Category: Words of Wisdom

There are as many dreams as there are people, and that is why there are also as many paths.  One cannot therefore say to another, “Hey, follow me, this is the way to your dreams.” For even if the dream be somewhat similar, the people following that dream will always be different.

Hence one person may prefer to take the rough path first, while the other prefers the smoother path.  One person may prefer to travel the seas first and then later on build one’s courage to climb the mountain.  Another person who has no fear of heights may prefer to climb the mountain first and then later on build the courage to cross the seas.

We also differ in our endurance.  Others may get tired easily and need to find some rest now and then while others don’t get tired as much and therefore move farther ahead in one’s path.

Some people may prefer to take it slow and savor each scenery along the way.  Others don’t care as much and prefer to reach their destination faster.

In the end, what matters is how we are able to reach our own paths and how we are able to respect the path of others who are also trying to find their way.

There may be points in time when our paths would cross, when we can cheer each other on.  During such times, let’s not hesitate to lend each other a helping hand if we could.

But as for those times when we must walk our paths alone or choose one that is different from the ones our companions are taking, let us not lose heart.  Let us not think that our friends don’t care for our journey anymore.  Who knows? One day our paths may cross again, and when they do, we’d have more stories to tell and more strength to share for the meaningful journey that lies ahead.

“There are many paths to a dream, but only one is yours.” – Joyce, itakeoffthemask.com

By: Jon Morrow

Sometimes, you don’t get to choose the tribes that you belong to. They choose you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

I’m a member of one of those tribes. It’s called the Tribe of the Disabled.

Some of us were born into the tribe. Others were brought into it by an accident or mistake. But regardless of how we arrived, no one wants to be a member.

Some people take it hard. They feel like they’ve been kidnapped from another tribe, the Tribe of Normal People. They feel like everything they were and everything they knew was taken away.

Eventually though, most of us realize that the Tribe of Normal People doesn’t actually exist. There’s no bond between the nondisabled.

There are no leaders among them. There are no rules. It doesn’t exist.

But the Tribe of the Disabled does exist. It’s a common link between all of us, and we know it, even without saying anything.

We have rules, like, “Don’t stare” or “Be encouraging.” It’s strange, but we also tend to stay away from each other, as if being around one another could remind us that we are a member of the tribe. We prefer to forget.

Still, we have common leaders, people that inspire us. Christopher Reeve was one of those leaders. He inspired us with his audacity, his activism, and his compassion. We were so sad when he left us, but that’s the way this tribe is. Our leaders don’t last long.

It’s an unusual tribe, I know. For the longest time, I didn’t want to be a part of it. I believed that accepting my membership would weaken me, like I would be accepting my own death. So many of us die, after all. It’s the most common way out of the tribe.

But you know what? I was wrong.

This tribe isn’t about death. It’s about courage.

It takes courage to look at yourself and accept your imperfections. It takes courage to love yourself anyway. It takes courage to go beyond merely trying to survive your life and start trying to actually enjoy it.

How could you complain about being in a tribe like that? It’s wonderful.

Would I still like to be cured of my disease? Would I trade a healthy body for my membership in the Tribe? Sure I would.

But do I regret being a part of it? No way!

When you learn to accept yourself, you also learn to accept the tribes you belong to. They don’t have to be rich or clever or even desirable. The fact is, it’s your tribe.

And sometimes, that’s all that matters.

(Taken from THE TRIBES CASEBOOK)

There was once an old woman who died when she was 87 years old.  She didn’t have any children.  She never even got married.  As for possessions, she had 3 clothes and one pair of sandals.  A peer described her as small and shy.  She looked as ordinary as everybody else except that you’d probably recognize her if you read some books and watched documentaries about her life.  For all her simplicity, Mother Teresa has helped thousands of people in 45 years over 100 countries around the world giving aid to the sick, the poor, the orphaned, the homeless and the dying.

Did she live a meaningful life?  Was she successful in achieving the standards people usually attribute to a happy life?

Let’s look at another life:

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself…

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Twenty long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life. (Adapted from a sermon by Dr James Allan Francis)

The man being referred to is Jesus, the one whom Christians believe is the Son of God.  Not everyone may believe Him, many even criticize Him, but His impact upon millions of lives for centuries cannot be denied.

Did he live a meaningful life?

A meaningful life is not the same as a comfortable life.  It isn’t even the same as having a peaceful and quiet life.

While many of us may feel worthless, many more people await for the help we could offer them.  We may not have much money, but we could have much time.  Even if we don’t have much time, we have our thoughts, our words and our many other gifts.  Even those already suffering in sickness and can’t get out of their bed has the capacity to pray for those who are suffering more than they are.  We don’t even have to help thousands of people.  We could help only one person and it would make the very difference between a life well lived and a life that is devoted to none.

Lastly, the meaning of our lives does not depend upon the opinion of other people.  It does not depend on what others deem important or valuable, but on what we consider as important from deep within our soul.  What is so important to you that you could forego everything else just to pursue it?  What would a meaningful life look, sound and feel like to you?

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours. – Dale Carnegie

“What you are doing I cannot do, what I’m doing you cannot do, but together we are doing something beautiful for God, and this is the greatness of God’s love for us. To give us the opportunity to become holy through the works of love that we do because holiness is not the luxury of the few.” -Mother Teresa

1. Looks aren’t the most important thing.

• Some attractive people even feel inferior because they think people only like them because of their looks and not their personality or other important traits.

2. Achievements aren’t the most important thing.

• Achievements always change. Sometimes you’re up, other times you’re down.
• Although some people have already achieved much, you don’t know if someday, you will even achieve more than they have already achieved. Your potential for achievement may even be greater.

