Inspiration

October 24, 2018

Home Again

44688699_10205536145678773_7320315892498169856_n

It’s been a year since the last time I was here. I miss the feeling. I miss showing that other side of me.

I’ve been away following a dream, trying to make things as best as I could. That’s why I miss this place, this place where I’m not afraid to fail or fall.

I may not have gone to a faraway place, but I feel I’ve been to the deepest core of every human existence. This may sound weird, but yes, for more than a year, I’ve exposed myself to the ideas of what makes us who we are, why we do what we do.

Of course, I don’t have all the answers to all my questions because I feel I have only touched the tip of my beingness. But it’s enough to make me understand more of myself and more of others.

How liberating it is to allow others to lead us to take a peek of their perspective, of how they see things much differently from us. The greatest lesson I learn is, there’s no us versus them, there’s only we.

I thought I would stay there for long, but after learning some of the necessary lessons, I have to move on to another path. It’s what I feel I’m called to do. I also learned, discovering our passion can’t always be done in one step. We need to follow a series of steps before we’re finally ready to do that mission we’re called to do.

For this, I’m allowing the waters to take away what no longer serves me and to prepare me with a refreshed mind for the journey up ahead.

Ahhhh. So, refreshing… And so glad to be home again.

August 1, 2017

Seeing Hearts 10: The Many Facets of Love

I thought I was done posting heart-shaped objects. I thought heart-shaped objects are only part of the random things I see daily. I thought heart-shaped objects would no longer affect me.

Well, they do. This time. Today. They’re just too cute to ignore and the messages behind them are too loud to avoid. At least, that’s how I see them.

seeing hearts 10: love in unexpected places.

Heart-shaped stone

This one is a heart-shaped stone that lay along our path. Only a few number of stones have such shape, right? We could hardly ignore it.

It’s like the people we meet along our journey. At times, we are attracted to people who seem to have a heart of stone, adorable yet cold. But people are not made of stone. No matter how cold they appear, deep inside they have a soft spot, waiting for some connection. You might be the one they are waiting for.

Or, maybe, at one point or another, we acted as a heart of stone along somebody else’s journey. Perhaps, we can be a bit more loving.

seeing hearts 10: love in unexpected places

Heart-shaped hole in a plastic bag.

In our household, we recycled plastic bags. The one we can use, we keep, the damaged ones get discarded. Seeing a hole in that one above made me decide to throw it. Surprisingly, the heart-shaped hole caught my attention.

Can showing love makes us damaged goods? When not in the right place, yes, like this plastic bag. But even damaged goods can delight us, especially when it shows love. Whatever form love shows, it always brings delight.

Sometimes one needs to get torn in order to realize the depth of love. But true love brings magic. True love heals and makes perfect even the most damaged of souls.

seeing hearts 10: love in unexpected places

A heart in a bowl headed for the sink.

That one above is kind of dirty. It’s a bowl where we placed the fried bananas. I was about to put it in the sink when the heart-shaped image captivated me. Unusual, is it not?

It’s like when we are about to discard something in our life that it shows value.

It’s like when we value something, but keeping it wouldn’t make us any good.

It’s like a love that is there only for the moment, yet needs to go when the right time comes.

Love has many facets indeed. It’s part of the grand design of this universe. In whatever ways love touches us, one thing is sure – God is there for us and with us.

 

pwnezel

Daily Prompt

July 11, 2017

True Grit of A Seeker

true grit of a seeker

I just found out freedom means a lot of things. It’s not really a liberation from some sort of things, rather it’s another way of living a life with different sets of struggles.

When I was still in the corporate world, I thought freedom means being out of some sleeping people’s authority, free to be myself, free to do what I love to do.

However, when I already have in my hands the things that I consider could bring me liberation, I realized I am facing another set of challenges. Some of which are the following:

1. People do not appreciate your freedom because they’re conditioned to live as slaves.

People are so conditioned to live a pre-designed life that when you don’t fit in a cookie cutter they’ll think you’re absurd. It’s hard for them to understand why you do what you do because in the first place they don’t know why they do what they do.

2. When you take on the Seeker’s journey, only a very few could resonate.

People fight for a pre-designed path that when someone says this is the right way, most will answer without batting eyelashes: Yeah, it’s the right way!

They forget that they have to forge their own path in order to know why they’re here in this world in the first place.

3. Shredding title off yourself means people will not like you for being ordinary.

People are crazy for titles. I don’t blame those who have and deserving for titles without identifying their ego with it.

