Friday, August 28, 2009

Do not complain about your life



Like me, you must be hearing the phrase "do not complain about your life" all the time. While we know it is not good to whine about our difficulties, the unfairness of life and the unfortunateness of our situations, it is really hard not to complain. Human beings that we are, complaining and whining are part and parcel of our existence. I do believe that complaining (in moderation) has its purpose though. It helps us purge all the anxiety and burdens from our hearts.

I'd try to complain only to people whom I think care, though. I know that when I whine to them, they'd listen with their hearts and won't judge me for being so whiny. I know because I let my friends and loved ones do the same. I can accept that they have to complain, that they have to whine to someone. And it should really be an honor to be the one on the receiving end. After all, that's part of what love is all about- to listen and be listened to.

So while one shouldn't 'complain', there really is nothing wrong in letting it all out...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

When life hands me lemons...



...I try to make lemonade. But sometimes when I get too many lemons, I lost the lemonade recipe and end up being confused. It will take some time before I can take control of my life again. But darn if I'll let life bully me. I am in control. I deserve to be happy and happy I shall be...No one is responsible for my happiness although it is true that people can hurt me. It's up to me to deal with it the best way I can.

Yes, life hands me lemons and it's up to me to make the lemonade...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Celebrating friendship (yet again)



As I was browsing through the poems by Nicholas Gordon (http://www.poemsforfree.com/me.html)today, I found this one that reflects how much I feel about my friends:

I do not see you often with my eyes
I do not see you often with my eyes,
But often you are with me in my heart.
We rarely speak, but there are deeper ties
That keep us close while we must be apart.
Friendships don't depend on sights and sounds,
But on the mysteries of need and grace.
You're with me always, unrestrained by bounds,
In some sweet field more permanent than place.
And so your marriage is a widespread glory,
Shining on a world of more than two.
All the characters in your life story
Share the happiness that's come to you.
No love but must with all love intertwine:
The joy between you two is also mine.


I must say the collection of poems the author has is just amazing. A man of wisdom he must be...

Monday, August 17, 2009

The little things in life...


...are the big things. They bring smile to your face, and that counts. I had the opportunity to meet a wise man some years ago and learn this little wisdom from him. He was looking excitedly at his picture in the newspaper, which seemed unbelievable considering that his line of job inevitably put him in the media spotlight from time to time. But he told me it has never ceased to excite him. I thought it was good, that someone considerably famous can feel that way. No doubt, it contributes to his pleasant personality.

I understand the sentiment well now. It is like the excitement to experience hail rain. Since in our place we never get snow, and it doesn't hail often, it the closest experience we've got to snow. So when it hailed last Saturday, we let ourselves be carried away in the excitement, stopping the car just to get some pictures to capture the moments.


(above: hail covered grass)


(above: A feeling a handful of hails)

It was just a small thing but one day, I know I'll look back and see that it is the small things that are big in my life :-)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A winner



I was at the library trying so hard to concentrate on my studies. I was distracted but that wasn't news to me. I often found myself reading the same page after what seemed like ages. Opposite me was a young man whose composure hadn't changed since hours ago. He looked hard at work, with books all over his desk, but never once lost his focus. From the digital English dictionary that he consulted every so often, I deduced that English wasn't his first language. And all the scribbles he made on his papers showed how hard he must be working. And yet he went through the process as if it was not a struggle at all. A few days I saw him in the library. Always with the same wonderful concentration for hours and hours. Every day not once did I see him leave his desk, unlike me who had to walk around every hour to regain my focus. And I told myself "this one is a winner".

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Boy's germs indeed



I'm discovering that 5 is the age that they learn to twist information and use it to their advantage. Gosh, how did they learn to be so manipulative? You'd think that they're still the sweet babies you held in your arms not so long ago, not the little manipulators that they are.

My little boy was savouring a delicious looking cookie the other day I couldn't help asking him for a bite. Obviously reluctant to share, he quickly said "but, Mom, you'll get boy's germs!". Noticing the blank look I gave him, he quickly explained that in the classroom, the teacher says boys and girls are not supposed to touch each other. If a boy touches a girl he gets girl's germs, and a girl gets boy's germs. That means Mom is not supposed to have a bite of his cookie because Mom will get boy's germs. And he quickly finished off his cookie.

Hmm...boy's germs indeed. Funny thinking that he wouldn't miss a good night cuddle from Mom...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

when panic rules



I am one of the most direction blind person I know. I've never got to drive to any new place right the first time around. Of course I know left and right but they cease to have meanings when I panic. My panic is also the worst kind, the kind that doesn't show. It's all inside, raging and running amok, taking over any self-control I have.

I have just realized this recently in a karate training. The sempai was trying to get me to do the four-move-kata (move), which is actually a simple sequence of moves: half-turn left, full-turn right until you come back to the original position. But I could never get it right because of the panic I felt inside. Coupled with the hands movements, I was a goner.

Then the sempai did a one on one with me. He walked me through the moves step by step, repeatedly until I got them right. It is strange that once I got them right, I never got them wrong anymore. Direction blind or not, they become like a second skin to me.

It was then when I realized that it was really panic that hindered me from knowing my directions well. I'm also beginning to see that panic plays a great role in keeping me from being effective in everything I do. When I panic, all hell break loose and I stop functioning. I'm glad I know now because it makes a lot of difference on the way I live my life...

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Loving Robert Frost


Carpe Diem
by Robert Frost



Age saw two quiet children
Go loving by at twilight,
He knew not whether homeward,
Or outward from the village,
Or (chimes were ringing) churchward,
He waited (they were strangers)
Till they were out of hearing
To bid them both be happy.
"Be happy, happy, happy,
And seize the day of pleasure."
The age-long theme is Age's.
'Twas Age imposed on poems
Their gather-roses burden
To warn against the danger
That overtaken lovers
From being overflooded
With happiness should have it.
And yet not know they have it.
But bid life seize the present?
It lives less in the present
Than in the future always,
And less in both together
Than in the past. The present
Is too much for the senses,
Too crowding, too confusing—
Too present to imagine.
 

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