giving

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” 
― Amy Carmichael

How was your Christmas?! Did you get any good presents?! Did you give any good presents?! Were you one of those who get tired of making the huge line till the last minute?! Everyone has their story, right? But when you see the smile on that person, it makes you so happy. It makes you glad that you took that time to think about that person, and was able to give. Don't you think!? Especially kids. When I see the smile on their face when they open those wrapped gifts, that makes me just smile. 

"It's more blessed to give than to receive". (Acts 20:35)

In life, we tend to seek what we can get, instead of what we can give. You can see that a lot on networking events. you meet people, talk to people. hear them talk to see what you can get from that people. you don't go into those events thinking, or rather excited about, "what can I offer those people that I'm going to meet!!!". I don't think a lot of people go in to those with that mentality. Life is more simple than that. When we are nice to people, they want to do something nice to you! At the same time, when we are NOT nice to others, they will not be nice to you. Or they will be REALLY nice to you to make you feel horrible. 

Life is so much better when you can give. At least I think so.You cannot let others take advantage of you. That's a different story. But when you genuinely care about others, you would just want to do something for them. Parents want what's best for their kids, just because they love their kids. You want to give the best presents ever for your best friend just because you love your friend. You just wanna give hug to your friend, because you just love them. We don't have to look for anything in return. We are the being of love. So, that already should make you want to give. And being able to give, that's a privilege and a blessing. I want to be blessing for others, even for a second in their life. If my smile or hug make someone's life a little bit better, that's amazing! It doesn't have to be anything monetary or material. It's your love and your time. And God has done this for us long before we were even born, isn't that amazing?! 

No matter what I do, I'd always want to be able to give smile and warm hug to someone even if I were dead broke. Smile is contagious, right?! 

Love, Hope, Faith....

You VS you

“Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” 

― Les Brown

Something, that I've been wondering.... Why do we start caring about what other people say? And when do we start caring about what other people think of us? How did that happen? Why do we care about that so much? The things that makes us unique,  that makes us different from others, aren't those the exact thing that we should be embracing? Why do we have to fit in the category? why do we have to fit the certain type? Why do we think who we are is not good enough? Why? And how did this all start? 

I grew up in a place that being different was not exactly a good thing. Try to fit in more. Try not to stand out so much. Be good. Be modest. Be nice... I got picked on more often than enough. Of course I knew I was different. I tried so hard to fit in. There was one incident that I clearly remember. It was in the middle school, right after I had a hair cut, some girls told me that I was copying this one girl's hairstyle and that was not cool. See, being different was not accepted. But being exactly the same as someone else was also not accepted. I knew I was different. And that got me think that I wasn't good enough. I didn't know how to embrace myself. 

“Your lucky enough to be different, never change”-Tyler Swift

I love this quote. I truly believe that it's true. We are all made differently for the specific purpose that God has intended. Imagine if He had the same purpose for everyone and everyone is exactly as same as the others? Nothing will ever get done. That's just catastrophe. We are all created for different purposes and that's exactly why we are all different. You don't have her eye color, so what. You are not as tall or short as that person, so what? Your skin color is different from that person, so what? You  don't think you are as good looking as that person? No. You are beautiful and handsome just the way you are. God did not make any mistake when he created you. Trying to "make it" in entertainment business had made me see so many things, especially since I moved to NYC. What types, and where you fit, what roles you can go for, this and that and that. You are not tall enough. You are not short enough. You are not blonde enough. You are not Asian enough. You are not this and that and that.... they constantly judge you. It's constant rejection after rejection. You have to be tough. What they are saying no to is not who you are. You are providing the product that you can provide them. So, if that product is not what they are looking for, MOVE ON. just as simple as that. Of course everything is easier said than done. It's not easy to separate yourself as a product from you, yourself as a person and not take it personally. Anyways. I was so caught up in the many many ideas and stereotypes of how people should look and how people should act. Then He has been telling me that just let go. I am different because He wants me to be different. He wants you to be different. He trusted you to do only what you can do. You don't have to look like certain someone. You don't have to fit the image of other people. You don't have to worry about what other people think about you. Guess what?! The only thing that you need to worry about is fulfilling what He wants you to do. And how much better you can be from where are you now. You don't have to compete with other people. Your only competition is you. Be better than who you are today. Be better than who you were yesterday. Because that's what matters. Remember, you are different for reasons. And there's no mistake about it. You are special. You are wonderful. Be you. Be authentic you. 

