Creativity is within you

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” 
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

You'll be surprised how creative we can be when we have so little. And I am completely blown away by that magic. So, since the beginning of the year, I have been working on "Smile Everyday" challenge. Posting pictures, or videos (although I've only posted 1 video so far....) along with a quote, talking about what makes me happy, or what I am grateful for. Sometimes it is hard to describe whatever it is that I am trying to incorporate. How can I take a picture that represent something that we can be completely oblivious? For examples, how can I take a picture of "CHOICE" or "QUIETNESS" or "UNIQUESS" or so on and so on... And how can I express that to other people? How can I explain what I'm trying to tell you? 

There are many ways to tell you. And God will tell you exactly what to do. I have no resource when it comes to this. I only use my phone. Sometimes I really don't know what to say or how to take a picture of whatever it is that I am trying to say. More often than not, either I will forget about it, or time passes by before I figure it out. And when you have so little, actually that's when you can really be creative. Use your imagination. Trust your instinct. Have faith in what you are trying to tell others. Art is an art, no matter what form it is. Music, painting, acting, dancing, drawing, knitting, cooking, writing... whatever it is that you are passionate about, use your own voice. Your voice is what makes you unique. Your art is what makes you unique. Don't worry about what other people might think of you or say about you. Because non of those matters. The truth is that they are too busy worrying about what other people is going to think or say about them, and not worrying about you. So, why do you waste of your time and energy working about nothing? You don't have to! You are already amazing and perfect the way you are. All the love, creativity, compassion, trust.... everything you need for your life has been already placed in you long before you were even born. So, don't be afraid and use your own voice. 

My mom told me this before, when you want to cook delicious meal, it's easy to do it with all the  neccesary ingredients provided. But real good cooks know how to cook delicious meal with what you already have. You have to trust yourself. You have to trust your creativity, especially if you know that GOD has called you to do so, when you've already given the vision. You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are talented. You are wonderful. You are more than enough. Whatever it is that you create, only YOU can create. Love your art. 

Love, Hope, Faith

Take that first step. Take action!

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” 
― Mother Teresa

I just can't get over how great "Thrive" by Arianna Huffington was. It spoke to every cells in my body and soul. The way she wants to live. They way her mother lived. The way she preached us to live. That's actually very fundamental. And yet, so many of us are not doing so. Why?! Why can't we thrive instead of surviving day to day, pay check to pay check? Why can't we just give without seeking something in return?! Why can't we just stop and breathe!? Why does a single mother has to work almost 100 hours a week to put her children through college? Why do all those rich people have to have 10 vacation houses when they don't even use them most of the time? Why are there so many starving children all over the world, when "past due" food are thrown away everywhere. Why are there so many killing happenings all over the world? Why are there so much hatred and judgement around the world? or amongst each other? Why is there discrimination against race, gender, religion  and sexual orientation? Why?! WHY? WHY!? I don't get it. What people are fighting for is very simple, to live comfortably and not have to worry about how they are going to make it through the day. 

Compare to everywhere else in this world, I am truly blessed. I am blessed to have a roof over my head, to not have to worry about what to eat, to have family and friends who love me and support me, to be able to do what I love... so on and so on. Just the fact that I have a roof over my head and don't have to worry about what to eat today, that makes me richer than more than half of the people on this earth. And that's sad, isn't it?! And how can we change that?

Since the end of the last year, something in me changed. My life seems to come to a huge turning point and I've been having a strong desire to serve people. I knew that my passion is "to inspire". And performing has been my choice of the way to inspire people. And there has been a shift. God has been telling me something more. I have a vague picture, but I don't know where or how to begin at all. And starting "Smile Everyday" challenge is the first step that I was able to come up with. How can I inspire people and serve people?! How can I spread love?! I know there are many people who have the same vision. Are they taking any action to do that? Whenever change happens, it takes time and patience. "How can a single person make any difference?" That's usually the idea that stops us from taking an action. But how do we know? How can we know that what we do as an individual won't make any difference? We have to take an action. No matter how small or insignificant it seems to you, start taking actions. Start speaking up what you have on your mind. Start believing that what you do CAN make differences. The important thing is for you to take that first step. We have to. It'll probably not go the way we want or when we want it to happen. But it will make difference. It will teach us something. Whenever you fall, just get back up on your feet. You can take a break, compose yourself again, think of another plan. Just start again. When you believe in what you do, when you know that that's what God has planed for you, you just gonna have to keep doing. No matter what the odds are, we just gonna have to have faith in him. It's not about money, fame or social statues. It's much bigger than that. It's about giving it back. It's about loving. It's about living. It's about being you. Your purpose is there for you and only for you. Right now, it might not seem significant for you. It might seem like some tiny tiny steps for you. But keep your faith. Do it anyway. Your path is there for you already. By writing this down, I am totally telling it to myself. I was overwhelmed by the whole new visions that came to my head. And it felt like all these are my mission. Am I taking it too seriously or too dramatic?! maybe. that's quite possible. And yes, I am one of those drama queen, (after all, I am an actor, of course). 

