PRIDE AND HONESTY

A newly graduate hairdresser
Is too proud of his degree
He claims he can do better
Than any age old barber in his place.

He opened a hair saloon
Will full flair and pomposity
Right beside the old establishment
Of the old hair cutter south of the city.

To prove how proud he is
He puts a sign that boldly reads
“We give five dollars haircut
coupled with an excellent massage.”

Not to be outdone, but his pride badly hurt
The Old Master Barber put up his own sign
“We fix five dollars haircut
And aching muscles from excellent massage”

—000—

“I never knew how proud I would feel. Just standing in the rain.. These three words mean everything to me. And I’d sing it again and again.” – Amy Mc Donald

LENTEN SEASON: WE MAY HOPE AND BE ASSURED

In classical Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on Earth. Inatasan ni Zeus si Hephaestus to create her using water and earth. Binigyan siya ng mga diyoses ng mga handog. Dinamitan siya ni Athena, Aphrodite gave her beauty, biniyayaan siya ni Apollo ng kakayahan sa musika and Hermes gave her the gift of speech.

Nang si Prometheus ay nangulimbat ng apoy mula sa langit, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus. Binigyan si Pandora ng gift sa kasal ng isang magandang kahon (jar is more apt description) at may kautusan na huwag bubuksan kahit anong mangyari. Impelled by her curiosity (again, given to her by the gods), Pandora opened it and all evil contained therein escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the container, but the whole contents had escaped, except for one thing that lay at the bottom – ang espiritu ng Pag-asa named Elpis. Pandora, deeply saddened by what she had done, feared she would have to face Zeus’ wrath, since she had failed her duty. However, Zeus did not punish Pandora because he knew this would happen.

Pandora’s box is a myth usually associated with evils coming out of the box. All of us forgets that at the bottom of the box is HOPE.

Ano ang kaugnayan ng kasaysayang ito sa ating paggunita ng kamatayan ng ating Panginoong Hesukristo? Ang Pag-asa na itinanim ng Panginoon sa ating puso, pag-asa ng kaligtasan at buhay na walang hanggan sa langit.

“Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! Do not let hope be stolen! The hope that Jesus gives us.” – Pope Francis

Let the sacrifices of our Lord Jesus Christ be the hope to encourage us. At ano mang panahon, ito ay magsilbing panimula, bagong pag-asa.
Pag-asa na magdadala sa atin sa tunay na pamumuhay Kristiyano, palaganapin ang Kanyang mga Salita, gawin ang Kanyang mga Halimbawa at makaakay ng mga kaluluwa tungo sa Kanya.

Let this Hope be our tool to make a glaring difference in this world.

—000—

“My hope rests firm on Jesus Christ, He is my only plea. Though all the world should point and scorn, His ransom leaves me free;
My hope sustains me as I strive. And strain towards the goal; Though still I stumble into sin, His death paid for it all;
My hope provides me with a spur.To help me run this race: I know my tears will turn to joy. The day I see his face;
My hope is to be with my Lord, To know as I am known; To serve Him gladly all my days In praise before His throne. ” – Keith Getty and Richard Creighton

SPREAD KINDNESS

Once, during the course of his travels, a Pastor arrived at a village where the people were a quarrelsome lot. He blessed them and asked them to prosper and live in that village forever.

In the next village, where the people were peace-loving, the Pastor blessed them too but asked them to abandon the village and disperse. Jose, his close assistant, puzzled by the Pastor’s strange blessings, asked him why he blessed the first village with prosperity though its people were unworthy  of it and asked the good people of the second village to disperse.

The Pastor smiled and answered: “The quarrelsome will only spread unrest and friction wherever they go. So I asked them to remain where they were. But it is better for the peace-loving to disperse and take their good qualities with them so that all those who know them can learn the art of peaceful coexistence.”

This is what Jesus Christ asked us to do when he said:  –  “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Ang pagiging mangingisda ng tao means spreading kindness at pumalaot ka para makahuli ng isda through your kindness. Kindness is an ingredient that makes us happy. Ang kaligayahan means being sincere. Ito ay ang pagiging tapat  in your smile (ngiti not NGISI) It means being genuinely interested when you listen to someone speak. It means doing meaningful gestures that will brighten someone’s day or make a difference in someone else’s life. It means being thoughtful of those you know and reaching out to those you don’t know. It means being simple.

Kindness is appreciation sa kung ano ang meron ka, realizing the value in something or someone in your life, and not taking them for granted. It means “pagpapahalaga” and look at how they enrich your life. That means pagpapasa isantabi ng mga kakulangan at pagkilala sa mga nagawang positibo sa iyong buhay, dahil walang bagay o tao na perpekto o swakto sa gusto natin ang ibibigay sa atin.

Kindness is pagpapasalamat.  It’s about feeling grateful for what you have, rather than feeling unfulfilled over what you don’t have. Bilangin natin ang mga pagpapala sa bawat oras at makikita natin na ito ay umaapaw sa ating buhay.

Spread kindness. The feelings good.

It’s fulfilling. It leads to a peaceful mind.

Watch this: 

—000—

“Even when the darkest clouds are in the sky. You mustn’t sigh and you mustn’t cry. Spread a little happiness as you go by. Please try. What’s the use of worrying and feeling blue. When days are long keep on smiling through. Spread a little happiness till dreams come true.” – Sting