A Still Tongue Keeps a Wise Head

TGFW - Thank God for the Weekend!

So, I've made a commitment to update my blog and continue working on my book at least once a week for the rest of the year. There's no gym in my routine anymore so I have no excuses...hoping to start my cardio routine soon...will keep you posted on my progress.

It's been a while since I sat outside and soaked in the cool sights and sounds of nature...so for the first time in months, I am doing just that. I've slowed down long enough to enjoy it. I've missed this: hummingbirds, blue birds, doves and birds of all variety, the trees and the cool afternoon air is so relaxing. I can even hear the odd sheep and goat way into the distance:) I've grown so accustomed to it over the past few months that it's almost a part of life now.

Based on my different interactions, I've come to realize that perception is a hellava thing...Sometimes you never know what someone is thinking, why they may do or say certain things or react the way they do. Certainly 'you give what you get' most times but despite your good intentions, not all the time people may respond favourably to what you project. Your gestures may be interpreted incorrectly or people may carry with them their own biases, insecurities and misgivings that may impede a smooth interpersonal relationship. When two people do not see eye-to-eye however, only rationale and calm communication can quiet the waters...along with one party putting aside their ego for a brief moment to bring peace.

Then again, others may feign affinity for a number of reasons based on the situation. Perhaps because of fear, or tolerance or just for the sake of getting along. The question is: do you play along, or do you draw the line between peaceful relations and deceit. I guess it depends on the individual and the situation, so as to determine what is the wisest thing to do given the circumstances. Many times we may have to make a conscious effort to hold our tongue but as we realize as time progresses that life is a game. The winners are the ones who learn all the right lessons in time for the test(s).

Yes life is about lessons. I am learning daily...along with the next person I would imagine. We learn from each other whether we want to admit it or not. Many things remain an enigma to me...but I'm figuring out the mysteries as I grow and evolve from one year to the next. When we stop to listen...really listen, we can harness the power within and around us to work in our favour.

Food for Thought:

Life is short: Soak in every last drop. Don't procrastinate with your dreams and ambitions.

Everything in this life is temporary...except for the trees, birds, seas and flowers. Don't waste your energy fighting petty battles, make peace not war. After one time is two. "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalms 30:5

Spend time with the people you love the most. Don't pay lip service: show them how much you care in small but meaningful ways. Exercise tolerance and empathy with others. Make peace with your God at the end of every day. And bring change to your world with love.

Cheers

Friend or Foe

Sometimes what you don't know can't hurt you and you're better off not knowing. Your interactions with people may be varied based on the level of comfort of both parties. Sometimes it may be superficial, other times you may have a genuine connection. Still other times the lines may be blurred and one or more party may not be able to tell the difference. Years may go by and you may be none the wiser until an event happens to bring enlightenment. When this happens, what does the wronged party do to bring closure? Perhaps closure is not necessary but rather forgiveness. Only the truly mature can learn to let go and let bygones be bygones. For most of us, it's easier just to sever ties and move on. In the end, when you discover the truth, you have God to thank that He revealed this person for who they are and you are able to separate friend from foe before it is too late. Sometimes all it takes is a simple "I forgive you" for both parties to find peace. In time we would come to realize that sincerity is better than ignorance and find the closure we need.

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Updated Profile!

Greetings...

My blogger profile is updated!

Check it out here:

http://inspirationescape.blogspot.com/p/about.html


Peace & Love

LIVE YOUR LIFE!

Heya,

Oh how I've missed high speed internet access! It's like my refrain now, but it really is like a little piece of heaven...well not really...I imagine heaven to be infinitely more spectacular and well...heavenly, but you get my drift. 

PHOTO CREDIT - oels.byu.edu 

If you've been following my blog...I guess you would know by now that I'm at home again...it's nice to be back. My last trip wasn't that great, but I feel at peace this time around...I felt the difference from the time I stepped foot on dry land. Of course it's always great seeing my parents, sister and friends. The food is awesome at my mother's house too! (I'm getting hourly reminders about my split peas soup getting cold:-) I can hardly wait for Christmas!

I am soo grateful that I made it through this week and the last month for that matter. It was really hard sometimes having to get up and get, when some days your energy is waning. My vacation is calling me...I'm suffering from burn out...already! But God is good...I know He will give me strength to make it through the rest of the year:-)

Today I got a lot done...besides having my vehicle serviced (pretty boring routine oil and filter change, but oh so vital)...I had a photo shoot to have some professional photographs taken...also met some cool people. It's always great making new connections. I can't wait to see those shots! Will be updating my blogger profile...so stay tuned to this space. 