Shredding myself off a title gives me the freedom to be who I am and not being identified as something that does not make me who I really am. It feels so wonderful to be a ‘nothing’!

4. Preparing to go against conventional wisdom and be criticized for it.

Done playing the validity’s game. Actually, I love to comment on posts, especially now that I am on a genuine soul’s journey. When I see something that’s not quite right like a thwarted belief, I share my opinion on the matter, not to make the other person appear wrong, but to make them see something that’s nearer to the truth if they’re just open enough for it.

It’s okay to be hated than to carry on with regrets for not sharing what was bestowed on me. If I’m the one who is wrong, that’s a great opportunity for learning. Besides, life is not best lived by how many times I was right, it’s how I learned from being wrong!

5. Embracing the life of the lone wolf.

When others learned that I’m just staying at home, they’re raising their eyebrows. Because for most of them aloneness kills. They forget that while it kills them, it might invigorate others.

I have to embrace who I am because that is just what I am. I am different, so are other people. The difference lies in the fact that only a few choose to live the life they want, and most live their life in accordance to the number of likes they receive in their social media accounts. I know, this is ouch! But it’s a hard reality.

5. Trusting God, or the Universe of what’s to come.

One reason why people try hard to get ahead of life is the feelings of security. Yes, we need to consider our physical body’s survival and those of our loved ones, yet it’s only one-half of the equation. Who knows what’s to come? No one. Who gives what we need? God, Higher power. Why fret?

6. Accepting and embracing people for what they are.

This is my struggle too. It doesn’t mean that because I am finding my way, I am right and others are wrong. They’re just living their life according to how they see fit.

Bringing them to the brighter side of life, to what really MATTERS is the greatest challenge on the seeker’s journey, but one we must do because it’s what we’re called to do.

While on earth, there’s no actual freedom. We can only continue to hold on to our greatest Source to lighten our path and makes the journey a little lighter for our self and others.

pwnezel

 

Daily Prompt

June 6, 2017

Getting Real

Getting real

Before I started my venture online, I used to click links that promise me how to earn online. Not just earn. But earn millions. Naive as I had been, I keep giving them my emails and read every word they promise, that one day I end up like them: doing the things they love while having fun at the same time.

To my dismay, no promise was ever real. I was just lead to click links that either a scam or which I have to pay. Most of these promises turned out as leads to links of courses I have to take in order to get that promise of earning millions.

I have no problem with online courses. They help to a certain degree. What I don’t like is the ‘promise’ of a million. Most of the successful online gurus built their millions and brand for years. Neil Patel for one built his empire for five years. Not in a month, or even a year. But why couldn’t they be real?

As time pass by, I slowly unsubscribe to the sites that offer great promises. I retained in my inbox the ones that helped me along the way to be the best that I can be.

I no longer aim for the millions. I aim for the stars. Earning for the stars means I have to follow my passion, give to others what I can give sans false promises, and do the hard work required for its achievement.

There’s no need for me to follow the steps of others. They may serve as my inspiration as the going gets tough.

Mark Zuckerberg did his own thing. So did Steve Jobs. They innovate. They think outside the box, and perhaps never utter promises to others to help them achieve millions.

What these two great men did was inspire others to be the best that they can be, that one day, they too may make something of themselves that could help millions of people.

No false promises. Only a certain grip on reality.

 

pwnezel

Daily Prompt

May 31, 2017

Justice or Mercy?

Justice or mercy
Years ago, I had a productive argument with my best friend. She asked me for my preference between justice and mercy. I chose mercy over justice. While she preferred justice over mercy.
 
She then pointed out to me: What would happen if criminals wouldn’t be convicted, instead, they’d be forgiven? That would be a bad case, I conceded with her.
 
In the course of our exchange of views, we arrived at a story of a mother whose son faced a pending punishment due to a robbery case charged against him. The son must deal with the disciplinary action. The mother, however, appealed to the person to whom her son committed the crime. She pleaded that her son would be forgiven. What her son did was unacceptable. But as a mother, she loved him unconditionally and also suffered the way her son did. Thus, she asked that her son might be given a chance for a new life.
 
In this scenario, I told my friend that mercy could work wonders in this son’s life. On the contrary, she insisted that the son must face the punishment due to him that he might learn his lessons well.
 
Could justice save our world? I know that laws are needed and meant to carry justice. When justice is not pushed through, many people would relentlessly commit all kinds of crimes. But then we also need mercy, forgiveness, and love. In some cases, the value of mercy may apply best than pursue justice.
 
