Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!!

Thank you God, for your blessing and your love.

Thank you my family, for your love and support.

Thank you my friends, for your love and friendship. 

Thank you for my health.

Thank you that I have a roof over my head.

Thank you that I have a job.

Thank you that I am following my dream.

Thank you that I have you.

Thank you that I can say thank you.

Thank you that I have food to eat.

Thank you for everything.

Thank you for everyone.

Thank you for anything. 

Thank you for the blessings in my life.

Thank you for the struggles for letting me grow.

Thank you for the heartache for making me strong.

Thank you for the laughter for making me rich.

Thank you for the smile for making me smile.

Thank you for the music for making me happy.

Thank you for the arts for inspiring me.

Thank you for the love, for loving me.

Thank you for creativity.

Thank you for inspiration.

Thank you. 

I might not know you now, but whoever you are and wherever you are, you are amazing and wonderful. I love you. It doesn't have to be thanksgiving to be grateful. Everyday is thanksgiving day! Spread love. Spread Hope. Spread faith. Tell people you love theme. Show them that you love them. Action speaks louder. 

Love, Hope, Faith

the definition of insanity is....

 

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” 
― Narcotics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous

Have you ever wonder why things are not working out for you!? You try so hard, work so hard, and yet no result has been shown. Or it seems like everybody else is getting the result which you could have made, or even better. You compare yourself to the others. You wish those were you. You just wish that things are different. You tell yourself that it wasn't just the right time for you. You congratulate them, tell them that you are happy for them, but deep down inside, you feel jealous and feeling incomplete. You feel like the world is going on, moving on to the next level, except for you. If anything the world is leaving you behind.... Have you ever felt that way?! I have. 

Last few days, my head has been overflowing with the endless thoughts. The thoughts that seems to give me no answer or specific ideas. It just goes on and on... The never-ending circle. This isn't how I pictured myself at this age. But what can you do!? You can't go back in time and redo everything, right? And that's not even a point. Once you are in that state, you are stuck. You are trying to "FIGURE IT OUT". And what does that even mean?! 

I moved to the new city to pursue my passion. It's been over a year. I might be impatient to expect results to come. And I know I shouldn't do this, but whenever some of my friends their breaks and great news on FB, it gives me this thoughts "What about me?!" "Maybe I'm not good enough." And I am happy for them. I know that they work hard to get there, they have their struggles and I love them all. Then why can't I just be happy for them and not think about myself, or compare myself with them? And it came down to the point, "is this really what I want for my life?!" "Do I want this because I really want it, or because they have it?".  Then, I realize that I was doing the same thing, getting on the whole cycle again. 

I wasn't showing up for my life. 

It seems hard to show up when you don't know what you are doing, or what you want to do. Because you don't really know what to do, you know? But if you keep doing the same thing and expect the results to be different, do you think that's even possible?!  You have to change something to get a different result or even to see some different aspect in your life. There are many things that you haven't try. If anything, there are less thing you've tried than you haven't tried. Have you asked help for anybody?! Have you try different approach?! Have you looked at things from the different perspective?! You might not think that way, but you are capable of making those choices. And when you do make that choice, and it doesn't work, you just find out another way "NOT TO" do it. You are not in charge of the result you get, but you are in charge of the action you take. You have to be bold enough to make those changes. You have to be bold enough to ask for the result you want. You have to be bold enough to speak up what you want. You need to send out what you want to the Universe. God has a greater plan for you, more than you can possibly imagine. 

I don't write anything productive or profound. whatever it is that I'm struggling with, or facing, I know a lot of you are going through too. It's not easy. But when you do your part, it will be worth it. And I tell that to myself all the time. Life is meant to be lived, not merely to be survived. Everybody is here with their own mission. And it is up to you to fulfill that mission. You are anointed to do so. You are equipped to do what you are meant to do. Find those seeds and nourish it. You are able. We are able. And you are not alone. 

