in the name of love

ben

"Why can't you love me fully? Why is it that you've been living with the ghost of your past? He will never come back anymore. Here I am giving my heart and my everything. Please, open the other side of your heart," Ramon begged like a captive man in front of his girlfriend, Blessilda.

Ramon had no idea who took Blessilda's heart for almost 5 years now. He had no clue as to the real identity of this man whom he believed had sliced out a half of Blessilda's heart. 

"He's coming back to town. He is the one who calls me often at home but I never answer him even once. I respect you so I never pick up his call. I heard from a common friend that he's arriving in town 2 days later. He said he would visit me. Is it possible?" Blessilda looked at Ramon's eyes with much sincerity.

The day had passed and finally, Blessilda met the one who owned the other piece of her heart. Clandestinely, Ramon went to their rendezvous. His energy plunged down as he saw the man who captured the other half of Blessilda's heart. He couldn't believe in his eyes that he saw this very familiar man. With mixed emotions, he went back home thinking  of how to win over his competitor--his brother, Rodrigo.

If you were Ramon, would you still pursue Blessilda? Would you fight against your brother in the name of love?

pastoring

ben

When pastors or ministers go abroad or shift to another vocation, they think of their own family or cause. It is maybe a personal desire wanting to have a better life for their own sakes and families. Sometimes, they go abroad also because of a personal issue they have towards their members or organization. They flee from issues thinking that these could bring chaos in the church which they would not like to see or happen.

On the other hand, other ministers go abroad for the purpose of ministering to other Christians. Moreover, there are pastors and ministers who change their jobs which is not pastoring a church because they want to penetrate into the secular world spreading the good news about Jesus Christ. Some pastors go into politics aiming to at least introduce Christianism. Some enter in companies so they could share the Word of God to the businessmen or their colleagues. 

Pastors and ministers may go into other lines of duty but what matters most is their intention to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to many.

do we hide failures?

ben

This morning I was able to learn a business scandal. It is about  this Olympus which has been 'hiding losses' in the market for almost 2 decades already. This camera builder firm is now heavily clouded by revelations and is worried of delisting because of its plunging shares. This is business. Now, how about in real life? Do we hide losses?

Life is full of battles. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. We rejoice over our winnings but we hide our loses. It is easier to manage life when we win, therefore, it is difficult to cope with life when we lose. How do we manage loses?

Always think that in life, not in everything we do we win. Sometimes, failure comes our ways and we should learn to accept them. We should acknowledge failure as a part of a battle. We should owe ourselves to failure because this is our drive to pursue more and better. In failure, we should feel the urge, determination and inspiration to aspire more in our chosen path or career, or maybe in a different path we want to tread on . When we are weak we know the value of strength. It is also safe to say that when we experience failures we know the importance of success.

Sometimes we hide failures but as we hide them we should learn from them at the same time.

unchangeable

ben

When I was younger, I used to jump so high believing that I would stand taller than now but still, I am the shortest in my clan. I always think, "What if I were taller, would it make any difference?"

Maybe, when I stand higher, I would be doing many things. I may be in the fashion industry, or a basketball player. I also dreamed of being on TV or in commercials. I may not be doing what I am doing right now. I may be in another field.

There are things that you want to change in your life but you cannot simply because they are unchangeable. There are things that you wish to do or become and they only reside at the back of your mind. In life, some things look so impossible and you just need to live with them.

Insecurity arises when you think that others can do things and you cannot or others have this and you don't have the same. You feel it when you compare yourself to others minding that you are lesser than them. Sometimes, you even question your Maker why you were created like what you are now.

Insecurity is worthless. There is no problem with who you are even if you are short, flat-nosed, or thin-haired. The problem lies in the way how you think and react to it. You are unique. You have your own potentials. There are things that you can do while others cannot and vice versa. Focus on your 'goods' not on the things that make you feel self-less and shabby. Stop thinking of any problems that don't really exist.

check your attitude!

ben

Stereotypes are ideas we hold onto people whom we think different from us based on observation which tend to become oversimplifications especially on attitude and appearance. The feeling of being superior over someone which leads us to coin some words or thoughts to him or a group-- that is also stereotyping . Most stereotypes are bad which disregard the uniqueness of someone by painting everyone in a group the same brush. Meanwhile, let's test if you do stereotyping often. Here are some and if you do one of these, you may be stereotyping:

***You read news and you associate the topic to someone.

***You look at someone ugly and you associate him to an animal or a scary entity.

***You see a funny and grotesque gesture or action and you associate it to someone who likely does sometimes or often.

***You crack a joke which is associated to someone whether in a small or big group.

***You label someone badly because of his attitude without giving him another chance.

***You only look at someone's color especially on your preference of the whites or the fairs and not the blacks or darks.

