Until one is committed,
there is hesitancy.
the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness
concerning all acts of initiative (and creation).

There is one elemental truth,
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans –
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves all.

All sorts of things occur to help one
that would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events
issue from the decision,
raising in one’s favor
all manner of incidents
and meetings and material assistance
which no one could have dreamed
would come his or her way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can,
begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now.

I have learned
that in order to be happy
I have to be true to myself.

I have to know
my limitations
but I must never let them
hinder me
from doing the things I could still do.

A bird after all is not useless
just because it cannot swim,
nor a fish worthless
just because it cannot fly.

“Today is my battle! Let yesterday and tomorrow mind their own problems. What I have is HERE and NOW, and I shall give of my BEST - TODAY!”

Selected quotes from Paulo Coehlo’s WARRIOR OF THE LIGHT:

“The Universe does not judge; it conspires in favor of what we want. That is why the Warrior has the courage to look into the dark places of his soul in order to ensure that he is not asking for the wrong things.”

——————

“A Warrior of the Light needs love.”

“Love and affection are as much a part of his nature as eating, drinking and a taste for the Good Fight. When the Warrior watches a sunset and feels no joy, then something is wrong.”

—————–

“This is the first teaching of the Knights: You will erase everything you had written in the book of your life up until now: restlessness, uncertainty, lies. And in the place of all this, you will write the word courage. By beginning the journey with that word and continuing with faith in God, you will arrive wherever you need to arrive.”

One Of My HANGING ON Days

There are days that are not so bad,
but not so good either.

This is such a day.

Nothing of much significance happened,
no joyous celebration,
but no tragedy either to weep about.

I guess this is what you’d call
one of those ‘hanging on days’,
a day when you just hang on in there,
you hang on to your dreams and your current goals,
you hang on to whatever you’re working at
and you keep your hopes up,
“hanging on”  until the better things happen.

That does not mean such days are insignificant,
because without such days,
we can never reach our “party to the max” days,
those “very special days”
and those “this is my moment” days.

Hang on,
there is still something to be thankful for
even in days such as these.

Pondering about reincarnation…

Somehow I felt it could be true.

How I felt it too long to live in my present form forever. How I felt the excitement of starting over again someday. How we change and how we remain the same somehow. How precious the present moment really is because it would never happen again, because we will never be the same person again. How dying is like sleep, and how rebirth is like waking up again after a long slumber.

How my beloved had been there all along, and how love can wait, because love knows it could never be truly lost. How it knows it has eternity to live on – to live again and again and again, always the same love, and yet always new and fresh, always full of wonder and inexplicable joy!

Waiting…

Sometimes the hardest part of an undertaking is not the planning,
nor the work you perform.

The hardest part of an undertaking
is when you have already done everything you ought to do-
you have plowed the fields,
you have planted the seeds,
you have watered them,
and now all you have to do is to wait for your crops to grow.

Seems easy?
Nah!
It’s the hardest part ever!

Many of us would feel uneasy doing so, waiting.
We fear that it might rain so much
and our crops would be flooded,
we fear that someone else may steal them
and reap what they have not planted.

We fear so many things
that we fail to use the time given us
into something more beneficial.

Why do we have to wait at all?

We were given time to wait
so that we can rest,
and so that we can enjoy the vision of a bountiful harvest
and feel the excitement of reaping the fruits of our labor!

We wait not to be miserable.
We wait to be healed,
to be refilled of our energies spent in working,
to be whole again
so that when the right time comes,
we can be ready to receive
the blessings that were meant to be ours!

Here is a special edition of this blog’s best posts on loving yourself more!

LOVING YOURSELF THROUGH GOD’S EYES

In God’s eyes, there is no judgment, there is only acceptance. In God’s eyes, there is no pain too hard to bear nor weaknesses too weak to be overcome by His insurmountable strength.

God can embrace us wholeheartedly, opening us up yet sustaining us and healing us at the same time. God sees all our potentials. God sees our light when all that we can see are our shadows.

continue…

NEVER LET YOURSELF DOWN

Never let yourself down. Take heart, for no matter how awful the accusations against you are, you are still a child of God.

This is the time when your love for yourself will be tested. Whether you will believe what others say about you, or whether you will stand your ground because you know yourself best.

continue…

DIET AND LOVING YOURSELF

Today I’ve noticed how our diets are greatly related to our relationship with ourselves.

For instance, imagine for a moment being in charge of the food of your loved ones. Will you be happy if your loved ones almost starve themselves to death and deprive themselves of food that they enjoy? On the other hand, would you rather that they overeat and eat foods that will make them obese and kill them later on due to high blood pressure or diabetes? Of course not!

continue…

SHOULD I FEEL GUILTY LOVING MYSELF?

It’s only the second day of my challenge to love myself more and I’m already feeling a bit guilty.

I’ve made quite a few purchases, expenses spent to pamper myself. In the evening, I’ve also continued applying a moisturizing lotion to my face. I wasn’t used to doing that before.

Now back to the “guilty” part. I wonder if we also feel guilty when we are being pampered or showered with gifts from our loved ones. Should we feel guilty?

continue…

SEPARATING OUR MISTAKES FROM OUR SELF-IMAGE

When we make blunders, we feel we’re failures. When we have broken relationships, we feel we are broken too and worthless.

However, if we truly desire to improve our relationship with ourselves, we must learn to practice acknowledging our errors without eroding our overall belief in our worth.

continue…

WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT ME?