Love, Hope and Faith

everyone's got issues.

Will you choose to expose your issues or let the issues expose you?!

It is a big question. Have you asked yourself that question lately, or ever? More often than not, we mask ourselves so well that we don't even remember that we are wearing it. We get used to the title, the social status, the value, and whatever it is that makes us look more valuable than others, or it makes us look more strong. And the truth is that the longer and the stronger we hold on to the mask, the more difficult it gets to face those reality, the fear, the issues that we are avoiding. But the life has already given us those issues, right? So what are we gonna do about it?! 

Face it. and don't hide it. 

That's the only way. We are gonna have to face it and deal with it sooner or later, why not now?!It's not easy to admit and surrender to the unknown. It never is easy. And as we grow older, we learn how to mask ourselves better and better. We also learn how to justify ourselves for not facing it. We learn to how to make excuses. We learn how to escape from those basically. Think about it, wasn't things easier when you were a kid?! when you didn't know something, you asked. When you didn't like something, you said you don't like it. When you liked something or want something, you said so. So when did we start hiding from the reality?! Most of us don't even know how we come to do any of this. The society, the culture the family, the things we are surrounded formed the illusion of what or how people should be. Like a boy does't cry. A women shouldn't get promoted above man. Or you have to go to a good school to get a good job. Or this is the definition of beauty! or anything. Those things have brainwashed you unconsciously. 

Nowadays, more and more people are aware of things that we were not before, I feel like. People talk about Meditation, Mindfulness and higher self, and all sorts of things. Either you are religious or not. Or if you have a certain belief or not, I don't care. all I'm saying is that YOU ARE ENOUGH. and whatever issues maybe that you have, those are a part of who you are. But not a part of who you can be. If it's an issue you want to overcome, work on it. If it's an issue that you can't do anything about it,  like an allegy or your height, get over it and move on. But don't be ashamed of who you are or try to hide that you don't have any issues. Everyone has issues. Seriously. Nobody is perfect. You think the wealthiest person on the earth has no worries whatsoever?! I'm pretty sure that he/she has one or two. The more you look away from it, the bigger the issue becomes. You are who you are and you are enough. You are talented, you are beautiful, you are smart. I don't know you but I love you. Don't be afraid to be who you are and who you can be. Don't let those bumps hold you back. Because in the long run, you'll be laughing at those little things and see how far you've come. Seriously, even right now. look how far you've come. You might not be where you want to be, but you are not where you could have been. You are worth it. 

Love, Hope, and Faith. 

don't be afraid to change

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. 

Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. 

Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” 
― Lao Tzu

Change doesn't always come easy, to anyone. Change happens because there are things that you need to learn. We lay down the options. One seems easier than the there. One seems more complicated than the other. One looks more fun than the other. One seems to take longer then the others. One seem to be more rewarding than the other... See through how they look like. Are you scared to try something new because you are afraid of failing? afraid of how other people will see you? afraid of getting out of comfort zone? afraid of uncertain future? 

Stability gives you comfort. And comfort brings you contentment. Contentment can deceive you, make you feel like you are happy. But being content and being happy are two different thing. You cannot settle on being content. Belonging can makes you feel comfortable. It makes you feel like you are a part of something. But are you truly being yourself? are you pretending to be someone else to belong there? Are you afraid of being alone? You can't hide yourself to belong somewhere. You don't have to belong anywhere. You are you. 

