This blog is designed for anyone who dares to dream BIG dreams or is interested in self-discovery: for a deeper meaning to life. It was not intended for the purpose of extending advice, but merely to share the author’s views on life. It is meant to take you on a journey of the mind, body and soul...to make you stop and think. Let’s explore together…
As we bid the month of September adieu, we give thanks for all that is has brought to our lives. Let's take a moment to reflect and marvel in the many marvelous moments and carry the lessons and blessings forward into the future.
Thanks September for getting us where we need to go and Hello October...we are ready and waiting!
Welcome to all my new and returning visitors to my blog from Trinidad & Tobago, USA, France, Poland, Russia, UK, Hong Kong & Germany!!
Love to have you...come right in, get comfy and enjoy while I share my thoughts with you:)
If you can relate to my posts, please feel free to drop me a line with your feedback and/or share your story.
The world is a diverse place with many different views...we may not always agree on any given topic but what's important is that we share and vent when necessary.
Heartfelt thanks and warm regards from my corner of the world to yours.
Just
thinking out loud again...just came back from a fab night out chillaxing.
Needed it...wish I had photos to post but my darn BlackBerry phone pics
were off with the lighting:(( It's too bad. Funny how photos can bring
the past alive...whether it's an hour ago, 1 year ago, 5 years, 10 years
or 30 years ago. Recently I've been going through my old photos over
the years on my computer. Wow! I just love taking pictures and looking
at pictures, capturing memories and preserving them. (My friends often give me "the look" every time I whip out my camera! but they are often pleased with the end result) My how I've
changed! Happy, fun times. Love it. Have you ever looked at a picture
and suddenly you're taken back to that time and place?! That's how I
feel. We've all changed physically and emotionally over the
years...older, fatter, skinnier...experimented with different looks:
short hair, long hair, straight hair, curly locks, natural, relaxed, coloured, streaks, highlights, shaven, braids, dreds,
blonde, red, black, brunette. Traveled to places far and wide. Celebrated milestones in our life. Celebrated with loved ones. Some of us had babies even. Had different friends and partners. Some of those people may not even be in our lives anymore for any number of reasons. That's
why I got me a professional camera on my last trip...sorry to say I
haven't used it much...but that's gonna change. Tonight I realized how
important capturing memories are when tonight's mementos were half-way
ruined with my phone camera
Add caption
Note to self: Savour the moments and always be prepared!
I'll leave you with a few of my favourite looks! For those of you that know me, do you remember when? To be skinny again lol. Ahhhh the memories... #sweet
Others believe in destiny: what is meant to be, will be
Yet many believe that we have the power to create our own destiny
What you and I believe, may be
completely different from any of this, but ultimately we bring about the
change that we desire in our lives, by our belief systems.
I do not subscribe to much of this
tomfoolery, but however believe in a force greater than me...that is
God: the Alpha and the Omega
I do not think that I can bring about any change in my life without my faith and belief in Him, for I am nothing without Him
Throughout our lives, so many things take place. We have hopes, dreams and wishes for ourselves and our future. And we fight earnestly to make it a reality. During this fight, others may influence us, we may stray and become distracted from "the truth, the way and the life." We are indeed here on this earth for a reason and purpose...not by chance. This in itself, is reason to believe that there is a Higher Being responsible for our existence and everything that occurs in our life. We may want some things to happen within a certain time frame, or may wonder why certain occurrences take place at all in our lives. It's only human nature to wonder and ask God why. Why we are faced with impossible people that are no good for us? Why we didn't get that job which would supposedly propel our career further? Why our child did not get into that school that we wanted? Why did that relationship end when it did? Instead of asking the question why...rather, can't we "flip the script" and ask what if those things that we wanted, did indeed happen? What would have been the outcome? Consider these scenarios...
Scenario 1: What if those people who we think are "out to get us" were indeed placed in our lives for a reason: in order for us to appreciate the ones who will come along later? Or so that we can separate the sheep from the goat so to speak, so that we can treat the true "gems" better? What if those difficult situations were placed in our lives, so that we can toughen up and make better decisions in the future? Time will tell...
Scenario 2: Suppose if we got that job that we desired, maybe that particular company would have stifled our creativity and growth. Or we may have not enjoyed the benefits that we presently do. Or perhaps, we may have gotten an uncontrollable boss, or may not have met some key people that were destined to play a greater role in our lives later on.