And more...

Which of these is true to you? Do you often stereotype? Do you label someone, whether in words or in deeds? Check your attitude!

sanity

ben

Looking at the ceiling...
There is something missing...
Cannot understand my feeling...


Bring me back...
To the times when love was strong and staunch...
Don't leave me in this haunt...

Let this blanket soothe my loneliness...
Let this room steal my blueness...
Let this silence swallow my sanity...

hand-to-mouth

ben

When it rains, it pours.

Yesterday, food was really extravagant. I was alone yet the food I prepared was good for more than a dozen. I had this eagerness to cook so I excitedly put all the food ingredients in the pan. After dinner, I had a big burp that even my neighbors could hear.

I don't have a refrigerator. The left-overs were literally left on the table. Today, as I come home from work, the food's smell has turned sour. Too bad the food stinks and is inedible. As I throw them to the thrash bin, suddenly, I think of the people in my hometown who can't afford to eat even just a meal.

Food is scarce to these families who live a hand-to-mouth existence. Sometimes, the mothers collect some decent left-overs from fast food chains to be served on the plates of their children for dinner. I can imagine some happy little ones biting fried chicken left-overs.

I really feel bad. It is not my fault why they don't eat what I eat. But it tears my heart into two when I see myself throwing away the food which maybe the same food being served on the dining table of these families. I don't want to think that I am lucky and they are not. What if I am on their shoes, can I afford to eat their left-overs?

ending means learning

ben

Many people ask me how to end up a relationship. I believe,  in most cases, relationships that turned sour have bad endings. Though it really hurts but sometimes, ending a relationship means learning--to grow and mature. Here is an excerpt of a breaking off letter given to my ex-girlfriend:

...I don’t mind about all my efforts and sacrifices. As long as I have shown you the real me, I have nothing more to say; I have nothing more to prove. Starting all over again is not that bad. For when I restart, I get another chance to make things right. I had become a better person when I was with you. I learned many things from and with you. I am going to cherish everything about you and us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for once, twice, many times, making my life more colorful...


P.S. Don't be bitter.

a good leader

ben

A good leader knows prudence not violence.

A good leader magnifies solutions not problems.

A good leader takes no side. If he does, he should keep it surreptitiously.

A good leader accepts defeat and retreat.

A good leader respects mediocrity but aspires excellency.

not all people are like you

ben

"If people only think the way I do..."

But no.

People are diverse. They have their own ways of thinking. They have their own personal points of view toward something. No matter how hard or detailed we explain things, still, people have their own perception about a matter.

Meanwhile, the good thing about diversity is that we could use it in unity. When diverse views are gathered together, it would be fair and wiser to decide on a matter. Unilateral decision is avoided when diversity is present. 

Not all people think like you. Not all people are like you.

exodus

ben

Exodus?

It is the second book in the Bible. It means a departure of people from a hostile environment. It also connotes an escape or a withdrawal.

I have my own.

When I first knew the meaning of this word, I couldn't help myself from asking: When would I get out from this self? 

There are times that I feel breathless like I am immersed and succumbed in water that I cannot get air to breathe. All I do is to please the people around me. I make them happy as they instruct me what to do for their own sake.  I play the role they want me to be. 

People are selfish. They don't consider the feelings of others. They just want to extract other's pulp until it dries up.

Why people always want to get what they want from me? This is not me. I want to take off the mask they mount on my face. Let me have my exodus. Let me dress the one that I like not the costume they want me to wear. I want to be myself. I want to be me.

forgetfulness sent a couple to jail

ben

A  pregnant mom and her husband were arrested because they forgot to pay their snack while grocery shopping. The couple was charged with fourth-degree theft and a petty misdemeanor. They were also summoned by the court at the end of this month. Their ordeal lasted for 18 hours and were allowed to be released with a bail of $50 each. To top it up, their 2-year-old daughter who was in a state custody spent a night without her parents.

