Oust Worry and Fear

One relevant characteristic of the human nature is to think ahead. It is an important feature because it allows you to make plans, to decide on your priorities, to arrange all you need in order to meet your responsibilities. In a nutshell, it helps you to organize your life. And this is wise because, as you wouldn't venture on an unknown road without knowing where we are supposed to go, in the same way you cannot proceed along the path of your life without a goal, without a purpose. The problem arises when such endeavor worries you too much, to the point of making you prey of fear. Extreme preoccupation with a task to be carried out, with a plan to be made, or with your 'destiny' in general, gives rise to fear. Such dread is the main cause of frustration. Wouldn't you like to avoid all this and enjoy your daily life? You can, if you just take a step at the time, remembering that worry makes things neither better nor easier. On the contrary! 

Life As Art

Artists know what they want to express in their work: a painter has a clear idea of the images he wants to paint, a sculptor sees his new statue in his mind's eyes, a musician hears in his mind's ears the music he is about to compose. Also human beings create a sort of 'art' throughout their existence. Life, in fact, is like a canvas that is being painted every instant. The interesting thing, though, is that human beings do not know what the final picture will be. Life is art, and each individual is the painter. They create their personal way of being day by day but, although they might believe they "know" what the final picture will look like, they can never be certain. Only Life knows. It's what is called your 'fate'. It is not pre-determined because it is the way you think, feel, behave, and act that creates your daily experiences. Therefore, do your best with the colors you have at your disposal, and then trust in what you will see when you are finished 'painting'. 

Exploration vs. Hesitation

If you watch a bird in its natural habitat, you will notice that it flies from one branch to another, stopping briefly on each, before finding the one it chooses to sit on for a longer time. It makes you think of some human beings who move from one idea to another, from one belief to another, from one 'leader' to another, but without seemingly never finding the one they want to stay with. Checking out on how to proceed before making a decision or a commitment is certainly wise. Nevertheless, while birds spend their whole life flying about, because that is their nature, for sensible human beings things should be different. It's smart to evaluate new ideas, explore different ways, look into diverse ideologies, but not forever. Whoever does so will be like a flamingo standing on one leg. The only difference is that such position is natural as well as temporary for a flamingo, while for a human being chronic indecisiveness might end up crippling their life.  *

Clouds and Dreams

You look at the sky and see some clouds drifting about, like sails on the sea. One attracts your attention: its shape is still undefined but it is slowly changing. Little by little, blown by the wind, it starts to take a clearer form. Now you can see it well: it's horse! Yes, it's a perfect horse, with mane, tail and all. But it does not stay so for long. Its contours change and the cloud is transformed into something else. Now you see a car, then an alligator, in a couple of minutes you believe you see a teddy bear, till the wind pushes the cloud too far for you to detect other shapes. Actually, it seems it si dissolving, but you are not sure. Interestingly enough, your dreams follow the same pattern. When you are very young you have no clear vision of what you want your future to be like. Eventually, it all becomes clear, and you make your definite choice. But, as time goes by, circumstances may become different and, as a consequence, your initial plans undergo a change. So, you make another choice and possibly - later on - a different one. Until...

A Frog Story

An old story says: If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, the frog will immediately jump up and out, but if you put the frog in a pot of cold water, and slowly heat it up, the frog will get so accustomed to the heat that it will not realize it is boiling to death. A sad story indeed. Doesn't it make you think of what is happening to our society? The media present to you "bad" news every day, all the time: crime, deceit, shootings, dishonesty, lies, immoral facts and images, fighting, cruelty, injustice... Little by little, you are being desensitized towards the horror of such happenings, and are slowly brought to accept them as 'normal'. But they are not 'normal'. Yes, they happen, and maybe it's a truth that must be told, but it's the way they are presented that makes people indifferent, even cynical. Luring sensationalism is the culprit. Once you start considering as habitual and acceptable any aberrant occurrence, moral and ethics become obsolete. When moral and ethics become obsolete, minds and consequently life really start changing, and certainly not for the better.

Whatever!

An octogenarian got his second university degree. To the interviewer who asked him, "Why did you take a second degree at 80?", he answered, "For the  same reason I took the first one when I was 25. I was interested in the subject." After smiling at his wit, a deep wisdom can be detected under this humorous answer, an answer that may be useful to folks of all ages. Keeping active, being cheerful and, most of all, always remaining interested in something seem to be the best ways to face the twilight of life. Losing interest, becoming indifferent or careless are features that afflict people of all ages, though. An expression that seems very popular is "Whatever!", uttered with a bored expression. Although it may be referred to a particular situation or conversation, it also indicates a specific attitude: indifference, carelessness. And this is quite revealing of someone's character. It has been proven that any trait (especially negative) that a person has when young, will be magnified in their old age. Therefore...Beware!

One 100th of a Second

Are you one of those who believe only in what they can see, in what they can experience through their own senses? If your answer is 'yes', you are a materialist, your life is based on practical experiences only. But... beware of "blind" beliefs because thoughtless reliance on material sensations only can be misleading. In this world there are certain facts that are undeniably true, although they cannot be "experienced". Think about sport races. Sometimes the winner is decided by one hundredth of a second. Are you able to even imagine such a tiny amount of time? Or the speed of light? You cannot, as you cannot actually imagine the size of an atom. But...they are a reality! At the same time, you may also be convinced of the existence of "stuff" - that others are eager to make you believe for their own benefit - which does not really exist. Therefore...prudence and alertness are always helpful while proceeding on the path of life.