Colors of Spring

I am pleased to know I can always start anew.

To change my color… so I can change my world.

To count my blessings, instead of sheep.

And to be always in control… as I allow God to blossom in me. 

NAMASTE.

Being Married

 QUESTION

“What is it like being married?”

 

ANSWER

The first two months were a bliss. After that, I don’t know. LOL!

Well, it was mainly because, Dennis, needed to leave the country two months after tying the knot!

So, my marriage arrangement was different.Every after nine months (Dennis’ contract), I would be at the airport to pick him up and then after three months he would be away again.For years it was just in the honeymoon stage

and some reality stage.That was our cycle.We were never in the other deep stages until after almost eight years of being married.

What is it like being married? 

It’s like a roller coaster;

It’s a kaleidoscope of colors including black, gray and white;It could be heaven or hell, which ever you make of it;It’s being in two opposite poles, until you find your balance and middle way;It’s experiencing LIFE in a different perspective;It’s the vow.

NAMASTE.

Grammatical Errors

 QUESTION

“Tell us about grammatical errors in writing..”

  ANSWER

Honestly, at times, I will just write and write and unfortunately,

fail to be consistent with my grammatical tenses!

For example, if my story covers the past, then,

I have to make sure that ALL my verbs including my to-be verbs are ALL written in the past tense. *rules are rules, right?!

BUT sometimes I will really just publish a blog post
without really going in-depth proofreading!After a while, I will read it again and EDIT mistakes.

Yeah, not a good practice at all!

RESOLUTION:Double check, double check, double check, prior to publishing!

… and THANKS to readers who are not very “Grammar-MUST-be-correct!” conscious for “simply” understanding  what I am talking about and hopefully still getting the message!

… for  my “Grammar-MUST-be-correct!” conscious readers,

I am very open and will really appreciate comments or emails

on errors and fixes –and I will definitely edit ASAP!!!

… for  those who don’t care about grammatical tenses and perfect construction at ALL, yet still enjoy my posts…

Thank you!(*hugs!)

NAMASTE.

Winning a million dollars!

 QUESTION

“If you win a million dollars, will you quit your job?”

  ANSWER

 Winning a million dollars will definitely achieve my money goal

(see Outside the Box for related story)…

… will I quit my job?

NO.

I love my job (I was an inclusion teacher 6 months ago, now I’m facilitating IEPs in three of the district’s schools -see Believing is Seeing for the story)

and I thank God for the opportunity!

(… and yes, money won’t be able to buy it too :))

But

… for sure I will be very enthusiastic, over-to-the-top-glad and super-duper-elated to have the money -the million dollars OMG!!!

– to save, to invest, to use and to give 🙂

(Best if as I am writing my thoughts here, millions of dollars are on its way to the palm of my hands LOL!)

What about you? Will you quit your job?

On Forgiveness

 QUESTION

“Why is it difficult to forgive?”

 

ANSWER

Depending on where you are coming from..

…because you have not yet found it in yourself to love.. again

…because you still need time to heal

…because you feel the need to resist, resent and revenge

…because you still feel the pain

…because you feel it isn’t time

…because you are being enveloped with fear

…because you are scared

 And until you forgive, you will forever be under the power of that person who hurt you.

Until you forgive, your path won’t be clear.

Until you forgive, you won’t find joy in your heart.

Until you forgive, it is hard to bless and be blessed.

Hard as it is, let us turn to Jesus. Let us learn from his mercy and love.

…and as we do that let us give ourselves the favor of forgiving ourselves first so we can be free.

NAMASTE.

BE BLESSED!

Destiny: A Matter of Choice or Chance?

 QUESTION

“Is destiny a matter of chance? or a matter of choice?”

ANSWER

Is destiny a matter of choice, or is it a matter of chance?

And does knowing really matter?

To clarify here’s what DESTINY means

1. The events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.
2. The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate.

Back home, Mommy has this display that says “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice, it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

So, I went on with life, never questioning destiny. I knew I have an active part in what will happen in my future.

I know there is God and He has all the good planned out for me, but He has also given me free will to become the person that He really intends me to be… as for the future?… I’ve always believed in this song learned from high school…

God knows all about tomorrow,

He can see  beyond today..

Be it filled with joy or sorrow,

He has planned it that way..

So I do not fear the future, on His promises I stand,

God knows all about tomorrow, for He holds it in His hands.

