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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Novels
- Published: 06/23/2024
Introduction:
The Book of Life’s Short Stories Book 2
In life we all learn very dear lessons during our journey of life.
Some of the lessons are good, and some are bad lessons we never want to repeat.
Life’s lessons we experience from other people’s situations and our own life’s story.
These are Life’s lesson’s I have put together for all to read and hopefully to improve their journey of life. We all can benefit from just that little extra in life to keep us going and to improve our lives for ourselves and our family and friends.
In the present day everyone on this earth at one time or another needs help in one way or another.
These short stories are there as a life guide and information with some very helpful tips advice and teaching for a better life in the future for all.
Enjoy.
Short Stories:
• A Boat for All Feelings
• A Glass of Milk and a Sandwich
• Best way to Support Someone with Depression
• Cherokee Chief priceless Advice
• Coming back Home
• Dear Suicide
• Dying the Regrets
• GOD’s Wife
• How much is Your Life Worth
• Life at its Best
• My Thought for the Day
• Native American Wisdom
• Nomophobia
• Open the Eyes of my Heart
• Reminders of Life while Growing Up
• The Eagle Epiphany
• The Last Quarter of Your Life
• Set Backs and Failures
• Set an Example
• Sixty and Above
• Social Media
• Stopped by a Brick
• Success
• The Crow Comparison
• The Different cups in Life
• The King and his Servant
• The Pain of Rejection
• The Secret to Success
• Two Frogs
• The Word Love
• Thought for the Day
• Time Management
• Why Me
• Wisdom
• With age comes Wisdom
• You wake Up….Everything is Gone…
A Boat for all Feelings
Author: ©MFR
Once there was an island where all the feelings and emotions lived together.
One day a big storm from the sea was about to drown the island.
Every emotion on the island was scared, but Love made a boat to escape.
All the feelings jumped in the boat except for one sense.
Love got down to see who it was.
It was Ego.
Love tried its best to bring Ego to the boat, but Ego did not move.
Everyone asked Love to leave Ego and come in the boat, but Love was meant to Love.
It remained with Ego.
All other feelings were left alive, but Love died because of Ego.
Never let Love die because of your Ego.
A Glass of Milk and a Sandwich
Author: ©MFR
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school. He found he had only one thin penny left, and he was very hungry and thirsty.
He decided he would ask for a meal and something to drink at the next house he visited.
However, he lost his nerve when a stunning young woman opened the door at the house. He was only a boy but admired her complete beauty. So instead of a meal he asked for a simple glass of water.
The lady thought the boy looked very hungry and thirsty, so she brought him a large glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. He drank the milk slowly, ate the sandwich and then asked, with a quivering voice:
"How much do I owe you Ma’am?"
She replied:
"You do not owe me anything," the lady replied.
"My mother has taught her children never to accept money for kindness."
The boy said.....
"Then I thank you from the bottom of my small little heart."
As the boy, John Doe left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in GOD and mankind was also much stronger. He had been ready to give up and quit his quest for his future as a well-known and respected doctor and specialist.
Years later that young woman became critically ill in her small home town she lived in. The local doctors were baffled about her condition. It was a crises of note. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr John Doe was called in for the consultation, as he had grown from a doctor, to a respected specialist in the field of rare diseases.
When Dr John Doe heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light and tears filled his eyes.
That was the town where he grew up and spent all his youth in.
Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.
Dressed in his Doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. The lady with the milk and sandwich kindness.
After a full examination of her, he went back to his consultation room, determined to do his best to save her life.
From that day he gave special attention to her case every day and night. Twenty four hours was too short to help her heal.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. The lady was healed and recovering strongly in her hospital bed. Dr John Doe requested the hospital business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.
When he received the bill, he looked at it, then wrote something on the edge of the bill. The bill was then sent to her hospital room where she was recovering.
She feared to open the bill, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for the bill in total. She thought, what I would have to sell just to make a dent on this bill.
Finally she looked at the bill, and something caught her attention written on the side of the bill.
She read these words.....
Paid in full with one glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich.
Signed
Dr John Doe (Specialist)
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her heart was happy and she immediately prayed out allowed:
"Thank You GOD that your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands. Thank you for people who love and care unconditionally"
The moral of this Story:
In life there are so many people that need help and are in desperate need in this world. Never turn anyone away, those in need or require your help in any way.
What you do, does not have to be a full meal, or hundreds of rands.
All it can be is a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich.
In Hebrews 13 verse 1 and 2 it says:
1. Continue in Brotherly love.
2. Do not neglect hospitality and help to those in need, for by so doing, so many people have helped and entertained Angels without even knowing it.
Are you prepared to turn away an Angel from GOD in desperate need and needs help desperately and lovingly?
Ask yourself that question today……
Best Ways to Support Someone with Depression
Author: ©MFR
Having suffered and still suffering from acute emotional sadness and depression, all my life. Through the years, these are the signs I have learnt of by heart. These are the help and guidance I have always wanted. Sometimes received, sometimes understood. Most times a battle I had to fight by myself.
If your loved one is struggling with depression, you may feel confused, frustrated and distraught yourself. Maybe you feel like you are walking on eggshells because you are afraid of upsetting them even more. Maybe you are at such a loss that you have adopted the silent approach. Or maybe you keep giving your loved one advice, which they just are not taking. They are not taking it because they know better. Trust me.
Depression is an insidious, isolating disorder, which can sabotage relationships, friendships family and friends.
This can make not knowing how to help all the more confusing.
But your support is significant. And you can learn the various ways to best support your loved one. Trust me, I have needed it so badly through the years. And sadly, I yet need to be cured of depression.
Be there for them.
The best thing you can do for someone with depression is to be there. When I was struggling and still struggling with my own depression, the most healing moments came when someone I loved simply sat with me while I cried, and I cry a lot, and I still cry a lot, all I wanted is for that person to hold my hand wordlessly, or spoke warmly to me with statements like
‘You are so important to me.’
‘Tell me what I can do to help you.’
‘We are going to find a way to help you to feel better.’
‘Everything is going to be okay’
‘I am always here for you’
‘You are always loved and cared for’
Try all these small gestures.
If you are uncomfortable with emotional expression, you can show support in other ways
Send a good wishes cards or a text to show love and support.
A voice note, when depressed, hearing the voice of a loved one or from someone who loves and cares for you, to say everything is going to be alright, means so much.
These gestures provide a loving connection and they are also a beacon of light that helps guide your loved one when the darkness lifts. The darkness is a bitch. Something that cannot be described to anyone.
Do not judge or criticize.
What you say can have a powerful impact on your loved one. Avoid saying statements such as: “You just need to see things as half full, not half empty” or “I think this is really all just in your head”. “If you got up out of bed and moved around, you would see things better.”
These words imply “that your loved one has a choice in how they feel – and has chosen, by free will, to be depressed, You are not only insensitive but can isolate your loved one even more.
Avoid the tough-love approach.
Many individuals think that being tough on their loved one will undo their depression or inspire positive behavioural changes, For instance, some people might intentionally be impatient with their loved one, push their boundaries, use silence, be callous or even give an ultimatum, for example, “You better snap out of it or I am going to leave”, Consider that this is as useless, hurtful and harmful as ignoring, pushing away or not helping someone who has cancer.
Do not minimize their pain.
Statements such as “You are just too thin-skinned” or “Why do you let every little thing bother you?” This shames a person with depression. It invalidates what they are experiencing and completely glosses over the fact that they are struggling with a difficult disorder – not some weakness or personality flaw.
Avoid offering advice.
It probably seems natural to share advice with your loved one. Whenever someone we care about is having a tough time, we yearn to fix their heartache.
Let me caution that. While it may be true that the depressed person needs guidance, saying that will make them feel insulted or even more inadequate and detach further.
What helps instead, is to ask, “What can we do to help you feel better?” This gives your love one the opportunity to ask for help. When a person asks for help they are more inclined to be guided and take direction without feeling insulted.
Avoid making comparisons.
Unless you have experienced a depressive episode yourself, saying that you know how a person with depression feels is not helpful. While your intention is probably to help your loved one feel less alone in their despair, this can cut short your conversation and minimize their experience.
Learn as much as you can about depression.
You can avoid the above missteps and misunderstandings simply by educating yourself about depression. Once you can understand depression’s symptoms, course and consequences, you can better support your loved one.
For instance, some people assume that if a person with depression has a good day, they are cured.
Depression is not a static illness. There is an ebb and flow to symptoms that many non-depressed people misunderstand.
An adult who is feeling hopeless may still laugh at a joke, and a child who is in despair may still attend class, get good grades and even seem cheerful. People with depression hide so much away. Hiding and going behind their walls make them feel so much better. Their walls are an escapism they feel happy and comfortable behind. Those walls can never be penetrated.
The truth is that depressive symptoms are lingering elsewhere, hidden or not easy to see, so it is important to know that depression has a far and often imperceptible range.
Be patient.
Patience is a pivotal part of supporting your loved one. When you are patient with your loved one, you are letting them know that it does not matter how long this is going to take, or how involved the treatments are going to be, or the difficulties that accompany the passage from symptom onset to recovery, because you will be there.
This patience has a powerful result. With such patience, comes hope. When you have depression, hope can be hard to come by.
Sometimes supporting someone with depression may feel like you are walking a tight rope. What do I say? What do I not say? What do I do? What do I not do?
But remember that just by being there and asking how you can help can be an incredible gift.
Depression is a very serious illness. I have lived with it for many years, for very obvious reason. It is very difficult to treat. It lives with so many people. I live with it every day of my life. I will die with it.
My best advice, do not try and cure someone’s depression. It is an illness that can sometimes never be cured. Just be there for the person. Every day of their lives.
Understand their pain and suffering. Trust me, it is a very serious pain.
Pray GOD you never ever have to live with depression……
Cherokee Chief Priceless Advice.
Author: ©MFR
An Old Cherokee Native American Indian told his grandson.
My Child, there is a battle between two wolves inside the heart and soul of everyone.
One Wolf is Evil.
It is Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Resentment, Inferiority, Lies and Ego.
The Other Wolf Is Good.
It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Humility, Kindness, Empathy and Truth.
The Boy thought about it for a long Time, and then one day The Boy asked, after feeding both Wolves in his little soul
Grandfather which Wolf Eventually Wins?
The Old Cherokee Quietly Replied
The Wolf You Feed Every Day.
Which Wolf do you Feed every day?
Coming Back Home.
Author: ©MFR
Coming back home and being hugged by Loved Ones.
First thought.
Joseph in the Bible Genesis (37–50)
Joseph was rejected by his brothers because, Joseph was loved by his Father Jacob so much. Joseph got special treatment love and a special colourful coat just for him. The brothers stood together and got rid of him. Selling Joseph as a slave. GOD never left Joseph’s side. GOD stayed with him because GOD knew Joseph was destined for bigger and better things in life. Many years of pain and suffering Joseph came home. GOD made sure of that. Joseph was welcomed home by his family, hugged and treated like a king.
Lessons Learnt
Favouritism, Jealousy, Hatred, unkind words, can destroy whole families. On the other hand, “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) Family brothers and sister must always stay and stand together.
God’s guidance of our lives can be completely incomprehensible to us. Joseph’s life story teaches us that. GOD is nevertheless in control, and that GOD is faithful to His promises.
Joseph’s life story shows how people can experience GOD’s presence even in unjust and difficult circumstances. This was also David’s experience: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” You, GOD. (Psalm 23:4).
Second Thought.
How many people do you know that has left home?
Left home, because of pain, suffering, abuse, neglect, unloved and general family bad situations.
So many times we think we can go it alone. We are tired of all the hurt and pain.
There are those and I know a few, that have left their homes friends and family and believed they can make it alone, without their family and friends. There are some who have succeeded and made a great success of their lives. But, indirectly, their hearts never heal the fact that they have left those they that love and care for.
In life, no matter what the situation, no matter what your family has done to you, to make you leave or escape your life with them, your blood stays your blood.
It is hard
Trust me I know, It is fucking hard.
Some people have gone through hell itself with their family, their blood, but true forgiveness is the only way forward. I know and believe it is ultra-hard at times to go back to the family, get a hug, and say, all is good and going to be okay.
Always remember, GOD forgives us everything we have done, everything we do, and everything we are going to do. Because GOD loves us. Your family, your blood, loves you, no matter what the past has done to us.
It is time, just to go home, get that needed hug, and just say, everything is going to be okay. What is done is done. We cannot rectify the past, but we can live the future.
Life has to go on, for everyone, because your blood is your blood, your family is your family.
Think about this, in life, all we have is our blood, our family. Those that love and care for us.
Are you not prepared, just to go home, and get that needed hug…….
Are you prepared to stand at a grave at a past loved one, and you missed out on that welcome home hug, that forgiveness……
Dear Suicide.
Author: ©MFR
I hope things are OK on your side, I hope you are happy every time you take a life and win a soul. Does that make you happy when people take pills...jump off a bridge...take a rope and hang...shoot themselves in the head……then are you completely satisfied,
Tell me, where do you get our addresses?
Where do you get my name?
Not just me?
Everybody’s.
Everyone hates you more than you can imagine!
You come here with your soft voice, your long black coat, your soft convincing voice, and make people believe everything you say, do and request.
I hear you say "everything will be OK" just cut cut cut, the pain will subside then you will not feel anything ever again.
Take all the pills, 1 2 3 then everything is gone.
Not only is everything gone, another soul is gone then, forever.
A soul that will be missed by family friends and loved ones forever……
The pain and suffering you leave behind, words cannot explain.
Pain and suffering that stays for many life times in the future.
I ask you very nicely, please delete my name in your book, not just my name, and everyone’s names that you are looking for.
Everyone that has no more hope and reach the pits of hell.
You are one unscrupulous pig! I hate you…Your black coat and your selfish ways.
I am sorry to say, you are not going to win...may your black coat disappear, may the ropes you hand out tie yourself down, may the knives you hand out write your own name on your heart.... may you drift away deep in the sea...and disappear forever……
And believe me...No one is going to help you or miss you…..ever…..
Not Sponge Bob who lives under the sea, not Finding Nemo... no one...
No food for you in my hot oven, your blood cup is empty on my table, and your coat has frayed and disappeared into existence...
Dear Suicide......... Please do these three things…..
Please call Psalm 23,
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
(You dear suicide live in the valley of death)
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
(In the house of the Lord, not in the house of the devil)
Then read Psalm 121,
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Dance to Psalm 91...
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him.
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
Dear suicide, your pitch black coat, frayed and old, stained with the blood of so many, has been hung away in the closet of never ever again...
Never again, will you make me adhere to your easy way out…..
NEVER………
Dying - The Regrets
Author: ©MFR
Imagine, decades from now you are lying on your deathbed, contemplating how you have lived your life.
While you are lying there, do you think it will matter what others thought about the decisions you made in your life?
Or do you think you might regret what you did or did not do because of this very reason?
The fear of what other people think is one of the biggest fears out there.
In fact, in the bestselling book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”, by Bronnie Ware, a nurse who spent many years caring for people in the last few weeks of their lives, the most common regret the dying shared with her was,
"I wish I had, had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me".
But how can we gain this courage to break free from the shackles of other people’s opinions and live true to ourselves.
Awareness
To prevent the thoughts and opinions of others from negatively impacting our lives, it is first important to become aware of how much they influence our choices and decisions.
It can be easy to dismiss that we are not concerned about what others think if we do not let it affect the big decisions we make in our lives.
However, many may not even be aware that the reason they make certain decisions or behave a certain way is subconsciously influenced by this fear. And this was very much the case with many people.
Over the last few years, I used to believe that I never let other’s thoughts or opinions affect the big decisions in my life. While that was true to a large degree, I never realized how much I let what other people may think impact how I lived my life until I took a three-month solo trip.
I began to observe how this fear would influence how I behaved, showed up and expressed myself around others. And over time, all of these can have as much impact if not more than the big decisions one makes in life.
Moreover, for the first time in my life, I realised just how much of my mental energy and time was consumed regarding what will others think?
(Even if they were complete strangers that I would probably never see again in my life)
This would make me indecisive and even dismiss considering certain possibilities or doing certain things.
As with letting go or changing anything, awareness is the first step. Being aware begins by paying closer attention to our thoughts and inner mental dialogue, especially before making decisions.
Keep the big picture in mind
Far too often in our lives, we lose sight of the big picture. That no matter what you do or don’t do, it still doesn’t change the fact that you are going to die one day and so is everybody else.
We all forget this from time to time. But it’s worth reminding ourselves now and then.
Taking the analogy of the deathbed and applying it into our present life is one of the best ways to prevent other people’s opinions from influencing our behaviors and decisions.
This very realization was what helped Steve Jobs make the big decisions in his life, as he said in his Stanford Commencement address,
"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart".
Take responsibility for your life
Opinions. Our world is full of them. People are going to have an opinion about everything. And those people will include the ones you love like your family and closest friends.
(whose opinions we tend to place on a pedestal)
However, at the end of the day, they cannot live your life for you, and neither are they responsible or to blame for the way your life turns out. You are the one who needs to live through the result of your choices.
Let go of trying to please and satisfy others
Our natural human instinct is to please, satisfy and seek acceptance from others. But, trying to please everyone all the time is an impossible task and not to say a severely limiting way to live life.
People who lived impeccable lives and dedicated their lives to the service of others, be it, Buddha, Gandhi or Christ were not able to please everyone. Even the greatest works of art, music and cinema will have its share of critics.
Accept the fact that you won’t be able to make everyone happy all the time and allow this realisation to sink in deeply. This is completely liberating because you won't be hard on yourself when you aren't able to and neither will you take it as your responsibility to do so.
If you want to live a life true to yourself, you will need to make peace with the fact that it may mean letting go of seeking acceptance and validation from even our closest friends and family.
Have clarity
We cannot be true to ourselves if we don’t know what we want in the first place.
However, clarity may not come overnight. Therefore we must actively seek it and make space for it in our lives. It may be hard to come by if we are surrounded and bombarded by other people’s opinions, but, the journey to clarity begins by making it a priority to focus on ourselves.
How I like to get clarity about what matters to me, is by journaling and spending time in solitude.
The more we are clear about what we want, the less we are likely to be swayed by other people’s expectations and desires for us.
Let go of the big Illusion
Our mind may often tend to believe that the world revolves around us, and everybody is waiting to judge the decisions and choices that we make in our lives.
However, the truth is nobody judges us as much as we judge ourselves. And we often mistakenly assume others judge aspects about us that we judge ourselves. But others are often lost in their head with their worries and self-judgements to have the time care about how we are living our life.
There’s an interesting piece in the book Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert which captures this succinctly
"We spend our 20's and 30's so worried about what everyone is thinking about us. Then we get into our 40's and 50's, and we finally start to be free, because we decide we don't give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you will not be completely free until your 60's and 70's, when you will finally realize this liberating truth — NOBODY WAS EVER THINKING ABOUT YOU, ANYHOW."
"People are mostly thinking about themselves. People don’t have time to worry about what you’re doing, or how well you’re doing it, because they’re all caught up in their own dramas. People’s attention may be drawn to you for a moment (if you succeed or fail spectacularly and publicly for instance), but that attention will soon enough revert right back to where it’s always been — on themselves. "
Completely letting go of what will people think maybe impossible and that’s okay. What we need to do is prevent it from letting it limit how we lead our lives.
It is not the easiest thing to do because it would mean going against our natural tendencies, but it is surely the path to a more fulfilling life. However, once we have got the proper perspective and clarity about what we want, it makes it a whole lot easier to go against the grain of our conditioning.
Please take care and look after yourself.
Remember
You do matter and always will…………
GOD’s Wife
Author: ©MFR
A little boy, about 10 years old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through window of a shoe store, and shivering with cold.
An Old Lady approached the young boy and said,
My, but you are in such deep thought staring in that window!
The little boy answered
I was asking GOD to give me a pair of shoes, was the little boy's reply.
The lady took the little boy by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks and a pair of shoes for the boy.
She then asked the clerk if he could give her a basin of water and a towel.
He quickly brought the basin and water to her.
She took the little boy to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little boy’s feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks and shoes.
Placing a pair of socks upon the boy's feet, and then putting the new pair of shoes on the little boy’s feet.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks in a packet and gave them to the little boy.
She patted him on the head and said, No doubt, you will be more comfortable now with your socks and shoes.
