Life Improvement Tips For The Wise Few

Just one more day for Christmas, and I know most of you have been in full swing, buying gifts, shopping and preparing the menu for that big dinner.

I myself has been to Marigot, that’s the capital on the French Side of Sint. Maarten. There I got my sweet potatoes, ginger, pumpkin and yam to make my sweet potato pudding. Another surprising thing that took place this year, is that Alex Jr. did all the mixing, and of course I did all the grating… yes, my finger tips are missing. I also bought two new baking pans, to test and the one I chose made the ends of the pudding a little stiff, but the flavor and taste is awesome. Yes, they attacked the pudding the same day it came out of the oven, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

The smell filled the streets again, and this time I went outside to verify that my pudding aroma was all over the neighborhood, and believe you me it was.

Well, tomorrow is Christmas, and I wish each and everyone a Merry Merry Christmas and a fulfilled day of eating and enjoyable day.

I have a little story I would like to share with you today, and it is something I learned while observing my five year old. It is a great lesson that we forget once we feel that we are grown up. Don’t take that statement lightly, because we are never grown up enough to not learn something from someone else. Just shows you that even a little kid can teach us, if we would only pay attention.

My little five year old came home one day and she had a party bag in her hand. She got in the house and started to unpack her party bag, it had some candies, a juice, some cookies and a skipping rope. She asked me if I would teach her to skip. Well, I got up and told her that you have to try and skip on your own, because this rope is too short for me. And I said that this rope isn’t any good for skipping. I asked my bigger daughter if she would help us and she came across, and together we tried to show her how to skip.

It just wasn’t working, my elder daughter said the same thing; “This rope isn’t good for skipping.” My daughter got mad and started to cry, she said we didn’t want to teach her. I honestly felt real bad, but I just didn’t bother to try and teach her, because I was honestly convinced that this rope was no good.

About fifteen minutes later, I saw her trying to skip with this rope, I did as if I wasn’t watching, she was moving from room to room trying to skip. My elder daughter said, that she was annoying her and she wasn’t even listening to what I just said about the rope not being good enough.

I told her to leave her alone, she will get tired and give up after a while, I then told my daughter that I would go and buy her a more firmer skipping rope tomorrow. She just did as if no one was there, and continued to try. I can’t tell you exactly for how long this went on, because we were not paying any attention to her anymore. We were actually ignoring her.

All I saw was my daughter moving forward towards the living room, she looked at me and said: Daddy, look…

My daughter took that rope and was jumping for life, she was skipping, and I was counting, she made 11 jumps without getting tangled. I was happy to see that, but she was even happier, she came over to me and I said, your skipping, give me a hug and a kiss.

What did you learn from that story?

The benefit of being a good observer is that you learn things from life while others don’t seem to picture those simple life lessons. Don’t go about your life not observing what is happening around you, there are lesson everywhere that you can learn from, learn to spot the positive things in your life. Do the same, as I did with my five year old. It can be a lesson from a grown up another child or anyone else, pay attention and truly listen and learn as you observe your life through a new lens.

Children don’t know failure, they don’t know how to quit. You, on the other hand give up just before you see success. My daughter taught me that I didn’t believe in her, and she proved me wrong. That is the way you should look at life. Prove others wrong when they don’t believe in you. Only you can decide how much you want to be successful. And, no matter what happens, just don’t give up and go with such determination as a five year old and do exactly what it is you wanted to do but has been putting off, because you were afraid to fail.

My daughter showed me that it isn’t important if who thinks you will fail or not, what is important is that you don’t believe in failure and that you will have to work harder than anyone else to get what you want. She was so convinced, she would learn to skip, that she kept at it until she did. I honestly didn’t think she could have learned how to skip with that rope. The most important point here is that you have to stop listening to others who are telling you that you can’t. Only you can decide if you can or can’t, and if you live with the option in your head that you can’t fail unless you quit. Then I don’t see how it will be possible for you to fail at whatever you attempt to achieve.

So my question to you is: Why do you quit before you are successful?

The truth is simple as this: “When you plan revenge against someone who did you wrong, your letting them hurt you all over again.” I see this often and the first response from anyone who gets hurt, is to get even, isn’t that the same reason they say, don’t fight fire with fire. You have fought enough in your youth, and you have only one fight left and that is to fight for a better life for yourself.

It makes no sense going after anyone who did you wrong, because your wasting precious moments planning evil thoughts, that only gets you into more trouble. It is easier to turn the other cheek and face that person at a later time and show them that your not afraid, and just keep out of their way. Just forget about getting even and focus on not letting anyone hurt you that way again. In other words, you have to make sure to never make that same mistake twice.

It is easier said than done, because when we are hurting the only satisfaction we can get at that moment would be to see that person hurt for what they did.

So why is there no justice in this world?

I can feel the pain of those that has been hurt before and I know that you have wondered about this yourself. Are we the makers of this universe? Do we dictate who gets hurt or what happens to them? Can we decide who lives or dies? No, No, No, and we will never ever have that kind of power. We don’t control no one, but we do control our own life and the decisions we make at any given time.

