Posted on May 20, 2013 under Attitude, Be the change that you want to see, Choices in Life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dream, Education, Inspiration, Life, Loving Kindness, Loving Thoughts, Meaning in Life, Peace, Racial Harmony, Reflection, Respect |
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“… in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” These words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ring strongly in my head recently and in this very moment as I am writing this. And this will live with me as one of my key principles in life, ‘No person should ever be judged – we shouldn’t even be judging anyone in the first place – by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.‘
Change must come from each and every one of us … and very importantly also, through the daily education of our young ones. However, we can preach all we want to the young ones, as long as we are showing otherwise, they will not do what we have preached; very simply put, “Why should I be doing that which you are asking me to do when you yourself are not doing it?”
Thus, the reason why I said that ‘Change must come from each and every one of us.’ In order to do that, shouldn’t we be watching our thoughts? The thoughts will form our actions which will translate to our speeches and the things we do. Purifying the heart with love, understanding, respect, and goodness of people and our actions will be that of love, understanding, respect, and goodness. As we sow, so shall we reap. To be honest, this is not gonna be easy and many of us will fail badly in the first attempt but we’ll get better.
Why should we be doing this? No one wants history to repeat itself; I’m sure you can find, through Google, numerous cases of social unrest in history when there was no racial harmony. Whether we like it or not, this does not affect only us, this goes on to affect our younger generation and for many generations to come.
In actual fact, we not not very different from each other. Today, will be the day we look upon another as the same as we are. Think about it, the person in front of us, could be just another’s grandparent or parent or uncle or aunt or brother or sister or friend …. just as we could be someone’s grandparent or parent or uncle or aunt or brother or sister or friend?
Today, let us join our hands to be part of that change to bring racial harmony to the world starting right there – in our hearts.
Do you also share this dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
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Posted on Apr 24, 2013 under Attitude, Choices in Life, Dealing with Adversity, Inspiring, Life, Patience, Perseverance, poem, Possibility, Ralph Marston, Reflection, Words of Encouragement |
‘Possibility‘ is a wonderful and inspiring poem by Ralph Marston. Indeed, there are many possibilities around us and yet some of us choose to see otherwise. Something which I always say, “a coin has two sides“; there are always good and bad in something. The choice is which side do we choose to focus on. Earl Nightingale said, “We become what we think about.”
As the saying goes, ‘As we sow, so shall we reap’ … and this is the same truth of the thoughts we put in our minds. The mind doesn’t care what we put inside, it is our choices what we choose to put inside. But what we put into our mind, it must return back to us. If we constantly put negative thoughts into our mind, we will get negative results in our life and if we put positive thoughts into our mind, yes, we get positive results. And thus the ‘possibility’ when we look at a seed; some will see the becoming of a forest and some will just hold on to that one precious seed. In the end, the seed doesn’t even get a chance to be planted.
I hope this poem by Ralph Marston will inspire to see the possibility in life too.
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Possibility by Ralph Marston
In the seed, there is a forest waiting to grow.
On the artist’s canvas, a masterpiece is waiting to be painted.
In the engineer’s workstation,
a technical breakthrough is waiting to be developed.
Everywhere there is possibility.
Every moment of every life is filled with possibilities,
and the next moment as well.
Every problem has a possible solution.
Every goal has a possibility of achievement.
Right now, right this moment,
your life has possibilities that you never even considered.
Possibilities you can follow to overcome the challenges you face.
Possibilities that can bring joy and fulfilment.
There is a pathway leading to wherever you want to go.
All you need to do is find it and start the journey.
Today does not have to be like yesterday.
There are plenty of other possibilities.
Consider your possibilities. Follow your possibilities.
Open yourself to what could be, and make it so.
Photo by Neal Fowler
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Couldn’t have said it better than Ingrid Newkirk when she said, “If we are ever to halt climate change and conserve land, water and other resources, not to mention reduce animal suffering, we must celebrate Earth Day every day – at every meal.”
The significant of Earth day is not in the day itself but a reminder to us that every day is Earth Day and the day as part of our living habits – in our way of life.
Photo Credit: Tanveer Iqbal
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Posted on Mar 28, 2013 under Affection, Caffe sospeso, Compassion, Daily Blessings, Giving, Happiness, Information, Inspiring, Kindness, Life, Random Kindness, Suspended coffee |
Social media is truly wonderful; just caught a fabulous idea this morning which I really really love. Apparently, if you can’t afford to have a cup of coffee and you happen to be in Naples, Italy’s southern city, you could be blessed with one from good souls who had paid in advance for one or several coffees without drinking them. The extra coffee goes to the next customer who asks, ‘Do you have a suspended coffee?’ This caffe sospeso (suspended coffee) tradition originated from Naples, have since spread to more than 150 cafes across Bulgaria. I certainly hope that the love can spread further to other cafes and restaurants in the world.
Below was the story I read this morning:
We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re approaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter:
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’ They pay for their order, take the two and leave.
I ask my friend: “What are those ‘suspended’ coffees?”
My friend: “Wait for it and you will see.”
Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers – three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square in front of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in through the door and kindly asks
‘Do you have a suspended coffee ?’
It’s simple – people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who cannot afford a warm beverage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwich or a whole meal.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such cafés or even grocery stores in every town where the less fortunate will find hope and support? If you own a business why don’t you offer it to your clients … I am sure many of them will like it.
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