I started thinking a lot about my life lately. I know that thinking too much won't give me any answers or show me the path. But it feels like that I have to think, lay down the options, and plan logically. Yes, even if I were to plan my "PERFECT" life, it won't happen as I plan anyway. God has a better plan. It's hard to keep your faith strong, when you are not seeing what's happening. When we're young, we used to dream how our life would be. Have a perfect job, get a perfect car, buy a perfect house, get marry, have kids, live happily ever after. And looking at my life right now and it's nothing like I imagined. "It wasn't suppose to be like this". I didn't imagine my life to be like this. Maybe I rebelled. Maybe my plan was wrong. Maybe I didn't know anything to begin with. Maybe I just made a wrong turn or two, or hundreds.... I feel a lot more immature, irresponsible, and incapable than I dreamed I'd be. Am I happy? most of the time. Am I doing what I want to do? most of the time. do I love myself? more than before. Do I know what I want in my life? not all the time.... But there are so many things I learned, because I took this path. There are many people I met because I took this path. These were the path I needed to take to be who God wants me to be. There are still a lot more for me to learn. Things change, I change, the world changes. Just because one door closes on you, it doesn't mean that you wasted your time. It means that GOD wants you to open the other door. 

"Don't be afraid to change. You may lose something good, but you may gain something better."

-unknown

Don't be afraid to change. It's there because it'll bring you something better. Because there's something for you to learn. Because you are meant to make that change. 

Love, Hope, Faith...

part of our journey

“I think....you still have no idea. The effect you can have.” 

― Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

Do you like taking "Selfie"? That word has become a phenomena nowadays. And it is a word of 2013. "Selfie" wasn't  even a word before. Self portrait image. That's what it was. You've seen all the pictures on Facebook, instgram, so on and so on. There're apps, and all sort of gadgets to help you take better pictures of yourself. What does that tell you?! Why do you like taking it?! Why don't you like taking it? Why is it that people say it's an addiction? A lot of people says it has a lot to do with social media addiction. That sounds about right. Personally, I don't like taking selfies. I just don't get it. When friends or family get together, we take pictures together. That's about it. Does it have to do with my own self-image?! that popped up in my head the other day. 

Growing up, I wasn't a very confident person. I mean, when you are teenager, who is?! You can be very good at portraying that person with strong confidence. But that doesn't mean that you are. When you are teenager, you don't really know who you are or what you do, what you want to do. We are all struggling to find those things. And yet it is a crucial time for the people of young age to gain confidence. the balance is delicate and can affect you for the rest of your life. If you were raised in circumstances where people constantly beat you down, either mentally or physically, you are most likely to think yourself not as valuable as other are. Or that you are worthless. When you are that age, you want to belong, you want others to think that you are cool, you are beautiful, you are smart.. you worry so much about what others think of you. But do you think about what YOU think of yourself? I don't think we care that part enough. We get caught up other people's opinion and don't consider what we really need to be doing, which is to love ourselves. 

It's hard, isn't it. I used to think to love yourself is the same as being narcissist. You look at yourself in the mirror all the time. You think you are better than anyone else. You think you are all that.... The truth is that to love yourself has nothing to do with being narcissist. To love yourself means to accept and embrace who you are and who you will be. And your beauty comes from inside, not from outside. Yes, it's good to be beautiful outside. But that's perishable. but inner beauty doesn't . It's an extension of you. It doesn't mean that you don't have to care what you wear or how you look. You can't be everything. But you are the ONLY ONE. God created you to be who you are, so there's no mistakes. You have to find who you truly are and what you are meant to be. You are still not finish product. Don't judge what you are, how you are or where you are. Those are only temporary. Don't let those temporary things define who you are or what you can be. The possibility is limitless, as long as you are willing to go farther. Sure, you can't change your height or the color of your skin, or what your blood type is. It's just a part of it. You are much more than that. There are things you can do only because of your height, because of the color of your skin, because of your blood type. So be proud of who you are. Be happy with who you are and what you can become. And know that God loves you. If you think no one has ever loved you, trust GOD. He loves you more than you can ever imagine. A friend of mine told me something amazing. The reason that it doesn't seem like God hasn't answer your prayer is that because it's something you need to work on and you can accomplish by your work. It's something, right!? He doesn't answer all your prayer because he knows that you have that in you. Of course He does, because He made you. You have it in you. Loving yourself will help you see what's inside you. It will help you see what you can do. It will help you grown and make you strong. How can you love yourself when nobody else has, you ask. Then start by accepting yourself. Everybody has made mistakes. Everybody has their flaws. Everybody has ups and downs. Because we are all humans. And we learn from all of those. nobody is perfect. You don't have to be what others want you to be. Accept who you are, embrace who you are, enjoy being who you are. We all struggle to do that. Because we are all human. And that's part of our journey. Let's do it

