Falling leaves...

To: Jeff, I am with you in these tough times, my friend...


When the last leaf falls,
When the last breeze leaves,
I’ll be there for you again,
You’ll be there again with me,

When the last leaf falls,
When the fall does leave,
Memories will stay,
They will reign supreme,

When the last leaf falls,
When the last star shines,
Endless time will stop,
It will let us be,
Losing all control,
And its icy grasp,
Hurrying every step,
Of our so called life

When the last leaf falls,
And your earth turns dry,
When there are no tears,
For there’s only peace

When the last leaf falls,
And I’m no more a child,
When our hair turns gray,
Our dreams not as wild

When the last leaf falls
When my eyes do close
You will wait for me
When my last leaf falls…

Inglorious glorification...

'For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.'
-Winston Churchill

What has been the greatest of achievements you've had in your life so far?

Many people have done great things...
Others think or feel they have done great things...

What matters is not how big or small, rather than it was a glorious moment. Sometimes we feel everyone needs to know about it that moment.

Why?

It is because we unconsciously believe that is THE ONE greatest moment. Perhaps we do unconsciously feel no other moment like this will come. And hardly another will come, for in our accepting our 'maximum' we don't strive to achieve it.
Maybe it is because in our self-depreciation we revel in the recognition from others. In any case we are as foolish, senile storytellers of old, telling all around us about what happened so long ago nobody really cares to listen.

We need to be proud of our achievements, of course. However, when those accomplishmentst tower over the way we perceive ourselves it is almost impossible to escape their shadow. We are then engulfed, kept from achieving anything greater by our own effort.

The past is passed, the past is history. It's good to know it and enjoy it, but it shouldn't rule us.
Let your glorious past be a guide to things you want to do, and do even greater things. Do not let it determine that that's your moment, and all that's left is to be forgotten...


Lesson learned: I will not be seduced by the ephemeral hands of past glories, lest I become a statue in Medusa's lair.

Ocean pacific...

Morning time, I lie awake
With no desire but to breathe
And no goal in mind but to take
A plunge in ocean deep

The constant motion
At bewitching hour
Making me prisoner
Of your heart's desire

My curse undeserved
But well received
As every day I see
Your eyes in that ocean

So as I watch the orbs
The enchanting twins
I'm at peace, feeling
Captured...
...amazed...
...enraptured

I become victim
Willing sacrifice
To sorceries eternal
Of smiling charms

I know they're near
Though they are far
So in between
All I have

...is to think

It's late at night, I lie awake
With no desire but to breathe
And no goal in mind but to take
A plunge in your eyes so deep

Pack tactic…

‘The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him’
-Henry Stimson



Even in our most desired independence we are but a conglomeration of characteristics of those around us. However, not the traits, but the amount of each is what define us.

And who are those that help define us? Who are those that surround us? Most importantly, who are those we surround ourselves with?

Out of those around, who can you trust? Who can you truly trust?

To many, the concept of fully trusting other people is difficult to conceive. The main excuse for not trusting others is that ‘others can hurt/disappoint me’.
There are several things to note in that last phrase:
1. What negative trait we see in others, on very many occasions, are negative traits we possess, dislike, and conveniently overlook (think of it next time you criticize someone else).
2. We are giving others the power to determine how we’ll feel.
3. Most importantly, others do not disappoint/hurt you, YOU CHOOSE to feel hurt or disappointed.
4. Time and time again has been proven that those who do not fully trust cannot be trusted themselves.

Wolves live in packs; they are the perfect example of unconditional love, respect, and complete trust. Each one understands their role in their society, and contributes his best for the betterment of the pack as a whole. Every member of the same pack, from the leader to the last one, can trust each and every wolf to do what they must to do preserve the integrity and functionality of their family, thus improving their chances of survival and success. They will surround an opponent, and the same will be defeated by being attacked only by those who can see the weak points. In the meantime the opponent is confused by the unity of the pack.
Everyone’s contribution leads the plan to fruition.

