Life Spoken Inspired

Monday, December 04, 2006 

overcoming circumstance


      So here I am again, trying to get rid of this inability I’ve received when it comes to writing. Sorry for forcing any of you who actually read this to have to drudge through anything I have to say, but hopefully you can somehow find it worth your time. I’m going to try to start writing regularly again, and hopefully within a short period of time I’ll be back… but either way, time for me to start writing away… So, here goes.

      There’s a 1 in 48,000,000 chance of winning the lottery, a 1 in 30,000 chance of contracting food poisoning the next time you go out to eat, a 1 in 800 chance of getting into a serious car accident within the next year and a 1 in 5 chance that your next relationship will be with the person you spend the rest of your life with. What does this all mean? No, it does not mean you should stop eating out… or start checking out the first five people that come to mind. All that these statistics mean is that we don’t have much control when it comes to our lives. Yes, your life is yours to make decisions and to run, but how about for these unforeseeable, unpredictable and uncontrollable events in our lives.

      Now, despite the fact that I believe in a higher being that has complete control over the world, I’m not trying to persuade anyone that by believing in God, any of those statistics will change for the better, because frankly, I don’t believe in that happening either. I’m not writing to say why you should or shouldn’t believe in God, but what do we do in these uncontrollable circumstances that we are put in regardless of beliefs. When it comes down to the whole scene of our lives, yes, some people have it lucky and some don’t. There are people who grew up with rich families, poor families, a close family or a broken home. There are those who have been popular all their lives, those who have never been able to call someone their best friend, some get a car once they get their license (so jealous…), and some people don’t even have the physical capabilities to drive (and now I feel stupid).

      No matter who you are, or how lucky you may be, you’re bound to hit brick walls in your life. Something that every single person will face in their lives are the painful, dreadful and excruciating events that seem to hold us back from being able to “live”. Sometimes (if not many times) we find ourselves stuck in a rut for so long that we feel unable to escape, and unable to overcome. Sometimes things are just so out of our control, so what are we to do? What do we do when it gets so rough and it’s so hard to move on? What’s left for us? Hope.

      Hope is the understanding that after today is through, tomorrow will begin. This is something so amazing because no matter how much our minds may play tricks on us, one of the few things that is completely solid in this world is time. We know this because ‘tomorrow’ has always come for us. No matter how long, lonely and gruesome ‘today’ may have seemed or become, tomorrow always came. And what is tomorrow? Tomorrow is new challenges, new events to change and cultivate us. Tomorrow brings time to just relax and refocus ourselves. Hope. Tomorrow is hope. Hope that there is more time, that there’s something more than just ‘today’. And once tomorrow comes and becomes today, we still have hope that another tomorrow will come. This means that each and every new day is something we can use to change us, to help us and to bring us closer to where it was that we wanted to be in the beginning.

      No matter how hurt, lonely, and unsatisfied you may be with today, tomorrow is always there to bring you hope, to bring you a new day where you can start fresh and show the world what you got. So how do we overcome circumstance? We remember that tomorrow is always around the corner. We have hope.

2:40 AM | |

Tuesday, August 08, 2006 

what are we here for?



        Looking back up to a year ago, I can tell how much I’ve changed. How I used to care nothing of credentials and awards or titles. What mattered to me was personality, how someone handled themselves, how they really lived through all the trials and tribulations. The claims and assertions that people had for themselves held no value to me, what mattered was really, who they were beneath it all.

        Lately I’ve been working on my resume as the next school term draws near and I have to start applying for co-op jobs. For some reason, I’ve always had distaste for working on my resume and I couldn’t really put my finger on why. Working on my resume always brings a question to my mind… What am I here for? Yes… it is somewhat irrelevant and slightly more imperative of a question than one would hope for when thinking of a co-op placement.

        To tie the two previous statements together: I disappoint myself. Lately I’ve been so focused on my own credentials and awards that I seem to forget all together what I’m here for in the first place. The whole ordeal reminds me of a something I was told before, and I’ll pass it on to you: Think of your funeral. When someone goes up to give a speech of your life, they begin reading out all your credentials. “Derek was the receiver of the such and such scholarship entering university, Derek was placed number one in the such and such competition.” To me, it’s all crap. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be remembered for these personal achievements. Much rather, I’d want my eulogy to sound more like this: “Derek was kindhearted, giving, and will be dearly missed amongst friends. He impacted those around him in such a way that no one else could.” That sounds much more like a life worth living than one used to fulfill titles and credentials. To sum this all up, do you want to be remembered for the titles, the qualifications that you obtained over the years, or do you want to be remembered for the countless lives that you impacted for the short time that you were alive. I know which of the two I prefer.

        No, I’m not saying that making a resume is a bad thing; I’m going to continue working on mine. But this is just a frank reminder to myself, and to anyone else reading, that there is much more out there. Many of us are caught up in living in the prospect to make what’s left of our short lives as luxurious and frivolous as possible, when we forget that what we can do in a lifetime, can resonate throughout generations as long as we impact those around us.

        Let this be a reminder to myself, not to live for credentials and minute satisfaction, but to live for the sole benefit and pleasure of others. Yes, the time before I die might be only a short time, but if I play my cards right, the life I live will last lifetimes.

I’ll start posting regularly once school kicks in again. See you all soon. God bless.