They say life is like a circle. You often cross paths with people you have met in your past again. It is not always a pleasant experience, but sometimes it's such a genuine joy to renew old acquaintances. The human condition is strange and always amazes me. For example, how you connect to some persons almost right off the bat and others for some odd inexplicable reason, you don't seem to mesh with them no matter how hard you try. 

Also, you may have a friend or acquaintance that you may not have spoken to or seen in such a long time and when you do connect, it's as though no time has passed. I have so many burning unanswered questions about the human psyche, sometimes I think I should have followed through with the urge I had in my younger days to study psychology! But knowledge is power. The courses I did pursue, has helped me to understand human behaviour better...sometimes too good, it's unnerving to others.

photo credit - montereybayholistic.wordpress.com 

This week I also learnt a lesson in trust. My two closest friends tell me I can get a little paranoid and jump to conclusions at times...well I guess I need to work on that before anyone else figures it out! lol. It was hilarious when the truth was discovered a day or two later. Let me tell you those 48 hours of uncertainty weren't pleasant! 

But on a serious note, sometimes you just have to wait until you have all the facts and while you wait...have a little faith. Put your emotions aside and learn to weigh the facts in front of you. Don't cloud your judgement with the past or base your impulses on some distant, vague insecurity or hang-up you may have. Odds are this may have occurred under completely different circumstances and with starkly different people.

Yup, this week taught me that nothing is the same. Life changes. People seldom change (no a leopard cannot change their spots!) but behaviours can be learnt and re-learnt and modified to suit the circumstance, that is...if you really want to badly enough. But don't be fooled by some people who feign change for selfish reasons and ulterior motives. That's not change...that's manipulation. 

But really, your life today, is a new dawn. A fresh start to create a wonderful new dynamic, fashioned in the way you desire. Not an existence, but a purpose-filled, love-filled, peace-filled, real joy-FUL abundant LIFE with YOU in it! If you really believe, there may be room for two. You can create your destiny. Ultimately God is in control, but we have choices that we make that can shape the way things turn out. 

Do you believe it?

TRUST

WAIT

LEARN

CREATE...

LIVE!

Cheers!

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Time to Mobilize!

You know you have a calling when you're still up at 12:55 a.m. blogging and writing...after a full day of driving around doing errands and cooking! Whew! It's been way too long since my last blog...I can make all the excuses in the world, like the lack of high speed internet and a desktop computer to which I was accustomed up until 9 months ago...but NO MORE EXCUSES!! 

I think all the signs are there...I've been meeting lots of interesting people all year (in fact for the past few years) and I believe it's time to start the ball a-rolling and make a more meaningful impact on lives.

I've been checking my mail and social networks tonight and I am soo inspired by the persons around me...some friends and others...total strangers. You have goaded me into action guys...I hope you know who you are! Many things are happening and I believe it's time...of course it doesn't happen overnight or by wishing on a star...I've gotta start mobilizing dreams into reality...less talk and more action.

I've been toying with some plans for a while now...and for some reason, I'm wondering why I'm hesitant for the first time in a long time to get moving. I just saw an email tonight coupled with conversations I've had this week with a close friend and one with an acquaintance with whom I was finally able to match a face, and it's as though it lit a fire under me...It's kinda like that famous song by the Isley Brothers..."I've got work to do!" Indeed I DO HAVE WORK TO DO!!! 

Someone reminded me that time flies away in the blink of an eye and before you can say Jack Robinson...eons have passed and you don't know how you got there. And so I made a mental note that kicked in 24 hours later, that I've got to get down to the business of the day...and live my purpose before I leave this earth. Tomorrow is promised to no one, so now is the time to live your dreams and leave your mark...your legacy on the world. Perhaps not in BIG ways ALL the time, but surely via your daily routine.

I know my worth is more than an 8-4 corporate job. My life should impact others in a profound way beyond the exigencies of a rigid job description. Meanwhile I do love my job and do it to the best of my abilities, but the work of an artiste is never enough and never done. I've been getting distracted from my purpose and it's time to get focused. I have all the resources and right people around me to make it happen...so as it is said...so it shall be...

After watching Ms. World tonight on Direct TV (luckily not in Spanish) though a bit distracted, I realized that beauty pageants aren't all fickle and airy fairy. Whilst listening to some of these girls I realized that I have something in common with them: their quest to serve humanity and impact the lives of others. I guess it is "Beauty with a Purpose." My favourite contender was Ms. France...but Ms. Philippines you are well deserving of the crown. Congrats to you! May you do your country proud...oh and continue to SING!