Can you imagine the repercussions of forgetfulness? 

When you are at grocery stores, never forget to pay for whatever you buy or eat inside. It would really be horrifying if the guards handcuffed you just for something you forget to pay. It is embarrassing to people especially to your loved ones who would know the incident.

Do you want to get to jail just for a small item in a grocery store? Well, if you want to exchange an item to a night or two behind bars, it is up to you.

who are you among your friends?

Defining friendship may require an hour or two. There have been a lot of words that are associated to friendship. There is this companion, acquaintance, bestfriend, seasonal friend, friends with benefits, and the others.

But the question lies in this thought in friendship: Who are you among your friends?

Some would claim they are the best among others. Some maybe are the chosen ones over the others. There are friends that say they are lenders, borrowers, jokers, consolers, advisers, friends-turned-enemies, or just plain friends to someone.

For me, I don't mind if my friends don't pick me as the best one. It doesn't matter if I am not their bestfriend nor close friend. It is not of big importance to me if I don't stand out in my circle of friends. Bottomline, it is not about me but it is about who I can be for my friends. That is friendship.

giver and taker

ben

When you ask:

Lord, please I am in need these days. I am running out of resources and I can't seem to survive in the coming days.

Or maybe:

Lord, I don't like this problem anymore. It's draining my last energy and it's becoming unbearable. I need your strength.

When God asks:

Son, give me your heart wholeheartedly. I gave everything when you were in need. I sustained you and lent a breath to breathe when you said you couldn't continue life anymore.

Son, I just need a little time from you.

Do you realize sometimes that you abuse God? Relationship is a two-way process. It is a 'give and take.' In your relationship with God, are you more than a giver or a taker?

coffee man

ben

I observe this man in his early 30s to be so conscious of his health. He's quite big that's why maybe he is resorting into some cutting-of-the-fats schemes. He has no health disorder as he always speaks coming from his mouth. At work, he is known as the coffee man because of consuming pretty much boxes of slimming coffee believing that he could trim down his weight as he drinks a cup or two a day. But the problem is, years after years, nothing has happened to his body only that he has gotten bigger and bigger. 

Now, I see the picture. How can he cut down his weight if he eats and eats like a horse? How can he lose weight when he knows no work at home rather than watch his favorite TV program? How can he trim down his weight if he is as lazy as a dog?

One day, a certain news suddenly stuns this guy. He has been diagnosed to have acquired a heart problem.

No matter how pious he is in his slimming regimen without exercising, nothing will happen. Spending money  to buy the most effective products or ways on how to get slim without moving his body is useless. It is the same as faith without action is dead.

she waited for him

ben

She waved her hand as the train slowly went on. She was succumbed into tears with her hand covering her lips which were no longer tamable so she opened them and sobbed very deeply. She loved him so much that she wouldn't want to be miles away from him.

She waited.

Finally he arrived. He changed. He was not the same him. He was a totally different one.

She went to meet him again after 10 years of not seeing each other face-to-face. She was shaking as if her nervousness almost ate her. The moment she saw him, there was this feeling she couldn't explain. As they got closer to each other, the moment was different. It was awkward. She felt uneasy. He felt the same.

She exclaimed, "What now?"

"I came back to say 'thank you.' You taught me how to love. I am..."

She interrupted, "Shhhh...Stop."

At first, she did not know what to do. But as the wind quickly blew, she smiled and said, "I was only in love with the idea of the love that we had when we were younger. I also want to thank you for being an inspiration. From now on, I am going to move on."

They parted ways on the same place where they cried for each other and as the train quickly went forward, he shouted, "I am getting married!!!"

Not all love stories end up in 'They lived happily ever after.' Love stories can sometimes be 'They separated happily ever after.'

colored clothes

ben

"Why did you do that, Sammy? Do you know what will happen when you soak the colored clothes with bleach?" The mother scolded her 9-year old son after seeing him washing his clothes at the back of their house one afternoon.

For a while, the boy whose face was terrified by the tone of his mom began to feel humiliated because some of his playmates were looking at him. Again his mom asked the question, "Why did you do that, Sammy?"

In a soft voice he answered, "Because everyday when I get home from school, or even when I come back home from playing with other children, you always complain that I change my clothes again. You always murmur that you're tired doing my laundry. You always have words whenever I change my shirt. In the morning, after I take a shower or at night before I go to bed, you slightly twit as you give me clothes to wear. This afternoon, as I got home from playing outside, I looked at my shirt and it was a little dirty. I took it off and got the others from the laundry bin and soaked them with the bottle near the faucet in order to help you in a way so you won't grumble anymore."

