are all one and stand united....in love, peace, harmony and brotherhood......
and at that precise moment, we've all become citizens of the same world !
Yeah, about the above paragraph, that was sort of the background for the theme I had in mind. But let me tell you what I really want you to know.
T and I have had the good fortune of being placed in different countries, during our growing and late years. Little did we know how that would impact us. Our journey thus far, has been very humbling to say the least. More than anything else, our intellectual understanding of "our differences" (referred to on a global scale) have been superseded by many undeniable truths that now abide within our hearts.
And they are....... we, people, are all one and the same, with the same needs and necessities, the same fears and frustrations, the same desires and delusions, the same pains and pleasures....end of the day we are all just human, with the same fallibilities. We are not superior or inferior to the other. We just have different appearances, speak different languages, hold on to different ways of life. Our invaders of yore, brought the division and distinction that has stuck for centuries in our mental construct. Let them have their credit for the sake of preserving history.
Point of the matter - if we are able to shed those conceptions of race, color, language, just for a moment, there is that unadultered and inexplicable liberation we experience, when we are embrace our differences .......and the feeling of empowerment that unity brings !......so hard to explain in words.....
But once that happens, it is indeed difficult to contain ourselves to our specific countries for suddenly our boundaries have become blurry......
We know in our hearts we are all one and stand united....in love, peace, harmony and brotherhood......
and at that precise moment, we've all become citizens of the same world !
Backup plans and backup pals !
In this age, almost all of us find ourselves running a rat race. The age factor is not relevant anymore. Young children and youth are prodded to become competitive in their spirit, young couples are scrambling to put their lives together and the aged are preparing their nest for retirement. We know that we are fallible and that our plans are not perfect, so we find alternatives - if not this, then that or maybe that other one? Back up plans have become a staple in our regular way of thinking and operating. Sure we can all live with that.
But how about when you realize some people warm upto you (these ones would normally look through you like you were never there !!) and you wonder if they have started to like you after all?
It takes a couple of incidents until you become sure of what is really going on. These people need an audience, need to find a way to kill boredom, a way to cope with loneliness, a way to restore their confidence. So they go in search of lesser mortals, when their regulars are not available. And some of us end up playing those roles.
Yes some of us have been assigned to the group "backup pals", in what I imagine to be a growing list !
Yes some of us have been assigned to the group "backup pals", in what I imagine to be a growing list !
There is consolation somewhere that we have been able to fill their void somehow and is sort of gratifying to know that our existence is not meaningless after all.
So yeah, we can live with that too....can't we?
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