Love, Hope, Faith

start from inside

“Have you notices that when we die, our eulogies celebrate our lives very differently from the way society defines success?” 

― Arianna Huffington

I finally started to read "Thrive" by Arianna Huffington. I've been meaning to read it for a while. I'm in page 90, and already loving it. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and the author of "Lean In" says 

“I hope you find true meaning, contentment, and passion in your life. I hope you navigate the difficult times and come out with greater strength and resolve. I hope you find whatever balance you seek with your eyes wide open. And I hope that you - yes, you - have the ambition to lean in to your career and run the world. Because the world needs you to change it.” 

I love how these women talks about how important to live their life, not only as a powerful and influential person in this society, but as a human beings. They've worked their way up, way way up. Yet, what they've realized is that we need to take care of ourselves in a most fundamental level. Sleep well, eat well, disconnect from your electric devices more,  exercises more, meditate more... Our definition of success should not be defined by monetary or social statues. That should not define how successful someone is. It is the easiest way to major it perhaps. Like Arianna Huffington says, that's not something our eulogies says, right? It is not our resume, our portfolio, or any social medias can tell you. Life is not merely meant to be survived, it is meant to be lived, and fulfilled. 

Life is love. Life is giving. Life is about how much love you can give. That's what I believe. You don't have to be a millionaire to give something. You can give a smile, a hug, or a compliment.  It doesn't have to be something physical. When you can give something to someone, you should. Anything that has physical form are meant to break sooner or later. So, why hold on to it? Matthew 6:19 says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal". I think that our generations have made things more complicated that it should be. Everything seems more complicated. Social media, social expectation, relationships, family relationships... Why do we do that to ourselves?! Am I being naive to think that life is meant to be lived happy and filled with love? Maybe I am. but I'd rather be naive and stupid than surviving a false life.  We need to realize that what we need to focus on in our life is more fundamental and simple. Our life is meant to be lived, not merely to be survived. Let's go back to basics. Have a nice family dinner, without being interrupted by your cellphone. Have a cup of coffee with your friends. Have a time to read a book. Disconnect yourself from the technology. Meditate for 5 minutes. Whatever it is that helps you to be you. You are not what society want you to be. You are not what others expect you to be. You are you, who you are created to be, and who you are going to be. And the source all that is just pure love. 

No matter what I do, or what kinda situation I'm in, I'm gonna make the best of it. If I can't change the situation, I will change my attitude and be happy. Nobody is perfect and nobody's life is perfect. And we ll struggle in our own way. And that's how it is. It's just as simple as that. I believe that Happy people can find love in anything, anywhere and anybody. If you can't control, what's happening outside, let's change what's inside. Inward. I loved how she said in the book, "We don't have to "do" meditation; meditation "does" us. ". So, why not start from inside? 

Love, Hope, Faith, 

Be Joyful ALWAYS, ALWAYS

Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.

-unknown-

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.(1 Thessalonians 5;16-18) Whatever situations you are in, you are still blessed. It might be hard to see it, but you are blessed. We are all blessed than we can possibly imagine. We are more blessed than we are aware of. We are more blessed than we give God credits for.... We love to complain, don't we?! We love to tell people how tough our life is, ow much struggles you are going through... so on and so on. Our life is so much better than you can think. 

