Do it now!

In a class I taught for adults, I gave the class special homework recently! The assignment was to "got to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven't shared those words with for a long time." At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the women to volunteer, as was usually the case, but at last one of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken. He said, "Dennis, I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this assignment. I didn't feel that I had anyone to say those words to, and besides, who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience started talking to me. It was telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say 'I love you' to. You see, five years ago, my father and I had a vicious disagreement and really never resolved it since that time. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings. But even then, we hardly spoke to each other. So, last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him. It's weird, but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest. When I got home, I rushed into the house to tell my wife what I was going to do. She was already in bed, but I woke her up anyway. When I told her, she didn't just get out of bed, she catapulted out and hugged me, and for the first time in our married life she saw me cry. We stayed up half the night drinking coffee and talking. It was great! In my office at 9:00 a.m. I called my dad, 'Dad can I come over after work tonight? I have something to tell you.' My dad responded with a grumpy,'Now what?' I assured him it wouldn't take long, so he finally agreed. At 5:30 p.m., I was at my parents' house ringing the doorbell, praying that Dad would answer the door. I was afraid if Mom answered that I wouldn't have it, Dad did answer the door. I didn't waste any time--I took one step in the door and said, 'Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.' "It was as if a transformation came over my dad. Before my eyes his face softened, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, 'I love you,too,son, but I've never been able to say it. It was such a precious moment I didn't want to move. Mom walked by with tears in her eyes. I just waved and blew her a kiss. Dad and I hugged for a moment longer and then I left. I hadn't felt that great in a long time. But that's not even my point. Two days after that visit, my dad, who had heart problems but didn't tell me, had an attack and ended up in the hospital, unconscious. I don't know if he'll make it." So my message to all of you in this is: Don't wait to do the things you know need to be done. What if I had waited to tell my dad--maybe I will never get the chance again! Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now!"

Bagong Taon!

Bago sumapit ang bagong taon, maraming paghahanda ang ginagawa ng mga pamilyang pilipino sa Pilipinas tulad ng shopping-shopping, luto-luto at kung anu-ano pa. Halos hindi na nga magkandaugaga sa paggawa eh. Pinipilit nila na maging kumpleto at masagana sa mga pagkain ang kanilang ihahain sa hapag-kaninan sa medya noche. Sa ating paniniwala kasi, bawal ang walang handa o hindi maghanda dahil baka hindi maging maganda ang iyong pagsalubong sa bagong taon. Kahit konti bastat meron or kung maghahanda ka na lang rin eh di garbohan mo na ng todong todo para todong todo din ang swerte na papasok sa iyo. Kahit yung mga walang pera pinipilit nilang maghanda pero yung mga walang panghanda tulad ng mga mahihirap na pinoy, aba...eh nagtitiis na lang sa gutom at dinadaan na lang sa tulog. Ano ba ang mas magandang gawin talaga? Alam ko na, likas naman tayong matulungin na mga pinoy di ba, eh di bakit hindi tayo tumulong sa kapwa nating nangangailangan o walang makain sa pagsapit ng bagong taon. Di ba mas masaya yuon. Bakit hindi tayo magluto para sa mga taong walang makain sa araw ng bagong taon? Di ba mas nakakabusog yuon. Maliit man daw o malaki ang tulong na iyong maibabahagi sa iyong kapwa, pero sa mata ng "Dios" ito'y walang katumbas. Tulad ng pagmamahal nya sa ating lahat.
Ang mahalaga ay nagmumula sa ating puso ang bawat ibabahagi natin sa iba. Bagong taon, bagong buhay, bagong pagmamahal at bagong magmamahal sa iyo!

Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh, excuse me please," was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I jusn't wasn't watching for you." We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way, and we said good-bye. But at home a different story is told, how we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me,, very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Moved out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken.I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor; you'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise; you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."By this time, I felt very small, and now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. " Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found them, out by the tree. I picked them beacause they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue." I said, "Son, I'm sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way." He said, "Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.' I said, " Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue." Are you aware that if we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days or weeks, but the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means? FAMILY=(F) ather (A)nd (M)= other (I) (L)ove (Y)ou

Fish

Spilt milk

Have you heard of the story-- spilt milk? Well, we all know there is no use crying over spilt milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner. I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others? He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occured when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor--a veritable sea of milk! When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said,"Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such as a huge paddle of milk. Well the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up? Indeed, he did. After a few mintues, his mother said,"You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk. His mother then said,"You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson! This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiments "doesn't work", we usually learn something valuable from it. Wouldn't it be great if all the parents would respond the way Robert's mother responded to him?