Until next time. Hopefully next time I blog, I would have some good news to announce.

Good night or good morning my lovelies...

As always I thank you for dropping by...do tell your friends about my blog and check out my book Thinking out Loud on amazon and facebook page for more >>https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingoutLoudbyCarolynCorreia

I remain grateful for life, family and great people...thank God I can sleep in today...and I don't have to [finish] cook lunch...it seems that I'd be going to a poolside barbeque lime and football game later on...I love nothing better...(besides maybe if I can write from the pool:)

Till next time...

Cheers~

Peace & Love,

Carolyn

Transient Emotions

Human beings are such fickle creatures. We experience transient emotions that fluctuate and morph into different forms, based on a multitude of events in our lives. Sometimes these emotions are fleeting and other times they last moments longer than we expect. Other times we just sail through life unaware. Many people use this as an escape route to a parallel world where they only exist in the here and now. At times I wonder if this is the best way to go...

photo credit - forbes.com

Many of us would rather programme our bodies to react only when necessary, in an attempt to shield ourselves from any intense feeling or worse yet pain. Others love to indulge in the intensity and 'rush' it appears to bring, seldom coming down from this high. Yet some of us rather stay on middle ground where it is safe and normal.

What we sometimes don't realize is that life is unpredictable. You never know when it's going to sneak up on you and surprise you. When it will throw you for a loop and cause you to change your modus operandi. We can choose to ignore and just go through the motions or we can come up for air, proceed with caution and swim with the tide.

It's easy for us to have the last say, but sometimes there's someone a little quicker than us, who can beat us at our own game. Then we have no choice to follow the path that has been laid out for us. When this happens we are caught unaware and forced to re-examine our existence and relations to others.

For the first time, we see life for what it is: a production to behold. The question is: do we just look on and let it play out in front of our eyes? Or do we actively have a role to play?

Indeed the role we play depends on how we see ourselves in the whole scheme of things...where we end up further afield depends on our convictions, beliefs, willpower and gumption to face our fears and follow through till the end to enjoy the desired result we secretly crave.

Time Waits on No Man...

Hope your September is going grande and your year is heading in the direction that you like. Time waits on no man...so it is important to make every moment count. Every breathe we take is a blessing to be cherished. Every stride towards our goal is one to be celebrated. Never let anyone tell you that your accomplishments don't count or is not as great as someone else's. Never let anyone's experience taint yours and distract you from your goals or ambitions. Each of us have our own journey to walk, different opportunities available to us, different things we bring to the table that are separate and apart from anyone else. What we contribute to society, a group or organization is priceless and unique. No one can nail it quite the way we do...that's why we are here at this given moment, at this particular location, with these precise group of people until we have fulfilled our purpose. So do your best, leave your mark and when it is all over, you will feel it in your soul when it's time to move on. By then due to sheer persistence, positivity and passion, people would have remembered you for the value you brought to their life. Peace & Love

Thinking out Loud - Age: Just a Number

One of my articles from my book: The one that started it all...

Age: Just a number

This was written on the threshold of the Big 30…I will not say when! When it happened I feared that this was it for my youth! But in the aftermath and years counting, I feel no different from how I did when I was in my 20’s and I have come to realize that age is indeed just a number. 

We all remembered when we turned 30. To some it’s a milestone in a person’s life, to others it’s just merely another birthday. With the big day just weeks away, for me personally this time is a growth period, a catharsis of sorts, to reflect on one’s life: accomplishments, goals, regrets, lessons. The 20’s: the fun and carefree days, the teens: a distant memory, childhood: a different place and time. 

Sometimes we look back in our mind’s eye and wonder if that was really us. Boy have we come a long way! Snapshots snip by us like reels from a movie; look at how we’ve grown! We remember our first bike, our first day at school, our first skinned knee. Then there was the coming of age: our first romance, graduation day, our first job – better yet our first paycheck, our first car, our wedding day, the birth of our first child. Most of us have a lot to be thankful for. 

A lot of my friends think that their 20’s went by in a whirlwind; we just took a deep breath and before we knew it, it was gone. Twenty-one was another important turning point, but it seems like child’s play compared to this big number. 