Love, Hope and Faith

222

“Rather than turning the page, it's much easier to just throw the book away.” 
― Anthony Liccione -

This is blog #222. Since my birthday is 2/22, it feels kinda special. so let's celebrate our life! More than before. Everyday is a celebration!!!! What do you celebrate?! That's up to you! 

Every time I go back to my hometown, it gives me a whole new perspective towards life and for a while, it gives me headaches... This time around wasn't an exception. Of course, now that I'm older, time goes by a lot faster than I remember. And there're only about 50 days left till 2014 is over. How is that even possible?! Seriously. I just can't believe how fast it has been. 

Every person is different. Every life is different. And even though we are aware of that fact, we tend to compare ourself to others, don't we? We look at others, what type of job they are doing, are they married, do they have kids, do they have a house, how much money do they make... the list goes on and on. But who decides what values more than what? Is there any definition to any of this? Do we really value our happiness based on any of this? The only person who can decide, or even have a saying, in your life is YOU. I got to see my old friends. Most of them are married. Some of them have kids. Do they have a career? Yes. Most of them are actually working the job they've wanted since I've known them. And one of my friend told me something, I didn't expect to hear from ANYONE in Japan. Even though Japan is considered as a developed country, a lot of people are still old school and stuck only on what they know. But she said, "I love my job so much. There are days it gives me headache, but I know that's a challenge that helps me grow. And what I can learn from it, makes me stronger. If by any chance, I don't wake up tomorrow morning, I have no regret whatsoever".  Can you say the same about your life? Or do you know anyone who can say the same? And that's how we should live. It's not that she has an easy life. She's super busy with her work. She still manages to take more classes to build her knowledge and have a dinner party to spend time with people she loves. She knows what she wants and what only she can do. She told me about the plan for the future and I have a complete faith that she'll get there and even farther. Because of her faith and her action. She also told me this. "I don't decline cases because I don't know that area. I might say I don't know it now, but I will do my research and study if that's what need to be done. All I have to do is to study. Honesty and passion can take you a lot more than you can imagine." 

Talking to her actually got me confused, to be honest. I know that what she does is not what I want to do. But seeing how she is, knowing exactly what she wants to do, makes me doubt if I really know what exactly it is that I want to do for my life. People talk about "find something that you're passionate first." There are many things that I'm interested in and I love doing it. But is that my passion or is that my hobby?! What is my calling?! What is it that God wants me to do?! How would I know what is calling and what is hobby? How would I see the sign if I don't know what I'm looking for?! It's never-ending, isn't it?! I know. Personally, brainstorming is not the exact way to find that out. It seems like an eliminating my possibilities. Then again, what would I know. I realized that my vision was so limited. I had so many options and possibilities that I didn't know or see. This isn't something that I can come up with overnight. I know that I want to make people smile. I want others to see that the this life isn't just a full of crap, that it's still worth living. I want to create the place that people can be people, a person can be a person, you can be you without worrying about anything. I don't know what I'll end up doing. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow or if I'd even wake up. But I want to live like that. I want to live my life the fullest. And you can to. Let's make that decision today and live our life the fullest. Without even knowing what we want, we still should be able to live our life the fullest. Love ourself. Be kind to other people. Be happy. Eat right. Do exercise. Smile often. Laugh a lot. Don't be afraid to be who you are. Hug more often. Be honest to what you are feeling. Take off the mask that you've been wearing. Now is a good time to start a new chapter, or better yet, to start a new book. What happened in the past already happened. You can't go back and change that. You can change your attitude. You can choose to learn from the past. If you made a mistake, learn from that mistake. If you loved doing something when you were kids, remember the feeling and start feeling that way again. 