As she turned to go, the astonished little boy caught her by the hand, and looking up into her gentle old face, with tears in the little boys eyes, the little boy asked her,
Are you GOD's wife?
In life, we can all be that special person in someone’s life.
We do not have to be GOD’s Wife.
We just need to care for one another always.
Who have you cared for today?
Whose life have you made a difference in?
How much is your Life Worth.
Author: ©MFR
A son goes to his father.
He says, dad, how much is my life worth?
Your life is more than you can ever imagine.
Dad reaches down. He picks up stone off the ground and he hands it to his son. He says, son, take this stone down to the market and walk around with it. If anybody asks you how much, how much you want for it, you don't say anything.
Just raise up two fingers. So that's what he does. He takes the stone and he goes down to the market and he walks around for a few minutes and an old lady, looks at him. She says young man, how much is that stone? Young man looks at her and he just holds up two fingers, she says R2.
I'll take it. So he runs off and he goes back to his father. He said, dad, dad, she offered me R2 for the stone. Father said, all right, son, he said, now take that same stone down to the museum. And same thing. If anybody asks you how much it is, don't say anything, just raise up two fingers. So that's what he does. He gets to the museum and he walks around.
A man asked him, Hey, young man, how much is that stone? The son doesn't say anything. He just holds up two fingers and the guy says R200? That's a great deal. I'll take it. The kid runs off. He goes back to his father. He says, dad, the man in museum offered me R200 for it. Dad said, okay.
Dad said, now, look, I want you to take that down to the jeweller. He deals in precious stones. The same thing. Don't say anything. When he asks you how much it is, just hold up two fingers. That's what he does. He goes to the jeweller and he walks in. And as soon as the jeweler sees the stone that he has in his hands, his eyes get really big and he gasped and he jumps up and he says, oh my God, that's the stone.
I have been looking for that stone my entire life. How much do you want for it? Young man looks at him. He just holds up two fingers and the jeweler says R200,000. I'll take it. Son goes running back to his father. He said, dad, the jeweller offered me R200,000 for the stone and the dad says, now you understand the value of your life. Your precious life.
Now YOU are valuable and dependent on where you place yourself in life.
Place yourself in the right place. Always.
Life awaits, place yourself correctly.
You can be the R2 stone. You can be the R200,000 stone.
You are always valuable. No matter what.
Never ever just be the R2 stone.
Go out there and be counted.
You are a gem to this world.
You might never realise that.
Do it, before it is too late.
The choice is yours……….
Life at its Best
Author: ©MFR
When you buy a car today
The road and the distance are the same, and we get to the same destination always.
Whether we drink a bottle of wine worth 300 rand or 100 rand, the hangover is the same. (Never had a hangover)
Whether we live in a house that is 300 square feet or 1000 square feet, loneliness is the same when you stay alone, sad, and depressed.
You will realize your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.
Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down, you go down with it.
Therefore, I hope you realize when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north south east and west, or heaven and earth. That is true happiness.
There are Five undeniable facts of life.
Do not educate your children to be rich,
Educate them to be happy,
So when they grow up, they will know the value of things not the price.
Best awarded words in Africa
Eat your food as your medicines.
Otherwise you have to eat your medicine as your food.
The ones that love you will never leave you because
Even if there are one hundred reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on.
(Really, Marius)
There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it.
You are loved when you are born. (Really)
You will be loved when you die. (For sure)
In between you have to manage.
If you just want to walk fast. Walk alone.
But if you want to walk far. Walk together.
Best doctors in the world are.
Sunlight
Rest
Exercise
Diet
Self confidence
Friends and Family
Maintain that in all walks and stages of your life.
Enjoy life, live it to the full.
We never know when Life is going to end……
Life’s Battles
Author: ©MFR
When life feels like a battle
In the middle of a war
And your battle cry’s a whisper
Because your voice has lost its roar
When the shield that you carry
Cannot protect you like it should
And you are struggling to fire your arrows
Like you normally would
When your armor weighs you down
And you are battered, and you are bruised
When the enemy’s advancing
And you are sure you are going to lose
When life’s battle feels exhausting…
Put down your sword and rest
Save your energy
Because the war is not over yet
The war is never over
But also look around you
To the others in the fray
And listen for another army
That is calling out your name
In despair and need
Tell them you are wounded
That you stumbled and you fell
Because beneath your armor
There is a chance they cannot tell
Let them cover you
Say that you will do the same for them
When they are hurt and wounded
With life’s struggles
And your strength returns to you again
Soon
For now, retreat a little
From the weariness of your war of life
But remember, you have survived
Each battle you have fought before
And you have won
No matter all the pain and suffering you had to go through
So give yourself a lot of credit
Because you have made it all this way
And I promise, you are strong enough
To fight another day.
Always and forever…….
My Thoughts for This Day
Author: ©MFR
Today, there is no politics, no religion and no race issues - just food for thought.
You know……time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the years passing by. It seems like only yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life.
Yet in a way it seems like ages ago, and I wonder where all the years have gone. I know that I have lived them all. I have a glimpse of what it was like back then and of all my hopes and dreams. I had so many……
However, here it is…… the last quarter of my life and it surprises me. How did I get here so fast? Where have the years gone and where has my youth gone? How did I become so old so fast? I am proud of my age and what I have achieved, but it has gone by so quickly. Like the blink of an eye.
I will remember seeing older people over the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only in the first term of my life and that the fourth term was so far away that I could not visualize or fully could not imagine what it would be like to be old, in the fourth quarter. How can we ever imagine what it could be in this day and age?
Yet, here it is…… my friends and family are retired and turning grey – they move slower and I now see an older person in a differ light. Some are in better and some worse shape than me, some have crossed the rainbow bridge to the next everlasting life, but I see the big change in those that are still on this planet. They are not like the ones I remember being young and lively… but like me, their age is starting to show and we are now those older people we used to see and never thought we would become.
Every day now I find that just a shower is a real target for the day! Getting in and out of the bath is like an obstacle course. A nap is no longer a treat, it is mandatory! Because if I do not do it out of free will, I fall asleep where I sit! Sleep is a must at my age, even just for a few hours to replenish the old, tired batteries.
And so……now I enter this new season of my life, unprepared for all the pains and the loss of strength and ability to go do things I wish I did, but never did! I ask the question, why did I not do those things when I had the ability strength and endurance to do so?
But at least I know this, even though I am on the last term of my life and I am not sure how long it will last, that when it is over on this earth... it is over. I will be prepared to embrace the new life on the other side with open arms. Because, I have lived this life to the best of my ability.
A new adventure will begin! Yes, I am sorry. There are things I wish I had not done……things I should have done, but there are truly many things I am lucky to have done. I have been so blessed, by my Creator. It is all in a lifetime. My Life Time. A life time I have lived and been blessed to have experienced as per the request from the most high. I have passed the test, my new challenge and life awaits me.
So, if you are not on the final quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here sooner than you think. So, whatever you want to achieve in your life, do it fast! Very fast.
Do not put things off for too long! Life goes by so fast. So, do what you can today because you can never be sure if you are on the last term or not! Only you will know when you are on the final last term.
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of life....so, live for today and say all the things you want to your loved ones to remember you by- and hope they appreciate and love you for all those things what you have done for them in all the years that have lived accordingly! 'Life' is a gift to you. You will be treasured and admired for the person you were and what you have done, and what you have done for others.
Be happy! Have a good day! Remember, it is health that is true wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
You might think; Going out is good - but coming home is better! You forget names - but that is okay, because some people forgot they even know you! You realize you were never going to be really good at something like golf etc. - but you loved the outdoors! You love the nature GOD created. You were blown away by its beauty. You loved it. You lived it. It was part your life.
The things you used to care about, you are not that interested in anymore - but you really do not care that you are not that interested in it. You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV on than in bed - you call it 'pre-sleep'!
You miss those days when everything worked with just an 'On' and 'Off' switch! You tend to use more 4-letter words - 'what' and 'when' etc.
You have a lot of clothes in your wardrobe, more than half of which you will never wear - but just in case! Old is good - • Old is comfortable • Old is safe • Old songs • Old movies • …… and best of all, • Friends and Family from old! So, stay healthy, my 'Old friend!' Always take care and look after yourself.
Have a fantastic day! Have a great term - whichever one you are in! Take a good look at yourself. Talk to your "Old Friends!" Family, those you care for and make them smile in agreement of a life well lived.
It is not what you collect but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.
What have you scarred?
What have you done to make a difference?
How will you be remembered?
Live the rest of your life to the full.
Yesterday is Gone.
Today is upon you.
Tomorrow is a Gift.
Life, your life, live it………..
American Wisdom.
Native American Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught and the last stream poisoned will we realize we cannot eat money.
There are two wolves fighting inside. All of us. The first one is evil. The second one is good, which Wolf will win. The one you feed
When you were born, you cried in the world, rejoiced live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice,
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightening in the hand.
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past wisdom is of the future.
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins,
They are not dead who live in the hearts, they leave behind.
There is nothing as eloquent. As a rattlesnakes tale,
It is less of a problem to be poor than to be dishonest.
A brave man dies, but once a coward, many times
Make my enemy brave and strong so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.
The bird who has eaten, cannot fly with the bird that is hungry,
Cherish youth, but trust old age
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life. The creator intended for you.
Not every sweet root gives birth to sweet grass.
Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it.
It is no longer good enough to cry. Peace. We must act peace, live peace, and live in peace.
When a man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard.
Beware of the man who does not talk. And the dog bed does not bark.
Our pleasures are shallow. Our sorrows are.
It does not require many words to speak the truth.
Do not let yesterday use up too much of today.
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove.
Poverty is a news that strangles, humility and breeds disrespect for God. And man,
Remember, that your children are not your own, but are lent. He, you buy the creator
Walk lightly on the spring mother earth is.
Ask questions from your heart and you will be answered from the heart.
There is no depth, only a change of worlds.
What is it?
It is a flash of Firefly in the night. It is the breadth of a Buffalo in the wintertime.
It is as the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset……
Wisdom from a great nation that once was and always will be…..
Nomophobia.
Author: ©MFR
I was in deep conversation with a friend at work, when his phone pinged.
He reached for his phone, flicked his eyes back at me and immediately went to work on his phone, whilst mumbling ‘uh-huh’ to me to signal I should continue talking. I felt I had lost his attention but chatted on for a while before suddenly stopping mid-sentence. He did not notice. His fingers continued flying over his mobile, and he said mm-hmm into the silence.
I felt like a fool and wondered why I was even sharing my time with him.
How sad is this?
The above inspired some deep thought about our digital body language in me.
I even found a term for it:
It is called nomophobia (NO MOBILE PHONE Phobia) and describes the fear we have of being detached from our mobile phones.
We have all experienced some version of this at some point in time, and we may even have perpetuated it on occasion.
That includes ME.
Let us explore when this happens, why it happens, what it perpetuates, and ultimately what it means.
This fixation on our mobile devices seems to be most prevalent in a social context, and I have to wonder why so many of us sit idly by and allow it.
I have seen it happen during business meetings on occasion, yet to a far lesser degree. I have NEVER seen it during a job interview. Which I have been present in a few times in my life.
So, my question is, if we can sit through an hour-long job interview with our phones on silent, why on earth can we not sit through an hour-long lunch with a friend, family member or loved one?
What is it about that little device that captures our attention and causes us to lose focus instantly?
Perhaps even more insidious though, is that so few people realise they do it. Or stop to consider how they might be making a dear friend or loved one feel when they do it. Or worse – how they are treating themselves. How you treat yourself is how you treat others, and this is why I have to write this.
When we are talking and you suddenly jump onto your phone, you are telling me that what I have to say is not important to you. You are prioritizing electronic time over relational time, and that to me is dangerous ground. You are making me question the value you see in me and in our time together. You are creating a wedge in our relationship.
Now before you go and get your knickers in a twist about your aged parent whom you need to be available for, or your teenage child whom you are expecting a call from, or the love of your life, let us just clarify this behaviour.
We all have people in our lives who take priority, and I am not for a moment suggesting that you shirk your responsibilities. Keeping an eye on your mobile and actively engaging on it are two different things. I am suggesting that we become more mindful about managing expectations and curtailing behaviour that causes distance in relationships.
Most people would agree that it feels like disrespect to the bystander, but if we go slightly deeper, you are disrespecting yourself. Your inability to control and manage unanticipated interruptions means that you have boundary issues.
That right there, is really what is at the heart of the issue.
Your permeable boundaries mean you have no control.
When you have no control, you live your life reactively instead of proactively.
You then wonder why you end up sitting in front of a coach or therapist bemoaning the fact that no one respects you.
I refuse to allow little electronic devices to control my life in the future.
I choose instead to pack them away when I am physically with people, to put them on silent, to leave them in my pocket, or somewhere, where I can at least see it, but not let it control my life.
I choose to prioritize people over electronics.
Relationships over notifications. I am committed to living a proactive life, a life where I am in control, and I get to choose what happens and when and how I respond.
I choose to respect myself, and in so doing I respect YOU.
Open the Eyes of my Heart.
Author: ©MFR
On Sunday I was blessed to visit the house of my Father, an Event I look forward to the whole week.
The first song we sang, said
“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.”
I stood there for a moment and let it set it sink in. We were born with two beautiful amazing eyes that see everything through, good or bad, sad or happy etc.
We see life in all difference forms, shapes, colours and sizes etc.
Our eyes miss nothing.
But.
The eyes of our heart.
How many of us have those eyes wide open?
How many of us keep those eyes shut closed?
Why?
Because you’re loving caring giving nature is closed to the world.
Only you, can open the eyes of your heart.
Only you can make that decision to improve your life and your vision seen with the eyes of your heart.
Only you can decide to keep the eyes of your heart closed to the world, its needs desires and wants.
I have met so many people that only see with their eyes.
But the eyes of their heart, is as closed and tight as rose before it opens into something beautiful the eye can see, the nose can smell and life can experience and appreciate.
But to live a pure caring loving life, you have to open the eyes of your heart. You need to see those people who are suffering. Those people who are in need. Those people who need love and caring. Those situations in life that need to been seen with the eyes of the heart always.
The eyes of your heart, need to see the life of this world we live in.
The eyes of your heart need to be wide open, and stay open so you can see life’s situations and difficulties all the time.
Only the eyes of the heart can see that.
You see, the heart does not only keep us alive by pumping blood and oxygen through our body.
The heart, has feelings. Be it love or hatred.
Kindness and giving. Those feelings only the heart can feel see and experience.
The heart decides what we do with our life be it good or bad. Kindness or hatred. Love and compassion.
The eyes see.
The heart sees and feels. The heart is far more emotional than our eyes.
Open the eyes of your heart to see the beauty of people around you.
Open the eyes of your heart, so you can be true to yourself and to the needs of others.
If what you see with your eyes do not please you, close your eyes and open the eyes of your heart, because the heart can always see beauty love and need more than the eyes can ever wonder.
You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close the eyes of your heart to the things you do not want to feel.
Pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened and that the light of this world will show you the way forward to be opened to the life of this world.
There is nothing more fulfilling than when the eyes of your heart are open and stay open and you make a difference in a situation or in the life of someone else.
In life, with the eyes of our heart open, we cannot always do great things, but we can do small things with great love from the heart.
The Good Book says:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:18-21
Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Today and every day, open the eyes of your heart to make a difference in your life, and the vision for a better future for all……
Reminders of Life while Growing Up.
Author: ©MFR
Manners you were taught by your parents will always count, use them at all times no matter what. A well mannered disciplined person is always love and respected by the world.
You will not be everyone's cup of tea, but that is okay. Be your own tea at all times.
Complaining is a waste of time. The three C’s to avoid in life, Criticize, Complain, Condemn.
Kindness is always the answer. Being selfish and uncaring is definitely not the way to go in your life.
You do not have to figure it all out now. You have the rest of your life on this earth to do so.
Your emotions will take practice. Keep on practicing. It is part of your life.
Forge your own path in life, even if you are alone. Make a difference in your own life for the people of this world, to admire and respect you in the future.
You are what you allow in life, be strong always. Very Strong.
Learn to love yourself first. You are the most important person in your own life to live with.
You will always pass failure on your way to success, learn from it and stay humble with a good positive attitude.
Be very grateful for every new sunrise, and every sun set, you never know when your life is going to end on this earth.
No matter what life throws at you, you can always lean on those who love and care for you and make a difference in your life to show you the correct path in life. Never forget, those who guide you, have been through life, you have a long way to go. Take it step by step day by day.
Never forget we are all born with attitude. That is part of your DNA. Your attitude in life makes the world realise and understand who you are. Be the person with the one and only attitude.
Remember your birthday is only a number. Only you can make that number worth living.
Last but certainly not the least, just be you, be the person GOD created, never be like others, no matter who and what they are. When you die one day, may you always be remembered for who and what you were in your life and the life of others.
Set an Example
Author: ©MFR
A message every adult should read because children
Are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you hang my
First painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I was not looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you making a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.
When you thought I was not looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I was not looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you did not feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I was not looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.
When you thought I was not looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be
When you thought I was not looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I was not looking I looked at you and
wanted to say, 'Thanks' for all the things I saw when
you thought I was not looking.'
Each of Us -
Parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend,
influences the life of a child.
How will you touch the life of someone today?
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God……
Set Backs and Failures
Author: ©MFR
A marine biologist was involved in an experiment with a shark.
He placed a shark in a tank along with other small bait fishes.
As expected, the shark ate every single fish.
The marine biologist then inserted clear fiberglass to create two sections within the tank.
He placed the shark in one area and smaller fish in the other section.
The shark quickly attacked, but then he bounced off the fiberglass.
The shark kept on repeating this behavior. It just would not stop trying.
While the small fish in the other section remained unharmed and carefree, after about an hour, the shark finally gave up.
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks.
Each time, the shark got less aggressive.
Eventually, the shark got tired and simply stopped attacking altogether.
The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass.
The shark, however, did not attack.
Instead, it was trained to believe in the existence of a barrier between it and the baitfish.
So, this applies to so many of us.
After experiencing setbacks and failures, many of us emotionally give up and stop trying.
Like the shark, we choose to stay with past failures and believe that we will always be unsuccessful and fail.
We build a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier between where we are and where we want to go in life exists.
Never ever give up.
Keep trying because success may be just a try away.
Sixty and Above
Author: ©MFR
Between 60 and Death.
It is time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Do not just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it.
Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital.
Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet in your last days on earth.
Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren, and do not feel bad spending your money on yourself.
You have taken care of them for many years, and you have taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter, and support.
You have always done your best.
The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money.
Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well, and get your sleep. It is easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs.
Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you are feeling well. Stay informed of your health.
Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then, enjoy it together.
Do not stress over the little things. You have already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, (I have a fucking lot of bad ones) but the important thing is the present. Do not let the past drag you down and do not let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten.
Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbour and remember: A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.
Be proud, both inside and out. Do not stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.
Do not lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. You have developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It is part of who you are.
ALWAYS stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You will be surprised at what old friends you will meet. (Thank GOD I have brilliant friends)
Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideas as you, but they are the future and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism, and try to remind them that yesterday's wisdom still applies today.
Never use the phrase: In my time. Your time is now. As long as you are alive, you are part of this time.
Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people, it will rub off on you and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you feel older and harder to be around.
Do not surrender to the temptation of living with your children or grandchildren (if you have a financial choice, that is). Sure, being surrounded by family sounds great, but we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. Even then, do so only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live by yourself.
Do not abandon your hobbies. If you do not have any, make new ones.
You can travel, hike, cook, read, and dance. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a kitchen garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf.
Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you have not seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a park. Get out there.
Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain criticize or complain too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are.
Pains and discomfort go hand in hand with getting older. Try not to dwell on them but accept them as a part of life.
If you have been offended by someone – forgive them. (Marius does not forgive, I have been hurt and destroyed to many times in my life by people) If you have offended someone-apologize. Do not drag around resentment with you. It only serves to make you sad and bitter. It does not matter who was right. Someone once said: "Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die." Do not take that poison. Forgive, forget, and move on with your life. (Sometimes I wish I had taken the poison)
Laugh. Laugh away your worries. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, they never get to experience a full life.
You have reached an age, so many have not.
Sometimes I wish I was one of the lucky ones to have crossed the rainbow bridge and leave behind all the pain and suffering. I have had so fucking much.
Enjoy Life to the full, for tomorrow you may cross the rainbow bridge and be no more.
Social Media
Author: ©MFR
Social media has been an experience at best and an eye-opener at worst for everybody on this planet to date.
