What would you love in a soulmate?
What would you love in a life partner?
Being honest?
Dependable?
Reliable?
Courteous?
Loyal?
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Author: Jocelyn Soriano
See her books like "Questions to God", "Mend My Broken Heart", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", "Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief" and more - click here.
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(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)
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Breaking Up and Letting Go
It is sad to let go of a person, especially if you love that person, and somehow in your heart, you know that person loves you, too. But sometimes, letting go of someone is the highest act of love one can possibly give, especially when we know that letting go is needed for the good of those we love.
Much as we want it, we cannot always grow together. And sad as it is, we carry our biggest crosses alone, as Christ did. There is a point in our lives, when only God can be there for us, and the only way we can be there for that person is by praying for them. When all that we can do is to patiently wait until the fruit ripens in season, otherwise, we would only spoil the buds, which can no longer grow in its full blossom.
Sometimes we get so impatient waiting for a plant to grow, but what we do not know is that we are standing in the way, and the shadow we cast upon it hinders it from receiving the light it needs to grow.
There is a time for everything. Even if we learn to step aside, and the plant finally receives the light it needs, we can never tell how fast it will grow. We can cheer all we want, and we can cry all we want. But the plant will continue to grow in its own phase. May we never get too impatient as to water it too much that it finally drowns. All that we can do is to give it space so that it can have room to grow.
Finally, after the plant has grown, we are never quite sure how much we are going to adore its flowers. Seeds sometimes look alike and we may never know what plant will grow out of those seeds. In our hearts though, we are hoping to find a rose or a mum, and we can never be more thankful if we learn that the plant has grown to be just like that.
At times however, we discover earlier that the plant we await will never bear the flower that we desire. But since we have alread waited for so long, we have learned to love the plant, and we try to convince ourselves that we will love the mum, even if it is really the rose that we long to see. That beautiful rose! We may have even been pricked once by its thorns, yet our wounds were nothing compared to the joy that the rose brought to our hearts. Yet now, there is no rose, there is only the steadfast mum. But what shall we do if the mum suddenly grows its own thorns and causes us pain? What shall we do with our bleeding hands when we finally find a rose?
God loves us so much, and we shall receive everything we believe is within the reach of His grace and generosity of heart. He doesn’t want to cause us pain, yet He doesn’t want to spoil our joy either. What is it that He couldn’t give us? A mum? A rose? He gives us a garden with hundreds of flowers to bloom in their season! Yet God will never stop us if from that garden of flowers, we would prefer to pick a mum, or if we would choose not to wait for another rose.
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I Wanted to Have a Bigger House
I WANTED TO HAVE A BIGGER HOUSE
I wanted to have a bigger house. I can’t quit explain why, but everytime we all rush about to the toilet in the morning, I just knew I wanted to have a bigger house.
And wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a lot more space for dancing and walking about? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a larger area for more home furniture? Sometimes we buy home appliances and when we get home, we just don’t know how we’d arrange everything so they could all fit in our house.
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Valedictory Graduation Speech
Valedictory Graduation Speech
Today, we celebrate our success after all these years of hardship, struggle and perseverance. We reminisce the challenges that stood before us, and we savor the victories that came upon our hands.
It was not so long ago when we dared to dream, and not so long ago, when we dared to take the first essential steps towards its fulfillment.
Along the way, we met a lot of trials, but our burning desire to reach our goals has kept us from straying or giving up. Along the way were many uncertainties, but certain beacons of light showed us the right path to take.
Let us thank God therefore for His unceasing grace and guidance; our professors, for their immeasurable dedication; our parents for their unconditional support althroughout these years; and our friends who walked along with us, side by side.
Because of them, we were able to reach our dreams. Because of them, we can truly say, “We made it!”.
Yet is this really the end of all our dreams? Friends, we should not just stop here and dwell with memories. Rather, we must look onwards and dream once more. But this time, let us dream not only for ourselves. Let us dream for the nation, and let us dream for the world.
The medals and diplomas we received today must not be mere symbols of high grades or prestigious positions, but emblems of the true light, which God has given us, and which we are now called to give others in return.
It is not sufficient anymore to be the mere hope of the nation. We must be the fulfillment of that hope!
So do your best not only to improve yourselves, but to improve the socio-economic conditions of your country. You have a great role in making this nation great again.
And when you work, don’t just work to earn a living, but work so that you may live in the real sense of the word. Don’t just earn money, earn it honestly and with dignity. Put meaning to everything you do so that when you reach your destination, you have not only reached it, but you reached it with honor in your soul and strength in your heart.
Never look for success in money, for success is never measured by one’s bank account. Don’t look for success in power, for absolute power corrupts absolutely. Don’t look for success in fame, for it is the prayer in silence which is most dear to God.
As a matter of fact, don’t look for success first, for it may be hard to find. But put God first in everything that you do, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
Friends, a bright tomorrow awaits us. Let us get there by making the most of what we have today. Never be afraid to try. Never be afraid to dream. For you are like a bird that is just learning to fly. You may fall once, you may fall twice, but you will not always fall. You will learn to fly!
The above valedictory graduation speech was composed and previously rendered by the author Jocelyn A. Soriano, during her years as student. You are free to publish/ redistribute said speech as long as due citation is made on the author and on this website itakeoffthemask.com
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A Different Time Management
Have you also felt there’s just so much you wanted to do, but you don’t have as much time to do them all?
For a start, how many loved ones do you have? Maybe you have a spouse, and two kids, plus your parents, a brother and a sister, perhaps two close friends? How much time will you devote on each one? If you have a career or a mission, you need to spend time on it, too. All these considered, you still have to take care of yourself.
Many seminars on time management and work-life balance had been conducted on this already. We were advised to prioritize, to do this and that. Still, we can’t seem to satisfy the desires of our heart. So how will you do it? How do you take care of each person and of each thing that matters most to you?