God, Please Give Me The Strength
I have written few articles that touched on my (our) life desires, the Q-thing, on Quality and Quantity. About how, depending on each individual, such Q-thing makes a difference. To some, quality is important while too much quantity brings stress. Yet, to another, the desire and the importance where more the merrier and regardless whether the quality is sub-standard is a way of life. No which way is right nor wrong here, each has its merits. Each carries value and morality. Each of these Qs in itself brings with it an eternity.
My previous articles:
- It's A Small Small World
- The Twelfth of Never
Today, as I so happen to think much of the phrase "in itself brings with it an eternity", it reminds me of what Paulo Coelho has written in his book 'The Alchemist'. This book has sold millions and the phrase certainly brings an important value that I often think of. Where the phrase is in the book, Paulo was talking about a seer casting some twigs. Here is the excerpt:
The seer was a specialist in the casting of twigs; he threw them on the ground, and made interpretations based on how they fell. That day, he didn't make a cast. He wrapped the twigs in a piece of cloth and put them back in his bag.
"I make my living forecasting the future for people," he said. "I know the science of the twigs, and I know how to use them to penetrate to the place where all is written. There, I can read the past, discover what has already been forgotten, and understand the omens that are here in the present.
"When people consult me, it's not that I'm reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present."
"The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."
It is in Paulo's words (above -bold and underline) that I wish to live my life 'in the present' constantly. Earlier today, by chance that I was chatting with a friend that led me to confide a little about my life. Out of nowhere, she commented "all that you need is to go back to your mountain and forget about the quantity of people that you think you need to reach out". Somehow, God had sent her to me to revel the life that I had previously chosen, and probably casted away. To this friend, "Thank You!" and, indeed, I feel lighter after the good chat.
Without her realization, her words make me to think that I have steered away (perhaps far too much) from being a nowist, living in the present, up in my mountain. A mountain does not move in its position past, present and future. I have always felt peace with the quality of life being alone and being surrounded with small amounts of material and emotional wealth. Not from a depressed state of mind but I have no delusions of living forever, only a very high motivation to have a rich peaceful and fulfilling life.
In fact, looking back at the events of today, I have been thinking a lot about sacrifices and life trade-off. About quality. About quantity. About life styles. What about these values that can set my life any different. I can say that I do not want to have too much in life, but just enough. I am glad that I am not materially greedy. It often goes back to my old pattern of thought in life about 'what is enough?'. I am proud at myself that I embrace my limitations to fit my own paradigm.
When I take the time to glance back at my previous writing on the topics of quality versus quantity, I realize that I have actually not made any real conviction. I have never really shown any affirmation on my joy of choice.
In It's A Small Small World, I ended my thought process wondering at Facebook and how such a social network impacted upon me. In The Twelfth Of Never, I comforted myself of a one pointed determination to revitalize on the course of life. So, here I am where I start to think that I should undermine the way I think, its thought process, to distinguish what will make me a better person. Perhaps, the person that I have always wanted to be up on my own mountain.
If life is a field of choices, which often is, then I have to pin my preferences. I rather choose quality over quantity. I do not mean to suggest that I do not care about my quantity of life. I am definitely not happy about maybe getting only half paid for my work. But, I also believe that there is a point where the quality of life that can be provided does not justify additional efforts to enrich the quality of life. Bottom line, how successful, how wealthy, how many houses, cars and priceless collections one can obtain is not important to me.
What I want ..
I want to be an Energy Giver rather than an Energy Sucker
Fact is, I do believe in life after death and every good deed deserves better. I would rather provide a win-win possible situation in all situations. It is always good not to "cry because it is over but smile because it happened".
I want to work with Mother Nature rather than to go against her
Fact is, I acknowledge that life on Earth, both living and non living things, comes from God. I would rather focus on a healthy growth of my well being as a respect from the Giver and the Creator to live the life I wish to enjoy peace and joy.
I want to have few good friends rather than to be a social monkey
Fact is, I do not have much time to entertain and socialize. I would rather have few good friends who I can spend quality time with. In such an environment, we create the time to know each other better, inside-out-outside-in. I believe, in such a close knitted relationship, we can count on each other for our happy and sad days.
I want to spend more time at home rather than to waste precious time on baseless outings
Fact is, I do not have so much physical energy. I would rather stay home and maximized my energy doing house works or reading the web or just lazing around watching some good movies. As is, I always believe a house is heaven on earth. It is a place where the peace of god within me finds the soul.
I want to talk about life rather than to assume life
Fact is, the application of knowledge is power. I would rather that we talk about emotional, mental and spiritual issues of life than to talk about things that are not related to us. Politics are not my forte for I always think if there is nothing that I can contribute, it is best to let others walk the talk.
I want to talk the talk rather than to remain silent
Fact is, I believe in communication. I would rather express my feelings than to hide them. Communication opens doors and opportunities.
I want to give rather than to receive
Fact is, I am not good at receiving. I would rather that I give as it makes me to check on my own attitude. Such an act makes me to be aware of my ego, my limitations and on my gift from the universal abundance.
I want to do the things right rather than the right things
Fact is, I am not good at handling guilt. I would rather strike at balance and harmony than to create animosity. The reality is often different between doing the right thing and doing the thing right. Often, there are more factors that are out of our control than within. Doing the things right mean that I have to stretch and do my best and leave the results to turn out the way they will.
I want to make sacrifices to achieve my goals rather than not knowing my full potential
Fact is, I love Love. I would rather be hard on something and to allow the truth to surface. In my own search for answers and the truth, my experiences often lead me to show that many dead ends are caused by human refusals. These dead ends enrich life and continue to help us to accept and find peace with the reality.
I want to be able to love myself rather than to be loved by others
Fact is, I come alone and I shall leave alone (dust to dust, ashes to ashes). I would rather have my own approval, meaning and answers within myself to lead me to the truth. I just have to continue to teach myself to trust in myself, be honest with myself, be easy with myself and just to do the best. 'Selling' myself and to give everything I have, believing that it would make someone else to love me does not spell for the ultimate peace.
I want to be aware rather than to live in an unconscious state of mind
Fact is, knowing is half the battle and the other half is plain doing it. I would rather take consciousness with an awakened mind and to be aware with my thoughts, my words and my actions. There are many of us who are unconsciously unhappy, unconsciously angry, unconsciously repeating certain actions and habits, and so on. It takes awareness to these unconscious energies that change the world around me.
Learning to live with Quality over Quantity takes practice and may feel very scary. It makes me even feel much a loner and lonely. But, I believe it is this self love, that with practice, will become a new way of BEing. The thing that I need to overcome is the lesson I need to learn to be the greatest in my life. At the end of the day, I also believe that life becomes easier when I can let go of my own expectations and just allow life to be.
I offer Reiki Distant Healing