Let's choose to make the best of what we have. Today is a new start. Tomorrow is another start. Close that book and open a new one. 

Love, Hope, Faith....

Roses are Roses.

“Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.” 

― Lao Tzu-

"Roses bloom in summer. Cherry blossoms bloom in spring. Cosmos bloom in fall. Just because one bloom earlier than the other, does that mean one is more beautiful than the other?! "

I saw the seminar by Kim Nando, the professor of Seoul University, where he talks to college/university students who are about to graduate and start their career. It sounded like the contents could apply to life in general. When you apply for a job, especially bigger company or government, they look for your college credit, extra activities, volunteering, interning, so on and so on... The way he explained was like this. 

A lot of people are trying to be DUCK when they are not, which can both swim and fly. However, when the company is looking for an EAGLE, which are excellent at flying, do they want to hire DUCK, just because the person can fly AND swim to a certain degree?! NO. They want somebody who is excellent at flying, which is an EAGLE. Instead of trying to do everything, focus on your specialty and work on it. What you excel is what make you stand out. Instead of trying to be everything and anything, be you. It's good that you are good at a lot of things. You have a lots of drawers to pull out from. At the same time, when you have a lots of options, it's also easy to get confused, I think. He said, you don't have to find who you are, what you do is who you are.  I love that. George Barnard Shaw said “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”  When we think we lost who we are, or not sure what path to follow, we often say "I need to find who I am". The way we get confused. The way we struggle. The way we search... everything is part of who we are. That's a part of our journey. Everything we experience teaches us what we need to know. Every person we meet teaches us something we need to learn. How we react, how we learn, how we adapt... that's what makes us who we are. What happened to us, we cannot change, but how we go from there, that we have a choice. 

You don't have to compare yourself to others. Roses are not more beautiful than cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms are not less beautiful than tulips. Every flowers are beautiful in their own way, just like we are. 

Love, Hope, Faith

When you're in the dark side

“You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” 

― Oprah Winfrey-

Have you ever felt like you're lost? You don't know who you are here. You don't know where you are going. You don't know what to do. You started doubting yourself. You don't feel any energy to wake up in the morning. You feel tired all the time... You don't see the meaning of your life..... Have you ever felt like that before? 

Especially in the world like this, a time like this,  anyone can get lost easily. Only Few people know what they want. Not all of those people are able to pursue that path. And even less people keep going. And only a handful of people will make it through. Knowing your path is only a beginning. So what would you do if you don't even know what is it that you want to do or what your path is?! You feel like you are merely surviving. You don't have any goal or purpose. You just wake up every morning for nothing. You feel like you'd rather not wake up because you don't know why you wake up every morning to begin with. You look at people on the street smiling and having fun, or at least so they seem anyway, and wish that you were them. You see other people getting their breaks. Doing things that you wish you were doing. Good things are happening except to you. You ask yourself why not me?! What happened to me?! What am I doing?! Why am I even here?!  Does that sound familiar?! 

The world is overflowed with everything and anything. too much information. too much materialistic things. People's definitions of "Happiness","Success" or "Having a comfortable life" have changed drastically. Doing "hard work" doesn't aways pay off. "Paying your dues" doesn't mean much. Making Youtube videos can make you a lot of money, or make you famous over night. Online has changed a lot of things as well. Things are not the same any more. What you believed in or what you thought it was right seem wrong in a matter of second. It's not easy to keep faith any more. People talk the talk and pretend they are somebody or something else. And they forgot who they are and can't find it any more. and once you are lost, it's not easy to get out from there, like in the quicksand. You try everything. Try to talk yourself up. Listen to all the motivational talk. Read self-help book. Meditate... and it still doesn't work. And it just makes things worse.

