We Too Are Stardust

These are some of my favorite lines from Jostein Gaarder's book Sophie's World...

WE TOO ARE STARDUST...

We're All Connected

We are all connected... You may believe it or not but you can't deny that every move you make has an effect in The Universe.  

I came across these lines from two memorable people...  I don't know if you will acknowledge what they said but I do.  

The earth does not belong to man.  Man belongs to the earth.  All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.  Man did not weave the web of life.  He is merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web he does to himself.

--allegedly said by Chief Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish Indians 

All life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.  We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.  

--Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Laureate and Civil Rights Activist

THINK ABOUT IT.  ;)

You may not be her first, her last, or her only...

You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before, she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters?

She’s not perfect, you aren’t either, the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, admit to being human & making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can.

She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break; her heart.

So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze, and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.


-Robert Nesta Marley a.k.a. Bob Marley

A Time for Everything

Turn Turn Turn by The Byrds

My friends keep telling me that there is always a time fore everything. I believe they are right.

I have always loved this song which was made popular by Pete Seeger but I especially love this version by The Byrds. Some of the lyrics were directly taken from the book of Ecclesiastes in The Bible.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

There is a time fore everything.

Patience is a virtue...

Life, Love... Love, Life!

The most powerful force in our lives is our ability to love.

Indeed, it’s the most basic essence of who we are.

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the other.

The whole purpose of life is to live by love.

-Thomas Merton

Last night my seventeen year old cousin Jason sent me this quote on my mobile. I was shocked and I wanted to weep for a while because I never expected such a young man to send serious stuff on the phone. Most kids his age don't even bother to send messages at all but then maybe I underestimated that age group.

Here I am, a decade older than my cousin yet I still refuse to understand what his message meant. I choose not to understand it. It will only make things more complicated than they already are.

Here I am, twenty-seven years and a day older from the day I was ripped from my mother's womb, and I am still very stubborn.

Running away is not an option.

Repressing emotions is not the solution.

Living life and loving it could be a good start...

The Beatles could be right...

It's EASY.

All you need is love, all you need is love,

All you need is love, love, LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED...

Sand and Art

I stumbled upon this video of Ilana Yahav's Sand Art. This is just one of the many clips she has on YouTube and on her site. Enjoy!

“To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand and Eternity in an hour.” -William Blake

“If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water's edge" -Napoleon Hill

“Our best built certainties are but sand-houses and subject to damage from any wind of doubt that blows” - Mark Twain

“The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” - Niccolo Machiavelli

“Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand, but we must build as if the sand were stone.” - Jorge Luis Borges

“Time is like a handful of sand- the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers.”

“Relationships-of all kinds-are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold onto some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.”

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” - Leonardo da Vinci

“In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” - Oscar Wilde

“There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge." - Friedrich Nietzsche

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” - Thomas Merton

“To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from its exterior, shines with the truth within the soul.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” - Vincent van Gogh

Color My World

I took this pic last night before I TRIED to draw something nice (it turned up ugly). The pencils are proof that I have been quite lazy with drawing and stuff. Would you believe that these darlings are in my possession for more or less four years??? They don't look like they have been used often.

These babies are actually Ian's "old stuff" and he sent them over so I can make use of them. Well I haven't!!! Somebody told me I should refresh my memory and tell my hands that there had been a time I knew how to draw...

Hmmm maybe I knew how...maybe I THOUGHT I knew how but actually I DON'T... Tsk tsk...

I quote one of my heroes: "Believe it or not, I can actually draw." -- Jean Michel Basquiat

Reminiscing

"There is a person in your life whom you would want to annihilate but you can't because that person is already part of your life story. Eliminating that person is like deleting a chapter (or two, or more) of your so-called autobiography. When you're going to delete those chapters, the hollow crevasses will be obvious not only to you, but also to the "readers" of your "book", highlighting the fact that there are missing fragments in your otherwise, "colorful" life."

Quoting my old self from my old blog. First posted almost 4 years ago.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Early today I had a brush with negative energy and suddenly this phrase came to mind and got stuck there for a while. Well I guess it got stuck for more than a while because it became my Skype and YM status for the whole day and I even bothered to post an entry about it! Tsk tsk!

Anyway, whoever though of this phrase? Some say that it is an Arab proverb and others say that there is an identical Chinese proverb with the same connotation. It is a phrase appropriate for two people or groups or countries who have a common enemy, thus they become "friends".

This phrase does not apply only to people and foreign policies but it is also being applied in nature, business, and all other fields which create friends and enemies of each other. There are even verses in the Bible which mention being allies with an enemy's enemy.


It's already 2009... Make love not war...

As for those who still love sowing negative energy around, tsk tsk... Good luck to you! :D

Deafening Silence

“The Lord heareth the prayers of those who ask to put aside hatred. But He is deaf to those who would flee from love.”