Again, similar to the last post. When you start/decide to see things differently, you will see how blessed you are. It's always easy to complain, and not to be grateful. We know that we can't really control the situations,  can we?! Whatever it is that we are facing, those are there for some reasons. We are meant to learn from it. It could be a reminder for something or someone who you should't be. When someone can't treat you right, remind yourself that you wouldn't be like that. And be glad that you are not like that person. When tough situation seems to fall upon you, instead of thinking that it's the end of it, be excited for what's about to happen when you overcome from this struggle. Those struggles are there for you because you are being tested, because you have worked your way up to go to the next level, because you have been doing something right. As always, it is easier said than done. Being able to have gratitude in the midst of all the struggle takes strength and faith. And that's exactly what you need. If you don't think you have enough strength or faith, shift your focus to God. Because His strength, His faithfulness is more than enough. He will fight your battle when you cannot fight. He will lift you up, when you think you no longer can. And be grateful that He is there for you no matter what. That's how much He loves you, and even more. 

We get blinded by so many things. Things that actually doesn't matter. Things that shouldn't matter. Let go of the worries, let go of the fear, let go of the grudge that's holding you back, let go of the pain, let go of the ego... Let them go. It's just getting in your way to be who you truly are. You are better than that. You don't have to get the approval from anyone. You don't have to fit in. You don't have to impress people. You don't have to look certain way. You don't have to hold on to the pain. You don't have to do that. Take a deep breath. Where there's darkness, there's always light. You can't go in to dark room and not see the light. Even in that darkness, eventually your eyes will get used to it, and start seeing the light. The light wins always. Everything has at least two side of the story, light side and the dark side, positive side, and negative side, heavy side and the light side. Which one would you choose?! You have a power to choose. Don't let your ego, your worries, your pains,,, don't let those negative elements decide how you will be, or who you will become. Don't listen to them. We all have that power to choose. When you get stuck, take a moment and realize that you have that choice to not let it get to you. Try to see it from the bigger picture. Try to listen to what God is telling you. And choose to be positive. Choose to be joyful. Choose to be grateful. Just because we can. 

Love, Hope, Faith...

Be happy with where you are

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. 

I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. 

I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. 

I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. 

I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” 

Audrey Hepburn

How much do you love your life?! a little? a lot? or not at all? or all of it? Are you close to where you pictured yourself would be? Are you doing what you love? Are you smiling everyday? Are you laughing every possible opportunity? Are you telling someone you love them? Are you enjoying your life? Are you having fun being who you are? Are you happy that you are here? 

The winter in NY can be rough. It's cold, windy, and it's just tough, not like California(Don't get me wrong, I love California). The kids show I used to watch long time ago had a really good song. "When things are tough, that's the chance to grow and the chance to learn something new". A little old bird in the show would sing to the kids whenever they had problems. Pretty amazing song for a kids show, don't you think?! So, whenever things got tough, or whenever I had a rough time, my mom sang that to me. Walking down the street of NY today, and it made me realize how much I love this city. It's the city that I've always wanted to live. And I get to live here and do what I love. I am not where I want to be, or where I pictured myself would be long time ago, not even close to that. But our God is amazing, isn't he? He blessed me tremendously in a way that I don't even deserve. I love this city. Whenever I go back to Japan to see my family, it makes me want to go back. I get homesick sometimes. I do want to provide for my family, or at least I'd want to be ready whenever or if they need me. I do think about things like this. But I just love this city. It gives me purpose, freedom, ambition, passion, love, hope and faith. It's not always like this. More often than not, there are times that I just want to pack up everything and call it a quit. There are times that I just want to disappear from the world. And there's nothing wrong with that. We are all humans. We are meant to struggle. Our life is not only about what we can get, it's about what we can give. We are to give and spread love. We are to be grateful for our happiness and joy and life. 

I love you God and I'm just so grateful for what you've given me and what you WILL give me. Thank you for this life, love, hope and faith. 