People, it seems, want to see the 'Polished' version of Your life, all made up and ready to show you are purposely kept, and renovated life, house family and friends.
The make-up, filtered, stomach in, perky butt, every hair in place version of YOU.
BUT in all reality, that version IS NOT THE REAL version of You, the real YOU.
Why are we so scared to show who we really are, why the constant hiding from ridicule and judgment of our fellow human beings?
I want to see your home. Your lived-in home, Your unmade bed, Your dishes piled to the heavens, the no make-up, dancing over piles of laundry, I want to SEE You and EXPERIENCE You for who and what You really are, away from the spotlight of perfection. Nothing in life is perfect. No matter what.
What are You reading, what are You constantly overthinking, what is Your dreams and aspirations, what makes You sad, what are You mourning, what is Your regret and fears in Life?
I could not be any less interested in the polished YOU version, you are showing the world, or what Your home and garden looks like when the Pastor comes over, and You have to put Your best foot forward.
Who are YOU when the cameras are not flashing?
Who is the real YOU……..
Stopped by a Brick
Author: ©MFR
A successful young executive was riding his brand new Jaguar down a neighbourhood street when he noticed a kid darting out from between parked cars. He slowed down a little bit as he appeared near it, and a brick smashed into his car’s door. He slammed on the brakes and drove back to the place where the brick had been thrown.
The furious man jumped out of his car and caught the nearest kid shouting, “What was that all about? What the heck did you do to my car? Why did you do it?” The young boy was a little scared but was very polite and apologetic. “I am sorry, Mister. I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I had to throw the brick because no one else would stop for my call to help.” With tears rolling down his cheeks, he pointed towards the parked cars and said, “it ii is my brother, he rolled off the curb and fell off his wheelchair, and he is badly hurt. I can’t lift him.”
The sobbing boy asked the man, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He is hurt, and he is too heavy for me.” The young man was moved beyond words and tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Then, he hurriedly lifted the other kid from the spot and put him back in the wheelchair. He also helped the little kid with his bruises and cuts.
When he thought that everything would be ok, he went back to his car. “Thank you, sir, and God bless you,” said the grateful kid. The young man was too shaken up for any word, so the man watched the little boy push the brother who uses a wheelchair down the sidewalk. It was a long and slow ride back home to the man. When he came out of the car, he looked at his dented car door. The damage was very noticeable, but he did not bother to repair it. Instead, he kept the dent to remind him of the message; “Do not go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.”
Life whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.
Sometimes when we do not listen to it, it throws a brick at us.
It is our choice, listen to the whisper or wait for the brick.
The Tortoise and Hare
Author: ©MFR
A tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster.
They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race.
The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then, seeing he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he would sit down and rest for a while before continuing the race. He sat down under a tree and soon fell fast asleep.
The tortoise, plodding along, soon overtook him, passed him, crossed the finish line, and won the race.
The hare woke up and realized he had lost.
Many people will conclude that Slow and Steady won the race. I feel that the real lesson is not about the tortoise at all, it is about the hare.
The hare made a huge mistake, believing in its ability but then not actually proving it. In real life, you may have that great skill, one which everyone agrees, but you must still showcase that skill to win the competition.
Success depends on using your talents, not just having them……
The Crow Comparison.
Author: ©MFR
There once was a crow who lived in the woods
He was happy with his life and never wanted for anything.
But One day the crow saw a dove
He Thought
The dove is so bright and beautiful
By comparison, I am so dark and dull
The crow approached the dove and said
You are so beautiful.
You must be the happiest bird alive.
The dove replied,
I used to think I was the happiest bird alive, but when I saw the Robin, Its chest was so vibrant.
I feel so plain by comparison.
I think the Robin must be the happiest bird alive.
So the crow visited the Robin.
You are so beautiful," said the crow.
You must be the happiest bird alive.
I thought I was the happiest bird alive
said the Robin,
Until I saw the Peacock.
Its colours were so impressive and rich.
My red chest looks so boring by comparison.
I think the peacock must be the happiest bird alive. "
So the crow flew to a zoo to meet the peacock.
Many people flocked to the peacock's cage, admired the peacock and took many photographs.
When the crowd had left, the crow said to the peacock,
You are so beautiful,
You must be the happiest Bird Alive.
The peacock sighed and said,
I thought I was the happiest bird alive, but then they put me in a cage, because of my beauty.
Sometimes I look to the sky and see the crows flying free, and all I want is to be a crow, fly and be free.
I think the Crow must be the happiest Bird Alive.
You see
By comparing ourselves to others we lose sight of our own blessings.
The secret to happiness is to be thankful for what we have, and not upset, jealous, sad, overwhelmed and disappointed over what we lack and don't have.
Love, appreciate and accept, who you are and the blessings you receive for who you are in this life.
I am a Crow
I fly high…….
The Different Cups in Life.
Author: ©MFR
A group of highly established educated students got together to visit their old university professor.
The conversation among them soon turned into criticizing complaining and condemning about their stressful work and life.
The professor went to his kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups, including, porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, tin, some plain-looking, some expensive and some exquisite cups.
The professor told them to help themselves with the coffee.
After all the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, the professor said:
Did you notice all the nice looking cups are taken, and only the plain inexpensive ones are left behind?
While it is normal for everyone to want the best cups for themselves, but that is the source of the problems and stress in your lives.
The cup itself adds no quality to the coffee you are about to drink.
In most of the cases, it is just more expensive and hides what we drink. The professor continued.
The Professor said, what all of you wanted was coffee, not the cup, but all of you consciously went for good-looking expensive cups and then began eyeing on each other’s cups to see the good cups that you had chosen.
So
Let us consider that life is the coffee, and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position are the cups. However, the type of cup we have does not define or change the quality of our lives.
Sometimes, we fail to enjoy the coffee by concentrating only on the cup we have. Being happy does not mean everything around you is perfect.
Life is never perfect.
It means you have decided to see beyond the imperfections and find peace. And the peace lies within you, not in your career, jobs, or the houses you have.
In life, what do you, take and expect to make your life better, is not always the answer.
We are never just satisfied with the plain in life.
We always want the best because we think that is what is going to make our lives better, fulfilled, satisfied and happier.
It is actually the plain in life that makes life better and less important.
Your next cup of coffee in life, let it be plain for a much better less complicated happier life.
Enjoy a plain UN complicated cup of life coffee…….
The EAGLE Epiphany
Author: ©MFR
I Had an Epiphany
(A Moment of Sudden and Great Revelation or Realization)
Huge word for a Half Breed
Some interesting facts that got me thinking about life.
It is funny how GOD can speak through everything.
Eagles build the biggest nests of all birds. It is huge, comfortable, and deep.
One of the most interesting things that I found, was the way that the Eagle gets its young chicks to fly out of the nest.
For many weeks the Eagle brings food to the nest. The little eagles have no worries, they have all they need to survive. But when the adult Eagle deems that it is time for the young eagles to fly, things get uncomfortable.
Now the young eagles do not know that it is time to fly, but the wisdom and the bird’s eye view of the mother Eagle knows that it is time for the chicks to leave the nest.
So you know what she does?
She does not bring food to the babies anymore, and this is what I found a little cruel but fascinating none the less.
Many times she will fly around the nest with the food in her beak so that the young eagles will be tempted or so hungry that they are forced to fly out of the nest and take it out of their mother’s beak.
Stay with me I am going somewhere here.
As I thought about this, I thought about my life and how many times I was in a very comfortable space. I had all I needed. There was no need for me to go any further because I was comfortable.
I wanted to stay there forever. You have to be careful when you get comfortable and stay too long in one place.
It is easy to stop dreaming when your belly is full. You will not feel the need to fly at all, or do anything out the ordinary.
The truth is, as long as we are there in that really comfortable space, we are not fulfilling our own destiny or our own purpose in life. We were not flying, we are just content in the place we are.
Remember this, your greatest prayers are not usually answered in comfort. Think about it.
It takes an uncomfortable situation or being hungry to make us get out and fly.
Many times in life, things are going well, but then everything that was so great changes and we wonder why.
We wonder what happened. We are caught off guard. I am of the opinion that in those times GOD, who knows when it is time for us to leave the nest, is allowing it to become uncomfortable so that we can move on to our next mission in life. Our next hope, our next dream, our next journey of life. Another level giving to us by GOD.
Business changes, jobs go away, friends break your heart, marriages end, relationships end, sickness develops and most times all these things are signs that it is time to take flight to your next level.
Nobody likes change, we are always so happy in our own comfort zone, I get it, but do not be angry or bitter when things change. Do not be mad with people, especially when you know you did right by them and you did all you could do for the friendship, relationship or marriage.
I am sorry to tell you this, but this moment was not about them, it was all about you. I am telling you, if GOD has allowed you to become so uncomfortable in your situation, whatever it is, then it is time for you to move!
Time to Fly.
Do not be afraid, just fly!
There is one part of the Eagles story that I have not told you yet, and this is my favorite part.
If those baby Eagles get out of the nest and they are trying to fly and it is not going well, then that same mother Eagle, that provided for them while they were in the nest, that same Mother Eagle will fly under the baby Eagles, to keep them from falling, to keep them on course, and give them a sense of security.
Just as the Mother Eagle does for them,
GOD’s got you, do not be afraid!
GOD will not let you fall, ever.
Now here is the question:
What situation in your life has become so uncomfortable that you feel like you are being starved for what you need?
Maybe it is GOD’s way of telling you it is time to FLY!
It is time to fly for your own new dreams, your own hopes, goals and a continued life on this earth.
Fly for true love and real hope.
This is your moment to FLY, in Life.
Maybe it is time to leave the nest, the comfort zone without fear, no worries, no stress, and no in trepidation.
Total Faith and Trust in GOD.
Spread your wings and FLY.
It will be your best Flight ever……..
The King and His Servant
Author: ©MFR
There was a King who had ten wild dogs.
The King used these dogs to torture and eat the servants that worked for Him, and had made mistakes.
One of the Kings servants gave the King an opinion that the King thought was wrong.
The King did not like that at all, so He ordered that the servant be thrown to the ten dogs.
The servant approached the Kind and said,
I served to faithfully for ten years and you do this to me.
Please give me ten days with the dogs.
One day for each ten dogs.
The King Agreed, because He believed He knew what the result and outcome would be.
The servant, went to the guard that looked after the dogs and said to the guard,
For those ten days the servant wanted to serve and maintain the dogs, for the next ten days.
The guard was perplexed and amazed, knowing what the dogs did to previous servants that the King had ordered to die.
But the guard agreed, and gave the servant the ten days He requested.
The next ten days, the servant, feed the dogs, groomed them, bathed them and took care of all their needs. He gave them the love they had never had.
When the ten days was over, the King stuck to His punishment and ordered the servant be thrown to the dogs, and die an excruciating death.
Everyone watched and was amazed and very surprised that the dogs did nothing but, licked the servant’s feet, the dogs jumped up on him, tails wagging, ears pinned back, soft yelps of happiness.
The King was amazed and baffled at the dog’s behaviour.
Knowing the dog’s always ate and killed the servants that were disobedient and sentenced to death.
The King asked the servant, what happened to my dogs?
The servant replied, I only served and was loyal to the dogs for ten days, but the dogs never forgot how I treated them for the past ten days,
I served you for a whole ten years with love and compassion, no matter what, and You forgot Everything at my first mistake.
The King, thought for a while and released His huge mistake, and ordered the servant be set free.
Never forget the good things when people make a small mistake.
Mistakes come in many ways forms and shapes.
Love will always cover a multiple of sins and mistakes.
Love comes in many different forms and ways…….
Food for thought.
Author: ©MFR
You know……time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the years passing by.
It seems like only yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life. Yet in a way it seems like ages ago, and I wonder where all the years have gone.
I know that I have lived them all. I have a glimpse of what it was like back then and of all my hopes and dreams. However, here it is…… the last quarter of my life and it surprises me. How did I get here so fast? Where have the years gone and where has my youth gone?
I well remember seeing older people over the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only in the first trimester and that the fourth trimester was so far away that I could not visualize it or fully could not imagine what it would be.
Yet, here it is…… my friends are retired and turning gray – they move slower and I now see an older person. Some are in better and some worse shape than me, but I see the big change. They are not like the ones I remember being young and lively… but like me, their age is starting to show and we are now those older people we used to see and never thought we would become.
Every day now I find that just a shower is a real target for the day!
And a nap is no longer a treat, it is mandatory!
Because if I do not do it out of free will, I fall asleep where I sit!
And so……now I enter this new season of my life, unprepared for all the pains and the loss of strength and ability to go do things I wish I did, but never did! But at least I know this, even though I am on the last term and I am not sure how long it will last, that when it is over on this earth... it is over.
A new adventure will begin!
Yes, I am sorry. There are things I wish I had not done……things I should have done, but there are truly many things I am lucky to have done.
It is all in a lifetime.
So, if you are not on the final quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here sooner than you think. So, whatever you want to achieve in your life, do it fast!
Do not put things off for too long. Life goes by so fast. So, do what you can today because you can never be sure if you are on the last term or not. You have no promises that you will see all the seasons of life.... so, live for today and say all the things you want your loved ones to remember, and hope they appreciate and love you for all those things what you have done for them in all the years that have passed.
Life' is a gift to you. Be happy. Be Good day.
Remember, it is health that is true wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
You might think; Going out is good, but coming home is better.
You forget names, but that is okay, because some people forgot they even know you. You realize you are never going to be really good at something like golf, but you love the outdoors. The things you used to care about, you are not that interested in anymore, but you really do not care that you are not that interested. You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV on than in bed, you call it 'pre-sleep'
You miss the days when everything worked with just an 'On' and 'Off' switch!
You tend to use more 4-letter words - 'what' and 'when'
You have a lot of clothes in your wardrobe, more than half of which you will never wear, but just in case!
Old is good -
• Old is comfortable
• Old is safe
• Old songs
• Old movies
• …… and best of all,
• Friends from Old!
So, stay healthy, 'Old friend'
Have a fantastic day.
Have a great term, whichever one you are in.
Take a good look at yourself.
You have loved and enjoyed three quarters of your life
Go ahead and live and love the last Quarter.
In Life
It is not what you collect but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived……
The Pain Of Rejection.
Author: ©MFR
Rejection is a tough emotion to deal with, but it’s one of the stark and unavoidable realities of life, so best you decide how you’re going to handle her when she comes knocking.
Before we get into coping strategies, let’s explore why rejection is so difficult to muster. Anyone remember Maslow’s hierarchy? Once we have fulfilled our most basic needs, our physiological needs, the next one in the hierarchy is the need to belong. And rejection basically says, “You don’t belong”. Fundamentally, I believe this is why it remains one of the most challenging emotional pains to deal with.
It really hits that “belonging” nerve.
Research has shown that the same areas of our brain become activated when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain. The reason rejection hurts so much is quite simply down to the fact that our brains are wired that way.
It’s not you. It’s how you’re made!
Because rejection questions our need to belong, facing rejection causes us to second guess our self-esteem, our identity, the very core of WHO WE ARE. And here’s the interesting thing: the greatest damage that rejection causes is usually self-inflicted. Just when our self-esteem is hurting the most, we go and damage it even further, by calling ourselves names and feeling disgusted and disappointed with ourselves. And in so doing, we create a vicious and self-fulfilling prophecy for ourselves: we start seeing ourselves as worthless, we show up as worthless, and then when the second and third and fourth rejection arrives, we affirm this belief as true and it is further cemented in our psyche.
STOP!!! Please stop this madness.
You will destroy yourself if you pursue this line of reasoning!
Here’s a simple four-step rejection strategy that you can adopt starting today that is guaranteed to stop the cycle of doubt and start empowering you instead:
Get honest about the rejection
Become completely objective about the rejection.
Think about it…
You were excluded from a social gathering.
You notice some friends of yours posting images on Facebook from a gathering that was held over the weekend, and you weren’t invited to it. Could it be that your offer of friendship has been declined?
You were asked to leave. (Be it an event, a group, a company, or any other tribe)
Let’s really max this example out: say you were at an event where you got rather inebriated and were asked to leave. Was it your personhood that was rejected, or was it your behaviour? And thus, by extension your offer.
Evaluate the rejection
Once you’ve become objective about WHAT was rejected, it’s important to evaluate whether you could have done anything differently to prevent the rejection.
Let’s bring up those examples again and evaluate:
You were excluded from a social gathering.
Explore all the possible reasons you were not included. Be objective. Have you been a good friend? Are they the kinds of friends you want to surround yourself with? Life works both ways, and it’s important to evaluate purpose before becoming overwhelmed with rejection.
You were asked to leave.
If your behavior was different, would you have been rejected? Was your behavior acceptable? Is there anything you could have done differently?
Implement possible learning from the rejection
By asking ourselves honest questions and considering all the different perspectives when we evaluate the rejection, we can determine whether the rejection is an opportunity for learning or not. There is no obligation to implement a learning outcome here if you have followed steps.
But conversely, if there is an opportunity for learning, and you don’t pursue it, then it’s likely you will keep getting more of the same. Let’s check our examples again:
You were excluded from a social gathering, friends, a Partner, a Family Member
Maybe you realized that you have been a bit distant from this group lately, and that could be why they excluded you. What can you do to change this?
Or you could have realized that although they’re the only groups you have right now, they’re not really “your people”, so you decide to leave it.
GET BACK ON THE HORSE!
Realize and acknowledge that life is going to be full of rejection. If you take every instance of it personally and decide you are going to limit your exposure to it, you will become a recluse living in a mountain cave. It’s simply not possible to avoid rejection. Get yourself back into the life you need.
Don’t stop. Don’t ever STOP.
Life can be messy, ugly, painful, brutal, hurtful, and every negative emotionally
But it can equally be beautiful, majestic, magical, rewarding, fulfilling, and inspiring!
Choose today to LIVE.
And living means staring rejection down, getting real about it, and move on.
The Secret to Success
Author: ©MFR
Once a young man asked the wise man, what is the secret to success?
The Wise man patiently listened to the man’s question and told him to meet him near the river the next morning for the answer.
The next morning the wise man asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. As they went in the river the water got up to their neck. But to the young man’s surprise, the wise man ducked him into the water.
The young man struggled to get out of the water, but the wise man was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue.
The wise man pulled the man’s head out of the water. The young man gasps and took a deep breath of air.
The wise man asked,
What did you want the most when your head was in the water?
The young man replied, Air.
The wise man said,
That is the secret to success.
When you want success as badly as you wanted the air while you were in the water, then you will get it. There is no other secret to success.
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment.
Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results……
The Two Frogs
Author: ©MFR
There were once two frogs, who were best friends and looking for adventure.
They were hoping around the countryside when they saw a farmer leave a bucket in front of his stable.
Curious, they both went to see what was inside the bucket.
Even though the bucket was too big and they could not see what was inside, they just jumped in.
The bucket was full of milk, and they could not, because the sides were so slippery get out the bucket.
So, they just swam around.
They swam and swan and could just not get out.
After a long time of swimming around one fog said to his friend, we are just going to drown. We will just die. It is inevitable, there is truly no point. We are doomed.
But his best friend replied, hold on my dear friend, please keep on paddling, we will get out eventually, as long as we do not give up, we will not drown.
So, they continued to paddle for hours, as the sun started to go down, one frog said, I cannot go on any longer. There is truly no sense of going on anymore.
We are going to drown anyway. What is the use? I truly give up.
The frog gave up and stopped swimming. He gave up and drowned in the milk.
The other frog was devastated that he had lost his best friend and could not hold back his tears.
But more determined than ever before, he started paddling even faster than ever before. Round and around he went.
After doing this for a while he noticed that he had turned the milk into butter, because he had been paddling for so long, he was able to jump out the bucket.
He had made it. But he was also so very sad because he had lost his best friend. He knew that he was not able to help his friend because once his friend had made the decision to give up, it was truly over for him.
Please remember, we never, we never lose as long as we do not give up.
Life is so hard, so always be grateful for what you have, and most important never ever give up. NEVER.
As long as you do not give up, you really and truly cannot lose…..
The Word LOVE.
Author: ©MFR
What does the word LOVE mean to you?
In my 64 Years of life the word LOVE, being in LOVE, giving LOVE has always been part of my life.
I have experienced it and I have given it to the best of my ability, always.
Only when you are not LOVED but you give it unconditionally do you understand the word LOVE.