- The message of the Angel of the Lord to Elijah
THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN
by Paulo Coelho





I guess He just turned a deaf ear on me...

Through the Eye of the Needle

Anything is possible if it involves faith not only in the Divine but also in oneself. The clip on this post is about going beyond the usual, about seeing things from a different perspective, and believing that even small things matter...

I know a lot of people who love grandiose stuff and in a way I can say I am guilty of such things. However, this news clip caught my attention and made me appreciate the "little things" more. There is nothing impossible if one believes that he or she is capable of doing great things even in small ways.

He was made to feel small when he was younger that was why he became fascinated with small things. It was not entirely his fault why he felt that way but he used it to his advantage. He made something positive out of some negative stuff hurled towards him. Now he can laugh his way to the bank. His micro creations just made him a multimillionaire.

Lesson: If you have faith in yourself (and in the Divine if you will), you will be able to do things which negative people deem impossible.

Unique?

There is no religion that is capable of bringing all the stars together, because if this were to happen, the universe would become a gigantic, empty space and would lose its reason for existence. Every star -- and every person -- has their own space and their own special characteristics.

The Pilgrimage
by Paulo Coelho

Just sharing another excerpt from a book I've read some time ago...

Pure Genius

If you do not recognize the face of this person, most likely you have just entered the atmosphere of the Earth! Yes the picture is not serious, it is even kind of weird to see such an old guy sticking out his tongue like that. But then the guy is a genius, an influential international figure, ergo, he can do anything he wants (or wanted...R.I.P.).

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist. He is popular for his theory of relativity and mass-energy equivalence which is expressed as E = mc². This guy received the 1921 Nobel Prize for physics and was one of the most remarkable people who have walked the planet.

Einstein was the personification of pure intellect. He is proclaimed by a lot of people to be the genius among geniuses because in his musings he discovered that the universe was not as it seemed.

I can go on ranting about this venerated man but that might take up too much of my space and time. However, I want to share quotes which are attributed to this really cool and super smart guy.

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.

All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.

An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.

Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.

God always takes the simplest way.

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

I am a deeply religious nonbeliever - this is a somewhat new kind of religion.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.

True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.


This one is my favorite:

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?

Point Taken

I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.
-John Lennon

Some people got/get your point John...but a lot did not and would never agree...not even if it will emancipate them from the mental slavery they got themselves in since the day(s) they were born...

A Crappy Love Story

"What can you say about a twenty-five year old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. The Beatles. And me."

That was the first line in the film Love Story and believe me it was such a sentimental old movie that I had the nerve to watch for the second time. I have seen it about four or five years ago but I watched it in between winks. The plot was simple: he’s a rich and smart jock who hailed from an aristocratic family while she’s a poor but super smart girl who made it to one of the top schools in the country. Anyway, I’m not patron of American culture since it’s not our culture but majority of us are trying to copy or assimilate it into our own. It’s not like the typical Pinoy story back then but some are trying to make their stories like this one.

Back to the so-called love story, well the star-crossed lovers met in a library where they were trying to outsmart each other with wits and arguments and from then on they were on each other’s nerves(???) and seemed to get along well even though they came from different social backgrounds.

Time passed and they eventually got married, to the chagrin of the guy’s father who severed ties with him and left him destitute. The girl’s dad however was cool, he even allowed his daughter to call him with his first name! The couple got married in a then- “weird” ceremony where they got married to each other by saying their vows in their own way and didn’t have a religious service combined with the ceremony. Cool huh? No religion…Imagine…

The guy went to law school while the gal worked her ass off and put her dreams on hold in order to provide for the both of them. When he finished law school he was one of the top graduates and eventually worked with a high-status firm and they became happy New Yorkers. The couple tried to procreate yet they couldn’t because the girl was sick as hell and was dying. Time came when the girl’s condition worsened and they could not afford the treatments anymore. The guy went to his father and asked for money but never told him the real reason what the money is for. The girl eventually died and when the guy’s rich father found out and could have helped them for better health care, it was too late.

Tragic? In a way it is if it were not a movie and if it happened in real life. However, there are way more tragic stories which have happened and are happening in the real world which are sort of similar to the movie. What draws attention to the story is how the both of them broke social barriers and stood up for what they really felt for each other. Too bad their story got cut short and never had the chance to bloom well…well that’s the point…it wouldn’t have caught the viewers’ attention if it was a happily-ever-after thingy.

The point of making this blog post? I wanted to write about it because the first line of the movie caught my attention…

I keep wondering if every girl who ever liked Mozart, Bach, and The Beatles will die young. I love those musicians…I got their CDs for proof! Thank goodness I am not beautiful and brilliant…those attributes would have cut my life short… Hahahaha!