When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread.
But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out of society –
That spiritual poverty is much harder to overcome.
Those who are materially poor can be very wonderful people.

One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street.
And one of them was in a most terrible condition.
I told the Sisters:
“You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who
Looks worse.” So I did for her all that my love can do.
I put her in bed,
And there was such a beautiful smile on her face.
She took hold of my hand,
As she said one word only: “Thank you” — and she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience before her.
And I asked: “What would I say if I were in her place?“
And my answer was very simple.
I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself.
I would have said: “I am hungry,
I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something.
But she gave me much more — she gave me her grateful love.
And she died with a smile on her face.
Then there was the man we picked up from the drain, half-eaten
By worms and, after we had brought him to the home, he only said,
“I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die as an angel, loved and cared for.”
Then, after we had removed all the worms from his body,
All he said, with a big smile, was: “Sister, I am going home to God” — and he died.

It was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could
Speak like that without blaming anybody, without comparing anything.
Like an angel — this is the greatness of people who are spiritually
Rich even when they are materially poor….

-Mother Teresa

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you.

Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so….. ‘Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don’t.’

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.

Unknown Author

This is a story one of my readers sent in to me and she gave me permission to publish it here. Someone out there might be able to relate to her story, as so many people have the same problem.  If you guys have any words of advice or any comment for that matter, please feel free to chime in. Here goes…

My love story is one of loneliness. It’s a long story, as I’m not sure when it started and when it will end, if it ever does.

I’m a cheerful, confident and sensitive girl. I was born in a caring family and I have close friends who are precious to me. I love arts, plants, animals and I sure can say I love life.

But I have a hole in my heart and sometimes I’m scared that it will never go. I’m 32 and I never had a boyfriend. Nobody could tell, ever, except people that I’ve known for years. Only a few of my friends and family know about it. It’s not something I talk about openly. I guess I’m kind of ashamed. The older I get, the worse it is.

I have both men and female friends. I get along well with women: I’m not the competitive type and I’m a good listener. My male friends consider me as “one of the boys” when we talk about music and play videogames but I’m very feminine too and I get a lot of compliments from intellectuals as well as from young punks. I’m a smiling person and men seem to like that

I never had a serious relationship. Never did a man say to me “I love you”, in a romantic way. I dated a few guys but never long enough too call them “my boyfriend” and I’ve been dumped carelessly. I got intimate with some and I don’t regret it: I needed affection, as every human being does. There was one I loved with all my heart but it was wasted. He liked me as a friend. Since he had drug problems at the time, I know now it was better that way. I know that I would have endured it all.

I won’t go out with a man at any price. I have good values and a good temper and I go along with men that are alike. If the point was “to be with somebody”, I would have been married years ago! I need to love and be loved. What’s wrong with looking for the Prince Charming? He’ll be pleased to have found his Princess Charming too

Nobody understands why it is: it’s like a curse. How can a sweet and smart girl never have a boyfriend? One of my friends almost cried when we talk about it. She knows how it makes me sad even if I don’t complain, though it hurts like hell. I try to think about all the other good things in my life. Except for my messy love life, I can say I’m blessed. But when I cry at night because I miss to be held in loving arms, believe me, I have to talk to myself otherwise I would go insane. Some days, I feel like a monster.

I’ve been hurt a lot. Sometimes, I wonder if I should ever trust another guy and give him a chance to get closer. I can’t help but give it a try. I’m a loving person and I will always follow my heart. Even if I don’t have a single proof that one day I’ll find someone, it’s worth trying. Maybe one day the bad dream will be over and the hole in my heart will be filled with love.

—Eli

(I saw this story circulating around in the Internet and I was deeply moved by it. This Christmas season, hope this story will remind you of the true spirit of Christmas, which is “giving”. Let’s not forget, it’s Christ’s birthday and we should honor him and give him glory through our actions towards others.)

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn’t wear boots; he didn’t own any and he didn’t like them anyway. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother’s Christmas gift.He shook his head as he thought, “This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don’t have any money to spend,”

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn’t because his mother didn’t care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older sisters and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother’s absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.

