Patience, The Secret To Life's Guiding Principles

Even though I am well past my fifties, I believe I still have a lot to learn about life. For me, it's not "game over" yet. I have only just launched myself into the beginning of my trip, and my destiny is still a long way off, based on my experience and awakening.

 

I work in silence. I resemble a lone wolf. Despite my disposition, I grew up in an era where my elders handled their own affairs, but they were determined to ensure that the youngest ones, and I was one of them, did the same by systematically imposing strict rules on us. 

 

A lot of them have passed on. However, the toxic cycle and their influence over me appeared to have persisted.  I understood that the only way to break free from this never-ending cycle was to courageously forge my own path to my higher purpose.

 

It was difficult to set myself free, but it was well worth it. I thought I was finished. Unbeknownst to me, however, I had only just begun my obstacle course, and as my life's ambition grew, so did my challenges.

 

I initially believed that I was only struggling from one generation older than myself, but as time went on, I came to see that I was fighting against numerous centuries-old cycles from other lineages and walks of life that I needed to end and transform. 

 

There was a lot of workplace gossip, discrimination, and manipulation. However, it did not stop there; it is also common among families, friends, and neighbors.

 

Bloodshed and pointless fights were avoided in favor of peace, seclusion, and a shift in mindset and strategy. However, without determination, patience, and prayer for Divine Intervention, all these things cannot be accomplished.

 

Above all, holding on tenaciously to a higher principle might make spiritual warfare rather isolating; but, with the Divine as my beacon, I never felt as though I was fighting alone.

 

Being patient can be taxing. The greatest fight is over though, but we still need to brace ourselves, as the enemy is not done with us yet while the Heaven's reward is getting ready to work.

 

 

Ripples

Oh... The pond is rumbling-I would love to literally make those ripples!  However, it would require consistent practice and precise rock throwing to create widespread ripples.  In a metaphorical sense, consistent, sincere random acts of kindness cause ripples.

 

For the collaboration of acts and their far-reaching effects, the "ripple" is a potent metaphor. It shows how even seemingly insignificant gestures may set off a series of events that have an effect on people, relationships, and communities that continue beyond the first instance of effect. The significance of intentional acts and the possibility of either positive or negative change resulting from them are frequently emphasized by this metaphor.

 

However, why do some people lose their hold on the stones after only one attempt, while others tried again but ultimately gave up? Was it because they were focused on the stone rather than the objective of successfully causing ripples? In the same way, why have some people lost their faith in humanity and ceased to be kind?

 

I don't have all the answers, but I do know that I wrote this piece to inspire self-love and to rekindle hope that there is still kindness in the world. Loving ourselves unconditionally is the first step toward having more than enough to love others. 

 

The majority of people in my country, who have limited resources to share, have a lot more to offer—genuine kindness and unconditional love—and I take delight in sharing this testimony, as strangers from all over the world have attested as well. 

 

Why is it that when love is not reciprocated, it can be very frustrating? Does providing unconditional love feel like a heavy stone? How much love do we give, like a heavy stone? Do the ripples we create change depending on the stone's weight we throw?

 

People with limited resources show a lot of love and generosity because, in my opinion, they have nothing to lose materially but considerably increase human faith. However, extremely wealthy individuals can follow suit by performing modest, random acts of kindness rather than superficial displays of affection, spreading them like ripples to a larger number of people from various walks of life so that many more might return the favor to the rest of the world.

 

 

It Is Lovely...

 

It is lovely to see white butterflies surrounding me as I walk my path on an early bright sunny morning.

 

It is lovely to see birds chirping by my window on sunny days, or immediately after the rain. The same birds go inside my home and try to get near me as if to greet me and cheer me on every morning, as well as in the late afternoon. 

 

It is lovely to see some random people smiling back at me for no apparent reason, which makes me smile back at them all the more.

 

It is lovely to hear Pine Trees creating these whizzing sounds as I pass by as if the angel choirs are there to sing for me.