Think of who do you trust enough to have as part of the pack you call your LIFE. Who contributes something useful? Who will lead you to failure? Maybe there’s time for some changes.

Lesson learned: Surround yourself with those people you trust, and trust those people you surround yourself with.

Goal set…

'In order to reach your goal you must first define it...'
-The Puppet Master


Where were you one year ago from today?

What were you doing?

How did you feel back then?

Where were you hoping to be today?

How far from where you expected to be have you drifted?

…why?



What has become your prison?
What has seemed so strong you have surrendered and given ultimate power to rule over your life, change it, and bring you here today?

Do take some time to set a goal for yourself, see it in the horizon as a lighthouse and let it shine even in the darkest hour or torrential rain. We get caught up in so many things each day that we sometimes seem to navigate endlessly, gazing mesmerized at the many beautiful and bright stars, only to forget we were being guided. Your will fades, your strength dwindles, and then we consciously/unconsciously conform to the meager leftover of others…because it is easier in life not to struggle.

Well you don’t have to struggle. You can refocus today.
Instead of inviting someone to eat, go by yourself. Do not read a newspaper or magazine. Just sit for a brief moment, turn your cell phone off.
Write down on a piece of paper that new dream, the new goal. Think of it hardly enough, and better than that, believe it will happen, because this time you WILL make it happen.

Save that little piece of paper, and let it be your lighthouse. Nothing will deter you.
I am doing this right now, and I encourage you to do it with me.

Let us help each other achieve our goals.



Lesson learned: I will not be an unwilling obstacle, rather a willing facilitator to someone else’s growth.

Winner's circle...

‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing’
-Vince Lombardi

After a long and arduous race ends someone gets the first place. That someone is clearly joyous.
If you participated, how do you feel if you were second? How about third? Last?
‘Participation is what matters’ are the most common words echoed by all those who weren’t first place.
Why do they say so?
They do because they are not the winners. Not only are they not ‘the winners’, but they are just proving themselves time and time again that they lack what it takes to be a winner.

How do you define ‘Win’? Think of it for a second: What does it mean to you when you hear the word ‘Win’?

To Win is defined as: to finish first in a race, contest or the like. That is what most of us think of when we hear the term.
However, it is also defined as: To succeed by great effort, to be successful, and to overcome the adversary.

Most times our main adversary is within us. It is that loser within that keeps us from becoming successful, and convinces us that ‘participating’ is what matters.
When you participate you just ‘take a part of/in’. It means you are just one more.

From now on: stop looking at other’s positions in the Race of Life to determine if you’re a winner, a participant or just a loser. Look at your own position, enjoy your journey while you take part on it, and win.

Open up your eyes and hearts to a new mentality, feel like a winner; be a winner, and BECOME A WINNER. It will move you one step closer to your ultimate happiness.

Lesson learned: There can be no losing in the road to happiness, for even those who pass away are not lost, for they are still within us.

Singled out...

If love conquers all...then conquer yourself and rule the world!
-The Puppet Master

Isn’t it great to have someone else?


Think of waking up in the morning to see your loved one’s face as they sleep at peace. It gives us a sense of warmth, of love that is being the reflection of our own emotion.

Think of the beautiful smile of that other half, and how it has(and continues to) brightened your many days and the laughter many nights.

Think of that calming touch of that someone who has dispelled all fears with but a single caress.

Think of the watery eyes of our loved one when they gaze at our own unable to hide their hurting, and think of how you can’t help it but disarm yourself when you love that someone’s eyes.

Isn’t it great to have someone else?
Someone asked me today: How can you be single? There must be something very wrong with you…

To many, being alone is a dreadful nightmare.
Being alone is not, but can definitely be…


Why is being single so negative? Or better…why does it seem so?


As a human race, our goal in life is to be fruitful and reproduce, to be successful, and to be with someone. It is just because we are misdirected.
In that desperation we seek others that have their own ‘baggage’ of problems, and we seek to ‘love through helping others’ rather than ‘helping others though love’.