Everyone and everything LOVES to be LOVED.
From the moment you are conceived by your Father and Mother, you are LOVED and you have the ability to LOVE.
The day you die, you will still be LOVED by family, friends, and for those who care for you. They will miss you when you cross the rainbow bridge, and the LOVE they had for you will never ever die. LOVE does and will live forever.
I have spent many years trying to define the word LOVE and come up with an explanation, of what is LOVE.
So what is LOVE actually? How do you give a simple explanation of the word LOVE? What is LOVE exactly? What does the word LOVE mean to you?
My short, but very true explanation of the word LOVE is:
Putting Someone’s needs and desires, before yours all the time every day for the rest of your life. That I believe is the only way you can explain the word LOVE.
When you put someone’s desires and needs first you are showing unconditional LOVE to that person, the person you truly LOVE.
Have you put someone’s needs and desires first before yours?
Do you put your needs and desires aside because of the LOVE you have for someone or something?
Ask yourself that question.
Maybe it is time to start that kind of true LOVE to the people you LOVE and care for.
Thought for the Day
Author: ©MFR
Everyone can give advice, but our stories differ so much, we all walk different paths so much. So some advice goes empty on some people’s ears. In some cases, advice, is taking in by those who need it. If I can say one thing to someone, is be grateful, be grateful for what you have. Be thankful for that dry piece of bread on your table, if you do not have meat. Be thankful for the broken car you are driving because some people do not have a car. Just be thankful for what you have in your life because tomorrow you may not have anything anymore. It can all disappear in the blink of an eye.
We look at other people's lives many times and we long to be celebrities, the rich and famous, with their riches and fame, we think such a good life. We look past what we have.
We look past at what we have and how at the end of the day will always tend to our needs.
I think, at the end of the day, be grateful for what you have, everything, from small too big.
There thousands of people in this world, that’s life is far worse than yours.
People sitting right now fighting for their lives, so believe me there's always someone who is worse off than you
Be thankful, very thankful for your life, you will be so surprised, what a grateful heart or what happiness a grateful heart can bring.
People, the world is a very ugly place, but your heart is yours, so make sure there is truth and happiness in it.
Your happiness will flow out of your mouth.
Your eyes will see the happiness in life.
Your ears will only hear the good of others…….
Time Management.
Author: ©MFR
It is the year 2023
I battle with the above subject, and have to deal with many issues in my life
I Discovered I had to deal with it, before I fell apart, my partner, my relationships with my family, and all the goings on in my Life.
I need to deal with my time management, with immediate effect.
So I decided to write about my stuff, to encourage myself, and others, to do so much better.
One of the simplest things I can do for my relationship is be proactive in managing my time I spend on myself, being in a relationship, or being a family member.
Many times life gets busy and a committed partner slips into becoming a roommate who is also exhausted with my time management. Work, kids, social obligations; all these things will take every bit of my time and more if I do not manage them.
I must learn how to set boundaries in their different roles, and give time to what is important to all.
Think about it like this, if you are a parent then you must make time for: yourself as an individual, yourself as part of a couple, yourself as your role in your larger family. Father always goes into his study for time, for himself.
Dedicate too much time to one of those identities and the others become neglected, also problems can pop up in the role where you are over functioning. Something I have a huge problem with.
So, let me look at how a little bit of time management in each role can lead to lasting love, with my partner and my family.
Myself
Oftentimes people think that the solution to every problem in a relationship is to spend more time together, more closeness, and more communication.
That can actually do harm to a loving relationship.
Can you truly desire what you never miss?
Spend too much time together and contempt can block out any appreciation for your partner. I think to myself, of it as self-induced cabin fever. Cabin fever can be a killer.
Making some time for your individual self allows you to practice self-care as well as miss the people in your life that you love.
A moment to pursue your own passions while having a little vacation away from your responsibilities as partner and/or parent does a world of good.
You re-join your relationship roles with energy and possibly new insights into your appreciation for your loved ones. A little bit of space in a relationship allows longing to reignite passion’s flame.
All sorts of wonderful things can happen if you take a little time to nurture your individual self. Just be sure that you do not fall into the trap of spending too much time in this role. Something I am very guilty of. Too much time spent doing my own things in life.
Resentments can easily develop when one partner feels they are too alone within a relationship, so after some individual time, make sure to set up time to devote to your other roles. Something I truly battle with.
Being together with your partner.
Many people look back at the beginning of their relationship with fondness. They remember all the dates, trips, and happy times discovering each other. Then all these things seem to conspire to take over your life.
My relationship is left longing. There are three main ways to make time for your partnership, I have discovered and need to work on.
I have to make time to communicate, time to date, and time to connect physically.
Time to communicate includes conversations about what is working well and challenges within my relationship.
During communications, take mental notes, when you have the time, take those mental notes, and write them down, all the pros and cons of your relationship with your partner. Make it a holy bible you can live to accordingly, to make a better relationship for you and your partner. Improvement, in any relationship is key.
If you are parents, use this time to discuss your dynamics as a couple. My mother and father do that so well. There communication is on point.
Focus on your role within the larger family.
Making time to communicate about your relationship will help you avoid conflicts in the future and help you feel like a teammate with your partner.
Working together against the chaos of this world in 2013. Taking time to have a date night is important too. Life cannot be all work, so a night to focus on connecting and enjoyment helps strengthen a relationship. Date night will be enforced in my relationship again.
This could be anything from a fancy dinner out, a movie, going clubbing, to a walk around town, just being together etc.
Leaving life behind and focusing on the person you love.
Just taking a little time to re-establish your romantic connection will strengthen your relationship. It makes a deposit into your relationship’s emotional bank account, so that when you need to make a withdrawal in the future your relationship can withstand it.
If you are connecting as a couple then it is easier to ask for some individual time later on. The last piece of time management for you is making time for your erotic selves. Spending good quality time making love, spending time to find your partners inner needs, and strengthening any relationship. Time management for love making is of paramount importance in any relationship. Love making connect the inner you to your partner.
This piece is too often sacrificed to the GODs of exhaustion. Many couples find it difficult to maintain an erotic life over time once the daily business of living gets done with them. I have to make time to connect with my partner's physical needs.
Set up a time to physically connect with your partner and honor it, do what feels right at that moment. It could be a massage, might be a shower together, and could be passionate lovemaking. It is not about the activity that you do, it is about maintaining your physical connection to help maintain your relationship.
Too much togetherness as a couple and desire can dwindle as resentment grows.
It becomes too easy to lose appreciation if you are never apart. Too much time together as a couple can also make it difficult to manage your own moods. The emotional atmosphere can be hijacked by one person’s sour mood, leaving the other partner to ride out the storm.
My Family
The last place that requires time management is my family, or the family of my choice. Obligations tend to reign in this area of our lives, so many people find it challenging to set time boundaries with family.
Family is so very important. I love the time I can spend with my family.
Too much time in this role can lead to resentment. If you are ever been the primary caregiver for your children on a particularly rough day you know too well what can easily happen.
You can get snappy, frustrated, and eventually in desperate need of some time outside of your role as a caregiver. My mother did that so well at times. So snappy at times.
Too much time as a caretaker with no time to practice self-care can lead to issues in coupling. The only adult interaction makes for a place to pour out difficult feelings.
On the positive side of managing time in the role of family, seeing your partner interact within larger family units allows you a chance to see your partner in a new light. My father is so dedicated to his family, and admired him so much for that.
The time they take explaining something to their nephew reminds you of the tenderness you first saw in your partner. You can come together with your partner to bring joy to others, such as planning a surprise party for a friend or helping an elderly relative with garden work. One thing I love to do with my father. Not the work, but spending time with him.
It is tricky to manage time for your individual self, your relationship, and your family.
There will always be a request for more.
Setting boundaries with time and maintaining them will help with your relationship and true love for your partner.
Every relationship is never perfect.
It takes a lot of hard work to make a good relationship work.
It has to come from both sides, to make it work as perfectly as possible.
Manage your time.
Enjoy the work.
I start today…………
Why Me
Author: ©MFR
Why Me, many times brings tears to our eyes.
I am sure you have heard that expression, and said it many times before.
Always Watch your thoughts for they become words; watch your words for they become actions; watch your actions for they become habits; watch your habits for they become your character and watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
So today I want to talk to you about your words, and the phrases that you use.
The words we are uttering repeatedly are an indicator of what’s going on inside our thought world, but they also preface our actions and so create our destiny.
Your words are the biggest clue as to where your mindset’s at, and also one of the best starting points for changing your mindset.
Take an honest look at your vocabulary and start noticing the things that you say habitually – consider the true meaning of these words and phrases.
Are you creating or destroying?
When you ask this question, you are reducing yourself to the victim.
You are disempowering and disenfranchising yourself utterly.
You are having a pity party and there’s just no positive outcome whichever way you skin it.
Let’s be honest: life can be cruel, unfair, painful and just downright HARD!
And you have every right to mourn what you are experiencing in difficult times.
You can even ask the question “why me” as long as it’s only once and right in the middle of your ugly cry. In other words – don’t let it become a habit.
It’s important to feel the feelings, but it’s equally important to move through them.
When I had my “why me” pity party a while ago,
My Father’s last words to me before he passed were “Don’t ask why, ask what now, Marius”.
Now THAT is a question that will empower you!
The fact that you’re asking whether you should do something means that you are not secure in who you are. You are seeking validation and approval from people for decisions that only you will reap the consequences for. By asking this question, you are acknowledging that you are not in control. Your self-image therefore is constantly going to be built on external factors, and never on your intrinsic worth.
This in itself creates a cycle of doubt, fear and eventually imposter syndrome.
As a reframe, why don’t you change “should I” to “I’m thinking of..”
Can you feel how much more empowering the second statement is?
By owning your opinion, you are standing firm in who you are. And when you operate out of your essence, you inch closer and closer to finding your purpose. You become authentic in a world of masks. Your self-confidence increases. Your self-esteem improves. You make better decisions. You start chipping away at the nagging doubt and fear that used to plague you.
And THAT is how I want to live! Don’t you?
Now before you get all excited about the fact that admitting we don’t know something is a path to learning, consider for a moment the intent behind the phrase “I don’t know”. I’m not necessarily talking about this phrase in a learning context; I am talking about it in a life context. How often don’t we come face to face with a situation that makes us scratch our heads and say, “I don’t know how to handle this”?
Say it out loud for a second. Repeat it. Feel it.
It feels a bit disempowering, doesn’t it?
Maybe it makes you feel like you are incapable? Perhaps even helpless?
I have been experiencing this emotion for sixty two years about an issue in my life that needs addressing, and it has been a frustrating time for me. I have felt like I am in limbo, and that’s not a feeling I like. A While ago, I decided to start a process that may or may not give me insight, and just making that decision has removed the limbo. Nothing about the situation has changed, but I feel like I am in control again and I feel like there is light at the end of this tunnel.
So, when you’re tempted to say, “I don’t know”, ask yourself what you can do to take a step in the direction of knowing just a little bit more?
Life asks us to deal, every day in so many ways, and we have started opting out. The pressures of modern-day society have become so intense that often we simply throw up our hands and say, “I can’t deal with this”.
But when you say, “I can’t deal with this”, you are introducing a fourth option, and this option enters the realm of “I don’t know”. It’s disempowering and will create feelings of helplessness that can be avoided.
Choose what is in fact yours to deal with, by all means, but don’t turn away from your responsibilities and obligations to deal with situations simply because you feel overwhelmed.
Give yourself some space. Accept it, change it or leave it.
Are you creating? Or are you destroying?
Friends and Family – watch your words.
They echo your thoughts and create your future.
If your life is not where you want it to be, if things are not working out to your liking, could it be that your words contain the clue you need to unlock the secret to success.
Think about, act accordingly…….
It’s never too late……..
Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
Do not call someone more than twice continuously.
If they do not pick up your call, presume they have something important to attend to.
Return money that you have borrowed even before the person who borrowed you remembers or asks for it.
It shows your integrity and character.
The same goes for umbrellas, pens, and lunch boxes.
Never order the expensive dish on the menu when someone is giving you a lunch/dinner.
Do not ask awkward questions like
Oh so you are not married yet?
Or ‘Do you have kids or
Why did you not buy a house?
Or why do you not by a car?
For God’s sake it is not your problem.
Always open the door for the person coming behind you.
It does not matter if it is a guy or a girl, senior or junior.
You do not grow small by treating someone well in public.
If you take a taxi with a friend and he/she pays now, try paying next time.
Respect different shades of opinions.
Remember what is 6 to you will appear 9 to someone facing you. Besides, second opinion is good for an alternative.
Never interrupt people talking.
Allow them to pour it out.
As they say, hear them all and filter them all.
If you tease someone, and they do not seem to enjoy it, stop it and never do it again.
It encourages one to do more and it shows how appreciative you are.
Say “thank you” when someone is helping you.
Praise publicly. Criticize privately;
There is almost never a reason to comment on someone’s weight.
Just say, “You look fantastic.”
If they want to talk about losing weight, they will.
When someone shows you a photo on their phone, do not swipe left or right. You never know what is next.
If a colleague tells you they have a doctors' appointment, do not ask what it’s for, and just say
"I hope you are okay".
Do not put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness. If they want you to know, they will do so without your inquisitiveness.
Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO.
Nobody is impressed at how rude you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect.
If a person is speaking directly to you, staring at your phone is rude.
Never give advice until you are asked.
When meeting someone after a long time, unless they want to talk about it, do not ask them their age and salary.
Mind your business unless anything involves you directly, just stay out of it.
Remove your sunglasses if you are talking to anyone in the street.
It is a sign of respect. More so, eye contact is as important as your speech.
Never talk about your riches in the midst of the poor.
Similarly, do not talk about your children in the midst of the barren.
In life, be so careful what you say, when you say it……..
With Age comes Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
As I have aged, I have become kinder to myself and less critical to myself.
I have become my own best friend.
Whose business is it, if I choose to read or watch social media until 4am or sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the sixties and seventies.
And if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.
I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body.
I will dive into the waves if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the people.
They too will get old.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world to soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.
I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, when a child suffers, a dear friend, or a treasured animal, leaves this earth and crosses the rainbow bridge.
But broken hearts are what gives us strength, understanding and compassion.
A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn grey.
To have youthful laughs be forever etched into deep groove on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think.
I do not question myself anymore I have even earned the right to be wrong.
So to answer the question, I love being old. It has set me free.
I love the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, one day I will cross the rainbow bridge, but I am still here, I will not waste lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
I will shall eat desert when I want to, every single day, if I feel like it.
Age is an issue and state of mind over matter, if you do not mind, it does not matter.
So if someone questions for being old, tell them, I am not old, I have been young for a very long time.
Crossing the rainbow bridge will be a pleasure, because I have lived my life to the full.
A life I am satisfied with.
The rainbow bridge will be the gate way to a new life, I look forward to.
There will be a life, of never-ending, now and forever more……..
You wake up….Everything is Gone
What is the First thing You do?
Author: ©MFR
It was long day. Work was crazy, the fucking boss was full of shit again and as always he expected miracles from me. I got home to a screaming wife and the three children running around the house causing chaos again. Something that was driving the wife crazy and putting a large strain on our marriage. To be honest I did not want to come home today. I wanted to go and sit in my favorite pub, sit quietly at the bar and have far to many glasses of chilled red wine. That would have made the day feel so much better. But alas as a good husband I had to come home and perform my duties to my wife and children.
Dinner was good, same old same old. I was hungry so I just ate it all and could not wait to open the second bottle of wine, the wine always made me feel good and relaxed and took away all the stress and strain of life. While she washed up the dishes and listened to all her screaming and shouting at the children to go and brush their teeth and get into bed. I decided to put in a CD as I was not in the mood for a normal boring TV. My porn CD collection was the best, as being married for so long my sex life was so boring. I needed something to excite me so I could have sex with her. Sadly she was always tired and always had some excuse not have sex. But tonight I was in the mood so I needed to watch some rough porn to get me horny enough to have a good sex session with her.
Suddenly I noticed it was very quite in the house and realized the kids were in bed and she had done all her chores for the day. She would then go for a bath, something I thought was so dirty, how do you clean yourself in a bath of water with your own dirt? Showering was the only way for me to go. After her bath, she would then get into bed with her pajamas and get onto her phone, and spend the rest of the night till she was tired on Facebook. Her social media she was addicted to.
I walked into the room after locking up for the night. My 45 Colt 1911 in my hand, I put it on my side table next to my bed. You never know what was going to happen through the night. We had some serious crime in our area and we always had to be wide awake and be ready for the unknown. She just kept on with Facebook as I slowly got naked and ready for bed. I was half erect from all the porn CD’s and hoped she would be ready and in the mood for sex.
I put off my bed side lamp that she had put on and crawled into bed. I only slept naked as I never enjoyed sleeping with clothes on. I loved to be free in bed before I fell asleep or had sex. As I lay on my right-hand side I slid my hand under the top of her pajamas. Her stomach felt so soft and so flat as she was a fit lady and looked after herself seeing that the gym was a favorite place for her to go. She looked at me and put down her phone. I knew she was in the mood and had not made love and been fucked for a while. She took my hand and slid it into her pajama pants, she was horny and oh so ready.
Before I could say knife, the pajamas was of and we were entangled in a night of passion and rough sex. I knew that no matter her attitude at times she loved a good sex session because her sexual desires were great. One of the reasons I loved her. We both loved sex so much. God knows how many times she reached an orgasm that night, but after I had shot my load, a huge load, we lay in each others arms for a while because that is what I had to do after sex to show my love and appreciation after the event. That was what my father taught me a long time ago. After sex, show and love the person who made you reach that magic orgasm.
We lay there for a while, then she got up and I knew she was of to the shower to have a quick clean before settling down for the night. I joined her in the shower. We both helped to wash that passionate sex of. Her nipples were still hard. It would take us both a while to settle down and relax after a very enjoyable sex session.
Out of the shower, again her pajamas was put on, I just finished my drink that stood next to the bed and got into bed naked as always. She got into bed, switched of her light, kissed me good night, a simple peck on the cheek and lay down on her right side. I said good night and said I love you, more out of habit than anything else. She was silent. I knew she was tired and exhausted so I just accepted no response. I went and lay behind her, in the darkness, I thought, actually it was a good day, no matter what. Ending the day with a good sex session was always good, and made all the stress and strain of the day, just go away. Our sex session were always good, especially when she was in the mood. It was quite and dark, I slid my hand under her pajama top, held onto her lovely firm breast closed my eyes. It was time to sleep.
It was a good nights rest, I woke up and had to go for a piss. My bladder was full from so much liquid intake during the day and night. I got up and went to relieve myself. I walked naked through the house, I stopped at the kids bedroom to see if all was well. The little angels were fast asleep. Looking at them fast asleep I could not believe they were such a hand full when they were awake.
All good I went back to our room got back into bed. As I turned onto my side she stired, her hand explored my body, over my smooth butt and came to rest on my shoulder, the second part of the evening had become so amazing. Back to sleep for both of us.
My alarm went of. I always set it for 4.30 pm as I always went for the cycle of forty km before breakfast. I was lying on my back. Mt right hand moved to where she was lying. She was not there. Why? I slowly got out of the bed. It was hot for so early in the morning. I thought let me go and see where my wife was and how the rest of my family was doing. To my amazement I could not find my wife in the house anywhere. When I got to the kids rooms, the beds were still unmade, but the kids were no where to be seen. Suddenly there was a serious panic in my stomach. Where were my people, my family? What the fuck was going on? I decided to go outside, maybe they were in the garden for whatever reason.
As I stepped into the garden, and looked around there was an eerie silence. I never heard a single sound and I saw nothing. Not a dog, not a bird, not a human. There was nothing.
Take a moment and think about it…….
Epilogue
Many of us go through life, and experience so much about life and its values and the journey we are on.
We learn everyday about life and our journey there in.
It is up to us to share our experiences and situations with others to make life a better place for us all to live in.
Your journey in life depends on what you learn about life and what you do with it.
Your life and your journey is what you make of it.
We all travel on the bus of life on our journeys till the end of time.
We have many different bus stops, that we stop at and continue our journey of life, be it good or bad stops.
The life’s lesson we learn at every stop make us better people and to continue to help other people’s life’s journey to be a better place to live in.
Enjoy your journey of life.
It is what you make of life that makes you a better person.
