BE BACK SOON

There are very few things that get me down.
This sure does.

I totally hate being sick.
I will be back when I am 100%.
Meanwhile, y'all take care and stay safe from what the Doctors call, an Undifferentiated Virus Strain. (In English, they don't know what the hell it is!)

IS IT DAMN HARD TO SHOW GRATITUDE?

Is it just me over-reacting or has it become a 21st century trend that there are more and more people that have become completely incapable of showing gratitude?  I just see so many people around, that no matter how much you do for them, how much you help them, they will still be unhappy and believe that they deserve and are entitled to more. 
I have had my fair share of these people, probably more than the average, but I reckon these beings would lose a limb if they stop to say "Thank You."

Well, colour me stubborn, but I refuse to believe that the entire humanity has bred ungrateful clones.  I am sure that somewhere out there, there is one soul who is thankful enough he or she still lives.  
These days, I can only see that we have all become too busy bitching, being envious, getting jealous, or trying our best to accomplish what others can only dream of, we have often, if not always, forgotten to be grateful for the small favours we get.  Why?  Gee, I don't know, maybe because it's "un-cool" to be mushy.  Or perhaps because we believe we worked hard to be where we are.  Yeah, sure, right.  I mean, are you the only author of your life?  Did you come from a nut that fell off a tree?  Really? I don't think so.  Sue me.
Listen, look around you.  Think hard.  You will not be where you are now if not for people that have touched your life and have helped you in small or big ways to get there. It could have been anyone, not just your parents.  Someone.  Somebody.  A person you may have long forgotten as you now bask in your wealth and success.  Get a grip. Why don't you just stop for a short moment and think about who you owe some gratitude?  It is not going to kill you.  It may even be life-changing.


And for all those unsung heroes, those people who "habitually" extend themselves to lend a helping hand, I hope you continually keep doing good and expect nothing in return, for it hurts not to be appreciated and recognized.  I hope you don't get tired because sooner than later, the law of life pays you back a thousand-fold.  


And for everyone who has helped me become Who I Am, thank you. I am still a work in progress but I am getting there.


I found this in an old file and I truly think this human being has lived a life of Selflessness, worthy of emulation and at the very least, respect.  

Mother Teresa aptly titled her poem, "DO IT ANYWAY".

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, at it may never be enough; Give your best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway"

THE TAG GAME

There's this absolutely insane and funny lady, she goes by the name LILY and if you are not in her reader's list, then you're damned for life,(I swear!) who TAGGED me.  And here I am, stepping up to the challenge and making a go for it! Why not?  It makes Blog Whoring completely legit.

The aim of this is:

To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

The rules are:

•  The blogger is nominated to take part.
• The blogger publishes his/her 7 links on their blog, 1 link for each category. 

1.  Your most beautiful post.

2. Your most popular post. 

3. Your most controversial post.

4. Your most helpful post.

5. A post whose success surprised you.

6. A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved

7  The post you are most proud of.

• The blogger then nominates up to 5 more blogs to take part.
• These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate 5 more bloggers and on it goes...

Of course I would prefer to say, read 'em all!  However, that is violating the mechanics. So I guess in the spirit of conformity, I will go with the following:


My most beautiful post because I said so: Life and What Ifs  Because I wrote it at a time when my heart was doing the talking.


My most popular post (and whose success surprised me!): Black Swan: Dark and Disturbingly Beautiful I thought I would try make a movie critique and it turned out to have the highest readership!  I probably can look at an alternative career.  


My most controversial post: When Is Nudity Art or Porn Mainly because I created a stir in some of the comments I received and the number of views I received from far flung countries assuming I have posted kinky, nude portraits.  Shame on you!


My most helpful post: Understanding Men Simply because this Post is totally spot on!


My surprisingly successful post: Bloated Self-Image: Generation ME I was technically bitching, but got good feedback.  Maybe I should be bitching more often.


My "I wish You Read It" (Didn't Get The Attention It Deserved) post: Choosing The Path of Least Resistance I wrote and captured an intimate moment with my Dad and I have somehow also touched a soul from several air-miles away.

And instead of a Post, I have a TAB I am most proud of: My Art Gallery these are my paintings and my handiwork.  If I am not proud of it, who would, so I am!


And in turn, I tag the following Blog Whore nominees:


A fellow Blog Whore: DRONE
This guy's gift of poetry rocks: RIVERCAT
This lady's life story and Blog posts will keep you as a constant stalker: KIMBERLY MARIE
Versatile and very interesting young lady: STEPHANIE
A great friend, an awesome writer and soon to be a published author.  If you have not discovered her yet, it's about time you did: JUST ME

Once again, my many thanks to the proud mother of the Li'l Man, Lily, you totally rock!

TOP 7 KICK ASS Tips To Live By

Have you had days when you wake up and you tell yourself, "Fine, that's just about enough that I have had with being pushed around, feeling like a sorry loser in this cruel and unfair world.  Starting right this minute, I am going to start kicking asses!"?
Well just in case you have had enough and you want to manage your life and start steering back your ship in its proper course, I collected a couple of helpful quotes and tips to acquire that much needed "kick ass" attitude!

• First, "When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." - Kahlil Gibran.

Think about this: the more painful the experience, the stronger you get when you rise above it.  The sorrow actually enriches our life.  
When I look back at those past agonizing days, months; today, I am filled with inspiration when I realise that I no longer am in that sorry place any more. There's this complete feeling of renewal, an overwhelming feeling of triumph that sweeps through my soul.  Yes, I have moved on, and the more painful it was, the sweeter the joy I feel!  

