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! 🙂

Remember The Wind…

Nov8

(Fly With The Wind KIM)

Yesterday, I found out about the passing of my friend, a prolific writer, and a wonderful poet, Kimberly Wilhelmina Floria https://silentlyheardonce.wordpress.com/ and my heart broke into a million pieces. Kim fought a brave battle but has decided to rest. However, she has left us with several words of wisdom. While reading her poignant poem below, I felt a searing pain in my chest thinking of all the times I’ve wasted fighting needless battles, blocking the sun and escaping the breeze.

Three weeks ago I was wheeled out of the operating theatre after an emergency surgery, for a fleeting moment, the thought passed through my mind, ‘what if this is the end?’

All that’s going to change now. To celebrate her life, we need to ponder on now, this moment, we should imprint every memories so that when our time comes, we would have lived!

I think what Kim was trying to say is this:

Folks, enjoy the sun, stop gossiping, a hundred years can pass away in a blink! I really miss you Kim, continue to write for the angels… Adieu old friend.

IF ONLY…

if I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would slow down and notice . . .
what was taken for granted . . .

☼

like dazzling sun risings . . .
drops of dew on spring leaves . . .
laughter roaring in the distant . . .
while tears flow with sorrow . . .

☼

if I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would remember the taste . . .
of the ocean spray . . .
as warm sun’s rays turned to sweat . . .

☼

I would raise my arms above my head . . .
and run and run and remember the wind . . .
gently slapping my face . . .

☼

if I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would imprint my little babies hands on my cheek . . .
I would bottle their scents forever in my memory . . .

☼

I would smile more and cry less . . .
I would live in the moment . . .
forgive the past and wait for the future . . .

☼

if I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would love without judgment . . .
I would love without expectation . . .
I would love yes I would love free . . .

☼

I would not hear gossip . . .
malice wouldn’t exist . . .
negatively would be a waste . . .
a waste of precious time . . .

☼

if only . . .
if only I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would live insanely in joy . . .
every moment invested . . .
happiness and contentment . . .
my valuable stock . . .

☼

my memory would be long . . .
every word spoken . . .
every dream dreamt . . .
every soul I met would have a place . . .
in my recollection today . . .

☼

if I could see tomorrow today . . .
I would slow down . . .
notice the emotions . . .
embrace the moments . . .
each precious one . . .

©Kimberly Wilhelmina Floria 2/15/17

Let’s live well guys, much love!

Alien

Jun4

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(Photo Credit: Flickr)

Recently, I had a splinter of wood embedded inside my middle finger. Initially, the pain was excruciating, but after a while, I scarcely noticed the alien inside my finger. I guessed it slowly became a part of me. It was a slow process, it didn’t happen immediately, but soon enough, it ceased to be an alien. I’d accepted that splinter of wood as part of me, it mingled with my flesh, it attached itself to my blood, and if I did nothing to remove it, it would be immovable, static.

It would have found a home.

That’s the same with attitude. I don’t believe that people are naturally born nasty. They cultivated that nastiness over time. That’s why I love children, they are so innocent but incredibly impressionable. It’s an open secret that children who grew up in homes where swear words were spoken repeatedly wouldn’t find anything wrong with it.

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Life is complex, and most things happen when we least expected. We can slowly turn into a monster, if we don’t check ourselves and gauge our lives with this mantra, ‘how would I feel if someone did that to me?’

My middle name is Alexandra, which means helper of men or humanity. I love people, naturally, I try to see the good in people, so you can imagine my horror when I found out that I’d hurt someone, although it wasn’t deliberate. I was mortified, and I moved swiftly by apologising. Have I been hurt by others? Countless times! But I wouldn’t for the life of me expect someone to apologise to me because life doesn’t work out that way.

At one point or another in our lives, we may have inadvertently imbibed alien attitudes, the great news is, we can remove that stranger from our lives if we wanted to do that. I travel on the tube to work everyday, and I’ve witnessed horrible behaviours from other commuters; and I’d also been exposed to a huge amount of love.

I’m a humanist, I believe in people. I hope anyone reading this believes in people too, because that’s one of the ways we can make our world a better place to live!

NB:

I have to apologise for not updating my website/blog for a while. I’ve recently accepted a job offer which is incredibly satisfying but utterly time-consuming. I’ve mastered my daily routine now, and I would be visiting more blogs and writing more posts often. I’ve missed all of you, and as time permits, I would be visiting and reading your awesome posts soon.

I love you all, and please, stay safe!

Love, always! 🙂

Avanlanche: The Fall…

Feb14

(Photo credit: Krappweis)

The air was crisp and clean, the sky blue and clear. Amanda inhaled deeply, imagining the stress leaving her body. She watched her husband from the corner of her eyes: the sharp, well-shaped jaws, the bushy eyebrows, and the serious expression almost drew a chuckle but she clamped down on it.

It was their last day in Switzerland and against all odds, she had truly enjoyed herself. Now she had to confront her husband and tell him the real reason she wanted a divorce. They walked towards their cabin in silence as Amanda cleared her throat noisily. Pete gave her a quick sideways glance and opened the door.

Amanda strolled towards the sofa and sank into it, while Pete removed his gloves and boots.

‘I slept with Alex!’

Pete stood still like a statue, even the sweat on his brows froze in disbelief. He ground his teeth and approached his wife menacingly. Alex had been his friend from childhood. They were practically brothers, what a fool I’d been! He thought in anger but something held him in check, he didn’t believe it.