Mind the GAP

“If we never had the courage to take a leap of faith, 

we'd be cheating God out of a chance to mount us up with wings like eagles and watch us soar.” 
― Jen Stephens, The Heart's Journey Home -

Everybody has been told that your life is about taking a risk, right?! Staying in the comfort zone, won't help you grow, or make you better. There's always a gap between where you want to be and where you are now. And to get to where you want to go, you have to take the leap of faith. 

The other day at the church, we were given this message called "Mind the Gap" by Robert Fergusson. It was pretty incredible. So, we all have a gap in our life. Gap between where you want to go and where you are, between how faithful you are and how faithful you want to be, how much you want to have and how much you have... etc, etc.... And for us to get there, 

1) we have to be honest about the GAP.

2) we have to be hungry, desperate to fill the GAP.

3) we have to be humble enough to admit that we can't fill the GAP on our own. 

it was very interesting how he explained it. Remember the guy who got stuck in between the train and the station?! And how all the people got out and pushed the train to get him out? One person didn't mind the GAP and affected so many people, right?! We have to admit that there's a gap in between. And we have to be aware of that. We cannot pretend that there isn't. We can't pretend that everything is fine. We can't pretend that everything is perfect and we have everything we want when you are actually struggling to pay the bill. We have to be honest about the GAP. And just being honest about it isn't enough. We have to want to fill the gap. We have to be willing to do the work, willing to show up even in the midst of the struggle and take the chance. And then, we have to admit that we can't fill those gap on our own. Only God can do. He wants you to get to the other side. He wants to help us. But first, we have to be honest with where we are. He knows where you are. He knows what you want. He knows you where you should be. He knows all of that and beyond. So it's only natural to have faith in Him, isn't it?! 

1) Make a decision 

2) take a step

3) awaken who you ought to be

Let's take that leap of faith. We are already here, which means we deserve to be here, were are meant to be here. So, why not believe?! why not have faith?! If we don't take that leap of faith, we're going to keep wonder how things could have been, or would have been. So, let's take an action, even if you fail or make a mistake, at least you'll know. You'll learn what not to do, don't you think!? It might not even be something you actually want to do in a first place. God puts all those thoughts into you for a reason. Believe in Him. And you'll see how wonderful He made you to be. 

Love, Hope, Faith.

Be a person you want to be around

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” 
― Jane Goodall

Can I just tell how amazing my friends are. Not only they are talented, beautiful and kind. They are humble, caring and loving people. And I love them so much. Last night, I got to help their show backstage. They've worked so hard for this, and their level of commitment is just incredible. They are always eager to learn, work and become better. We look out for each other, since most of us doesn't have family in the city, we are our own family. Even though we are in the same business, and are own rivals of our own, we are happy for any success, and great news that come into any of us. 

"Life is not about gaining something, it is about giving what you have". 

I read that somewhere not so long ago. It was amazing. We get caught up in what we can get, from the job, from the situation, and from the people we meet everyday. But the reality is that God has given us everything we need. He's provided us with everything and anything we need to be who He wants us to be. So why do we need more?! We are anointed already, the problem is that we don't know that we are capable and we are anointed. We are too blind to see how blessed we are. God has given us so much that we don't deserve. So we have to be grateful for what we have, and the things that we don't have or things that we hate. God has already blessed us with everything. We have to appreciate those that we already have. My friends showed me that they are about giving and caring for others, not about what they can gain. 

When people treat you in an aweful way, you really don't want to be nice you that person, right? You want to be treated right. You want to treat others as you want others to treat you, right?! So, let's be nice to each other. Be grateful to each other. We don't know what other people's stories are. And we'll never know the whole story. So, treat each other with respect and love. When people treat me in a way that I don't deserve, it makes me feel horrible. It just does. That's not fair at all. Think how you'd act if people don't say simple "thank you" or "Please" or even "hi". How would that make you feel? Treat others like you want to be treated. And remember, this life is not about what you can get. It's about what you can offer to the world. Be the person you want to be around. You can't escape from yourself in a first place anyway, don't you agree?

Love, Hope, Faith...