Our goal should be to love ourselves, to be happy with ourselves.
That will stop us from looking in someone else for that which we are lacking. We will truly be able to fall in love, and find that someone who instead of ‘completing us’ will ‘complement us’.

Lesson learned: Isn’t it great to have someone else? It certainly is, when that someone is worth it…

Remembering remembrance...

To: Larry White

'The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.'
-Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

Just nine days before my departure I have sat down to contemplate what a year this has been.
I have made plenty of enemies, haha, willing or not.
There has been so much drama, I could write a novel with all of it.
There has been sad moments...

But none of these are worthy to remember. These are placed down on a dark and musty chest, which is closed and sent to the bottom of the sea, its key left to rust on the seashore.

Now friendship, on the other hand, will mark us forever. In doing so, friendship makes each one of us a better person.

Think for just ten seconds of whose name comes to your mind when you hear the word 'friend'.
Now, think again whose name comes to mind when I say 'true friend'.
A true friend is a person we love, even if we love to hate them at times. That person who does not have to say much to mean much, and whose mere gaze strengthens us. What best to arrive at that friend's house and feel you're at home, and welcome.
And how great the feeling that your particular friend has your favorite dish prepared for you.
You know why? Because you are loved.
Let them know how much they mean to you, and how much you love them. You never know, they may need to hear it right at this moment.

Think now, would your name come to people's minds when they think of the word 'friend'? How about 'true friend'? If not, then you're doing something wrong...

Thank you, my dear friend Larry. If someone ever asked me what a true friend is I would just have to introduce them to you.

Lesson learned: The ornaments of my life are the friends I keep.

Asking why...

'Everything has got a moral if you can only find it.'
-Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)

Why...
Three letters that are just so familiar.
That is the question we have learned to ask the most since our earliest childhood.
Its a simple word that holds so much power, for it can stop our personal growth on its track to leave us defenseless like lost children; in the wake of our realization that we lack wisdom we become weaker, conquered.

Why...
...does X happen to us?
Why...
...does Y have to die/leave?

It is not the question that matters but the answer, for unanswered questions just raise more questions and doubts to solve nothing. And yeah, trying to find an answer can seem like an ordeal in itself. Sometimes we must not seek the answer, but let the answer come to us.

Whenever you face an unexpected event ask yourself why, sure, but choose not to dwell on the questioning. Be patient, seek, explore, understand the answer once you got it, for then you will have peace instead of living in the stressed caused by the uncertainty of 'the why'. And even then, in the end, don't just conform yourself with the answer. Learn from it, grow, become stronger and wiser.


Lesson learned: Answers are like squirrels, sometimes all there is left is to wait...it may be eating its acorn right atop your head.

Dream on...

'All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible'
-Thomas E. Lawrence

'It was just a dream' we hear say(when we are not saying it ourselves). With those simple words the magic of that moment is dispelled so that we, in the reality of our daily lives, can live on. We wake up, dress up, eat, and go to work/school, come home and go sleep...the next day it all happens again, and life becomes dull, and it all falls down to our looking forward to our vacations or retirement.

When, I ask you, did you stop dreaming? When did your thoughts of a bright future, of adventure, of loving, get replced by the boredom of your current daily life?
Some say you stop dreaming when you finally grow up...
Was Christopher Columbus a child, then, when he sought to conquer the seas to follow his dream? I believe he was not.
You stop dreaming when, for some reason, you start not thinking, but actively BELIEVING you have achieved all you can ever be, and then you become one more statue in the museum of our daily existence. A simple statue, just existing, just being there, to be seen.

You can surely remember every time you dreamed, or remembered a dream a feeling of joy permeated your soul. You basked in the light of that bright future that you saw for yourself.

Today, take a single minute to sit down, relax a minute, and dream...

Lesson learned: Dreams are the fountains of youth inside each one of us