Everything that I was doing, thought of doing, thinking of doing or plan to do will all have a positive and negative effect in my life.Life may be full of “CHANCE”.  I won’t call it coincidences or accidents, but rather opportunities or lessons… and I know, I will always have a “CHOICE” as to how I will perceive, act or learn from the “chances” that life continues to give me.

Interesting topic, destiny, and all of you who commented here, are all correct. I’m not a guru, not even an expert.. just wanting to excite your thoughts with something to think about…

Honestly for me, destiny is a matter of faith.

AND this I know, we create our future with the power of our thoughts. Whatever our mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve… including our destiny, with God’s blessings 🙂

NAMASTE.

Thoughts on Giving

 QUESTIONS

“What are your thoughts on giving?”, “What is real giving?”

 

ANSWERS
“What are your thoughts on giving?

“Givers gain – takers lose”
“The hand that gives – gathers”
“As you sow, so shall you reap”

Simple answers, I am sure we all know about it but sometimes how we are on giving of ourselves, our time, our service, and especially our money are areas to work on.

“What is real giving?”
Two answers:
I believe it is when there are no explanations about it, no excuses, no side-comments,
no justifications just 100% offering of self, money, time and service;AND when one does not expect anything in return at all!Let’s all strive for real giving EVERYDAY.Our RESULTS: We will fall in love with ourselves, our lives and EVERYONE we meet. 🙂

NAMASTE.

BE BLESSED!

Responding to Negatives

 SCENARIO

A friend confronts you and tells you that according to PEOPLE
you are like this (NEGATIVE 1) and like that (NEGATIVE 2), how will you respond?

 

ANSWER

My response will be to ask, “What about you, do you feel the same way?” 

This way we can start a conversation, we can communicate.
” Let me know you, let me know your thoughts about me…
Let us not talk about what OTHERS are saying about me…
let’s just talk about you and me”.This way, we can settle whatever differences we have and work on our relationship.

I’ve learned early in life that I will never ever be able to please everyone;
there will always be people saying something good and something bad about me,
not that they don’t matter because they do, especially if there is something to learn that I may have missed
or until now, has not learned yet.

The thing is we ­­can always choose our battle, learn our lessons and move on.

BE BLESSED!

The Leader in Me.

Summer of 2010, I received a personalized letter from the new principal at the under performing school I worked with in New Orleans. He started so strong and was so determined and challenged that just after a couple of weeks, teachers were on their toes teaching with a different passion,  students behavior seemed to change and teams were eager to communicate and collaborate to make academics and behavior work!   The principal was just so into it that the staff, teachers and even the students could really picture the vision for the school to the point that we all, one way or another,  actually believed that it will be achieved! He’s always out and about, he would  even co-teach a class, he’d whisper to students and ask them if they understood what’s being taught, he’d know his students with special needs that he’d ask them if they were being given accommodations. He simply made sure that everyone’s doing what they were supposed to be doing! It was a real 180 degree turn from what our school was prior to his leadership.

Clearly my vision of what leadership is about, when change is created, when you properly direct or guide your team to the achievement of the set goals, when your team is communicating, creating solutions not problems, when they are involved and invested in achieving the vision of the group and at the end of the day you know that you were able to empower your people, because as you bring out the best in them, it’s bringing out the best in you.

A leader plays many roles, wears many hats. What makes a leader great however is if he is not only able to lead a group into the achievement of its goals and vision, but more so if he is able to take leadership of his own self, his own experience, his own habits, his own cultural programming and his own thoughts.

Thus, we are all leaders, we may not be great ones yet, but what is important is if we are able to lead our own thoughts into that we earnestly desire, then we may be surprised to have all our goals and vision achieved just because we are able to lead ourselves into it. Let me repeat, If we are able to lead our own thoughts into that we earnestly desire, then we may be surprised to have all our goals and vision achieved just because we are able to lead ourselves into it. We may not know yet but that is how powerful we are!

The principal I had in New Orleans knew what he wanted. He was very clear and decided to make his goals happen. He will not say no for an answer. To him, there is always a solution… He’d say, “So? What can you do about it?” If you are bringing him a problem, be sure to bring him solution too!

And that’s how powerful we are, because if we just keep quiet and think about it, there are no problems without solutions, so it’s not even a problem at all. Leaders will always find ways to make things happen. But this is not to say we can just do what we think we should do, because we are responsible and accountable for our actions too. We should also make sure that we know how are actions are impacting others.