All cultures and beliefs have laws to be followed to ensure self-preservation. But then we must not underestimate the power of mercy, and traces of love. As far as I know, love is the only weapon that melts the hardest of hearts and disarms the heavily guarded individual.
So the next time we were to choose between justice and mercy, may we choose the best part.
pwnezel
Daily Prompt
May 20, 2017

Seeing Hearts 7

seeing hearts 7

Today, I come to the point where I could no longer contain the unusual occurrence in my life. Seeing heart-shaped objects made me amazed about life. Yet today, intimidation grabbed me by the arm. I keep seeing this shape while doing the laundry to cooking to washing dishes. I see it in bubbles, on the food, at the leaves, in pebbles, everywhere.
I wondered whether my eyesight has just tricked me, or was it my imagination? Or, perhaps this shape had been there all along. And because I’ve given it importance, my focus was fixed only in there. I’m inclined to believe so. It seems I’ve seen a dozen of it today. Not only the perfect heart shapes but also the deformed ones. Only that others quickly dissolved while I was out to retrieve my camera. Like the bubbles, or the food residues that I throw away.
seeing hearts 7
The one good thing I gain from this experience at the moment is, every time I see this heart shape, I’m reminded of love. Nothing can feel so good than associating my every breath with love.
pwnezel
Daily Prompt

 

 

May 17, 2017

Kindness Unlimited

Kindness unlimited
Are you kind? I often hear angry people say, “I’ll be kind if you’re kind. But when you’re mean, I’m as mean as you.” Competition it is. This is an attitude of people who wants to be understood than to understand. But I don’t want to judge anyone. Each one has his own story to tell. What I’ll be telling now is my story of kindness and how magnanimous it is.
Kindness is beautiful. I’m unsure whether it is learned or a gift given to someone at birth. I’m glad to have a fair share of it. Perhaps it’s one of my innate qualities. Or, maybe a gift that I could give to anyone who needs it. But, hey! I’m not that kind twenty-four seven. Or else, you’d be talking to a saint. I also have my qualms. Or so it seems I’ve tamed myself that much. Okay, enough about me. Let’s focus on kindness.
According to Mark Twain,

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Some people refuse to be kind for the reason that, like niceness, it signifies weakness. For them, it’s much better to appear unapproachable than appear kind and be abused. Abuse is another story. A kind person is never abused. He is kind because that is his quality. That is his strength. When someone considers himself as a victim, then that’s the time he is abused. One is kind because one is loving. He couldn’t be unkind because to be kind is his quality.
If kindness is a gift, it’s not given in a perfect shape. It needs to be honed and applied in actual situations. Real situations had been my school to sharpen this skill. For more than a decade I was confronted with a vengeful boss. She wasn’t that bad altogether because she could be nicer to others even on the surface. That’s quite an effort. She’d say nasty words, insults and I even feel she hates me for some reasons she alone knows. At times I feel she wants me to be some kind of a person I refused to become. Seeing that I am just what I am made her dislike me. Office politics made the situation worst.
When I started with that job I was a bit immature. I easily got hurt. So, I started to loathe that boss too. As the years passed there were no smooth seas between us. She openly displayed how much she disliked me, while I stayed in the corner licking my wounds. Until the time came that I started the self-development journey. Then and there I remained kind to her despite the reaction I got. I kept telling myself it wasn’t me for I’ve tried to do my best at work despite her criticisms. It’s her. And she’s that due to her unfulfilling personal life. Professionally, she was a success. Personally, it doesn’t appear to be. So it seems.
Some of the employees wasn’t that genuinely kind to her. They deal with her nicely on the surface yet scorn her at her back. It’s a common reaction everywhere, whether in the workplace or not. It’s a domino effect, one that follows the saying to don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you.
So the situation goes on and on. She seems to be confident showing me that nasty side of her being aware that I couldn’t be unkind in return. Until the time came that I decided to quit. I quit not because she hates me. I quit because I know I owe it to myself.
There were no sentimental reactions when my resignation letter was read. I thanked her on my last day of work but never got a response. Someone advised me to indirectly pour out all my feelings about her in social media. But I refused to. That seemed easy to do since most people do it. I refused the temptation. Surely, I posted something on my wall about my resignation on a more objective and deeper level. A post that neither hurt anyone nor showed me as a victim.
Two months passed, I received the good news that I was to receive an amount from the company, as a recognition for the length of service that I’ve rendered. That was small but huge for me. I sent a message to my former boss thanking her for her generosity. The kindness paid off. She replied to me and wished me a happy Lenten celebration. Three short sentences but meant the world to me. A stone seemed to be lifted off from my heart. I was on cloud nine. At last, things ended well for the both of us.
Whether her words were genuine or not, the fact that she said it made it all worth to be grateful for.
Now let me leave these words with you: Treat others kindly not because that’s how you want to be treated. Treat others kindly, because they need to be reminded that kindness resides in their hearts too.
pwnezel
Daily Prompt
May 14, 2017