Thank you
©MFR
The Book of Lifes Short Stories Book 2(Marius Robbertze)
Introduction:
The Book of Life’s Short Stories Book 2
In life we all learn very dear lessons during our journey of life.
Some of the lessons are good, and some are bad lessons we never want to repeat.
Life’s lessons we experience from other people’s situations and our own life’s story.
These are Life’s lesson’s I have put together for all to read and hopefully to improve their journey of life. We all can benefit from just that little extra in life to keep us going and to improve our lives for ourselves and our family and friends.
In the present day everyone on this earth at one time or another needs help in one way or another.
These short stories are there as a life guide and information with some very helpful tips advice and teaching for a better life in the future for all.
Enjoy.
Short Stories:
• A Boat for All Feelings
• A Glass of Milk and a Sandwich
• Best way to Support Someone with Depression
• Cherokee Chief priceless Advice
• Coming back Home
• Dear Suicide
• Dying the Regrets
• GOD’s Wife
• How much is Your Life Worth
• Life at its Best
• My Thought for the Day
• Native American Wisdom
• Nomophobia
• Open the Eyes of my Heart
• Reminders of Life while Growing Up
• The Eagle Epiphany
• The Last Quarter of Your Life
• Set Backs and Failures
• Set an Example
• Sixty and Above
• Social Media
• Stopped by a Brick
• Success
• The Crow Comparison
• The Different cups in Life
• The King and his Servant
• The Pain of Rejection
• The Secret to Success
• Two Frogs
• The Word Love
• Thought for the Day
• Time Management
• Why Me
• Wisdom
• With age comes Wisdom
• You wake Up….Everything is Gone…
A Boat for all Feelings
Author: ©MFR
Once there was an island where all the feelings and emotions lived together.
One day a big storm from the sea was about to drown the island.
Every emotion on the island was scared, but Love made a boat to escape.
All the feelings jumped in the boat except for one sense.
Love got down to see who it was.
It was Ego.
Love tried its best to bring Ego to the boat, but Ego did not move.
Everyone asked Love to leave Ego and come in the boat, but Love was meant to Love.
It remained with Ego.
All other feelings were left alive, but Love died because of Ego.
Never let Love die because of your Ego.
A Glass of Milk and a Sandwich
Author: ©MFR
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school. He found he had only one thin penny left, and he was very hungry and thirsty.
He decided he would ask for a meal and something to drink at the next house he visited.
However, he lost his nerve when a stunning young woman opened the door at the house. He was only a boy but admired her complete beauty. So instead of a meal he asked for a simple glass of water.
The lady thought the boy looked very hungry and thirsty, so she brought him a large glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. He drank the milk slowly, ate the sandwich and then asked, with a quivering voice:
"How much do I owe you Ma’am?"
She replied:
"You do not owe me anything," the lady replied.
"My mother has taught her children never to accept money for kindness."
The boy said.....
"Then I thank you from the bottom of my small little heart."
As the boy, John Doe left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in GOD and mankind was also much stronger. He had been ready to give up and quit his quest for his future as a well-known and respected doctor and specialist.
Years later that young woman became critically ill in her small home town she lived in. The local doctors were baffled about her condition. It was a crises of note. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr John Doe was called in for the consultation, as he had grown from a doctor, to a respected specialist in the field of rare diseases.
When Dr John Doe heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light and tears filled his eyes.
That was the town where he grew up and spent all his youth in.
Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.
Dressed in his Doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. The lady with the milk and sandwich kindness.
After a full examination of her, he went back to his consultation room, determined to do his best to save her life.
From that day he gave special attention to her case every day and night. Twenty four hours was too short to help her heal.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. The lady was healed and recovering strongly in her hospital bed. Dr John Doe requested the hospital business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.
When he received the bill, he looked at it, then wrote something on the edge of the bill. The bill was then sent to her hospital room where she was recovering.
She feared to open the bill, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for the bill in total. She thought, what I would have to sell just to make a dent on this bill.
Finally she looked at the bill, and something caught her attention written on the side of the bill.
She read these words.....
Paid in full with one glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich.
Signed
Dr John Doe (Specialist)
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her heart was happy and she immediately prayed out allowed:
"Thank You GOD that your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands. Thank you for people who love and care unconditionally"
The moral of this Story:
In life there are so many people that need help and are in desperate need in this world. Never turn anyone away, those in need or require your help in any way.
What you do, does not have to be a full meal, or hundreds of rands.
All it can be is a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich.
In Hebrews 13 verse 1 and 2 it says:
1. Continue in Brotherly love.
2. Do not neglect hospitality and help to those in need, for by so doing, so many people have helped and entertained Angels without even knowing it.
Are you prepared to turn away an Angel from GOD in desperate need and needs help desperately and lovingly?
Ask yourself that question today……
Best Ways to Support Someone with Depression
Author: ©MFR
Having suffered and still suffering from acute emotional sadness and depression, all my life. Through the years, these are the signs I have learnt of by heart. These are the help and guidance I have always wanted. Sometimes received, sometimes understood. Most times a battle I had to fight by myself.
If your loved one is struggling with depression, you may feel confused, frustrated and distraught yourself. Maybe you feel like you are walking on eggshells because you are afraid of upsetting them even more. Maybe you are at such a loss that you have adopted the silent approach. Or maybe you keep giving your loved one advice, which they just are not taking. They are not taking it because they know better. Trust me.
Depression is an insidious, isolating disorder, which can sabotage relationships, friendships family and friends.
This can make not knowing how to help all the more confusing.
But your support is significant. And you can learn the various ways to best support your loved one. Trust me, I have needed it so badly through the years. And sadly, I yet need to be cured of depression.
Be there for them.
The best thing you can do for someone with depression is to be there. When I was struggling and still struggling with my own depression, the most healing moments came when someone I loved simply sat with me while I cried, and I cry a lot, and I still cry a lot, all I wanted is for that person to hold my hand wordlessly, or spoke warmly to me with statements like
‘You are so important to me.’
‘Tell me what I can do to help you.’
‘We are going to find a way to help you to feel better.’
‘Everything is going to be okay’
‘I am always here for you’
‘You are always loved and cared for’
Try all these small gestures.
If you are uncomfortable with emotional expression, you can show support in other ways
Send a good wishes cards or a text to show love and support.
A voice note, when depressed, hearing the voice of a loved one or from someone who loves and cares for you, to say everything is going to be alright, means so much.
These gestures provide a loving connection and they are also a beacon of light that helps guide your loved one when the darkness lifts. The darkness is a bitch. Something that cannot be described to anyone.
Do not judge or criticize.
What you say can have a powerful impact on your loved one. Avoid saying statements such as: “You just need to see things as half full, not half empty” or “I think this is really all just in your head”. “If you got up out of bed and moved around, you would see things better.”
These words imply “that your loved one has a choice in how they feel – and has chosen, by free will, to be depressed, You are not only insensitive but can isolate your loved one even more.
Avoid the tough-love approach.
Many individuals think that being tough on their loved one will undo their depression or inspire positive behavioural changes, For instance, some people might intentionally be impatient with their loved one, push their boundaries, use silence, be callous or even give an ultimatum, for example, “You better snap out of it or I am going to leave”, Consider that this is as useless, hurtful and harmful as ignoring, pushing away or not helping someone who has cancer.
Do not minimize their pain.
Statements such as “You are just too thin-skinned” or “Why do you let every little thing bother you?” This shames a person with depression. It invalidates what they are experiencing and completely glosses over the fact that they are struggling with a difficult disorder – not some weakness or personality flaw.
Avoid offering advice.
It probably seems natural to share advice with your loved one. Whenever someone we care about is having a tough time, we yearn to fix their heartache.
Let me caution that. While it may be true that the depressed person needs guidance, saying that will make them feel insulted or even more inadequate and detach further.
What helps instead, is to ask, “What can we do to help you feel better?” This gives your love one the opportunity to ask for help. When a person asks for help they are more inclined to be guided and take direction without feeling insulted.
Avoid making comparisons.
Unless you have experienced a depressive episode yourself, saying that you know how a person with depression feels is not helpful. While your intention is probably to help your loved one feel less alone in their despair, this can cut short your conversation and minimize their experience.
Learn as much as you can about depression.
You can avoid the above missteps and misunderstandings simply by educating yourself about depression. Once you can understand depression’s symptoms, course and consequences, you can better support your loved one.
For instance, some people assume that if a person with depression has a good day, they are cured.
Depression is not a static illness. There is an ebb and flow to symptoms that many non-depressed people misunderstand.
An adult who is feeling hopeless may still laugh at a joke, and a child who is in despair may still attend class, get good grades and even seem cheerful. People with depression hide so much away. Hiding and going behind their walls make them feel so much better. Their walls are an escapism they feel happy and comfortable behind. Those walls can never be penetrated.
The truth is that depressive symptoms are lingering elsewhere, hidden or not easy to see, so it is important to know that depression has a far and often imperceptible range.
Be patient.
Patience is a pivotal part of supporting your loved one. When you are patient with your loved one, you are letting them know that it does not matter how long this is going to take, or how involved the treatments are going to be, or the difficulties that accompany the passage from symptom onset to recovery, because you will be there.
This patience has a powerful result. With such patience, comes hope. When you have depression, hope can be hard to come by.
Sometimes supporting someone with depression may feel like you are walking a tight rope. What do I say? What do I not say? What do I do? What do I not do?
But remember that just by being there and asking how you can help can be an incredible gift.
Depression is a very serious illness. I have lived with it for many years, for very obvious reason. It is very difficult to treat. It lives with so many people. I live with it every day of my life. I will die with it.
My best advice, do not try and cure someone’s depression. It is an illness that can sometimes never be cured. Just be there for the person. Every day of their lives.
Understand their pain and suffering. Trust me, it is a very serious pain.
Pray GOD you never ever have to live with depression……
Cherokee Chief Priceless Advice.
Author: ©MFR
An Old Cherokee Native American Indian told his grandson.
My Child, there is a battle between two wolves inside the heart and soul of everyone.
One Wolf is Evil.
It is Anger, Jealousy, Greed, Resentment, Inferiority, Lies and Ego.
The Other Wolf Is Good.
It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Humility, Kindness, Empathy and Truth.
The Boy thought about it for a long Time, and then one day The Boy asked, after feeding both Wolves in his little soul
Grandfather which Wolf Eventually Wins?
The Old Cherokee Quietly Replied
The Wolf You Feed Every Day.
Which Wolf do you Feed every day?
Coming Back Home.
Author: ©MFR
Coming back home and being hugged by Loved Ones.
First thought.
Joseph in the Bible Genesis (37–50)
Joseph was rejected by his brothers because, Joseph was loved by his Father Jacob so much. Joseph got special treatment love and a special colourful coat just for him. The brothers stood together and got rid of him. Selling Joseph as a slave. GOD never left Joseph’s side. GOD stayed with him because GOD knew Joseph was destined for bigger and better things in life. Many years of pain and suffering Joseph came home. GOD made sure of that. Joseph was welcomed home by his family, hugged and treated like a king.
Lessons Learnt
Favouritism, Jealousy, Hatred, unkind words, can destroy whole families. On the other hand, “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) Family brothers and sister must always stay and stand together.
God’s guidance of our lives can be completely incomprehensible to us. Joseph’s life story teaches us that. GOD is nevertheless in control, and that GOD is faithful to His promises.
Joseph’s life story shows how people can experience GOD’s presence even in unjust and difficult circumstances. This was also David’s experience: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” You, GOD. (Psalm 23:4).
Second Thought.
How many people do you know that has left home?
Left home, because of pain, suffering, abuse, neglect, unloved and general family bad situations.
So many times we think we can go it alone. We are tired of all the hurt and pain.
There are those and I know a few, that have left their homes friends and family and believed they can make it alone, without their family and friends. There are some who have succeeded and made a great success of their lives. But, indirectly, their hearts never heal the fact that they have left those they that love and care for.
In life, no matter what the situation, no matter what your family has done to you, to make you leave or escape your life with them, your blood stays your blood.
It is hard
Trust me I know, It is fucking hard.
Some people have gone through hell itself with their family, their blood, but true forgiveness is the only way forward. I know and believe it is ultra-hard at times to go back to the family, get a hug, and say, all is good and going to be okay.
Always remember, GOD forgives us everything we have done, everything we do, and everything we are going to do. Because GOD loves us. Your family, your blood, loves you, no matter what the past has done to us.
It is time, just to go home, get that needed hug, and just say, everything is going to be okay. What is done is done. We cannot rectify the past, but we can live the future.
Life has to go on, for everyone, because your blood is your blood, your family is your family.
Think about this, in life, all we have is our blood, our family. Those that love and care for us.
Are you not prepared, just to go home, and get that needed hug…….
Are you prepared to stand at a grave at a past loved one, and you missed out on that welcome home hug, that forgiveness……
Dear Suicide.
Author: ©MFR
I hope things are OK on your side, I hope you are happy every time you take a life and win a soul. Does that make you happy when people take pills...jump off a bridge...take a rope and hang...shoot themselves in the head……then are you completely satisfied,
Tell me, where do you get our addresses?
Where do you get my name?
Not just me?
Everybody’s.
Everyone hates you more than you can imagine!
You come here with your soft voice, your long black coat, your soft convincing voice, and make people believe everything you say, do and request.
I hear you say "everything will be OK" just cut cut cut, the pain will subside then you will not feel anything ever again.
Take all the pills, 1 2 3 then everything is gone.
Not only is everything gone, another soul is gone then, forever.
A soul that will be missed by family friends and loved ones forever……
The pain and suffering you leave behind, words cannot explain.
Pain and suffering that stays for many life times in the future.
I ask you very nicely, please delete my name in your book, not just my name, and everyone’s names that you are looking for.
Everyone that has no more hope and reach the pits of hell.
You are one unscrupulous pig! I hate you…Your black coat and your selfish ways.
I am sorry to say, you are not going to win...may your black coat disappear, may the ropes you hand out tie yourself down, may the knives you hand out write your own name on your heart.... may you drift away deep in the sea...and disappear forever……
And believe me...No one is going to help you or miss you…..ever…..
Not Sponge Bob who lives under the sea, not Finding Nemo... no one...
No food for you in my hot oven, your blood cup is empty on my table, and your coat has frayed and disappeared into existence...
Dear Suicide......... Please do these three things…..
Please call Psalm 23,
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
(You dear suicide live in the valley of death)
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
(In the house of the Lord, not in the house of the devil)
Then read Psalm 121,
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Dance to Psalm 91...
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him.
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
Dear suicide, your pitch black coat, frayed and old, stained with the blood of so many, has been hung away in the closet of never ever again...
Never again, will you make me adhere to your easy way out…..
NEVER………
Dying - The Regrets
Author: ©MFR
Imagine, decades from now you are lying on your deathbed, contemplating how you have lived your life.
While you are lying there, do you think it will matter what others thought about the decisions you made in your life?
Or do you think you might regret what you did or did not do because of this very reason?
The fear of what other people think is one of the biggest fears out there.
In fact, in the bestselling book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”, by Bronnie Ware, a nurse who spent many years caring for people in the last few weeks of their lives, the most common regret the dying shared with her was,
"I wish I had, had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me".
But how can we gain this courage to break free from the shackles of other people’s opinions and live true to ourselves.
Awareness
To prevent the thoughts and opinions of others from negatively impacting our lives, it is first important to become aware of how much they influence our choices and decisions.
It can be easy to dismiss that we are not concerned about what others think if we do not let it affect the big decisions we make in our lives.
However, many may not even be aware that the reason they make certain decisions or behave a certain way is subconsciously influenced by this fear. And this was very much the case with many people.
Over the last few years, I used to believe that I never let other’s thoughts or opinions affect the big decisions in my life. While that was true to a large degree, I never realized how much I let what other people may think impact how I lived my life until I took a three-month solo trip.
I began to observe how this fear would influence how I behaved, showed up and expressed myself around others. And over time, all of these can have as much impact if not more than the big decisions one makes in life.
Moreover, for the first time in my life, I realised just how much of my mental energy and time was consumed regarding what will others think?
(Even if they were complete strangers that I would probably never see again in my life)
This would make me indecisive and even dismiss considering certain possibilities or doing certain things.
As with letting go or changing anything, awareness is the first step. Being aware begins by paying closer attention to our thoughts and inner mental dialogue, especially before making decisions.
Keep the big picture in mind
Far too often in our lives, we lose sight of the big picture. That no matter what you do or don’t do, it still doesn’t change the fact that you are going to die one day and so is everybody else.
We all forget this from time to time. But it’s worth reminding ourselves now and then.
Taking the analogy of the deathbed and applying it into our present life is one of the best ways to prevent other people’s opinions from influencing our behaviors and decisions.
This very realization was what helped Steve Jobs make the big decisions in his life, as he said in his Stanford Commencement address,
"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart".
Take responsibility for your life
Opinions. Our world is full of them. People are going to have an opinion about everything. And those people will include the ones you love like your family and closest friends.
(whose opinions we tend to place on a pedestal)
However, at the end of the day, they cannot live your life for you, and neither are they responsible or to blame for the way your life turns out. You are the one who needs to live through the result of your choices.
Let go of trying to please and satisfy others
Our natural human instinct is to please, satisfy and seek acceptance from others. But, trying to please everyone all the time is an impossible task and not to say a severely limiting way to live life.
People who lived impeccable lives and dedicated their lives to the service of others, be it, Buddha, Gandhi or Christ were not able to please everyone. Even the greatest works of art, music and cinema will have its share of critics.
Accept the fact that you won’t be able to make everyone happy all the time and allow this realisation to sink in deeply. This is completely liberating because you won't be hard on yourself when you aren't able to and neither will you take it as your responsibility to do so.
If you want to live a life true to yourself, you will need to make peace with the fact that it may mean letting go of seeking acceptance and validation from even our closest friends and family.
Have clarity
We cannot be true to ourselves if we don’t know what we want in the first place.
However, clarity may not come overnight. Therefore we must actively seek it and make space for it in our lives. It may be hard to come by if we are surrounded and bombarded by other people’s opinions, but, the journey to clarity begins by making it a priority to focus on ourselves.
How I like to get clarity about what matters to me, is by journaling and spending time in solitude.
The more we are clear about what we want, the less we are likely to be swayed by other people’s expectations and desires for us.
Let go of the big Illusion
Our mind may often tend to believe that the world revolves around us, and everybody is waiting to judge the decisions and choices that we make in our lives.
However, the truth is nobody judges us as much as we judge ourselves. And we often mistakenly assume others judge aspects about us that we judge ourselves. But others are often lost in their head with their worries and self-judgements to have the time care about how we are living our life.
There’s an interesting piece in the book Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert which captures this succinctly
"We spend our 20's and 30's so worried about what everyone is thinking about us. Then we get into our 40's and 50's, and we finally start to be free, because we decide we don't give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you will not be completely free until your 60's and 70's, when you will finally realize this liberating truth — NOBODY WAS EVER THINKING ABOUT YOU, ANYHOW."
"People are mostly thinking about themselves. People don’t have time to worry about what you’re doing, or how well you’re doing it, because they’re all caught up in their own dramas. People’s attention may be drawn to you for a moment (if you succeed or fail spectacularly and publicly for instance), but that attention will soon enough revert right back to where it’s always been — on themselves. "
Completely letting go of what will people think maybe impossible and that’s okay. What we need to do is prevent it from letting it limit how we lead our lives.
It is not the easiest thing to do because it would mean going against our natural tendencies, but it is surely the path to a more fulfilling life. However, once we have got the proper perspective and clarity about what we want, it makes it a whole lot easier to go against the grain of our conditioning.
Please take care and look after yourself.
Remember
You do matter and always will…………
GOD’s Wife
Author: ©MFR
A little boy, about 10 years old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through window of a shoe store, and shivering with cold.
An Old Lady approached the young boy and said,
My, but you are in such deep thought staring in that window!
The little boy answered
I was asking GOD to give me a pair of shoes, was the little boy's reply.
The lady took the little boy by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks and a pair of shoes for the boy.
She then asked the clerk if he could give her a basin of water and a towel.
He quickly brought the basin and water to her.
She took the little boy to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little boy’s feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks and shoes.
Placing a pair of socks upon the boy's feet, and then putting the new pair of shoes on the little boy’s feet.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks in a packet and gave them to the little boy.
She patted him on the head and said, No doubt, you will be more comfortable now with your socks and shoes.
As she turned to go, the astonished little boy caught her by the hand, and looking up into her gentle old face, with tears in the little boys eyes, the little boy asked her,
Are you GOD's wife?
