SUBSTANCE OF LOVE

 

SUBSTANCE OF LOVE

On the misty eve of Christmas (2020), I smelled the excellent year of 2021, the year of prosperity. The year to get back to normal as everyone hopes, the year of greatness and power, implies all the experiences we had in 2020, full of challenges. The pandemic gives many twists to our life. Many failed on some plans because of the travel restrictions. Yet,  we can say we need to wait for God's perfect time. Just trust in Him. The pandemic protocols of various places make us dizzy, yet we have learned a lot to deal with it. I looked at it with a grain of salt. It's futile to complain about things aimed at the betterment of all. 

When I am alone, I can't stop myself from pondering things that pop up in my mind.  It was not about the pandemic and the lockdown we experienced that prevented us from having business-related inter-island trips.   

I was sitting in a little corner of my room, listening to the acoustic tune of my heart and trying to scribble its message and impart its humbleness to the world. There are many lyrics in my heart for me to utter, yet I opted to ride the flow of what my delightful ink wishes to share.

Indeed we are all grateful for life and our existence that we are still standing tall while disasters crossed our paths. God gives us the ability to face hardship, and we adjust accordingly. Life is always great, especially if we know how to share our gifts with our fellowmen. To balance the enormous gift God has given to us, which is this splendid life, we need to know, study and learn simply by being observant of the wonders of the earth, people, beliefs, and more. Experiences and mistakes taught us more than theory, while kindness and humility gave us wisdom. Our faith makes things possible, and behind this known world to which only a few aren't worldly, we are supposed to grow onward as we age. We have an eternal place where we all go home after, into the realm of spirit where we can't bring what we have possessed here on earth.

Many wished to stay blind because of our love of power and prestige instead of nurturing our souls. We always tend to compete with each other, and we are far from contentment. We still love to please our ego, and we lack the eagerness to unwrap ourselves from immaturity.

It's hard for others to understand that we are the only visitors in this world. We are always mundane to the nature of our humanity, unmindful to feed our spiritual necessities. We are here to leave a good legacy to the next generation and make ourselves good examples, not just the land's barren seeds.  

Sometimes I asked myself why people showed their faith in God and religiously believe that God is mighty and loving. They don't even miss going to church regularly, but they kept being mean and nasty towards others. It is such a very human and earthly thought, and this kind of attitude is so obscure and mischievous.

Crashing egos is the most challenging thing to do, and this is innate in our being. Material things attract so much and distract people that they caused us to be greedy and wicked. We always seek attention, and we are full of insecurities and uncertainties. We can't stand in a mature way of weighing things that pertains to the essence of our body and spirit because of our shaking faith.

Pride drives us, humans, to accumulate negative emotions that complicate little mistakes into huge ones. It will affect many things to the extent that some persecute, harass, and even fearlessly take lives. They execute unkind behavior just to mischief their opponents because of their pride and selfishness. Many are knowledgeable, but only a few have wisdom on how to use their knowledge.

It saddened anyone who is a victim of persecution or gossip from stories that aren't true. Yet, choose to be meek as this is the wisest move we can make. Keeping calm behind the storm is a form of decency and smartness. Pray intensely for strength and humility and become mature enough to handle things. I firmly believe in the power of prayers. God answered all our pleas, and we are grateful to observe our growth.

I'm no longer living in those times when my temper quickly blew me as an initial reaction to various issues. I pondered things more deeply, and I asked forgiveness from the Almighty above before the day ends. I realized not to be weak in my stance and outlook in life because God will never forsake those who trust in Him. I conquered all my fears and worries. I want to grow as a person, not only intellectually but as a whole. We don't need to pay and register to contribute goodness. These are all free, and everyone can afford them if there is the willingness to offer themselves to make this world a paradise-like that we can enjoy its peacefulness and tranquility. We shine not because of the jewelry we are wearing but from the golden beams of light from our hearts, which are pure and genuine glitters of love and respect. It is a treasure and blessing from heaven that we have to savor each day.

There are many times in life that I smile without reason, and I thank God for no reason at all. I praise Him for the happiness felt within. And in my growth, I can't even feel mad at those trying to put me down and embroiled me thinking they would be successful. But instead, I thank them because I believe the people who persecuted me are the same people who lifted me. I have to thank them as they contributed to being the person I am today. I have handled it humbly, and l know that for sure, it will become a rainbow that will unselfishly blend to contribute every stroke of its color to my inclination of inspiring more people.

If we only know how to value such pains caused by other people, we might embrace and thank them for their beautiful role in our lives. Stay firm and never tilt. Don't curse them as they are the ones increasing your glory in heaven. Love your enemies. Yes, I know it's not that easy, but practicing a few good deeds a day will make our angels in heaven celebrate in grandeur. Control your tongue if it won't just utter kind words. Better be quiet. Your silent responses to harsh words thrown at you are a sign of growth. Let's embrace obstacles with the purest of our hearts. It gives us the fullness of maturity that we can see things through our gift of wisdom.

Some hearts are full of hatred and doubts. What they see towards others is just a reflection of their wickedness. Instead of hating them in return, let's pray that they will realize how beautiful life is if we only use our hearts to love and not envy. I hope they will find the certainty of their being, to shine from darkness, to inspire through the beaming light of their renewed life, and that their hearts will always be at peace with anyone else, and may they find sanity and exhilaration.

These are all I wished to smatter from the humble thoughts I've gotten in my half a century of existence in this known world, that after all of what had happened, in good and in bad times, I still want to share that I have nothing inside my heart but gratitude and love.