And yet, it is exciting to get out of bed. I would love a cup of hot chocolate to start the rainy day, watching the raindrops falling from the sky, the ripples they create when they fall into a pool of water, the sound of the raindrops beating against the window and last but not least, the freshness and sweetness in the air.

For me, it has been the most exciting 4 months and with a lot of changes. What I observed or experienced was a challenge would follow every change. At first the challenge would appear insurmountable and that is because we do not have the capability yet to overcome it. Or rather, what I will say is, “We thought we do not have the capability to overcome it.” However, the truth of the matter is, “We will not be given a challenge too big for us!” This is what I believe and this is what I use to remind myself constantly.

Just as we might continue to focus on the challenge and some will view it as problem; we must remind ourselves to focus on finding the solution. We may not have direct control to the challenge, but we always have the Power to choose what we want to focus on. Use that Power which is given to you and which cost you nothing. Because frankly speaking, if we do not use that Power given to us, someone else would be using the Power given to him/her to choose for us. Just as the quotation from the movie The Astronaut Farmer, “You better know what you want to do before somebody know it for you.” So we better start using that Power given to us before somebody use his/hers on us.

And finally after we overcome the challenge, we grow. With every challenge, there is a great potential for us to grow and to become a better person. Not only that, we are automatically ready for bigger changes and challenges in life. This simple reason of growth makes change ever exciting for me!

What we really must do is Embracing Changes and Challenges and this journey call life will surely be an exciting and memorable one!

I believe that most of us have read the words below in one way or another; either you have read it through an email from your friends or you may have read from somewhere else. However, how many of us have actually stopped, really thought and taken a moment to reflect on what were shared in these words. These words were attributed to Erma Bombeck who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life humorously from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s. Bombeck also published 15 books, most of which became best-sellers.

Lets take a moment to imagine our life is already at its end but we are given another chance to have our life to live over again starting today. How would we live it differently?

If I had my Life to Live Over by Erma Bombeck

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more “I love you’s”.. More “I’m sorrys” …

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.

How many of us had been through similar situation like this? How did you handle it? Were you as upset and disturbed too? I believe that most of us had been through similar situation at one point or another. As much as we do not want to, there will be times when the words of others will make us doubt ourselves; doubting if we can really achieve what we set in our mind to achieve, doubting if we are good enough, and to the extend of believing in what the others are saying.

The night when she was relating her experience with me, she asked me to share my feeling about the incidence she had that day. I told her, “I have just one thing to share with her.” I heard Abraham Lincoln speaking to me and I shared one of his many quotations with her. “I am not bothered by what others say about me as long as I know they do not speak the truth of me.”

Such simple truth and yet it could be hard to grasp at time. I have shared this quotation with family and friends who were caught in similar situation like the girl countless times. Every time I shared it, it also served as a gentle reminder to myself. We cannot always control what others are saying but we can always control or rather choose how we want to feel or react to what others are saying. They have the right to speak their mind but we have every reason to guard our mind against any negativity. The mind is our single most valuable asset. Empowering ourselves, especially our mind is very important.

You may ask me, “What if they are speaking the truth of me?” I would be glad if others point out my ‘blind spots.’ It would give me an opportunity to reflect upon them and to change if there is a need to. This gives us a chance to improve ourselves and to be a better being.