But I want you to remember that you have a spark within you. Somewhere deep inside, you have that spark that you need. You've always had it in you. Ever since the moment you were born, it has been there. All you have to do is to find it and light it. You'll never know when you'll see that spark. You might not realize it for a while. You have to be ready. Keep your eyes open. Listen to what the world is telling you. Pay attention to what's going on. It could be something as small as a flower on the curb. Or something you see on TV. Something you hear on the radio. Or something you see everyday even! It could be anything. God has put the spark with in you way before you were born. So when you find that spark, make sure you light it.  You will feel the indescribable love. And feel the love that you're surrounded. You will feel it. You will know. Keep your faith. If you haven't find the spark, the time will come. It might not happen soon. Nobody knows when. Sometimes you need to hold on to things that you don't see. And that's a part of your journey. Just remember that you're worth it. God has placed you here because there's a task He wants you to do, a task only you can do. Because you are who you are, and who you can be. 

Love, Hope, Faith.

You don't have to choose side. You are you.

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. 

Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. 

We build ourselves out of that story.” 

― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind-

If you look up the meaning of the word "identity" on Google, these are the first 2 definitions that listed. 

1) the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, the characteristics determining who or what a person or a thing is, 

synonym; name, self, ego, personality, character, originality, distinction, singularity, peculiarity...

2) a close similarity or affinity

synonym; sameness, oneness, indistiguishability, self sameness, identicalness...

to me, those two definitions sound completely opposite of each other. The word "identity" originates the Latin "Idem" which means same. Then, how come this word can be used for 2 completely opposite meaning?! In philosophy and according to wikipedia, "Law of Identity" is the first of 3 classical laws of thoughts, which states that "each thing is the same with itself and different from another".  For example, an apple is an apple, or a car is a car. But every single apples are the same. Just like we are all human beings = SAME, and yet we all different human beings. 

Let's not talk about any more logistics or the specifics about the word or the laws. That's not what I want to talk about. But I thought it was very interesting that the one word can have 2 completely opposite meaning. We talk about our personality and individuality. And we all struggle to define who we are as a person. What are we?! What am I suppose to do?! What's our purpose?! A personality could be effected and built by many elements. Your cultural background, your environmental background, your family situation, your religion, your educations, your experiences... anything could be the elements of how you are formulated. After some point, you start asking yourself "WHO AM I?" And you search and search. You try to be someone else. You dress like someone, you talk like someone, you act like someone... and you still don't feel like yourself... especially in a place like Japan where I grew up, the sense of belonging can mean great deal.  

I recently read this book "もう声なんかいらないと思った”(I don't think I need such thing as a voice any more") by Hiroe Ohashi. She is a deaf actress/dancer/singer. Her strict mother taught and trained her to speak and communicate with other people orally. And she didn't teach her sign language. She struggled the world between hearing and non-hearing, speaking and non-speaking(sign language). Where would I belong?! Which side should I take?! What am I?!  Her struggle continued. And she came to the conclusion. I don't have to belong to either world. I am who I am and that's it. 

I am who I am. My struggle was being in between English world and Japanese world. It was two completely different world and at the same time, those two world  were both part of who I am. And when I read that, it made me feel less complicated. I don't have to choose side. We all have choice. We are equipped with everything we need. We need to cultivate and work on ourselves. We have to make an active choice to make ourselves better and we should do that. In order for us to do that we have to realize and accept that we are who we are, you are who you are for a reason. Seriously. I've talked about this so many times. But I am really passionate about this. Most of the time we don't even know what that is. All these good saying about we just follow our passion, or we have to find it, or we have to do this and that... we all hear that. And how many people know exactly what we want to do?! not that many I believe. Even if they knew how many people are courageous enough to follow that voice and pursue that path?! Not that many. How many people have the vision, not dream or hope but a vision, that you have a certain path?! Not that many either. Yes, we are in a transition. A lot more people have become spiritually aware of what's going on. A lot more information is available to us on a daily basis. A lot more things are corrupting and falling a part. People killing each other and losing hope. People struggle to make ends meet. Many children are dying of hunger and poverty. Why?! You ask. There are too many things that beyond our comprehension. As a matter of fact, there are only few things that we are able to comprehend. A lot of people don't pay attention or stop paying attention to what's going on outside of your own life because they don't directly affect their daily life. Yes, I am guilty of that as well.  It's so easy to lose sight of who you are, or not to even know to begin with. But if you are one of those who is struggling to find what world you belong to, please know that you are who you are. And that's what matters.  That's what you need to know. 