As you can see it makes absolutely no sense thinking or even planning to hurt someone. You will only be hurting yourself, especially if your a person that has ambition and goals.

You have the power to overcome anything

You have not even touched the potential that your given when you were born, and the unlimited growth that awaits you once you learn how to control your own life. It is that power that makes us do the right thing and that is to forgive and walk away and start the next day as if we have been given a new life. To anyone who has been hurt before, you have that power if you were able to get on with your life after being hurt so badly that you wanted to give up and part from this world. Don’t let anyone take that away from you, we still have to see if we can face such a pain and move on.

I always say that I had an easy life, and I do plan to keep it that way. My pains were mild compared to the pains I have seen others go through. I am thankful for that. My minor aches and pains don’t count, I honor those that can get up and face the world daily and find the strength to move on.

One thing I would like to add and that is, if you thin your pain is so bad that you can’t go on with your life, think again. There is always someone in this world that has been through worse than you, and they have found the courage and strength to move on.

If they can move on and make a better life for themselves, then I see no reason why you can’t find the strength to move on also.

Where do you find the nerves of steel in your body?

Sometimes my sub-headlines makes me smile, because I have no clue where they come from, but I just write and they show up. I know you will be smiling now also. My point is that in life we have to smile more and try to enjoy life more. You need a reason to live on and that is what gives us those nerves of steel. You have to love yourself more than anything or anyone in this world, a sort of un-dieing love. A love so strong that you won’t ever wish to hurt yourself or hurt anyone in this world. A love like the love a mother has for her new born child, that is the closest type of love I can compare this with.

In everyone’s life, you will come to a point in life where you will be dealt some hard blows, and I mean the kind that really hurts way down deep inside, right in the pit of your stomach while at the same time making your heart feel like it will explode. It is at this time that you will have to call on your un-dieing love. You will have to get the strength together to say that you love yourself more than anything in this life, and no one will take that away from you. Only that will, can and will save your day.

Getting over the pain is easier said than done

Sometime it is all chatter and less action, but at times when you are hurting we need a friend of two to listen to us. but, that on it’s own is not enough, you need the strength to go do something that will take your mind of the pain. You have to fight your own mind, and every flash of what happen, you will have to suppress.

My Mom always says: “Time heals all wounds, just give yourself time to heal.”

I do honestly believe that is true, but how do we go on, and at the same remain the person we was before the pain?

I wish that I could honestly explain you how to go on with your life after a devastating moment, but I would be fooling myself, because I have never been there and was never put into such an awkward situation that I just didn’t know what to do, or how to go on with my life.

All that I can say is that within each one of us lies that power to move on. We will have to confront such a challenge in life at least once, some people has been through that many times, they know now exactly what it takes. They are much stronger, and deals with pain on a totally different level than one who has never ever experienced any kind of hurt in their live.It can be when your Mom dies, that will also be one such a moment. We all believe that when that times come we will be able to deal with it, but the truth is we just never ever know.

Getting over your pain isn’t easy, and I do believe it is the defining moment for anyone in their life, it is the test of all times and the power hour for many. If you survive through that moment in time, you should honestly see your own strengths and know that you can overcome anything that life throws at you.

My words for that is: “When my time comes I will see how I will deal with it!”

The ones with all the answers fails such challenges

Have you ever noticed that the people who seem to always give answers to the toughest questions are the one who can seldom deal with it. You have to live life with your mind set on encountering a little disappointments. Once you plan your life that way, you will move on with much more confidence, because you always made space for things going wrong in your life. If you live your life as if your perfect, it is that attitude that sets you up for unrecoverable failure.

No one is perfect, and that is why you too must understand that things will happen in your life that you never planned for. That’s just another part of life, that you have to deal with. When things are going wrong accept them, and focus your mind on accepting these set backs as important for future growths. Don’t dwell on them, let life go on, and you adjust and make your life better with each passing day.

One question lingers in my head

As I watch and observe the things we are faced with daily, I am always asking this one question; Why do certain people have it so hard in life?

I honestly watched someone walking back to the job today, and it dawned on me, this person has no car, and they come to work on a daily basis. Why doesn’t she have a car?

I have witnessed many of my friends go through pain breaking moment one after another. Why are the plagued with pain striking moments?

I have witnessed people living so poor, that they eat rice and honey, without any type of meat. Why are they so poor?

I have seen many many things that I just keep wondering, and I know you wonder also. As I stated before in this article, you nor I am not the maker of life, we do not give nor take and to end I will add you do not make anyone rich or poor, good or bad.

Your life is what you make of it, and that is why you desire to want more out of life is what is lacking, and there is no other way you can get a better life. What movie are you watching? Your life is actually a movie, and your the star player, so why not rewrite your script and make yourself the star of a better movie, one with lots of love, happiness, health and money. Use your mind for good, and stop planning evil for others that has done you wrong, that script should be shredded, start over from the beginning if you have to, and create a movie for yourself that even I will be proud to watch.

To all those who has been hurt in the past: “You can’t change your past, but you definitely can change your future. You can’t change how you feel, but you change what your going to do about it.”