Something To Think About

by Elline
There are so many moments in our lives which we take for granted. Often times we do not pay enough attention to the very beautiful details which come along with it. So many times have we failed to appreciate the gentle touch of our loved ones and the sweet smiles from their faces, as we often forget to say thank you for the many things that we enjoy.  Our eyes blink so much that we fail to see the beauty of life and the treasures that we are endowed with. 

When was the last time, have you said thank you to your partner, parent, brother, sister, spouse, lover or friend? When was the last time, have you smiled back to the person who just greeted you good morning, good afternoon or good night? When was the last time have you appreciated the sweet kiss of your daughter or son after they said ‘I love you’? Perhaps you do not remember, perhaps you have forgotten.

Appreciating life at all times could be a job that needs work but it is the only thing you have got when you have lost so many things. There are so many sad stories, sad movies, tragic endings and downfalls told everyday on the television and yours could just be one of them. Getting up after falling down is difficult but it is all worth it, for all those people you love and love you unconditionally. They deserve all that love back for so much they have given.

            Our Quest for Survival and Realizing Reality

Surviving this world needs skill and endurance. We survive because we were trained to do so. Our parents are our first teachers; and of course our school teachers come next. Whatever we have learned from them, about life and our life experiences, has a great effect and impact on the way we will live our lives and how we survive the struggles we face in this wild world.

As soon as we were conceived by our parents, we struggle to live in our mom’s womb and later have our bodies fight against illness and the harsh realities of life. As children we struggle to graduate from pre-school, grade school, high school and as young adults, college. We make the effort to pass each school subject and be amicable with our friends, parents, brothers and sisters. We work at keeping the home peaceful and try to make every memory happy if we could. However, this is not how reality is. 

Reality is not always peaceful. It is not always happy and full of joy. Reality is a combination of what is peaceful and happy, garnished with turbulence, loneliness, sadness, anger and disruption. It is not constant and it is what we struggle with everyday. Reality is light and dark, night and day, love and hate. It is a package of what is positive and negative. It is what makes life a struggle because these opposites always come together. This is what we are faced with everyday; and we have to understand that this is fact.

We struggle to have peace in every battle and war. We fight to find love in hate and we hope everyday to see the bright light after darkness. We make great efforts to have happiness and joy to break away from sadness and loneliness. This is what we do to live and survive reality every day. But looking at it differently, these struggles just mean that darkness, war, hate or anger, sadness, loneliness are all just temporary because reality also comes with light, peace, love, happiness, and joy. Whatever negativity that comes our way, it is definitely coupled with something positive. There is always a beautiful and bright rainbow after a terrible storm or rainfall.

Standing up After Several Falls: Trials and Test

We break and fall apart. We are mere humans and we experience a downfall once or more in our lifetime. However, this should not make us give up and forget everything because there are people who need us and long for our love. With life, is a responsibility which we have for those who love us, depend on us, need us and want us. This is an unwritten contract we have with these people and they have on us.

People around us make us belong to a family and a community. And every day we, our family and our community, are faced with trials and tests. When every individual in the family is put to tests and struggles with the realities we are faced, every day we find solutions for these problems. Every day we exert effort to solve tribulations. Our ability to come up with the best solutions helps us move forward in the game of life and survive another day.   

When we break, a part of the world we live falls apart. Ties and bonds may break and trust may be lost. But we should not lose hope despite the losses we had when we fell apart. Hope is the one thing which will get us out of the deep and dark murky pit of despair and hopelessness. Get up after a fall. Stand up again and be ready to face every blow that reality will send your way.

Remember that these are just trials and tests. Get used to them because they come day in and day out. They are part of life and be always ready to face them. No matter where you go or where you hide, they will always find you but they should not surprise you and stun you in anyway.  Learn to anticipate them and always have a solution and answer for them. Being excellent with this craft will let you pass each day easily, smoothly without inhibition and happily with hope.

Dealing with Irrationality

There are times when the joke is on us. We are faced with unexpected tragedies which we have to live with. Losing homes due to calamities, losing love ones due to illnesses without cure; realities which make our world irrational and seemingly like with little hope. Our ability to withstand these calamities, as rational individuals, is a survival instinct which helps us on our way to standing up to rebuild our homes and find ways and means to feed ourselves and make efforts to recover from our losses.

Irrational thoughts may plague us at times and may sometimes break the best friendships apart and destroy beautiful relationships. Our mind and body may not always be at its best and we can only control so much of what we do when we are physically and mentally all right. But when our health is affected, then our control over the things around us is lessened and our ability to withstand troubles and ordeals is diminished. We may make unforeseen mistakes and make poor decisions at these times. Giving us more reasons to think and re-think our decisions before making them. If there is doubt in your mind, then it is worth thinking over.

Reasoning with an irrational person is something difficult. How can you deal with someone who is irrational with rationality? Would they accept your rational ideas in the face of their irrational ones? Making them realize that their idea is irrational in the first place is a challenge. If you are able to do so, then you should congratulate yourself. Even excellent psychiatrists are not able to reason with their patients in one session or more. If you could twist an irrational persons arm to becoming rational, you will be making a big difference if not a miracle.

          Life is a Mix of What is Positive and Negative 

Facing reality and making the future look bright is a challenge indeed. It would take tons of effort, sweat, blood and tears to make each day a happy or a good one. Every day is a struggle to make each day peaceful, filled with joy, hope and love.

Keeping the fire of life alive in your heart is a challenge that we are given and a treasure to cherish. Life is a gift and a commitment to a world we live in as we are alive. It is a treasure which has so much potential if we take care of it well. It is a beautiful endowment which the natural world has provided us with to play along with the rest of the creatures of the earth and the universe. It is like a star in the universe which sparks with its light in the living world.

No matter how dark the night in our lives is, there will always be brightness when the morning and daytime comes. Despite the troubles and the tribulations we are faced with, there are always solutions and answers to resolve them.

Reality is a mix of the positive and negative, and life is. Enjoy life by having these opposites mix and you will cherish the beauty of it all as they fuse. Have a dose of each every day, and you will realize how to appreciate each day with a smile. As a saying says, 'live life everyday like it was your last' and love each moment like you never have.