YOUR EMPTINESS CAN BE YOUR GREATEST BLESSING

Mr. Quote Man sent me this quote today;  it's by Eric Hoffer
.
Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide
the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness.
The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there.
-----
Unquote
.
People wear masks. Pretenses are masks. That's really unnecessary because masks no matter how elaborate or ingenious it all may be are quite flimsy and superficial. Easily anyone with a keen sense of observation can pierce through that mask and see the person for what he truly is. Further, uncannily the person wearing a mask will himself create unintended slip-ups which in effect peel off the layers of pretense bit by bit thereby revealing that which he so wishes to hide from the public eye.
.
But emptiness.... what can I say?!
.
Isn't it that we all contain a void, a space, or an empty place within ourselves which is in truth attached to our dreams? Until that dream, be it a person or a thing, is achieved........ that void or emptiness will remain empty.
.
The longing, the pining away, the deep yearning, the painful searching, the fierce hopes cannot be denied. It will show. Always. It shows in that special look in your eyes, in the beating of your heart, in the words that spill out of your mouth. It reveals this emptiness wanting so much to be filled. This is you!
.
No mask can hide it. It cannot stand against the pulsating energy, vibrant truth and fierce honesty of being humanly you.
.
Don't hide away your emptiness; it's not a bad thing. It's simply a beautiful vessel waiting to be filled up. One day you will do just that!! Besides the Universe loves filling up empty vessels. Expect your blessings. Help it along by working with your God-sent gifts -- your abilities and talents. Your emptiness can be your greatest blessing.
.
May our good Lord fill your life with blessings plentiful. In Christ.

WE EACH ARE BOTH TEACHER-AND-STUDENT TO ONE ANOTHER

 

Learning does not stop when we finally receive our diplomas and bid school adieu. Learning continues. In fact, somebody once said that it is a life-long endeavor or pursuit because there is so much to learn in this world, in this life, and from people we chance to meet at every stage of our mundane existence. Things not taught within the four walls of a classroom or in interactions with other students or on the campus grounds. Essential things which amazingly bring added color, diversity, interest, wisdom, adventure, and greater possibilities for you. Thinking about that now, I feel that it just might take us a thousand life times to learn it all or maybe even more...and still that wouldn't be enough.

But learn we should. It is a waste of this precious god-given gift to allow our brain cells to atrophy or our hearts to harden with old jaded blood. There is still more that we can do to and with our lives. All that we need to do is .... learn and learn some more! When you do that you will be in for plenty of surprises unimagined nor ever dreamed of before.

Now this 'teaching'.... As we are eternal students of life, so too are we as 'teachers'. Not as our teachers of those good old days of school but as teachers of life and living. We teach by the way we live our lives. It is true that we all stand connected. Whatever you do with your life will impact, affect, or influence another person in his own, for good or for bad....directly or indirectly. As says this beautiful quote...........

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a cloud be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” ― John Donne, No Man Is An Island 

In short, we each are both teacher-and-student to one another.

WHAT BAG OF TOOLS DO YOU CARRY THROUGH LIFE

I've been asked today 'what's on your mind'? Today -- it's this......... the words of  R.L. Sharpe --------


 "Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
And each must make,
Ere life has flown,
A stumbling block
Or a stepping stone."

I don't know what yours is but I'm sure it's good. And if you'll ask me about mine, it is a path strewn with stepping stones, big and small. Now it's up to God to decide where He's going to take me.

Sometimes they're small stones meant to shape up a huge boulder one sweet day. Small steps taken moment-to-moment day-by-day. And then again a few are huge boulders which I could be very proud of but then seriously foresight tells me it could be broken down to pieces too. That would depend on the great plan He may have in store for me. After all, man will plan all that he can or might but God always has the last word on it. Mom would say ...  'You just do what you can.. or work on what He allows you to work on and hang on to the faith that He cares a lot about you. He will work things out for best.'

So to some out there who are not so clear as to what God wants, just stop and see what your bag of tools are and decide what to do with them. God gives us plenty to work on. Aside from what we know of talent, skills, aptitudes, abilities....  there's also the bag of hope, courage, strength, inspiration, faith, compassion, and even so much more. It can mean a lot of things but which serve one big purpose....  to help you become the person He meant you to be. You know what, if there is anything we should be asking God for......   it's to learn to see our lives through His eyes. Work with Him --- not against Him.

What bag of tools do you carry through life?
---------------------
Have a lovely weekend of peace, joy, love, and blessings.

DREAMS ARE NOT ALWAYS BUILT ON HUGE BOULDERS OF EFFORT

This is wonderful and should inspire those who have wonderful dreams inscribed in the heart.....

"Just because the effort is small, doesn’t mean it is insignificant. Just because you can’t do it all at once, doesn’t mean it is out of your reach. Success and fulfillment are built on a day-by-day basis. Keep going, keep building, and enjoy the ride."   -- Ralph Marston

Mom would always nudge me with this .... 'Rome wasn't built in a day' as she pushed me forward with tasks, big or small. I have always remembered those words every time I felt like giving up my goals through the years. It works every time.