During this time of reflection, I’ve learned that I not only lacked love for myself. I’ve learned a shocking truth – that I’ve hated myself all these years. That was the reason I’ve found it easier to love other people. Because they were not as unlovable as me. But if I were to start out as a person apart from my current self, how do I become a friend to this person? What are the things I would appreciate in her? What do I love about me?

continue…

How Do I Learn to Love Myself More?

We cannot
love others
in the truest sense
of the word,
if we do not even know
how to love
ourselves.

If we truly wish to love,
to give generously and sincerely,
we must ensure that
we are holding out
our overflowing cups.

Not our half-empty ones
waiting to be filled.

How do I love myself? How do I learn to love myself more?

1.BE KIND TO YOURSELF

One of my good friends told me that everyday, we have upon us the responsibility to make at least one person happy, even if it means being that person ourselves.

It may have been such a long time since you have thought about yourself. You’ve thought of too many things about others, but have forgotten the things that bring about your own happiness.

Discover them again.

List them down and read them over until your heart could remember once more.

Following are some of the things I enjoy:

1.Coffee
2.Chocolate
3.Early mornings, a lovely sunrise
4.Books
5.Music
6.Fried chicken
7.A drizzle
8.Computer games
9.Movies
10.Musicales, concerts
11.Paintings
12.Taking pictures of beautiful sceneries and simple folks
13.Taking a walk
14.Time with family and friends
15.Traveling

Now it’s time for your own list.

Things you enjoy:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

2. KNOW YOURSELF!

Being kind to ourselves
and doing the things
we enjoy
helps us discover
the person we truly are;
the person we may have
never known until now!

I urge you to know
who you really are;
in your eyes,
in your heart.

Know thyself,
especially your strengths.

Know that which is
beautiful.

Know that which is
loveable.

Know that which has made you
the unique and wonderful
person that you are!

You are not the good-for-nothing person you thought you were. In fact, you’re not that bad at all. You want to do good things! It’s just that we may have been afraid of ourselves for so long; we’ve been afraid to look at the mirror for fear of seeing some monster we do not wish to be.

My friend, would you kindly do something for yourself? Take a good look at the mirror today and see the beautiful one you have ignored for so long.

3. HELP YOURSELF GROW

Once you have discovered
who you really are,
you can start
the exciting journey
of growth
towards your
infinite potentials.

We should not be content
merely knowing who we are,
but always strive to be
the person we could still become!

Dream,

Seize your dreams,

Then dream again!

Only in flowing
can the river
remain to be a river.

Only in growing
can life prevail
over death!

SOARING HIGHER

Why should I be afraid to fly?
And why should I be afraid to try?
I was born to meet the sky;
I was born to meet the sky and fly!

I may fall once,
I may fall twice,
I may fall so many times,
But I will not fall always!
I will try again and again and fly!

Spread your wings now,
Get ready!
Let go of your fears
as you leave the ground.
Be prepared now, steady.
You’re getting better,
You’re flying faster,
You’re soaring higher up the sky!

List down the things
you’ve always wanted to do.

List down the things
you’ve always wanted to learn.

List down the places
you’ve always wanted to go to.

List down your dreams,
however big or small.

List down the kind of person
you’ve always wanted to be.

Go ahead.

a.Enroll in that photography class.

You are never too old to learn new things.

b.Make that hairdo change.

Surprise everyone (including yourself), with that cool change.

c.Climb that mountain.

Experience the physical and mental struggles along the way and bask in the glory of reaching the top after all that you’ve been through!

4. KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

It is not enough
that a man eats,
and drinks,
and sleeps.

It is not enough
that he breathes,
and that his heart
continues to beat.

Unless and until he knows his purpose,
he is not a man at all.

Spend time
away from the noise
and anxieties of the world;
away from the demands
and expectations of the crowd.

Listen to your inner self.
Hear the innermost desires of your heart.
Discover the task for which you were most equipped to do.

Know your purpose.

Do not be afraid to make mistakes.

And do not give up even if you fail many times.

Your mistakes will only bring you closer to the discovery of your true purpose – the role which only YOU can perform!

5. ACCEPT AND FORGIVE YOURSELF.

As much as we must learn to forgive others, so too, should we learn to forgive ourselves.
As much as we should learn about our strengths, so too, should we learn and accept our limitations.

The problem with us is that we often attribute every tiny bit of problem to ourselves.

In our obsession to be in control of everything, we consequently believe that anything that ever goes wrong is our fault.

Accept your faults.

Do everything you can to correct them.

But learn also that not everything is your fault. Learn that you cannot correct the things, which are beyond your control.

Stop trying to carry the burden of the world upon your shoulder.

Carry only your own cross.

That is all that is asked of you.

My friend, feel that you are loved,
not only by others, but first and foremost,
feel that you are loved
by your very self!

Starting this moment, can you promise yourself that you will be your own bestfriend?

Classic Love Poems

HOW DO I LOVE THEE
( Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES
(Francis William Bourdillon)

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

AT LAST
(Elizabeth Akers Allen)

At last, when all the summer shine
That warmed life’s early hours is past,
Your loving fingers seek for mine
And hold them close—at last—at last!
Not oft the robin comes to build
Its nest upon the leafless bough
By autumn robbed, by winter chilled,—
But you, dear heart, you love me now.

Though there are shadows on my brow
And furrows on my cheek, in truth,—
The marks where Time’s remorseless plough
Broke up the blooming sward of Youth,—
Though fled is every girlish grace
Might win or hold a lover’s vow,
Despite my sad and faded face,
And darkened heart, you love me now!

I count no more my wasted tears;
They left no echo of their fall;
I mourn no more my lonesome years;
This blessed hour atones for all.
I fear not all that Time or Fate
May bring to burden heart or brow,—
Strong in the love that came so late,
Our souls shall keep it always now!