"When you have nothing left but God, then you'll realize that God is enough".
I read this quotation from a daily bread a few years ago. Since then, it became my motto in life. It never failed to give me hope in times of failure and chaos.
People view life in two ways: it is a glass that is half full or half empty. Either way, people of diverse principles strive hard to endure life's challenges.
I have had some series of unfortunate events. It's not as "unfortunate" as in the Lemony Snicket's story. But then God remained faithful and He proved that miracles do happen if you only believe in Him. I'll not enumerate what had happened but in time I'll let you know.
As for now, let me share some life's principles along with my thoughts about them.
"What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful." ~ The Lai Lama
* A commonly asked question that can be answered by lengthy paragraphs. For me, Lama had the best answer: To be happy and useful!
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." ~ Albert Einstein
* How to stay happy when everything's gone wrong? Einstein said "Live for others". Don't be selfish. Remember that when you give something, it all comes back to you (like the Coca Cola tv ad).
"
Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise." ~ Alice Walker
* Life is full of surprises, you'll never know what's in store for you. It's a quest of predicting the unpredictable. Let God be God.
"Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die." ~ Amelia Burr
*If you only have 24 hours to live, what are the things you want to patch up before saying goodbye to this world? Do you have so many regrets that you need more time to fix things out?
"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived." ~ Patrick Stewart, from the film "Star Trek: Generations"
* If you'll die would people miss you? What would be their eulogy during your funeral service? What epitaph would they write in your tombstone?
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." ~ Buddha
* Sometimes I am freaking out if some things go wrong. Anxiety sinks in and I succumbed to "insomnia". I agree with Buddha (even though I am not a Buddhist). I then remembered Matthew 6:26-34 that goes like this..."Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?......Observe how the lilies of the field grow; thy do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?....
I read this quotation from a daily bread a few years ago. Since then, it became my motto in life. It never failed to give me hope in times of failure and chaos.
People view life in two ways: it is a glass that is half full or half empty. Either way, people of diverse principles strive hard to endure life's challenges.
I have had some series of unfortunate events. It's not as "unfortunate" as in the Lemony Snicket's story. But then God remained faithful and He proved that miracles do happen if you only believe in Him. I'll not enumerate what had happened but in time I'll let you know.
As for now, let me share some life's principles along with my thoughts about them.
"What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful." ~ The Lai Lama
* A commonly asked question that can be answered by lengthy paragraphs. For me, Lama had the best answer: To be happy and useful!
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." ~ Albert Einstein
* How to stay happy when everything's gone wrong? Einstein said "Live for others". Don't be selfish. Remember that when you give something, it all comes back to you (like the Coca Cola tv ad).
"
Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise." ~ Alice Walker* Life is full of surprises, you'll never know what's in store for you. It's a quest of predicting the unpredictable. Let God be God.
"Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die." ~ Amelia Burr
*If you only have 24 hours to live, what are the things you want to patch up before saying goodbye to this world? Do you have so many regrets that you need more time to fix things out?
"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived." ~ Patrick Stewart, from the film "Star Trek: Generations"
* If you'll die would people miss you? What would be their eulogy during your funeral service? What epitaph would they write in your tombstone?
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." ~ Buddha
* Sometimes I am freaking out if some things go wrong. Anxiety sinks in and I succumbed to "insomnia". I agree with Buddha (even though I am not a Buddhist). I then remembered Matthew 6:26-34 that goes like this..."Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?......Observe how the lilies of the field grow; thy do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?....
"There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."~ Carl Jung
*In life, we need sadness/nights/darkness to savor it's true flavor. We are like a white cloth that needs patches in order to be a beautiful quilt. We need to be broken and molded by the Potter's hand to be a perfect jar. We are to be spilled out to enjoy life's scent. Life is not a bed of roses, for roses have their own thorns.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman
*We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone. Know your purpose in life and dare to be different. If every person act this out perhaps this world would be a better place to live in.
“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”
* Always remember that the person who never fails is the person who never tries. Live up your dreams and aspirations. Don't be a wave that is just being tossed in the ocean. And also don't be a lukewarm person that is neither hot nor cold. Make a decision and stand firm for it.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain
*I am 24 right know and I am regretting the mistakes I have committed. After 20 years, I'll be 44 and for sure there's more reasons to disappointed. But according to Mark Twain, we should sail away from the safe harbor and explore the world beyond it. We should not be threatened and discouraged by the upcoming storms in life. For in those storms, we will become wise and tougher in dealing with life's journey. Besides, there's a calm in the eye of the storm.
"There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy." ~ Mark Twain
*Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life. It's an odd thing that with life you can cry and laugh at the same time. This happens a lot to me (thank God I passed the neuro-psychological exam). I used to think that life is so boring. Later I realized that I was wrong, for life is a movie or novel that features drama, comedy, tragedy and horror rolled into one.
* Always remember that the person who never fails is the person who never tries. Live up your dreams and aspirations. Don't be a wave that is just being tossed in the ocean. And also don't be a lukewarm person that is neither hot nor cold. Make a decision and stand firm for it.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain
*I am 24 right know and I am regretting the mistakes I have committed. After 20 years, I'll be 44 and for sure there's more reasons to disappointed. But according to Mark Twain, we should sail away from the safe harbor and explore the world beyond it. We should not be threatened and discouraged by the upcoming storms in life. For in those storms, we will become wise and tougher in dealing with life's journey. Besides, there's a calm in the eye of the storm.
"There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy." ~ Mark Twain
*Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life. It's an odd thing that with life you can cry and laugh at the same time. This happens a lot to me (thank God I passed the neuro-psychological exam). I used to think that life is so boring. Later I realized that I was wrong, for life is a movie or novel that features drama, comedy, tragedy and horror rolled into one.
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