You are a winner

“Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.” 
― Tim Fargo

My teacher told me about "I showed up. So I WIN!" game. Isn't that fascinating? It's similar to gratitude game, almost.

I was late to work, but I showed up anyways. so "I WIN".
I got upset about the annoying customer, but I didn't snap at them. so "I WIN".
I cried a lot, but I am not any more. so "I WIN".
I hate my job, but I have a job. so "I WIN".
I don't have a job, but I woke up this morning. so "I WIN".
I might not be where I want to be, but I am here. so "I WIN".


We can keep saying about anything. You are here, right here and right now. That itself is already a WIN. You might not have what you want. But if you were not alive, you wouldn't have even thinking about that in the first place. so, you WIN. You might not be able to see it that way, but you are still hanging in there. so you WIN. We are already a winner just by being here right now, whether you know it or not. It's a mentality. It's a perspective. And it's not easy. Then again, is there anything that's easy? Living a life is a hard thing. We take a lot of things for granted. It's time that we should start shifting our perspective. Think about it. Just a century ago, we didn't have 3D movies or smart phones. Now there're more smartphones than the entire human populations. Most of the things we have now are what humans created in last century or so. We put value in the paper called "money". We decided that having a social status equals "success". We decided that we are better than the rest of the living creature in this planet. Many things that we call "value" is something we've created.

I watched this amazing speech by Yuval Noah Harari on TEDtalk.

Think about it. If all those things that we value so much, is just mere creation and illusion? Or even a brainwash of some sort? It is, in a sense. Because we believe and we know what we are exposed to. Look at children. When they first encounter people of different color, do they know the difference? they just see each other as other human beings, a friend. As they grow up, the exposure of many things change their value and ideas. The way their parents live. The way the society works. The way the school teaches them. The way media introduces them the informations. Those kids have no control over. They only find out beyond what they know after they know what they know. So what you may think as a failure, or a defeat, might not actually be what you think it is. Once you are open to the possibility to the unknown and so many things that you don't even know that it exist, things will start to change. You'll be able to play more instead of planning everything. You'll be able to have fun more, instead of being busy to survive. You'll be able to feel the bliss, instead of rushing through the life. You'll surrender more, instead of controlling. You'll learn to be in the moment instead of chasing things. You just have to decide to take the step. The first step is always the hardest one to take. Most people nowadays are result oriented. You don't want to take an action if you didn't know what's gonna happen, or if you didn't know that you'll get what you want. But nothing is guaranteed in this life, is it? The only thing that we are guaranteed is that we all die. Everything in between is full of possibilities and unknown. So, might as well enjoy the ride. 

I don't know your story. I don't know how you grew up. I don't know where you are right now. I will not understand where you come from. But I want you to know that you are so much more than where you are right now. If you are already on the path to bliss and happiness, congratulations. I am so proud of you and happy for your journey. What we face is never a permanent. We have that power within us. You are the winner the moment you were born. So, start acting like one. I believe in you. I believe that you are strong enough to get out from the funk that you may be in. I believe that you are enough. And I want you to believe that YOU ARE ENOUGH. We all have our ups and downs. Some days are better than others. None of us are perfect. Other people might have what you want. But they might not have what they want. YOU ARE ENOUGH. Your smile is beautiful. Your love is limitless. But take actions. Taking action is what makes difference. It shows the Universe that you want it. It shows that you care. It shows that you are showing up. Take a action. Even a small one. And keep taking the small steps. And that's what matters. 

Love, Hope, Faith..

be the best rose as it can be

“I love flowers for being flowers, directly.
And I love trees for being trees without my thought.” 
― Alberto Caeiro, The Collected Poems of Alberto Caeiro

You can only live your own life. No matter how you wish you can live someone else's life, that's something you cannot have. You are not Oprah, or Madonna, or David Beckham. You are who you are.