What if God has something better in store for us, and right now he wants us to learn a deeper lesson so as to prepare us for what's to come? Sometimes, we have to learn to find the silver lining in every (perceived) dark cloud.
Scenario 3: What if the school we wanted our offspring to get into, had a change in administration and the teachers were not of the quality that existed before? What if the school they did get into, offered them the exact courses/subjects that your child wanted to pursue later on and laid the foundation that was destined to create a successful career? What if the other school did not offer this? What if he/she made life long friends, that would later become college friends, best man/chief bridesmaid at their wedding or God parents to their first child or business partners in later years? What if they met their soulmate at this school? Food for thought...
Scenario 4: Why did that relationship end when it did?After we lament over the end of an era...what if we later find out that who we thought was our soulmate turned out to be a stranger who we never knew or an abuser at worst. Bearing in mind, that abuse can come in all different forms: substance, domestic, sexual, emotional, psychological, infidelity.What if that person's goals, priorities or morals weren't aligned with your own? What if you wanted different things in life and in the long run, it would have been time wasted? Sometimes love is not enough to make things work and in the end, you have to consider yourself lucky that you found these things out when you did, rather that when it's too late.Not every match, is a match made in heaven and without looking too hard, your soulmate could be right around the corner.
Next time we (myself included) lament over the turn of events in our lives, it's wise to step back, separate ourselves from the moment and the emotion and reassess the situation. Thank God for small mercies and try to look for the silver lining or the metaphoric "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow...because it doesn't only happen in fairy tales...it's there and very real, if only we believe, look hard enough and exercise enough patience.
Timing is everything and I think now is the time to get back into the swing of things and continue my second book. If I wait until I have loads of time, that may never come so I need to push on. Actually it's two books I started. Take a brief stroll down memory lane with me...
The first is a novel which I started when I was only 19...before I even owned a computer...so it's still in manuscript (handwritten) form. I only wrote one chapter, but from the reviews of a friend way back then, it was pretty good. If I remember correctly, she said to me: "Carolyn, if this is your first chapter, I can't wait to see what the rest of the book holds!" Well, umm....not sure what exactly happened to make me stop, but let's just say a lot of time has passed and loads of ss-tuf has happened since then. It was the only time I attempted fiction though, so it was refreshing. I read it over, a couple times over the years and I'm glad I haven't thrown it out...it was pretty good for a "younging" lol. We'll see. If I ever get around to finishing it, it would probably be under a pen name though.
The other one I started when I was in my first year of graduate school. One evening I was studying and out of the blue, my dad encouraged me to write a book! To this I asked: "what will I write about? A book you say, ya know? What will I fill all those pages with!?" To this dear daddy responded by saying: "write about your experiences and how you view life." Amazing. He has so much confidence in me and my writing, which at the time, I didn't have in myself. I took his advice and I started writing that same evening. I continued for a few months, every chance I got in my spare time. I wrote all of 11,000 words then I gave it to few people to review...
One of them responded that it was like reading something a psychologist wrote; the other said it was good, but I needed to tweak it somewhat, because it was filled with a few self-doubts (constructive criticism). And the other (whose name I purposely withhold) said that she hated it! LOL. Seriously, it's no laughing matter. That was it for that book...may as well stick a pin in it, because I was done! Never touched it since. That was two years ago. Opened the document a few times though, but wasn't motivated to write anymore. It was the worse case of writer's block. See what one bad review can do! I was a bit sensitive about my work around that time....still am, to an extent. That's the book I want to continue though...hopefully I get up the nerve to do some work on it this weekend. So far, it's been a week of reflection while I stay in my cocoon, vegge out and recoup after the lonnnggest week known to man! So far I've found time to do my taxes, request my lost flyer miles and update my pages after a couple days (and months in some cases) of inactivity (Click here to read more--->http://carolyncorreia.over-blog.com/articles-blog.html). If only I can clean up this writer's mess that is my room, everything will be perfect!
