promise yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

  

christian larson, your forces and how to use them

the bully in us

the 'amalayer' video has been circulating on social networking sites facebook and twitter and on youtube for a couple of weeks now.out of curiosity, i watched it.it was a video taken by a certain guy of a lady berating a lady guard at the lrt station in manila.at first, you would definitely feel sorry for the lady guard and instantly annoyed by how the lady lambasted her in front of several fellow commuters.the guard appeared to be defenseless and vulnerable. after i watched it,i not only feel sorry for the lady guard but for the lady as well.although she acted on an unlikely manner in a public place while attracting lots of spectators to huddle around them, she also became a victim here. in a free democratic country, where we are free to express our opinion, posting such video may not be a big of a deal. the incident happened in a public setting but this doesn't mean that we are free to capture a video or photo of anybody and post in on the internet without the person's consent (i am sure the girl would have disapproved of it). the one who posted the video may have his valid and justifiable reasons by doing so but i deem it unfair and irresponsible. i wished he could have captured the whole scenario right from the start and not just a portion of it. in our society, most people are too quick to pass on judgment and lack initiative to examine closely as to how and why the lady reacted on that manner. it's difficult to comment on something when we are not personally there to witness it. a 3-minute video doesn't sum up the whole scene.it's too weak to be a basis for judgment.it was evident that the lady overreacted and the lady guard was totally embarrassed. as a matter of fact, both of them are victims here. people who watched the video and shared them to friends up until now are what i consider bullies. we may have different views about the video but i personally believe that we don't have the right to further humiliate the lady  involved.i am sure that none of us would want to be on her position especially on the aftermath of the incident where she was bombarded with nasty comments.most often when someone behaves inappropriately, we are too quick to judge. we lack empathy.we must learn to respect another person's privacy. we don't have the right to humiliate anybody and it should never be a liberty to do so.may the incident be a lesson to all of us. the next time you witness such, try to think twice before you record it. you may get millions of views on youtube instantly, but there will always be bitter repercussions in the end.

there's an old story about a captain of a ship that was sailing on a dark, pitch-black night.the captain suddenly noticed a bright light directly in front of him, and he knew that his ship was on collision course with the light. he rushed to the radio and sent an urgent message, demanding that the vessel to change its course ten degrees east. a few seconds later, he received a message in return. the message said, " cannot do it. change your course ten degrees west." the captain got angry. he sent another cryptic message, " i'm a navy captain. i demand you change your course." he received a message back a few seconds later. it said, "i'm a seaman second class. cannot do it. change your course. the captain was now furious. he sent one final message. it said, "i'm a battleship, and i'm not changing my course!" he got a curt message in return, it said, "i'm a lighthouse. it's your choice, sir."

sometimes when things go wrong, when people hurt or betray us, forgiveness doesn't come instantly. we tend to be stubborn just like the captain. we think of all the reasons why we're not going to change and why we aren't capable of forgiving them. we hold on to that anger deep inside. we cling to unforgiveness which only leads us to trouble. little do we know that we are heading to a destructive path in our life. forgiveness is a choice but it is not an option. it's up to us to change our course and move on.

story taken from Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen

dear self, 

i am sorry i failed you again...

melancholy

what can be worse than mental and emotional exhaustion?
i'm becoming a raccoon after several days of shedding tears
exhausting every effort to divert my clingy self  
i'm not doing myself any favor
.
.
.
despondent
.
.
.
equivocal
.
.
.
fml

crushed
jolted 
.
.
.
there is so much love to be had
.
.
.
i promised not to give up
i will hold until i can
.
.
. 
i don't want to confront my greatest fear
.
.
.
please give me the strength to endure and accept your will
i know in time i can get by

world teachers' appreciation day!