As media exposes the luxurious and fancy life of celebrities, we fantasize how it'll be like to live that life. We imagine that we're the ones with those huge houses and cars. And we've created the false idea that that's what happiness looks like. That's what it means to succeed. That's the definition of "made it". But is it true? Are all those celebrities happy? If they were, then how about those who overdoes or commit suicide? If they are so happy with their success, why do they kill themselves? Because happiness is not defined by how big the house is, how many cars you own, or how much money you make. Yes, we need a house. We need a car. We need money to survive. There's no doubt. We need that. Unless you were born into the rich family, we all have seen and experienced the scarcity, where our survival instinct kicks in. We've heard our parents say "oh, we can't afford that" or "we are not that rich". So, it's not our fault that those ideas were planted into our head. All these medias, movies and tv and video games. Those have brainwashed our mind in one way or the other. So, how do we change that? And what's the definition of our happiness anyways?

Psychology Today has written an article about this. according to their research, only a third of people had claimed that they are "very happy". I don't know what makes you happy. I don't know what happened in your life. and I didn't go through the same thing as you did. And I will never understand what you feel or how you feel. Because we are not the same person.

I consider myself a very happy person. I am truly blessed in many ways. It doesn't mean my life doesn't have any struggles. I was fortunate to have a family who loves me and supports me unconditionally. I am fortunate to have friends who love me support me. I have my ups and downs. And so do you. So, why not make the best out of what you already got? You can't control what's going on outside out your life. You can't make other people to love you. You can't other people to live your life for you. You can't only be happy when something good happens to you. You have to choose to be happy now. They say that there's no way to happiness, happiness is the way. I believe that's true.
Tomatoes can't be watermelons no matter how much they want to. A rose can't be a tulip no matter how much they want. All they can do is to be the best tomato or the best rose they can ever be. So, why don't we do the same? You are already enough, more than enough. Don't shut yourself out from all the thing you can achieve. Be one of the kind. Be who you are. Be the best version of you. And be happy. Not when something happens, Right this moment, right now. Just because you are who you are. And that's already a miracle. You are a miracle. Please embrace that.

Love, Hope, Faith

You are the MAGIC

“To live, to TRULY live, we must be willing to RISK. 

To be nothing in order to find everything. To leap before we look.” 

― Mandy Hale

Our past cannot be altered, no matter how much we want it. Our future is unknown, no matter how much we want to know. We can only experience what's happening NOW. And even that we have different perspectives and ideas, and expectations and doubts, all sorts of elements to dictate our thoughts. There are things that we wish we could have experienced when we are in a good mood, when we were younger, or when we were older. There are many "ifs" and "should have"s and "could have"s. And we are all in this particular condition at this particular time for a reason. Again, that reason might not be obvious to us most of the time, but that's the truth. We are often too afraid to take the leap of faith. To jump into uncertainty. To take an action without expecting certain results. To have a faith in ourselves. To do it, just because we want to.

We don't know what's gonna happen until we try, right? That's a fact. And yet, most of us fail to do so. Because we are often too afraid or too comfortable. We complain and yet stay in the same situation, without taking any action to change.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." 

-Albert Einstein

This is one of my favorite quote. We are all insane, aren't we? In one way or the other. We want things to happen for us, instead of making things happen. We want someone to come knock on our door and hand you the life of opportunity. We want the one person to come in and ask you to marry you. We want magic to happen. And we think that when that magic happens, we'll live happily ever after and have no worries in the world. But the magic doesn't happen for you. The magic is YOU. You have to make the magic happen. Remember in the Wizard of OZ, Dorothy had what she needed from the very beginning. As the good witch said, "you just had to learn it yourself". And only with the knowledge and experiences you earned, you can gain the opportunities and rewards that's been there the whole time. We have to let ourselves experience whatever it is you're facing and whatever the feeling you're having. Because that's what makes us who we are, what helps us grow. 

Don't be a dreamer, be a dream maker. 

Your dream is there for you to be fulfilled. Not for you to day dream or keep imagining. They say that whatever you can imagine and see in your eyes, you can make it happen? That is your magic. And guess what? Everything is a miracle. The air you are breathing. The trouble that you're facing. The agony you are in. The joy you're having. The love you're feeling. The dream that's about to come to life.... Those are all miracles. We just don't see it that way. Count your blessings. Experience each moment the fullest. Let yourself feel what you want to ignore. Everything is easier said than done. But it's worth doing it. Take the leap of faith. Taking actions is the only thing that opens up the path. Be the best magician you can ever be. Be the best blessing beyond your imagination. Be the love that knows no boundary. Be you, the most authentic you that you are meant to be. 

Love, Hope, Faith