In life, we can all be that special person in someone’s life.
We do not have to be GOD’s Wife.
We just need to care for one another always.
Who have you cared for today?
Whose life have you made a difference in?
How much is your Life Worth.
Author: ©MFR
A son goes to his father.
He says, dad, how much is my life worth?
Your life is more than you can ever imagine.
Dad reaches down. He picks up stone off the ground and he hands it to his son. He says, son, take this stone down to the market and walk around with it. If anybody asks you how much, how much you want for it, you don't say anything.
Just raise up two fingers. So that's what he does. He takes the stone and he goes down to the market and he walks around for a few minutes and an old lady, looks at him. She says young man, how much is that stone? Young man looks at her and he just holds up two fingers, she says R2.
I'll take it. So he runs off and he goes back to his father. He said, dad, dad, she offered me R2 for the stone. Father said, all right, son, he said, now take that same stone down to the museum. And same thing. If anybody asks you how much it is, don't say anything, just raise up two fingers. So that's what he does. He gets to the museum and he walks around.
A man asked him, Hey, young man, how much is that stone? The son doesn't say anything. He just holds up two fingers and the guy says R200? That's a great deal. I'll take it. The kid runs off. He goes back to his father. He says, dad, the man in museum offered me R200 for it. Dad said, okay.
Dad said, now, look, I want you to take that down to the jeweller. He deals in precious stones. The same thing. Don't say anything. When he asks you how much it is, just hold up two fingers. That's what he does. He goes to the jeweller and he walks in. And as soon as the jeweler sees the stone that he has in his hands, his eyes get really big and he gasped and he jumps up and he says, oh my God, that's the stone.
I have been looking for that stone my entire life. How much do you want for it? Young man looks at him. He just holds up two fingers and the jeweler says R200,000. I'll take it. Son goes running back to his father. He said, dad, the jeweller offered me R200,000 for the stone and the dad says, now you understand the value of your life. Your precious life.
Now YOU are valuable and dependent on where you place yourself in life.
Place yourself in the right place. Always.
Life awaits, place yourself correctly.
You can be the R2 stone. You can be the R200,000 stone.
You are always valuable. No matter what.
Never ever just be the R2 stone.
Go out there and be counted.
You are a gem to this world.
You might never realise that.
Do it, before it is too late.
The choice is yours……….
Life at its Best
Author: ©MFR
When you buy a car today
The road and the distance are the same, and we get to the same destination always.
Whether we drink a bottle of wine worth 300 rand or 100 rand, the hangover is the same. (Never had a hangover)
Whether we live in a house that is 300 square feet or 1000 square feet, loneliness is the same when you stay alone, sad, and depressed.
You will realize your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.
Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down, you go down with it.
Therefore, I hope you realize when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north south east and west, or heaven and earth. That is true happiness.
There are Five undeniable facts of life.
Do not educate your children to be rich,
Educate them to be happy,
So when they grow up, they will know the value of things not the price.
Best awarded words in Africa
Eat your food as your medicines.
Otherwise you have to eat your medicine as your food.
The ones that love you will never leave you because
Even if there are one hundred reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on.
(Really, Marius)
There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it.
You are loved when you are born. (Really)
You will be loved when you die. (For sure)
In between you have to manage.
If you just want to walk fast. Walk alone.
But if you want to walk far. Walk together.
Best doctors in the world are.
Sunlight
Rest
Exercise
Diet
Self confidence
Friends and Family
Maintain that in all walks and stages of your life.
Enjoy life, live it to the full.
We never know when Life is going to end……
Life’s Battles
Author: ©MFR
When life feels like a battle
In the middle of a war
And your battle cry’s a whisper
Because your voice has lost its roar
When the shield that you carry
Cannot protect you like it should
And you are struggling to fire your arrows
Like you normally would
When your armor weighs you down
And you are battered, and you are bruised
When the enemy’s advancing
And you are sure you are going to lose
When life’s battle feels exhausting…
Put down your sword and rest
Save your energy
Because the war is not over yet
The war is never over
But also look around you
To the others in the fray
And listen for another army
That is calling out your name
In despair and need
Tell them you are wounded
That you stumbled and you fell
Because beneath your armor
There is a chance they cannot tell
Let them cover you
Say that you will do the same for them
When they are hurt and wounded
With life’s struggles
And your strength returns to you again
Soon
For now, retreat a little
From the weariness of your war of life
But remember, you have survived
Each battle you have fought before
And you have won
No matter all the pain and suffering you had to go through
So give yourself a lot of credit
Because you have made it all this way
And I promise, you are strong enough
To fight another day.
Always and forever…….
My Thoughts for This Day
Author: ©MFR
Today, there is no politics, no religion and no race issues - just food for thought.
You know……time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the years passing by. It seems like only yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life.
Yet in a way it seems like ages ago, and I wonder where all the years have gone. I know that I have lived them all. I have a glimpse of what it was like back then and of all my hopes and dreams. I had so many……
However, here it is…… the last quarter of my life and it surprises me. How did I get here so fast? Where have the years gone and where has my youth gone? How did I become so old so fast? I am proud of my age and what I have achieved, but it has gone by so quickly. Like the blink of an eye.
I will remember seeing older people over the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only in the first term of my life and that the fourth term was so far away that I could not visualize or fully could not imagine what it would be like to be old, in the fourth quarter. How can we ever imagine what it could be in this day and age?
Yet, here it is…… my friends and family are retired and turning grey – they move slower and I now see an older person in a differ light. Some are in better and some worse shape than me, some have crossed the rainbow bridge to the next everlasting life, but I see the big change in those that are still on this planet. They are not like the ones I remember being young and lively… but like me, their age is starting to show and we are now those older people we used to see and never thought we would become.
Every day now I find that just a shower is a real target for the day! Getting in and out of the bath is like an obstacle course. A nap is no longer a treat, it is mandatory! Because if I do not do it out of free will, I fall asleep where I sit! Sleep is a must at my age, even just for a few hours to replenish the old, tired batteries.
And so……now I enter this new season of my life, unprepared for all the pains and the loss of strength and ability to go do things I wish I did, but never did! I ask the question, why did I not do those things when I had the ability strength and endurance to do so?
But at least I know this, even though I am on the last term of my life and I am not sure how long it will last, that when it is over on this earth... it is over. I will be prepared to embrace the new life on the other side with open arms. Because, I have lived this life to the best of my ability.
A new adventure will begin! Yes, I am sorry. There are things I wish I had not done……things I should have done, but there are truly many things I am lucky to have done. I have been so blessed, by my Creator. It is all in a lifetime. My Life Time. A life time I have lived and been blessed to have experienced as per the request from the most high. I have passed the test, my new challenge and life awaits me.
So, if you are not on the final quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here sooner than you think. So, whatever you want to achieve in your life, do it fast! Very fast.
Do not put things off for too long! Life goes by so fast. So, do what you can today because you can never be sure if you are on the last term or not! Only you will know when you are on the final last term.
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of life....so, live for today and say all the things you want to your loved ones to remember you by- and hope they appreciate and love you for all those things what you have done for them in all the years that have lived accordingly! 'Life' is a gift to you. You will be treasured and admired for the person you were and what you have done, and what you have done for others.
Be happy! Have a good day! Remember, it is health that is true wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
You might think; Going out is good - but coming home is better! You forget names - but that is okay, because some people forgot they even know you! You realize you were never going to be really good at something like golf etc. - but you loved the outdoors! You love the nature GOD created. You were blown away by its beauty. You loved it. You lived it. It was part your life.
The things you used to care about, you are not that interested in anymore - but you really do not care that you are not that interested in it. You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV on than in bed - you call it 'pre-sleep'!
You miss those days when everything worked with just an 'On' and 'Off' switch! You tend to use more 4-letter words - 'what' and 'when' etc.
You have a lot of clothes in your wardrobe, more than half of which you will never wear - but just in case! Old is good - • Old is comfortable • Old is safe • Old songs • Old movies • …… and best of all, • Friends and Family from old! So, stay healthy, my 'Old friend!' Always take care and look after yourself.
Have a fantastic day! Have a great term - whichever one you are in! Take a good look at yourself. Talk to your "Old Friends!" Family, those you care for and make them smile in agreement of a life well lived.
It is not what you collect but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.
What have you scarred?
What have you done to make a difference?
How will you be remembered?
Live the rest of your life to the full.
Yesterday is Gone.
Today is upon you.
Tomorrow is a Gift.
Life, your life, live it………..
American Wisdom.
Native American Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught and the last stream poisoned will we realize we cannot eat money.
There are two wolves fighting inside. All of us. The first one is evil. The second one is good, which Wolf will win. The one you feed
When you were born, you cried in the world, rejoiced live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice,
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightening in the hand.
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past wisdom is of the future.
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins,
They are not dead who live in the hearts, they leave behind.
There is nothing as eloquent. As a rattlesnakes tale,
It is less of a problem to be poor than to be dishonest.
A brave man dies, but once a coward, many times
Make my enemy brave and strong so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.
The bird who has eaten, cannot fly with the bird that is hungry,
Cherish youth, but trust old age
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life. The creator intended for you.
Not every sweet root gives birth to sweet grass.
Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it.
It is no longer good enough to cry. Peace. We must act peace, live peace, and live in peace.
When a man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard.
Beware of the man who does not talk. And the dog bed does not bark.
Our pleasures are shallow. Our sorrows are.
It does not require many words to speak the truth.
Do not let yesterday use up too much of today.
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove.
Poverty is a news that strangles, humility and breeds disrespect for God. And man,
Remember, that your children are not your own, but are lent. He, you buy the creator
Walk lightly on the spring mother earth is.
Ask questions from your heart and you will be answered from the heart.
There is no depth, only a change of worlds.
What is it?
It is a flash of Firefly in the night. It is the breadth of a Buffalo in the wintertime.
It is as the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset……
Wisdom from a great nation that once was and always will be…..
Nomophobia.
Author: ©MFR
I was in deep conversation with a friend at work, when his phone pinged.
He reached for his phone, flicked his eyes back at me and immediately went to work on his phone, whilst mumbling ‘uh-huh’ to me to signal I should continue talking. I felt I had lost his attention but chatted on for a while before suddenly stopping mid-sentence. He did not notice. His fingers continued flying over his mobile, and he said mm-hmm into the silence.
I felt like a fool and wondered why I was even sharing my time with him.
How sad is this?
The above inspired some deep thought about our digital body language in me.
I even found a term for it:
It is called nomophobia (NO MOBILE PHONE Phobia) and describes the fear we have of being detached from our mobile phones.
We have all experienced some version of this at some point in time, and we may even have perpetuated it on occasion.
That includes ME.
Let us explore when this happens, why it happens, what it perpetuates, and ultimately what it means.
This fixation on our mobile devices seems to be most prevalent in a social context, and I have to wonder why so many of us sit idly by and allow it.
I have seen it happen during business meetings on occasion, yet to a far lesser degree. I have NEVER seen it during a job interview. Which I have been present in a few times in my life.
So, my question is, if we can sit through an hour-long job interview with our phones on silent, why on earth can we not sit through an hour-long lunch with a friend, family member or loved one?
What is it about that little device that captures our attention and causes us to lose focus instantly?
Perhaps even more insidious though, is that so few people realise they do it. Or stop to consider how they might be making a dear friend or loved one feel when they do it. Or worse – how they are treating themselves. How you treat yourself is how you treat others, and this is why I have to write this.
When we are talking and you suddenly jump onto your phone, you are telling me that what I have to say is not important to you. You are prioritizing electronic time over relational time, and that to me is dangerous ground. You are making me question the value you see in me and in our time together. You are creating a wedge in our relationship.
Now before you go and get your knickers in a twist about your aged parent whom you need to be available for, or your teenage child whom you are expecting a call from, or the love of your life, let us just clarify this behaviour.
We all have people in our lives who take priority, and I am not for a moment suggesting that you shirk your responsibilities. Keeping an eye on your mobile and actively engaging on it are two different things. I am suggesting that we become more mindful about managing expectations and curtailing behaviour that causes distance in relationships.
Most people would agree that it feels like disrespect to the bystander, but if we go slightly deeper, you are disrespecting yourself. Your inability to control and manage unanticipated interruptions means that you have boundary issues.
That right there, is really what is at the heart of the issue.
Your permeable boundaries mean you have no control.
When you have no control, you live your life reactively instead of proactively.
You then wonder why you end up sitting in front of a coach or therapist bemoaning the fact that no one respects you.
I refuse to allow little electronic devices to control my life in the future.
I choose instead to pack them away when I am physically with people, to put them on silent, to leave them in my pocket, or somewhere, where I can at least see it, but not let it control my life.
I choose to prioritize people over electronics.
Relationships over notifications. I am committed to living a proactive life, a life where I am in control, and I get to choose what happens and when and how I respond.
I choose to respect myself, and in so doing I respect YOU.
Open the Eyes of my Heart.
Author: ©MFR
On Sunday I was blessed to visit the house of my Father, an Event I look forward to the whole week.
The first song we sang, said
“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.”
I stood there for a moment and let it set it sink in. We were born with two beautiful amazing eyes that see everything through, good or bad, sad or happy etc.
We see life in all difference forms, shapes, colours and sizes etc.
Our eyes miss nothing.
But.
The eyes of our heart.
How many of us have those eyes wide open?
How many of us keep those eyes shut closed?
Why?
Because you’re loving caring giving nature is closed to the world.
Only you, can open the eyes of your heart.
Only you can make that decision to improve your life and your vision seen with the eyes of your heart.
Only you can decide to keep the eyes of your heart closed to the world, its needs desires and wants.
I have met so many people that only see with their eyes.
But the eyes of their heart, is as closed and tight as rose before it opens into something beautiful the eye can see, the nose can smell and life can experience and appreciate.
But to live a pure caring loving life, you have to open the eyes of your heart. You need to see those people who are suffering. Those people who are in need. Those people who need love and caring. Those situations in life that need to been seen with the eyes of the heart always.
The eyes of your heart, need to see the life of this world we live in.
The eyes of your heart need to be wide open, and stay open so you can see life’s situations and difficulties all the time.
Only the eyes of the heart can see that.
You see, the heart does not only keep us alive by pumping blood and oxygen through our body.
The heart, has feelings. Be it love or hatred.
Kindness and giving. Those feelings only the heart can feel see and experience.
The heart decides what we do with our life be it good or bad. Kindness or hatred. Love and compassion.
The eyes see.
The heart sees and feels. The heart is far more emotional than our eyes.
Open the eyes of your heart to see the beauty of people around you.
Open the eyes of your heart, so you can be true to yourself and to the needs of others.
If what you see with your eyes do not please you, close your eyes and open the eyes of your heart, because the heart can always see beauty love and need more than the eyes can ever wonder.
You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close the eyes of your heart to the things you do not want to feel.
Pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened and that the light of this world will show you the way forward to be opened to the life of this world.
There is nothing more fulfilling than when the eyes of your heart are open and stay open and you make a difference in a situation or in the life of someone else.
In life, with the eyes of our heart open, we cannot always do great things, but we can do small things with great love from the heart.
The Good Book says:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:18-21
Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Today and every day, open the eyes of your heart to make a difference in your life, and the vision for a better future for all……
Reminders of Life while Growing Up.
Author: ©MFR
Manners you were taught by your parents will always count, use them at all times no matter what. A well mannered disciplined person is always love and respected by the world.
You will not be everyone's cup of tea, but that is okay. Be your own tea at all times.
Complaining is a waste of time. The three C’s to avoid in life, Criticize, Complain, Condemn.
Kindness is always the answer. Being selfish and uncaring is definitely not the way to go in your life.
You do not have to figure it all out now. You have the rest of your life on this earth to do so.
Your emotions will take practice. Keep on practicing. It is part of your life.
Forge your own path in life, even if you are alone. Make a difference in your own life for the people of this world, to admire and respect you in the future.
You are what you allow in life, be strong always. Very Strong.
Learn to love yourself first. You are the most important person in your own life to live with.
You will always pass failure on your way to success, learn from it and stay humble with a good positive attitude.
Be very grateful for every new sunrise, and every sun set, you never know when your life is going to end on this earth.
No matter what life throws at you, you can always lean on those who love and care for you and make a difference in your life to show you the correct path in life. Never forget, those who guide you, have been through life, you have a long way to go. Take it step by step day by day.
Never forget we are all born with attitude. That is part of your DNA. Your attitude in life makes the world realise and understand who you are. Be the person with the one and only attitude.
Remember your birthday is only a number. Only you can make that number worth living.
Last but certainly not the least, just be you, be the person GOD created, never be like others, no matter who and what they are. When you die one day, may you always be remembered for who and what you were in your life and the life of others.
Set an Example
Author: ©MFR
A message every adult should read because children
Are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you hang my
First painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I was not looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you making a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.
When you thought I was not looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.
When you thought I was not looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.
When you thought I was not looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you did not feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.
When you thought I was not looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.
When you thought I was not looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be
When you thought I was not looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I was not looking I looked at you and
wanted to say, 'Thanks' for all the things I saw when
you thought I was not looking.'
Each of Us -
Parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend,
influences the life of a child.
How will you touch the life of someone today?
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God……
Set Backs and Failures
Author: ©MFR
A marine biologist was involved in an experiment with a shark.
He placed a shark in a tank along with other small bait fishes.
As expected, the shark ate every single fish.
The marine biologist then inserted clear fiberglass to create two sections within the tank.
He placed the shark in one area and smaller fish in the other section.
The shark quickly attacked, but then he bounced off the fiberglass.
The shark kept on repeating this behavior. It just would not stop trying.
While the small fish in the other section remained unharmed and carefree, after about an hour, the shark finally gave up.
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks.
Each time, the shark got less aggressive.
Eventually, the shark got tired and simply stopped attacking altogether.
The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass.
The shark, however, did not attack.
Instead, it was trained to believe in the existence of a barrier between it and the baitfish.
So, this applies to so many of us.
After experiencing setbacks and failures, many of us emotionally give up and stop trying.
Like the shark, we choose to stay with past failures and believe that we will always be unsuccessful and fail.
We build a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier between where we are and where we want to go in life exists.
Never ever give up.
Keep trying because success may be just a try away.
Sixty and Above
Author: ©MFR
Between 60 and Death.
It is time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Do not just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it.
Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital.
Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet in your last days on earth.
Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren, and do not feel bad spending your money on yourself.
You have taken care of them for many years, and you have taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter, and support.
You have always done your best.
The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money.
Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well, and get your sleep. It is easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs.
Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you are feeling well. Stay informed of your health.
Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then, enjoy it together.
Do not stress over the little things. You have already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, (I have a fucking lot of bad ones) but the important thing is the present. Do not let the past drag you down and do not let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten.
Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbour and remember: A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.
Be proud, both inside and out. Do not stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.
Do not lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. You have developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It is part of who you are.
ALWAYS stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You will be surprised at what old friends you will meet. (Thank GOD I have brilliant friends)
Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideas as you, but they are the future and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism, and try to remind them that yesterday's wisdom still applies today.
Never use the phrase: In my time. Your time is now. As long as you are alive, you are part of this time.
Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people, it will rub off on you and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you feel older and harder to be around.
Do not surrender to the temptation of living with your children or grandchildren (if you have a financial choice, that is). Sure, being surrounded by family sounds great, but we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. Even then, do so only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live by yourself.
Do not abandon your hobbies. If you do not have any, make new ones.
You can travel, hike, cook, read, and dance. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a kitchen garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf.
Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you have not seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a park. Get out there.
Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain criticize or complain too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are.
Pains and discomfort go hand in hand with getting older. Try not to dwell on them but accept them as a part of life.
If you have been offended by someone – forgive them. (Marius does not forgive, I have been hurt and destroyed to many times in my life by people) If you have offended someone-apologize. Do not drag around resentment with you. It only serves to make you sad and bitter. It does not matter who was right. Someone once said: "Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die." Do not take that poison. Forgive, forget, and move on with your life. (Sometimes I wish I had taken the poison)
Laugh. Laugh away your worries. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, they never get to experience a full life.
You have reached an age, so many have not.
Sometimes I wish I was one of the lucky ones to have crossed the rainbow bridge and leave behind all the pain and suffering. I have had so fucking much.
Enjoy Life to the full, for tomorrow you may cross the rainbow bridge and be no more.
