Are YOU at WAR with the ENVIRONMENT, YOURSELF and EVERYBODY AROUND YOU?

MOST OF US ARE LUCKY.
We don’t know.

Or maybe we feign not to know.
MOST OF US ARE BLESSED.
Yet we are perpetually complaining about our lot in life.

We discard foods, even though in some disaster-ravaged and war-torn countries, starving people are thriving on scraps.

I am sure we hear these horrific words ringing through laughter and tears. Do you believe in the truth and the power of these words?

Spare a thought and do whatever we can within our means to make this world a better place.

IT IS OUR WORLD. WE ARE THE WORLD. HEAL THIS WORLD.

Shall we?

MAKE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR WHAT FEELS GOOD.

You hear this one before, I am sure.

“Stop holding on to what's hurting inside you

and make room in your heart for what feels good.”

THIS IS SO RIGHT.

I repeatedly remind myself.

I have to banish away the lonesome darkness, draw the hideous curtains to invite in the enlightening light.

I need to smile more ….

and demonstrate that I mean it.

It’s my life, my very own

and I am saying that I love myself.

Shouldn’t I?

I die ….I die … I DIE, DIE, DIE … (Metaphorically speaking, DON’T we ALL?)

WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?

For starters, a really helpful pal recently stumbled upon an online article titled STOP CHASING THE WRONG THINGS and emailed me this to swipe mutual opinions, cajoling that the contents can do wonders to pep up any sad guy’s deflated soul.

Of course, he’s darn right. Upon reading, the thunderous dark clouds quickly disperse and a brand new world appears to shimmer in my mind. (gasp)

Being the creative idiot that I am, I  envisage rainbow hues, I see rain… at least for that one brief moment, and I thought it’d be nice if I broach a little about the “poetic magic” here.

I am thankful to the the anonymous author for such a lovely reminder.

Sound advice from an experienced smartie, because in life, all of us are too busy + starry-eyed to take  heed of little deeds.

NO, life ain’t easy. Nobody says it’s going to be.

We get edgy over the slightest mistakes and punish ourselves as though doomsday is around the corner.

Again, LIFE ain’t sweet as well, but we still have to let go and plod on with as much positivism as we can muster.

You may begrudge a smiling face as you may never know what harbors behind that emotive facade.

We need to spruce up our appearance, action and speech because first impressions count. Always.

Again everything is easier said than done during depressing times, but we’ve just got to look at a different rebound.

Let’s pause for a moment to read this:

When you stop chasing the wrong things you give
the right things a chance to catch you.

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.

2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled.

4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.

7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.

8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.

10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.

11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.

12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.

13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.

14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.

15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.

16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”

17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.

19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.

20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.

21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.

22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.

24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.

25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.

26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.

27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.

28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

    ANYONE CAN TRY TO BE A BETTER MAN, ONLY IF HE WILLS HIMSELF TO BE.

    
    

LIFE can be “Oh-so-PURR-FECT” if you ALLOW it to BE.

A brimming PICTURE of PERFECTION can be MARRED by internal TURMOIL.

IMAGINE this scenario:

You are indoors and outside it’s pelting heavily.

Showers can be a pretty sight to behold.

The darting raindrops hit against the glass window, putting on an impressive display as they form creative circles of droplets.

A Barry Manilow ballad booms from a pair of stereo speakers at the far corner of the room.

Out on the porch a pair of wind chimes are vibrating against the breeze.

You espy a small river nearby, and the waters are glistening in last yawn of twilight.

The sight is therapeutic, instilling the sudden spurts of thoughts on living and loving as they are brought to mind.

Aren’t these inseparable companions?

MIKE DOOLEY says it all in this poem:

“If you just look

at all that already exists in your life,

all that you already have:
unlimited air to breathe,
ample lighting to see,
music to hear, books to read,
stars to dream by, trees to gaze at,
floors to dance on,
friends to cavort with,
enemies to befriend,
strangers to meet,

woods to walk through,
beaches to comb, rocks to scale,
rains to cleanse you, rivers to float you,
animals to comfort you,
you do have to admit,
there’s more of it than you could ever,
ever, ever spend.

But try anyway.”

We make a choice when we allow our thoughts to become us.

LIFE can be “Oh-so-PURR-FECT” …..

But only if you ever ALLOW it to BE.

This NEW YEAR 2012. A new BEGINNING. It can be a wonderful LIFE!

SMILE and the whole world SMILES with YOU.

The DIARY of LEARNINGS.

GOODBYE 2011.

We are sad to see you go amid the awesome fireworks …..

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?

HELLO 2012!

Radiant showers of colorful hues light up the darken skies.

Let’s pray for an upsurge in the GLOBAL ECONOMY and WORLD PEACE.

‘Tis going to be a SPLENDID YEAR!

Animal LOVE, whatever.

Sweet, divine LOVE. Aha …..

(BLAH) Here’s LOOKING at YOU, folks!

Yeah, finally, a brand new year 2012 has arrived at our doorstep.

New beginnings, new episodes, new adventures.

I am revisiting two of my old articles to extract the essences.

Come what may, irrespective of happiness, grief, joy or sorrow – never let go of this element called positivism.

We’ve sailed through many a stormy weather and we’re likely to hit the rut again.

Life and whatever it may bring is a journey of sorts, providing lessons along the way that we can learn, testing our confidences.

What about you?

In retrospective, you’ll look back in wonderment at yester year’s mistakes and wish that, if you had been wise enough, you’d never have made them.

12 new months are beckoning us round the corner as we push forward for glorious expectations.

Nothing comes from nothing, we will learn.

So we’ve to honestly promise ourselves to focus on planning and working hard.

Wistful dreaming will lead us nowhere.

No, it never could.

I write, therefore I am.

Without your unwavering support, I wouldn’t have headed this far.

It has been a long journey of learnings.

My profuse thanks to all of you, for the encouragements and well wishes.

TODAY our trudge begins with the first leaf.

In the following twelve months, there are a lot more paths to explore.

COME, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

It’s gonna be one happy trek.

Writer CAROL PEARSON believes that ordinary people can lead extraordinary lives when she says:

“Heroes take journeys,

confront dragons,

and discover the treasure of their true selves.”

Do you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012, CHUM.

May the force be with you – always!