 

the wind beneath my wings by Bette Midler

my Nanay has been devoting herself to teaching for 3 decades.i always admire her patience,humility, fortitude and passion for such an honorable profession.much appreciation goes to her and to all the teachers who inspired me to be better,to give my best shot in all my feats and not to stop dreaming and achieving my goals.i never liked school until i was in grade 4.i dreaded going to school everyday.i would follow my grandmother back home after she sent me to our classroom.i even made some alibis and even dug a hole to bury my teacher's letter summoning my parents to school for my absenteeism.i had this notion that teachers just simply wanted to terrorize students especially the underachievers and those who couldn't memorize the table of multiplication.students feared the long, slender bamboo stick that teachers would use to whip the naughty and to punish the dopey ones.and i was not exempted to such.gone were the days when i had to wake up really early to iron my uniform and to carry the books of knowledge on my backpack.every time i look back at my elementary and high schools days, there are so many fond,silly and indelible recollections.we look up to our teachers as mentors and secondary parents,constantly pushing us to stand out and reprimanding us when we lose focus.i salute all the  teachers for dedicating their time and love and for treating us ,their students as their own.the best gift that we can give them as a symbol of our appreciation for everything they do, is to acknowledge their contribution in our lives.a simple greeting and a smile whenever our paths meet even outside the school premise.don't be offended if they forget your name or call you with different names.we don't expect teachers to remember the names of all their several thousands students.this profession may have been our teachers' bread and butter, but their notable dedication and patience make them remarkably noble.from teaching us how to read,write and reason out, our teachers made a massive impact in our lives and much greater to mine because my teacher is my mother!

let's have a cuppa!

it's tea time!

tea after breakfast (just found this grumpy mug in my cupboard..i almost forgot i bought this)..since i finished almost 50 bags of Lipton yellow label tea and unfortunately it ran out of stock at the grocery store,i opted on Twinings english breakfast tea..i am just loving tea right now..

an alternative to fizzy drinks..no more soft drinks for me (hope i can keep it up!)

 benefits of tea

>>contains anti-oxidants which fights and protects the body from free radicals

>>increases metabolism  (you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day)

>>it accelerates calorie burning..calorie-free beverage (just don't add sweetener and milk) 

>>has less caffeine than coffee

>>studies found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors

>>good for teeth since it contains flouride 

>>one of the single best cancer fighters you can put in your body.

>>decaffeinated tea using a natural process which retains 90% of its cancer-fighting properties. 

 

seven it is!

just like a star across my sky 

just like an angel off the page  

you have appeared to my life  

feel like I'll never be the same

you've got this look I can't describe 

you make me feel like I'm alive  

when everything else is au fait 

without a doubt you're on my side

(lyrics from corinne bailey rae's 'like a star')

i'm really psyched to cook this week..i've been helping our resident cook--pa taew to make dinner...it may sound weird but i have an inkling of becoming a working-housewife who is not only good in household management but is a very good cook as well (so help me God with this one!)..when is the right time to start preparing for the future?it's definitely NOW!

God protects

just as my alarm clock went of,i received an sms from my Nanay telling me that my brother's apartment in Canada was caught on fire.i was dumbfounded.i instantly thought of my brother,joanne and baby liam's safety.after several attempts to contact them,i finally was able to talk to my brother.their unit was partially damaged especially the rooms upstairs.good thing my brother's room is located at the basement, so it was spared (it was morning, my bro was sleeping with his son in their room when the fire broke out.joanne was at work at that time).THANK GOD they are all safe and are billeted in a nearby hotel for the time being.i was impressed how Red Cross,the local government and the community services responded to the unfortunate incident immediately.this is totally impressive as this kind of response is very much unlikely back home.God really protects His children.this might be depressing especially to those directly affected but i know God has a better purpose and plan for His children.

photo courtesy of Edmonton Journal

photo courtesy of Edmonton Journal

photo courtesy of Global Edmonton

the aftermath

(photos taken by joanne)

fifty shades

curiosity strikes..

lowering your expectation does not mean you settle for less.you are simply sparing yourself from untoward heartache and melancholy.you create your emotion and you  can influence the way your brain thinks.i’m sending out positive vibes..hoping positivity will embrace me tight.