Peace in a Cruel World

We live in a world often marred by conflict, disease, and negativity, finding peace can seem like an elusive dream. So, how do we find peace in such a cacophony of negative events? How do we keep ourselves grounded? I’ve decided to do five things:

Limit News Consumption: While staying informed is essential, constant exposure to negative news can be overwhelming. I have decided two set boundaries on my news consumption to prevent information overload.

Positive Meditation: I am a Christian, and I realise the more I read God’s Word, the calmer and peaceful I am. This world is full of negative things but the more we read, and pray and focus on positive things, the more we’ll have power over negative thoughts and influences. One of my favourite scripture quote is below:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8

If I want to make myself sad, I’ll just dwell on the things that I think are not working in my life, or think of a past traumatic event. But when I realise I don’t have control over certain things, but I have control on my reactions. So, I do what I do best: pray and trust God to do what only He can do.

Be Kind: Kindness doesn’t take anything from us, rather, it makes us better people. I treat people the way I want to be treated, with kindness and empathy, and by doing that, I realise I am peaceful and can navigate through this cruel, complex world. I love the quote below:

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Help Others: Volunteering or helping those in need can be immensely fulfilling. Acts of kindness not only benefit others but also bring a sense of purpose and inner peace. When I help people, I forget about my problems and in a strange way, God always resolves them when I least expected.

Focus on Self-Care: I prioritise self-care activities such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep. Taking care of my physical and mental health is crucial for maintaining peace. Taking care of ourselves is crucial, a sick person can’t take care of others. So practise self-love.

There are several ways we can find peace in this chaotic, tumultuous world of ours, but practising the above has helped me, even when faced with circumstances beyond my control.

I wrote this article on Friday, and woke up on Saturday to news of Hamas attacking Israel. I pray for peace in our world.

Take care of yourselves wherever you are in the world.

Much love, always! 🙂

Decisions and the Ripple Effects

Dec4

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com. A nice, snowy, magical road!

When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.
Paulo Coelho

I want to touch briefly on decisions but before I do that, it’s December folks! Yay! I can’t believe it’s already December ( honestly, I’m grateful 2020 is rolling away!)

We’ve all been living in the backdrop of the pandemic, and while many lives have changed dramatically, we’ve all been affected by the events of this year, one way or another. It’s been sobering, sad, inspirational, boring, and the list go on. The human cost has been huge, my prayers go to anyone that has been affected by the faceless virus.

On the bright side, we now have a vaccine! (different vaccines, by the way). But like everything in life, many people are pro-vaccine, some are not. (I will be taking the vaccine when it’s available). On my side, I have been very busy as usual but I am determined to update my website as often as possible, starting now.

Photo by Louis on Pexels.com. I love the picture of this dude. He’s probably contemplating how to spend the rest of 2020 Covid free! 🙂

Something happened to me recently, it’s just a mundane thing but it got me thinking. It’s true that we may not be able to determine our race, family, or the colour of our eyes, however, there are some decisions we make that will ultimately change the trajectory of our lives.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to a very important meeting. Before I left home, I decided to check the backdoor again, there was nothing bad in being extra careful but that last-minute decision ultimately changed my day. I was still able to go for my meeting but I was very late, and I hate giving a bad impression but there you go. Some decisions have deeper consequences and could be life-changing, and that is the reason we need to tread carefully and weigh our options before committing to a project or an idea.

We should weigh our decisions carefully. Life has no rewind timer. Our decisions shows the type of person we are and the content of our character. The late Adolf Hitler had friends and followers and they murdered millions of people, and he started by convincing people to follow him.

They made the call. They made the decision. Aptly put, think before you act. Your life may depend on it.

Does anyone have any decisions they made that changed their lives? I would like to know in the comments below.

I hope everyone will continue to stay safe.

Much love to you! Always!! 🙂 🙂

The Theory Of A Second

Jan10

(Photo credit: Flickr)

‘Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods, Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.’ Robert H. Schuller.

A second makes a year, and in fact, it makes a lifetime! When you calculate every second of our lives, add that to decisions we make in split seconds, and there, that’s our lives all tidied up and going in seconds. That’s all it takes to cross over to the New Year, just one second. And that got me thinking about decisions and the much-celebrated New Year’s resolutions.

We all have to make choices in life, and when doing that, that’s when the seconds ticked by. From the second we decide whom to marry, to the second we choose our careers to when we define our life goals, the seconds are counting.

We can make the seconds of our lives count by weighing up our options, and in the case of the young Saudi Arabian woman who renounced Islam and barricaded herself in a hotel in Thailand, she must have decided to run away within seconds. That decision will now change her life.

Thankfully, the UN has approved her refugee status, and Australia is keen to allow, and process Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s asylum application. This brave young woman made a decision that ultimately changed her life.

So whatever you do this year, make the seconds count!

It’s 2019 folks!!

The Plunge!

Oct3

(Photo credit: Flickr)

‘The step between prudence and paranoia

is short and deep.

Prudence wears a seatbelt,

Paranoia avoids cars altogether.

Prudence washes with soap;

Paranoia avoids human contact altogether.

Prudence saves for old age;

Paranoia clings to every penny!

Prudence prepares and plans;

Paranoia panics.

Prudence calculates the risks and takes the plunge;

paranoia never enters the water.’

* * * * * *

I read this today and it had a profound effect on me. I have been extremely busy at work, and coupled with my upcoming book, it was like walking in a sea of unending deadlines. But then I paused and allowed these words sink into my spirit, mulling it over, I realised that as humans, we’re certainly creatures of comfort, and taking the plunge could be easier said than done.

What do I mean by plunges? They’re simply changes, making new decisions and following them through. Having faith in God and yourself (if you believe in God) and stepping out to make the needed changes to your life. To reach a glorious destiny, you have to stop holding back. Some have changed their lives by going to college and following their dreams, others signed up for reality shows, and some, just improving their skills by attending night school.

But you must first take the plunge!

I need to apologise for my silence, I have been inundated with work and had certainly missed a lot of posts. Please bear with me, and I’ll catch up soon. I’ll be travelling out of London this weekend but would be back next week, before then, I’ll still visit your wonderful websites!

Have a fantastic month! October had always been my best month (I was born in October! 😉 ) and as the weekend inch closer, just have fun and enjoy life!

Much love, always!

🙂

Secrets And Skeletons

Jul29

(Photo credit: Ugadew)

Secrets and skeletons skipping in my room.

I dodged their fiery gaze and pretended not to see.

‘Can’t be kept in forever!’ They hollered.

Still, I pretended not to hear.

‘When the time is right, I’ll let you out!’

I surmised.

This is a funny poetic thought for me, sometimes we deliberately keep secrets, sometimes we don’t, but just find out that some things are best kept in the dark for a while. Do you have secrets? (in retrospect I don’t think I do) And what is your worse kept secret? If you have one do let me know. Enjoy today, and the rest of your week!

Much love, always.

🙂