Possible Change

Imagine yourself as a judge who must make their judgement known. After examining the way you have lived up to now, you should be able to give your verdict relevant to the question “How do I judge my own life?”. Think about the crucial points in your existence such as childhood, family, school, friends, job(s), relationships. In spite of the natural ups and downs of circumstances or situations, a general ‘thread’ seems to link them all. Therefore, do you see your life as more fulfilling or more disappointing? In either case, you might wish to make some changes. Thus, identify the specific areas where you think an adjustment could be beneficial, and ask yourself, “Do I believe in my capability of making any changes in my life?”. If your answer is yes, devise the best way to do it. That's all.

Self-Improvement

People usually see faults and flaws in others, rarely in themselves. Rather than following their intuition, whose ‘voice’ is thinner and gets easily covered up by a louder one, they listen to their instinct and believe that everything they think, say and do is correct. But… is it so? Is it always? You, too, may believe you are always right but, as you certainly aren’t, you might accept the idea of ‘improvement'. Examine yourself in depth and see if you think that such improvement could be beneficial. If you don't see any need, though, it means that you believe you are 'perfect' (in which case you are deceiving yourself!). But if you are more objective and realize that there is always a need for getting better, it's up to you to make the final decision, and act upon it.

The Value of Words

Too many people, nowadays, tend to minimize the importance of the words they utter. Sometimes they want to appear to know more than they actually do. Other times they are angry and feel the need to “express their feelings”, so they don't care about how they express themselves. It also happens that  some individuals say things they don't mean or  'give their word' but don' keep it. In this way, they show that they don't attribute any value to what they say. The language you use should be considered 1. as a precious gift because it makes you able to communicate with those who are in your life, 2. as a fantastic tool that allows you to put your thoughts, ideas, feelings, creativity etc. into sounds that make others participate in your sharing. Shouldn’t you be grateful, thoughtful and, most of all, careful about how you make use of it?

A Slight Blemish

Some people are used to seeing the world “in back”, i.e. focusing mainly on the negative aspects of life. They look in the mirror, see a slight blemish on their skin (a spot, a scar, a wrinkle) and, instead of accepting it as a characteristic of their face (that others might even find attractive because it makes them special), they insist in considering it a flaw. They convey their attention on trying to hide it or eliminate it, no matter what. Does this happen to you? If it does, you might consider opening your eyes and change your perspective. If you look at things as they really are, you also understand that what appears to you as a disagreeable reality is just “what is”. It becomes important only if you make the choice to consider it as such. Most probably your fellow human beings whose judgment you are afraid of, have not even noticed what worries you so much. If you just relax, life becomes much easier, less stressful and definitely more pleasant.

What the World Needs

In a short movie made by young students, a boy says: Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes "you" happy. The world needs people who are happy. Words to be pondered, aren't they? If you are not happy (= serene, contented, fulfilled), you cannot have a positive attitude and create a positive atmosphere around you. To be 'happy', though, you need to find out what can make you so. This means that you must endeavor to discover your passion, what you really want to do. It is not always easy. Too many conditionings, solicitations, stimuli can make you unable to hear what your deeper self tries to tell you. The lure of success, money etc. can easily convince you to accept compromises that you believe can grant you all you need to be happy. Beware!

Meaning of Words

So, what does the word ‘homeland’ mean? Does it really represent the place able to move the soldier’s feelings of love and tenderness? What does the word 'love' really mean? Is it a feeling deep tenderness, affection, intimacy, desire to make another happy?Or are these words just a mixture of sounds that, by themselves, do not mean anything and have no real connection to the actual “thing” they are expected to describe? Words have taken a meaning that seems to be so independent that they are often an end to themselves. Many people, in fact, just love to hear the sound of their voices, they enjoy listening to themselves talk. It is possible that you (and each one of us) have committed this little “sin” from time to time, i.e. you talk for the sake of talking and not because you really have something to say or, at least, something meaningful. Unless you have a truly useful idea to express or a pleasant word to utter, it would maybe be better to remain silent. 

'Homeland'

We believe that, since prehistoric times, language was invented for the need to communicate, that is to express ideas and describe real objects by means of sounds. Human beings wished therefore to represent the world of thought and of matter that surrounded them. A long road has been walked upon since then in the way people use to communicate with each other. But… has all this brought them to a greater “understanding”? Do words always mean something? Here is a funny - explanatory - anecdote: A soldier was kept prisoner in the enemy camp. One day they told him that he would be taken to the border so that he could see his homeland that was lying beyond the barrier. When the soldier reached the spot, he was greatly moved and thought, “How wonderful is my homeland. Those are the villages, the fields and trees that I love!”  A little later, one of the guards approached him and said, “Sorry, friend, we made a mistake. Your homeland is a few kilometers away.”

Circumstances

When you think about the circumstances of your life, would you say that, up to now, they have been more positive or negative? Positive circumstances are those moments where you felt you had the chance to improve your situation, to express your feelings, to put your skills into practice, to make yourself heard and listened to. They were the times when you felt you were acknowledged, appreciated, loved, when you realized you “belonged”, when you made friends who were good for you. Negative circumstances are exactly the contrary of the above situations. It might be hard to remember these but it might also be rewarding and encouraging while assessing the situation. 

Beauty

Someone wrote: “Beauty is not a thing. It’s a way of looking at things”. Your problem as a human being is that you are always looking for “something”. You are practical, you live in a material world, therefore you must deal with things. When you look at a painting, you need to say “This painting is beautiful”, meaning that the colors are artistically blended, that the images are perfectly shaped, that the expressions on the faces of the people portrayed are natural. What you usually fail to “see” is the deep meaning behind the painting. You stop at the surface, you are contented with what your eyes see when you look at an art piece or what your ears hear when you listen to a symphony. Only when you succeed in going beyond what appears, can you understand and experience absolute beauty.  When you are able to admire a sunset, when you are in awe before a multicolored tree in the fall or a leaf wandering in the wind, when your soul is filled with wonder, your spirit is lifted to metaphysical heights. Beauty is everywhere and it can be found in art masterpieces, in nature wonders, as well as in the smallest or simplest 'whatever', if only human beings could learn how to really look.

Of Dreams and Beliefs

As dreams seem real while you are asleep, you experience all the feelings and emotions related to what is “happening”. The instant you wake up, though, you realize that everything took place only in your mind. Could it be the same in relation to what will happen after you leave this plane of existence? Most spiritual doctrines say it is. How do you feel about it? It is certainly not easy to have a definite opinion, a true belief in such esoteric considerations. Anyway, what is  a 'belief'? Is it something that you can 'create', one way or another, or is it something that just 'happens', independently from your will? Do you have total power of decision or certain things are as independent from your will as dreams?