The boy went to the mom and hugged her tightly. 

"Sorry!" Coincidentally, this word was heard from each other at the same time.

!!

Have you ever thought of these lines:

I want to be rich!
I want to be famous!

Sometimes these seem-not-impossible-to-attain sentences cross my mind at work.

I have been working all my life but I think I am not yet rich. I have been writing for almost a third of my age but still my works are unpublished to many. I have just read online about some clips in Youtube that made a lot money as they became popular to many as well.

What should I do to make these dreams come true?

hi alibi

Two insights from a friend of mine:

1. Some people say 'How are you?' just to continue the greeting after 'Hi.' Not all people greet others sincerely.

2. Some people say they are stressed out but in fact they are just lazy. This is one of lazy people's alibis.

date

She is a well-mannered manager. She manages to work efficiently as if she has no flaws in whatever she is doing inside her company. She is very good at what she does.

She comes to my desk as she is having a problem on her report. She says that she already checked earlier all the facts, figures, and numbers being filled out in the document but the computer still shows the red mark 'error.' She gets rattled because this may be the first time she encounters such problem with her report. I offer my help. I go through her report and find out what is wrong with it. You know what? She entered the wrong date, November 25 instead of October 25. We are not there on that date yet.

When somebody is confident and very clever, she sometimes over-analyze almost all situations that she misses out the smaller details.

ben

finish line

ben

He set out a trail to find a very important area in the mountain. He started joyfully as if he was fully ready for the task he was about to accomplish. Geared with mountaineering gadgets, he walked on his first course at its lowest level. Luckily, he graduated. The second course was a little tiring with a few obstacle along the way. Again, he triumphantly went to the next and proceeded. The third one got really exhausting. He had drunk almost all the water in his bag-pack but still he couldn't see any sign of the area he would like to reach. He walked more. The fourth was a total hell for him because it took most of his energy as he tread the tricky way up the mountain. He felt so fatigued. His body couldn't continue anymore. His readied things might not be able to complete his course going to the end point any longer. He finally gave up and went back home despondently. Only then he knew that he only had almost 2 kilometers before he could have seen the place he planned to hit.

In life, there are times that we feel tired fighting and reaching for our dreams. There are moments that we lose hope when we face big mountains that come our ways as we walk up to the finish line. When we feel discouraged, disappointed, or disheartened, we tend to just give up and don't want to continue anymore. When we cannot see any hint or sign of going to that destination we planned to arrive at, we become powerless and hopeless.

There could be no more saddest than the story of this man who gave up when the finish line was already at hand.

who is fatter?

ben

"Who is fatter?"

This question was asked by two of my women colleagues while discussing this matter in their vernacular. At first, I wanted to laugh because they really had to stop me from doing my chores at work just to ask this question, but I held back so I wouldn't spoil the answer I would have to give them. One of them told me that they were of similar weight yet one looked fatter.   I raised my head up and my mind worked on, "Why such two individuals were so much into this thing?"

Do all women have the same question like my colleagues asked?

Nowadays, women would like to stay slim. If they think they are not, they will find ways on how to trim their weight, naturally or artificially. Women of the modern era have this thinking that the fatter they get, the uglier they become. Women at these times are in their own battle to become slim and thin. Why?

Some women think that thinner women generally are more attractive to men.

There is nothing wrong when a woman wants to become thin. It just turns abnormal when she  obsessively wants to become thin disregarding her health. As long as a woman is healthy, no problem of becoming thinner. An article from a magazine quotes, "Men find women most attractive when they take care of themselves and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle."

i wish

I wish I could fly away from the noises where I am now
I wish I could walk where my shadow doesn't come around
I wish I could lie down where no one bothers me
I wish I could spend time looking at life itself
I wish I could think freely from the hassles of life
I wish I could cease looking at the intricacies of life   
I wish I could run through fields of laughter
I wish I could be far from the grudges of the earth
I wish I could do the things I hardly done
I wish I could watch the sun that sets in the west

I wish...

ben

   

an unforgiving heart

ben

Why it is not easy to forgive and let go of the feelings we have for the people that once we truly loved and  cared?  