• Second,  "When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of this old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." - Winston Churchill

Have you come to terms with the fact that most of the things we fear that will happen never really happen?  At most times, the monsters we have created are mainly creatures we concocted in our minds?  I used to think that being a "worrier" made me a better person in terms of ensuring perfection, until I have allowed this irrational compulsion to bog me down with panic and nervous attacks. Hell, I am NOT perfect! Why should I be? The more relaxed I was, the more productive and functional I became. I made myself a victim of my own " worry monsters"!  So I slew them all!

• Third, "Life is really simple, but we insist in making it complicated." - Confucius Quote on the Simplicity of Life

Tell me, when was the last time you wasted precious moments "sweating the small stuff"? The insignificant few that have grown fangs because we allowed these trivial things to affect us. Our minds, great or small, love to think. It loves to make the rather plain and simple, oddly more and more complex we end up totally immobilized.  If we can cut up that huge baloney sandwich into bite size pieces, then we can eat it easier. Why should you even attempt to choke yourself by believing that the "devil is in the details"? Sure, but if they say, 'Mind Is Over Matter', if I don't mind, then, it doesn't really matter.  Logical? I would much rather focus on what is important and discard all that is totally useless and meaningless.

• Fourth, "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin

This is one of my biggest victories.  I managed to unravel the mystery that the world can be viewed through many different perspectives and frames. I realised that I have initially misconstrued that my view of the world is how the world really is.  And if in the beginning I believed that I was right, I have learned that in someone else's viewpoint, I can be wrong. And with this insight, I have acquired the ability to reflect on what I could have missed, what other's might be seeing, thinking and feeling; and I have chosen to take the path of optimism, openness and flexibility. I have decided to embrace the world and life in all possible diversities, and I steadfastly believe that eventually, there is some point of convergence that can be built on. After all, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. 

• Fifth, "Ever tried.  Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett

I honestly believe that a healthy attitude to embracing the possibility of failure pulls out all the drama and wasted energies dwelling on it. I don't think that the measure of a person's success is gauged by the number of times he never failed, but rather in the number of times he rose above the murk and tried again.

A list of Abraham Lincoln’s Failures:

• Lost job, 1832
• Defeated for legislature, 1832
• Failed in business, 1833
• Elected to legislature, 1834
• Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835
• Had nervous breakdown, 1836
• Defeated for Speaker, 1838
• Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
• Elected to Congress, 1846
• Lost renomination, 1848
• Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
• Defeated for Senate, 1854
• Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
• Again defeated for Senate, 1858
• Elected President, 1860

• Sixth, "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon." - Winnie the Pooh on Appreciating the Little Things

If you still think that life's greatest moments are defined by your biggest and grand accomplishments, then you are completely missing life.  "Sometimes the smallest things, take up the most room in your heart" as ascribed by Winnie the Pooh, and I am a believer in counting my life's simple blessings. I am sure you can have two minutes in a day to think about the little things you have that you may have completely taken for granted because, they are just there. For instance, food, family, friends, the weather, a home, a pet, clothes, a book, your health, a computer, a Blog.  Little things that are possibly staple in your daily life that you are blessed with. Somewhere, some people would kill to have a just a bit. Be grateful for all these things and take a few minutes to bask in appreciation for your blessings.

• Seventh, "Twenty years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do.  So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Follow your heart. 'Nuff said.

A TAG AND AN AWARD

Just when I was beginning to think that perhaps Blogging is not worth doing but a reckless time waster, here I am again.  
I have been given another award, albeit I am a tad late in terms of extending my gratitude, I reckon it is never, ever too late to say two of the most gracious words in the English dictionary:  THANK YOU. My sincerest gratitude to Marie of The Colour of Our Skin for having included my Blog amongst those she has found inspiring.

The Award is aptly designed as a butterfly; symbolizing change, transformation, metamorphosis.  When given to you, you must NOT return it to me, it is intended to fly away and touch another Blogger.
I will be listing my own selection of BUTTERFLY Inspirational Blog Awards.
There are a couple of TAG questions that you may or may not decide to use, but it would totally delightful if you will.


EIGHT EASY TAG QUESTIONS:

1. What makes you laugh, smile or giggle? My kids laughing and playing.
2. What are your dreams for your future? Travel around Europe and Africa
3. If you are to go to a cruise, where would it be and why? I've done a couple of cruises, so I will pass on this one.  I used to work for a Cruise Liner.
4. How would you spend your vacation time and with whom? I would love to go to Greece with my daughter.
5. If given a chance, what life would you choose? Your life now or your past? I will always choose my life now.  I believe that today is called a "present" because it is.
6. Is there something that you wished before when you were young but you didn’t get it? I wanted to be a surgeon.  I thought then, that it would take a lifetime of studying.  But guess what, I am a lifetime student of human behaviour and life.
7. Have you been in a situation where you might have given up but still you chose to move on? Yes, pretty much the story of my life.  But since this would require a series of chapters, I will leave my answer to a YES.
8. Is their someone in your life who has been your source of strength and inspiration? My father.  He is my first love.

And now to my List of Inspirational Blog Awards.  I am proud to be able to become part of their Followers:

1. Andrea: Life is a Science Experiment
2. Amber: Chronicles of Amber
3. Dirty Cow Girl: Left Alone with A Full Moon
4. Jamie: It's a Gay Life
5. Lily: The Incoherent Ramblings of A Single Parent
6. Violet: Gratuitous Violet's Blob

In so many different ways, these Bloggers' hearts, words, wit and own uniqueness have touched me.  They have given my Blog Life in the internet-verse a totally different meaning.  

And for my Inspirational Blog List: You have all shared and bared your souls in your respective Blogs and you have become one of my habits I refuse to give up on. I hope you can chance upon this Post and know how much your Blogs are appreciated.

I am also sharing a song that I find of great inspiration for people faced with the challenge of change and moving on.  

Here's Ross Copperman's HOLDING ON, LETTING GO: