FRIENDS. EASIER SAID THAN DONE. (Looking Forward to Challenges in 2015, Year of the Horse)

FRIENDS. EASIER SAID than DONE.

In prosperity, our FRIENDS know us.

In adversity, we know our friends.

I agree with the statement that if, at the end of life, we can count on at least two people, who are friends willing to do anything for us at the drop of a hat.

And who stand ready when we are hurting or need help.

If so, then we are indeed fortunate.

We can talk with FRIENDS about every facet of life – joys, trials, unhappiness, tragedies.

We can make ourselves vulnerable to them, knowing that they will always think and act in our best interests.

Since FRIENDS and FRIENDSHIPS are so valuable, how can you acquire more?

If you go out in life looking for friends, they will be hard to find.

However, if you go out in life striving to be a friend, you will find them everywhere.

Woe is a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances in life.

Make new friends,
Keep the old,
Those are silver,
These are gold.
New-made friendships
Age will mellow and refine,
Friendships that have stood the test of time,
TIME and CHANGE are surely best -
Brow may wrinkle,
Hair grows gray,
FRIENDSHIP NEVER KNOWS DECAY.

Wise adage.

So value true friendships that come your way,

They bring rays of sunshine into your LIFE.

Friendships are like nutrients

That nourish our lives.

SO LET’S CELEBRATE FRIENDSHIP!

LOVE, I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING.

It’s the 9th day of the HORSE Year.

Spring is in the air at this time of the Year …

Seize the opportunity to express “I love you” in a breezy way.

What is love?

” No, Love doesn’t have eyes,

It doesn’t happen by race or gender.

Love goes by how the person

make you feel deep inside …

Love make you see that person

for whoever he is on the outside

as well as the inside.”

Just remember.

“VALENTINE’S DAY”. Reaching for the Sky.

YOU ARE MY VALENTINE, ARE YOU NOT?

TODAY is VALENTINE’s DAY.
So it is all about LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Let’s go a bit further with this love-struck saying:

“You must love yourself before you love another.
By accepting yourself and fully being what you are,
your simple presence can make others happy.”

Oh, YEAH !

Now, please spare a moment here and listen to this very soulful and beautiful song "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE" sung by ELIZABETH MITCHELL.

This song touches my heart, from the first musical strain right to the last tempo.

HAPPINESS IS INFECTIOUS. Spread the Cheer.

HAPPINESS IS ALL AROUND US

We may never really know what 2013 has in store.

Should we long for PEACE and HARMONY in the coming 12 months,
we’ll have to work at it.

Nothing comes from nothing.

Happiness, a product of your well being, is a choice,

My bestest pal who often wears a most beautiful smile often cajoles me:

“To live in peace,
We must have inner peace.

To have inner peace,
We must have a pure conscience.

When our conscience is clear and our mind at peace,
We bring peace and bliss to those around us.”

Happiness is infectious,

It’s akin to a kind word or a kind deed, so go spread the cheer,

Here’s wishing all my chums a rollicking, jolly 2013 !

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012 and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013. MAY the FORCE be with YOU!

A MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012 ….
FOLLOWED BY A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013.

A brand new year is dawning …. and what will the pundits have in store for us?
Another recession of global dimensions?

Who knows?

With inflation hitting us everywhere, the road to economic recovery is hardly optimistic.

But life plods on.

Did you look at yourself in the mirror today?

Year after year, do you not notice that your youth is slowly seeping away?

LIFE IS SHORT. TIME and TIDE wait for no man. No sir !!

If you don’t enjoy THIS VERY MOMENT, it will be gone forever.

MOMENTS ARE NON-RETRIEVABLE.

Do not regret if these little moments collectively, just become a memory of a certain passage in your life.

Did you say “I love you” to your mother this morning?

She may not be around forever. Are you taking her presence for granted?

Go give her a hug.

Do you treasure your friends around you, because you never really know what’d happen in the future.

Would you stop your drinking and hit the gym more often?

Did you………….??

The list goes on.

Do you have a creed to live by?

Don’t shut love out of your life,

The fastest way to receive love is to give love,

The best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t take the things closest to your heart for granted,

For without them life is meaningless.

Don’t let the little moments called life slip through your fingers,

BY LIVING YOUR LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME,

YOU WILL LIVE ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE.

Life is not a race.

