Dans Blog

Pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice.

// March 3rd, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Life

It is inevitable that in the this world of personal triumphs and failures we will need to undergo darkness—pain—in order to reveal happiness. But at the same time, who said that we have to go through years of pain and darkness? Almost all happy, exciting moments arrive after some sort of sad or dark event, no matter how small it is or how stressful it may have been.

When you feel pain, accept that that experience is really helping you. The pain has a purpose. In the same way that a woman accepts that going through childbirth and accepts that pain will bring the blessing—will bring the baby, will bring that gift to this world—you are not going to skip that process. You want to go through it. If you fight the pain, you are fighting the happiness that is bound to come.

Think of a point in time when you were most happiest. Did you have to fight your way for that feeling? Was it stressful? Did you go through some mental or physical pain? For me, it was when I graduated, more recently, and feeling like I am on top of the world! Feeling all happy, all proud. That ultimate feeling wouldn’t have been discovered unless I went through the pain of studying my ass off in my schoolwork. Of course I could have taken the easy way out and not do the homework, but then I would have suffered the consequences. Suffering is a choice, and I refused to take it. I dealt with the mental pain and overcame it, learned many lessons throughout the experience – hard work pays off, dedication, commitment, determination, self- discipline, etc…and felt a great sense of accomplishment. Can true happiness reach its peak without ever experiencing pain?

There are many lessons in life that come with pain, and the longer it takes for us to find these lessons, the longer we suffer. Within pain there is information … there is wisdom … there is intelligence that sooner or later will push us towards the wakeup call of growth and change. I believe with every painful experience, there is a lesson that is to be learned, and as a reward we feel a great sense of happiness and accomplishment.

An Audience of One

// February 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Life, Music

What I really like about Rise Against is how their songs relate to so many situations in life. The title Audience of One, comes from the idea that the President controls the country…how the citizens are the audience of “one” person and of one body of government. I think this refers to when George Bush was the president…how everything seemed to be go fine, then shit started to go downhill….will Obama be the same?

“Identities assume us
As nine and five add up,
Synchronizing watches
To the seconds that we lost”

This is saying how life is now a job and its sucks that we cant go back to the things we used to do before we had responsibility. The innocence and freedom is gone and now the person in this song is lonely and wishing things were different.

This also relates to life when guys get girlfriends and blow off their friends. Then when the girlfriend leaves your life you realized how much you missed out with your friends…to the seconds you lost with your friends and other opportunities you missed out on, not only because you worked too much, but also because you spent too much time with your girlfriend.

“We cruised along at half speed
But then we shifted gears”

You and your girlfriend / boyfriend are together and everything goes well, then all of a sudden it all goes downhill. I think this has happened to almost everyone. Those who know when you drive downhill or uphill, you need to change gears because the car works harder.

“But you ran away
Now all my friends are gone”

Ever had a friend who pretty much only spent time with their girlfriend or boyfriend? We all do. And then all of a sudden they breakup and they suddenly they want to be your friend again? At first you may remove them from your social circle, but you will soon realize they made a mistake and become friends with them again… Think about this next time you date, don’t forget your friends because they will always be there!

“I brought down the sky for you but all you did was shrug
You gave my emptiness a name”

I like this lyric because it can relate both to everyday life and to military life.

How often do you feel like you tried your hardest and nobody noticed? How often was somebody else’s reaction to something you’ve done not what you hoped for. How did you feel? Sad? Depressed?

In the military world, this is what a typical soldier may feel. Of course the military leaders expect you to “eliminate the enemy”, but a soldier may have killed someone and was expecting praise maybe afterwards but all he felt was emptiness, depression, and regret.

“We’re all ok, until the day we’re not The surface shines, while the inside rots We raced the sunset and we almost won We slammed the brakes, but the wheels went on”

• This is about as true as it gets. On the outside we act  just fine, but on the inside we are terrified of growing up and thinking we will be a failure.
• We raced the sunset and we almost won means that life is going by too quickly and the sunset happens before we can accomplish our goals in life.
• We slammed the brakes, but the wheels went on:  is an amazing metaphor simply meaning : you can try to put ‘growing up’ on hold but growing up is something that you can’t stop or even slow down.

Sometimes it’s best to take your time…

// February 3rd, 2010 // 8 Comments » // Advice, Life

Remember the last time you rushed something and the outcome didn’t turn out the way you expected? Sometimes we need to give ourselves some extra time to ensure we are satisfied. Do you remember a homework assignment that you wish you would have spent more time on? I sure do, but now I take my time on the things I do. I like to live a cool, calm lifestyle, which is ironic in this fast-paced world we live in. Just try it out. Do things slow. What’s the need to rush things? Chances are you’ll regret it later and wish you would have thought things through or spent more quality time…

Destiny vs Coincidence

// February 1st, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Life

Destiny: The predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events

Coincidence: An event that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.

This got me thinking, is there such thing as destiny? Or is coincidence and destiny one and the same?

Destiny, I always thought it was just chance, it just so happened that you took one of the many paths at that precise moment in life. It’s about decisions we make, our intuitive feelings that have been genetically engineered by our ancestors. On a side note, in recent years, parents are now able to manipulate their babies DNA to correspond to their desires. It is possible to pick eye and hair color, along with discovering the possibility of certain diseases. By doing so, are humans playing the role of god? Or are we simply, eliminating the possibility of chance of any sort of disease or problems? If god is the alpha and the omega. You know, the begining and the end, that would mean god knows what has passed and what is to come — like it states in the bible. Then why do people pray and think it will make any difference? You can’t change destiny, right? That is to say if destiny exists, you can’t change it. But if it doesn’t exist, then it’s up to you to change your life and take control. I believe the future is in your hands, don’t let someone or something tell you what to do. You control your future.

This also got me thinking about love. Is love destiny or coincidence? Can two people really be “made for each other”? Can someone have the 100% perfect biological match for someone else in world? If so, by meeting that person was it destiny or chance? These are all questions that raise discussion and everyone has their own thoughts.  Destiny, in my opinion, is like a ‘perfect-fit’. I hear so often about these relationships that say “oh they were destined to be with one another”. Pffft.  Then why do so many marriages end up in divorce? I think it’s fair to say that nobody is destined to get a divorce. Is it that love is found by chance, then it’s up to destiny to see if things were meant to be? Or is it that love is found by chance and it takes hard work and dedication to keep the relationship going, putting luck or chance off to the side…

These words: fate, destiny, karma, coincidence do they exist? Or is it up to each individual person to decide the outcome of life?

You mean the world to somebody.

// January 29th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Life

You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world.

In the grand scheme of things, your actions might seem insignificant but its important that you do them because it can help the greater good or people that you have no connection with. Think for a second, when was the last time you donated to a charity? It may be that you had no connection with the person on the other end – the person who needed your help. If you did donate recently, you, from that person’s shoes, meant the world to them. If only more people did the same…I donated to Doctors Without Borders and  you should too! People in Haiti need your support!

Perspective is a curious thing…
Some seek to be something to everyone
Some seek to be someone to everything
But sometimes, all it takes is to be someone for just that special person…someone whom you love.

Love is a splendid feeling that makes men act irrational. Love includes finding happiness inspired by someone and even making that person the center of your personal universe. If you truly love someone that person will become your world. And that’s why you mean the world for someone. Love. Powerful stuff. Worth more than anything on Earth.