 

It is lovely to see often the luminous full moon with a rainbow circling it, as if, for me, signifies hope and a bright future amidst the darkest of nights.

 

It is a lovely feeling walking the dog with me day and night, to give me time and space to meditate.

 

It is lovely that even the rain gives me a soothing effect that leaves me no more room to stress about. 

 

It is lovely...

IF

IF I try to impose a rule or law that is now viewed as outdated and useless, I did not learn the lesson the first time around.

IF I am impatient to teach you while you learn for yourself, I haven't mastered the lessons myself.

IF I put too much effort into winning an argument, I risk losing the people who matter.

IF a rumor is spread about me, and I don't make an effort to disprove it, it becomes accepted as truth.

IF I ask you to do more while not making the extra effort myself, I am unreliable.

IF I can't help bring out the best in you, then I'm not showing you the care you deserve.

IF I don't stand up for what is true, I let you view an illusion as the reality.

IF I don't value and adore anything about myself, I don't believe in God.

IF I proclaim, "God is good!" but, deep down, I question and ignore His existence and full authority, I then am a hypocrite.

IF I can't get you to believe and realize that life is lovely anyway, I trick you into thinking that great things are unreal.

IF all I see is darkness within me, I will make your day so miserable too.

IF I fail to set a good example for you, I leave you with nothing amazing to aspire to.

IF I tell you what to do all the time, and prevent you from speaking up and championing for yourself, I make you into an idiot.

IF I take up all the work and don't let you put forth any effort, I render you useless.

IF all I do is whine and contribute to making the issue worse rather than better, I am not at all helping.

IF I am unwilling to defend others for their own good, I cannot expect God to protect me either.

IF I stand in the way of someone's personal growth, I am failing them. 

IF I prevent people from freely seeking and discovering the truth for themselves, I am living a lie myself.

IF I believe that I am superior to you by undervaluing you, I am no better than anyone else.

IF I believe that being complacent will lead to greater achievements, I'm fooling myself.  

IF I am not open to change, I lose out on wonderful chances and even the people I adore.

IF I give love more and accept less than I deserve in return, I let other people devalue and take advantage of me. 

IF I fail to consistently abide by my own teachings, my beliefs lack substantial moral significance.

Go For It!

Do you consider yourself to be really fortunate since everything you do in life seems to fit perfectly? Or, when anything goes wrong, do you usually second-guess every choice you make in life? When faced with a cross roads, do you choose to halt or continue forward? Or do you just ignore the obstacles and go about things in your own manner, aimlessly? 

Isn't life full of difficult questions? The less difficult paths in life don't require as much effort and are less convoluted. However, don't you think that some simple tasks also get somewhat boring when they are done too frequently? Shouldn't we all be advancing together with the world? How do we stay up with the rapid advancement of the world? If we just forced everyone to fit into the mold—a mold with restrictive systems—wouldn't that make us all happy to fit in?

Even in highly developed nations, the majority of the populace finds it difficult to blend in. Paradoxically, the majority of people in several developing and impoverished nations are working harder to improve their current condition in life. Wouldn't it be fantastic if, in order to flourish in the ever changing world, we designed our own system that best suited our goals? Alternatively, would we choose to give in to the limiting mechanisms and then wallow in self-pity, blaming the restrictive system? Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the systems we designed for ourselves encouraging others to follow suit in order to keep up with the times?

I ask myself far too many of these logical questions all the time. Surprisingly, they all began when I became a three-year-old and felt liberated from all the constraints in my life. Since then, I have made every effort to design a life that fulfills me and calms me, despite the obstacles I encountered in my surroundings, so that I can grow, improve, and be freed from anything that would prevent me from becoming a better version of myself. 

We can all be successful in different ways. Everybody has a purpose in life. But when people put too much attention on the journeys of others rather than their own, they wind up holding themselves back and find it difficult to advance in their own lives. It is our birthright to equally thrive in the world, and we can all motivate one another to improve so that we can all prosper in the rapidly evolving and changing global landscape.