Once, twice, many times I had been stabbed at my back by the people I loved and treasured most. After long friendships and relationships, all of a sudden, only a moment of betrayal turned my heart into smithereens. How fragile my heart had been! Delicate that most of the times, I had hardly forgiven the people whom I considered close to me most.

It is really difficult to forgive.  

It is pride that hinders most individuals not to forgive. It is the ego that drives them to harden their originally-soft-turned-into-stone hearts. An unforgiving heart is a dangerous one. It may ruin the body, mind, and soul. It can cause havoc into someone's life. Yet, trading pride to forgiveness is an easier resort rather than living a life as if carrying the whole world with us.

When our hair is grown, we have our hair trimmed not our head. Likewise, when there are fights and quarrels, cut the pride, not the relationship. 

Choose we this day what to keep: an unforgiving heart or a loving one?

the monks

ben

What I admire most about the monks is their dedication to whatever they are doing.

Two days ago, I was given the chance to speak in their midst, not to propagate my beliefs, but to teach them a language. There I had seen how fervent they were  in their devotion to their lord. There I had witnessed how ardent they were in the path they  have chosen to follow. I asked what is their ultimate goal why they want to enter into monkhood and they said, "To attain supreme happiness in life."

How much dedication do we have in order to achieve happiness? How impassioned are we in hitting the end point of our journey?

peaks and bosoms

ben

 

A church leader once asked this question: "What metaphor have you used to describe your life?"

The thing that comes to my mind is a range of mountains. Life has some peaks and bosoms. The peaks are the ones I enjoy and cherish much and the bosoms are the challenges I have to win over. The bosoms are the ladders going up. Without the bosoms, I can never reach the peaks.

How about you?  What metaphor have you used to describe your life?

start now

ben

Mrs. Keri: Why don't you let loose and forget the troubles in your mind?
Jonah:       How would I do that?
Mrs. Keri:  Just think of the simple things that make you happy.
Jonah:        I wish I could do that.
Mrs. Keri:  See, even the way you think it seems everything is difficult and complicated. Look at the simple things life is offering you.
Jonah:        How should I start?
Mrs. Keri:   Start from scratch. You cannot end what you have started erroneously. Begin at the bottom again.
Jonah:        I am running out of time.
Mrs. Keri:  Then start now.

you and your reflection

ben

Go in front of a clear mirror. What do you see? Do you see yourself or someone else?Look at how the person look like? Is he the same person like the one standing in front of him? Has he changed? Has he got aged?Do you see a happy man? Do you see a well-lived man?  Is he the person really in front of the other?  

Your reflection follows you wherever you are at any time. Even in the dark, your reflection is there lighting you up. Your reflection is your second self. If only your reflection could talk, then it would tell you good words to keep you on moving. Also, it could tell everything about who you are.  

However, your reflection is not the real you.

Go back to the mirror again. Look at your second self. It doesn't talk. It doesn't think. It cannot tell you to do something.

It is only you who determine what do to in life in whatever you want to live it. It is not your reflection nor even some other people around you. It is you alone who maneuver your life. Your reflection is just a second you. It can only move whenever you want it to.

people vs. family

ben

Why is it that sometimes you treat other people better than your own family? Try to look at these instances:

When your friend calls you can put up even an hour or two but when your mother calls, it seems like the phone is a fiery coal that burns your ears.

When your friend asks for some financial help it is a little easier to give than to your cousin or a distant relative.

When you hold parties you cook so much for other people but when it is a family gathering you even cut the budget for the food to be served.

When you treat your friends, sky is the limit, but when you treat your family, you do a lopsided grin when someone orders an expensive meal.

When someone tells you to spend on a trip in a far away place it is easy to say 'yes' but when a member of your family asks you to go with him, it seems difficult  for you to respond.

There are other things more than these. Do you take your family for granted or you just find home in others?

a deep illness

ben

When I was a child, I wanted to have what other children had. If they had balloons, I asked my mom to buy me some of those. When some children had some toys, I urged my mom to buy toys similar to them. 

Now that I am a grown-up, I still want to have what others have. If my friend has a good pair of shoes, I also want to buy even better ones. If my neighbor buys a huge flat screen TV sets, my heart wants to have even more, like a movie theater constructed in my house. If a colleague has an expensive car, I want to have one as well surpassing what this co-worker has.