3. Skills aren’t the most important thing because they can be learned.

4. Wealth isn’t the most important thing because they can be gained by means which does not in any way indicate that the person who gained them is far superior than the one who didn’t or chose not to use such means. Also, wealth can be found and it can be lost, it isn’t a permanent indicator of one’s worth. Even wealthy people don’t want others to fall in love with them just because of their money.

5. Beliefs are important, but just like skills, they can be learned, corrected or changed. And we all have the power and the freedom to do that.

6. Being unique is important because that makes you the only living person who can offer the world what you have. So why be afraid if you don’t fit in at times? Be proud that you can stand out!

7. There are many things that you can find good and lovable about you, things you may have ignored or taken for granted because you have always possessed them all these years. As proof, we get attracted with people who have positive traits that are similar to us. We may not have noticed it, but noticing them now, thinking about it and writing them down can help us believe that we have indeed been attracted by such traits, and if we have, then it is quite possible that other people will also be attracted by such traits that we already possess.

8. Instead of treating your mistakes as signs of your inferiority, why not treat them as lessons learned that will increase your wisdom and your strength, and therefore, increase also your self confidence?

9. Rejections by other people happen all the time, it doesn’t mean you’re less deserving of attention or love. For instance, isn’t it good to be rejected by people with bad habits and evil intentions? Doesn’t it say much about them as it does about you?

10. Some criticisms may be productive and we can learn much from them. Other criticisms merely indicate things that the person himself hates about himself and does not want to see in you. It does not even say whether he is right in hating such traits or whether he has merely associated such traits with other things he truly dislikes. Just think about the celebrities that you know who have often been criticized. Even truly good world leaders have been objects of criticism. But that doesn’t mean they deserved every criticism they got or that they should already lose confidence because of them.

Never Let Yourself Down

There will come a time when people would put you down.
People would judge you. Those who hardly know you. And those
whom you thought knew you well. You will look for comfort
but you will find none. You will wander the streets weeping
but not a friend will be in sight.
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.
Take comfort knowing that you are never alone. God still
believes in you, you know. God loves you and sees in you
the person everybody else failed to see.
Don’t fail to see that person. Never let yourself down.

If life is the most important possession, how come many people give up so early in their lives?  How can people of robust health at the very prime of their lives think that nothing more could be done to be happy and achieve their true desires?

“But there’s nothing more I could do, this is the end for me.”

“I’ve tried everything and nothing worked!”

“I can’t see how anything could still change.”

“I feel so exhausted, I’ve ran out of the will to live.”

With these words in mind, we can now see why life seems to be meaningless if combined with other factors such as exhaustion, hopelessness and seemingly insurmountable hedges.

It isn’t because life is over that one feels defeated, but that life could never change anymore into the kind of life one desires to have that causes one to consider all life as worthless.  But is it?  Are the blocks we’re surrendering to realistic obstructions that can no longer be overcome?

Let’s consider some of the hindrances that defeat our hope:

1. That we’ve ran out of strength

It is true that years of trials and suffering could so exhaust our strength that we may feel unable to carry on.  But exhaustion is not the same as death, and giving up is not the solution when all that we need to do is REST.

2. That nothing NEW is ever going to happen anymore

Boredom can easily sink in and render life tasteless.  It would seem that nothing new ever happens anymore.  But does it mean that nothing new will indeed happen in the future?  How could we know?  How could our words be so SURE?

We CAN’T predict everything that’s going to happen tomorrow.  We DON’T KNOW.  We don’t know the next person we’d meet that could make a difference in our lives.  We don’t know if we’ll get sick or if we’ll get well.  We don’t know the natural calamities that may strike any moment.  Maybe what we really mean is that we don’t want to hope anymore because we have been hurt so many times before.  Maybe we’re not merely expecting for a NEW thing.  Maybe what we want is a new development towards achieving our hearts desires.

3. That there’s NOTHING we could do anymore

Is it true that there is truly NOTHING more we could do?  Could it be that there is STILL SOMETHING we could do, but that we just DON’T KNOW it yet?  Or could it be that we’re just too tired or too hopeless to do it?  Could it be that we’re just too hurt to still try anything more?

How about being still?  How about waiting? Have we tried to wait to reap the results of our labor?  For just as there is time for a seed to grow, and for a flower to bloom, there must be some period of time between our efforts and the fruits we yearn to see.

How about asking for help? Have we already sought the help of others who could be in the position to help us?  Or have we sought only from those who already disappointed us in the past and therefore, we think everyone else will just be the same?  Have we sought God’s help?  Have we tried to trust Him and allow Him to show us a different way?

In order for new things to come, we have to try new things and embark on the uncertain, on paths we’ve never known before.

4. That we’ve already tried EVERYTHING

EVERYTHING is a very encompassing word.  Is it possible to have already done everything?  Maybe what we mean is that we have already done everything within our powers, within our limitations.  Still, could it be that we don’t know some part of us that has already become stronger through the years?  Could it be that doing everything IN THE PAST is not the same as doing everything NOW in our present capacity?

Doing everything could also mean to us as doing everything that had been expected of us.  It could mean doing everything we thought should be done, the way it has always been done, the way it worked for other people, or the way we thought things ought to work.

Could it be that we could still do something but doing that thing would be so new we’re afraid where it would eventually take us?  In other words, could there be ANOTHER WAY?

Which doors have been closed?  Which paths have been blocked?  Are all paths blocked or are there just some paths you DON’T WANT to take anymore thinking you already know where it would take you?

Life is Precious

Life is still precious, a gift that would never have been given if it isn’t worth anything.  Don’t give up yet.  Rest and renew your strength.  Then try something new, ask for help, ask even for hope that it may be found again.

You’re not the same person today.  Your hurts have made you wiser; your trials have made you stronger.  There is a different future now from the one you saw before. Try to see it with your new eyes, and with your new heart.