‘When?’ He mouthed the words and knelt in front of his wife, his eyes were incredibly dry and he looked very calm.

‘Three months ago…’ she closed her eyes briefly, ‘the night we had a fight on the phone.’

‘Where?’

‘I called him and he came over to the house.’ Amanda involuntarily put her hand to her mouth as if she’d said too much.

‘We made up when I got back Amanda!’ Pete said slowly, strangely, his anger had dissipated.

‘I know…’ and she began to cry, ‘for what’s worth, I had no recollection of it as such. I was wasted, very drunk.’

Pete made up his mind there and then to fight for his marriage but Amanda was not finished.

‘Three weeks later I found out I was pregnant.’

That was when Pete lost it. He picked Amanda up effortlessly and almost hurled her against the wall, she wailed on his shirt, expecting the worse, then like a China plate, he put her down gently. He hurriedly put his gloves on, wore his shoes and rushed out of the cabin.

Two hours later, there was a knock on the door, Amanda hurriedly opened it, worried sick. Standing calmly at the door were two Swiss officers, their expressions looked grim. Amanda crumpled to the floor in a faint…

………………….

NP: It wasn’t all bad news though! 🙂 Pete was trapped in an avalanche but luckily, he’d survived. Amanda gave birth to twin sons… Well, when she did the DNA paternity test, Pete was the father of her sons. Their marriage survived. Pete quit his job in the City, and now had his own company. They went through months of counselling and the last time I spoke to Pete, he sounded optimistic, but he confessed that it was hard. However, he loves his wife, he’d forgiven her and was determined to give their marriage a chance to heal.

Relationships are not easy, Amanda and Pete had made up their mind to fight for their marriage and I wish them the best. To all my friends all over the world, I won’t wish you love because today is Valentine, I’m wishing you love all year round. May your hearts find peace and joy!

Much love, always!

🙂

Is It Too Late?

Nov4

(Photo credit: Flickr)

It’s too late to apologise, it’s too late!’ sings a man on the radio and this thought struck me deep and I wonder if sometimes, having a perfect relationship is as elusive as trying to grasp air.

Are some sins unforgivable? Or aptly put, are some relationships beyond repairs?

Take Lillian for example, she gave her twin sons up for adoption, lived a life stoned twenty-four hours a day, then miraculously, her life changed positively. She met and married a nice gentleman who loved and adored her.

But there was a problem, Lillian didn’t tell her new husband about her past, her twin sons were conveniently forgotten. But like a sour thumb, some secrets can’t stay hidden forever. Twenty years later, the twins are grown up, knew they were adopted and wanted answers.

By now, she had other kids, and by the time the truth came out, her husband of twenty years was appalled his wife could forget to mention that she had kids! The sons weren’t that forgiving either, they wanted answers.

This kind of story happens every day, and you may say – there are worse things out there and I agree, but is it too late for Lillian? If you were in her shoes, what would you do? If you were in her son’s shoes, what would be your reaction? And if your were Lillian’s husband, would just pack your bags and leave?

These questions are not easy to answer, but I would love to know what you guys think!

On a lighter note, I wished I’d seen the eclipse of the sun yesterday, it’s one in a lifetime event, but I didn’t, so life goes on I guess! And Nanowrimo is live, but I’m afraid I would not be doing that this year, got too much on my plate as it is.

I received the edited version of my upcoming thriller today and boy, was I thrilled? It was great! I can’t wait to hold the book in my hands…

Hope you’ll read it too when it’s out guys! Counting on you!! 😉

I’m afraid I can only blog once a week now until Christmas, but I’ve been visiting blogs as often as I could, if I’ve not visited yours for a while, please bear with me, I’ll definitely pop in soon! 🙂

I’m moving house soon and coupled with my book and other office related deadlines, I’ve got my hands full. I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas (my kids are already making their lists! 😦 ) Can you believe that?

Anyway, enough rambling! I hope you’re all okay, and I wish you’ll all have a wonderful week, wherever you are in the world!

Much love, always! 🙂

The Peace In Forgiveness…

Apr30

(Photo credit: Glenda Otero)

In Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, Eliza‘s eyes brimmed with tears as they took his wife away, that was the last time he saw her and his heart broke into a million pieces. His six children were taken to another part of the camp. The German officer glared at him with hatred, and pushed him roughly to the crammed dormitory housing hundreds of malnourished prisoners. Eliza knew the end has come, what could he do?

Nothing.

But his eldest son survived the holocaust…

Can his son forgive?

In Congo, Joseph ran wildly through the forest, the stomping sound that the feet of his pursuers made was like the sound of hell. They’d hacked his family to death, the only member of his family who escaped was his youngest daughter, and he feared for her life. He ran for dear life and miraculously, he escaped. Seven months later, he was back to his village, there was nothing left. His daughter had not been found. What could he do?

Nothing.

Can he forgive?

Laura fought off the huge thug who pinned her down the soft grass in the park, his foul breathing on her face. She tried and fought so hard but he beat her mercilessly and had her, over and over again. He dumped her like a rag doll after he finished. There were bite marks on her face – that man had molested her… She was just twelve years old.

Her family was distraught….

Can they forgive?

Can Laura forgive?

Can she forget?

Yes… All these people can forgive. And you can too – And I can. Forgiveness releases you from the pain, the hurt, the anger and the bondage. It’s not easy but it can be done. Through the help of God!

Much love dear friends. 🙂

Have a great day, and a beautiful May (should be in a couple of hours, I guess)