You Are Bigger Than Your Problem

All of us go through our mishaps, heartaches, and problems. No one is exempt from any difficulty in life, not even the actors, religious people, or kind-hearted persons, they also have their fair share of hardship.

The past can be cruel to some, most opt to bury it. Little do we know that the problems that we face and we will face come from our past. No matter how many feet they were buried underground those memories will always stay there. Remember when people say “Do not mind your problem, let it mind you”?  It is one of those comforting words we tell ourselves along with “This too shall pass”. But those who ignore their problems aren't living in reality, but they prefer to stay in their own fantasy. Your life is not a Disney fairy tale.  You’re not a Damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armor. If you are placed in such situation how prepared are you to face such challenges? We should be always on the lookout for problems, do not go commando and find it, surely it will come to you someday and when it comes, don't hide and flee but face it front and don't let it overcome you. It is you that must overcome the problem.

Fact is problems don’t just bid goodbye when they feel that you can’t handle them, they stick around you, they don’t go away. Act on it the moment it arrives, deal with it immediately but always keep in mind that you don’t have to carry all that bulk in your shoulder, some problems you alone cannot solve. You’ll need help, don’t let your pride stand before you, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Do not try to change things that you cannot change, you might end up tired running in your self-made thread mill that will lead you nowhere. Life is not a fairy tale, problems are here and there, and after you finish one another will pop out. If you are tired of this burden, others can help but the final decision will always rest in your hands.

Image: Osmar Schindler (1869-1927): David und Goliath

Update: Featured article on Definitely Filipino

Mixtape: City Lights Awake

The sun came and went. As the night falls upon us, the city lights awake. The streets are absolutely full. Parents are on a frenzy, they can't wait to see their children. A group of women clad in their minis and stilletos walked passed by while discussing which bar to spend their hardly earned money to and behind them are a handful of men in tux eyeing them. A young couple accidentally bumped you while they were giddily walking hand in hand as if this night was theirs to own. People from all walks of life are here on the streets, living in their own world with their own priorities and goals in life. But for you work was no better than yesterday and all you're thinking is a nice dinner before crashing the couch and fall asleep.

Everything is a blur, you stop for a while and find yourself in a movie-like state where everything is moving fast forward while you're rooted on the spot. The city lights seem to dance and jump from building to building, to street lights, post lights, then to car lights. You never do this often, appreciate beauty in every aspect of life. It was trance-like. It felt childish, but you are amazed. 

Freewill

Somehow even how carefree we think we are we still adapt to certain beliefs and philosophies. Every individual has their own sets of beliefs and ideals, it may be acquired by the nature of his growth or the nurture of his being. I simply wonder how can I acquire or be influenced?

The system, as a body of legislation have the power even in the minds of people. Politicians and legislators speak out their voices and appeal to appease every individual’s vote or approval by instilling their ways of teaching. With the use of  print, tv, radio, and internet, one can easily be the influencer or influencee. The school, the second home we always thought of as a platform for our young children to gain exposure to the world, to know what is in the world, and a tool to be educated about life by learning what is to be learned in every corner of the room. The peers, little they may be on numbers or not they have the ability to influence us with their own way and in time unnoticed we are unconsciously living up to their ways. And must one not forget the family, the basic unit of the community, the primary people we grow up with, the very initiators of our thinking, the primes that mold us, shape us and eye-openers of the sets of our  ideals and thinking. We have thousands of choices and sub-choices ahead of us. Seeing that you are still reading this is a choice that you chose instead of watching TV. It is what we choose that matters most. 

Freewill is dangerous to every extent, but using it is when we fully utilize the power of our humanity, of our life. We are not bound to fate and destinies. We are what we make of ourselves. It is our decisions that will make or break us. So now tell me which is which? Does it matter given the factors of how can we be molded affect our thinking if we in our own selves behave as individuals asserting our freewill in every decision and choice to make. Ceteris Paribus it is not society nor the system that has power over us but us, we are the captains of our ships, the molders of our lives and the threaders of our fate.

Rainy Days Mixtape

Here’s to the nights when you come home from a hard day’s work. The rain starts to pour hard and you get irritated by the raindrops knocking on your window pane. Suddenly it's cold and freezing yet surprisingly calm and relaxing. The rain keeps knocking over and over, scratching the window with its pointy ends, as if calling you to come nearer.

You come closer and sit beside the window. You were mesmerized with the pouring rain. Suddenly the window sill became a shoulder to lean on. You begin to look back on what you did that day, and the day before, and the day before that, then weeks, and years before that. Then it got touchy walking down on memory lane, so you start to think of the future. What would happen tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that, and years ahead. It was even more tiring thinking of things yet to come. Now all you want to do is keep your mind blank and enjoy the scenery of mysterious patterns provided by these raindrops.

Keep Growing, Keep Living

They say life happens when we step out of our comfort zone. Having an educational diploma does not guarantee satisfaction. Life doesn’t stop after college. It keeps going on even after marriage or your 40’s. Life is an on-going process. You may be roaming this earth for a long time and feel satisfaction and contentment. But don’t be deceived life isn’t what you perceive it is. In this day in age we discover new information everyday, every hour, every minute. There are new fashion trends, newly found diseases, new actors, new scandals, fresh picks in the market. Learning doesn’t stop at school. Everyday is a learning day. Every minute is a miracle. Growth isn’t just how much you weigh or how high you are. It’s more in the inside of you, more personal. The 13 year old you is a lot different than the present you today. A lot of things have changed, the way you speak, your humor, your style, your attitudes... But as a person you evolved to maturity. You now see the world in a different perspective. Even if you’re 40 or in your 80's life isn’t done with you.  

People who feel okay and stay their ground all the time are the most uncooperative people. They just stay where they are, where they feel they are safe. They stay in their comfort zone because they are too afraid of the world ahead. Do not stick to the one that is just safe and sound for you. At first change could be hard but it could be for the better.

Image: Journey 2