Your dream is your dream. But your VISION is bigger than your dream. When you have a VISION, that's your mission and that's your purpose. Be that person and more. And when you love what you love, when you do what you're meant to do, everything else will fall into places, at least I hope so. God's plan is bigger than my plan. God is love. Love is God. Love is the Universe. Love is us. So we are all one. 

Love, Hope, Faith

what are your habits?!

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your words, 

Your words become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

We all have routines in our lives. When you wake up, you go to the bathroom, wash your face, take a shower, get dress, have a breakfast then go to work. That's a routine. Something you do everyday. You are kinda aware of what you do, right?! How about other routine that you don't even realize?! For example, when you brush your teeth, do you start from the front? left? or right?! do you always start from the same place?! do you start from wherever you feel like? or you've never even thought about? Start paying attention to those little things?! 

My work is in between 8th avenue and 9th avenue. I could walk up from either side of the street and it doesn't really make that much of a difference. Then, I realized that unless I have something that I need on 9th ave, I usually take 8th avenue. It's more populated, more things to see, or it's the side I took the first time I started there. So, there are some elements to why I take 8th ave most of the time. But do I have to take it all the time? No. I have a choice. I can take either avenue, or if I want to, I can take some other route as well, if I have time of course. 

So, I watched this video on Ted Talk by Daniele Quercia. It gave me an opportunity to think about this. We often get caught up in the productivity or efficiency, but it doesn't always have to be about that. And there are many habits that we do without realizing. To know those habits are the first step. What is it that we do?! Not only in our behaviors, how about our thoughts?! Is there any thoughts that you repeat to yourself all the time? Like, "oh, I'm too old." "I'm not good enough." "It's never gonna happen". "It's just a waste of time".... As well as your behaviors, start paying attention to those thoughts. When you find something you don't like, just simply replace it something positive or something completely new. To know  yourself is the first step to a lot of things. It takes long time to deconstruct those old habits or thoughts. But you can change those if you want. Only if you want and if you take that action to do so. Life is the series of choices. Some are conscious, most are unconscious. As far as our ultimate destination goes, we all end up with death. That's the one thing everyone has in common. We all die at some point. So, why not explore? Stop turning off those auto pilot and start taking control of your life. Make a different choice sometimes. Enjoy your life. Make every seconds count. It's more fun that way. 

Love, Hope, Faith

Capturing the moment?! Enjoying the moment?!

“The beauty of this day doesn't depend on its lasting forever.” 

― Marty Rubin

So, how's your 2015 has been so far?! The first week went by like nothing, right?! By the time you realize, it'll be a month, 3 months, 6 months, and it'll be the end of 2015. Time goes by so fast. You have to live in it. Instead of surviving it. 

As a part of Love+Live+Life, "Smile Everyday" challenge has been launched. Finding at least one thing a day to be grateful for, that might not come easy to some people. But you will find it. And you will see it more and more in your life as you spend more time paying attention to your life. Being able to capture and realize those things are very important. 

I came across this article on Distractify little while ago about this restaurant. They compared the surveillance video of the restaurant today and that from 10 years ago. And here's another article from Huffington Post by Valerie Alexander. What are these articles have in common?! They missed the actual moment because people were too busy to capture the moment rather than enjoying. Pictures are amazing. I will not deny their importance. Pictures with family, friends, the places you went on your vacation... Those are all very precious memories. And those are great to see especially when you get old. My grandparents LOVE to see those pictures of our family trips or when my sister and I were still babies. But nowadays, things have gotten out of control, don't you think!? First, selfies. Then the group selfie. Then another selfies.. When do you actually get to enjoy the moment?! For the younger generation, this might be the only way to enjoy themselves. By the time they were born, they were already exposed to the culture that's full of smartphones and iPads. Parents uses those gadgets to distract their children. On family don't look each other eyes to eyes, instead, kids are on their cellphone. We are always "CONNECTED" to each other online, but "DISCONNECTED" in real life. 

Mindfulness and meditation teach us to be present in the moment. In each breath, in each moment, we exist. No moment is less valuable than the rest. Nobody is more valuable than the others. We are all equal. We are all precious. And so is our time. We all have 24hours in a day and we all eventually die. Those pictures you take can be lost. Those data you put on your computers can be lost. But our memory will not. We might forget the details of the event. But we will remember how amazing those experiences were. We will remember how much fun we had, even without the pictures or videos. So, why not enjoy those moments?! Those moments, you didn't EXPERIENCE and ENJOY, those will never come back. We only have one life as who we are now. Live in each moment, instead of trying to capture it. You will see how much you've been missing out. How much you've been taking granted for. How much more there are to the life than you're seeing now. Everything is there for you to enjoy and cherish. Accept it. Embrace it. And love it. 