So don't give up.  Do you know that what is happening in your day is just what it is supposed to be? By God's design. If it looks slow, God wants it slow. If it seems that nothing is happening; God is doing something - you just don't see it. If you are made to do small tasks; God wants you to start small. If all you ever see yourself doing is plucking roses from your garden, do so and enjoy the moment. He probably wants to see if you can be diligent with the small stuff.

Not for any reason must you think that dreams are built on huge boulders of effort. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to do everything right now. Because in the reality of chasing dreams it is the day-by-day things that you do with your dream which will keep you on track and eventually take you there. The journey may be long but you WILL get there! Besides, trust God to know what he is doing with you.

Hope your day is doing just fine. Blessings for the week up ahead.

TODAY IS WHERE YOU BELONG

At every chance I can get I try to punch in the idea that our todays are far more important than our yesterdays or tomorrows. You know, there is nothing one can do about the past or of the things which have had their time. Neither can one do more for tomorrow ---if nothing is being done today.

It’s as simple as that.

But still I see and hear people whining for the better times of yesteryears. And a few more so angry over the bitter lessons of the past. Like it was yesterday’s fault that today isn’t good. That’s a waste of time looking back trying to find fault there. If there is anyone or something that must be responsible for the hits or misses of life --- that could only be us. Whether bad times and bad things happen or whether life could be better or so we think, we still have some control over the situation. Maybe, just maybe we may not be able to change our situation but certainly we can control or change how we think look or handle it. It can only be as good or bad as we see or make it to be.

We must understand that the odd and crazy things which happen to us are not there to mess us up, although it appears to be that way. But that is only the appearance of things. The best part of that experience is at its core --- where the pearls of wisdom reside. You have to get to that. You have to scratch through the hurting and painful surface of the experience and dig deep down to the heart core where the good lessons dwell. Because in truth, heaven does not throw ‘garbage’ in our direction, rather it pours out blessings in bucketfuls. Although sometimes it may not be easy to see it; I know because I’ve been through that too. But trust me there’s always a blessing in there just for you. Yes there is because blessings often come wrapped in strange uncomfortable packages.

Tomorrows – what is it about tomorrows that you have to die for? It’s not even here yet; it’s off in the far farthest distance. And do you even know if you will get to it if at all? Why measure your life by the yardstick of tomorrows. There’s no assurance there. It’s a void, an empty space, a big unknown, a I’m-not-sure-what’s-going-to-happen place. You’re so fixated on the idea that tomorrow is all that matters. So you gear yourself up to do everything in your power and resources to get that tomorrow you want and in the process sacrifice family, relationships, personal fun and laughter, health, courtesies and sensibility, even God – these things without which can unquestionably make you less and less of a person and human being.

"We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are." -Calvin and Hobbes

Come to the present.

Come to your TODAY. This is where good things begin – where you can build your dreams and miracles – where life is happening in all its beauty wonder and awe – where even in its sorrows a hidden gem can lie within – where you can enjoy being a husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, friend, et al – where you can enjoy the world better as it moves along with time – where you can appreciate your presence and contribution to the rest of humankind – and where you can be blessed a thousandfold. This is where you learn and discover who you are and what you can do.

Here is where…
-you can work to vanish the shadows and fears of uncertain tomorrows.
-you can build sturdy bridges to your tomorrows transforming it into one you desire.
-you can begin building your dream.
-you can put in your best work – your best self.
-you can truly live courageously
-you can create your miracles

Here is where you will know that what you do with your todays define your tomorrows. This is where you belong.


“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime." -- W.E.B. Du Bois

YOU MATTER

I hear of a lot of angst and woes from my friends, up close and from young struggling folks online. Heartrending stories which tug at my heartstrings -- It’s in not getting what they want no matter how hard they try. It’s giving up the ship even when it’s still got some fight in it. Oh I can surely understand that. But is it enough to make you want to beat your chest or bonk your head in utter exasperation just because you didn’t make it? Just because you think that you made a mistake, a big one.. that you are a mistake too? Just because your options have disappeared with the last failure, that there’s none left to pursue?

I don’t buy that, sorry. You know why? Because I know that all through my years there were many dreams that I didn’t get too, didn’t even get close, just like you. But I have learned this -- it’s not always that a person gets his dreams. Sometimes in an odd and crazy way one gets waylaid.. or asked to make a detour.. or simply put - made to stop dead in his tracks. And yes, coming to a dead-end does seem like the end of the world to most of us.

But it’s not.