What is success?

What is success? It is what everyone is longing for. Sometimes success would be rather simple.Winning a game is success; getting a high grade in the exam is success; making a new friend is success. However, as a person's whole life is concerned, success becomes very complicated. Is fortune success? Is fame success? Is high social status success? No, I don't think so. I believe success is the realization of people's hopes and ideals. Nowadays, in the modern society there are many people who are regarded as the successful. And the most obvious characteristics of them are money, high position and luxurious life. So most people believe that is success and all they do is for this purpose. But the problem is whether it is real success. We all know there are always more money, higher position and better condition in front of us. If we keep chasing them, where is the end? What will satisfy us at last? Therefore, we can see, to get the real success we need something inside, which is the realization of people's hopes and ideals. Different people have different ideas about success, because people's hopes and ideas vary from one onother. But I am sure every success is dear to everybody, because it is not easy to come by, because in the process of our striving for success, we got both our body and soul tempted, meanwhile we are enlightened by the most valuable qualities of human beings: love, patience, courage and sense of responsibilty. These are the best treasures. But I am sure every success leads to an ever -brighter future. So friends, believe in our hopes; believe in ourselves. We, every one of us, can make a successful life! Wish you all good success!

UzApUzApTaYoFriends!

Hi! Alam nyo ba na habang buhay ka ay may buhay. Ano man ang katayuan mo sa mundo ang mahalaga ay buhay ka. Di ba. Mayaman ka man o mahirap ang mahalaga ay buhay ka. Pero bakit ang iba eh... parang nawawalan na ng buhay o pag-asa sa buhay? Ano nga ba ang dahilan? Pera? Pagkain? Damit? Bahay at kotse? Kayaman? Ano sa tingin mo? Ang iba sabi nila, " Naku! gusto ko ng mamatay kasi hirap na hirap na ako!" Ngeeehhkkkk....yun lang. Baka naman biro lang pala noh. Tapos makalipas ang ilang araw magkukuwento ulit at ang sasabihin eh " Naku! Muntik na akong masagasaan kahapon. Mabuti na lang at hindi natuloy. Salamat at buhay pa ako." Ngeeehhkkk.... eh akala ko ba gusto mo ng mamatay? Nakakatawa noh na nakakainis. Bakit nga ba?Kung nahihirapan ka man, huwag mong hamunin si kamatayan dahil sasalubong siya sa iyo ng nakangiti, nakataas ang dalawang kamay at talaga namang abot hanggang impyerno ang ngiti at naka gown na itim pa. Mabilis pa siya sa alas otso. Alam ko na. Ang gawin mo pala kung may problema ka at talagang hirap na hirap ka na, bakit di ka kaya magotso-otso di ba. Sabi naman ng iba tawanan mo ang problema. Lalo ka pang babata. Eh di hindi halatang namomroblema ka kapag palagi kang nakangiti. Pero masama rin naman kapag masosobrahan dahil nakakabaliw din pala. Dahil yung iba kahit tinatawanan ang problema eh wala ring tigil sa kakaisip kaya naman hayun...natutuluyan na lang. Kawawang buhay. "Life's like a play: It's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters""Life is not living, but living in health.""Life is constantly pounding you from the outside with millions of hammer blows, but you have the last word as to how those blows will change you."Kaibigan...sa buhay ng tao maraming pagsubok. Saan ka man, ano ka man, maging sino ka man, ang mahalaga ay buhay ka naman. Huwag kang mawawalan ng pag-asa dahil ang pag-asa ay hindi mawawala. Kumilos ka at labanan mo ang mga problema mo. Huwag mong hayaan na mamroblema ka sa problema mo, hayaan mong ang problema mo ang mamroblema sa iyo. Pero ang higit sa lahat ay huwag kang mawawalan ng tiwala sa sarili mo. Sabihin mo ng malakas at taas noo na "Kaya ko ito.", hindi yung "Kakayanin ko ito." dahil di ka pa sigurado eh. "Magaling ako.", at hindi yung "Gagalingan ko ito ." dahil d mo pa alam."Matapang ako", at hindi yung "Oka tokat." " GOD is with you my friend"