When Discomfort Happens

when discomfort happens

 

A not so beautiful morning starts on the night before

Early this morning I felt a bit rough. I didn’t feel alright upon waking up.
While ruminating for what had I done to wake up like this, I remembered what transpired the night before. I ate dinner at past seven and had eaten lavishly. I gave in to my indulgence. Sometimes the pleasure of the moment is joyful to devour than the pain of the consequence. And I paid my bargains with a high price.
Wise men kept telling us to have dinner before six P.M. and avoid being too full. They are right.

Should not be feeling urgh

Because I was conditioned to start the day right and did rituals that could make my day right, I resent myself so much for what I feel. I keep saying to myself, “No, I shouldn’t be feeling this! This isn’t happening. I should not be feeling urgh today.” I didn’t feel positive, so I thought I was being negative.

I’m a physical being too

As the inner battle continues, I realize that I am a physical being—capable of feeling physical pain and discomfort. But it doesn’t mean that I am doomed for having such feelings. As of the moment, this is what I feel. Yet this will pass too. There are many things I can do just so I would not have the same dilemma again.

Allow the flow

I am an imperfect human being. But my humanness couldn’t hinder me to savor the flow that life has to offer. Rough days couldn’t stir me if I wouldn’t allow myself to be carried away by the short-term discomfort that my earthly body feels. Discomfort is there, but I welcome it. It is a guest alright, a guest I have to put kind eyes upon until it bids goodbye. It’s not there to stay because it’s not a part of me.

Conclusion

The next time you’re feeling not okay as I did, ask yourself what made you feel that way. If it’s something you’ve done carelessly, forgive yourself and try not to do that same thing again. Try to detach yourself from the feeling and realize it’s not there to stay. When you see things in an objective manner, you’re at peace with life at the present moment. You’ll then flow with life until all discomfort fade into the dusk.
pwnezel
Daily Prompt
May 13, 2017

Seeing Hearts 1

 

Seeing Hearts 1

Moringa leaves

 

 

After quitting my stressful, corporate job I keep seeing heart-shaped objects. At first, I thought it was mere coincidence. Until I realized it has become a natural occurrence that takes place daily.
Believing that there might be some hidden message on this, I searched the internet for any of it. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any facts or studies about this one.
There were indeed some people who had the same experience and were searching for the meaning of this too. In one post with this topic, one comment caught my attention. It said a person who is having this experience is being told by the universe that he is on the right path. That whatever decisions that person made were right and in line with his purpose.
Seeing hearts 1

Corn kernel

This sounded great to me as I was still validating within myself whether I did the right decision or not. I was then a bit pacified hoping beyond hopes that that was the right message this phenomenon is telling me. And that I’m on the right track.
Rick Ruggles also had the same experience. Since then he created a website, foundhearts.com, where he placed all his found hearts in one place. And I was inspired to do the same. Thus, I am placing my found hearts here. Let’s see how far will it take me to finally realize the deeper meaning of this. (If there’s any.)
These two photos were what I found yesterday. I’ll be posting tomorrow today’s catch. This is gonna be an exciting journey. Stay tuned!
pwnezel
May 11, 2017

Reflection and Tranquility

fallsIMG_20170507_120634

A rushing water could NEVER reflect an image clearly. It takes a tranquil surface for light to settle and for any object to be reflected off. Indra Devi puts it more succinctly:

Like water which can clearly mirror the sky and the trees only so long as its surface is undisturbed, the mind can only reflect the true image of the Self when it is tranquil and wholly relaxed.

In today’s age and time, rushing seems to be an acceptable way of life. Taking a slow pace means being left behind. But what’s all in the rush if we’re chasing the wrong things? We need to slow down. We need to settle in order for light to come upon us and make us give off good reflections.

If it’s impossible to cut the hustle in life, we may at least, set aside a downtime for reflection and quietude. After all, it’s in this profound activity that we get much of our inner power. The pursuit is worth it.

pwnezel

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflecting

Daily Prompt