I might be very ignorant and optimistic. You might disagree with me. Some people might even hate me. But I wish there's someone who will get some glimpse of light in their life. You are amazing as who you are. You are beautiful just the way you are. You are good enough. God loves you. And you have to accept and embrace who you are. Just simply because you are who you are. And that's enough. I'm not saying be selfish or you can hurt others, that's completely different subject. Being who you are or accepting who you are don't mean you are worth more than the others. You simply accept the fact you are different from the others except that we're all human beings. Not a single person is exactly the same. Even the identical twins are different from each other. Love yourself and Live your Life, Love your life. And that's only a beginning. Your life starts then. 

Love, Hope and Faith

Life and death coexist

In the end, we only regret the changes we didn't take.

-unknown-

How often do you think about life or death?! Or do you think about it at all?!  The mother of my old classmate just passed a few days ago. She's a bit older than my mother, yet it was too fast. It's been a long time since the last time I saw her or her son, so it was a bit surreal. I didn't know what to make of it. It hit my mother a bit worse than it did to me. They were good friends for a long time. There were many people at the memorial to pay respect. It just reminded me that whatever time we have, we should embrace and live it for the best. 

I believe that to get the deeper concept of "death", you have to have enough experience both living as well as death. Kids don't understand the concept of death because they don't have that concept about life. They don't understand why the life has to end. It takes time. In order for us to grasp that idea of "death", first we have to know that we are alive. And even after that, it still takes time to understand what it means to be dead. The first death in my family I experienced was my grandmother, I was 15 years old. I was old enough to understand what it meant to lose her. She went to be with the Lord. (although I wasn't Christian back then.) Now that I think about it, I didn't get to say good bye to her either. Just like I couldn't to my grandfather. Memorials and funerals aren't always for the diseased.  It could also be for the ones that are still alive, for those who couldn't say good bye, so that they can move on and start a new chapter. As the light and the shadow coexist, life and death coexist. Without death, there's no life. Without life, there's no death. We are all destined to die. That's something we cannot ignore. And life is beautiful and precious, because it's so fragile and short. It adds more meanings and value to it. We need to embrace and appreciate that deeply, because it's something that we cannot hang on to forever. 

When I die, I don't want to regret anything. I want to live and love life the most. You must have heard this before,  "Live as if there's no tomorrow". And that's exactly right. You never know if you will have tomorrow. We assume that we will. And we make decisions or plans based on the assumption that we will wake up tomorrow morning. And we rarely think about the possibility that you might even wake up and see the light of the day.. I will not tell you to live with fear that you might die tomorrow. That, I will not do. But at the same time I do want you to realize that you will not live forever. Even the struggles you're facing now, you can experience that only because you are alive. If you weren't, you won't even be able to think that your life is crazy, lol. Even though some people say you'd rather not, I still disagree. God won't put you here if you weren't meant to be here. You are here and this specific time for reasons. And there's no doubt about it. Most of the reasons, we will not comprehend. But that doesn't matter. HE knows exactly what HE's doing. So have a faith in him and keep going. Do not lose the sight of who you are and who you came from. 

Love as if there's no tomorrow. 
Live as if there's no Life tomorrow. 

Love, Hope and Faith....

This beautiful earth.