Social Media
Author: ©MFR
Social media has been an experience at best and an eye-opener at worst for everybody on this planet to date.
People, it seems, want to see the 'Polished' version of Your life, all made up and ready to show you are purposely kept, and renovated life, house family and friends.
The make-up, filtered, stomach in, perky butt, every hair in place version of YOU.
BUT in all reality, that version IS NOT THE REAL version of You, the real YOU.
Why are we so scared to show who we really are, why the constant hiding from ridicule and judgment of our fellow human beings?
I want to see your home. Your lived-in home, Your unmade bed, Your dishes piled to the heavens, the no make-up, dancing over piles of laundry, I want to SEE You and EXPERIENCE You for who and what You really are, away from the spotlight of perfection. Nothing in life is perfect. No matter what.
What are You reading, what are You constantly overthinking, what is Your dreams and aspirations, what makes You sad, what are You mourning, what is Your regret and fears in Life?
I could not be any less interested in the polished YOU version, you are showing the world, or what Your home and garden looks like when the Pastor comes over, and You have to put Your best foot forward.
Who are YOU when the cameras are not flashing?
Who is the real YOU……..
Stopped by a Brick
Author: ©MFR
A successful young executive was riding his brand new Jaguar down a neighbourhood street when he noticed a kid darting out from between parked cars. He slowed down a little bit as he appeared near it, and a brick smashed into his car’s door. He slammed on the brakes and drove back to the place where the brick had been thrown.
The furious man jumped out of his car and caught the nearest kid shouting, “What was that all about? What the heck did you do to my car? Why did you do it?” The young boy was a little scared but was very polite and apologetic. “I am sorry, Mister. I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I had to throw the brick because no one else would stop for my call to help.” With tears rolling down his cheeks, he pointed towards the parked cars and said, “it ii is my brother, he rolled off the curb and fell off his wheelchair, and he is badly hurt. I can’t lift him.”
The sobbing boy asked the man, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He is hurt, and he is too heavy for me.” The young man was moved beyond words and tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Then, he hurriedly lifted the other kid from the spot and put him back in the wheelchair. He also helped the little kid with his bruises and cuts.
When he thought that everything would be ok, he went back to his car. “Thank you, sir, and God bless you,” said the grateful kid. The young man was too shaken up for any word, so the man watched the little boy push the brother who uses a wheelchair down the sidewalk. It was a long and slow ride back home to the man. When he came out of the car, he looked at his dented car door. The damage was very noticeable, but he did not bother to repair it. Instead, he kept the dent to remind him of the message; “Do not go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.”
Life whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.
Sometimes when we do not listen to it, it throws a brick at us.
It is our choice, listen to the whisper or wait for the brick.
The Tortoise and Hare
Author: ©MFR
A tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster.
They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race.
The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then, seeing he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he would sit down and rest for a while before continuing the race. He sat down under a tree and soon fell fast asleep.
The tortoise, plodding along, soon overtook him, passed him, crossed the finish line, and won the race.
The hare woke up and realized he had lost.
Many people will conclude that Slow and Steady won the race. I feel that the real lesson is not about the tortoise at all, it is about the hare.
The hare made a huge mistake, believing in its ability but then not actually proving it. In real life, you may have that great skill, one which everyone agrees, but you must still showcase that skill to win the competition.
Success depends on using your talents, not just having them……
The Crow Comparison.
Author: ©MFR
There once was a crow who lived in the woods
He was happy with his life and never wanted for anything.
But One day the crow saw a dove
He Thought
The dove is so bright and beautiful
By comparison, I am so dark and dull
The crow approached the dove and said
You are so beautiful.
You must be the happiest bird alive.
The dove replied,
I used to think I was the happiest bird alive, but when I saw the Robin, Its chest was so vibrant.
I feel so plain by comparison.
I think the Robin must be the happiest bird alive.
So the crow visited the Robin.
You are so beautiful," said the crow.
You must be the happiest bird alive.
I thought I was the happiest bird alive
said the Robin,
Until I saw the Peacock.
Its colours were so impressive and rich.
My red chest looks so boring by comparison.
I think the peacock must be the happiest bird alive. "
So the crow flew to a zoo to meet the peacock.
Many people flocked to the peacock's cage, admired the peacock and took many photographs.
When the crowd had left, the crow said to the peacock,
You are so beautiful,
You must be the happiest Bird Alive.
The peacock sighed and said,
I thought I was the happiest bird alive, but then they put me in a cage, because of my beauty.
Sometimes I look to the sky and see the crows flying free, and all I want is to be a crow, fly and be free.
I think the Crow must be the happiest Bird Alive.
You see
By comparing ourselves to others we lose sight of our own blessings.
The secret to happiness is to be thankful for what we have, and not upset, jealous, sad, overwhelmed and disappointed over what we lack and don't have.
Love, appreciate and accept, who you are and the blessings you receive for who you are in this life.
I am a Crow
I fly high…….
The Different Cups in Life.
Author: ©MFR
A group of highly established educated students got together to visit their old university professor.
The conversation among them soon turned into criticizing complaining and condemning about their stressful work and life.
The professor went to his kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups, including, porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, tin, some plain-looking, some expensive and some exquisite cups.
The professor told them to help themselves with the coffee.
After all the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, the professor said:
Did you notice all the nice looking cups are taken, and only the plain inexpensive ones are left behind?
While it is normal for everyone to want the best cups for themselves, but that is the source of the problems and stress in your lives.
The cup itself adds no quality to the coffee you are about to drink.
In most of the cases, it is just more expensive and hides what we drink. The professor continued.
The Professor said, what all of you wanted was coffee, not the cup, but all of you consciously went for good-looking expensive cups and then began eyeing on each other’s cups to see the good cups that you had chosen.
So
Let us consider that life is the coffee, and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position are the cups. However, the type of cup we have does not define or change the quality of our lives.
Sometimes, we fail to enjoy the coffee by concentrating only on the cup we have. Being happy does not mean everything around you is perfect.
Life is never perfect.
It means you have decided to see beyond the imperfections and find peace. And the peace lies within you, not in your career, jobs, or the houses you have.
In life, what do you, take and expect to make your life better, is not always the answer.
We are never just satisfied with the plain in life.
We always want the best because we think that is what is going to make our lives better, fulfilled, satisfied and happier.
It is actually the plain in life that makes life better and less important.
Your next cup of coffee in life, let it be plain for a much better less complicated happier life.
Enjoy a plain UN complicated cup of life coffee…….
The EAGLE Epiphany
Author: ©MFR
I Had an Epiphany
(A Moment of Sudden and Great Revelation or Realization)
Huge word for a Half Breed
Some interesting facts that got me thinking about life.
It is funny how GOD can speak through everything.
Eagles build the biggest nests of all birds. It is huge, comfortable, and deep.
One of the most interesting things that I found, was the way that the Eagle gets its young chicks to fly out of the nest.
For many weeks the Eagle brings food to the nest. The little eagles have no worries, they have all they need to survive. But when the adult Eagle deems that it is time for the young eagles to fly, things get uncomfortable.
Now the young eagles do not know that it is time to fly, but the wisdom and the bird’s eye view of the mother Eagle knows that it is time for the chicks to leave the nest.
So you know what she does?
She does not bring food to the babies anymore, and this is what I found a little cruel but fascinating none the less.
Many times she will fly around the nest with the food in her beak so that the young eagles will be tempted or so hungry that they are forced to fly out of the nest and take it out of their mother’s beak.
Stay with me I am going somewhere here.
As I thought about this, I thought about my life and how many times I was in a very comfortable space. I had all I needed. There was no need for me to go any further because I was comfortable.
I wanted to stay there forever. You have to be careful when you get comfortable and stay too long in one place.
It is easy to stop dreaming when your belly is full. You will not feel the need to fly at all, or do anything out the ordinary.
The truth is, as long as we are there in that really comfortable space, we are not fulfilling our own destiny or our own purpose in life. We were not flying, we are just content in the place we are.
Remember this, your greatest prayers are not usually answered in comfort. Think about it.
It takes an uncomfortable situation or being hungry to make us get out and fly.
Many times in life, things are going well, but then everything that was so great changes and we wonder why.
We wonder what happened. We are caught off guard. I am of the opinion that in those times GOD, who knows when it is time for us to leave the nest, is allowing it to become uncomfortable so that we can move on to our next mission in life. Our next hope, our next dream, our next journey of life. Another level giving to us by GOD.
Business changes, jobs go away, friends break your heart, marriages end, relationships end, sickness develops and most times all these things are signs that it is time to take flight to your next level.
Nobody likes change, we are always so happy in our own comfort zone, I get it, but do not be angry or bitter when things change. Do not be mad with people, especially when you know you did right by them and you did all you could do for the friendship, relationship or marriage.
I am sorry to tell you this, but this moment was not about them, it was all about you. I am telling you, if GOD has allowed you to become so uncomfortable in your situation, whatever it is, then it is time for you to move!
Time to Fly.
Do not be afraid, just fly!
There is one part of the Eagles story that I have not told you yet, and this is my favorite part.
If those baby Eagles get out of the nest and they are trying to fly and it is not going well, then that same mother Eagle, that provided for them while they were in the nest, that same Mother Eagle will fly under the baby Eagles, to keep them from falling, to keep them on course, and give them a sense of security.
Just as the Mother Eagle does for them,
GOD’s got you, do not be afraid!
GOD will not let you fall, ever.
Now here is the question:
What situation in your life has become so uncomfortable that you feel like you are being starved for what you need?
Maybe it is GOD’s way of telling you it is time to FLY!
It is time to fly for your own new dreams, your own hopes, goals and a continued life on this earth.
Fly for true love and real hope.
This is your moment to FLY, in Life.
Maybe it is time to leave the nest, the comfort zone without fear, no worries, no stress, and no in trepidation.
Total Faith and Trust in GOD.
Spread your wings and FLY.
It will be your best Flight ever……..
The King and His Servant
Author: ©MFR
There was a King who had ten wild dogs.
The King used these dogs to torture and eat the servants that worked for Him, and had made mistakes.
One of the Kings servants gave the King an opinion that the King thought was wrong.
The King did not like that at all, so He ordered that the servant be thrown to the ten dogs.
The servant approached the Kind and said,
I served to faithfully for ten years and you do this to me.
Please give me ten days with the dogs.
One day for each ten dogs.
The King Agreed, because He believed He knew what the result and outcome would be.
The servant, went to the guard that looked after the dogs and said to the guard,
For those ten days the servant wanted to serve and maintain the dogs, for the next ten days.
The guard was perplexed and amazed, knowing what the dogs did to previous servants that the King had ordered to die.
But the guard agreed, and gave the servant the ten days He requested.
The next ten days, the servant, feed the dogs, groomed them, bathed them and took care of all their needs. He gave them the love they had never had.
When the ten days was over, the King stuck to His punishment and ordered the servant be thrown to the dogs, and die an excruciating death.
Everyone watched and was amazed and very surprised that the dogs did nothing but, licked the servant’s feet, the dogs jumped up on him, tails wagging, ears pinned back, soft yelps of happiness.
The King was amazed and baffled at the dog’s behaviour.
Knowing the dog’s always ate and killed the servants that were disobedient and sentenced to death.
The King asked the servant, what happened to my dogs?
The servant replied, I only served and was loyal to the dogs for ten days, but the dogs never forgot how I treated them for the past ten days,
I served you for a whole ten years with love and compassion, no matter what, and You forgot Everything at my first mistake.
The King, thought for a while and released His huge mistake, and ordered the servant be set free.
Never forget the good things when people make a small mistake.
Mistakes come in many ways forms and shapes.
Love will always cover a multiple of sins and mistakes.
Love comes in many different forms and ways…….
Food for thought.
Author: ©MFR
You know……time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the years passing by.
It seems like only yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life. Yet in a way it seems like ages ago, and I wonder where all the years have gone.
I know that I have lived them all. I have a glimpse of what it was like back then and of all my hopes and dreams. However, here it is…… the last quarter of my life and it surprises me. How did I get here so fast? Where have the years gone and where has my youth gone?
I well remember seeing older people over the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only in the first trimester and that the fourth trimester was so far away that I could not visualize it or fully could not imagine what it would be.
Yet, here it is…… my friends are retired and turning gray – they move slower and I now see an older person. Some are in better and some worse shape than me, but I see the big change. They are not like the ones I remember being young and lively… but like me, their age is starting to show and we are now those older people we used to see and never thought we would become.
Every day now I find that just a shower is a real target for the day!
And a nap is no longer a treat, it is mandatory!
Because if I do not do it out of free will, I fall asleep where I sit!
And so……now I enter this new season of my life, unprepared for all the pains and the loss of strength and ability to go do things I wish I did, but never did! But at least I know this, even though I am on the last term and I am not sure how long it will last, that when it is over on this earth... it is over.
A new adventure will begin!
Yes, I am sorry. There are things I wish I had not done……things I should have done, but there are truly many things I am lucky to have done.
It is all in a lifetime.
So, if you are not on the final quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here sooner than you think. So, whatever you want to achieve in your life, do it fast!
Do not put things off for too long. Life goes by so fast. So, do what you can today because you can never be sure if you are on the last term or not. You have no promises that you will see all the seasons of life.... so, live for today and say all the things you want your loved ones to remember, and hope they appreciate and love you for all those things what you have done for them in all the years that have passed.
Life' is a gift to you. Be happy. Be Good day.
Remember, it is health that is true wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
You might think; Going out is good, but coming home is better.
You forget names, but that is okay, because some people forgot they even know you. You realize you are never going to be really good at something like golf, but you love the outdoors. The things you used to care about, you are not that interested in anymore, but you really do not care that you are not that interested. You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV on than in bed, you call it 'pre-sleep'
You miss the days when everything worked with just an 'On' and 'Off' switch!
You tend to use more 4-letter words - 'what' and 'when'
You have a lot of clothes in your wardrobe, more than half of which you will never wear, but just in case!
Old is good -
• Old is comfortable
• Old is safe
• Old songs
• Old movies
• …… and best of all,
• Friends from Old!
So, stay healthy, 'Old friend'
Have a fantastic day.
Have a great term, whichever one you are in.
Take a good look at yourself.
You have loved and enjoyed three quarters of your life
Go ahead and live and love the last Quarter.
In Life
It is not what you collect but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived……
The Pain Of Rejection.
Author: ©MFR
Rejection is a tough emotion to deal with, but it’s one of the stark and unavoidable realities of life, so best you decide how you’re going to handle her when she comes knocking.
Before we get into coping strategies, let’s explore why rejection is so difficult to muster. Anyone remember Maslow’s hierarchy? Once we have fulfilled our most basic needs, our physiological needs, the next one in the hierarchy is the need to belong. And rejection basically says, “You don’t belong”. Fundamentally, I believe this is why it remains one of the most challenging emotional pains to deal with.
It really hits that “belonging” nerve.
Research has shown that the same areas of our brain become activated when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain. The reason rejection hurts so much is quite simply down to the fact that our brains are wired that way.
It’s not you. It’s how you’re made!
Because rejection questions our need to belong, facing rejection causes us to second guess our self-esteem, our identity, the very core of WHO WE ARE. And here’s the interesting thing: the greatest damage that rejection causes is usually self-inflicted. Just when our self-esteem is hurting the most, we go and damage it even further, by calling ourselves names and feeling disgusted and disappointed with ourselves. And in so doing, we create a vicious and self-fulfilling prophecy for ourselves: we start seeing ourselves as worthless, we show up as worthless, and then when the second and third and fourth rejection arrives, we affirm this belief as true and it is further cemented in our psyche.
STOP!!! Please stop this madness.
You will destroy yourself if you pursue this line of reasoning!
Here’s a simple four-step rejection strategy that you can adopt starting today that is guaranteed to stop the cycle of doubt and start empowering you instead:
Get honest about the rejection
Become completely objective about the rejection.
Think about it…
You were excluded from a social gathering.
You notice some friends of yours posting images on Facebook from a gathering that was held over the weekend, and you weren’t invited to it. Could it be that your offer of friendship has been declined?
You were asked to leave. (Be it an event, a group, a company, or any other tribe)
Let’s really max this example out: say you were at an event where you got rather inebriated and were asked to leave. Was it your personhood that was rejected, or was it your behaviour? And thus, by extension your offer.
Evaluate the rejection
Once you’ve become objective about WHAT was rejected, it’s important to evaluate whether you could have done anything differently to prevent the rejection.
Let’s bring up those examples again and evaluate:
You were excluded from a social gathering.
Explore all the possible reasons you were not included. Be objective. Have you been a good friend? Are they the kinds of friends you want to surround yourself with? Life works both ways, and it’s important to evaluate purpose before becoming overwhelmed with rejection.
You were asked to leave.
If your behavior was different, would you have been rejected? Was your behavior acceptable? Is there anything you could have done differently?
Implement possible learning from the rejection
By asking ourselves honest questions and considering all the different perspectives when we evaluate the rejection, we can determine whether the rejection is an opportunity for learning or not. There is no obligation to implement a learning outcome here if you have followed steps.
But conversely, if there is an opportunity for learning, and you don’t pursue it, then it’s likely you will keep getting more of the same. Let’s check our examples again:
You were excluded from a social gathering, friends, a Partner, a Family Member
Maybe you realized that you have been a bit distant from this group lately, and that could be why they excluded you. What can you do to change this?
Or you could have realized that although they’re the only groups you have right now, they’re not really “your people”, so you decide to leave it.
GET BACK ON THE HORSE!
Realize and acknowledge that life is going to be full of rejection. If you take every instance of it personally and decide you are going to limit your exposure to it, you will become a recluse living in a mountain cave. It’s simply not possible to avoid rejection. Get yourself back into the life you need.
Don’t stop. Don’t ever STOP.
Life can be messy, ugly, painful, brutal, hurtful, and every negative emotionally
But it can equally be beautiful, majestic, magical, rewarding, fulfilling, and inspiring!
Choose today to LIVE.
And living means staring rejection down, getting real about it, and move on.
The Secret to Success
Author: ©MFR
Once a young man asked the wise man, what is the secret to success?
The Wise man patiently listened to the man’s question and told him to meet him near the river the next morning for the answer.
The next morning the wise man asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. As they went in the river the water got up to their neck. But to the young man’s surprise, the wise man ducked him into the water.
The young man struggled to get out of the water, but the wise man was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue.
The wise man pulled the man’s head out of the water. The young man gasps and took a deep breath of air.
The wise man asked,
What did you want the most when your head was in the water?
The young man replied, Air.
The wise man said,
That is the secret to success.
When you want success as badly as you wanted the air while you were in the water, then you will get it. There is no other secret to success.
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment.
Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results……
The Two Frogs
Author: ©MFR
There were once two frogs, who were best friends and looking for adventure.
They were hoping around the countryside when they saw a farmer leave a bucket in front of his stable.
Curious, they both went to see what was inside the bucket.
Even though the bucket was too big and they could not see what was inside, they just jumped in.
The bucket was full of milk, and they could not, because the sides were so slippery get out the bucket.
So, they just swam around.
They swam and swan and could just not get out.
After a long time of swimming around one fog said to his friend, we are just going to drown. We will just die. It is inevitable, there is truly no point. We are doomed.
But his best friend replied, hold on my dear friend, please keep on paddling, we will get out eventually, as long as we do not give up, we will not drown.
So, they continued to paddle for hours, as the sun started to go down, one frog said, I cannot go on any longer. There is truly no sense of going on anymore.
We are going to drown anyway. What is the use? I truly give up.
The frog gave up and stopped swimming. He gave up and drowned in the milk.
The other frog was devastated that he had lost his best friend and could not hold back his tears.
But more determined than ever before, he started paddling even faster than ever before. Round and around he went.
After doing this for a while he noticed that he had turned the milk into butter, because he had been paddling for so long, he was able to jump out the bucket.
He had made it. But he was also so very sad because he had lost his best friend. He knew that he was not able to help his friend because once his friend had made the decision to give up, it was truly over for him.
Please remember, we never, we never lose as long as we do not give up.
Life is so hard, so always be grateful for what you have, and most important never ever give up. NEVER.
As long as you do not give up, you really and truly cannot lose…..
The Word LOVE.
Author: ©MFR
What does the word LOVE mean to you?
In my 64 Years of life the word LOVE, being in LOVE, giving LOVE has always been part of my life.
I have experienced it and I have given it to the best of my ability, always.
Only when you are not LOVED but you give it unconditionally do you understand the word LOVE.