Being envious can be sometimes good and sometimes not. We envy good traits from people and we try to emulate them as much as we can. We envy their superb skills and talents wanting to have what they have as well. In this manner, it is sound. But, envy becomes bad when it is too much. When we want to have as much as others have materially, we may be on the wrong track. Envy becomes unhealthy when we focus much on surpassing others' assets or possessions.

Envy is a deep illness caused by  lack of appreciation, affection and satisfaction.

are you a man or a boy?

ben

Are you a man or a boy?

A man helps elderlies cross a road but a boy hesitates.
A man gives a woman a seat in any place but a boy doesn't even offer.
A man does not hurt a woman but a boy fights a lady back.
A man does not kiss and tell but a boy does.
A man softly and gently answers a woman but a boy is sometimes harsh and childish.
A man does not fall into someone else's arms except his wife's but a boy thinks to taste all delicacies.
A man saves for the future but a boy is a one day millionaire.
A man thinks of his family but a boy just lives for and on his own.
A man knows some household chores but a boy only plays around.
A man asks for forgiveness but a boy hardens his heart.

what if there's no God?

What if there's no God or Supreme Being? Do you think humans still exist? What about the creation?  How about the questions of morality? How about the issue of mortality?   Do you think there are violence or wars like what we experience nowadays? How about catastrophes?Do you think you'd be freer? Do you think the essence of life is still worth living? Do you think love still exist? Should we still care?  Do you think you still have a family?

ben

Just a thought...what if...?

before and now

ben

There are times that you eat what you say. This is true. There are times that you give in to a notion that you try to negate before. There are times that you go gaga for some things knowing that you cursed them in the past. Crazy, right? These are paradoxes, aren’t they? Let's take a look at these:

The person you hated much in college has become your bestfriend.
The person you went well with in college or at work for a long time has become your worst enemy.
The person you dumped when you were younger is now your lover or husband or wife.
The food you disliked before is now your favorite one.
The color you detested before has become your everyday color.
The expression you used to abhor is now the accessory of your mouth.
The job you never dreamed of landing on is now your most enjoyed one.
The hobby that you hated much has brought you into fame.
The rich have become the poor in the society.
The fashion that you always criticized before has become your trademark.

There are many other paradoxes, distinct and not, in someone's life. You, what are your paradoxes?

when love is tormented

Why is it when someone's love life is tormented everything seems unlikely and ugly but when someone's love life is stable everything seems at its place?

Love is the greatest possession a man should have in order to live a satisfying life. If love ceases in someone, satisfaction is barely achievable. As the saying goes, "Love conquers all." Whenever there is love, everything is beautiful and fulfilling. The sun keeps on shining because of its light so as a man keeps on living because of love.

her life or the baby's?

She wailed so deeply while walking out of the room after the gynecologist told her that a baby was formed inside her womb.Why did the woman cry this way? The timing was so convenient for her after being married to a man she earnestly prayed for. Was it a happy cry or a rueful one?

A scene flashed back into her mind what happened five years ago. This was a desperate and bleak event that she would always carry until the end of her life. She thought it was the only resort to end her shame in the society she lived in. How could she ever survive with it after the man she loved abandoned her? It was so painful, physically and emotionally, that it took her some months to recover. This was a nightmare that always haunted her whenever she went to bed. She had lived on chaotically for some time with the idea of intentionally dislodging her baby.

The doctor found out that the earlier procedure had damaged her uterus severely. She could still conceive a baby but she could die from it unfortunately. The cause of her great moan originated from the idea that she had to choose from the two: her life or the baby's?

in-laws

Women often think that 'in-laws' are the 'meddling party' in a relationship. But there is only one stone to break this old believed-to-be preconceived notion of having in-laws and that is not to treat them as in-laws but treat them as our own family. Only then we will realize that in-laws are not villains but supporters to the heroine.

are you contented?

Once there was a fisherman who sat down whistling on a wharf hoping to get some fish with his pendulous bait spread in the water. Out of nowhere, a politician in his early 50 walked past his back and asked the fisherman if he was contented in his life. The fisherman said, "YES."

Politician: Why don't you go in the middle of the sea so you can get more fish? 

Fisherman: I am resting. Besides, I lent my boat to someone else. 

Politician: Why don't you buy another boat? 

Fisherman: What for? 