Look around you. Everything changes.

Everything on this earth is in a continuous state of evolving. 

refining, improving, adapting, enhancing... changing

You were not put on this earth to remain stagnant

-Dr. Steve Maraboli-

Everything changes, whether you like it or not. People change, the nature changes, the world changes. We know that we cannot take anything for granted. Or at least most of us understand or are aware of that concept. Yet, there are still many things that we do take for granted. 

My father studied nature and agriculture back in college. And my late grandfather always went hiking. We used to drive up to the mountains, rivers or parks and spend time together. Now that I look back, my love for nature comes from this for sure. Anyhow... as usual, we drove up to the mountain this morning. It was the end of fall and snow was starting to come down. The color of the trees are indescribable. The yellow, the orange the brown, the red... they are all so beautiful and those simply categories cannot explain the each specific colors. Even till this day, about 70% of this country is covered by trees and natures. How amazing is that. My father explained to me how those specific trees take part in this mountain. Just because there are many trees, it doesn't mean it's good. To circulate enough sunlight, nutrients and oxygen, and to build rich forests some trees and plants need to be cut down and maintained. People from back in the days knew what they were doing and how the nature operates. Now there are people who oppose for using/making "wooden chopsticks" but the root of it was different. Those wooden chopsticks were made from those trees which need to be cut down to maintain the forest. Instead of just throwing it away, they found the way to maximize the trees, by making wooden chopsticks or matchsticks, toothpicks. So they were saving trees and forest in that sense. 

The circle of life is not only about the humans and animals. It's also about the plants and everything else on this earth. Have you seen the video of how wolves change the natural habitat?

How incredible is this?! I'm not saying we should go back to the way it was and live like the old days. But I do think that people knew the nature way more than we know now. We might know the facts and technological aspects of it. but they knew how to co-exist with nature. There are so much each individual can do, but if we do something together, that might be able to help the earth revive a little bit more. We are all a part of this Universe and this earth. Don't take that for granted. 

Love, Hope, Faith 

family

How is your relationship with your family? Do you love them?! Do you get along with them?! Or do you have a hard time spending time with them!?

The theme of this TV show was about family relationship. Well, it was initially for teenagers acting up in school. They suddenly scream, or suddenly start hitting other students. start yelling at the teachers, or start bullying other students.... There are so many different cases. One of the comment sent out was this.. "I'm trying to get in to educations, but I'm scared of kids nowadays. I never thought I would say something like that".....It made me sad. The panels talked about how kids can improve their relationship with others, how they can communicate better than other kids/parents....so on and so on...

Whenever I hear something like this, kids acting up, that made me think. Because I'm the same generation as their parents. Kids learn from their parents whether you like it or not. They see things, they hear things. I wasn't necessary a good kid. As a teenager,  I did give my mom quite hard time, which I'm not proud of. Yet, I just love my parents so much.

Right now I'm visiting my parents back home. Being able to spend time with them is not a right, but a privilege for me. They simply are the most amazing parents I could ever ask for. They are not perfect. Then again, is there a such thing as perfect parents?! Everybody learn from their mistakes and experiences. People learn to become parents. (I have to make this clear, but I do not have any kids, so I'm speaking all this from my experience with my parents) They always told me to do what makes me happy. And I know that not every parents are like this and I'm blessed to have such parents. Thank you mom and dad! They told me that they love me everyday.

Kids need your attention and they need to know that you love them. Tell them that you love them. Show them that you love them. Take time to spend time together. Take notice that how they are acting. Be there for them. Communicate with them, talk to them, play with them, study with them. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Tell them that they are beautiful and amazing. Tell them that they are anointed. Tell them that you are proud of them. Don't just assume that they can know any of those.

We're here for the generations to come. We're not the only ones on this Earth. Whatever you have, pass it on. Love, pass it on. Hope, pass it on. Faith, pass it on.

Love, Hope and Faith...