 

Golden Laurels

Do compliments and flatteries mean the same  thing? Have we been receiving so much compliments, that overtime, made us feel so quite the opposite and insignificant, even to the point of second-guessing ourselves?  Or worst, have we always wrestled with the thought of living up to the high expectations of others? But why did we start looking for so much approval when we were born with unique qualities in the first place?

We are our own worst critics sometimes.  We live in this world of bubbles where societal norms and ideologies were made for us to follow certain tenets. And those who assert themselves to be different, and not conform to the patterns, were labeled as a disgrace. Does it matter if others think wrongly of us, when each of us makes a profound difference, impact, and positive change in this world? What consequences are we trying to avoid: the condemnation of the collective whose lives fit the bubbles, or the accolades of those who thrived in life because they did not fit the mold? 

Before we can all create a lasting, positive, or even negative, impact on others, or perhaps, the greatest accomplishment in history, we must first take decisive action for ourselves. Let us, therefore, seek something more meaningful and long-lasting, something that will etch our name in the memories of the people who really matter, rather than a senseless validation in the form of temporary praise.

The World As We Know It

The story of the world, as we know it, was handed down from our ancestors to the generations that followed. But for some diverse reasons, many generations have become so numb and oblivious to the stories that are told over and over. The transmission of historical knowledge has come to a gradual and detrimental halt as a result of the deaf ears of the following generations. In the course of time, the crucial episodes of our ancestors' stories have long been forgotten and erased in our memory. And now, history is slowly unfolding and repeating itself, but no one appears to understand, as to why or how these series of events seem to be happening so intensely and quickly. No one had to indulge in blame games, if only we knew the cause and effect of history.

Everybody has their own unique set of issues to deal with. But have we not come to the realization, that despite the fact that each of our problems in life is unique, they are all interconnected? And while there are untold pieces of history, isn't our current story really a retelling of the past? Why do certain members of the current age seem so cut off from the past? Is history not so significant, when occurrences in the modern era  appears to be influenced by what happened in the past?

History has never been my thing. In high school, we covered that subject frequently, yet, every time we did, the mere thought of it made me drowsy. What could we expect from tepid listeners, maybe, given that our teacher wasn't as eager to discuss that subject?

I was mistaken in my belief that whatever happened to my ancestors would never happen to me, at least not until I decided to intentionally change my mindset, as well as my own life in order, to break a vicious cycle. Even if I still tell my son about my past, it's never in vain, because I also share with him other lessons about how I dealt with my past. And my son will probably be able to overcome his own challenges with great success, now that he knows about my history.

Whether we all agree or not, our ancestors deserve gratitude for giving us life today. It is thanks to them that we are who we are in this modern period. Some of our ancestors have made their imprint on the prosperous heritage that their current generations are now lavishing on. But some of our ancestors didn't perform well in their age and didn't take the required steps to improve, which is now causing problems for the current generations.

In the world in which we all live, history is never truly just a thing of the past; rather, it serves as a constant reminder of the present, of lessons to be learned, of what needs to be fixed in order to break a vicious cycle, heal the devastating wounds of the past, and prepare the next generations to take on the challenge head-on. Therefore, retelling of our history becomes so compelling, but only when they are told with so much fervor, and conviction of offering the new generations the insights necessary, to resolve certain issues of all levels: be it personally, collectively, nationally, and globally.

If bringing about a conscious change in ourselves takes time, how much more for managing bigger and more complex issues? Managing larger and convoluted issues requires the collaboration of all amiable, active, dynamic, idealistic, and creative minds of like-minded people. Moreover, many passed down misinformation have to be unlearned, and numerous untold realities have to be relearned.

Knowing the past enables us to face life directly, make the required positive changes, and bring a conclusion to what must come to an end. Although we have all admitted and accepted that our ancestors made numerous mistakes in the past, we now have the opportunity to make up for them, for the benefit of not just the present generation but also for many generations to come.