4:55 PM | |

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 

reckless abandon


        Imagine yourself in a place… a large place. This place is dimly lit with the colorful lights of dawn pouring throw the artistically stained windows. The ceiling is high and beautifully crafted, just like the walls and supporting pillars. Yes, you’re in a church. Many times we find ourselves inside a church for two different types of occasions. 1. It is a joyous occasion, a wedding, baptism, youth night, Sunday service (for some of us), etc, or 2. A time of sadness, a funeral, or a Sunday service (for the rest of you). Guess why you’re here today, yup, you got it, the taming sound of mourning fills the air. You stand and look around, many faces you’ve seen before, they were there… There with you that day when a friend, greatly dear to you was lost, lost to you, your friends and to the world.

        You find yourself at a loss for words, and you’re not quite too sure what you should be feeling right now. Your first instinct is to feel saddened, so your eyes water slightly. Then the gut wrenching pain of anger fills your veins, and you can’t help but think, “Why not me? Why couldn’t I take his place? He was so much more deserving to continue on with life.” Once the adrenalin fades, you finally realize it’s hopeless and want to break down on your knees in tears… He left so suddenly, no one could have seen it coming, why why why? WHY do I feel so lost? Why? Because you devoted your life to Him.

        I’m sorry, I lied about the ‘being in a church’ part, but the feeling is the same. If you haven’t guessed yet, you’re an apostle of Christ, yup, one of the eleven who sat in a dank, damp, dark little room after the death of the one you called ‘Lord’. The day is Saturday, and it could just as well have been any other day, but you’d still feel the same; lost, scared and at a loss for words. All this because you don’t know what else to do, what else is there to do? Someone who was more than a friend and more than a king to you was just murdered.

        You thought you had it that time, you felt like you were so close, he was so different, the children were fond of him… The poor too… also the prostitutes and tax-collectors… when you come to think of it, it seems all in a haze why you were also so fond of him… it was just that feeling he gave… almost as if… he had the answer to life. And you really thought he did… until… until Friday came…

        That was it, it was all over, what was left to do but hide in this dark room. Can’t go back to our old jobs… collecting taxes would seem too unfulfilling… the fishnets would just remind you too much of our recently departed friend… and there was absolutely no way you could continue to follow a dead God. Who ever heard of a dead God in the first place? Thoughts like “What a fool I must have been to believe Him”… “A God on earth? He was a carpenter for Christ’s sake! (no pun intended)” must be plaguing your mind. This emotional roller coaster, plaguing you all day, what is a person to do?

        It’s Sunday now, and you decide that it’s best to finally take a deep breath and continue on, because really, what else is there left for you to do with this dead God. You finally stand up and start heading for the door, and as you reach for the handle it bursts open. “GONE!!! GONE!!! He Has RISEN!!!” just like all your doubt in that split second you heard the news, His body was gone from the burial site. He really must have risen, risen and taken away your fear, your doubt, and your uncertainty. You feel renewed again, almost as if he was standing there beside you again, speaking with his clean, crisp voice. Everything is good again, better than good really; you’re reassured, confident and ready to take on the world. Why? Because today is Sunday.

11:42 PM | |

Sunday, June 18, 2006 

All you need


I still stick by what I've always lived by. Live, Love and Laugh.

Live life to the fullest. As cliche and abused that quote has become. A life with no regrets is a life worth living. It would be a shame to reach the end of your days, look back and wonder what would have happended with the road not taken. Mabye this, mabye that, but with the decisions you make in life, make them and be happy with them. We can't change the past so it's useless wondering what could have or would have been if things were different, so save yourself the trouble and stop stressing about it. Be happy with where you are, and take tomorrow as a new day, new decisions, new ways to find happiness within your life and a new day for a new perspective on life.

Love is not reserved for the boyfriends and girlfriends. Spread the love to those around you. You never know the impact a nice call to check up on someone can make. If you sit back and think you'll begin to see those whom you hold dear and those whom you are held dear by. Close friends are rare to come by, but just one can change your whole life. Cherish your family and good friends, the number of them that you'll have at any given time will most likely not exceed the number of fingers you have. Give them your all, they deserve it.

Laugh till your stomache hurts. No matter how serious things get, or how stressful you will be. There's always time for a good laugh with friends. Take the hardpoints in life with those who bring you joy. Although the real pains in life can't be eliminated with a few laughs, it can always remind you of better times, what awaits you on the other side of the hill. Let it remind yourself to push forward, to enjoy as much of life as you can, and that there is always another way you can look at things. The cup aint half empty... it's just too big for my liking.

Cheesy.. I know... but you think of something better. Take care guys, God Bless


11:48 PM | |

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 

perseverance pt2: suffering


        I wish this pain would go away, this exhaustion, this soreness. I wish I wish I wish. So many times we sing the song: “rain rain go away, come back another day” when in reality we never want it to come back at all. Without the rain, there’s no food for the plants, the grass and the trees, no trees means no oxygen, which means no humans.

        Related to my previous post on perseverance, suffering. Being able to stand up under suffering is considered a virtue, so what would you call it when you run away from suffering. Without the rain we’d be no more, we need it in our lives, to feed us, to teach us and to build us. Yes, maybe sometimes it’s so much, that when it rains it pours. But when it pours, God reigns. Where is God amidst all the suffering? There in the eye of the storm, the voice pushing you to persevere. Through the greatest sufferings come out the greatest victories. Even with all the technology out there, there isn’t something to make you physically fit while you stand and do nothing. Everything requires your effort, diets, exercise plans, personal trainers. Diet pills and liposuction may make you skinnier, but you still lack the fitness to maintain that body.

        So once again, this is just a little add-on to my previous post. As you walk down the path of daily living, try to remember that the greatest victories are won through the greatest struggles. So I urge you, to run the race with all you got, take the path less traveled, and last but not least, persevere through your daily struggles. The reward is just… beyond words. Amen.

3:56 PM | |