It is never meant to be.

LIFE is a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Today when we drink our tea and live life, let us smile and be happy.

Let us relish this moment.

Because time and tide wait for no man.

At least we are alive and living.

AND MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS.

“IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, LOVE”. On LIFE when you arrive at CROSSROADS.

AT SOME POINT IN OUR LIVES

we are bound to reach a major crossroad or an unexpected turning ….

Then we’ve got to take stock of ourselves and choose.

Should it be this treacherous left turn

or the one fronting the right which appears to be meandering nowhere?

Our love. Our job. Our future may all hang upon that one critical choice. So be wise,  choose carefully.

By making that fateful decision, the lives of families and friends, and some people whose paths we will cross later based upon that choice, will hang in that balance.

This is life, that is fate.

As we go on life’s journey, we are forever making friends, enemies and choices, smart ones, bad ones.

And one thing will lead to another.

Just listen to the lyrics of this song:

IF YOU COULD READ MY LIFE, LOVE.

“If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong,
With chains upon my feet.
You know that ghost is me.
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see.

If I could read your mind, love,
What a tale your thoughts could tell.
Just like a paperback novel,
The kind the drugstores sell.
When you reached the part where the heartaches come,
The hero would be me.
But heroes often fail,
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take!”

FRIENDSHIPS. All over the World (An Old Article Revisited)

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Right?

What are FRIENDS for?

Cross over, chum.

Let’s unite to do whatever little

to turn this desolate world into a better abode.

For YOU.

For ME.

For US.

FRIENDSHIP IS ONE REAL WORD.

It is not strapped with a life-time warranty.

But while we are at it,

let’s try to make it last.

“WE ARE ALL ALONE”. Loneliness is such a Big, Ugly Word.

Read hard into the lines of this popular vintage song “WE ARE ALL ALONE” and you will envision what loneliness can do to damage the unprepared soul:

“Outside the rain begins

And it may never end

So cry no more

On the shore, a dream

Will take us out to sea

Forever more, forever more

Close your eyes and dream

And you can be with me

‘Neath the waves

Through the caves of ours

Long forgotten now

We’re all alone,

we’re all alone ….”

LONELINESS is one big, ugly word. No one can escape from it.

It stabs you deep with a sinking feeling, bringing along a strange sense of  foreboding.

You can be oh-so-lonely, even in the midst of a swelling crowd.

You can certainly be lonely when no one understands you, much less want anything to do with you.

You can meet a special someone and suddenly this sense of loneliness assails you.

 It saps into you like a physical pain because you long to be with that person all the time. Yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

LONELINESS is a salient, crushing word.

It gnaws at your heart inciting a tinge of apparent hopelessness.

There’s only so much work you can do to paint a vivid landscape of abject loneliness.

A painter can dabble with a thousand hues.

A poet can put a special burn to the sunrise and the solitude.

But will all these effectively eradicate the illusion that we are not alone?

Every one gets lonely, now and then, for different reasons.

Some turn to friends, relatives or seek solace in prayers.

Whatever it can be, we just have to deal with the destructive power of loneliness. We are born alone and die alone.

Only divine friendships can see us through.

Mother Teresa had long advised us that the most terrible poverty is loneliness, the feeling of being unloved.

The eternal quest of a human being is to shatter his loneliness.

Sure, there are those who  put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break these wall down.

As the old song says, “WE ARE NOT ALONE.”

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

I am sure everybody here will have his fair share of bad hay days.

Yes, I am tired, exhausted, stressed out, what have you.

This day is drawing to a close.

It could have been a lovely day, but see …. everything just has to go wrong.

Should I contain my displeasure?

Wise guys will rush to tell you that soap is to the body, as laughter is to the soul.

Guess laughter is always, the best medicine.

I shall try, for whatever it is worth. Life, after all, is life.

Everything’s easier said than done.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE ALONE? Treasure the Ones around You.

Of course I did not write this. I distilled it from somewhere. It was another brilliant person who has extensive life experiences, who wrote to share. These are social issues that we all know – that nobody, in his right frame of mind, would want to be alone.

Loneliness can assail you like a bitter plum. It saps you, drains you and eventually eats your soul.

Here’s goes:

“It’s sad to be alone. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have anyone to share it with, you have nothing. The need for human companionship is universal. Humans are creatures of community and need each other for companionship.”

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.