Somehow it just wasn’t fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn’t easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.

Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun’s rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.

As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn’t buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother’s Christmas gift.

The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby’s shoulder and said to him, “You just wait here and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.

The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby’s eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby’s heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.

“That will be ten cents young man,” the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime.

Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!

Sensing the boy’s reluctance, the shop owner added, “I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?”

This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, “Merry Christmas, son,”

As he returned inside, the shop keeper’s wife walked out. “Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?”

Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, “A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn’t sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.

“When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.

“When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses.” The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn’t feel cold at all.

Author Unknown

Since it’s Halloween, I thought to myself I should have a post here that pays tribute to the popular holiday. Ghosts and the dead… hmmm… not really related to the theme of this blog, huh? But what the heck, it’s part of life too, right? Actually, to be honest, I’m an easily frightened person. I get easily scared of ghosts, spirits, even the dark! But now that it’s Halloween, I’m gonna set aside my fears for a while and share with you scary stories that will curl your toes and give you a pounding heartbeat.

• In a classroom, all students were asked to share their most memorable place. After all were done, one silent pale girl stood up and said: “My most memorable place is this classroom, were I killed myself.”

• One day, this guy went on their college batch reunion. On his way to the function hall he saw his ex-girlfriend… she smiled at him and said… “How are you?! It’s been 10 years seen we’ve last seen each other! You look great! I missed you.” Then she hugged him very tight and ran away without any last words… he didn’t even get a chance to talk because he was very surprised. Then, a few minutes after the incident… he asked his old friends about his ex-girlfriend “How is she?” Upon hearing his question… all of his friends were shocked and one of them said… “Dude, she committed suicide a year after you left her. She’s already been dead for 9 years.”

• There was a couple who prayed for a child and they had a girl. She was the ugliest child they had ever seen. Two years later, the family decided to go on a camping trip. During the trip, the child asked if she could pee. So, they stopped near the bridge of the mountain. Then there was an accident. The little girl fell off the bridge and died. A few years later… they were blessed with another child. She was the prettiest child ever. They loved her and gave her everything. One day, they went on a camping trip. On the way, the child asked if she could pee. So they stopped. The little girl looked at her mother and said “Mom, please don’t push me again.”

I also came across this beautifully written blog by Jowell called Spoon Lagoon and he published some really scary stories that you will enjoy too and will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Read his posts here: Pinoy Urban Legends 1.0 and Pinoy Urban Legends 2.0

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.”

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy was sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”

Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized they couldn’t recall what else the great master played. Only the classic “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

That’s the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life’s work truly can be beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”

Author Unknown

My brother gave me a YouTube link this morning, saying I have to watch it because it’s the best video he’s ever seen. I was intrigued by his intro, so I watched the clip. Guess what, it sent goosebumps all over my body! This story has become so popular and is all over the Internet so I’m sure most of you might have come across this months ago, but it only just reached me now, and I felt compelled to post it here to share it with those who haven’t seen it yet.

It’s a story about an exceptional lion raised by two young Australian men, John Rendall and Ace Berg. They bought the lion cub from a store, they saw it was cramped and lonely in his cage, so they decided to bring the poor little guy home. They raised him as a pet, named him Christian, and it was the start of an amazing friendship and loyalty among the three. But when Christian grew bigger, they didn’t have a choice but to release him back into the wild. So they enlisted the help of George Adamson, the known “Father Of Lions“ and after some time, though it wasn’t easy, they were able to release Christian successfully into the wild.

After a year, Christian got accustomed to life in the wild and was even leader of their pride. John and Ace decided to visit him again, and despite warnings from George, that Christian might not recognize them anymore, they went ahead and sought their beloved lion. So what happened, you ask? Well, if you don’t know… you go find out for yourself by watching the video.

It’s such a heartwarming story about friendship, and how even a vicious animal like a lion is capable of love and affection. I have to admit, I was nearly moved to tears when I watched the video. If you haven’t heard of Christian, The Lion… you have to watch the video, and while you’re at it, you can watch the whole documentary dedicated to him too. It’s definitely worth the watch.

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