Scarred but Whole, Real and Beautiful
Brussels, Belgium - Lately, working with the migrant workers, I figured out three kinds of people: the hardened, the forever broken, and the mended.
The Hardened. These are the people who failed to integrate, accept changes and recognize other realities. They refused to be broken, and so these people soaked themselves in anger and bitterness.
The Forever Broken. These are the people who were broken with life’s challenges and did not stand up anymore. They become comfortable to play victims and refused to take responsibilities of their lives. Their words are filled with contempt and negativities. Life for them is bleak and the future is gloom .
The Mended. These are well- adjusted and productive for they allowed themselves to be wounded and broken, but stood up once again. And so, out of their self broken pieces they created a new ‘them’. They became an instant pianist who could hit different notes at the same time and still creating beautiful music.
People want to be around them for they feel more alive. Mended people maybe straight, but honest, stingy but helpful, fierce but lovable, scarred but more whole, real and…beautiful…
EQ Dumb People
Ever wonder why some people are just not 'nice'?
Most probably it's because they have low EQ - emotional intelligence.
Take Shara: she's beautiful and sexy, but most people around her hate her. Or take Dan, he's a car, money and good looking, but people don't want to be around him.
So, what do they have in common? They lack 'social awareness'. They're numb to the feelings of others. For them, what is the most important thing in their whole universe is their opinion. They want to say things in a 'don't-care-about-how-you-feel' attitude. They simply lack empathy. People like these are pregnant with distrust with others and self-doubt.
Dalai Lama once said, “It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others.”
Compassion, empathy and trust with others are, therefore, rooted in our self acceptance. Sarcasm towards others is an obvious sign of hidden self-hate.
On the other hand, a person with high level of EQ gives out ambience of comfort, trust and are generous with their words. “Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.” ~Proverbs 12:18
A Special Day for Fools
So, we have Mother's Day, Father's Day, Women's Day, Labor Day, Holy Innocents'' Day etc., and today is a special day for fools: April Fools’ Day.
Well, it doesn't matter now where it started or what it was intended for originally; the important thing is we have this day to fool around, and... it's all right... No, I'm wrong. I mean it's really all right!
I think, the greatest sin is the world is being boring. Boring people hate jokes and fails. They want perfection and consistency in everything. Why? Simply because they are scared to commit mistakes and being labeled as 'fools.' They are the products of perfectionist parents and husbands and wives.
Remember what the Bible said about boring people? It says, "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth!" ~ Rev. 3:16. Such is a very strong word to describe disgust and abhorrence.
Today, therefore, is a special day for great people! Yes, great people! Remember, great people were once labeled as fools: Mahatma Gandhi, MartÃn Luther King Jr., St. Paul, Van Gogh, Galileo and even Jesus to name a few.
April Fools’ Day is the day when a loving parent tells a kid with a smile, “Child, it’s okay to commit mistakes, for I’m not perfect either. You’re more important to me than your mistakes…I love you. ”
Happy April Fools’ Day! :)
A Gift to Yourself
![hugging[1]](http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rmKn-FmCZgY/UU1j4PBXulI/AAAAAAAAR_I/tGPV32vTEeM/hugging%25255B1%25255D%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800 "hugging[1]")
Smile as much as you can.
Laugh as loud as you can.
Hug as many as you can.
Love and forgive as much as you can.
The universe is a huge matrix of mirrors
Accurate, consistent, just and generous.
If you give a single smile, it will reflect a thousand,
If you laugh, it will reverberate and echo back exponentially.
If you give a sincere hug,
Your whole nervous system will fire up;
Each of your cells cheers up to celebrate:
Endorphins are produced and stress melts.
If you forgive, you're instructing
Your brain to relax, and therefore
You heart regulates pumping over-supply
Of blood and oxygen to your brain and muscles.
If you love, you open your whole being
Your heart becomes courageous
And your brain becomes more sensitive
To more love, blessings and happiness.
Smile as much as you can.
Laugh as loud as you can.
Hug as many as you can.
Love and forgive as much as you can...
Share this and create a smile in someone’s face,
Share this and create a ripple of love in the world,
Share this and melt someone’s stress and boredom,
Share this for love is free…
Wine,Vinegar and Birthdays
My father used to harvest palm wine, and I can tell, it’s sweetest when it’s fresh. Then, some of the harvest we put in containers to ferment to be made into sharp-sour vinegar. Some would process it further: the end product is a fine and mature spirit with a taste usually described as "somewhere between whisky and rum"
I met an Italian who has a passion for vintage cars. In his huge garage, he had also some vintage wine his family made more than six decades ago. Age brings value.
As I go around, I met some great people. They laughed, they celebrated, they cried, they aged; but were saturated with wisdom and pure love. They’re like wine which years have made fine.
I met some old people as well, bitter, sour, full of complaints in life, angry and saturated with laments. They’re like vinegar with sharp sour taste.
I love celebrating birthdays. It reminds us of our blessings, of the people around us and the good things we did. When I’m asked how old I am, I don’t hesitate to pronounce my age; for it’s in age that the world can judge us whether we became wine or vinegar.
The Bridge of Love
One of the famous old bridges in Italy is Ponte Vecchio in Florence, built during the Roman times. Aside from its historical fame, it's also a subject of a local legend about two persons who promised to love each other eternally.
Because of this legend, thousands of padlocks had to be removed from its railings every year. Lovers would go to that bridge, secure the padlock on the rail while pronouncing their vow to love each other till the end of time, and then throw the key into the river.
A legend such as this can actually be witnessed in other parts of the world. In my birthplace, for example, we had this bridge we crossed several times a day. It has become a reminder of our good old days and a symbol of our dreams. I used to paint it with lovers sitting at its edges, and a full moon above it.
Bridge is the most useful and romantic human structure. It connects places and people. It reminds us that life is about coming and going. Like love, a bridge brings us to different places and allows us to go back to the ones we love.