When I talk about turning the Big 3-0 in the office, and the fact that your 20’s are really going be gone forever, people look at me like I’m mad, but it is definitely scary. The onset of mortality steps in, one realizes that this is it, no looking back from here on end, you are no longer considered a ‘young boy’ or ‘young girl’ the numbers are just going to keep getting bigger and bigger until you wake up one day and you’re middle-aged. This is big business. 

Putting all melodrama aside, no matter what stage of life we are at presently, at times we may look back and wonder: are we really where we want to be at this stage of our life? Did we accomplish all of our goals? Did we conform to society’s expectations? Our families’ expectations? But more importantly did we satisfy ourselves? Our own needs and desires? The reality is that human beings are insatiable, well most of us are anyway; I believe it is human nature. We are constantly striving for improvement, to do more, to achieve more; sometimes what we have is never enough, after all, ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ or so the old adage goes. 

You may think that you need to achieve more but someone else might think that you have the world while you may be having similar thoughts about that person. But comparison is by no means a measure of success. Everyone has a different story and different opportunities available to them, which most times are beyond their control. To succeed is to be truly happy with what you have attained at your stage of development. 

Not to sound like a cliché but some people go through life so swiftly they do no not stop to smell the roses, to really be cognizant of what this life is all about, the real purpose for which we are put here, which is to really share our joys, lessons and talents with others, to give thanks for life and give back something to the world. 

There is one thing that I have learnt over the years: and that is life is short, life is unpredictable and you never know where life will take you, what it may bring, and no matter how much control you think you have, the reality is that you really don’t. You can’t control people or the outcome of events in your life any more than you can control the weather. Like the famous words from the movie Forrest Gump: “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” However, we can shape our destiny by our actions. 

We look to the future and we think: how are we going to make this decade better than the last? Are we going to put a limit to what we can achieve? Are we going to try to please others by doing what is expected of us? Or are we going to try to live our own life to the fullest, the way we want to live it no matter what anyone says or thinks? I believe in the latter and I think most people do too, whether they decide to put it into action or not. 

At this point, I really accept that aging is part of life and it is really time to take that step and let go, and embrace life’s possibilities, to let go of the past, to step out of the comfort zone and embark on a new journey. It does not matter whether or not we feel our purpose is to pro-create, to acquire fame and fortune, to be President, CEO or simply to leave our mark on this world by simple things, to touch everyone we meet by our actions, words and deeds so as to leave behind a legacy. 

Maybe it all sounds a bit dramatic, but that is all life is: actions and reactions, repercussions of a former action, simply known as karma. Time is one of life’s simple phenomenons and this coupled with patience and a little faith, is the solution to most of our problems. The more we realize this, the faster we would achieve most of our objectives, of which I am sure happiness is at the core. 

Live every moment to the fullest so that you would have no regrets tomorrow. Measure your success by the happiness that you feel in your heart when you arise each morning; when it begins to get contagious and those around you feel it too; you know that you have achieved your purpose. 

Age: Just a number...THINKING OUT LOUD...own your personal copy on amazon>> http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Out-Loud-Carolyn-Correia/dp/1105184382

September Remember!

September is here! A new month…an opportunity for a fresh start to consolidate plans and decisions already in the pipeline. 

One thing’s for sure, no matter how bad things may get, there’s always hope for a new tomorrow and a new beginning and no matter how many times you fall, you can always get back up and dust yourself off and start again.

Independence weekend in these parts…I had a fabulous weekend. I’ve been thinking a lot lately…about lots of things…and as I reflect on the past 8 months…I must admit it has been great. This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made to change locales…Living on my own for the first (well second) time with no family, totally independent and free has been fabulous…in a way it is ironic this post comes on this here Independence weekend. 

I look forward to the wind up of this great year and I hope it ends as well as it began. Christmas is right around the corner and it is my favourite time of the year…the music, the food, the reminiscent feeling of the birth of our Saviour.

Most of all I thank God for blessing me with great people. For the most part, I’ve made some really beautiful connections with special people, more so for the past decade…and for the past year, I won’t trade them for the world. So many people have also visited me thus far and I am always connected via technology. 

Sometimes you move so far away from home and yet you are still at home…I have come full circle…I feel that I was indeed led to this moment…all the moments leading up to this one was majestically orchestrated for a purpose. Not quite sure what the precise purpose is as yet but I’m sure I will soon find out. Above all, I feel that I have some control over the path I am eventually made to follow. But yet there is still some mystery which makes it all the more enticing.

Time will tell…4 more months to go…Are you ready for your future? September remember, December I can’t wait…2014 here I come!!

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