Politician: To get more fish so you can buy another boat later. 

Fisherman: Why do I need another boat?

Politician: So you can buy more boats.

Fisherman: Why do I need more boats? 

Politician:So you can buy a bigger boat. 

Fisherman: Why do I need a bigger boat? 

Politician: So you can buy a ship. 

Fisherman: Why do I need a ship? 

Politician: So you can profit more. And if you already have a ship you can have more fishermen to work with. 

Fisherman:Then? 

Politician: You just sit and relax--whistling while fishing. 

Fisherman: What do you think I am doing now?

Contentment is a matter of perspective. 

how do you work?

Lila had this stunning beauty that every man could ever dream of. She looked like a professional model. She was happy-go-lucky as if her life was so easy and calm. She could sing even in front of many people and this made her more popular in her company. She had a good working relationship with her colleagues. She went to the office early. She seemed like she's always busy but one day she got fired in her company.

She felt like she didn't deserve such fate because she was friendly to her colleagues and even to her superiors. She had given unsolicited helps to someone who needed it. She had triumphed 2 years and she had become the undeclared spokesperson when newcomers asked for some processes and policies inside the company. She thought she was a good employee. Angrily on the day she was kicked out, she packed all her things and stormed out without even waiting for the official letter coming for her boss. She ordered her friend who worked in the same office to get all her stuff out.

Her colleagues were all shocked after they found out that she evaporated quickly from her table the morning after. Eventually, they discovered that it was really her fault why she was fired. After some weeks, the people inside the company learned the reasons why she got kicked out. Stories emerged that she did not really work nor perform well in the office. All she did was to showcase her fashionable clothes not to mention her purse full of make-up. She was so fond of talking to her colleagues during office hours. Her phone was an accessory to her ear. Her computer was her all-day access to her social networking sites. She was also good during lunch break. She seemed like she was always busy because she got used to work with the 'last-minute' style--so to speak. She did several overtimes because she didn't do her tasks during office hours.

How do you work? Are you a reflection of Lila?

simple act of kindness

A simple act of kindness could be a huge ease to someone else.

Lourkhane and Daniela couldn't find a suitable house as they started to build a family. For them, living in a foreign land was no joke. Daniela would be giving birth to a baby girl next month and she needed to find a house for the baby and for them as a couple as well. They roamed around the town to search for a house but their feet got burned until they got nothing. 

Atom, the couple's never-talked-to neighbor, lived alone in a house near them. He was also a foreigner in that place. When he saw that the couple got exhausted every afternoon from finding a place, he benevolently offered his house. Atom thought that he could just get another place since he was alone and ready to move out easily. He thought of Lourkhane especially Daniela whose womb was as big as a pillow. 

What simple acts of kindness have you done today? Think!

the steel man

Everyone calls him 'The Steel Man.' He is on his early 40s and he hasn't gotten married yet as if no woman got involved in him because of his strong personality. Built with big and  muscular physique, this man really confounds more than astounds his co-villagers.  He is never heard by many talking in public. He lives alone in a house. Most of the children there couldn't get near him because he is quite unapproachable that no one dares to.

His mysterious image is the most popular headline among people in his village. He is the center of attention whenever people muster together in a throng.

One evening, while most people are all eyes on TV as they watch their favorite shows, they are so shock when they see a man talking on the screen.

The host asks the man, "Everyone calls you 'The Steel Man.' Why?"

The man answers, "I don't know why they call me like that. Maybe they think I am strong because of my body or my personality."

The host wants to ask more but the man goes on, "I wish I was not like this. I don't even know how to approach people. Children always get off whenever I want to mingle with them. People keep off as I try to draw near with them."

As he continues,tears begin to flow from the corners of his eyes as if he is like a baby wanting for something, "I want my life to be normal. I want to have many friends as well. I want to walk along the road while someone calling my name not being 'The Steel Man.' I want to be loved by someone also. I want to be in this world."

Ponder on this: Even the strongest person needs love and care.

again

Fisherman A is out AGAIN to fish on the net of fisherman B.

Fisherman B told him,"Why are you here AGAIN fishing inside my net?"

Fisherman A replied,"Because I have a better net."

 Fisherman B ended,"No matter how new and strong or sturdy your net is,these are my fish.They're on the net already and you have no right to catch them. You trespass in my territory. Go and fish on the other side of the sea."

ben