Love, Hope, Faith.

Say "Thank you" more often.

“The Power of Thank You goes a very long way! 

Its healing embodiment of gratitude is a key element to living a happier life.” 
― Angie Karan Krezos

Love overcomes all, don't you think?! It was a very educational day today. I really learn that positive attitude, love, respect to others, caring... all those things will defeat the negative thoughts and feelings no matter what. It might not be immediately, but it eventually will. 

I work at the restaurant as a server. I love the people I work with, but not necessary the job itself. It's very demanding not only physically, but mentally. Somedays are better than the others. You can learn a lot from this job, believe it or not. Till this day, there are many customers who I got along and actually became friends with. And some people can give me enormous amount of positive energy. At the same time, some people can suck my souls out. I try my best not to let those people or experience get me. But sometimes, it just happens. I am a server, but not a servant. If you don't respect me as a person, I will not take it, even if it means that I would get fired. 

Closing the night before and opening this morning, didn't exactly put me in the best mood this morning when I started my shift. After an hour or so, a customer was giving me a hard time. We did our best to accommodate her and her requests. My work is a quite busy place, and we work hard to give good service to each and every customers. After all, we only have 2 hands, 2 legs and can only do what we can do, even if you're really good at multi-tasking. Working as a server, your natural instinct is to apologize for the wait or mistake, try not to upset the customers as much as possible. After she got everything she ordered, a lady who was sitting next her called me over and whispered.  "I don't know how you do it. She was being really mean to you. I'm an only child, but if I'd behave that way, my father would never have allowed me to act that way. I was trying so hard not to say something to her." That made my day. She was watching the whole thing and worried about me. She was smiling the whole time, and gave me a hug. At the end of the meal, she ordered a dessert. I really wanted to pay for her dessert. So, I told the head server to put it on the separate check. I just wanted to do something nice to her, to tell her that her kindness meant a lot for me. And something even more wonderful happened. A manager came over and asked about the situation, and he just took it off the bill completely and told me not to worry about it. It might not sound anything to you, but I've been working with him for over a year and he's not the kinda person to do something like this. He just isn't. I went over to thank him after the shift. He told me that he was happy to hear what I was trying to do. And that made me actually happy even more. Again, he's not the type to say anything like this. It actually made me feel bad about getting upset about him earlier. 

Anything that's positive beats negative. No matter what. It might not happen right away, but love beats hatred and negativity. Kindness is stronger than sad soul. Happiness feels grander than sadness. My mother always raised me to find good in people, even those who I don't treat me right. She told me that whenever I see something I don't like, instead of getting upset and let it get to you, just be glad that you are not like the person. Those are sad people who don't know how to be nice to people, how to treat others with respect, and how to be humble. 

Say thank you to other people more often. There's no such thing as saying too much thank you. Be humble. Be considerate. Be kind. After all, someone is always watching you. God is always watching you. Plus, when people are nice to you, doesn't that make you want to be nice to them as well? And when people are mean to you, you don't want to be nice to them, right?! You attract what you put out. Be nice to others, not because you want something in return. Just because you want to. Just because you can. People are more kind and generous during the holidays, but it doesn't have to be holiday to be kind and generous.  We can do that everyday. Every single moment.  Start from saying thank you more often. Start from giving smile more often. Love and kindness bring more love and kindness. Love is power. 

Love, Hope, Faith

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2015!!!

Happy New Year! How was your New Year?! I hope everyone had a great holiday seasons. New Year is always a good time to reevaluate and start something, right? 

So, I am taking a "Smile Everyday" challenge this year. Each and everyday, there's always something to be grateful for and to make us smile. No matter where you are in your life, some people would die to be in your shoes. The things that we take granted for, the things that we complain, those might be the exact things that others want. We might realize what we've been taking granted for.  So, this challenge is to remind ourself how much we have, how blessed our lives are, how much we can offer to others. Join me and take this challenge. Smile more often and let's actually talk about what we are grateful for. 

According to "My Yoga on Gaiam TV", my mantra this year is "I am Here". And I like it. We live in the world that everything is more complicated and we are connected online 24/7. We have to start living our life. Really LIVE our life. Be present. Enjoy the moments. That's what mindfulness is about. You might be here with your friends but you can be thinking about your work or what to wear tomorrow. That's not being present, right?! Pay attention to what's going on in each moment. Breathe more. Meditate more. Enjoy life more. You'll realize how much you didn't see before. Love is everywhere. Life is everywhere. And it's meant to be lived. 

Love, Live, Life