The end of the world is when you and the world cease to exist. That’s the end. And until that day comes -- we got work to do. That means making something of ourselves in whatever way we can, giving life our best shot, and using the gifts God blessed us with – for ourselves and for others too. (Remember the world isn’t all about you, there are others here with us too and we all stand connected by God’s design). Go ahead and dream, that’s what and where things begin – from a dream. Even if some of it may fizzle out, that’s okay… just as long as you are still in there strong and determined to work it out. Same dreams or new dreams it doesn’t matter. It’s YOU that matters. Make that count.
----------------------------------------------------

I'd rather be a 'could-be’
if I cannot be an ‘are’;
because a ‘could-be’ is a maybe
who is reaching for a star.
I'd rather be a ‘has-been‘
than a ‘might-have-been’, by far;
for a ‘might-have-been’ has never ‘been’,
but a ‘has’ was once an ‘are’.
-- Milton Berle

(The picture above of my daughter was taken by photographer-friend Larry Concepcion.)

DREAM IT - PLAN IT - WORK IT

"You will recognize  your own path when you come upon it,  because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need."  -- Jerry Gillies

That about answers the question asked me so often when among the young hopefuls I’ve interviewed for a job before. They tell me that they have so many plans, so many dreams, and yet never seem to know which one is the right one for them. Confused and bewildered they keep on hammering at a wide range of choices believing that the right one will surface and show its face and that somehow things will break and they will hit gold – but maybe or maybe not. I’m not convinced with that method.

It’s not always smart to spread yourself thinly over a wide field of prospects. It’s like using up energy and shooting wild bullets with no specific target in sight. Besides it will wear you out faster and pretty soon you will find yourself dragging your feet from one place to another. That’s a candidate for frustration and disappointment and a waste of precious time and talent – one which you can’t afford to lose.

And I have seen other young people take on a well-thought out and planned approach. These boys and girls start out with a well-defined and definite sense of self and purpose; have equipped themselves with the necessary education and training, and studied their prospects sorting out those which they believe will be a sure fit. They don’t bother with anything which does not fill the criteria they have set down. In such a way they succeed to narrow down the choices to the best of the crop. Once this has been decided then and only then do they gear up for the pursuit and journey. Armed with a clearer vision of who they are, what they have and what they hope to achieve..... amazingly the required enthusiasm energy and imagination needed to see it through springs out or bursts forth in unexplained measure and further throughout the journey would gain even greater momentum as each time the goal becomes closer to one’s view and reach.

"Start believing now that we can be who we are." --- (Anon.)

BUILD YOUR DREAM DAY BY DAY (a test blog post)

I know what it’s like at times when you feel that nothing seems to work or happen, that everything you’ve done feels like all going down the drain. I know what impatience is like. It’s like tying your shoe lace but your fingers won’t cooperate…like it has a life of its own. That feeling can be so frustrating when pursuing a dream. Feeling that way restricts your vision to seeing potential and curbs it down to feeling ‘I’ve lost it’. Wearisome thought. How it can gnaw at our reserves of courage, strength, determination, energy. It eats it all up wholesale.

In many instances in life, we often find ourselves stuck in a situation like that. The first thing that comes to mind is to hide in your room, sit on the bed, and stare down at your feet - Nope, no clues to be found there whatsoever. I guess a dejected person always looks down, hangs down his head or bows down – a message of complete surrender to whatever it is that confronts him and has won over him.

We have our dreams big and small cuddled close in our hearts. All we want and hope for is to do something great for ourselves or for the people we love. Just like a hopeful and excited fresh graduate who would head off to the big city to try his luck there. But the big city, as often it does, can be like an ugly ogre who can and will rip up weak hearts to pieces dashing dreams to the ground.

Then eventually we lose the will to fight as courage drains out of us like a broken faucet its water running wildly out. Sure enough the next thing that we do is we take down our bags, pack our things, and take the first plane home -- Defeated.

But wait and listen.

‘This is just one day of the many more days you will be having in your journey towards your goal. So do what you must do-- today. Whatever it is, big or small, do it and when you’re through at the end of this day, rest!. When the morning comes, you will do it again. And in every day that follows it – over and over and over till your eyes drop.

A carpenter hammers at a nail several times with sure firm strokes before the nail finally sinks into the wood, right? That’s how you follow a dream – you doggedly follow it one day at a time for many days, weeks, months, or years until you finally get there. See yourself as bubbling waters running through both calm and rugged terrain and river beds stopping for no one or nothing – just rolling along happily until it gets home to the sea.

Time isn’t the main thing here; it is your effort that goes into building your dream which counts. Work at it with sure deliberate steps one piece at a time, one step at a time --day by day. Just hammer at it with everything you’ve got and take it one day to the next. You’ll get there maybe even sooner than you think. Oh by the way, trust God too cause He’s right there hammering with you. ’

"You will achieve a grand dream, a day at a time, so set goals for each day -- not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you, step by step, toward your rainbow. Write them down, if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build your pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to become so cluttered that you neglect your most important goal -- to do the best you can, enjoy this day, and rest satisfied with what you have accomplished." -(Og Mandino)