Anyways, to cut a long story short...the time has come for me to continue my passion. I've since published my first book, which is not any of the ones named above. It's called THINKING OUT LOUD and it's a collection of inspirational/motivational/philosophical articles on life, love, finding your passion/right career, celebrating milestones, parents and the holidays. If I missed anything...it's probably there too! I've gotten great reviews and requests about my next book ever since the book launch last December. It's available at local bookstores in Trinidad and on www.amazon.com I also plan to complete an audio book by November 2012, so stay tuned to this space.
Just goes to show that you can accomplish anything regardless of doubt, delays, disappointment or criticism. This was not even planned and it all happened pretty quickly. Around this time last year I was quite busy. Very exciting time I must say. I remember exclaiming with joy every time I got an email from the publishers:) Took a few weeks vacation to get it all done without delay and devote the much needed time. Lots of people encouraged me over the years but one day, I read something somewhere and decided to do it. It has been an amazing year and I give God all the credit. I could not have done any of this without Him. I am also grateful for all the people in my life and the ones that have passed through along the way that gave me encouragement and support. Even if you are no longer in my life for whatever reason, you were instrumental in the lessons learned and in some way contributed to the inspiration behind the sweat and hard work.
To all the readers of my blog both locally and globally, that have followed me throughout my journey last year and beyond...I thank you! Please let me know who you are and what you think by leaving comments on the posts, retweeting and "LIKE-ing" on facebook. Also, feel free to join my fanpage----> https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingoutLoudbyCarolynCorreia
September remember! Hope you're having a great month and this post meets you in good spirits:) Happy Birthday to all the birthday people...two of my friends celebrate today...seems lotsa ppl were born in this month!
What a month it has been so far! Hmmm where do I start?
I'm not going to go ranting on about my issues but in fact, will cut to the moral of the story right away. Sometimes things happen in your life for you to realize how great you really have it. I read somewhere recently and mentioned it to a friend who had similar thoughts that: if everyone were to throw their problems into a stack...when you saw everyone else's you would want yours back...so true. Sometimes you think you have worries, but the truth is, someone is always going through something worse than you. Just saying....what you may think is a problem - is a needle in a haystack, when considered in the grande scheme of things.
When things are too comfortable, sometimes you need a little jolt to give you a wake up call, so that you can see how fantastic your life is indeed. When you start to experience more discomfort, you would thank God for your small mercies and simple luxuries. We as human beings are really ungrateful creatures at times. Not to discount what we may be feeling, which may be very real, but our situation is only relative. Relative to someone else or relative compared to our journey thus far.
Time alone can do wonders for us. Can you remember yourself 5 years ago or even 1 year ago? What was life like? How does it compare to now? My! How life has changed! Can you picture yourself 5 years from now or 1 year from now? What do you see? Do you think what is happening now will matter much? It may all serve to shape the person you would become, but the problems you face now, may matter little when compared to what's in store for your life in the future. We never know what life may bring; that's why we must live in the moment and savour every last drop because when it's over, you don't want to have any regrets or try to recapture what's gone.
We develop coping skills along the way and that's how we grow. That's how God tests our faith and that's how we build character...by showing the world what we're made of. And no matter how many times we fall, we will not crumble because God gives us strength to overcome anything. Once we have the will to succeed, no one or nothing can stand in our way. "I can do all things through God who strengthens me." [Philippians 4:13].
I KNOW I can, but do you BELIEVE that you can?
True words: "The power of life and death is in the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit." [Proverbs 19:21].
Are you ready for the new school term?! "The
early bird catches the worm"...No more sleeping late...ready yourself
for the traffic! Hope you had a fabulous vacation! The malls were
certainly a-buzz with people this weekend!! For all the parents
esp. those with kids entering secondary/high school for the first
time...though the books, shoes & uniforms are important tools and
gear, the right attitude and frame of mind does wonders for a child's
psyche and motivation. We oughta know...we were once kids! Forget the
challenges ahead and leave the rest up to God...Remember a family who
prays together stays together:)
I'm not going to go ranting on about my issues but in fact, will cut to the moral of the story right away. Sometimes things happen in your life for you to realize how great you really have it. I read somewhere recently and mentioned it to a friend who had similar thoughts that: if everyone were to throw their problems into a stack...when you saw everyone else's you would want yours back...so true. Sometimes you think you have worries, but the truth is, someone is always going through something worse than you. Just saying....what you may think is a problem - is a needle in a haystack, when considered in the grande scheme of things.
