Inspiring Story on Endurance

A son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?" The father who, despite having a heart condition, says "Yes". They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying "Yes" to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, "Dad, let's join the Ironman together." To which, his father said "Yes" too. For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

Father and son went on to complete the race together.

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The Art of Illness

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The Art Of Illness...

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Developing Internal Strength

Stress is all around us. It is inevitable... a part of our existence. Nowadays, we are filled with troublesome realities and everyday, our energies are spent on vices and meaningless activities such as smoking, drinking, worrying, lying, etc. How do we replace wasted energy? Are we even concerned about this?

We are not aware that the things that are supposed to make our lives easier, such as technology, are actually putting a burden on our shoulders. Problems are solved in order to encounter a more challenging ordeal. Today, physical strength is futile and in order to survive we need to develop our internal strength.

How do we attain inner strength? To have inner strength we have to primarily go through the processes of awareness, acceptance, openness, and discipline.

1st Process: Awareness
Awareness simply means waking up from slumber. We have been bombarded by so many information and because of this, the basic and significant essence of living slowly became unknown to us. We have been busy upgrading the quality of life by developing different kinds of technology when in fact, all we need to do is be simple and "empty" to get in touch with our being. The being made in the image and likeness of God. Our inner self. The master within us. Our conscience. The God who resides in our hearts.

2nd Process: Acceptance
This must follow after your eyes have been opened to "what is", to the present, the now. Because acceptance places us to the point when we will make a decision. Acceptance will move us into acting or not acting.

3rd Process: Openness
If awareness is the opening of the mind, the 3rd process is the act of openness itself. To be open is to be able to let go and receive. This is when we are able to listen within. This is listening beyond the physical sense... with openness, we are even able to hear silence.

4th Process: Discipline
This drives us to do what we have to do and not to do what is unnecessary. This may seem the hardest of the 4 steps but in reality, the 3rd step (Openness) is the most challenging of all. If you find this part the hardest, it means you have to go back to one or all of the first 3 processes before going through this final step.

These four processes are not experienced by any person on a one time basis. We can get to the fourth process and go back to the first at one point in our lives. What is important is that you learn how to move forward from the 1st to the last process during difficult situations in your life. Getting through these processes and learning how to stay tranquil inside during turmoil is a way to train yourself to become a stronger person. Developing internal strength is a continuous process and to tread the path of upgrading the self is not easy. But the fruits of learning to be aware, to accept, to be open and to have discipline is endless.

God’s Little Schemes

It was a day unlike the usual. We received a phone call saying that we passed the professional board exam! A day of good news for my Arl and me, I must say. But why was I feeling a bit edgy? You see, I was having a little problem just how exactly we will celebrate the day.

A couple of hours had passed and I was still wondering what to do when Arl’s best friend unexpectedly met and joined us in the mall. “I came to celebrate the day with you,” he said. Was I surprised? You bet I was! He was the answer to my hours of unproductive planning and imagining.

To make the story short, we dined together in a fine restaurant outside the mall, laughed over a funny movie we decided to watched, and spent the rest of the day talking while enjoying a plate of kikiam and squid balls. It was simple. Yet, it was great.

Oftentimes, we plan and think too much. We want things to be perfect. No hassle. No error. We want things and events in our lives just the way we imagine them.

There is a very big danger to thinking and planning too much. Without us knowing, this could become a habit. We can be trapped. If this happens, we will become persons who never get to action. We will become persons who are so obsessed with planning a celebration that at the end of the day we will realize that we have never celebrated at all.

Think about this: we are already given enough reasons to be happy, yet we still plan how to make happiness happy.

There is another way out of this controlling fear of being out-of-control. We can let God take control. His little schemes are far better than ours. And the only thing which God requires from us is our openness and acceptance. We should realize that it is not how perfect we plan and think. It is how God in that particular moment touches and changes us and how, as a result, we make other people share and enjoy His presence too.

God wants us not merely to be happy but to be happiest. He wants our joy to be complete. God, therefore, surprises us in many ways. He uses events, people, even the ways we so least expect. But are we always ‘in’ for God’s surprises? Are we present to enjoy His little schemes? Or are we too busy, too preoccupied to notice the little miracles that He sends our way?

I believe this is the part where we should think.

Forming Choices

Day after day of your life existence, you meet circumstances that demand forming choices. In fact, forming choices is everyone's way of existence but the heart of the matter is not the art of making an excellent choice, it's whether or not you like what you have chosen. It is most meaningful that you are satisfied with what you choose and that you are delighted with your answer. After all you can never do away with forming choices some of which sometimes extremely change your life.

There are experiences that happen so unexpectedly and abruptly and you feel that it is time to make a choice. When such an occurrence happen, never be impulsive or impetuous; rather bring to mind the folk wisdom, "there are two sides to a coin." Whether your decision confines on victory or misfortune, there is always a positive and a negative side of it. What is powerful is to have the right horizon in forming a decision so you will experience it first-hand. Do not be affected by outside forces or by coercion from all sides. Rather, listen to your heart. Weigh the pros and cons of the situation at hand. You will not go wrong. Past ordeals can also lead you in forming the best choices which will ultimately give you satisfaction and tranquility. Remember that life will still go on even after you've made your decision. So, see to it that the choice is one that will give you a real sense of accomplishment. Don't choose simply because you're forced to and you have no restrain of the situation, because you'll gain no sense of accomplishment at all. The choice must give you a tremendous sensation of attaining something you aspire to, not a feeling that you opted for it simply because you had no choice. That is not living life as it should be lived. Live to the fullest. Acknowledge challenges and struggles. Then realize the choices. And decide. But bear in mind too, that you are not in full control of your existence. You must surrender to a higher power. Before making the choice, seek His guidance and you will never be mistaken, especially in matters that consider a lot in your life.

There are times when faced with many a choice, you find yourself in a quandary.

Why?

You allow too many things distort your conviction. For once in your life, make convictions that will benefit unselfish choices. Do not only consider of your own advantage. When faced with choices, consider also of the welfare of others, especially the less fortunate. Ask yourself if the choice you are to form will be helpful to a lot of humans or only to a favored few. If it will help only few, then decide on for the excelling choice. Keep in mind that when selfishness enters a dwelling place or an office, clemency instantly flies out. Always embrace the welfare of others in forming decisions. Do not let your own greedy needs be the norm.

Frequently, this is easier said than executed, but it must be executed if you are to form bright choices. This should be concerned by all who reside in a society, specifically the leaders who must perpetually regard their peoples' welfare due to the difficult times everyone's facing nowadays.

What we want now are men and women who will form choices without compromising the good of the many...

Men and women who won't let their self-seeking intentions dominate their sense of values...

Men and women who won't be apprehensive to utter the reality, no matter the stand of the people around them...

Men and women who won't falter to utter not even when the whole world reasons otherwise...

Men and women who'd be truthful as not to be influenced by riches, command, and prestige.

It may be a tall mandate for everyone, but it must be poked into if you want betterment in things around you. It must be executed, and there is no other being to do it but you.