The question now is how do we lead ourselves into achieving our goals? How do we get from Point A to Point B? Napoleon Hill said, if the mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve. The answer is all about knowing what you want with all your heart and soul, believing it will happen in due time and then it will happen, like magic! Pieces of the puzzle will fit, circumstances will change, different mechanisms will just appear leading to its achievement! Our mind is simply powerful. So we should really be careful on what we are thinking about. Our thoughts could really make things happen. Our thoughts could change our world.

Knowing ourselves and achieving by simply changing our thoughts is power. With great power, though comes great responsibility. The Principal in New Orleans knew that, he knew how powerful he is and that is why he was able to create change in his workplace, because he allowed us, teachers and staff to believe in ourselves too, and in our power.

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180 degree

“Lord, give me a boyfriend, pleaseeeeeeee….” I was 15 then and I still had no boyfriend. I belonged to NBSB club – No Boyfriend Since Birth! My life was going well though, I was getting A’s in school, and yes, I had boys as friends but never a boyfriend!!!

Oh I had fun memories with boys.. I had this neighbor who was my long time crush, he’s just so good-looking.. I really liked him!!! So, I went to this very small store in our subdivision, and as I was walking, minding my business, singing and humming.and then I looked up.. OMG, my long time crush was staring at me with smile on his face.. my heart thumped so fast that when I took another step towards him, my slipper slipped off my feet!!! I was so embarrassed, but to show him how confident I was, I continued singing and humming as I went back to get my slippers! :0

One more, when I was a freshman in high school, I met this senior guy, that every time he’d see me, he’d tease me to his friend, who’s also a senior! There’s this one time when I was in the playground playing in the monkey bars (hey, I was only 13 then, I could play!) and then he saw me and from afar  shouted ‘Gemmmaaaaaa!! (that’s my name), here’s ‘theboyyyyy’!!!!’ and the whole senior class just roared in laughter!!!! I was soooooo embarrassed that I was not sure anymore how I handled the situation! :0

Having been educated in a Catholic private school my whole life, I was brought into thinking that girls could only wait, until a guy courts you, then all you have to do is wait.

So I waited.. and waited… and waited… I graduated high school and college and I still waited..

But I was proactive too, I looked out for guys everywhere, in the public bus, in the library, in the church, in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in the restaurants. I started conversations, even befriended them.. but still nada…

What’s worst is when I attend family gatherings, ask who’s the center of attention (or so I thought)? Yeah.. ME!! Gemma, you mean to say you still have no boyfriend yet?; Gemma, you are getting old, you should look for a man already; Gemma, it’s about time… over and over and over; year after year after year…

Fed up with how I perceived people as controlling me. I made a decision. I turned around.. 180 degree turn and learned my lesson… What’s the lesson? Mmmmm.. what’s the lesson? good question..

The lesson: To never GIVE UP! I continued to hope and continued to pray… “Lord…” but at the same time, I prepared myself emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually,,, I buried myself in self-help books ‘How to find a man in 10 days” or something of that sort (lol), I attended leadership training seminars (I could find him there right?).. I exercised (nothing beats a sexy body! lol!) I became myself… man should love me for who I am and what not (right?) .. and I continued to imagine and declared to the Universe what I want.

Well, there’s a truth in the saying, when it rains, it pours! Because it did pour, at that time Guy #1, Guy #2, Guy #3, did come..

And then I was in control.. who to choose.. mmm but that’s another story…

Well, I am sorry but I totally disagree with Jerry Mcguire’s “you complete me”. No, no, no, no.. no one completes you but you. You are already complete!

I may have been pressured to find a boyfriend in my 20’s because of media and the world howling at me that it is the right thing to do. It took me so long to realize that no one completes me but me, I may be single then, but I was complete and I need to make sure I am whole first before going into a relationship.. otherwise, it’ll be a mess .

Sad, but the truth is we so hate waiting that most of us just jump at every relationship and just easily open our hearts to the first guy who says I love you, or to the guy who buys us this or buys us that… sad..

I’ll forever be grateful to all my friends, family and relatives for pushing me the way they did. I will not have become the person that I am now, without the fun and the sad times..

Waiting did work out for me. I waited for a year… errr.. yearsss!!!, and that waiting period made me become stronger, learned and capable of handling relationships. Yes, building relationship is hard work because it involves decision and commitment.

Maybe God willed for me to wait that long, to preserve myself to the person that He prepared for me.

In the end, I didn’t actually find him, you know…  my boyfriend-turned-husband found me. All in due time, all in His time and all because of the 180 degree turn. 🙂

*** Toastmaster’s Speech #4