Everyone and everything LOVES to be LOVED.
From the moment you are conceived by your Father and Mother, you are LOVED and you have the ability to LOVE.
The day you die, you will still be LOVED by family, friends, and for those who care for you. They will miss you when you cross the rainbow bridge, and the LOVE they had for you will never ever die. LOVE does and will live forever.
I have spent many years trying to define the word LOVE and come up with an explanation, of what is LOVE.
So what is LOVE actually? How do you give a simple explanation of the word LOVE? What is LOVE exactly? What does the word LOVE mean to you?
My short, but very true explanation of the word LOVE is:
Putting Someone’s needs and desires, before yours all the time every day for the rest of your life. That I believe is the only way you can explain the word LOVE.
When you put someone’s desires and needs first you are showing unconditional LOVE to that person, the person you truly LOVE.
Have you put someone’s needs and desires first before yours?
Do you put your needs and desires aside because of the LOVE you have for someone or something?
Ask yourself that question.
Maybe it is time to start that kind of true LOVE to the people you LOVE and care for.
Thought for the Day
Author: ©MFR
Everyone can give advice, but our stories differ so much, we all walk different paths so much. So some advice goes empty on some people’s ears. In some cases, advice, is taking in by those who need it. If I can say one thing to someone, is be grateful, be grateful for what you have. Be thankful for that dry piece of bread on your table, if you do not have meat. Be thankful for the broken car you are driving because some people do not have a car. Just be thankful for what you have in your life because tomorrow you may not have anything anymore. It can all disappear in the blink of an eye.
We look at other people's lives many times and we long to be celebrities, the rich and famous, with their riches and fame, we think such a good life. We look past what we have.
We look past at what we have and how at the end of the day will always tend to our needs.
I think, at the end of the day, be grateful for what you have, everything, from small too big.
There thousands of people in this world, that’s life is far worse than yours.
People sitting right now fighting for their lives, so believe me there's always someone who is worse off than you
Be thankful, very thankful for your life, you will be so surprised, what a grateful heart or what happiness a grateful heart can bring.
People, the world is a very ugly place, but your heart is yours, so make sure there is truth and happiness in it.
Your happiness will flow out of your mouth.
Your eyes will see the happiness in life.
Your ears will only hear the good of others…….
Time Management.
Author: ©MFR
It is the year 2023
I battle with the above subject, and have to deal with many issues in my life
I Discovered I had to deal with it, before I fell apart, my partner, my relationships with my family, and all the goings on in my Life.
I need to deal with my time management, with immediate effect.
So I decided to write about my stuff, to encourage myself, and others, to do so much better.
One of the simplest things I can do for my relationship is be proactive in managing my time I spend on myself, being in a relationship, or being a family member.
Many times life gets busy and a committed partner slips into becoming a roommate who is also exhausted with my time management. Work, kids, social obligations; all these things will take every bit of my time and more if I do not manage them.
I must learn how to set boundaries in their different roles, and give time to what is important to all.
Think about it like this, if you are a parent then you must make time for: yourself as an individual, yourself as part of a couple, yourself as your role in your larger family. Father always goes into his study for time, for himself.
Dedicate too much time to one of those identities and the others become neglected, also problems can pop up in the role where you are over functioning. Something I have a huge problem with.
So, let me look at how a little bit of time management in each role can lead to lasting love, with my partner and my family.
Myself
Oftentimes people think that the solution to every problem in a relationship is to spend more time together, more closeness, and more communication.
That can actually do harm to a loving relationship.
Can you truly desire what you never miss?
Spend too much time together and contempt can block out any appreciation for your partner. I think to myself, of it as self-induced cabin fever. Cabin fever can be a killer.
Making some time for your individual self allows you to practice self-care as well as miss the people in your life that you love.
A moment to pursue your own passions while having a little vacation away from your responsibilities as partner and/or parent does a world of good.
You re-join your relationship roles with energy and possibly new insights into your appreciation for your loved ones. A little bit of space in a relationship allows longing to reignite passion’s flame.
All sorts of wonderful things can happen if you take a little time to nurture your individual self. Just be sure that you do not fall into the trap of spending too much time in this role. Something I am very guilty of. Too much time spent doing my own things in life.
Resentments can easily develop when one partner feels they are too alone within a relationship, so after some individual time, make sure to set up time to devote to your other roles. Something I truly battle with.
Being together with your partner.
Many people look back at the beginning of their relationship with fondness. They remember all the dates, trips, and happy times discovering each other. Then all these things seem to conspire to take over your life.
My relationship is left longing. There are three main ways to make time for your partnership, I have discovered and need to work on.
I have to make time to communicate, time to date, and time to connect physically.
Time to communicate includes conversations about what is working well and challenges within my relationship.
During communications, take mental notes, when you have the time, take those mental notes, and write them down, all the pros and cons of your relationship with your partner. Make it a holy bible you can live to accordingly, to make a better relationship for you and your partner. Improvement, in any relationship is key.
If you are parents, use this time to discuss your dynamics as a couple. My mother and father do that so well. There communication is on point.
Focus on your role within the larger family.
Making time to communicate about your relationship will help you avoid conflicts in the future and help you feel like a teammate with your partner.
Working together against the chaos of this world in 2013. Taking time to have a date night is important too. Life cannot be all work, so a night to focus on connecting and enjoyment helps strengthen a relationship. Date night will be enforced in my relationship again.
This could be anything from a fancy dinner out, a movie, going clubbing, to a walk around town, just being together etc.
Leaving life behind and focusing on the person you love.
Just taking a little time to re-establish your romantic connection will strengthen your relationship. It makes a deposit into your relationship’s emotional bank account, so that when you need to make a withdrawal in the future your relationship can withstand it.
If you are connecting as a couple then it is easier to ask for some individual time later on. The last piece of time management for you is making time for your erotic selves. Spending good quality time making love, spending time to find your partners inner needs, and strengthening any relationship. Time management for love making is of paramount importance in any relationship. Love making connect the inner you to your partner.
This piece is too often sacrificed to the GODs of exhaustion. Many couples find it difficult to maintain an erotic life over time once the daily business of living gets done with them. I have to make time to connect with my partner's physical needs.
Set up a time to physically connect with your partner and honor it, do what feels right at that moment. It could be a massage, might be a shower together, and could be passionate lovemaking. It is not about the activity that you do, it is about maintaining your physical connection to help maintain your relationship.
Too much togetherness as a couple and desire can dwindle as resentment grows.
It becomes too easy to lose appreciation if you are never apart. Too much time together as a couple can also make it difficult to manage your own moods. The emotional atmosphere can be hijacked by one person’s sour mood, leaving the other partner to ride out the storm.
My Family
The last place that requires time management is my family, or the family of my choice. Obligations tend to reign in this area of our lives, so many people find it challenging to set time boundaries with family.
Family is so very important. I love the time I can spend with my family.
Too much time in this role can lead to resentment. If you are ever been the primary caregiver for your children on a particularly rough day you know too well what can easily happen.
You can get snappy, frustrated, and eventually in desperate need of some time outside of your role as a caregiver. My mother did that so well at times. So snappy at times.
Too much time as a caretaker with no time to practice self-care can lead to issues in coupling. The only adult interaction makes for a place to pour out difficult feelings.
On the positive side of managing time in the role of family, seeing your partner interact within larger family units allows you a chance to see your partner in a new light. My father is so dedicated to his family, and admired him so much for that.
The time they take explaining something to their nephew reminds you of the tenderness you first saw in your partner. You can come together with your partner to bring joy to others, such as planning a surprise party for a friend or helping an elderly relative with garden work. One thing I love to do with my father. Not the work, but spending time with him.
It is tricky to manage time for your individual self, your relationship, and your family.
There will always be a request for more.
Setting boundaries with time and maintaining them will help with your relationship and true love for your partner.
Every relationship is never perfect.
It takes a lot of hard work to make a good relationship work.
It has to come from both sides, to make it work as perfectly as possible.
Manage your time.
Enjoy the work.
I start today…………
Why Me
Author: ©MFR
Why Me, many times brings tears to our eyes.
I am sure you have heard that expression, and said it many times before.
Always Watch your thoughts for they become words; watch your words for they become actions; watch your actions for they become habits; watch your habits for they become your character and watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
So today I want to talk to you about your words, and the phrases that you use.
The words we are uttering repeatedly are an indicator of what’s going on inside our thought world, but they also preface our actions and so create our destiny.
Your words are the biggest clue as to where your mindset’s at, and also one of the best starting points for changing your mindset.
Take an honest look at your vocabulary and start noticing the things that you say habitually – consider the true meaning of these words and phrases.
Are you creating or destroying?
When you ask this question, you are reducing yourself to the victim.
You are disempowering and disenfranchising yourself utterly.
You are having a pity party and there’s just no positive outcome whichever way you skin it.
Let’s be honest: life can be cruel, unfair, painful and just downright HARD!
And you have every right to mourn what you are experiencing in difficult times.
You can even ask the question “why me” as long as it’s only once and right in the middle of your ugly cry. In other words – don’t let it become a habit.
It’s important to feel the feelings, but it’s equally important to move through them.
When I had my “why me” pity party a while ago,
My Father’s last words to me before he passed were “Don’t ask why, ask what now, Marius”.
Now THAT is a question that will empower you!
The fact that you’re asking whether you should do something means that you are not secure in who you are. You are seeking validation and approval from people for decisions that only you will reap the consequences for. By asking this question, you are acknowledging that you are not in control. Your self-image therefore is constantly going to be built on external factors, and never on your intrinsic worth.
This in itself creates a cycle of doubt, fear and eventually imposter syndrome.
As a reframe, why don’t you change “should I” to “I’m thinking of..”
Can you feel how much more empowering the second statement is?
By owning your opinion, you are standing firm in who you are. And when you operate out of your essence, you inch closer and closer to finding your purpose. You become authentic in a world of masks. Your self-confidence increases. Your self-esteem improves. You make better decisions. You start chipping away at the nagging doubt and fear that used to plague you.
And THAT is how I want to live! Don’t you?
Now before you get all excited about the fact that admitting we don’t know something is a path to learning, consider for a moment the intent behind the phrase “I don’t know”. I’m not necessarily talking about this phrase in a learning context; I am talking about it in a life context. How often don’t we come face to face with a situation that makes us scratch our heads and say, “I don’t know how to handle this”?
Say it out loud for a second. Repeat it. Feel it.
It feels a bit disempowering, doesn’t it?
Maybe it makes you feel like you are incapable? Perhaps even helpless?
I have been experiencing this emotion for sixty two years about an issue in my life that needs addressing, and it has been a frustrating time for me. I have felt like I am in limbo, and that’s not a feeling I like. A While ago, I decided to start a process that may or may not give me insight, and just making that decision has removed the limbo. Nothing about the situation has changed, but I feel like I am in control again and I feel like there is light at the end of this tunnel.
So, when you’re tempted to say, “I don’t know”, ask yourself what you can do to take a step in the direction of knowing just a little bit more?
Life asks us to deal, every day in so many ways, and we have started opting out. The pressures of modern-day society have become so intense that often we simply throw up our hands and say, “I can’t deal with this”.
But when you say, “I can’t deal with this”, you are introducing a fourth option, and this option enters the realm of “I don’t know”. It’s disempowering and will create feelings of helplessness that can be avoided.
Choose what is in fact yours to deal with, by all means, but don’t turn away from your responsibilities and obligations to deal with situations simply because you feel overwhelmed.
Give yourself some space. Accept it, change it or leave it.
Are you creating? Or are you destroying?
Friends and Family – watch your words.
They echo your thoughts and create your future.
If your life is not where you want it to be, if things are not working out to your liking, could it be that your words contain the clue you need to unlock the secret to success.
Think about, act accordingly…….
It’s never too late……..
Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
Do not call someone more than twice continuously.
If they do not pick up your call, presume they have something important to attend to.
Return money that you have borrowed even before the person who borrowed you remembers or asks for it.
It shows your integrity and character.
The same goes for umbrellas, pens, and lunch boxes.
Never order the expensive dish on the menu when someone is giving you a lunch/dinner.
Do not ask awkward questions like
Oh so you are not married yet?
Or ‘Do you have kids or
Why did you not buy a house?
Or why do you not by a car?
For God’s sake it is not your problem.
Always open the door for the person coming behind you.
It does not matter if it is a guy or a girl, senior or junior.
You do not grow small by treating someone well in public.
If you take a taxi with a friend and he/she pays now, try paying next time.
Respect different shades of opinions.
Remember what is 6 to you will appear 9 to someone facing you. Besides, second opinion is good for an alternative.
Never interrupt people talking.
Allow them to pour it out.
As they say, hear them all and filter them all.
If you tease someone, and they do not seem to enjoy it, stop it and never do it again.
It encourages one to do more and it shows how appreciative you are.
Say “thank you” when someone is helping you.
Praise publicly. Criticize privately;
There is almost never a reason to comment on someone’s weight.
Just say, “You look fantastic.”
If they want to talk about losing weight, they will.
When someone shows you a photo on their phone, do not swipe left or right. You never know what is next.
If a colleague tells you they have a doctors' appointment, do not ask what it’s for, and just say
"I hope you are okay".
Do not put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness. If they want you to know, they will do so without your inquisitiveness.
Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO.
Nobody is impressed at how rude you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect.
If a person is speaking directly to you, staring at your phone is rude.
Never give advice until you are asked.
When meeting someone after a long time, unless they want to talk about it, do not ask them their age and salary.
Mind your business unless anything involves you directly, just stay out of it.
Remove your sunglasses if you are talking to anyone in the street.
It is a sign of respect. More so, eye contact is as important as your speech.
Never talk about your riches in the midst of the poor.
Similarly, do not talk about your children in the midst of the barren.
In life, be so careful what you say, when you say it……..
With Age comes Wisdom
Author: ©MFR
As I have aged, I have become kinder to myself and less critical to myself.
I have become my own best friend.
Whose business is it, if I choose to read or watch social media until 4am or sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the sixties and seventies.
And if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.
I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body.
I will dive into the waves if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the people.
They too will get old.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world to soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.
I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, when a child suffers, a dear friend, or a treasured animal, leaves this earth and crosses the rainbow bridge.
But broken hearts are what gives us strength, understanding and compassion.
A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn grey.
To have youthful laughs be forever etched into deep groove on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think.
I do not question myself anymore I have even earned the right to be wrong.
So to answer the question, I love being old. It has set me free.
I love the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, one day I will cross the rainbow bridge, but I am still here, I will not waste lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
I will shall eat desert when I want to, every single day, if I feel like it.
Age is an issue and state of mind over matter, if you do not mind, it does not matter.
So if someone questions for being old, tell them, I am not old, I have been young for a very long time.
Crossing the rainbow bridge will be a pleasure, because I have lived my life to the full.
A life I am satisfied with.
The rainbow bridge will be the gate way to a new life, I look forward to.
There will be a life, of never-ending, now and forever more……..
You wake up….Everything is Gone
What is the First thing You do?
Author: ©MFR
It was long day. Work was crazy, the fucking boss was full of shit again and as always he expected miracles from me. I got home to a screaming wife and the three children running around the house causing chaos again. Something that was driving the wife crazy and putting a large strain on our marriage. To be honest I did not want to come home today. I wanted to go and sit in my favorite pub, sit quietly at the bar and have far to many glasses of chilled red wine. That would have made the day feel so much better. But alas as a good husband I had to come home and perform my duties to my wife and children.
Dinner was good, same old same old. I was hungry so I just ate it all and could not wait to open the second bottle of wine, the wine always made me feel good and relaxed and took away all the stress and strain of life. While she washed up the dishes and listened to all her screaming and shouting at the children to go and brush their teeth and get into bed. I decided to put in a CD as I was not in the mood for a normal boring TV. My porn CD collection was the best, as being married for so long my sex life was so boring. I needed something to excite me so I could have sex with her. Sadly she was always tired and always had some excuse not have sex. But tonight I was in the mood so I needed to watch some rough porn to get me horny enough to have a good sex session with her.
Suddenly I noticed it was very quite in the house and realized the kids were in bed and she had done all her chores for the day. She would then go for a bath, something I thought was so dirty, how do you clean yourself in a bath of water with your own dirt? Showering was the only way for me to go. After her bath, she would then get into bed with her pajamas and get onto her phone, and spend the rest of the night till she was tired on Facebook. Her social media she was addicted to.
I walked into the room after locking up for the night. My 45 Colt 1911 in my hand, I put it on my side table next to my bed. You never know what was going to happen through the night. We had some serious crime in our area and we always had to be wide awake and be ready for the unknown. She just kept on with Facebook as I slowly got naked and ready for bed. I was half erect from all the porn CD’s and hoped she would be ready and in the mood for sex.
I put off my bed side lamp that she had put on and crawled into bed. I only slept naked as I never enjoyed sleeping with clothes on. I loved to be free in bed before I fell asleep or had sex. As I lay on my right-hand side I slid my hand under the top of her pajamas. Her stomach felt so soft and so flat as she was a fit lady and looked after herself seeing that the gym was a favorite place for her to go. She looked at me and put down her phone. I knew she was in the mood and had not made love and been fucked for a while. She took my hand and slid it into her pajama pants, she was horny and oh so ready.
Before I could say knife, the pajamas was of and we were entangled in a night of passion and rough sex. I knew that no matter her attitude at times she loved a good sex session because her sexual desires were great. One of the reasons I loved her. We both loved sex so much. God knows how many times she reached an orgasm that night, but after I had shot my load, a huge load, we lay in each others arms for a while because that is what I had to do after sex to show my love and appreciation after the event. That was what my father taught me a long time ago. After sex, show and love the person who made you reach that magic orgasm.
We lay there for a while, then she got up and I knew she was of to the shower to have a quick clean before settling down for the night. I joined her in the shower. We both helped to wash that passionate sex of. Her nipples were still hard. It would take us both a while to settle down and relax after a very enjoyable sex session.
Out of the shower, again her pajamas was put on, I just finished my drink that stood next to the bed and got into bed naked as always. She got into bed, switched of her light, kissed me good night, a simple peck on the cheek and lay down on her right side. I said good night and said I love you, more out of habit than anything else. She was silent. I knew she was tired and exhausted so I just accepted no response. I went and lay behind her, in the darkness, I thought, actually it was a good day, no matter what. Ending the day with a good sex session was always good, and made all the stress and strain of the day, just go away. Our sex session were always good, especially when she was in the mood. It was quite and dark, I slid my hand under her pajama top, held onto her lovely firm breast closed my eyes. It was time to sleep.
It was a good nights rest, I woke up and had to go for a piss. My bladder was full from so much liquid intake during the day and night. I got up and went to relieve myself. I walked naked through the house, I stopped at the kids bedroom to see if all was well. The little angels were fast asleep. Looking at them fast asleep I could not believe they were such a hand full when they were awake.
All good I went back to our room got back into bed. As I turned onto my side she stired, her hand explored my body, over my smooth butt and came to rest on my shoulder, the second part of the evening had become so amazing. Back to sleep for both of us.
My alarm went of. I always set it for 4.30 pm as I always went for the cycle of forty km before breakfast. I was lying on my back. Mt right hand moved to where she was lying. She was not there. Why? I slowly got out of the bed. It was hot for so early in the morning. I thought let me go and see where my wife was and how the rest of my family was doing. To my amazement I could not find my wife in the house anywhere. When I got to the kids rooms, the beds were still unmade, but the kids were no where to be seen. Suddenly there was a serious panic in my stomach. Where were my people, my family? What the fuck was going on? I decided to go outside, maybe they were in the garden for whatever reason.
As I stepped into the garden, and looked around there was an eerie silence. I never heard a single sound and I saw nothing. Not a dog, not a bird, not a human. There was nothing.
Take a moment and think about it…….
Epilogue
Many of us go through life, and experience so much about life and its values and the journey we are on.
We learn everyday about life and our journey there in.
It is up to us to share our experiences and situations with others to make life a better place for us all to live in.
Your journey in life depends on what you learn about life and what you do with it.
Your life and your journey is what you make of it.
We all travel on the bus of life on our journeys till the end of time.
We have many different bus stops, that we stop at and continue our journey of life, be it good or bad stops.
The life’s lesson we learn at every stop make us better people and to continue to help other people’s life’s journey to be a better place to live in.
Enjoy your journey of life.
It is what you make of life that makes you a better person.
Thank you
©MFR
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